The Rule of 20: 

The Rule of 20 is a good guideline for opening the bidding with slightly fewer than 12 points!  Therefore you can open the bidding when your total points added to the number of cards in your two longest suits equal twenty or more.

 

for more tips. 

 

North should ensure that the boards are in the correct orientation and in order.  

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Be nice, smile and greet your opponents.  You are an Ambassador for the game. We need more people to play and enjoy the game.

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Concentrate on the opening lead for a few seconds. Decide what it tells you about the leader’s length or strength in that suit.

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When you have the high trump(s)

 partner has none.

 and you are on lead, cash the high trump(s)

unless your trump holding prevents declarer from running a side suit.

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Prefer a ruffing finesse to a standard finesse.

For example, with AQJ… opposite a singleton

it is usually better to cash the Ace and run the Queen, discarding a loser, than to finesse the Queen.

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Don't be afraid to lead a trump.

If the opposing declarer does not appear to have a good 2^nd suit in his hand or dummy’s,

it might be a good idea to lead a trump.

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Don't rush to overruff. 

Refusing an overruff often produces an extra trump, trick.

Example: With AJ bare in trumps, don’t overruff declarer’s King (as the Q will kill your J), Now AJ produces 2 tricks over declarer’s Q

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In both Real Bridge and BBO there are many tools to analyse the hands:

In Real Bridge you can replay and double dummy at any point for everyone who played in the same tournament as you,

In BBO this can only be applied to your own table history. 

In both systems, you can extract any or all of the deals.

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Hesitating without need is unethical,

You are NOT permitted to pretend you hold a particular card.

This is against the Laws of bridge. 

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Don’t stop and think before a ducking play,

plan before hand so you can play at your normal tempo. 

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Try to get the opposition to help you, especially early in the hand.

For example convince them to open up trumps when your holding is dodgy, by feigning an attempt to later ruff something. 

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Don’t open up a new suit without good reason, especially in defence. 

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"Eight Ever, Nine Never"

(Finessing for the missing Queen).

With 8 cards, finesse on the 2nd round if possible

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When defenders have a suit and one of them holds a doubleton,

in general ducking trick 1 and winning trick 2 will disrupt their communications and can prevent them making a 2^nd trick "in the suit".

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Make a passive or safe lead when opponents bid tentatively/stretch for game

Defenders often lose by an aggressive lead when they should be passive.

Make an aggressive lead when opponents bid confidently/seem well within their contract limit

Defenders often lose by staying passive when they should be busy.

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When vulnerable, bid more cautiously than when not vulnerable.

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Don’t  automatically double, believing or knowing that declarer is going down, if declarer has an alternative contract that is making.

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DROP A MISFIT

When you and partner clearly have no fit stop bidding.

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Goldilocks!

Speed of play is such a difficult topic, but please consider your opponents, you should not hesitate when simply following suit, sure, play in tempo, think when you need to, but faking hesitation is against the Laws and can be subject to penalties. 

Be considerate to your opposition. 

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If you are on lead do just that LEAD fill out your score card and any other task AFTER you have lead.

Declarer will need time to plan the hand and you will have plenty of time to make your notes without holding everyone else up. 

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Reading your opponents' cards is one of the greatest jobs of Bridge. It's supposed to be done by making inferences and not by direct observation! So for your own sake and to avoid embarrassing your opponents and ruining the hand for them. 

Hold your cards up! 

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In the words of world champion and prolific bridge writer Terence Reese :

COUNTING, a hand is the beginning and not far from the end of all good play.

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messed up! Everyone does

FORGET IT! and move on to the next hand. 

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Giving Partner A Ruff

Chen partner leads from known shortness and is now void in the suit, and you have the lead, giving partner a ruff may be premature. If you also have shortness along with the ace of trumps, void yourself before giving partner a ruff. After you give partner a ruff, partner will be able to return the favor and give you a ruff

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It's worth knowing the probability of splits.

If you are missing 6 cards in a suit, they'll only split 3-3 36% of the time; nearly half the time they'll be 4-2

and if you have 9 card to the AKJ it's not far off 50/50 whether you try for the drop (slightly better) or finesse, so check other information.

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To improve you can't just play, you need to practice:

use books, articles

use your computer to practice replaying hands.

There are dozens of great resources out there, many are free. 

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If you struggle with scoring then learn some simple "tricks" to help you make competitive bidding decisions.

learn the 3,2,1 principle of competitive bidding against game contracts. 

(NV/V you can go 3 off and get a better score than them making game, NV/NV or V/V you can go 2 off, V/NV more than 1 off you lose)

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Remember your hold-up play:You're in 3NT West leads, and you have xx opposite Axx

HOLD UP for 2 rounds, then take the 3^rd trick (other suits permitting). 

If the suit was 4-4, you´ll lose just one more trick, but if they were 5-3 and you keep West off lead (remember the Danger hand tip?)

you won't lose any more to that suit at all.

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Finding the best opening lead is often tricky. Against no trump contracts, it's often best to 

lead the 4th highest of your longest and strongest suit or (if you are luck enough to have one) or the top honour of a sequence

second highest from a long suit without and honour.

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"I don't  score - my partner does that"

SO, ..do you let them make their 3♥   or is it better to go one off doubled in 3♠  ?

and if you are vulnerable? 

If you can't score you are disadvantaged.

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The word 'vulnerable' means what it says

The rewards for success are greater, but you are vulnerable to far larger penalties if things go wrong - especially if doubled. 

If you're vulnerable, take care. 

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The road to Hell is paved with good conventions. 

Don't get bogged down with too many conventions

only use ones you can remember and use reliably. 

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The opponents bid 1♦ -2♦ and then stop, in a suit fit. Chances are they haven't got any more points than you and partner have 

COMPETE, even if your suit quality isn't that great. You never know - you might steal the contract More likely you´ll

push them up to the 3 level, where you'll have a better chance of defeating the contract

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When playing high to your partner's lead, play

the lowest of touching cards

with KQJ play the Jack, with JT play the 10.

Playing the Jack tells your partner you haven't got the 10, but could have Q or even KQ..

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It isn't only opening leads that matter ALL leads are important. Against a suit contract for example

Don't lead away from an Ace. 

If declarer has a singleton, you'll never be able to cash it At no trumps on the other hand, go ahead - you can probably make your Ace later

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When the opponents lead a suit, give parter a count of your holding

With an odd number, play in ascending order. It all helps your partner build a picture of your hand - and therefore declarer's as well.

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Communication is key to good defence.

Every card is an opportunity for defenders to give their partner information about their holdings. 

It's well worth learning how, as you'll be defending twice as often as you'll be declarer (on average)

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Is your suit good enough to overcall ? 

SUIT QUALITY TEST

the number of cards in your suit + the number of honours in the suit. 7 is good enough at the 1 level.

8 at the 2 level, Say you have ♥ AJ875 5 cards + 2 honours =7 Good enough for 1♥ over 1m but not enough for 2♥ over 1♠ 

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BE KIND TO YOUR PARTNER

By all means make a mental not never to play with him again, but keep it to yourself. If you are openly critical he'll either lose confidence or become resentful (or both), which won't improve his play -- or your performance as a pair.  Bridge is a team game

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Suppose declarer leads a low club towards KQJT9, which has no outside entried. You hold A54, you'd love to 

CUT DECLARER OFF from all those winners in dummy by playing your Ace on her LAST CLUB, but how will you know?

Simple, watch your partner's signal. If he plays low he has 3(odd) leaving declarer with just 2, if he plays HIGH he has 2(even)

(if he only had 1 you can' t stop declarer anyway)

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Remember hold-up play. You're in 3NT, West leads and you have xx opposite Axx in their suit

HOLD UP for 2 rounds (unless there is a dangerous switch), then take the 3rd trick

If the suit was 4-4, you´ll lose just 1 more trick, but if they were 5-3 and you can keep West off lead you won't lose any more at all. 

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What do you bid if you have opening points and the dreaded 

4-4-4-1 distribution

The answer, playing 4 card majors, depends on the colour. If the singleton is red, bid the suit below it

If it's black, bid the middle ranked suit. 

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Not sure whether to open the bidding? 

USE THE RULE OF 20

as a guide, the number of cards in the 2 longest suits plus your high card points.

With 19/20 or more you can open. (19 is often used these days)

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If your partner leads 4th highest apply

RULE OF ELEVEN

Subtract the value of the card from 11 and you know how many higher cards in this suit are held by the 3 other players.

Example : Partner leads 5 11-5 =6 Dummy holds J82 and you KT7 that is 5 cards higher than the 5 led so declarer only has 1 card higher than the 5. 

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It isn`t just in poker that you need a

POKER FACE

Showing your feelings (especially surprise and irritation) can only give unnecessary information to your opponents. 

it is actually deemed to have given unauthorised information to your partner, which causes them no end of difficulties in playing within the Laws of bridge.

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Hang on - won't all this signalling help delarer too?

YES, Good declarers will 

EAVESDROP ON DEFENDERS' SIGNALS

and use this information to rheir advantage. Be a good declarer, but on balance signalling gains the defence more than it costs

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If your partner makes an unusual lead

stop and ask yourself  WHY

Why, for example didn't he lead the suit you bid?

Could it be a singleton? Is he keeping an honour in your suit for an entry?

Don't automatically assume it is a mistake. 

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DON'T DOUBLE WHEN DECLARER HAS A GOOD ALTERNATIVE

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When your partner leads a suit you can give them information about your holding in that suit.

One popular method is to encourage or discourage your partner to continue leading this suit.

PLAY HIGH TO ENCOURAGE OR LOW TO ASK FOR A SWITCH

in bridge shorthand this is called HELD (High Encourage Low Discourage)

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If yur partner bids during the auction, it's usually best to

LEAD PARTNER'S SUIT

This will help to establish winners in the suit in no trumps and in a suit contract you may 

need to grap your tricks quickly, before declarer starts ruffing or discarding. 

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From three 'rubbish' cards play

MUD (MIDDLE, UP DOWN)

so from 973 lead the 7, REMEMBER to play the 9 next
now part knows you have exactly 3 cards in this suit. If you play the 3 he will think you have 4 or 2.

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LEAD A LOW CARD FROM AN HONOUR

Including when leading partners suit.

(You should still lead according to your suit leading agreements). 

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If you have 8 CARDS in a suit, how are the outstanding 5 split?

The good news is that 3-2 occurs 68% of the time. 
But 28% they'll split 4-1 so 

PLAN FOR A BAD BREAK
(Especially when you know there is a long suit in one hand)
It'll pay off better than 1 in 4 times. 

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It's generally a good idea to

DRAW YOUR OPPONENTS' TRUMPS

at the first opportunity. But not always, if you need to ruff a loser in dummy, for example
you might have to do that first whilst you still have some trumps in dummy and then drawn trumps afterwards.

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Balanced means 4-3-3-3, 4-4-3-2 but ALSO

5-3-3-2

consider opening 1NT, ESPECIALLY when the 5 card suit is a minor. 

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Surprisingly often when in doubt

PASS IS THE RIGHT BID 

That's why there are so many of those little green
PASS cards in your bidding box! You don't have to "win" every auction,
going 2 or 3 off doubled can be an expensive afternoon at IMPs

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when doubling for penalties

be aware that you will be advertising where the missing trumps are placed

Don’t double a contract that declarer can only make by placing the missing high cards

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when planning a suit contract the best approach is usually to

COUNT YOUR LOSERS 

and then to try to find ways to REDUCE THEM

eg by finessing, ruffing losers in dummy, discarding losers, endplays, squeezes and all the fun of the game. 

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as declarer

PLAN YOUR PLAY BEFORE YOU PLAY TO THE FIRST TRICK

if you play too quickly it could already be too late. 

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BBO ROBOTS

in BBO you can replay any set of boards against robots

Advanced robot rent is $1 per week. Then you can see how you would have done in any of the world tournaments! 

Or even enter some of the daily declarer play problems or club tournament deals. 

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If you're defending, take time to 

ESTIMATE YOUR PARTNER'S POINT COUNT

when dummy goes down. 

(declarer should be planning their play so you will have time to do it now)

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BRIDGE IS ALL ABOUT COUNTING

don't let that put you off, the numbers aren't very big.

There are just 13 cards in each suit. 40 high card points

The more accurately you count the better you will play

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In no trumps it's better to
COUNT YOUR WINNERS first
and then try to find ways to 
ESTABLISH THE EXTRA TRICKS
that you need eg by knocking out opponent's Aces, taking finesses or setting up a long suit. 
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IN NO TRUMPS, LOSE YOUR LOSERS EARLY,
and only then cash your winners. It's usually vital to force out the opponents'
Aces and lose any finesses before usingup your stops in their suits.

If you cash all your top cards first you'll be defenceless 

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DOUBLE DUMMY PLAY IT AGAIN

don´t miss out on the "play it again" option on the results page of all our tournaments,
replay the most interesting hands and see what went wrong, or right: 

Go check it out if you aren't familar with this feature.  

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Finessing JT98 opposite AQ32 with the J will potential gain 4 tricks.
But finessing J654 will cost you a trick even if the K is right
Lead small to the Q and hope to drop a doubleton.

ONLY LEAD AN HONOUR IF YOU'RE HAPPY FOR IT TO BE COVERED

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Defenders - while declarer is planning use the time to do the same.

ANTICIPATE FINESSES /  COVER OR NOT

PLAY SMOOTHLY without giving anything away

(to fake hesitation is against the laws of bridge)

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Against suit contracts, the top honour of a sequence is usually a good lead

SINGLETONS ARE AN ATTRACTIVE LEAD

so you can ruff the next round. If you think declarer may need to ruff, a trump if often a good choice.

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DON'T OVER FINESSE

Just because you can take a finesse doesn't mean you have to

with AKJxx trumps opposite xxx trumps, consider the bidding and 

remember the danger hand tip. Playing AK is probably the better option if the finesse is into that hand. 

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PLAN AND PRESERVE YOUR ENTRIES

not only into dummy but indeed sometimes into your own hand. 

There is little point in establishing winners if you can't get to them. 

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KNOW YOUR PROBABILITIES

If your contract depends on a particular finesse, you have a 50% chance of making it
(because the card you're after could equally be in one hand or the other). If it depends on 2 finesses
being right, your down to 25%. But if you only need 1 of 2 finesses to come off, your chances are a healthy 75%

(information from play and bidding will obviously sway these exact figures)

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keeping a careful count enables you to 

MAKE INFERENCES

Here's an example. West, who opened the auction with a pass, leads ♦ AKQ against 4♠ 

That's 9 points already - so you know where the missing K♣  is, don't you? 

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If you have something like AJx opposite K109, which way do you finesse to catch the queen?

If the bidding doesn't offer a clear clue, usually leave the suit till later, when things will be clearer.

Better still DON'T TOUCH THE SUIT

and hope that a defender leads it for you or yet better still end play one of them - guaranteeing you three tricks. 

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A useful concept for declarer is to identify which defender holds 

THE DANGER HAND

- this is the defender you don't want on lead. Maybe he has a string of winners in a suit in no trumps, or 

he might lead through your unprotected King

Take your finesses so that if they lose, the other defender is on lead.

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The Rule of 20: 

The Rule of 20 is a good guideline for opening the bidding with slightly fewer than 12 points!  Therefore you can open the bidding when your total points added to the number of cards in your two longest suits equal twenty or more.

 

for more tips. 

 

North should ensure that the boards are in the correct orientation and in order. ..........