How to speed up your play and still enjoy your bridge.

We know that one of the difficulties faced by new players is feeling that they are always under time pressure and everyone is waiting for them.  We want to encourage everyone to play and enjoy duplicate so we hope that this advice will be helpful to less experienced players.  More experienced players can help by following the same good practice and gently advising new members when they have time problems.

On average you only have about 8 minutes to play a board and it is easy to get behind the clock and have the Director chasing you to speed up.  Here are some tips to help you avoid wasting time. 

• Before you move after the first round, check to see where you are going and see who is there. Every round after that you will be following that same pair, so you do not need to worry about where to go as long as you check where the pair you are following is sitting before each move.

   

• If you are a sitting North, then while the move is under way, look at the Bridgepad and check which boards you are playing and who the opponents are. When the boards arrive, check them and make sure they are facing the right way.

   

• All players should check who is dealer as the first thing you do. Nothing will happen until Dealer bids – we have all had to wait for someone to say ‘Oh, is it me?’ 

   

• Try counting your points as you pick your cards up. It helps to decide quickly whether you are likely to bid. However, even if you have a very poor hand, don’t bid too quickly at it can give a clue about your hand. Take about 5 seconds and try to always bid in tempo. You can think a long time if you then bid, but thinking and passing can give out unauthorised information!

   

• If you are not the dealer, don’t just sit there! On most hands either partner or the opponent will bid 1 of a suit or 1NT. Before they bid, decide what you might do to all these cases. For instance, if partner opens 1NT will you transfer or bid Stayman?  You may not have enough points to open yourself but if the opponent bids, will you overcall? There are about 10 bids per hand – if you all save 6 seconds a bid it can save a minute a board – or 24 minutes during the evening!

   

• When the opposition are bidding and you have no intention of bidding, do not keep asking what bids mean. It slows the bidding down and may give away unauthorised information. You can ask at the end before the first lead if you are on lead, and if not on lead you can ask as soon as the lead has been played face down. You can ask to have the auction repeated and what any bids mean.  You often get a clearer picture of the hand if you hear it all in one go.

   

• The best part of playing bridge is playing the hand. This is not the time to rush as you may well get a bad score.  Just try to concentrate and make sure you know where the lead is and play calmly.

   

• With wireless scoring there is no need to keep a card, but if you do, please make sure that you lead to the first trick before writing down the contact.

   

• Dummy, who has plenty of time, should put down their hand before they write down the contract.

   

• It is best if North puts in the contract on the Bridgepad before the lead is made and then enters the lead as soon as it has been made – we have all heard the question at the end – ‘What did you lead?’ and then the hand is taken out the board to find out, wasting time.

   

• Once the hand is finished make sure you agree the contract (was it doubled?) and result before the cards are picked up so if there is any argument, the result can be checked, by the Director if necessary.

   

• Don’t worry about working out the score – the Bridgepad will do it for you as long as the contract and result are right.

   

• East (or West) should check the contract and result carefully. It wastes time to have to change this afterwards.

   

• When you have played all the boards, arrange them in the correct order and place them in the middle of the table ready for the next move.

   

• If you need to leave the table for any reason, try to do it on a round when you finish early.