The Bridge Deal Generator
Club teachers, partnerships and quiz writers reach for the deal generator when the hands they need are too rare to wait for at the table. It deals whole sets of bridge hands in which each seat fits a profile you describe, such as a strong notrump opener facing a long major, and saves them as files other bridge programs can open.
What the deal generator does
The BridgeTricks deal generator, part of the Bridge Lab, deals up to 1,000 random bridge deals in a single request, with optional constraints on any or all four players. Each seat can be given exact cards, described by rules on shape, suit lengths, honors and high-card points, or left to the shuffle.
You browse the deals one at a time and export them as PBN 2.1 or LIN files, to play elsewhere or share with partners. Constraint sets can be saved and reused.
The free hand generator in Resources covers the simple case, a point range and a basic shape per seat, with no account. This tool adds several constraint sets per seat (a hand has to match only one), suit length sums and comparisons, card pools, controls and named honors, and runs of up to 1,000 deals. It needs a free account, because every run is paid in credits.
How to use the deal generator
- 1.Open the deal generator. It has two tabs, Setup for the hands and Results for the deals.
- 2.In Setup, select a player (North, East, South or West) and choose Cards or Constraints as the input mode for that seat.
- 3.In Cards mode, click the cards the seat must hold. A card given to one seat is no longer available to the others.
- 4.In Constraints mode, build a set of rules from four tabs, Shapes, Suits, Honors and HCP. Use + New Set to add another profile for the same seat.
- 5.Set the number of deals, anything from 1 to 1,000, and click Run Generation.
- 6.Browse the deals in the Results tab and export them.
Seats left empty are dealt at random. The Active Constraints summary at the bottom lists every rule in force, so check it before you spend a credit.
The constraints, tab by tab
| Tab | What it sets | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Shapes | Predefined shapes, allowed or excluded. Custom suit ranges, required or excluded. Suit length sums. Suit length comparisons. | 5 to 7 ♠ and 0 to 2 ♥. The two majors totaling 8 to 10 cards. ♠ at least ♥ + 2. |
| Suits | Card pools (a min and max count from chosen cards) and controls (aces and kings) per suit. | At least two of the ♠ A, K and Q. First-round control in ♥. |
| Honors | Named honors (ace, king, queen, jack) in each suit, up to 5. | The ♠ A and K and the ♥ A. |
| HCP | A high-card point range from 0 to 37, counted ace 4, king 3, queen 2, jack 1. | 15 to 17. |
The predefined shapes are grouped as Balanced (4-3-3-3, 4-4-3-2, 5-3-3-2), Semi-balanced (5-4-2-2, 6-3-2-2), Two-suited, Three-suited and One-suited. Each pick can be allowed (only those shapes appear) or excluded (those shapes are filtered out).
In a card pool, cards picked in the same suit are alternatives, while cards in different suits must all be met. First-round control means the ace or a void, and second-round control the ace, king, void or singleton.
A seat can hold several constraint sets, and a hand only has to match one of them. Two sets, balanced with 15 to 17 HCP or any shape with 20 HCP or more, give North either of two quite different hands in the same run.
Practice deals for a convention or for teaching
- For Jacoby transfers, make North balanced with 15 to 17 HCP and give South a custom suit range of five or more hearts. South then holds a transfer hand on every deal.
- For slam bidding, give both partners a high HCP range and use the controls tool to require first- or second-round control in the suits you want to cue bid.
- For a lesson on one hand type, constrain only that seat and leave the others free, so the opponents' cards vary.
- For a club evening, export the set as PBN, the plain text format that dealing machines and scoring programs read.
What it costs
A generation costs 1 credit for up to 1,000 deals. A new account receives 7 starter credits once. Pro includes 20 credits a month and Master 55, and monthly credits do not roll over.
Pro is $7 a month or $60 a year, and Master is $12 a month or $99 a year, with the same figures in euros. Credit packs of 20, 55 and 120 credits cost $3.50, $8.50 and $17.50 (the same in euros) and never expire. Details are on the pricing page.
What it will not do
- It deals and exports. To find out how a contract or a lead fares over many deals, use the hand simulator, and to study one deal, the double dummy solver.
- It does not bid the deals or play them with you. There is no table play against people or robots.
Common questions
Short answers to what readers ask most.
- Is the bridge deal generator free?
- No, each run costs one credit. One credit covers up to 1,000 deals, and a new account starts with 7 credits. For a few boards with a point range and a shape per seat, the free hand generator needs no account and no credits.
- Can I deal bridge hands with constraints on shape and points?
- Yes, for any seat. The Shapes tab takes predefined shapes or a length range per suit, and the HCP tab a point range.
- How do I make a PBN file of bridge deals?
- Run a generation, then export the results as PBN. The file is PBN 2.1, a plain text format most bridge software opens, and LIN export is there too.
- What is a constraint set?
- A constraint set is a group of rules on shape, suits, honors and HCP that a hand must satisfy. A seat can have several sets, and the generator accepts a hand that matches any one of them.
- Why do I get an error when generating deals?
- An error usually means the constraints are too strict and no valid deal can be found. Relax one of them, such as a point range, and generate again.
Open the deal generator to set up your first run. The hand simulator guide explains how to deal hands like these by the thousand and solve each one double dummy, and the free hand generator handles quick sets for the table.
Describe the hands for each seat, deal up to 1,000 of them and export the set.
More tool guides
- The Bridge Hand SimulatorHow the Bridge Lab simulator works: up to 20,000 hands that fit your constraints, solved double dummy to compare contracts or rank every opening lead.
- The Double Dummy SolverHow the BridgeTricks double dummy solver works: makeable contracts for every declarer and strain, card-by-card play, and free manual entry with no account.
- Contract Success RateTest how often a bridge contract makes: enter North and South, pick a contract, and BridgeTricks plays it double dummy over 1,000 random layouts.