Bridge Table Etiquette

Good bridge isn’t just about bidding and play. It’s about how you conduct yourself at the table. Bad manners can ruin a game faster than bad cards.

The best players are the ones people want to play with. They don’t slow the game down, they don’t make their partners miserable, and they don’t give away information with facial expressions or comments. Here’s how to be one of them.

Tempo: Keep the Game Moving

Tempo is everything. Taking the same amount of time on routine plays as you do on critical decisions keeps the game flowing and doesn’t give away information.

The Five-Second Rule

On routine plays, make your decision within five seconds. When you’re following suit with a meaningless card, just play it. When the bid is obvious, make it.

Thinking for 30 seconds before playing a singleton tells everyone at the table you have a problem. Then playing quickly shows you solved it. You just told declarer exactly where the missing queen is.

When You Need Time

Sometimes you need to think. That’s fine. But think at the right moments.

If you need two minutes to plan the hand as declarer, take it at trick one. Don’t play quickly to trick three, then tank for two minutes. That huddle tells the defenders you just encountered a problem.

Same for defenders. If you need to work out the position, do it when dummy comes down or when partner makes their opening lead. Don’t wait until trick eight to start counting.

The “I Had a Problem” Signal

The worst tell at the table: hesitating, then making the obvious play.

You’re defending against 4♥. Partner leads a spade. You have three small spades. You think for 20 seconds, then play one. Declarer now knows you considered ruffing. They know you’re out of something. You just gave away the hand.

If you’re going to play the forced card, play it immediately. Save your thinking time for actual decisions.

What Not to Say

During the Hand

The rules are simple: say nothing during the hand except bids, calls, and “thank you, partner” when dummy comes down. That’s it.

Don’t say:

“Oops” when you make a play
“Sorry” when you revoke (save it for after)
“Nice play” in the middle of the hand
Anything that might be a comment on the hand

You think you’re being polite by apologizing for your mistake. What you’re actually doing is calling attention to it and potentially affecting how the hand is played.

After the Hand

This is where most etiquette problems happen. Here’s what’s acceptable and what isn’t.

Acceptable:

“Well played” to an opponent who made a good play
“Sorry, partner” after the hand is over if you made a mistake
Asking about an opponent’s agreement: “What does that 3♠ call mean?”
Brief discussion with your partner about what happened

Not Acceptable:

Criticizing your partner: “Why didn’t you lead a heart?”
Long post-mortems at the table
Saying “I knew you had that queen” (you’re telling your partner they should have known too)
Complaining about your cards
Discussing the hand when opponents are still writing the score

The Partner Criticism Rule

Never criticize your partner at the table. Not during the hand, not after the hand, not even between rounds.

If your partner makes a mistake, the response is “No problem” or “Unlucky.” Save the discussion for the car ride home. Your partner knows they messed up. Pointing it out doesn’t help them play better. It makes them play worse because now they’re upset.

You want your partner playing their best. Criticism doesn’t accomplish that.

Physical Tells and Mannerisms

The Poker Face

Your face gives away more information than you think. When dummy comes down and you smile, everyone knows you like your hand. When you frown, they know you don’t.

Work on keeping the same expression whether dummy is perfect or terrible. The same goes for seeing your own cards. Don’t grimace when you pick up a yarborough. Don’t beam when you pick up 20 points.

Body Language

Leaning forward shows interest. Leaning back shows you’re done with the hand. Sitting up straight when partner makes a bid tells them you like it.

Watch for:

Reaching for the bidding box before it’s your turn (you were planning to bid)
Slumping when partner makes a call (you don’t like it)
Playing a card too quickly or too slowly
Hesitating when reaching for a suit (you considered something else)

The best players look the same on every hand. They maintain a neutral posture, they take roughly the same time for routine actions, and they don’t telegraph their feelings.

Card Handling

Put your played cards in a neat line in front of you, vertical if you won the trick, horizontal if you lost it. This makes it easy to reconstruct the hand if there’s a problem.

Don’t throw your cards in the middle of the table in a messy pile. Don’t flip them face-down so no one can see them. Keep them visible and organized.

When you’re dummy, arrange the cards neatly for declarer. Put the trump suit on your right (declarer’s left) with the highest card on top. Put the other suits in some logical order. Make it easy for declarer to see what’s there.

Handling Mistakes and Problems

Your Own Mistakes

When you make a mistake, acknowledge it briefly and move on. Don’t dwell on it. Don’t apologize profusely. Don’t explain how you got confused.

“Sorry, I thought we were playing transfers” is fine. A five-minute explanation of what you thought you were doing isn’t.

The hand is over. Write the score, shuffle the boards, and focus on the next hand. Every minute you spend talking about your mistake is a minute your partner spends feeling bad.

Partner’s Mistakes

When your partner makes a mistake, your job is to make them feel better, not worse.

Good responses:

“Could happen to anyone”
“I’ve done that plenty of times”
“No big deal”
“We’ll get it back”

Bad responses:

Silence (almost as bad as criticism)
“What were you thinking?”
“We’ve been playing that convention for years”
Long explanation of what they should have done

Opponent’s Mistakes

When an opponent makes a clear mistake, don’t gloat. Don’t explain what they should have done. Just say “thank you” when appropriate and move on.

If they seem confused about a rule or procedure, you can help. “Did you mean to revoke? You still have a diamond” is acceptable. Pointing out their tactical errors isn’t.

Director Calls

When to Call the Director

Call the director for:

Revokes or other irregularities
Questions about laws or procedures
Disputed claims
Timing issues
Any situation where you’re not sure what the rules say

Don’t try to resolve legal questions yourself. Don’t accept your opponent’s interpretation of the rules. Call the director. That’s what they’re there for.

How to Call the Director

Say “Director, please” in a normal voice. Don’t yell across the room. Don’t continue playing while waiting for the director.

When the director arrives, state the facts clearly and briefly. “My partner revoked on trick four.” Not “My partner was confused because…” Just the facts.

Let the director make the ruling. Don’t argue with them at the table. If you disagree with a ruling, you can appeal it later.

Being a Good Opponent

Providing Information

When opponents ask about your agreements, answer clearly and completely. “We play new minor forcing” isn’t enough. Explain what it means, what bids are forcing, what continuations show what.

You want opponents to understand your agreements. That’s not giving anything away. That’s following the rules.

If your partner makes a bid and you’re not sure what it means, tell the opponents. “I’m not sure if that’s natural or conventional. I think we play it as…” is completely acceptable. Pretending you know when you don’t isn’t.

Accepting the Result

When opponents make a good play or get a good result, acknowledge it. “Nice defense” costs you nothing and makes the game better for everyone.

When you get a bad result because they bid well or played well, don’t complain. Don’t say “We were cold for 4♥” after you went down in 3NT. They beat you. Accept it.

The Percentage Table

Some tables play faster than others. Some players want to chat between hands. Some want to focus intensely.

Match the vibe of your opponents. If they want to chat, chat. If they want to move quickly, move quickly. Don’t force your style on the table.

Common Etiquette Mistakes

Here are the ones that come up constantly:

Slow play: Taking forever on every decision. If you’re regularly the last table to finish, you’re playing too slowly.

Teaching at the table: Explaining to your partner what they should have done. Save it for later.

Results commentary: Announcing “We could have made 6” after you stopped in 4. So what? You didn’t bid it.

The dramatic sigh: Sighing, groaning, or making faces when partner does something. Control yourself.

Score disputes: Arguing about every score. Check the scorecard, accept what’s written, move on.

Phone checking: Putting your phone on the table or checking it between hands. Put it away.

Eating and drinking: Crunching chips or slurping drinks during the hand. Eat between rounds.

Why It Matters

Bridge is a partnership game played in a social setting. How you act affects your partner, your opponents, and everyone else in the room.

Good etiquette doesn’t mean being stiff and formal. It means being considerate. Play at a reasonable pace, don’t make your partner miserable, don’t give information away with your actions, and treat opponents the way you want to be treated.

The players who get invited back are the ones who make the game enjoyable. That has almost nothing to do with how well they play and everything to do with how they conduct themselves.

Be the partner everyone wants to play with. Be the opponent everyone respects. That matters more than your masterpoint total.