Bridge Scoring

In bridge scoring, every result is built from three pieces: trick points for what you bid and made, a bonus for making it, and penalties when someone goes down. If you only want the figure for one contract, the calculator and table below give it straight away. The rest of the page explains where the numbers come from. Once you know that, you can work out any score at the table without a card in your pocket.

A made contract earns trick points for every trick bid and made, plus a bonus. The calculator scores any result, including overtricks, doubles and redoubles. The table under it lists every contract made exactly, not vulnerable and vulnerable, as duplicate scores it.

Trick values

Only the tricks above six count. These are the odd tricks, and a contract of 4♠ is a promise to take ten tricks, four more than six. Each odd trick bid and made is worth:

• 20 points in a minor suit (♣ or ♦).
• 30 points in a major suit (♥ or ♠).
• 40 points for the first trick in notrump and 30 for each one after it.

A game is any contract worth 100 trick points or more. That makes 3NT (40 + 30 + 30), 4♥ or 4♠ (4 x 30) and 5♣ or 5♦ (5 x 20) the cheapest games. Anything below game is a part score.

Bonuses for making the contract

• Part score bonus: 50, whatever the vulnerability.
• Game bonus: 300 not vulnerable, 500 vulnerable.
• Small slam (six level): 500 not vulnerable, 750 vulnerable, added to the game bonus.
• Grand slam (seven level): 1000 not vulnerable, 1500 vulnerable, also added to the game bonus.

So 4♠ made exactly is 120 trick points plus 300, a total of 420 not vulnerable, or 620 vulnerable. A vulnerable 6♠ is 180 + 500 + 750 = 1430. A part score such as 2♠ is 60 + 50 = 110.

Overtricks

Tricks beyond the contract are overtricks. Undoubled, they score at the trick value of the strain: 20 in a minor, 30 in a major or notrump. They never count toward game, so 2♠ with two overtricks is 110 + 60 = 170, not a game.

Doubled and redoubled contracts that make

A double multiplies the trick points by two and a redouble by four. Because the doubled trick points count toward game, a doubled part score can turn into a game: 2♠ doubled is 120 trick points, so it earns the game bonus. Declarer also receives a bonus for making a doubled contract, often called the insult: 50 doubled, 100 redoubled.

Doubled overtricks are worth a flat amount whatever the strain: 100 each not vulnerable and 200 each vulnerable. Redoubled overtricks are 200 and 400. Not vulnerable, 2♠ doubled with an overtrick is 120 + 300 + 50 + 100 = 570.

When declarer goes down, the defenders score for each trick short of the contract. The penalty depends on vulnerability and on whether the contract was doubled. The table gives the totals.

• Undoubled: 50 per undertrick not vulnerable, 100 per undertrick vulnerable.
• Doubled, not vulnerable: 100 for the first undertrick, 200 for each of the second and third, then 300 for each one after that. Down one is 100, down two 300, down three 500, down four 800.
• Doubled, vulnerable: 200 for the first undertrick and 300 for each one after it. Down one is 200, down two 500, down three 800.
• Redoubled: twice the doubled figures. Down one vulnerable redoubled is 400.

The trick values and penalties above are the same in every form of the game. What changes is how bonuses are awarded and how the deals are linked together.

Duplicate bridge scoring

Duplicate bridge scoring treats every deal on its own. A game made earns its full bonus (300 or 500) on that deal, a part score earns 50, and nothing carries over to the next board. Vulnerability is printed on the board, following a fixed 16-board cycle. Honors are not scored in duplicate. A deal passed out scores zero for both sides. The raw score is then compared with the other tables that played the same cards, using matchpoints or IMPs.

Chicago

Chicago bridge scoring is the usual home and club format for four players who cannot run a duplicate game. A chukker is four deals, one dealt by each player, with vulnerability set by the deal number. Games earn the duplicate bonuses of 300 not vulnerable and 500 vulnerable on the deal they are made. Most clubs play that part scores carry forward within the chukker and combine toward game, and a part score made on the fourth deal that does not complete a game earns a bonus of 100. A passed-out deal is redealt by the same player.

Rubber bridge

Rubber bridge scoring uses a score sheet with a line across it. Trick points for contracts bid and made go below the line and count toward game. Everything else (overtricks, penalties, slam bonuses, honors and the rubber bonus) goes above the line. A side wins a game when its scores below the line reach 100, possibly over several deals. A new line is then drawn and both sides start the next game from zero. A side with one game is vulnerable. The first side to win two games wins the rubber.

There is no separate game or part score bonus in rubber bridge. The rubber bonus does the same job. Honors are scored by whichever side holds them, defenders included.

At duplicate, your raw score only matters in comparison with what the other tables did with the same cards. Team games convert the difference into International Match Points (IMPs) with the scale below. Pair games usually use matchpoints.

To score a board at IMPs, subtract one score from the other and look up the difference. If your team bids and makes a vulnerable 4♠ for 620 and your teammates let the opponents stop in 3♠ making 170, the swing is 450, worth 10 IMPs. An overtrick of 30 points is 1 IMP. The scale grows slowly on purpose, so one huge swing does not decide a match.

At matchpoints each pair's score on a board is compared with every other pair who held the same cards. In ACBL scoring you get 1 point for each pair you beat and half a point for each pair you tie; elsewhere it is 2 and 1. If a board is played seven times, the best score earns a top of 6. Your result for the session is the percentage of the available matchpoints you won.

What each form rewards

• At IMPs, making the contract is everything. Bid close vulnerable games, take safety plays that give up an overtrick to guard against a bad split, and do not risk a contract for 30 points.
• At matchpoints, frequency is everything. An extra overtrick beats every pair that took one trick fewer, so declarers play for the maximum, and 3NT making ten tricks is better than 4♥ making ten. Beating a part score by a few points matters as much as beating it by a thousand.

Pair games sometimes use IMP scoring too. Butler scoring compares each result with a datum, the average of the scores on the board after the top and bottom are removed, and converts the difference to IMPs. Cross-IMPs compare each result with every other result on the board, convert each difference to IMPs, and average them. Both keep the IMP habits of bidding games and protecting contracts while still letting pairs compete against a field.

If you want to know how often a contract will make before you decide whether it is worth bidding, deal the hands in the Bridge Lab simulator. The answer depends as much on the hand evaluation behind the bidding as on the scoring.

How many points is game in bridge?

A game needs 100 trick points from a single contract, which means 3NT, 4♥, 4♠, 5♣ or 5♦. Made exactly, 3NT scores 400 not vulnerable and 600 vulnerable, a major suit game 420 or 620, and a minor suit game 400 or 600.

Is there a printable bridge scoring sheet or chart?

Yes, this page is the chart. The cheat sheet table near the bottom holds every number you need, so a printout of this page works as a scoring card, and the calculator at the top scores any result, including overtricks, doubles and redoubles. For rubber bridge a score sheet is just two columns, We and They, with a line drawn across them. For the bidding side of the game, see the bridge bidding cheat sheet.

How does duplicate bridge scoring work?

Duplicate scores every deal on its own. A game made earns its 300 or 500 bonus at once, a part score earns 50, honors are not scored, and nothing carries over to the next board. Your raw score is then compared with the other tables that played the same cards, at IMPs in team games and usually at matchpoints in pair games.

How is Chicago bridge scored?

Chicago is played in sets of four deals, with neither side vulnerable on the first deal, usually the dealer's side on the second and third, and both sides on the fourth. Games earn the duplicate bonuses of 300 or 500, most clubs let part scores carry forward within the four deals, and a part score on the fourth deal that does not complete a game earns 100. It is the usual way to score a home or party game for one table.

What are the rubber bridge scoring rules?

Rubber bridge puts trick points for contracts bid and made below the line, and a side wins a game when its total there reaches 100, possibly over several deals. Overtricks, penalties, slam bonuses and honors go above the line. The first side to win two games takes the rubber and a bonus of 700 for two games to nil or 500 for two games to one.

How much is a doubled vulnerable undertrick?

The first doubled vulnerable undertrick costs 200 and each further one costs 300. Down one is 200, down two 500, down three 800. Redoubled, the figures double again.

How are IMPs calculated?

Take the difference between the two scores on the same board and convert it with the IMP scale. A difference of 20 to 40 is 1 IMP, 450 is 10 IMPs, and the scale tops out at 24 IMPs for 4000 or more.