Contract Whist Rules: Bridge Without a Dummy
Contract Whist · Free to play online on phone or computer, no download
Play now ▶What is Contract Whist?
Contract Whist is bridge as many friends play it at home. The bidding, play and scoring are the same as contract bridge, with one difference: the declarer's partner (the dummy) does not lay their cards on the table and plays their own hand. All four players see only their own cards, so partners have to read each other through the bidding and the play.
Seats and the deal
- Four players: North–South against East–West. Your partner sits across from you.
- Each player gets 13 cards. Every deal has two parts: the auction decides the contract, then the play decides who wins more tricks.
Bidding
- Starting with the dealer and going clockwise, each player bids or passes. Every bid must be higher than the last. A bid is a level plus a suit, like 2♥.
- Suits rank from low to high: ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ No Trump (NT), so 1♣ is the lowest bid and 7NT the highest.
- Bidding 2♥ means: our side will take 6 + 2 = 8 tricks with ♥ as trumps.
- Once someone has bid, three passes in a row end the auction and the last bid is the contract. If all four players pass, the cards are dealt again.
- If you think the opponents will fail, you can double. If the doubled side is confident, they can redouble. Both raise the score.
- On the side that wins the contract, the player who first bid its suit becomes the declarer.
Tricks and trumps
- The player to the declarer's left leads the first card. Play goes clockwise, one card each; four cards make a trick.
- You must follow the suit that was led. Within a suit A is highest and 2 is lowest. The highest card wins the trick, and its player leads next.
- If you can't follow suit you may play a trump (the contract's suit), which beats every other suit, or discard any card. A No Trump contract has no trumps.
- No dummy: the declarer's partner keeps their hand hidden and plays it themselves. This is the big difference from ordinary bridge.
Scoring (Chicago)
If the declarer's side makes the contract, they score; if not, the defenders score. Deals come in sets of four, with vulnerability in this order: neither side, North–South, East–West, both sides.
| Item | Not vulnerable | Vulnerable |
|---|---|---|
| Contract points per level | ♣ ♦ 20; ♥ ♠ 30; NT 40 for the first level, then 30 (doubled ×2, redoubled ×4) | |
| Game bonus (100+ contract points) | 300 | 500 |
| Part-score bonus | 50 | |
| Small slam (level 6) | 500 | 750 |
| Grand slam (level 7) | 1000 | 1500 |
| Each undertrick, undoubled | 50 | 100 |
Common game contracts: 3NT, 4♥, 4♠, 5♣, 5♦. The game scores everything for you and shows how each score was worked out.
Ways to play on this site
- With friends: open a room and share the link; friends tap it and take a seat. Computer players can fill empty seats.
- On your own: play with three computer players, even offline. Choose Beginner, Normal or Expert.
- Tutorial: a short step-by-step guide, ending with a practice deal that suggests bids and plays.
- Emotes, quick chat with voice, and 9 languages including English, 中文, 日本語, 한국어, Español, Français, Deutsch and Português.