How to Join the ACBL for Free

The American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) is the largest bridge organization in North America. It runs clubs, tournaments, lessons and programs that help players of all levels enjoy the game. The ACBL also tracks players’ results through its Masterpoint system and publishes the monthly Bridge Bulletin magazine.

The ACBL is not the only bridge organization in North America. Known as Zone 6 on the World Bridge Federation map, North America comprises the Canadian Bridge Federation (CBF), The United States Bridge Federation (USBF), and the Federacion Mexicana de Bridge. There’s also a newly minted North American Bridge Federation which oversees Zone 6 governance. Ya, it can be confusing! But the ACBL sanctions the tournaments, qualifies directors and teachers, and awards Masterpoints. Membership with the ACBL will give you access to a whole lot of good stuff.

If you are new to bridge and curious about joining, there’s some good news. ACBL now offers a free Guest Membership program that makes it easy to get started.

What is a Guest Membership?

Guest Membership is a way for new players to try out the benefits of belonging to the ACBL without paying right away. When you sign up, you get:

• Access to the digital version of the Bridge Bulletin, ACBL’s monthly magazine.
• An official ACBL player number.
• The ability to earn up to 20 masterpoints in club and tournament play.
• Game results sent directly to your email.

The guest membership has no expiration date.

What Happens After You Earn 20 Masterpoints?

Once you have more than 20 Masterpoints, you’ll need to become a full member to keep earning points. Full membership comes with more benefits, including printed bulletins (if you choose), eligibility for higher-level tournaments, and access to ACBL resources designed for advancing players.

The ACBL Bulletin is one of the best magazines available, especially for newer and intermediate players. I receive mine as a hard copy by mail and love it.

Why Sign Up?

Even if you’re not sure yet how serious you want to be about bridge, signing up as a guest member is worthwhile. You’ll:

• Connect with local clubs and online games.
• Start building an official record of your progress.
• Get a feel for whether you enjoy tournament and club play.
• Be given your own Membership number – I personally joined November 1, 1977. That’s a long time ago! When I log into the ACBL MyACBL portal I can find information about all my wins, my points, club results, and more.
• Get a first-year discount when you’re ready to upgrade to a full membership.

If you decide to continue, upgrading to full membership is simple.

How to Join

You sign up via acbl.org/guest-join. You’ll provide basic details, create a username/password, and receive a confirmation email by the next business day. That email includes your Guest Member profile, where you’ll find your new ACBL number and Masterpoint tracking

FAQ for New Bridge Players

♣️ What are masterpoints?
Masterpoints are the ACBL’s way of tracking your progress in duplicate bridge. You earn them when you play in sanctioned games and do well. This can include a club game, unit game, or tournament. You can even win masterpoints in online games with partners or playing against robots. Over time, they add up and help you achieve different player ranks, such as Life Master.

What do people mean by points in bridge? Is a good article and will explain the whole masterpoints concept.

♣️ Do I need to be an ACBL member to play bridge?
No. You can play bridge casually at home or online without being a member. But if you’re in North America and want your results tracked and masterpoints awarded, you need an ACBL membership.

♣️What’s the difference between Guest Membership and Full Membership?

• Guest Membership is free and lets you earn up to 20 Masterpoints. It also restricts the types of tournaments you’re qualified to play in.
• Full Membership is paid and lets you keep earning beyond 20 points, play in more types of tournaments, and receive full benefits such as printed or digital Bridge Bulletin access.

♣️ Can I upgrade before I reach 20 masterpoints?
Yes. You don’t need to wait — you can switch to a full membership anytime during your guest period.

♣️ Is there a time limit on earning 20 points?
I think there used to be a limit of 120 days. But the current ACBL page says there is no expiration date. The only limit is that you can earn up to 20 masterpoints. Once you go over that, you’ll need to become a full member to keep earning.

♣️ Where can I play as a Guest Member?
Anywhere that hosts ACBL-sanctioned games: local bridge clubs, online platforms such as Bridge Base Online, or regional tournaments.

♣️ What if I don’t live in North America?
Great Bridge Links is a website based in Canada so a lot of our articles are about bridge in North America. However, you can find out more about bridge in your part of world by starting on the WBF page of Zonal Conferences. Find your home zone (North America is Zone 6) and then find the bridge organization in your zone. From there you can either get information directly from that organization or you can look for smaller more local organizations. Any of the will be more than happy to answer your email enquiries!

About the author:

Jude Goodwin is a Life Master, bridge blogger and cartoonist living in Vancouver, BC. Jude has been playing bridge since the early 1970s, was editor and publisher of the Canadian Bridge Federation‘s magazine Bridge Canada for over 35 years (now retired), is the author of the bridge book, Teach Me To Play, and two books of bridge cartoons. Jude is the publishing editor and owner of Great Bridge Links, launched in 1995 and Gifts & Supplies for Card Players.