Topics from Talks and Play

Pre-Session Talks

12th October 2015

Refresher: a whole evening to dust off a summer away from the table or build on first steps in the main game. Topics: no-trump shapes, finesses (again) and doubles.

7th May 2015

A Little Finesse: how to tell finesses from those plays that aren't.

26th March 2015

Leads and Signals: slides from the presentation; the whys and wherefores of standard leads, avoiding bad leads and an introduction to 'ace for attitude, king for count'.

You can also print a PDF of the slides. That's the bare text without colour which made it hard to read (and no doubt, expensive to print).

26th February 2015
  • Strong Hands: notes on opening and responding to 2.
  • Seven good hands: suggested bidding sequences for the seven deals inserted into the evening session.
19th February 2015

Other Interventions: no-trump overcalls and takeout doubles.

12th February 2015

Overcalling a suit: rationale and continuations.

22nd January 2015

Weak Two-Bids (2) – more examples and responding dos and don'ts:

  • Do raise partner; bid game if you think you an make it (even with just two trumps), raise to the 'level of the fit'.
  • Don't bid new suits unless you really mean it, remember opener has six - do you have six?
  • Don't bid on misfits
  • Use 2NT as an equiry – but only when you think you can make game but aren't sure.

For more see the developing the auction again in the Weak two-bids page.

15th January 2015

Weak Two-Bids (1) – introduction

  • "It's all about vulnerability and position at the table"
  • Remember a weak-two is a pre-empt, an attempt to disrupt the opponents, be careful you don't hurt your side.

For more information, see the general comments on pre-empting in the page on Weak two-bids (below).

4th December 2014

System

System card
This is the system card relevant to the last course we taught. It is very much in line with the EBU course books (but including weak-twos as below).
Weak two-bids
Of the three two-year classes at Ipswich & Kesgrave, the first and the third taught weak-twos, the second strong-twos, reflecting the proportion in club play. This document is a digest of how to approach weak-twos from the third class.

These pages are primarily for those gaining experience of duplicate bridge but may be of interest to anyone.

System card