Auction bridge

The card game auction bridge, the third step in the evolution of the general game of bridge, was developed from straight bridge (i.e. bridge whist) in 1904. The precursor to contract bridge, its predecessors were whist and bridge whist.

The main difference between auction bridge and contract bridge is that in auction bridge a game is scored whenever the required number of tricks (nine in Notrump, ten in Hearts or Spades, eleven in Clubs or Diamonds) is scored, and in contract bridge the number of points from tricks taken past the bid do not count towards making a game. Because of this, accurate bidding becomes much more important in contract bridge: partners have to use the bidding to tell each other what their suits and strengths are, so a judgement can be made as to what the chances are of making a game.