Editing Contract bridge (section)

==Rules==
The rules of the game are referred to as the ''laws'' as promulgated by various bridge organizations.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Reese |first=Terence |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UbWjAQAAQBAJ&q=Reese,+Terence++Bridge |title=Bridge for Bright Beginners |date=2013-06-17 |publisher=Courier Corporation |isbn=978-0-486-31746-5 |language=en}}</ref>

===Duplicate===
{{Main|Laws of Duplicate Bridge}}

The official rules of duplicate bridge are promulgated by the [[World Bridge Federation|WBF]] as "The Laws of Duplicate Bridge 2017".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2017LawsofDuplicateBridge-paginated.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170517172505/http://www.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2017LawsofDuplicateBridge-paginated.pdf |archive-date=2017-05-17 |url-status=live |title=The Laws of Duplicate Bridge 2017 |publisher=World Bridge Federation |access-date=29 July 2018}}</ref> The Laws Committee of the WBF, composed of world experts, updates the Laws every 10 years; it also issues a Laws Commentary advising on interpretations it has rendered.

In addition to the basic rules of play, there are many additional rules covering playing conditions and the rectification of irregularities, which are primarily for use by tournament directors who act as referees and have overall control of procedures during competitions. But various details of procedure are left to the discretion of the zonal bridge organisation for tournaments under their aegis and some (for example, the choice of ''movement'') to the sponsoring organisation (for example, the club).

Some zonal organisations of the WBF also publish editions of the Laws. For example, the [[American Contract Bridge League]] (ACBL) publishes the ''Laws of Duplicate Bridge''<ref>[[#duplicatelaws|Laws of Duplicate Bridge]]</ref> and additional documentation for club and tournament directors.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.acbl.org/tournaments_page/charts-rules-and-regulations/basic-laws-and-regulations/ |title=Basic Laws and Regulations |website=ACBL website |access-date=29 June 2017 |archive-date=10 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410182425/http://www.acbl.org//tournaments_page/charts-rules-and-regulations/basic-laws-and-regulations/ |url-status=dead }} A cross-referenced listing with additional documentation is also available at {{cite web |title=Bridge Laws Index |url=http://www.bridgehands.com/Laws/index.htm |website=BridgeHands }}</ref>

===Rubber===
There are no universally accepted rules for rubber bridge, but some zonal organisations have published their own. An example for those wishing to abide by a published standard is ''The Laws of Rubber Bridge''<ref>[[#rubberlaws|Laws of Rubber Bridge]]</ref> as published by the American Contract Bridge League.

The majority of rules mirror those of duplicate bridge in the bidding and play and differ primarily in procedures for dealing and scoring.

===Online===
In 2001, the [[World Bridge Federation|WBF]] promulgated a set of laws for online play.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.worldbridge.org/Data/Sites/1/media/documents/laws/onlinelaws.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.worldbridge.org/Data/Sites/1/media/documents/laws/onlinelaws.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=The WBF Code of Laws for Electronic Bridge 2001 |publisher=World Bridge Federation}}</ref>