Bidding, contra and recontra

Order of contracts

There are six possible contracts. The four suits rank from lowest to highest: clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades. Above them is No trumps, and the highest contract is All trumps. Every new call must be higher than the last one; you cannot repeat the same contract or call a lower one.

How bidding starts and ends

Bidding starts with the player after the dealer and continues in turn. On your turn you may pass, call a higher contract or say contra if the last contract belongs to the opposing team. If your contract has been doubled, you or your partner can answer with recontra.

A call becomes the contract when three players in a row pass after it. After contra or recontra, two passes are enough. If someone calls a higher contract after a contra, the contra is cancelled and bidding continues normally. If all four players pass in the first round, the cards are collected and dealt again.

• A call followed by three passes: the contract is won.
• Contra or recontra followed by two passes: the contract is won with a doubled or quadrupled result.
• Four passes with no call: a new deal.
• A new, higher call: the previous contra no longer applies.

When to call a suit

A suit call is the most common contract. What matters is not so much the length of the suit as the quality of your trumps. The jack and nine are the two strongest and most valuable cards, worth 34 points together. If you hold both, you can almost always call. If you have the jack and two or three more trumps, you are also in good shape.

Remember that you only see five cards. The other three arrive after the bidding and may help, but do not count on them entirely. Aces in the side suits are an important addition: they are safe tricks worth 11 points each.

• Jack and nine of trumps: a strong call even without other trumps.
• Jack and 2–3 more trumps: a good call, especially with a side ace.
• Only the nine and ace of trumps: riskier, the jack may be with the opponents.
• Many small trumps without the jack and nine: usually a pass.

If you are torn between two suits, choose the one where you hold the jack. Without the jack, the opponents always have a card that beats all your trumps.

When to call All trumps

In All trumps every suit uses the trump order, so jacks and nines become the strongest cards in every suit. This contract needs jacks, ideally two or more, backed by nines. A hand with the jack and nine of one suit and a jack in another is often enough.

Remember that All trumps deals contain 258 points and declarations count, including belots in every suit. A well-supported All trumps contract scores a lot, but a failed one is expensive.

When to call No trumps

In No trumps jacks and nines lose their power and aces and tens take charge. You need aces, at least two, and ideally a ten alongside one of them. A long suit headed by the ace and ten is a huge asset, because once the ace and ten have been played, the small cards of that suit become winners.

It is very important who leads first. The first trick is led by the player after the dealer. If that player is an opponent, they will choose the suit where you are weakest. If you or your partner lead, you have control from the start. No trumps is also the only contract without declarations: the opponents cannot overtake you with a tierce or four of a kind.

Contra: when it pays off

Contra doubles the result. It is justified when you are almost sure the opponents will fail: you hold the jack or nine of their trump suit, you have aces in the other suits, or you know your partner is strong.

Let us look at the numbers. The opponents call hearts and win 92 to 70 points. Without contra the result is 9 to 7 game points. With contra it becomes 18 to 14, so the opponents have gained twice as much. If the contract fails, however, the defenders take all 162 points, and with contra that is 324, a full 32 game points, more than a fifth of the match.

• Double when you hold key trumps of the opponents.
• Do not double just because you have a lot of points in hand; points are not tricks.
• Be careful doubling All trumps: that is where the points are highest and mistakes cost the most.
• Remember the opponents can answer with recontra or change the contract.

Recontra

Only the team whose contract has been doubled can say recontra. It quadruples the result. Recontra makes sense when you are confident in your contract and believe the opponents have bluffed or overrated their hand.

The risk is big: a failed contract with recontra means 162 × 4 = 648 points for the opponents, or 65 game points, almost halfway to 151. Use recontra rarely and only with a strong hand.

Bidding as a conversation with your partner

Every call is a message. If your partner calls a suit, they almost certainly hold the jack or strong trumps in it. If an opponent then calls a higher contract and you hold aces, it is sometimes better to let your partner fight on than to outbid yourself.

When your partner has called a suit and you have good support (for example the nine and ace of their trump suit), you do not need to call anything: by passing you leave the contract with them and you will help in the tricks. Outbidding your partner makes sense when your hand suits a higher contract, for example when you hold two jacks and are thinking of All trumps.

Bidding examples

Example 1: a simple contract. West deals. The actions are:

1. North: hearts (holds the jack, nine and ace of hearts).
2. East: pass.
3. South: pass (happy with partner's call).
4. West: pass. Three passes after the call, so the contract is hearts for North and South.
5. Example 2: contra and a change of contract. North calls diamonds, East says contra (holding the jack of diamonds), South calls No trumps with two aces and a ten, so the contra is gone. West, North and East pass and the contract is No trumps for North and South.
6. Example 3: recontra. East calls spades, South says contra, West answers with recontra, North and East pass. The contract is spades for East and West with a quadrupled result.

Common bidding mistakes

• Calling a suit without the jack or nine just because the suit is long.
• Outbidding your partner without real need.
• No trumps with a single ace and the hope that the rest will come with the last three cards.
• A contra based on having a lot of points rather than specific trumps.
• Recontra out of stubbornness: when the opponents double, they usually have a reason.
• Forgetting who leads first, which is decisive in No trumps.