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Seriously “Don’t
forget that bridge is a game to be enjoyed and it is more important that you
do this than anything else!” This
article below appeared in all Sunday papers in Boomers
Special interest Plan for
pursuit of passions “Why take chances when you
can nail down your perfect getaway?” writes Tricia Welsh. NOT everyone wants to just
jump on a plane and take pot luck with whatever they find at the other end.
Some like to plan their adventures around specific pursuits or personal
passions. Here are some of the best special-interest tours available for next
year. Learn the finer points of
bridge with Brisbane-based expert Denise Dodd of Seriously Social Bridge as
you float along the mighty When: Sept 22-Oct 6 Cost: $4312 twin share main deck, all-inclusive
(including airfares ex-Brisbane, gratuities onboard). More: Contact Alma Travel
Centre. freecall 1800 622
661. www.pandaw.com January Newsletter
Our September trip to Hi
Everyone, I’ve
discovered there are some really positive things about ageing. One is that when you travel alone through
many parts of
The
highlight was the four weeks I spent volunteering at an Australian organized
orphanage www.hopeforcambodianchildren.org
in Battambang. The 120 children have
so little but display so many admirable qualities. The ability to readily
laugh and smile and take great pleasure in the day-to-day activities is
second nature to them. I taught them to sing “Jingle Bells” which rapidly
became known as “Giggle Bells”. I
intend returning at the end of this year.
If you want to know more about this organization, please refer their
website. Our
venues at the Cricketers and Kedron reopen on the lst and 2nd
February, respectively. I look forward
to seeing you after such a long break.
I’m invigorated and have some interesting ideas - I think so anyway -
for our Bridge + holiday enjoyment this year. Whilst
in Bangkok I met up with my bridge pal, George Cuppaidge, whom I haven’t seen
for years. George, one of If
you have been thinking about playing bridge online, but haven’t quite got
round to it for one reason or another, then think again. I can arrange for
you to play with George for an hour or two and play your local club standard
or move slowly to another dimension that you might only have read about. This
arrangement is geared for YOUR STANDARD so don’t be
shy. Contact me and I will send you all the information you
need to get started. NEGATIVE
DOUBLES Just
one of the many things we spoke about.
I mentioned that my students found them difficult to learn and apply
and their approach was to bid pretty much naturally over interference if they
could. When supervising, I often used
to suggest after say, 1S opening by partner, 2D overcall, that opener’s
partner make a negative double with (sometimes) limited values and support for the other
suits. My students baulked at this
suggestion as they said the negative double often got them too high. And mostly they were right! The alternative is to raise partner if you
can at the appropriate level, but pass
with limited values and no support, as partner gets another bid. More on that at one of my Advancing classes
later on. OPENING
LIGHTER George
also likes to open light. Funnily enough, a lot of my students do this
automatically if the hand is very shapely!
Once again, doing what comes naturally may not be as much of a
disadvantage as we originally thought.
GRATUTIOUS
DOUBLES, SILLY OVERCALLS, So my advancing classes will be on
what we need to discard from our bridge systems. Declutter. Details to follow soon. This
is going to be a “live” newsletter so I’ll add to it from time to time as the
need arises. Please continue to let me have your ideas and suggestions. I
welcome your enquiries.
Give more, enjoy
life, love bridge Denise No partner: It’s a common cry, “I don’t have a
partner”. I can, and will find someone
for you to play with, several in fact, until you find someone with whom you
“click”. No partner, no play, not a
reason, an excuse. That’s OK, you
decide. Let me know if I can help. A Special Pairs Event “Arthritis Week 2010”
When: Monday, 22nd March Time: The event will be opened by Lynne Newcome, Education Manager of Arthritis a NON-PROFIT ORGANISATION. Over $1,000
value in Raffles and “spot prizes” to be won Free Parking in or in Member’s carpark,
enter via This is the first of our 2010 fun functions – don’t miss out! Net proceeds from this event will be donated to Arthritis Qld. |
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When partner leads a “Nine” When partnering novices I ask them not to lead
nines (this is hard for them as they seem to love leading nines). They ask, “but
what if it’s my fourth highest?” Did
you know there is no holding from which a nine is fourth highest? Partner would lead an honour from any of these holdings when defending no-trumps or a
suit contract: *A-J-10-9, K-Q-10-9, K-Q-J-9. Usually a nine
indicates a doubleton, singleton or top of nothing 9-8-3. Why
would partner lead the top card from a suit without an honour? It’s to warn us we shouldn’t automatically
be returning the suit. Partner might
be leading a short suit because the opponents bid partner’s long suit. Or partner may he hoping to find your longest suit. * Lead the ace if you are defending a
suit contract. |
All this adage means is that when you have a nine-card
fit missing the queen, you should play the ace and king first, hoping to drop
the missing honour. DUMMY KJ92 DECLARER A10872 Play the ace and the king and hope for the best!
If, however, there are inferences from the bidding (say your left hand
opponent preempted 3♣, and you found
yourself in a contract of 4♠ with the above trumps, then you would disregard
the adage “Eight ever, nine never” as the chances are your left hand opponent
will be short in this suit. You should
cash the king first and “run” the jack on the next round. |
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A young George, left, playing against the multi talented Omar Shariff
Bidding at bridge by George Cuppaidge, January 2010 “Bridge is a remarkable game and the sophisticated bidding phase is
the aspect that separates it from all other card games” The two partners exchange bids which
describe the strength and distribution of the hand at the same time
estimating the number of tricks they can take with their two hands combined.
By exchanging this information in a simple, straightforward and ordered way
remarkable accuracy as to the combined trick-taking potential can be
achieved. The scoring table rewards you according to the level you undertake
to achieve and succeed in achieving. To bid a grand slam is an undertaking to
win all the tricks with your selected suit as trumps or with no trump suit.
In duplicate bridge the bonus for bidding and making a grand slam, all
thirteen tricks, is 1000 non-vulnerable and 1500 vulnerable. Other bonuses are,
500 and 1000 for a small slam, twelve of the thirteen tricks, 300 and 500 for
game, nine tricks in no trump, ten in a major suit and eleven in a minor
suit. The bonus for bidding and making a part-score, a lower level contract
in any of these denominations is 50. The bidding system described here is
known as a “Standard” system. Major suit openings in first or second position
show a five-card or longer suit. The 1NT opening bid shows a balanced hand
with 15-17 high card points. The two strong opening bids are 2NT, 20-22
points, balanced and 2C all other strong hands, 20+ high card points. The
opening bids of 2D, 2H and 2S are weak and show length and strength in the
suit bid. It is a simple, natural system, it employs very few conventional
treatments. Its accent is on bidding the cards you hold rather than the
points you hold. It will equip you for success in bridge at any level. Rather
than improve the system as you get better, it will be necessary, only, to
improve the way you play it. Good luck! Before you embark on any
system it is vital to remember one thing. Bridge is a game of cards! The
object is to triumph over your opponents. You don't do that by slavishly
following a set of rules, any set of rules. You do it by using your bidding
system as your slave, not your master. At all times keep the presence of your
opponents firmly in mind. While you are seeking out your own bidding
objectives you are simultaneously trying to make life as hard for them as you
can. Your bidding can actually help them, and vice versa of course. So try to
be as unhelpful as you can and to draw inferences from what you hear. Use the
opponent’s bids as a spring-board. These are not easy things to do and only
much experience will hone these vital skills. Keep them in mind from the
outset and you will learn them faster. The lowest opening bid of
all is 1C and if the bidding stops there, the bidder is obliged to win seven
tricks with clubs as trump to fulfill his contract. The highest bid, and of
course the highest scoring bid, is 7NT an undertaking to win all the tricks
with no suit trumps. Ace is always high and the two is always low, there are
no jokers or bowers in bridge. In a no trump contract the winner of a trick
is the card led unless someone can play a higher card in the same suit. In a
trump contract the same is true, but a player void in the suit led can “ruff”
it, which means to play a trump. The trump will win the trick unless someone
can (legally) play a higher trump, “over-ruff.” The dealer has the first opportunity
to bid, he can elect to make any bid from 1C upwards or to pass. In Partnerships adopt a
“bidding system.” They agree between themselves what any particular bid will
mean to them when made in a particular context, i.e as an opening bid, as a
response to an opening bid or as a rebid by opener, etc, etc. It is part of
bridge that any understandings or agreements that you and your partner have
between you must be disclosed to your opponents if they ask you at their turn
to bid. Since there are four people at the table one partnership will not
always have the bidding to itself. We consider first how bidding proceeds in
the absence of intervention from opponents. We then move on to consider how
to deal with intervention from opponents and how to intervene ourselves.
There are three main bidding systems in use today, but many others. The “big
three” are Standard American, Precision which includes a strong, artificial,
1C opening and Acol, the standard system in There are not only many
other systems but many variations within each system. What is all important
is that you and your partner play the same system and understand it. Just as
important is that your system is simple and straightforward. There are many
distractions at the bridge table and the more complicated your system is the
more likely you are to be distracted! Standard American has come
to mean a system in which an on opening bid of one-of-a-major, 1H or 1S
indicates five or more cards in that suit and an opening bid of 1NT shows a
balanced hand, 4333, 4432 distribution or 5332 when the five-card suit is a
minor, clubs or diamonds. The “high-card strength” of an opening 1NT bid is
15-17 points counting four for an ace, three for a king, two for a queen and
one for a jack. That is the system which will be described here but as
indicated above, there are many variations within the different versions of
the same system. The version set out here is designed to be as simple,
natural and easy to use as possible. Do not expect anyone you play with or
against to accept that the version that you play is as good as theirs, just
be content in the knowledge that it is better. You must, of course, come to a
consensus before you start playing, you and your partner must agree to play
the same system. By system is meant that
you make the same bid every time you pick up the same or similar hand. As you
make further bids the description of your hand is defined to narrower and
narrower limits. Partner uses your bids to try and form a picture of the hand
you are holding, and vice-versa. When one partner feels he knows all he needs
to know about his partner's hand he will make a sign-off bid, which when
accepted by his partner, becomes the final contract, be it part-score, game
or slam. At other times, the stronger of the two partners will take over the
bidding and force his partner to describe his hand further whether he wants
to or not. In this case he must follow orders. What are sign-off bids and
what are “forcing” continuations can often be a complicated matter. It is
hoped that these questions will be resolved by what follows. What do you need to open
the bidding? In the early days of
contract bridge the maxim used was, “an opening bid opposite an opening bid
will produce game.” Bidding and making games was considered to be the essence
of bridge. The statisticians established that 25 or 26 points combined were
needed to produce game in no trumps, 3NT, when both hands were balanced. To
open the bidding one needed 12 points or more. The game has moved on since
then. You will soon discover that there are many hands where game is on both
ways, one partnership can make game in hearts and the other in spades for
example. A typical competitive bidding situation arises if you bid, say, 4H
and your opponents persist with 4S. You must make the hard but critical
decision whether to defend or bid one more. Success at bridge largely depends
upon your ability to make good competitive decisions be they at the
part-score, game or slam level. It should be evident,
already, that the 25-26 point yardstick applies only when a pair of hands are
balanced. Throw in a little “distribution,” long suits, singletons and voids;
this number goes quickly out of the window. What you must do is prepare
yourself for the oncoming battle and open any hand which is likely to be
useful in this quest. Ten points is your expectation, there are forty in the
whole pack. If your hand contains ten or more open! Let partner know that if
he holds just a little more than ten himself, the hand belongs to you and you
should try and control the bidding, play the hand yourselves or double the
opponents for penalty if they out bid you. It is universally accepted that
the standard point count set out above slightly undervalues aces and
overvalues jacks. We take this into account and open the bidding whenever our
hand holds at least its fair share of “good cards.” Any hand containing two
aces, an ace a king and a queen or three kings should be opened. Count an
extra point for any card over four in a suit headed by an ace or a king in
assessing your ten point minimum requirement. In bridge, as in chess,
tennis and many other games there is a distinct advantage in making the first
move. On any hand where there is a reasonable prospect that your side owns
more than half the high cards, make it! There are few worse strategically
moves than passing a good hand and coming in later. By that time your
opponents will know a lot about the hand and your actions are likely to help
only them. Get in first and let them do the guessing. If you hand is worthy
of an overcall, it is worth an opening bid. This is the opening bid structure
we adopt in this style. The 1NT opening bid. For reasons which will
become clear it is useful to describe this bid first. It shows a balanced
hand, 4333, 4432 or 5332 distribution, length in all the suits. Although some
do, it is not recommended to open 1NT when the five-card suit is a major.
Major suit contracts are the life blood of bridge and far too often they will
be missed if responder is too weak to investigate the shape of the 1NT
opener's hand. The strength range is 15-17 high card points. A point can
definitely be added for the possession of a good five-card suit or a
preponderance of aces and kings. This extra point can elevate the value of a
hand both to bring it into the range or to make it too strong for the bid.
Responder's task is fairly straightforward forward following this opening
bid. With ten or more points in a balanced hand, insist on game somewhere,
with fewer, play in the safest part-score. Be happy to pass flat (balanced)
nine counts and watch other players with your cards struggle with games that
fail more often than they make. The 1C opening bid Two distinct classes of
hand are opened with a bid of 1C. These are all balanced hands in the 10-14
and 15-19 point ranges, i.e. outside the range for a 1NT bid. As well, it
includes hands in the 10-19 point range where the longest suit is clubs. It
is worth noting that for utter simplicity, the higher of two five card or
longer suits is the choice of suit to open. Even significant disparity in the
relative suit length rarely creates a problem and at the same this style
solves many. The 1C opener may hold a higher ranking four-card suit, but
never a five-carder. The 1D opening bid. This bid will never be
based on a dead flat hand, 4333 or 4432; those hands are opened 1C. It may
however be based on a 5332 shape, with diamonds the five-card suit. Generally
the 1D bid will show five cards in that suit, which it is reasonable to
assume in competitive situations. The only time when it will not show five or
more is when opener's shape is 4441, with a singleton club. One-of-a-major, the 1H and
1S opening bids. These bids promise five
cards in the suit bid and show 10-19 high card points. The length requirement
is relaxed in third or fourth seat however where to open a good four-card
major is generally a better choice than a nebulous 1C bid. The system strong bid, the
2C opening bid. It simplifies the bidding
greatly if responder knows the maximum strength his partner might hold for the
opening bid of one-of-a-suit. For this reason, all hands of 20 high card
points or more, except for those which qualify for a 2NT opening bid, see
below, are opened 2C. Responder is expected to keep the bidding alive until a
sensible game contract is reached. Occasional losses for getting to high are
compensated by the fact that our one bids are never too top heavy. 2D is the
negative response, which denies the possession of an ace and a king or three
kings in responder's hand. It is the bid on quite strong balanced hands which
lack the requirement for a positive response, allowing opener to describe
which of multitude of hands shapes he might have. A minimum response in any
suit, except 2D shows positive values and a five-card or longer suit, while
2NT shows one of the balanced shapes. You can hold as many as 18 points and
still lack the requirement for a positive response. Weak two bids, the opening
bids of 2D, 2H and 2S. The prime requirement here is a good suit. A good five-card suit is
opened with a weak two at any vulnerability. Any action at bridge has upside
and downside risks attached to it. The main risk arising from failure to open is that your weak partner
will not appreciate the need to lead this suit. One of the benefits is that
of using up a lot of bidding space, at the one time
making partner's bidding task simple and the opponents' difficult. You may
succeed in stealing the hand altogether. Remember, if a hand qualifies for an
opening one bid; do
not open it with a weak two. If you
would like to contact George direct, either to discuss his bidding theories,
or play with him on line, please email jorj41@gmail.com |
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“Doubles Anyone?” You hold this hand: ♠7 ♥A64 ♦AKJ43 ♣KJ54 And the bidding proceeds with 1♥ on your right. Your bid. Some players think they have
to make a takeout double to show 16+ points - not so. And to double 1♥ holding a singleton
spade is asking for trouble. AN
OVERCALL DOES NOT DENY A GOOD If you are confused about when to overall and
when to make a takeout double, Audrey Grant’s Better Bridge Series “Improving
your Judgment 2 – Doubles” or “Competitive Bidding” should set you
straight. See me about your book
needs. |
Live simply that others may simply live.