Trick. Four cards played in clockwise succession by each of the four players, starting at trick one with a card from the player to the left of the declarer (the player who first named the denomination of the final contract) and later starting with the player who won the previous trick. There are 13 tricks in the play of each deal.

Auction. The process by which the final contract is achieved. The dealer starts the auction with a bid or a pass. A deal is passed out if there are four successive passes at the start, but in most cases the auction continues until there are three consecutive passes.

Contract. The number and denomination (suit or no-trump) representing the number of tricks your side must win. If you and your partner bid to 3 ♣, for example, you have contracted to take nine tricks with clubs as trumps. If you fulfill your contract, you can earn a bonus. If you fail, you incur a penalty. Contracts go all the way from 1 ♣ (seven tricks) to 7NT (13 tricks).

Game. Whenever your side fulfills a contract that produces a score of 100 or more (see the next chapter for scoring basics), you have earned a game bonus. You can earn a game bonus by bidding and making 3NT, 4 ♥, 4 ♠, 5 ♣, or 5 ♦.

Call. Any bid, pass, double, or redouble. A bid is always a call, but a call is not necessarily a bid. A bid requires a number and a suit (or no-trump). Pass, double, and redouble are calls, not bids.

Hand. Thirteen cards. This is different from a deal, which is all fifty-two cards dealt and played by the four competitors. Players refer so often to a full deal as a “hand” that the terms have become interchangeable.

Duplicate. The form of the game played at bridge clubs and tournaments. Cards are not mixed up and reshuffled when a deal is over. The same deals are played over and over by different players, and the scoring comes from comparisons after all the rounds have been played in a session.

Proprieties. These are the rules governing behavior at the bridge table. These principles apply to your relations with your partner and the opponents. Strive to be cordial and respectful to all. The proprieties also provide a guide for fair and ethical conduct in competition. It is considered a violation of the proprieties, for example, to frown or gesture as a way of communicating with your partner or to play a card or make a bid with undue emphasis.

Director. The director at a duplicate bridge game is the “umpire” or “referee.” The director gets the game going, records the scores, and makes rulings when players make mistakes in procedure. It would be unusual to see a director in a social game.

Irregularity. New players, especially at duplicate, will encounter this aspect of bridge — a mistake in procedure — more often than others. An irregularity can be a lead out of turn, an exposed card, an insufficient bid — the list goes on and on. In social bridge, these errors are usually overlooked. In a club game or tournament, the director must make a ruling by consulting the Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge.