Auction bridge


The card game auction bridge, the third step in the evolution of the general game of bridge, was developed from straight bridge in 1904. The precursor to contract bridge, its predecessors were whist and bridge whist.
Auction bridge trick scoring, bonus scoring, and penalty scoring are radically different from contract bridge, and there is no concept of vulnerability in auction bridge.
Bidding rules are nearly the same, although in contract bridge bidding many complex artificial bids and bidding systems have evolved.

Origin

It is not certain to whom auction bridge should be credited. A letter in The Times, January 16, 1905, signed by Oswald Crawfurd, describes auction bridge as first played in 1904, while a book by "John Doe", published in Allahabad, India, in 1899, puts forward auction bridge as an invention of three members of the Indian Civil Service stationed at an isolated community, designed a three-handed form of bridge to compensate the lack of a fourth player. Their key contribution was the concept of competitive bidding for the declaration.

Play

The bidding, play and laws are similar to contract bridge.
The dealer opens the bidding and must declare to win at least the odd trick in a trump suit or at No-trumps; he cannot pass the bid.
A bid is higher if it contracts for a higher number of points rather than a higher number of tricks. As an example 3 Spades beats 4 Clubs.

Scoring

Auction bridge scoring is as follows: