In a trick-taking card game, a player has followed suit when they play a card in the same suit as the first card led to that trick. In duplicate bridge, players must do this whenever they can. The phrase describes which suit a player played—not whether their card was high enough to win.
How following suit works
A trick begins when one player leads a card. Its suit—for example, hearts—sets the suit for that trick. Each later player follows suit by playing a heart if they have one. The rule concerns the suit, not the card’s rank: a low heart still follows suit.
In duplicate bridge, the American Contract Bridge League’s 2017 Laws of Duplicate Bridge, Law 44, states: “In playing to a trick, each player must follow suit if possible. This obligation takes precedence over all other requirements of these Laws.”
What if you cannot follow suit?
In bridge, a player with no card in the suit led is void in that suit. Law 44 says: “If unable to follow suit, a player may play any card (unless he is subject to restriction after an irregularity committed by his side).” In ordinary play, that means the player may discard a card from another suit or play a trump. Bridge does not require a player to trump merely because they are void.
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A beginner’s bridge guide distinguishes the two common choices: a ruff is playing a trump when unable to follow the suit led; a discard is playing a non-trump card from another suit. A player who still has a card in the led suit cannot choose to ruff instead.
When is an off-suit play a revoke?
In bridge, playing a different suit while still holding a card in the suit led is an illegal failure to follow suit, called a revoke. Playing off-suit when genuinely void is not, by itself, a revoke. The governing rules determine how an established revoke is handled; its consequences should not be assumed without checking the applicable laws.
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Do all card games use the same rule?
No. “Follow suit” is a useful general term, but the rules for a player who is void can vary by game. For example, the cited Call Bridge rules require a player who cannot follow suit to play a sufficiently high spade if possible. That is a game-specific requirement, and local variants may differ.
| Rule question | Duplicate bridge | Cited Call Bridge rules |
|---|---|---|
| Must you follow the led suit if you have it? | Yes. | Yes, according to the cited rules. |
| What may you play when void in the led suit? | Any card, subject to restrictions that may apply after an irregularity. | A sufficiently high spade is required if possible. |
| Must you trump when void? | No. A trump may be played, but it is not compulsory simply because you are void. | The cited rule can require a spade in specified conditions. |
Does following suit mean you win the trick?
No. Following suit only means playing a card of the suit led. In bridge, if no trump is played, the highest card of the suit led wins the trick. If the trick contains a trump, the highest trump wins.
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“Follow suit” outside card games
In everyday English, to “follow suit” is to do something similar after someone else has done it. For example: “Because it looked like rain, Brad brought his umbrella and I followed suit.” The figurative expression comes from the card-game idea of matching the suit already played.
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