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| Ann's Bridge Classes |
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 Ann's Bridge Classes |
 Tuesday Lessons in Aylsham Beginners/Improver/Advanced (Acol Bidding. Play & Defence.) 9.30 am - 12.30pm ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ Workshops on various topics. Home Tuition by Arrangement. |
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| Term 1 Beginner Lessons |
Below is a summary of areas covered each week so that if you are unable to attend the class you can read the appropriate pages in the Course Book.
WEEK ONE Introduction: - Bridge is played with a pack or 52 cards. There are four suits, Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts & Spades. Clubs & Diamonds are the ‘Minor Suits’ they only score 20 for each trick. Hearts & Spades are the 'Major Suits' they score 30 for each trick. (More on Scoring later) Aces = 4 points, Kings = 3 points, Queens = 2 points & Jacks = 1 point. (Forty points in the pack) Our fair share is therefore 10. Bridge is a circular game. The bidding & the play go round the table in a clockwise direction. Bridge is a Partnership game. The seats are called N, S, E & W, (North & South are partners and East & West are partners.) Demonstrate a game of ‘Mini Bridge’ and then play several hands. Dummy is placed on the table and the highest card wins. There are no trumps. Players place there cards in front of themselves either vertically (won) or horizontally (lost). The winning side is the one which wins the most tricks. Give everyone a “ Beginner's Bridge Notes” booklet to read at home if wished. WEEK TWO Demonstrate simple "play of the cards", keeping Aces to kill Kings not to collect small cards, making extra tricks in long suits, the finesse etc. (Described in "Beginner's Bridge Notes" booklet.) Detailed 'Play of the cards' covered later. Play Mini Bridge with trumps. (Eight cards for the fit.). The need for 25/26/27 points for a “Game” (9/10/11 tricks). Give out Course Book “Beginning Bridge”. Complete Quiz 1 & 3 together. Suggested Reading p 5 – 14 "Getting Started with Bridge". Complete Quizzes 2,4,5 & 6 if you wish.(Answers on the following pages.) WEEK THREE Introducing the Bidding. ‘Balanced’ and ‘Unbalanced’ hands. More need for trumps when unbalanced so you can trump short suits. Demonstrate balanced hands (Twiggy) and unbalanced (Marilyn Monroe). Bidding is telling each other what you have got in your hand (Points and Suits and Shape). Looking for a Major Fit (8 cards to be trumps) To open the bidding you need more than your fair share of the points. (12 or more) How to use a ‘Bidding Box’ – The mechanics!......(Pinch, Lift, Turn, Drop) The Bidding Ladder. The meaning of a Bid......... "One Spade" says I will try to make 7 tricks (one more than 6) with Spades as Trumps).......Game bids are 3NT (nine tricks), 4H/S (10 Tricks), 5C/D (eleven tricks). They score bonus points. (More later) Make up a 1NT Opening hand (Balanced with 12 – 14 points) with cards (3/3/3/4 or 3/4/2/4 or 3/3/2/5) but no 5 card major. Not two (losing) doubletons. Flip Chart Look at the way hands are written down. Bid hands 1 – 4 on flip chart together. (1NT – 3NT…….1NT – 4H…….1NT – Pass……..1NT – 2S.) Use logic…. Have we got enough points for game?...... Would it be better to have some trumps? Crib Sheet with the 1NT Responses highlighted (Balanced responses pink, unbalanced responses Yellow.) Demonstrate how to bid one of the prepared hands 1 – 4 . When bidding the hands, (for teaching purposes only) two hands must be exposed on the table for all to see. In reality the only hand exposed is the Dummy. Students bid the four hands on their own, there will not be time to play them this week but next week we will play them all ! Check sheet in wallet to see correct bidding sequence. Suggested Reading: - Course Book –Pages 32 – 33 "An Introduction to Bidding". WEEK FOUR Flip Chart: - Recap Opening 1NT (Balanced hand, Limit Bid 12 – 14 points) & Responses to 1NT. Recap mechanics of using Bidding Boxes. Play first four prepared hands in groups of four. Two hands on the table for all to see and bid together– remember to Pass if you cannot take part in the Auction. (In these teaching hands only two people will bid in any auction so the other two hands are not needed for the bidding. They just Pass throughout the Auction) Three Passes to end the Auction. Course Book:- Look at Pages 32 – 37 together and highlight ‘Key Words’ Play additional prepared hands on topic. Suggested Reading - Course Book Pages 34 - 37 "Opening 1NT and Responses." WEEK FIVE Highlight key points on Page 38 of Course Book. ‘What I have learned about Bidding’ – Read together and explain any points not understood. ‘Exercises on Beginning Bidding’ (Quiz 7 & 8) Pages 39 & 41 Introduce them..... to be completed at home………..Answers on following pages. Play more prepared hands on "Opening 1NT & Responses." Note:- there are examples of these hands with explanations on pages 43 – 45. Make them up at home and try to bid them. Suggested Reading - Course Book page 38 "What have I learned about Bidding?". Complete Quizzes 7 & 8 started in lesson. WEEK SIX Revision of weeks 1 – 5 "Opening 1NT and Responses".
Practice Bidding at home: - Make up a 1NT opening hand and lay it on the table as Dummy. Deal the remaining cards into three piles and practice responding to 1NT with each hand in turn. Suggested Reading - Course Book pages (32 - 39)
Go to "1NT Opening" in LHS Menu to practice your bidding. NEXT TERM "Opening One of a Suit & Responses" |
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| Term 2 Beginner Lessons |
“Opening One of a Suit and Responses” WEEK ONE Revision of last terms topic “Opening One No Trump and Responses” Introduce new topic for this term – “One of a suit Opening Bids and Responses”. WEEK TWO 1) Choosing which suit to open. (pages 46-47) Highlight key points. 2) Supporting partner’s suit. (pages 48-49). Highlight key points. 3) Bid hands 1-4 together from flip chart using crib sheet. 4) Quiz 9 – Supporting Partner’s Suit. (page 61) 5) Prepared Hands (1-4) etc. WEEK THREE 6) No trump and new suit responses. ( pages 50-51) - highlight. 7) Continuing the bidding. (page 52) - highlight. 8) Opener’s rebid with a weak hand (page 53) - highlight. 9) Bid hands together from flip chart using crib sheet. 10) Whiteboard drawing of Ann showing 4 "Opener's Rebids Weak". 11) Quiz 10 – Change of Suit Responses. (page 63) 12) Prepared Hands (5 - 8) etc. WEEK FOUR 13) Responder’s second bid. (page 54-55) - highlight. 14) Opener’s rebid with a strong hand. (pages 56 -57) - highlight. 15) Bid hands together from flipchart using crib sheet. 16) Whiteboard drawing of Ann showing 4 "Opener's Rebids Strong" 17) Prepared Hands (9 - 12) etc. WEEK FIVE 18) Bidding strong balanced hands. (pages 58-59) highlight. 19) Quiz 11 – Bidding Strong Balanced Hands 1. (page 65) 20) Quiz 12 - Bidding Strong Balanced Hands 2. (page 67) 21) Whiteboard drawing of Ann revising "Opener's Rebids Weak & Strong" 22) Prepared Hands (13 - 16) etc.
WEEK SIX 23) Revision of this terms topic “Opening One of a Suit and Responses” 24) Bid hands together using flipchart & crib sheet if still required. 25) What I have learned about bidding suits. (page 60) - highlight key points. 26) Prepared Hands on complete topic (1 - 16) etc. WEEK SEVEN 27) Play session of hands from previous weeks. (Chicago scoring)
Go to "Bridge Lessons" in LHS Menu to practice your bidding etc. 1) Visit our Website www.bridgewebs.com/aylshamnwcircle to practice bidding hands relevant to this topic and notes for beginners. 2) Visit Leigh Harding’s free website www.nofearbridge.co.uk for interactive quizzes and tutorials. 3) Visit Leigh Harding’s Official Website 
(For free trial click symbol on right) Excellent interactive bidding practice and tutorials on all topics for complete beginners, improvers and advanced players. Weekly revision quiz on a selected topic and much, much more. (Highly recommended by Ann) 4) Download a free demonsration version of "BRIDGE COACH" the new EBU e-learning package at www.bridgecoach.co.uk or go to the direct link on the RHS of our 'Home Page' or 'Beginners Page' for more information and another direct link. NEXT TERM DECLARER PLAY FOR BEGINNERS
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| Term 3 Beginner Lessons (Declarer Play) |
"Declarer Play" WEEK ONE 1) Bidding Revision Cards (Opening Bids - 10 Purple Cards.) Briefly introduce Strong Opening Bids & Pre-empts - more later. 2) Declarers Play - Course Book page 75 (Declarers Task) 3) Prepared Hands. (1) Cashing winners in cold contracts (2) Avoiding blocking in "cold" contracts. (3) Using "entries" when a suit is blocked. WEEK TWO 1) Bidding Revision Cards (Responding to 1NT-10 Green Cards.) 2) Course Book pages 76-77 (Making Winners) 3) Prepared hands (4) "Driving out" opponents top cards. (5) "Exhausting" your opponents cards in a suit. Or "Deal & Play" WEEK THREE 1) Bidding Revision Cards (Responding to One of a Suit - Additional 10 Green Cards.) 2) Course Book pages 78 - 79 We live in hope - the Finesse! 3) Prepared Hands. (6) Maintaining communication by "ducking". (7) Leading towards honours.or "Deal & Play" WEEK FOUR 1) Bidding Revision Cards (Responding to One of a Suit - 20 Blue Cards) 2) Course Book Pages 80-81 avoiding danger - hold-up play & drawing trumps. 3) Prepared Hands. (8) Simple hold-up play by declarer. (9) Scoring extra tricks with trumps. WEEK FIVE 1) Bidding Revision Cards. (Openers Re-bids - 20 Orange Cards.) 2) Course Book page 82-83 When to delay drawing trumps.. 3) Prepared Hands. (10) Establishing a suit by ruffing. "Deal, Bid and Play!" WEEK SIX 1) Bidding Revision Cards (Revision of complete set of 70 cards.) 2) Revision of the ten "Declarer play" techniques covered. 3) Course Book page 84. What I have learnt about Declarer Play. 4) Course Book. Exercises pages 85 - 92 (A bit tricky!.prefer the exercises we have used.) 5) Prepared hands or "Deal, Bid & Play" Next Term "OVERCALLS" The Competitive Auction. |
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| Declarer Play Notes |
Click here for direct link to "Declarer Play" hands.
1) Cashing Winners in “cold” no trump contracts. This is a very simple set of hands where there are nine top tricks in 3NT (or twelve in 6NT) available but you need to take them “off the top” otherwise the opposition will get in and make their tricks and the contract will go down. I suggest only beginners play this set. 2) Avoiding blocking in “cold” contracts. This time you again have nine top tricks in 3NT contracts (or eight in 2NT) but you have to take care how you play the cards otherwise you will “block” the suit. You need to play the “big cards” in the short hand first so that you have a “helicopter” to get to the remaining cards in that suit. This is explained clearly in the handout. 3) Using “entries” when a suit is blocked. This time you have no “helicopter” to get to the remaining tricks in dummy so you must “unblock” the suit first by playing the big cards in your hand and then use a big “entry” card in a side suit to get to the remaining tricks in dummy. It is about TIMING, which suits you play first, and which card you take the trick with if you have a choice. If you have a choice it is often best to take the trick in the hand which has the most picture cards as you may need to PRESERVE an ENTRY card in the other hand. See notes (hand 3/3) in the handout. 4) “Driving out” opponents top cards. Count your top tricks - how many more do you need? Where are they? Sometimes you need to give away a trick so that you can make your tricks. You need to ESTABLISH TRICKS by driving out your opponents top cards. See notes in the handout. Take care in 4/4 at trick one to preserve your entry in dummy. 5) Exhausting the opponents cards in a suit. Remember the extra tricks are often in your long suits, but you may have to lose a trick or tricks to gain some. The importance of tackling the suits in the right order is seen in 5/4 so that entry cards are preserved. 6) Maintaining communication by “Ducking”. Sometimes you need to refuse to take a trick that you could win. Give away one trick to make lots more. 7) Leading towards honours. Sometimes you do not have a ‘long’ suit to establish extra tricks so you have to ‘Finesse’. This only has a 50% chance of success – see handout. 8) Simple hold up play by Declarer. This is probably the most difficult set of hands, which need a lot of thought. Holding up or refusing to take a trick or tricks you can win can be ‘Avoidance Play’. This is when you want to ‘Avoid’ letting one particular hand (the danger hand) from getting the lead because of the damage they can do. Use previous play techniques plus the RULE OF SEVEN and then finesse into the SAFE HAND – see handout. 9) Scoring extra tricks with trumps. This is an easier set of hands. In suit contracts it is often best to draw trumps as soon as possible, but sometimes extra tricks can be made with the small trumps in dummy before drawing the opponents trumps. You need to recognise these situations. 10) Establishing a suit by ruffing. ‘Ruffing Out’ a suit is a relatively easy technique. If you keep ruffing a suit, there is a good chance the opponents will run out of cards in that suit leaving your remaining cards as winners. You do need to COUNT and keep an ENTRY card. There are other play techniques,but the above 10 are the most frequently used.
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| Term 4 Beginner Lessons The Competitive Auction |
The Competitive Auction (Overcalls) Week One 1) Simple Overcall 2) Jump Overcall 3) 1NT Overcall 4) Prepared Hands………..Deal & Play Week Two 1) Responding to Overcalls 2) When not to Overcall 3) Strong Cue Bids 4) Prepared Hands………..Deal & Play Week Three 1) The Take-out Double 2) The Penalty Double 3) Prepared Hands………..Deal & Play Week Four 1) Revision of Overcalls 2) Exercises from Course Book 3) Flashcards - Set Two 4) Prepared Hands………..Deal & Play Week Five 1) Revision of Overcalls 2) Exercises from Course Book 3) Flashcards - Set Two 4) Pre-emptive Bids 5) Prepared Hands………..Deal & Play Week Six 1) Revision of Overcalls |
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| Term 5 Beginner Lessons (All Sorts) |
Term 5 Beginner Lessons 1) Strong Two Opening Bids & Responses - Slam Bidding 2) Pre-emptive bids - Responding & Countering 3) Conventions - Stayman, Blackwood, Gerber 4) Defence - Opening Leads, Signalling etc. 5) Revision of previous topics and areas not covered. STUDENTS SHOULD START TO PLAY IN "NO FEAR" BRIDGE CIRCLE. |
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| Revision Sessions for Improvers |
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WEEKLY REVISION SESSIONS
1) 1NT Opening Bids & Responses, including ‘Stayman’. 2) Opening 1 of a Suit & Responses, Limit Bids, Openers Rebids. 3) Strong Two Opening Bids & Responses, Slam Bidding - ‘Blackwood’ and ‘Gerber’. 4) Pre-emptive Bids, Responding and Countering. 5) Overcalls, Take-Out and Penalty Doubles. 6) Declarer Play (N/T & Trump Contracts) 7) Defence, Opening Leads, Signalling etc. 8) 1NT Opening Bids & Responses, including ‘Stayman’. 9) Opening 1 of a Suit & Responses, Limit Bids. Openers Rebids. 10) Strong Two Opening Bids & Responses........Slam Bidding - ‘Blackwood’ and ‘Gerber’. 11) Pre-emptive Bids, Responding and Countering. 12) Overcalls, Take-Out and Penalty Doubles. 13) Declarer Play (N/T & Trump Contracts) 14) Defence, Opening Leads, Signalling etc.
15) Final Play Session for "Improvers" Revision Sessions are a summary of a topic followed by either a quiz, prepared hands or free play session….…Each session is repeated but if you are unable to attend either session I will always try to repeat it again for you at a convenient time………You will all need many “repeats” before it becomes second nature!!……..Now you all need to “play, play, play” so please come along either Monday morning or Thursday morning to Aylsham Lodge Hotel (10.00am - 1.15pm) to practice playing the cards. YOU SHOULD ALL NOW BE ABLE TO PLAY A SIMPLE GAME OF BRIDGE! |
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| The Basics of Bridge (Table Showing Part Scores, Games and Slams) |
BRIDGE: THE BASICS
Bridge is the most popular of all card games. It is also the most difficult of games to play well. Fortunately, it is not difficult to learn how to play bridge. If you slowly work your way through this programme, consulting the downloadable documents when appropriate, then you will soon get a sound idea about how to play the game and it should not take you long to be a good player, whether your preferences for playing bridge are on the computer, at home with friends, or competitively in a local bridge club.
As you work through the programme, the various concepts that are introduced will start to stick in your memory and you will start to feel comfortable in the bidding of contracts, declarer play and defence. Of course, the more you play bridge, the more confident and competent you will become, your results will improve, and then the bridge that you play will become even more enjoyable.
Getting Started
In terms of equipment, preferably, you need a card table (although any flat surface may do), 4 chairs, at least one pack of cards with the jokers removed, and a pen/pencil and paper or bridge score sheet. At a later date, when you have been playing bridge for a while, you may also have additional equipment available, eg. a card table cover, bidding boxes or a bidding disk, an electronic bridge scorer, a card shuffling machine, etc. If you stay with playing bridge only on the computer, then you will never need any equipment.
You play bridge in partnerships. There needs to be 4 players sat at the table as two pairs and they are designated as the four points on a compass. East plays with West and they play in opposition to North who plays with South.
When playing bridge at a bridge table, the cards are shuffled and cut. Then, the dealer deals out the cards starting with the player on his left, giving one card in turn to each player in a clockwise movement until all 52 cards are dealt and each player has a pile of 13 cards in front of him. While playing bridge using this bridge program, this process will automatically be done for you by the software.
Each player then picks up his pile of 13 cards and then sorts the cards in his hand, firstly into 4 separate suits, and then sorting each suit into descending or ascending order, as is his preference, with the ace being the top card and the 2 being the lowest card in each suit. Again, this process is completed automatically for you by the bridge program.
When each player has sorted his cards, it is time for the auction. The first person to call is always the dealer, then the player on his left and so on around the table. The auction ends when a call of pass is made by 3 consecutive players in the auction. The pair who makes the final bid is the declaring pair and the other pair at the table is the defenders. Out of the declaring side, the player who first mentioned the denomination of the final contract within the auction is the declarer and his partner is the dummy.
Point Count Valuation of Hands
The easiest way to value your hand is to use the Milton point count system where the values of individual honor cards are:
· An ace is worth 4 points
· A king is worth 3 points
· A queen is worth 2 points
· A jack is worth 1 point
You simply add up the total value of the honor cards held in your hand. To this total you can add distributional points for long suits – for every suit that is longer than 4 cards, you can add extra points, ie. One each for the 5th, 6th and 7th etc cards held in the suit. Normally, a simple opening bid at the one level is made on a hand that is worth 12 or more points.
In addition, during the bidding, if you find a suit fit with your partner (you hold at least 8 cards in that suit between the two of you), you can add even more distributional points for shortages in side suits:
· 3 points for a void (no cards held in that suit)
· 2 points for a singleton (one card held in that suit)
· 1 points for a doubleton (two cards held in that suit)
Auction
The bidding is a way of exchanging information with your partner so that you can reach the best final contract at the end of the auction. The final contract is a prediction of the number of tricks that you think your partnership can make with the cards that you hold in your two hands. It should be stressed here that bridge is a partnership game and you will only get good results and enjoy your bridge when you work with your partner, rather than against him. The auction is just as it sounds; everyone at the table can bid, but only the highest bidder wins the auction and allows his side to declare the contract.
The denomination of bids is in a strict hierarchy with clubs at the bottom and no trumps at the top, as seen in the table below:
Table Showing Part Scores, Games and Slams for Different Contracts
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N
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M
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O
N
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BIDDING LEVEL
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1
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2
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3
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4
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5
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6
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7
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No Trumps
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Part score
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Small slam
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Grand slam
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♠
Spades
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Game
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♥
Hearts
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♦
Diamonds
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♣
Clubs
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You should note that to make game (and score the game bonus), you must successfully complete a contract of at least 3NT, 4 of a major suit (♥/♠) or 5 of a minor suit (♣/♦).
The number of tricks mentioned in a bid is not the actual number of tricks that you are expected to win if your bid ended up being the final contract. The first six tricks in any contract are referred to as the book. A bid indicates how many tricks you think that you can make in that denomination over the book. Thus, a bid of 1♣ indicates that, with ♣s as trumps, you think that you can make 7 out of the 13 tricks available. A bid of 6♦ indicates that you expect to win 12 out of the available 13 tricks if ♦s are trumps.
The first call in the auction is always made by the declarer. He can pass if he has a poor hand, or make an opening bid if he has a hand that is strong enough and/or distributional enough to make a bid. After the opening bid has been made, each player at the table, in turn in a clockwise motion, gets the chance to make a bid. After each bid, a subsequent bid may be made at the same level, as long as it is in a denomination that is higher, or else the bid has to be made at a higher level in any denomination. For example, if declarer opened 1♦, then the next player could bid 1♥, 1♠ or 1NT because, in the table above, they are above ♦s in the hierarchy. Any 2-level or higher bid in any denomination would also be acceptable, but a bid of 1♣ would be unacceptable because ♣s are lower than ♦s in the suit hierarchy and, therefore, if the person next bid wanted to bid ♣s, then he would have to bid them at the 2 level or higher.
Please see the downloadable document entitled Simple Standard American Bidding System to be used within the Programme for details of the requirements for making individual bids in this program.
Scoring
Bridge is a game where the aim is, generally, to make the highest score that you can from the cards that you hold. There are several different ways to score bridge from international match points (imps) to victory points and simple aggregate scoring for auction bridge – the table below highlights duplicate bridge scoring for successful contracts on the following basis:
· For each minor suit trick (♣ or ♦) bid and made (including overtricks), you score 20 points.
· For each major suit trick (♥ or ♠) bid and made (including overtricks), you score 30 points.
· For each no trump trick bid and made (including overtricks), you score 40 points for the first one and 30 points for each of the others.
· A part-score bonus is worth 50 points.
· A game bonus is worth 300 points (non-vulnerable) and 500 points (vulnerable).
· A small slam bonus is worth 500 points (non-vulnerable) and 750 points (vulnerable) on top of the game bonus.
· A grand slam bonus is worth 1000 points (non-vulnerable) and 1500 points (vulnerable) on top of the game bonus.
Whilst learning to play bridge, it is suggested that you do not get too flustered by trying to calculate the scores for individual contracts. The emphasis should really be on learning how to play the game – you will learn how to calculate the scores as you gain experience at playing the game.
Table Showing the Scores for Successful Contracts
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BIDDING LEVEL
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1
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2
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3
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4
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5
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6
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7
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No Trumps
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90
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120
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NV: 400
V: 600
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NV: 430
V: 630
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NV: 460
V: 660
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NV: 990
V: 1440
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NV: 1520
V: 2220
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♠
Spades
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80
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110
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140
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NV: 420
V: 620
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NV: 450
V: 650
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NV: 980
V: 1430
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NV: 1510
V: 2210
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♥
Hearts
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80
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110
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140
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NV: 420
V: 620
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NV: 450
V: 650
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NV: 980
V: 1430
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NV: 1510
V: 2210
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♦
Diamonds
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70
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90
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110
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130
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NV: 400
V: 600
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NV: 920
V: 1370
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NV: 1440
V: 2140
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♣
Clubs
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70
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90
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110
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130
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NV: 400
V: 600
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NV: 920
V: 1370
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NV: 1440
V: 2140
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When the opponents do not think that a contract is going to make, they double the final contract. This affects the scoring in the following way:
· The penalties for not making your doubled contract are, non-vulnerable – 100 points for the 1st undertrick, 200 points for the 2nd and 3rd undertricks and 300 points for any additional undertricks. When you are vulnerable, the penalty is 200 points for the 1st undertrick and 300 points for any additional undertricks.
· The additional scores you make for being successful in a doubled contract are: the trick score is doubled, eg. you get 60, rather than 30 points, for each spade trick made within your contract. You also get a bonus of 50 points for making your doubled contract and for overtricks, you get 100 for each one when you are non-vulnerable and 200 points for each one when you are vulnerable. It is also possible to double someone into game, but not slam. For example, making 2♠ (doubled) earns you the game bonus.
Occasionally, when the opponents double your contract, thinking that it will not make, you will disagree with them and re-double to state that you think that it will make. The penalties for not making a re-doubled contract are exactly twice those of a doubled contract. The additional scores that you achieve for making a re-doubled contract are twice those of a doubled contract except that the re-double bonus is 100 points, rather than the 50 points that you get for a doubled contract.
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| Bidding Workshop (Nov 11th - Dec 16th) |
We are starting with Bidding Revision. My aim is to give you all a sound understanding of Basic Bidding to which you can add conventions of your choice. This means that you are more likely to reach the correct contract when bidding with your partner. During the play sessions I will answer your questions about bidding, play or defence as they arise. Sets of 'Bidding flashcards' are available for you to practise between sessions. I advise that you only use the cards relative to the topics we have covered.
1) Tuesday 11th November............Revision of Basic Bidding : (a) Opening Bids, (10 Purple Cards Set 1), (b) Responses to 1NT, (20 Green Cards Set 1), (c) Stayman and Transfers prepared hands.
2) Tuesday 18th November............Revision of Basic Bidding:(a) Repeated last weeks cards (b) Responding to 1 of a suit, (10 Blue Cards Set 1), (c) Prepared Hands Openers Rebid.
3) Tuesday 25th November............Revision of Basic Bidding (a) Responding to 1 of a Suit, ( 10 additional Blue Cards Set 1) (b) Openers Rebids, (20 Orange Cards Set 1) c) Prepared Hands on Openers Rebid and Transfers.
4) Tuesday 2nd December.............Overcalls (a) Overcalling One of a Suit, (16 Blue Cards Set 2) (b) Responding to Suit Overcalls, (12 Purple Cards Set 2}. (c) The 1NT Overcall and Responses. (16 Pink Cards Set 2) (d) Prepared Hands on Suit Overcalls amd 1NT Overcalls.
5) Tuesday 9th December..............Overcalls, (a) Takeout Doubles and Responses. (20 Green Cards Set 2) (b) Overcalling after Opponents open 1NT (16 Yellow Cards Set 2) (c) Prepared Hands on Take- out Doubles and Overcalling after opponents open 1NT.
6) Tuesday 16th December...............(a) Revision of any of the previous weeks cards or cards not covered in previous weeks. (b) Other areas of bidding as requested e.g. Slam Bidding. Strong Two Openers & Responses, Pre-emptive Bidding, Responses and Countering, The Negative Double,The Loosing Trick Count etc. etc.) (c) Prepared hands on Strong Opening Hands & Pre-empts.
Go to 'Interesting Hands' or 'Leigh's Tip of the Day' to see examples of bidding from the workshop.
Christmas Break
'DECLARER PLAY' WORKSHOP Feb 3rd- March 3rd (5 WEEKS)
'DEFENDERS PLAY' in April / May |
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| Declarer Play Wokshop (Feb 3rd - March 3rd) |
Millgate House Aylsham 12.30 – 3.30 Tuesdays
(February 3rd –March 3rd )
WEEK ONE (Tuesday 3rd February)
1) Declarer’s task – strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats - (page 75)
2) Making winners – establishing tricks in a long suit - (p 76-77)
3) Quiz 13 - Questions on play in No Trumps - (page 85)
4) Prepared hands on topic or deal & play.
5) ‘Play with Ann’ if required
WEEK TWO (Tuesday 10th February)
6) The finesse – increasing the odds - (page 78-79)
7) Avoiding danger – the hold-up play - (page 80)
8) Quiz 14 - Declarer play in No Trumps - (page87)
9) Prepared hands on topic or deal & play.
10) ‘Play with Ann’ if required.
WEEK THREE (Tuesday 17th February)
11) Drawing trumps – advantage of having a trump suit - (page 81)
12) When to delay drawing trumps – discarding losers -Ruffing in the short hand – Using trumps as entries - (page 82-83)
13) Quiz 15 - Declarer play with trumps - (page 89)
14) Prepared hands on topic or deal & play.
15) ‘Play with Ann’ if required.
WEEK FOUR (Tuesday 24th February)
16) What I know about declarer play - (page 84)
17) Quiz 16 - Looking more closely at a hand – (page 91)
18) Prepared hands on topic or deal & play.
19) ‘Play with Ann’ if required.
WEEK FIVE (Tuesday 3rd March)
20) Revision of above and more complicated play strategies with prepared hands to play or deal and play with help as required.
Course notes will be provided but students that have the large red workbook (EBU Book One) – ‘Beginning Bridge’ may find it useful. The above will form a framework for the sessions but topics may not be on the specified date and additional topics may be added depending on the needs of the group.
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| The Role of the Declarer |
THE ROLE OF DECLARER
You will find yourself as declarer when your partnership has won the auction and you were the first person in your partnership to bid the denomination (♣, ♦, ♥, ♠ or NT) of the final contract. Your main aim is, normally, to make your contract plus as many overtricks as possible without endangering the contract. If the contract cannot be made, then the aim is to go down in your contract by as few tricks as is possible.
There is a lot to learn to become a competent declarer. At least as declarer, as soon as the opening lead has been faced, you can see both your own hand and dummy’s hand. The defenders can also see dummy’s hand, but they are at a disadvantage in that they can only guess what is in their partner’s hand.
There is not space here to cover in detail all the knowledge and skills needed by a successful declarer, but listed below are some of them:
· How to play specific suit combinations to make the maximum or the required number of tricks.
· Knowing when and when not to finesse in a suit.
· The % probabilities of the likely division of defenders’ cards in a suit.
Planning the Play of a Hand
For most contracts, the declarer does not start the play of the hand knowing that he already has as many tricks as he needs for his contract within the two hands. More often than not, a declarer has a certain amount of work to do to develop the required number of tricks. The planning of the play by declarer should occur after the opening lead has been faced and before you play a card. It is quite acceptable for you to have some thinking time (eg. 30 seconds) before starting the play of the hand. The planning of the play of the hand should include the following steps:
· Count the number of tricks that are readily available.
· Identify the number of tricks that will be required to make the contract.
· Analyse the two hands to identify the best way of developing the additional tricks needed for the contract.
· Identify the things that might go wrong, eg. a key suit does not break favorably, the opponents ruff one of your winners, etc.
· Finalize your plan for the play of the hand and then put your plan into action by playing your first card from dummy.
· Remember that your plan of action should, where possible, be flexible enough to cope with unexpected circumstances, so that you can change the direction of play to achieve the desired end result.
The play of cards within a single suit
Because the first stage of planning is for you to identify the number of tricks that are readily available and then review the best way of generating additional tricks, you need to have some grasp of how many tricks that the cards held by your partnership in each suit are capable of producing. There are thousands of card combinations and, obviously it is impossible to introduce more than just a few common concepts in this section. Once you have completed this program, you have many opportunities for further reading around the individual subject areas of declarer play and then implementing these ideas and concepts by gaining experience at playing bridge, either at home, at a bridge club, or by playing online.
Lead towards high cards: one of the first principles of card play is that it generally pays to lead towards high cards, rather than away from them. In this way, you can benefit from the favorable positioning of the opponents’ cards. Two example hands are shown below:
Suit 1 KQ52 Suit 2 Q74
AJ9 1086 KJ6 1092
743 A835
In suit 1, you can make 3 tricks only by leading twice towards the KQ. In suit 2, you can make 3 tricks only by leading away from the A towards the Q. There are many different combinations of cards and you will only learn how best to play each combination these by further reading and experience at playing hand.
Finesses: there are many different types of finesses and finesse situations to learn. Two examples are shown below:
Suit 3 AQ752 Suit 4 AJ103
K9 1083 K854 76
J64 Q92
In suit 3, an important rule to remember for simple finesses is unless a strong sequence of card is held; the lead of a high card should be avoided. Thus, in suit 3, if you need 5 tricks from the suit, you must lead low towards the AQ and finesse the Q. You then cash the A and hope that the K drops. That is your only hope of 5 tricks. If you start by leading the J, you always lose at least one trick in the suit.
It is also important to know when not to finesse. If you hold AKJ63 opposite 1092, the best way to play the suit is to play off the A and then enter the other hand to play another round of the suit towards the KJ. If the first opponent follows suit to the 2nd round, then you should play the K, rather than finesse, unless there is other evidence to suggest that a finesse should be taken as that is the percentage play – see the Division of Defenders’ Cards in a Suit section below.
Safety Plays: again, there are many different safety plays for different suit combinations, depending on the number of tricks that you need in that suit. Two examples are provided below:
Suit 5 AQ1052 Suit 6 K743
- J873 - J1052
K964 AQ986
Suit 7 KJ52 Suit 8 7
7 Q1083 K8 Q965
A964 AJ10432
In suit 5, playing off the A first ensures that you can pick up 4 trumps in either East or West hand. In suit 6, because both the 10 and J are missing, the only way you can make 5 tricks in the suit is if you first play off the K and then lead twice towards the AQ98. In suit 7, if you need 3 tricks in the suit, these can be guaranteed by first cashing the K and then leading small towards A9, covering any card that is played by the opponent. I suit 8, if the object is to make 5 tricks, then you need to finesse the J and hope that an opponent has KQx under the AJ10. If you only need 4 tricks, though, then it is better to play off the ace and then play a small card. Both methods succeed against a 3-3 break, whilst playing the A followed by a small card succeeds when one opponent has a doubleton containing an honor card.
Division of Defenders’ Cards in a Suit: it is of great help to declarer in planning the play of a hand if he knows the likely division of defenders’ cards in a suit. Thus, at the start of the play of a hand, the % probabilities, in the absence of any other indication, are listed below:
When the defenders have between them: These are likely to be divided:
7 cards 4-3 62%
5-2 31%
6-1 7%
6 cards 4-2 48%
3-3 36%
5-1 15%
5 cards 3-2 68%
4-1 28%
5-0 4%
4 cards 3-1 50%
2-2 40%
4-0 10%
3 cards 2-1 78%
3-0 22%
2 cards 1-1 52%
2-0 48%
You should remember, though, that these percentages change as cards are played in the suit because when all the players have followed suit, the extreme distributions can be discounted. For example, you might be surprised to know that when the opposition hold 4 cards in a suit, then after one round of the suit has been played and both opponents have followed suit and then, on the next round, one of the players has followed suit, it is slightly over 50% that the suit will break 2-2. Remember, though, that other information may change these probabilities. In the scenario above, if the 2nd opponent to play has opened a pre-emptive bid showing 7 cards in another suit, then he has fewer spaces in his hand left for a 2nd card in the suit and, therefore, the declarer should finesse, rather than play for the drop (2-2 break in the suit).
No Trump Contracts
Beginners often do not enjoy playing no trump contracts because they are worried that one or more of the opponents are able to run a long suit. For this reason, some players avoid opening 1NT with a small doubleton, although this should not be a major concern. If you are in game, then your partner should some cover for your short suit and, if you are in a part score, then it does not matter if your opponents cash tricks in your weak suit, because you will then have an increased amount of strength in the other suits that enables you to make your contract.
Often, no trump contracts are easier to play than trump contracts, as there are fewer choices to be made. Also, you do not have to worry about whether to ruff or not, or about your winners being ruffed, or about being over-ruffed, or about trump promotions – all issues for consideration in trump contracts.
The majority of the time, the declarer will not have enough tricks immediately available to make the contract. The plan will normally be to make the required number of tricks for the contract before the defenders can make the required number of tricks to get the contract down. There is a range of techniques that are mostly, but not exclusively, utilized in no trump contracts.
The hold up is when declarer holds back a winning card until one of the opponents has no more cards in the suit, as seen in the hand below:
North ♠9 6
♥A 6 4
♦10 6 3
♣A K J 5 4
West ♠Q J 7 5 3 East ♠A 8 4
♥10 9 8 ♥J 7 3 2
♦9 8 2 ♦K Q 7
♣9 7 ♣Q 8 2
South ♠K 10 2
♥K Q 5
♦A J 5 4
♣10 6 3
The contract is 3NT and West leads ♠5, on which East plays ♠A. East returns ♠8 and the correct play is to hold up the ♠K (duck the trick) and then play ♠K on the 3rd round of spades. The contract is now safe because, although declarer must lose a club trick, he has 9 tricks when east does not have another spade to lead.
The choice of suit to develop first in a no trump contract depends on many factors, one of the most important being the need to keep an opponent off lead, as seen in the hand below:
North ♠K 8 4 3
♥8 4
♦J 8 7
♣K J 8 5
West ♠J 6 East ♠Q 10 7 5
♥K 10 7 5 3 ♥9 6 2
♦K 6 4 ♦10 9 5 2
♣9 7 4 ♣A 2
South ♠A 9 2
♥A Q J
♦A Q 3
♣Q 10 6 3
The contract is again 3NT and West leads ♥5, which is taken by South with ♥J. Before South can make his contract, he has to knock out ♣A and ♦K. Although it seem natural to tackle the clubs first, this would be disastrous if East won ♣A and played a heart through South. When West then got in with ♦K, he would get the contract one down. The key, therefore, is to take the diamond finesse first into the safe West hand and then knock out ♣A.
Ducking is also an effective maneuver where the plan is to give up a trick or tricks that have to be lost in the hope that long cards will become boss cards. Three examples are highlighted below:
Suit 1 A 8 6 2 Suit 2 A 9 8 5 3 Suit 3 A Q 6 3 2
K 5 4 7 6 2 8 6 5
The intention in each of the hands is to give up tricks in the hope that the long cards will become boss. In suit 1, one round of the suit is ducked at the start in the hope that the suit will break 3-3 and 3 tricks will be made. In suit 2, declarer needs to duck twice in the hope that the suit breaks no worse than 3-3 and 3 tricks again will be made. In suit 3, it is often best to duck the first round of the suit and then take the finesse on the next round.
Suit Contracts
There is a big difference between playing the hand in a trump contract and the play at no trumps. In no trumps a winner is a winner – that is not so in a trump contract, as it may be ruffed. The possibility of this happening leads to a large range of techniques being employed in trump contracts. In a no trump contract, you tend to count your winners first, but in a trump contract you count your losers if you want to be successful. The following questions will help you plan the play of a trump contract:
· How many losers do I have?
· Do I need to draw trumps immediately, or leave that until later?
· Do I need to establish a side suit?
· Is there any danger that I might lose control in trumps?
To draw trumps or not to draw trumps? The answer to this question is that it depends. If, after drawing trumps, you have enough winners to make your contract, then draw trumps. If you need to establish tricks by ruffing, then you do not draw trumps until you are sure that you have the required number of tricks – you may in fact choose not to draw trumps at all and, instead, try and use all your trumps to ruff losers. Of course, the defenders may try to prevent you from doing this by leading trumps at every available opportunity, or they may try to prevent you from drawing all the trumps by ducking with a boss trump.
Crossruffing: Here you avoid drawing the opponents’ trumps as you want to use all your own trumps for the purpose of crossruffing. You can do this when you have a short suit in both your own and dummy’s hand. Another reason for attempting a crossruff is because you trump holding is not very robust and you may not be successful in drawing all the opponents’ trumps. See the example hand below:
North ♠K 9 4 2
♥8
♦A 9 7 4 3
♣A Q 6
West ♠Q J 8 3 East ♠6
♥K 9 5 3 ♥Q 10 7 2
♦K Q J ♦10 8 5 2
♣J 2 ♣K 10 8 3
South ♠A 10 7 5
♥A J 6 4
♦6
♣9 7 5 4
In this extreme example, you can see if declarer, who is in poor 4♠ contract, tries to draw trumps, then he will end up with just 5 tricks. West’s opening lead is ♦K to dummy’s ♦A. He immediately plays a heart to his ♥A and takes a heart ruff. The ♣A is cashed in dummy and then a diamond ruff is taken, followed by a heart ruff, a diamond ruff, a heart ruff with ♠A, declarer’s last trump and dummy is left with ♠K for the 10th trick. Note that the ♣A was cashed earlier, just in case one of the opponents managed to discard his clubs and eventually ruff the trick – this was unlikely to happen on this hand, but it is essential to cash all your top tricks in the outside suits on many hands where you intend to crossruff.
Establishing a suit: It is often necessary to utilize trumps to establish a side suit before drawing trumps, as in the example below:
North ♠8 2
♥10 6 3
♦A Q J 7 2
♣A J 2
West ♠K Q J 3 East ♠10 9 6 5 4
♥7 2 ♥Q J 9 5
♦K 9 8 4 ♦10 6 5
♣9 8 4 ♣7
South ♠A 7
♥A K 8 4
♦3
♣K Q 10 6 5 3
The contract is 6♣ and West’s opening lead is the ♠K taken by declarer’s ♠A. If declarer immediately draws trumps, he will go one down in his contract. The way to make the contract is to use the backwards ruffing finesse. Play a diamond to the ♦A and then play ♦Q – if it is covered by East then ruff, if not then let it run by discarding your losing spade on this trick. After one more diamond is ruffed the suit is good for two heart discards and the contract is made.
Dummy reversal: Normally, you take ruffs in the short trump hand and use the long trump hand to draw trumps. In a dummy reversal, you do the opposite; you ruff as many times as possible with the long trump hand and then use the short trump hand to draw trumps – see the example hand below:
North ♠A K 10 8 2
♥10
♦9 8 4 2
♣Q 6 2
West ♠9 6 5 East ♠7 4
♥K 7 6 3 ♥Q J 5 2
♦J 10 7 ♦K Q 5
♣K J 9 8 ♣10 7 5
South ♠Q J 3
♥A 9 8 4
♦A 6 3
♣A 4 3
West leads ♦J against this tight 4♠ contract. If declarer draws trumps, he will make just 9 tricks. The alternative is to do a dummy reversal that involves ruffing three hearts in dummy. The sequence of plays is, at trick 2, a small club is led and taken by West’s ♣K. He will probably return a trump, which you win with the ♠A in dummy. You then use the three aces in your hand to ruff three hearts and cash the ♣Q – you are left with two boss trumps in your hand for 10 tricks.
Maintaining trump control: If you lose trump control, when you lose the lead to the opposition, they can draw your trumps and then play off their winners without any risk of them being ruffed. To maintain trump control, it is sometimes necessary to discard instead of ruff – see the example hand below:
North ♠K Q J 10 9
♥-
♦Q 8 4 2
♣Q J 10
West ♠A 8 6 5 East ♠4
♥A 8 7 6 3 ♥K Q J 5 4 2
♦10 9 7 ♦K 6 5
♣9 8 6 ♣7 5 2
South ♠7 3 2
♥10 9
♦A J 3
♣A K 4 3
Declarer ruffs the opening heart lead in dummy. He leads a trump and this is taken by West with ♠A. He now leads another heart – if dummy ruffs this trick, he will lose trump control because West will have more trumps than dummy. Therefore, he must discard a loser on this trick and, if West leads another heart, he can ruff this trick in hand and, probably, 11 tricks will be made. |
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| Calling the Director. |
| | | There was an excellent article by Andrew Kambites in the January edition of "Club Focus" of which we should all, perhaps, take note "I feel it is necessary to revisit a subject that disappointingly keeps rearing its ugly head. Consider these scenarios:
1) You make an insufficient bid.. Your opponents say: 'You must make it good'. They are wrong!
2) Your partner hesitates. Your opponent says to you: 'You must not bid after your partner's hesitation'. Your opponent is wrong!
3) You take a stop card from the box and put it back again. Your opponent says: 'You must make a stop bid'. Your opponent is wrong!
In each case they are not only wrong; they may well be driving inexperienced players away from the game by intimidating them. In each case, not only are they technically wrong*, but far more importantly, it is not up to them to interpret the laws at the table. If there is a problem, it is the role of the director to sort it out, not a fellow player who cannot possibly be regarded as an unbiased source. You should work on the basis that no player ever has the right to tell another player at the table what he/she must or cannot do. There is bound to be a conflict of interest. If there is a problem, you should gently and politely inform your opponents that you wish to call the director and then call him in a restrained and calm manner. The director is there to help and ensure fairness according to the Laws when something goes wrong.. There should be no stigma attached to having the dircetor called to the table.
Another similar scenario is the following:
4) You make a poor bid but luckily get a top. Your opponent says: 'You must not bid like that'. Your opponent is wrong! If I called the director every time I thought an opponent had made a bad bid, the director could set up permanent residence at my table. Too many players have their own ideas of what constitutes good and bad bridge, and then in their own minds this seems to become part of the laws. Wrong. It is not the job of the director to impose your idea, or his own idea, of good bridge. For example, West opens 3S, North bids 4H, East and South pass. West tries again with 4S. Yes it is bad bridge: West should probably have bid 4S in the first place. However, in the absence of any unauthorised information from East, West is free to bid as he pleases.
*In all of these situations, there are other options which the director can explain to you."
Andrew Kambites | | |
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| Glossary of Bridge Terms |
Glossary of Bridge Terms
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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| ACTIVE DEFENCE |
An approach to defending a hand that emphasizes taking risks to quickly set up winners and take tricks. |
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| ADVERSE TRUMP BREAK |
A very uneven distribution of the trumps between the two defenders, often making it difficult to draw trumps and make a contract. |
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| ADVERSE VULNERABILITY |
When your side is vulnerable and the opponents are not. |
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| ALERT |
A method of informing the opponents that partner's bid carries a meaning that they might not expect. When playing bridge at a bridge table, alerts can be spoken or by displaying an Alert card from a bidding box or 'knocking' on the table. |
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| ASKING BID |
A bid that, by prior agreement, requests information about a feature of partner's hand: for example, number of high card points, suit length, or control of a particular suit. |
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| ATTITUDE SIGNAL |
This is given by a defender in response to a lead. Playing a high card, eg. above a 6, normally is positive saying that 'I like this suit', or a playing a low card, eg. below a 6, normally is negative and gives a discouraging message to partner probably denying values in the suit. |
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| AUCTION |
The first stage of a game where there is a competition between the two pairs to decide who is going to play the cards. The 'Dealer' has the first chance to bid, he will call or otherwise pass, and the next player on his left has a bidding opportunity. The Auction continues in a clockwise fashion. The highest bid becomes the contract and the player in the winning side who bid the 'Denomination' first will become the Declarer and play the cards. |
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| AUTOMATIC SQUEEZE |
A simple squeeze (in two suits) that operates against either opponent. |
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| AVOIDANCE PLAY |
A play designed to keep a particular defender off lead, often to prevent the lead of a suit through a tenace position in either declarer's or dummy's hand. |
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| BALANCE OF THE POINTS |
This occurs when one pair at the table holds more than 20 of the available 40 high card points. |
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| BALANCED HAND |
A hand is balanced or flat if it has one of the following distributions: 4-3-3-3, 4-4-3-2, or 5-3-3-2 (usually the hands also have no voids, no singletons, and at most one doubleton). Natural no trump bids denote balanced hands. |
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| BALANCING |
A bid by someone at the table to keep the bidding open when it is about to be passed out at a low level. The balancing bid is often made with a hand of substandard strength, to prevent the opponents from winning the auction at a low level. This is often referred to as making a protective bid. |
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| BID |
A declaration of both level and denomination that suggests a final contract. Some bids are instead used as conventions: in that they carry coded messages and are not normally intended as final contracts. |
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| BID TO THE LIMIT |
A partnership stretching to bid the highest possible contract that they dare with the assets in their two hands - often these contracts can be 'touch and go' affairs. |
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| BIDDABLE SUIT |
A suit, usually 4 cards or more in length, which meets specified high card requirements and, thus, may be introduced into the auction. |
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| BIDDING SPACE |
The number of steps and levels available in an auction or consumed by a bid. Pre-emptive bids are usually made to take up the opponents bidding space. The less bidding space that opponents have, the less accurate their bidding is likely to be. |
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| BLACKWOOD |
A popular bidding convention used to determine the number of aces/kings in partner's hand when looking to bid a slam. |
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| BLOCKED |
Refers to a suit where all the winners cannot be cashed unless there is an entry to the longer of the two hands in another suit. |
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| BODY |
When a hand has more than its fair share of 8s, 9s and 10s, it is sometimes referred to as having good body. |
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| BOSS CARDS |
The highest winning card(s) available in a suit or suits. |
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| BREAK |
Refers to the distribution of cards in a suit between two (often unseen) hands. An even break occurs when the cards are distributed evenly or nearly so, such as 3-3, 4-3 or even 4-2. A bad break denotes an unexpectedly uneven distribution that causes problems, eg. a 5-1 or 6-0 distribution of cards. |
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| CALL |
Any bid, pass, double, or redouble in the auction. |
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| CASH |
To play a winning card or cards. To 'cash out' is to play off all your winning cards. |
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| CLAIM |
When the play within a hand is clear-cut, declarer shows his hand, detailing how the hand would be played and claiming a stated number of tricks. This is done to save time, so that the players can move on to the next hand. Great care should be taken to ensure that the claim is correct, or there may be penalties incurred. |
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| COMBINATION PLAY |
A combination of two or more plays where the percentages from the possible success of those plays can be utilised to give better odds of making a contract than say, for example, just taking a simple finesse. |
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| COMPETITIVE AUCTION |
An auction in which both partnerships compete to win the contract. |
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| CONTRACT |
The final bid in an auction which determines the denomination (trump suit or no trumps) for the deal and the target number of tricks to be won by the declarer. |
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| CONVENTION |
An agreement between partners on the meaning of a bid or sequence of bids where that meaning is not necessarily related to the length and strength of bid suits. It can also be an agreement on the meaning of the sequence in which cards are played, where messages are passed between defenders. |
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| COLD |
The description of a contract that a player would normally be expected to make. |
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| COMPETITIVE DOUBLE |
If your partner has overcalled and the opener's suit has been raised, a double by you shows interest in at least one of the other suits and a hand with useful high cards. |
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| CONTROL |
A feature of a hand that prevents the opponents from taking immediate tricks in a suit. Aces are termed "first-round" controls and kings are termed "second-round" controls. In trump contracts, voids are also considered first-round controls and singletons second-round controls. To lose control usually means being forced to shorten your trumps so much that the opponents can subsequently control the play of the hand. |
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| CONVERT |
To change the effect of a call, eg. passing partner's takeout double to convert it to a penalty double. |
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| COUNT SIGNAL |
When a defender follows suit, the order in which each person plays the cards in a suit determines the number of cards that the player has in that suit. A high-low signal (peter) normally indicates an even number of cards, whilst playing the lowest card first indicates an odd number of cards. |
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| COUP EN PASSANT |
The lead of a side suit from your partner's hand through an opponent who holds a higher trump than you, so that you can win a trick with a lower trump. |
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| COVER |
Holding high cards in a specific suit or suits that provide stoppers in those suits. |
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| COVERING HONOURS |
When an honour card is led and the next player plays a higher honor, this is said to be 'covering an honour with an honour'. In general cover means to play a higher card than the one(s) already played. |
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| CROCODILE COUP |
In defence, playing a high honour card to "gobble up" your partner's lower honour card, in order to prevent him from being end played. |
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| CROSS RUFF |
A sequence of tricks in which a player and his or her partner win tricks by alternately ruffing side suits in the each other's hands. |
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| CUE BID |
This has two meanings. The first is the cue bid of an opponent's suit to either ask for a stop in that suit for a no trump contract or to show a specific hand type. The second meaning is a suit bid at the 3-level or above that shows first or second round control of that suit. |
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| DANGER HAND |
This usually refers to an opponent who, if he obtained the lead, might be able to get the declarer down in his contract. |
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| DEAL |
This is when the fifty-two cards used to play bridge are dealt/distributed so that each player has thirteen cards. |
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| DECEPTION |
The art of playing cards that are meant to deceive the opposition, rather than your partner. Deception can take many forms, eg. playing an unnecessarily high card, signalling your partner to lead a suit that you do not want, ducking a trick, etc. |
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| DECLARER |
The player on the winning side of the auction who first bid the winning denomination. |
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| DEFENDERS |
The pair at the bridge table who try to beat the contract - Declarer's opposition. |
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| DELAYED GAME RAISE |
When you have a hand that is easily strong enough to raise your partner's opening 1-level bid (most often in a major suit) straight to game. Rather than immediately raising straight to game, which indicates 5+ trump support and a hand that is weak in high card points, you bid another suit first (even if that has to be a short suit) and then raise your partner to game on the second round of bidding. |
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| DENOMINATION |
The collective term for the four suits plus No Trumps. |
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| DISCARDING |
Playing another suit (not trumps) when unable to play a card in the suit led, preferably 'throwing' a card (or cards) in a way that gives helpful information to partner. |
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| DISTRIBUTION |
This normally indicates the number of cards in each suit in a player's hand (sometimes called hand pattern). It is often expressed as a series of 4 numbers. For example, 4333 means 4 spades, 3 hearts, 3 diamonds, and 3 clubs is often referred to as a flat distribution. A distributional hand is an unbalanced hand containing one or two long suits. |
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| DOUBLE |
A call that increases the penalties if the opponents fail to make their contract, but that increases their score if they make it. A player can double only a contract bid by the opposition. The bid is often used conventionally for purposes other than to increase the penalties. |
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| DOUBLE DUMMY |
Having sight of all four hands whilst playing the cards as declarer. This allows for a full analysis of the hand and the identification of difficult declarer and defensive plays. |
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| DOUBLE FIT |
The partnership fit in two suits on the same deal - it normally indicates that the two hands can take a lot of tricks. |
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| DOUBLE INTO GAME |
To double a part-score so that, if the contract is fulfilled, the total of the doubled trick scores will enable the opposition to earn the game bonus. |
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| DOUBLE STOP |
A card holding in a specific suit that enables the player to win two tricks in that suit and prevent the opposition or declarer from playing off the whole suit. |
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| DOUBLETON |
Denotes just two cards held in a suit within a 13 card bridge hand. |
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| DRAW TRUMPS |
To extract the opponents' trump cards, so that they cannot use them to win tricks. |
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| DUCKING |
To not immediately play a card that might take a trick, saving it for later in the play when it can be played to your advantage. |
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| DUMMY |
The partner of the declarer, whose cards are placed face up on the table, after the opening lead has been made. |
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| DUMMY REVERSAL |
A playing technique in trump contracts that gains additional tricks by ruffing in the hand that has the longer trumps. |
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| DUPLICATE BRIDGE |
A form of bridge where the same deals are played at a number of tables. You earn points by comparing your scores on each board with the scores of the players who are playing in the same direction (North-South, East-West) as you on that board. The better you score when compared to the other competitors, the more points you earn. |
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| DUPLICATION OF VALUES |
The possession of honour cards in a single suit, in both partners' hands where their value is wasted, eg. having a doubleton ♠AK opposite doubleton ♠QJ. |
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| ELIMINATE |
The process of playing off, or ruffing out, all the cards in a suit, usually as the preparation for an end play or squeeze. |
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| ENCOURAGING/ENCOURAGEMENT |
A card played by your partner that signals that he likes that suit (because he has high cards or a shortage in the suit) and/or he wants you to continue playing that suit. |
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| END PLAY |
A play that forces a particular opponent to win a trick, so that the opponent must then make a favorable lead. |
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| ENTRY |
A card that allows a partnership to access one of the hands after leading from the other hand. |
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| EQUAL VULNERABILITY |
Both pairs at the bridge table are either vulnerable or non-vulnerable. |
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| ESTABLISHED |
Usually describes cards that have become winners because the cards above them have either been played off or ruffed out. |
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| ESTABLISHING AN ENTRY |
Forcing out high cards from the opposition for the purpose of gaining an entry to your partner's hand. |
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| EXIT CARD |
A card that is used to get off lead, normally to avoid making a self-destructive lead in another suit. |
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| EXPERT PLAY |
A difficult play of the cards that only an expert or very experienced player is likely to find at the table. |
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| EXTREME DISTRIBUTION |
The distribution of a suit or suits where one or more players at the table has a long suit and one or more shortages in the other suits. When there is extreme distribution, there is usually an aggressive auction and bad breaks in all the suits |
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| FALSE PREFERENCE |
After your partner has bid two suits, this is a bid by you of his first-bid suit that you expecting to be longer. This is done despite the fact you may have a slightly longer holding in the second suit. |
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| FALSECARD |
A card played with the intention of deceiving an opponent as to your true holding in the suit. |
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| FAVOURABLE VULNERABILITY |
Your partnership is non-vulnerable whilst the opposition partnership is vulnerable. |
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| FILLERS |
The possession of 8s, 9s and 10s in a specific suit or suits - when a hand has more than its fair share of these cards it is sometimes referred to as having body. |
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| FINESSE |
A technique that attempts to gain a trick or tricks by taking advantage of a favorable lie of the opponents' cards. For example, leading towards partner's AQ in the hope that the K is under the AQ so that two tricks can be made in that suit. |
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| FIT |
The combined holding in any one suit between the two hands in a partnership. A good fit of 8 or more cards is normally considered to be the working minimum for selecting a trump suit. |
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| FLAT HAND |
A balanced hand, particularly a 4333 pattern. |
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| FOLLOWING SUIT |
Playing a card in the suit that has been led. |
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| FORCING BID |
A bid that, by partnership understanding, requires the bidder's partner to make another bid. |
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| FORCING DEFENCE |
The lead and subsequent continuation of a suit that the defenders believe declarer will have to ruff in the long trump hand. The strategy is to shorten declarer's trump holding so as to leave the defenders in control of the hand. |
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| FORCING TO SUIT AGREEMENT |
Neither player in partnership at the table may pass until a suit fit has been agreed. |
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| FOURTH HIGHEST LEAD |
The lead in a suit of the fourth card from the top, eg: the lead of the 6 from K J 9 6 4. |
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| FOURTH SUIT FORCING |
This is an artificial bid of the fourth suit in an auction, normally to force your partner to make another bid and/or to ensure that the bidding does not die out below a certain level. |
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| FREE BID |
A bid that is made when a pass would still allow your partner to make a bid. Normally, the bid indicates that you have some values in your hand that your partner does not know about. |
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| GAME |
A contract when the basic trick score is over 100 and which qualifies for a game bonus score if it is made. |
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| GAME FORCE |
A bid that asks partner not to pass before the partnership has reached game in the bidding (or the opponents have been doubled at a level high enough to compensate). |
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| GAME GOING VALUES |
Refers mainly to the number of points and level of suit fit that are needed to make a game. |
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| GAME TRY |
A bid, often in a side suit, that invites partner to bid a game if he has extra values in the context of the prior bidding. |
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| GET A COUNT |
To discover the distribution of the opponents' cards in one or more suits. |
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| GIVE COUNT |
To indicate the number of cards that you hold in a suit by the order of the cards that you play in that suit. |
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| GO DOWN/GO OFF |
To make fewer tricks than that specified by your contract. |
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| GRAND SLAM |
A contract to win all thirteen tricks. Bidding and making a grand slam scores a high number of bonus points. |
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| HIGH CARD POINTS |
Values given to the honour cards are as follows: ace=4, king=3, queen=2, jack=1. |
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| HOLD UP |
To defer taking a winning card in a suit led by the opponents until an advantageous point in the hand has been reached. There are various purposes for holding up a winner, but it is frequently done to cause communication problems in your opponents' hands. |
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| HOLDING A MAXIMUM |
A player will have the top of the range in high card points for his particular bid. |
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| HONOUR CARDS |
Refers to the ace, king, queen and jack of each suit. |
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| INTERMEDIATE JUMP OVERCALL |
An overcall that jumps one level higher than necessary to make the bid. It normally shows a strong 6-card suit and between 12 and 16 high card points. |
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| INTERNAL SEQUENCE |
A sequence of 3 or more high cards in a hand that has at least one card higher than the highest card in the sequence, eg. a holding of KJ109. |
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| INVITATION BID |
A bid that invites your partner to bid on to game or slam if he has extra values. It is a non-forcing bid. |
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| JUMP BID |
A bid made at a level that is unnecessarily higher than the lowest level at which that suit could have been bid. |
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| JUMP OVERCALL |
An overcall made at a level that is higher than the next available level, eg. 1♥-3♠. |
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| JUMP RAISE |
A raise of partner's suit one level higher than the minimum legal raise, eg.1♥-3♥. |
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| JUMP REBID |
A re-bid of one's original suit, one level higher than necessary, usually showing a six-card suit: for example, 1♦-1♥-3♦. |
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| JUMP SHIFT RESPONSE |
In response to your partner's opening bid of one of a suit, when you have 16 or more high card points and a good suit in an unbalanced hand, eg. 1♥-2♠ or 1♠-3♣. |
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| KEY CARDS |
the significant cards (usually honour cards, but not always) held by any of the four players at the table, the possession and position of these determining the final outcome of a contract. |
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| KNOCK OUT |
The act of forcing a defender to play a winner, or the act of ruffing out a defender's winning card. The aim is to establish winning tricks in your own or your partner's hand. |
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| LEAD-DIRECTING DOUBLE |
A double of an opponent's bid to indicate a safe lead for his partner, if his partner ends up having to make the opening lead. The double does not indicate any significant high card strength, except in the suit that has been doubled. |
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| LEAD INHIBITER |
A bid of a suit that deflects the opposition from leading that suit when, often, it would be advantageous for them to do so. |
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| LIMIT BID/RAISE |
In the bidding, a limit bid is used to define a hand's strength within a relatively narrow range of points, eg. 1♥ - 3♥ usually show at least three-card support for partner's major suit and around 10-12 points in high cards and distribution. |
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| LONG SUIT |
This is a suit of five or more cards. |
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| LOSER |
A card that is unlikely to take a trick. |
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| LOSING TRICK COUNT |
A method of evaluating a hand that has a major suit fit by counting the number of top losers in each suit. |
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| MARKED FINESSE |
A finesse for a card that is expected to be in a particular opponent's hand, eg. because he has opened the bidding. |
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| MAINTAIN COMMUNICATIONS |
Playing the cards in such a way as to ensure that you have an entry card to the other hand. |
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| MAJOR SUIT |
The heart suit and the spade suit are the major suits. |
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| MASTER |
The highest card of a suit that is yet to be played - sometimes referred to as the 'boss' card. |
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| MENACE |
A card that requires an opponent to retain a higher card in the same suit, as a guard. |
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| MINOR SUIT |
The diamond suit and the club suit are the minor suits. |
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| MIRROR DISTRIBUTION |
This occurs when the two hands of a pair have the same shape or distribution. |
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| MISFIT |
Two partnership hands, neither of which can support the other's long suit(s). |
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| MORTON'S FORK |
A situation in the play of a hand where a declarer gives a defender two options, both of which are losing options. |
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| MUD LEAD |
MUD stands for Middle, Upper and then Down. It relates to the order that you should lead your cards when you have three small cards in a suit. |
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| NEGATIVE BID |
A bid that denies a specific card or cards or denies holding a set number of high card points. |
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| NEGATIVE DOUBLE |
A call of 'Double' in the auction when partner has opened and the opponents have overcalled. It tells your partner you have over 6 points and, normally, at least 4 cards in the other 2 unbid suits. This form of double can be referred to as a Takeout Double. |
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| NON-VULNERABLE |
The state of vulnerability in which both bonuses and penalties are smaller. |
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| NO TRUMPS |
This is the denomination for a contract played without trumps. The highest card in the suit led always wins the trick. In the bidding, no trumps are the highest ranking strain. |
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| NUISANCE BID |
An interference bid whose principal aim is not to pre-empt or to compete for the contract, but to upset the smooth flow of the opponents' bidding sequence. |
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| OPENING LEAD |
After the auction has finished, it is the first card led by the defender on declarer's left, before the dummy places his cards face up on the table. |
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| OPPOSITION/OPPONENTS |
The two players seated at the bridge table in the opposite direction to you, against whom you will play. |
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| OPTIONAL DOUBLE |
The partner of the person making this double can choose, according to his hand, to interpret it as a takeout double and make a bid, or pass and convert it to a penalty double. |
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| OVERCALL |
A bid made by an opponent that is higher in number or rank than that made by the opener. |
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| OVER-RUFF |
After an opponent has ruffed, to play a higher trump on the same trick. |
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| OVERTAKE |
The act of playing a card that is higher than the winning card played by your partner to the same trick. |
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| OVERTRICK |
An extra trick made by declarer above the number required for the contract. |
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| PART SCORE |
A contract to take at least 7 tricks, but less than the number of tricks needed for game. |
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| PARTNERSHIP/PARTNERS |
A pair of bridge players sat at opposite sides of a bridge table who play together - East plays with West as a partner and North plays with South as a partner. |
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| PASSIVE DEFENSE |
An approach to defending a hand that emphasises waiting for tricks that declarer must eventually lose, getting off lead safely, and avoiding plays that will set up tricks for declarer. |
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| PENALTY |
A score awarded to the defence when declarer's contract goes down. The size of the penalty depends on the number of tricks that declarer was set, the vulnerability, and whether the contract was doubled or redoubled. |
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| PENALTY DOUBLE |
A call that increases the penalty if opponents fail to make their contract, or increases the opponents' score if they make the doubled contract. |
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| PERCENTAGE PLAY |
A way of playing a suit that gives the greatest likelihood of achieving the desired result. |
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| PLAY FOR THE DROP |
The act of playing off high cards, rather than finessing, in the hope that an opposition honour will fall under them. |
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| PLAY HIGH |
The act of playing the highest available card in a specified suit. |
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| PLAY LOW |
The act of playing the lowest available card in a specified suit. |
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| PLAY OFF |
Usually refers to the act of leading winning cards from a hand. |
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| POSITIVE RESPONSE |
A bid that indicates that you have a specific card or cards, or that you have more than a set minimum number of high card points |
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| PRE-EMPTIVE |
A bid whose primary function is to prepare for a sacrifice or to interfere with the opponents' auction by taking away the bidding space that is needed to exchange information and find the best final contract. |
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| PROFITABLE SACRIFICE |
This occurs when the points that the opposition earn from getting you down in your (doubled) contract are less than the points that they would have earned from bidding and making a contract of their own. |
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| PROMOTE |
In the play, to cause a card to become a winner. |
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| PROTECTIVE BID |
A bid by someone at the table to keep the bidding open when it is about to be passed out at a low level. The protective bid is often made with a hand of substandard strength, to prevent the opponents from winning the auction at a low level. A protective bid is also referred to as balancing. |
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| PUNT |
The act of bidding a contract (usually game or slam) without making all the usually exploratory bids, in the hope that the lack of information available to the opposition from the auction will allow the contract to make. |
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| QUICK TRICKS |
Refers to the number of estimated tricks held in honour cards within a single hand. A=1, AK=2, KQ=1, AQ=1˝, Kx=˝. |
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| QUIT A TRICK |
This occurs when the palyers at a table complete a trick by turning over the cards that they have played to that trick, so that they are face down. Until an individual turns over his card, he can ask to see the cards that everyone else at the table has played to the trick. |
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| RE-BID |
Refers to a player's second bid in an auction. Alternatively, it refers to a player bidding a suit for a second time. |
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| RE-BIDDABLE SUIT |
A suit with sufficient length and strength, according to partnership agreements, to be re-bid in certain defined circumstances. |
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| RECTIFY THE COUNT |
The process of losing tricks during the play of a hand, so that when you play your winners later in the hand, a squeeze occurs and an opponent has to make a fatal discard giving you an additional trick. |
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| REDOUBLE |
A call that doubles the penalties and bonuses that apply to a previous double. Used conventionally, a redouble may also convey additional information. |
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| RE-OPENING DOUBLE |
After your opening bid has been overcalled by an opponent and then passed round to you, you can re-open with a double, informing partner that you have a better than minimum hand. Partner must bid or convert your call into a penalty double by passing. |
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| RESPONDER REVERSE |
In response to your partner opening the bidding: to bid your longest suit and then re-bid in a shorter, but higher ranking, suit at the 2-level or above. A responder reverse is usually forcing to game. |
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| RETAIN THE LEAD |
Maintain the lead to the next trick by leading and winning the current trick. |
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| RESPONSIVE DOUBLE |
If your partner makes a takeout double and the opponents raise, a double by you is known as a responsive double. It invites the doubler to choose a suit. |
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| RETURN |
To lead back, usually the suit that partner has previously led. |
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| REVERSE |
This refers to when you make your first bid a suit and then re-bid in a higher ranking suit, at least at the 2-level. Such bids are made by opener and responder as a means of showing extra strength without jumping. The first suit that is bid is always longer than the second suit. |
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| REVOKE |
A failure to follow suit when it is possible for you to do so. |
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| RUFF |
When playing in a suit contract, to play a trump on a trick, in an attempt to win that trick, when a side suit has been led and you have no more of that suit left in your hand. |
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| RUFF AND DISCARD |
The lead of a suit in which both players in a partnership are void, so that one of the pair can ruff and the other discard a loser. A ruff and discard is usually damaging to the side that leads to the trick. |
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| RUFF OUT |
To establish a (long) side suit by ruffing the opponents’ winners in that suit, leaving your low cards as winners. |
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| RUFFING FINESSE |
Rather than taking a normal finesse, eg. leading low towards the AQJ when you have a singleton; instead, you can lead your singleton to the ace and then play the queen - you then ruff only if it is covered by the king, otherwise letting it run. |
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| RULE OF ELEVEN |
A calculation that can be used when it is reasonable to suppose that the opening leader has led the fourth highest card that he holds in a suit. The rule says to subtract the number on the card led from 11. The result is the number of cards in the other three hands that are higher than the one that has been led. |
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| RULE OF 500 |
A rule to be followed when making pre-emptive bids. You should not expect to go down in your contract more than 3 tricks (non-vulnerable) or 2 tricks (vulnerable) with a worthless dummy hand opposite. That is, if your contract were doubled, you would lose no more than 500 points. |
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| RULE OF TWENTY |
When deciding whether or not a hand is strong enough to open, you use the 'rule of 20'. Add the number of cards in your two longest suits to your high card points. If the total is at least 20 and your high cards are mostly in your long suits, then open the bidding. |
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| RULE OF TWO AND THREE |
A bidding guide that counsels bidders who want to pre-empt to be within two tricks of their contract if vulnerable, and within three tricks if not. |
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| RUN THE SUIT |
To play off the winners in a suit. |
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| SACRIFICE |
To deliberately bid over an opponent's bid, knowing that you are unlikely to be able to make the required number of tricks. This is done in the hope that the points earned by your opponents from the penalty will be less than the points that they could have made by making a contract of their own. |
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| SAFE |
The act of leading a card or making a bid that is least likely to cause problems for your side or be advantageous to the opposition. |
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| SAFETY PLAY |
A play that maximizes the chances for fulfilling a set number of tricks in a contract by avoiding a play which might result in a higher score. |
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| SECONDARY FIT |
A suit fit between two bridge players in a partnership where the suit in which there is a fit was not the first suit bid by either player. |
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| SECONDARY SUPPORT |
Lacking primary trump support of 4 cards, a player may then show secondary trump support later in the auction with 3 small cards in that suit or with just 2 cards, including an honour. |
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| SELF-SUPPORTING SUIT |
A suit held by one player that does not require any support from his partner to be either the designated trump suit or a running suit in a no trump contract. |
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| SEQUENCE |
Three or more touching cards in the same suit, e.g. J 10 9. Leading from the top of a sequence is a safe and popular opening lead. |
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| SHADED |
A call that is not quite warranted by the strength of the hand making it. |
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| SHAPE |
The distribution of suits within a hand. |
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| SHOW PREFERENCE |
When your partner has bid two suits and you have a minimum hand, you can either pass to show preference for the second bid suit, or re-bid his first bid suit at the lowest available level to show preference for that suit. |
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| SIDE ENTRY |
An entry into a hand with a card in a suit other than your long suit or trump suit. |
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| SIDE SUIT |
A suit other than trumps. |
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| SIGN OFF |
To make a bid that is supposed to either end the auction for your side, or signal to your partner that you do not want to bid any higher in the auction. |
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| SIGNALS |
A process where information is exchanged by defenders by the order in which they play their cards within a suit. |
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| SINGLETON |
A hand that contains a single card in a suit. |
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| SLAM |
A contract for 12 or 13 Tricks in a specified suit or no trumps. |
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| SMALL SLAM |
The bidding and making of a contract that consists of 12 tricks. |
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| SOLID SUIT |
A self-contained suit that has no losers, even when there is no help in the suit from partner. |
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| SOLID CONTRACT |
A contract that is almost a certainty to make. |
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| SQUEEZE |
The process where a declarer plays off his winners to put pressure on defenders so that one or more additional tricks are won by the declarer when defenders are forced to discard. |
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| STAYMAN |
A conventional bid of 2♣/3♣ that follows an opening 1/2NT bid to ask if partner has a four-card major. |
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| STEAL |
To gain an advantage, usually through deception. The theft may be material (eg. a trick or a contract) or non-material (eg. a tempo). Despite the term ‘steal’, the deception is entirely legal, as long as it does not involve the exchange of unauthorized information between two players in a partnership or the concealment of information to which the opponents are entitled. |
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| STOP/STOPPER |
A card, or cards, held in a suit which prevents the opponents from running the suit (cashing all the suit as winners). It can also be called a guard. A, Kx, Qxx, Jxxx are minimum requirements for a stop. |
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| STRETCH |
The act of 'bidding to the limit' on the available resources held by the two hands of a partnership. |
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| STRIP |
The process of playing off winners in one or more suits to strip an opponent of exit cards so that he can eventually be given the lead and end played. |
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| SUITS |
There are 4 suits in a deck of cards. These are in an alphabetical hierarchy with clubs being at the bottom followed by diamonds and then hearts and spades. |
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| SUPPORT |
A fit with partner's suit. |
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| SWITCH |
Usually refers to the act of changing suit after winning a trick. |
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| TAKEOUT DOUBLE |
A double used in a competitive auction (most often, immediately after an opponent's opening bid or overcall) to show a desire to compete. This is in contrast to a penalty double, which indicates a desire to defend against the opponent's contract. The takeout double asks the doubler's partner to bid a suit, as it implies shortness in the suit(s) doubled, or for doubler's partner to pass and convert the takeout double into a penalty double when he has a long/strong holding in the suit that has been doubled. |
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| TEMPO |
The speed at which a player executes a call or play. Some players attempt to intimidate less experienced opponents by playing their cards quickly. A break in tempo often indicates that a player has an unexpected problem in the play. Gaining a tempo relates to either declarer or defenders establishing their tricks before the other can establish theirs. |
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| TENACE |
A broken sequence, usually of honor cards, such as ♠AQ or ♦KJ10. A declarer will tend to lead toward his or dummy's tenaces, preparing to finesse for a missing card. A defender will tend to lead through declarer's or dummy's tenaces to help his partner to win tricks with cards that lie behind the tenaces. |
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| TIGHT CONTRACT |
A tenuous contract where a partnership has bid to the limit and it is ‘nip and tuck’ whether or not the contract will make. |
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| TRICK |
Four cards, one from each player, played in clockwise rotation. A trick is not complete until all 4 cards have been quitted or turned over, then play can proceed. The winner of the trick leads to the next trick. |
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| TRUMP |
Noun - a card in the nominated trump suit whose trick-taking power is greater than any card in the other suits. Verb - see definition of 'ruff'. |
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| TRUMP BREAK/SPLIT |
the division of trumps between the two defenders hands. |
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| TRUMP ECHO |
When a defender plays high-low to the first 2 rounds of trumps, he is indicating to his partner that he has at least 3 trumps and a desire to ruff in an unspecified suit. |
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| TRUMP PROMOTION |
The advancement of a trump to the status of a winner by creating a position in which an opponent must suffer an immediate over-ruff, or choose to ruff with a high trump that, later on, results in an opponent's trump becoming a winner. |
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| TWO-WAY FINESSE |
A finesse that can be taken against either opponent. |
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| UNBALANCED HAND |
A hand that contains a void or singleton or two doubletons. |
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| UNBLOCK |
The act of playing or discarding a card in one hand that is stopping a suit from being played off in the other. |
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| UNDERBID |
To bid less aggressively, or to a lower contract, than most other people would do with the same cards. A bid that most people would regard as weaker than warranted by the strength of the hand. |
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| UNDERLEAD |
To lead a low card when holding the top card or cards in a suit. The underlead is often used in the defense of no trump contracts (so as to preserve communications between defenders' hands), but less often against suit contracts. |
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| UNDER-RUFF |
The act of ruffing with a lower card than that used to ruff in by another player at the table. |
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| UNDERTRICK(S) |
The number of tricks short when declarer fails to make a contract. |
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| UNGUARD |
To discard (potential) winners in a suit to such an extent that, if the opponents lead that suit, then they will win tricks in that suit. |
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| VOID |
A descriptive word that highlights the fact that a hand has no cards in one or more of the four suits. |
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| VULNERABILITY |
This indicates whether your side has (notionally) won a game (vulnerable), or not yet one a game (not vulnerable). |
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| WAITING BID |
A bid that enables the bidder to obtain more information before making a commitment. For example, some players use a 2♦ response over a strong 2♣ opening bid as a waiting bid rather than to show a weak hand (negative response). |
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| WEAKNESS TAKEOUT BID |
After an opening bid by your partner, for example, 1NT, a weakness takeout bid is simply a long suit that is bid at the lowest possible level and your partner is expected to pass. |
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| WIDE OPEN |
The way to describe a suit in which no stopper is held by a partnership. |
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| WINNER |
The highest card available at the table in a specific suit. At the start of play, the winners are aces. Later on in the play of hand, even a lowly 2 from a long suit can become established as a winner. |
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| WIN CHEAPLY |
To win a trick with a low card. |
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| YARBOROUGH |
Used to describe a hand that has no card higher than a 9. |
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