As you progress in bridge, you will find it useful to have a relatively firm grasp of the raw scores that occur frequently at the table. We’re going to list them, together with some memory aids.
Minor Suit Part-Scores, Making. One of a minor (making) is plus 70; then add 20 for each overtrick. So three of a minor (making) is 70+20+20 = 110. Same for two of a minor, making with one overtrick. One memory aid is this: “70, 90, 110, 130, 150 …”; another is “Making one of a minor is 70, plus 20 for each additional trick”; another is “Making three of a minor is 110, plus 20 per trick after that”. The reason for the last memory aid is that it’s uncommon for the final contract to be one or two of a minor.
Major Suit Part-Scores, Making. One of a major (making) is plus 80; then add 30 for each overtrick. So three of a major (making) is 80+30+30 = 140. Same for two of a major, making with one overtrick. One memory aid is this: “80, 110, 140, 170, 200 …”; another is “Making one of a major is 80, plus 30 for each additional trick”; another is “Making two of a major is 110, plus 30 per trick after that”. The reason for the last memory aid is that it’s uncommon for the final contract to be one of a major.
Notrump Suit Part-Scores, Making. One notrump (making) is plus 90; then add 30 for each additional trick. So one notrump making with two overtricks is 90+30+30 = 150. Same for two notrump, making with one overtrick. One memory aid is this: “90, 120, 150, 180, 210 …”; another is “Making one is 90, plus 30 for each additional trick”.
Minor Suit Games, Making. Five of a major (making) is plus 400 (not vulnerable) and plus 600 (vulnerable); then add 20 for each overtrick. We think “400, 420, 440” when not vulnerable and “600, 620, 640” when vulnerable.
Major Suit Games, Making. Four of a major (making) is plus 420 (not vulnerable) and plus 620 (vulnerable); then add 30 for each overtrick. We think “420, 450, 480, 510” when not vulnerable and “620, 650, 680, 710” when vulnerable.
Notrump Games, Making. Three notrump (making) is plus 400 (not vulnerable) and plus 600 (vulnerable); then add 30 for each overtrick. We think “400, 430, 460, 490, 520” when not vulnerable and “600, 630, 660, 690, 720” when vulnerable.
Going Down, Not Doubled. Down one is minus 50; each additional under-trick is another negative 50. We think “50, 100, 150, 200, …”.
Going Down, Doubled, Not Vulnerable. This one is tricky, and we recommend that you simply memorize it: down one is minus 100, down two is minus 300, down three is minus 500 but then 800, 1100, 1400. The extra penalty is 200 for each additional undertrick up to a point but then it’s 300 per additional undertrick afterwards. So we memorize “100, 300, 500, 800, 1100, 1400, …”.
Going Down, Doubled, Vulnerable. Down one, doubled and vulnerable, is 200. The rest is easier; all of the extra undertricks cost 300 each. So we think “200, 500, 800, 1100, 1400, …”.
Doubled Contracts, Making. The raw score for making a doubled contract is interesting, but it’s not important for practical play. The first important thing is whether the doubled contract earns a game bonus, and the answer to that is relatively simple:
- Four of a major is game, and so is two of a major doubled (two doubled = 4).
- Five of a minor is game, so three of a minor doubled (three doubled = 6) is game but two of a minor doubled (two doubled = only 4) is not game.
- Three notrump is game, so two notrump doubled (two doubled = 4) is game, but one notrump doubled (one doubled = only 2) is not game.
The other important thing about doubled contracts that make is that the overtricks are more valuable as a result of the contract having been doubled. An overtrick not vulnerable scores 100, and an overtrick vulnerable scores 200.
Before we leave the topic of doubled contracts that make, here are some samples. One notrump doubled and made scores 180. Three hearts doubled and made scores 530 not vulnerable and 730 vulnerable. Four diamonds doubled making six is 710 not vulnerable and 1110 vulnerable. Summarizing: a doubled contract making = a lot, a doubled contract making with an overtrick = a whole lot.
Redoubled Contracts, Going Down. Redoubled contracts are so rare that we think it’s reasonable for practical players to simply ignore them, saving your attention span and your memory for things that are more likely to occur at the table. The penalty formula is simple: it’s twice the penalty for going down the same number of tricks doubled. A quick example: down two doubled and vulnerable costs 500, down two redoubled and vulnerable costs 1000.
Redoubled Contracts, Making. These are rare also, but when you make a redoubled contract you probably will remember it for the rest of your life. To give you a flavor: two clubs redoubled, vulnerable, with two overtricks scores 1560.