HELPFUL TIPS
1. PLAYING IN HASTE. (Why You Lose at Bridge)
Never win a trick until you have made up your mind what card you are going to play next. This applies even strongly to defensive play.
2. COUNT. (Common Sense)
Make the effort to always count out the hands, this includes points and distribution around the table, as well as analyzing information gained from opponents bidding, leads, and carding.
3. NINE TRUMPS MISSING THE QUEEN. (Why You Lose at Bridge)
Play Ace or King to see what happens. If nothing happens, proceed as follows
With no singletons or voids in your hand or dummy, play for the drop.
With a singleton or void in either your hand or dummy, take the finesse.
4. CULBERTSON THEORY OF SIMILARITY OF DISTRIBUTION. (Why You Lose at Bridge)
This theory relates to the above. The theory being when there is a singleton or void in one hand or side, there will be compensating singleton or void on the other side elsewhere.
5. RULE FOR FINDING QUEENS AND JACKS. (Barry Crane)
When you are looking for a Queen or Jack on a two-way finesse, it is over the Jack or Ten in the minors. In the majorsthis reversed. This does not take precedence over knowledge of where length and/or strength of the opponents are gained from counting and analyzing bidding.
6. FINESSE. (Why You Lose at Bridge)
Factors that may influence your decision on which way to finesse are:
Counting the points & distribution around the table may swing the odds of finessing in either direction.
An endplay might force a defender on lead, thus eliminating declarer’s guess.
An avoidance play may be necessary for declarer, if it is too dangerous to finesse into a particular defender.
Table presence or “feel” may help declarer determine which way to finesse.
7. MISSING THREE TO THE KING. (Barry Crane)
When you lead toward the Ace, if the next hands play the smallest card, play the Ace. If he plays the middle card, then finesse. This has a partial logic in that with two small most players will play small.
8. RULE OF 14. (Mathematical)
When defending and partner leads the top of nothing (from 2, 3, or 4 cards), subtract that number from 14. The result tells you how many card are out above that card. Therefore, by looking at dummy and your hand you will know exactly which cards the declarer has in that suit.
9. ASBAF (Common Sense)
All Strange BidsAre Forcing.
10. PREMATURE WINNING OF TRICKS. (Why You Lose at Bridge)
If dummy armed with plentiful trumps, plays a singleton through your Ace, DUCK.
If declarer leads a small card that might be a singleton towards K, Q, x, x in dummy DUCK.
About the only time you play your Ace in such a case is when you believe you can immediately cash sufficient tricks to set the contract.
The reason that you hold off most of the time is that even if the declarer’s card is a singleton, your play of the Ace will give him two discards later.
11. GAIN TEMPO. (Why You Lose at Bridge)
Another instance of ducking is to gain tempo. For example, sitting with A, J, x over a suit of K, Q, x, x it often pays to refuse the first round. Win the first trick and declarer with a doubleton can ruff out the suit without disturbing dummy’s entry. DUCK, and he can’t.
12. PRINCIPLE OF PROMOTION. (Why You Lose at Bridge)
This is another “frequently missed” duck. It occurs when you are in a position to over-ruff declarer and by refusing to do so, you gain an extra trick. The simplest example occurs when you hold A, J alone in trumps and declarer ruffs with the King. If you over ruff, then his Queen will draw your Jack. If you refuse to do so you must make two rump tricks.
13. OPENING LEADS. (Why You Lose at Bridge)
a. Lead a Trump:
(1) Whenever your opponents have bid three suits and ended up in a fourth.
(2) Whenever declarer, supported in his suit, has bid No Trump and been put back into his suit.
(2) Whenever you haven’t the faintest idea what to do.
b. Lead your Partner’s suit:
When you are in doubt whether to lead your partner’s suit or your own.
14. BID WHAT YOU THINK YOU CAN MAKE. (Why You Lose at Bridge)
This still permits you to be as scientific as is necessary on the hands that demand it. You can approach, reverse, ask, bid 4 NT and produce the whole bag of tricks as it is required, but not when it isn’t. The moment you know the contract you want to play at, you bid it without any further nonsense.
15. BIDDING MISFITS. (Why You Lose at Bridge)
The moment there is a balance of evidence to show the hand is a complete misfit, stop bidding. Never mind if the contract you’re in at that moment is clearly a bad contract. If you bid again, you may make it better, but you are much more likely to make it worse. In the real disasters over misfits, it is seldom the first double that would have turned out to be so expensive. It is the final double coming at the end of the partnership’s wild rescuing.
16. COMPETITIVE BIDDING. (Why You Lose at Bridge)
When in doubt, bid one more. The bulk of points won at Bridge is won by finding your own correct contract and not by pushing the opponents into the wrong one.
17. HONOR RULE. (Dave & Charlene)
Use the “Honor Rule” when making overcalls. Add the number of cards in the suit to the number of honor cards in the suit. If the total is 7, you can overcall at the one level. If the total is 8, you can overcall at the 2 level. If the total is 9, you can overcall at the 3 level. But be careful with overcalls at the 3 level, especially if the opponent has pre-empted, you will also need to have opening count.
18. DEFENDING AGAISNT PREEMPTS. (Dave & Charlene)
Never preempt against a preempt.
Double with an opening hand or better with support for the unbid suits.
Overcall with a good 5+ card suit and an opening hand or better.
Cue bid a weak 2-Bid of a major to show the minors and an opening hand.
Cue bid of a weak 2 Diamond bid with an opening hand and the majors (at least 5-4).
2NT over a weak 2-Bid is a NT hand with at least one stopper in the weak 2-Bid.
Doubles are takeout thru 4 Hearts.
Double of 4 Spades is penalty.
4NT over 4 Spades is takeout..
19. CIRCUMSTANES ALTER BIDS. (Why You Lose at Bridge)
The good bridge player tries for THE BEST RESULT POSSIBLE, NOT THE BEST POSSIBLE RESULT. It depends on the partner and his skill level and experience and on occasion the ability or lack of ability of the opponents.
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