A proper rubber bridge pad: WE and THEY columns with the line, two rubbers per sheet, and the point values that usually live on the back of the pad — trick values, bonuses, undertricks — printed at the bottom where you can actually see them.
| WE | THEY |
|---|---|
| WE | THEY |
|---|---|
| Contract tricks (below line) | Bonuses (above line) | Penalties (above line) |
|---|---|---|
| ♣ ♦ — 20 per trick ♥ ♠ — 30 per trick NT — 40 first, 30 after Doubled ×2 · Redoubled ×4 Game = 100 below the line |
Rubber 2–0 — 700 · 2–1 — 500 Small slam — 500 / 750 vul Grand slam — 1000 / 1500 vul Making a doubled contract — 50 4 trump honours — 100 · all 5 (or 4 aces NT) — 150 Unfinished rubber: game 300 · part-score 50 |
Undertricks, per side not vul / vul: Undoubled — 50 / 100 each Doubled — 100 then 300, 500, +300 each / 200 then 300 each… ×2 redoubled Overtricks: trick value; doubled 100 / 200 vul each |
Bridge scoring runs on the line. Points for contract tricks you bid and made go below it — minors at 20, majors at 30, no-trump 40-then-30 — and only those count toward the hundred that makes a game. Everything else lives above the line: overtricks, slam and rubber bonuses, honours, and the penalties you harvest from doubling the opponents into the floor. Win two games and the rubber's yours, with 700 for a clean sweep or 500 if they got one.
Two rubbers fit on the sheet. Start each contract's trick score below the line; when a side crosses 100, rule a fresh line under it — part-scores don't carry into the new game. At the end, add everything, above and below: the side with more points wins the rubber even if they lost it, which happens more often than beginners expect.
Game needs 100 below: that's 3NT (40+30+30), four of a major (4×30), or five of a minor (5×20) — the shapes every auction bends toward. Slams pay 500/750 small and 1000/1500 grand by vulnerability. And a doubled contract that makes collects a cheeky 50 "for the insult."
Where do honours go? Above the line, claimed at the end of the hand: 100 for four of the five top trumps in one hand, 150 for all five or four aces at no-trump. Many social games skip them.
What about duplicate scoring? Duplicate uses per-board scores and matchpoints, not a running pad. This sheet is for rubber and Chicago — the kitchen-table games. Hosting more tables than one? The tally cards handle party bridge.