In bridge, declarer is the player who plays the contract, and dummy is declarer's partner, whose cards go face up on the table after the opening lead. Declarer plays both hands, their own and dummy's, while the two opponents (the defenders) try to stop the contract.
This is lesson 4 of the beginner course. You already know tricks and trumps, so you are ready for the part that makes bridge different from every other trick-taking game.
Who Becomes Declarer?
The side that wins the auction plays the contract. Of the two partners on that side, the declarer is the player who first named the suit (or notrump) of the final contract. It is not always the player who made the last bid.
North opens 1 diamond, South bids 1 spade and North jumps to 4 spades. Who is declarer?
The final contract is 4♠. North made that bid, but South was the first player on the side to bid spades (the 1♠ call). So South is declarer and North is dummy. The rule makes sense: the player who first bid the suit usually holds the long cards in it, and the contract plays better from that hand.
The Opening Lead and the Dummy
The play starts in a fixed order:
- The opening lead. The defender on declarer's left leads to the first trick. If South is declarer, West leads.
- Dummy goes down. Only after the lead does declarer's partner spread all 13 cards face up on the table, sorted into suits in columns facing declarer. If there is a trump suit, it goes on dummy's right (declarer's left).
- Play continues clockwise as usual. When it is dummy's turn, declarer chooses dummy's card.
So the opening leader picks a card after seeing only one hand, their own. That is why the opening lead is one of the hardest decisions in bridge. We come back to it in lesson 24, and BridgeDummy's Lead Gym lets you practice it on random deals: robots bid the hand, you choose the lead, and you see how every possible lead scores.
What Declarer, Dummy and the Defenders Do
| Player | Sees | Job |
|---|---|---|
| Declarer | Own hand and dummy | Plays both hands to make the contract |
| Dummy | Everything that is played | Places cards on declarer's instructions, takes no part in decisions |
| Each defender | Own hand and dummy | Works with partner to beat the contract |
Declarer has a big advantage: 26 cards in view, 13 in each hand of the partnership. Declarer names each card for dummy ("small heart, please") and plays the cards from both hands. Whichever hand wins a trick leads to the next one, so declarer must think about which hand is on lead.
Dummy has the easiest job at the table. Once the cards are down, dummy only plays what declarer asks for. Dummy may not suggest a play, comment or show any feeling about the play. Dummy may stop declarer leading from the wrong hand, and may ask "no hearts, partner?" when declarer does not follow suit, which can prevent a revoke.
The defenders see their own hand and dummy, but not partner's hand or declarer's. They tell each other what they hold through the cards they play, a language you learn in lesson 26.
Rule of ThumbDummy never makes decisions. Spread the cards neatly with trumps on your right, play only the cards declarer names, and stay quiet until the deal is over.
A Deal from Both Sides of the Table
South opens 1 heart, North raises to 2 hearts and South bids game: 4 hearts.
South is declarer in 4 hearts and West leads the spade queen. Reveal the hands to see the defenders' cards.
South named hearts first, so South is declarer in 4♥ and needs 10 tricks. West, on declarer's left, leads the ♠Q, the top of a sequence (♠Q J 10 9). Then North puts dummy on the table.
From declarer's seat, South now sees 26 cards and makes a plan before playing to trick one. Hearts are strong: five trumps in South and three in dummy. The likely losers are the ♦A and two or three clubs. Ten tricks are there with care: declarer knocks out the ♦A early and keeps one of dummy's trumps to ruff the third round of clubs. Played that way, declarer loses one diamond and two clubs and makes the contract exactly.
From West's seat, the view is very different. West sees only the West hand and dummy. West knows from the bidding that South has a good hand with long hearts, and has to guess where partner's strength is. West led the ♠Q because a sequence is a safe start: it gives nothing away.
From East's seat, the ♠Q tells East that partner probably holds the ♠J too. East sees the ♣A in hand and dummy's ♣K, and starts counting how the defense can take four tricks. Here there is no way: declarer has ten.
Your Job at the Table
Over a session you will be declarer about a quarter of the time, dummy a quarter of the time, and a defender half the time. Each role has a habit to build:
- As declarer: stop before playing from dummy at trick one. Count your tricks and make a plan (lesson 7 shows you how).
- As dummy: lay out the cards correctly, play what you are told, and watch. Dummy is a good seat to learn from.
- As a defender: look at dummy as soon as it appears and ask what declarer will try to do with it.
TipNever play dummy's card to trick one at once, even when it looks automatic. The few seconds you spend counting your tricks there are the best investment in bridge.
Practice: Declarer and Dummy
South opens 1 club, North bids 1 heart, South raises and North bids game.
The contract is 4♥. Who is declarer and who makes the opening lead?
Next Lesson
Previous: Lesson 3: Trumps. Next: Lesson 5: Counting Points, the first tool for bidding.