How to Count Cards in Bridge (Bridge Strategy Guide)

Co-authored by Hannah Madden

Last Updated: October 12, 2020 References

Once you’ve learned the basics of bridge, it’s time to start thinking about your strategy. Professional bridge players might seem like they can see straight through their opponent’s hand, but what they’re often doing is counting the cards to estimate who is holding what. Counting cards isn’t illegal in bridge (as long as you’re just using your brain, not a card-counting device), so you can use it to keep track of your opponent’s hands. All it takes is a little bit of practice and a lot of concentration, so the more you try it, the better you’ll get.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Basic Card Counting

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1
Remember that there are 13 cards in each suit. There are 4 suits: diamonds, hearts, spades, and clubs. You can start by counting the cards in your own hand as a baseline for which cards are still in play. ^{[1]
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- Each player starts with 13 cards in their hand.
2
Count up from the number of cards in your hand and the dummy. If you’re the declarer, you have to keep an eye on your hand and the dummy hand (the cards that are displayed face up to everyone). For example, if you have a total of 7 cards in a suit from your hand and the dummy, keep track of how many cards in the same suit that your opponents play. Once you reach 13, the entire suit is on the table. ^{[2]
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- If you count less than 13 cards total in a suit, that means your opponents still have cards in their hands with that suit. You won’t know exactly who has them, but you can tell that they’re still in hand.
- You can use your knowledge to switch suits if you think someone has a lot of them, or keep playing a suit if you know your opponents don’t have those cards in hand.
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3
Count down from the number of cards that are missing if it’s easier. For example, if you have a total of 8 cards in a suit in your partnership (also called an 8-card fit), start your count at 5 cards (since 8 + 5 = 13). As each card in the same suit is played, count down from 5 all the way to 0 until all the cards in that suit have been played. ^{[3]
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- If you don’t reach 0, you’ll know that there are still a few cards in that suit out there.
- Counting down is a little harder than counting up, but some players prefer it. You can go with whatever strategy is easiest for you.
4
Track which cards in a suit have not been played. It’s important to count the total number of cards in a suit, but it’s even more important to figure out which specific cards haven’t been played yet (to see what the players next move might be). For example, if your opponent put down a 4 of clubs as the lead, they probably have a 5-card club suit. ^{[4]
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- Most opponents lead with their highest cards in a suit. It’s a safe bet that they have more cards to follow it and they’re probably a lower value.
- Once you figure out which cards are missing, you can try to put down cards of a higher value so that your opponents can’t win the next trick.
5
Focus on counting one other hand. Trying to track all of your opponents can be difficult. When you start out, try to count the cards in one person’s hand instead of all 3 of your opponents. Choose the player who bids the most during the auction (suggesting they have a lot of cards in one suit) or the person who makes the opening lead. ^{[5]
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- As you get more skilled at counting, you can try counting multiple hands at once.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Advanced Card Counting

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1
Pay attention to which suits your opponents bid. In the bidding process, the other players will most likely bid their highest or most abundant suit. If you see the other players bidding their cards, it’s a safe bet that they have a lot of those suits in hand. ^{[6]
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- If a player passes, you won’t be able to gauge which cards they have (they could be using this as a strategy).
- Remember, most players bid the most common suit in their hand, even if it’s weak.
2
Memorize the common patterns of the cards. In a 4-player game of bridge, there are a few basic patterns that you can fall back on to figure out how many cards of each suit your opponents have. For example, if one opponent plays 4 clubs and you have 3 clubs, you can think about the pattern 4432 to know that one opponent probably has 4 clubs, and your other opponent probably has 2 clubs. These patterns are created by basic distribution math, so they’re estimates, but they’re usually right. The patterns are: ^{[7]
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- 4432
- 4333
- 4441
- 5332
- 5431
- 6322
- 7321
3
Divide up the missing cards in your head. For example, if you’re looking at your own hand and the dummy hand and you have 8 cards in a suit, that means there are 5 cards distributed between your opponents (since 8 + 5 = 13). The distribution could be 3 for one player and 2 for the other, 4 for one player and 1 for the other, or 5 for one player and 0 for the other. This can help you keep track of the cards that are played as you keep going. ^{[8]
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- Once you start thinking about that, you can get clues about how many cards are left as your opponents play.
- If you know the cards left in play, you can switch suits to keep your opponents from putting down their cards.
4
Assume that the leader doesn’t have a sequence if they lead low. If the person placing the opening lead puts down a low card (in either points value or suit value), it’s safe to assume that they don’t have a suit sequence. In general, if your opponent has 3 or more cards in a suit, they’ll lead with their highest card and then go down. ^{[9]
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- This is a general rule, and there are always exceptions to it, so use your best judgement.
5
Note when a player switches suits during a trick. When playing a trick, every player must put down a card that’s higher in value than the one just played. If a player does not put down a card in the same suit, and instead switches to a different one, there’s a good chance they’ve run out of that particular suit in their hand. ^{[10]
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- Or, this could mean their card wasn’t high enough to play.
6
Pay attention to your partner’s signals if you’re a defender. When you’re playing against the dummy hand, that means you and your partner can work together to count suits. Usually, your partner will signal to you with their cards: a high value means keep going with the suit, and a low value usually means they want you to switch suits. ^{[11]
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- You can also signal to your partner from across the table to give them info, too.
- Your partner won’t always communicate with you, and that’s fine. You only need to signal someone if your strategy depends on working together.