The American Contract Bridge League was founded in 1937. Today it is the largest bridge organization in the world, with more than 166,000 members living in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Bermuda. A not-for-profit organization, the ACBL determines internationally recognized rules of bridge, sanctions clubs and tournament games, and encourages participation at all levels of proficiency and experience.

Bridge is a partnership game using a standard deck of 52 cards dealt equally among four players. The players bid in a coded language to describe their hands to their partners and then play to make their contract. Generally, one suit is determined as “trump,” leading to the expression, “Play your trump card.” Duplicate contract bridge, in which each competitor or team plays identical hands under similar conditions, is the main form of competitive bridge. The primary goal of members of the ACBL is to achieve the rank of Life Master, requiring 500 masterpoints earned at club and tournament games.