How to Count Points

High card points

There are various methods to evaluate the strength of a bridge hand. The most common approach is to assign point values to the honor cards:

ace = 4
king = 3
queen = 2
and jack = 1

Simply total all your points to determine the strength of your hand, referred to as its “high card points.” The idea is that hands with higher point values are generally more capable of taking tricks.

Counting high card points is straightforward and provides a solid foundation for evaluating the strength of your hand. However, there are adjustments you can make to refine your evaluation and improve accuracy. Let’s explore the most effective and easiest adjustments to incorporate.

High card points don’t tell the whole story

A king is valued at 3 points, but its actual worth can vary depending on the specific hand and context. Not all kings hold the same value in every situation.

• Sometimes a king takes a trick, and sometimes it doesn’t.
• Sometimes a king helps you establish skaters in a long suit, and sometimes it doesn’t.
• Sometimes a king helps establish other honors as trick takers, and sometimes it doesn’t.

Can we predict when a king should be counted at full value, and when it shouldn’t?

Yes! Take a look at these two kings:

♠T932  ♥K  ♦K742   ♣8765

Count the full 3 points for your ♦K. However, your ♥K holds less value because you lack control over when to play it. If your opponents lead with the ♥A, you won’t have the option to play a lower card. Your singleton king would be forced to fall under the ace—a disappointing outcome.

What do we do about this?

We adjust our point count by subtracting one point for honors that lack lower cards in the same suit. This simple adjustment accounts for the reduced effectiveness of honors in short suits.

(If you skipped the earlier pages in this guide on How To Win Tricks, especially blocked suits and skaters, now would be a good time to read them.)

How do we evaluate a doubleton KQ?

♠T932  ♥KQ  ♦KQ42   ♣765

Follow the same procedure. Count your high card points, then subtract 1 point for not having a smaller card in the heart suit.

Even AKQ loses a point for not having a lower card in the suit.

I hope you had no trouble with those, because I’m ready to move on to another adjustment.

Subtract a point for hands with 4-3-3-3 distribution.

A hand with only one 4 card suit provides almost no chance of developing skaters. And you have no short suit where you might trump partner’s losers, either.

Let’s try counting some hands where I’ve mixed in both 4-3-3-3 distribution and honors without spot cards.

Additions to the point total

We’ve covered when to subtract from our high card points. Are you wondering if we ever add points? Yes we do.

If you have enough trumps in the dummy, you may be able to trump one or two of declarer’s losers. This wins tricks just as surely as winning with honor cards.

So we can assign a point value to the ability to trump.

We do this in two ways:

• Add a point for each EXTRA trump in support of partner’s suit. How many is extra? Well, that depends on how many trumps you need for an 8 card fit. If partner has shown a 5 card suit, you can raise with 3 trumps. So a fourth trump is one extra (count 1 extra point), and 5 trumps is two extra (count 2 extra points).
• After you’ve found a fit, you can also count points for shortness in side suits. The sooner you run out of cards in a side suit, the sooner you can start trumping. The extra points are called dummy points.
  • count 2 dummy points for a singleton
  • count 5 dummy points for a void

Let’s review some examples of adding extra points. To do this, you’ll need to determine how many trumps your partner has, which will help you assess if you hold any additional trumps.

Partner opens the bidding with 1♠ (5+ suit).
You hold: ♠K972  ♥7  ♦KJ32   ♣A642
Your hand is worth 11 + 3 dummy points = 14 total points.
The extra points are +2 for the singleton, and +1 for an extra trump.

Partner opens the bidding with 1♥ (5+ suit).
You hold: ♠A54  ♥QT8  ♦K9852   ♣76
Your hand is worth 9 (0 dummy points).

Partner opens the bidding with 1♥ (5+ suit).
You hold: ♠K542  ♥AT752  ♦ –   ♣QJ86
Your hand is worth 10 + 7 = 17 points.
The extra points are +5 for a diamond void, and +2 for extra trumps.

I’ve made the next three hands as tricky as I can. Count carefully. And no peeking before you count!

When to count dummy points

Dummy points are counted only when supporting your partner’s trump suit. Do not include dummy points when bidding your own suit—only the dummy hand evaluates with dummy points. Similarly, dummy points are not counted for notrump contracts, even if you have support for a suit your partner has previously bid.

If your partner bids a major suit, count dummy points whenever you have a fit. Declaring in a major suit is generally preferred over notrump when a fit exists.

For minor suits, refrain from counting dummy points when raising your partner’s minor suit. Many hands with minor suit fits ultimately end up in a notrump contract, and your partner needs to evaluate based on points that contribute to tricks in notrump, where dummy points are irrelevant.

However, if your partner avoids notrump and rebids their minor suit, you can count full dummy points when deciding whether to raise to a minor suit game.