How to Play Bridge - Talk Talk · This book is intended ... Perhaps the easiest way to learn how to...
Transcript of How to Play Bridge - Talk Talk · This book is intended ... Perhaps the easiest way to learn how to...
Alrewas Bridge Club
How to Play
Bridge
An introductory course for beginners
By Charles Elliott MBA
How to Play Bridge
Alrewas Bridge Club
We meet every Tuesday
At 2pm
for Beginners and Improvers
And
every Mondays at 2pm
for advanced players
And
Every Wednesdays and Fridays at 2pm
for Advanced and Intermediate Players
For further information please visit our website at
wwwalrewasbridgeclubcouk
Revised January 2015
How to Play Bridge
Introduction
Welcome to Alrewas Bridge
Club This book is intended
to give you an introductory
overall picture of the
wonderful intricacies of the
great game of bridge It is
often described as the
lsquoprince of all card gamesrsquo
It might seem a little
complicated at first sight
but donrsquot worry your fellow
members are here to help
and after only few visits to the club you will soon be getting the hang
of it Enjoy
PLAY MINI-BRIDGE
Perhaps the easiest way to learn how to play Bridge is to start with the
very simplest form namely Mini-Bridge You can learn this in just a
few minutes
Introduction to Bridge - Mini-bridge
The game of Mini-bridge is played with a standard pack of 52 playing
cards with the jokers removed
There are four players who sit round a table and are usually identified
by the points of the compass North South East and West They play
as two partnerships North-South and East-West Partners can be
agreed or designated or the cards can be cut to determine who plays
with whom
How to Play Bridge
Mini-bridge is a trick-taking game One player starts by lsquoleadinglsquo or
playing the first card to a trick Each player in turn clockwise
contributes one card to each trick and the highest card played wins the
trick Aces are high followed in order by the king queen jack ten
nine and so on down to the two the lowest card in each suit
There are four suits of these 13 cards
Spades spades and Hearts hearts (the major suits)
Diamonds diams and Clubs clubs (the minor suits)
When playing to a trick each player must lsquofollow suitrsquo with a card of
the suit led if possible
Otherwise they may discard any card they like but a discard cannot
win the trick however high the card chosen The winner of a trick
makes the lead to the next trick
Deals may be played in lsquono trumpsrsquo or with a trump suit ndash one which
is more powerful than the others Say spades are trumps then any
spade beats any card in the other three suits Players must still follow
suit to each trick if they can but when unable to follow instead of
discarding a trump may be played which will win the trick (unless
another player plays a bigger trump card to the trick)
The main feature of Mini-bridge that distinguishes it from whist and
other similar trick-taking games is the existence of a lsquodeclarerrsquo who
decides the lsquocontractrsquo ndash that is the choice of trump suit and a target
number of tricks to be won by the partnership The contract must
always be for at least 7 of the 13 tricks available but a higher target
The difference between major and minor suits will
become important when we learn about the scoring
If you are cutting for partners then the two
players with the highest cards will play together The person drawing the highest
card can have choice of seat
How to Play Bridge
can be set known as a lsquogamersquo contract for which the declaring side
scores more if it is made Initially the target number of tricks will be
determined by the points held
1 - Shuffle and deal
The pack should be shuffled and cut for dealer (highest deals) Dealer
deals out the cards clockwise one by one to the players so that they
have 13 cards each Dealer for the second game will be the next
player clockwise and so on Please note that many teachers will
provide you with pre-dealt hands in bridge boards
2 - Sorting the hand
3 - Counting points
The value of the hand is worked out by counting up the high card
points held using the following scale
Ace = 4 points King = 3 points Queen = 2 points Jack
= 1 point
Note that there are 40 points altogether between the four hands in
each deal
4 - Announcing points
Beginning with the dealer and then in clockwise order each player
announces how many points his or her hand contains The partnership
The players sort the cards in their own Hand into suits and into sequence within
Each suit without showing the cards to the other players
How to Play Bridge
with the most points becomes the declaring side who decide the
contract The other pair are the defending side who try to prevent the
contract being made by making tricks themselves There is a re-deal if
the point distribution between the partnerships turns out to be 2020
5 - The declaring side
The player with the higher number of points in the declaring side
becomes lsquodeclarerrsquo and his partner becomes lsquodummyrsquo If they both
have the same number of points the player who announced points
first is declarer Dummy then lays his or her hand down face up on the
table to face declarer with the suits arranged in columns (see the
following diagram)
6 - Deciding the trump suit
Declarer may choose no trumps or a trump suit If declarer chooses a
trump contract the cards in dummy in the chosen suit are moved to be
on the dummyrsquos right hand side (the left hand end as declarer looks at
them)
How to Play Bridge
7 ndash Declarerrsquos Target
Declarer will attempt as a minimum to take a target number of tricks
based on the points that his side holds
Combined Declarerrsquos tricks target
points No trumps Suit contract
1-22 7 8
23-24 8 9
25-27 9 10
28-32 10 11
33-36 12 12
37+ 13 13
The points held give an indication of the tricks that might be
achieved Note that this is only a guide ndash the point count will be most
accurate in no trump contracts where the hands are often fairly
balanced although this can vary if the defenders manage to establish
tricks in their long suit
In general the possession of a trump suit will result in the hands
making about one trick more than if there were none This will
become important when we move on to bridge (as opposed to mini-
bridge) and consider the scoring table
8 - Play begins
The player on declarerrsquos left plays the first card ie makes the
lsquoopening leadrsquo Play is in clockwise order and players must follow to
the suit led whenever possible The highest card played wins the trick
(unless in a suit contract it is beaten by a trump since trumps
How to Play Bridge
outrank the other three suits) If several rounds of a suit are played
and a player runs out of cards in that suit he or she may discard a card
from another suit (which cannot win the trick) or in a trump
contractcan choose to play a trump (which will win the trick unless it
is beaten by a higher trump)
9 - Taking tricks
Each card is played face up in front of each player in such a way that
everyone can see the cards clearly When a trick is complete the
cards are turned over players placing the lsquoquittedrsquo cards from their
own hands face down on the table in front of themselves in a neat
row To make it easy to see how many tricks have been won or lost
cards in tricks won are placed upright and cards in tricks lost are
placed sideways on The winner of the first trick leads to the second
and so on
10 - Dummy play
Declarer controls the play of dummyrsquos cards telling partner which
card to play when itrsquos dummyrsquos turn Declarerrsquos partner must always
play dummyrsquos cards as instructed and must keep the cards already
played from dummy in correct order and formation Otherwise
dummy takes no part in the play of this particular deal
11 - Play ends
When all the cards have been played the tricks for each side are
counted and agreed and the result is calculated and scored Players
record their score on a score sheet The session can end when an
agreed target total has been reached by one side or after a set number
of deals has been played
How to Play Bridge
12 - The next deal
The position of dealer moves clockwise round the table for each
game
It is a good idea to have two packs of cards available so that the
second pack can be shuffled by the dealerrsquos partner while the first is
being dealt Before starting dealing the next set of hands these cards
should be cut by the player on the new dealerrsquos right
Rubber Bridge Rules
Rubber Bridge (and Contract Bridge which we will be discussing
later) is merely an advanced form of Minbridge
Players and Cards
There are four players in two fixed partnerships Partners sit facing
each other It is traditional to refer to the players according to their
position at the table as North East South and West so North and
South are partners playing against East and West The game is played
clockwise
A standard 52 card pack is used The cards in each suit rank from
highest to lowest A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Deal
The cards are shuffled by the player to dealers left and cut by the
player to dealers right The dealer deals out all the cards one at a time
so that each player has 13 Turn to deal rotates clockwise
It is traditional to use two packs of cards During each deal the
dealers partner shuffles the other pack and places it to the right The
dealer for the next hand then simply needs to pick up the cards from
the left and pass them across to the right to be cut Provided all the
players understand and operate it this procedure saves time and helps
to remember whose turn it is to deal as the spare pack of cards is
always to the left of the next dealer
How to Play Bridge
Bidding
There is next an auction to decide who will be the declarer A bid
specifies a number of tricks and a trump suit (or that there will be no
trumps) The side which bids highest will try to win at least that
number of tricks bid with the specified suit as trumps
When bidding the number which is said actually represents the
number of tricks in excess of six which the partnership undertakes to
win For example a bid of two hearts represents a contract to win at
least 8 tricks (8 = 6 + 2) with hearts as trumps
For the purpose of bidding the possible trump suits rank as follows
no trumps (highest) spades hearts diamonds clubs (lowest) A bid
of a larger number of tricks always beats a bid of a smaller number
and if the number of tricks bid are equal the higher suit beats the
lower The lowest bid allowed is one club (to win at least 7 tricks
with clubs as trumps) and the highest is seven no trumps (to win all
13 tricks without trumps
It is also possible during the auction to double a bid by the other
side or to redouble the opponents double Doubling and redoubling
essentially increase the score for the bid contract if won and the
penalties if lost If someone then bids higher any previous doubles
and redoubles are cancelled
Note that doubling does not affect the ranking of a bid - for example a
bid of two spades is always higher than two hearts even if the two
hearts bid has been doubled or redoubled
The dealer begins the auction and the turn to speak passes clockwise
At each turn a player may either
make a bid which must be higher than the previous bid if any
say double if the previous bid was by an opponent and has
not already been doubled
say redouble if the previous bid was by ones own side and
has been doubled by an opponent but not yet redoubled
How to Play Bridge
pass by saying no bid or pass This indicates that the player
does not wish to bid double or redouble on that round but a
player who has passed is still allowed to bid double or redouble
at a later turn NB Either no bid or pass is permissible but
you should stick to one term or the other No bid is usual in
Britain pass is usual in the USA
If all four players pass on their first turn to speak the hand is said to
be passed out The cards are thrown in and the next dealer deals
If anyone bids then the auction continues until there are three passes
in succession and then stops After three consecutive passes the last
bid becomes the contract The team who made the final bid will now
try to make the contract The first player of this team who mentioned
the denomination (suit or no trumps) of the contract becomes the
declarer The declarers partner is known as the dummy
Example of an auction (North dealt)
North East South West
Pass 1 heart double 3 hearts
3 spades Pass 4 spades Pass
Pass Pass
North-South will try to win at least 10 tricks with spades as trumps
North who mentioned spades first is the declarer Souths double of
one heart was cancelled by Wests bid of 3 hearts
The Play
The player to the left of the declarer leads to the first trick and may
play any card Immediately after this opening lead the dummys cards
are exposed The dummy should arrange them neatly in suits the
cards of each suit arranged in rank order in an overlapping column
pointing towards the declarer so that all the cards are clearly visible
The trump suit if any should be to dummys right (declarers left) in
the diagram spades are trump
How to Play Bridge
Play proceeds clockwise Each of the other three players in turn must
if possible play a card of the same suit that the leader played A player
with no card of the suit led may play any card A trick consists of four
cards one from each player and is won by the highest trump in it or
if no trumps were played by the highest card of the suit led The
winner of a trick leads to the next and may lead any card
Each trick is gathered together and turned face down when complete
but you may ask to see the cards and ask who played which card until
you or your partner has played to the next trick The tricks won are to
be arranged neatly in front of one member of the winning side so that
they can easily be counted
Dummy takes no active part in the play of the hand Whenever it is
dummys turn to play the declarer must say which of dummys cards
is to be played and dummy plays the card as instructed (provided that
it is legal) Dummy is not permitted to offer any advice or comment
on the play When dummy wins a trick the declarer specifies which
card dummy should lead to the next trick If when calling for a card
the declarer specifies the suit only dummy is to play the lowest card
of that suit
It is also legal and not unusual for the declarer to play dummys
cards by physically taking them from dummys hand rather than just
calling for them This allows the dummy player to leave the table
during the play of the hand
Scoring
As its name suggests rubber bridge is played in rubbers A rubber is
the best of three games A game is won by the first team to score 100
or more points for successful contracts over several deals if
necessary
A side which has already won one game towards the current rubber is
said to be vulnerable A side which has not yet won a game is not
vulnerable A side which is vulnerable is subject to higher bonuses
and penalties than one that is not
How to Play Bridge
The score is kept on a piece of paper divided into two columns headed
WE and THEY for the two teams with a horizontal line part-way
down (see sample) Scores for successful contracts are entered below
the line and count towards winning a game Other scores such as
bonuses for tricks made in excess of the contract (overtricks) or
penalties for tricks short of the contract (undertricks) are entered
above the line and do not count towards winning the game
Score for making the contract
For a successful contract the score below the line for each trick (in
excess of 6) bid and made is as follows
If trumps are Clubs or Diamonds 20 per trick
If trumps are Hearts or Spades 30 per trick
If there are No Trumps 40 for the first trick and 30 for each
subsequent trick
If the contract was doubled the above scores are doubled If it was
doubled and redoubled they are multiplied by 4
In addition the declarers side scores an extra 50 points above the line
if they succeed in a doubled contract This is sometimes known as 50
for the insult For making a redoubled contract the bonus is 100
above the line
Because of the difference in score clubs and diamonds are called the
minor suits and hearts and spades are the major suits
Slam bonus
A contract to make 12 tricks is known as a small slam A contract to
make all 13 tricks is called a grand slam For bidding and making a
slam declarers side get an extra bonus above the line depending on
their vulnerability as follows
Slam bonus small slam grand slam
not vulnerable 500 1000
vulnerable 750 1500
How to Play Bridge
Score for overtricks
If the declarers side wins more tricks than were bid and were not
doubled then in addition to the score below the line for the contract
they score for the overtricks above the line at the same rate as for bid
tricks - ie 20 per trick if a minor suit was trumps 30 per trick in a
major suit or no trumps
If the contract was doubled or redoubled the bonus for overtricks
does not depend on the trump suit but does depend on whether the
declarers side was vulnerable as follows
Score per overtrick doubled redoubled
not vulnerable 100 200
vulnerable 200 400
Penalty for undertricks
If the declarers side win fewer tricks than they bid neither side scores
anything below the line but the declarers opponents score above the
line This score depends on the declarers sides vulnerability and
whether the contract was doubled or redoubled as follows
Undertrick penalty not vulnerable vulnerable
Not doubled - each undertrick 50 100
Doubled - first undertrick 100 200
Doubled - 2nd and 3rd undertrick 200 each 300 each
Doubled - subsequent undertricks 300 each 300 each
Redoubled undertricks cost twice as much as doubled
undertricks
How to Play Bridge
Honours
The top five trumps (A K Q J 10) are called honours If one player
holds all five of these cards that players side scores a bonus of 150
above the line Four honours in one hand score 100 If there are no
trumps and a player holds four aces that players side scores 150 for
honours
Scores for honours are to be claimed at the end of the play (it is
assumed that the players will remember what they held)
As there is no skill in scoring for honours players often agree to play
without the honour bonuses
Game and Rubber
A side that accumulates 100 points or more below the line has won a
game A new line is drawn under the scores Anything the opponents
had below the line does not count towards the next game - they start
from zero again
It is important to notice that starting from zero and in the absence of
doubles to make a game in one hand you need to succeed in a
contract of at least three no trumps four spades four hearts five clubs
or five diamonds
The side which first wins two games wins the rubber For this they get
a bonus of 700 if they won it two games to zero or 500 if it was two
games to one Both sides scores are then totaled and if the game is
being played for money the side with the higher score wins an
amount proportional to the difference in scores from the side with the
lower score
If play ends for any reason with a rubber unfinished then a side with
a game gets a bonus of 300 points and a side with a part score (ie a
score below the line towards an uncompleted game) gets a bonus of
100
How to Play Bridge
Example of Rubber Bridge scoring
The scoresheet of a completed rubber might look like the example
below (The letters in brackets indicate successive deals as described
in the corresponding footnotes - they would not appear on the
scoresheet)
We They
500
(f)
50 (f)
100
(f)
200
(e)
500
(i)
300
(b)
30 (g)
60 (a) 30 (c)
The Line
60 (a) 100
(c)
End of Game
360
(f)
90 (d)
End of Game
60 (h) 40 (g)
90 (i)
End of
Rubber
(a) we bid 2 hearts and made 10 tricks - 60 below the line for the
contract and 60 above for the overtricks
How to Play Bridge
(b) they bid 4 spades we doubled them and they took only 8 tricks -
we score 100 for their first undertrick and 200 for the second
(c) they bid 3 no trumps and made 10 tricks This gives them a game
(100 below the line) plus 30 above the line for their overtrick A new
line is ruled below the scores to indicate the start of a new game
(d) they bid and made 3 spades
(e) they bid two diamonds and made 6 tricks - they are now
vulnerable so we score 100 for each undertrick
(f) we bid 6 hearts they doubled us but we won all 13 tricks We
score 360 (180 x 2) below the line for our doubled contract giving us
a game 100 above for our doubled non-vulnerable overtrick 50
above for making a doubled contract and 500 bonus for a small slam
bid and made
(g) they bid one no trump and took 8 tricks note that their 90 on deal
(d) was part of the previous game so the 40 below does not give them
a game
(h) we bid 3 clubs and made exactly 9 tricks
(i) they bid 3 hearts and took exactly 9 tricks giving their second
game and the rubber for a bonus of 500 (two games to one)
Adding up the scores we have 1690 and they have 880 Therefore we
have won by 810 points (even though they won the rubber)
In this example the above the line scores were entered starting
immediately above the line and working upwards This is traditional
at least in Britain but not necessary - you can start at the top just
below the WE-THEY headings and work downwards if you prefer
There is a Contract Bridge Scoring Card at the back of this book
How to Play Bridge
DUPLICATE BRIDGE
Duplicate Bridge the system we generally play at Alrewas Bridge
Club is only slightly different to Contract Bridge
In rubber bridge although the better players have a noticable edge
and will undoubtedly win in the long run the outcome of a single
rubber depends heavily on which side is dealt the better cards The
idea of duplicate bridge is to eliminate this element of luck by
having the same hands played more than once by different sets of
players
Suppose we are partners and play a hand of duplicate bridge as North-
South Instead of being rewarded for our absolute score on that hand
our score is compared with those of other players who played the
same deal as North-South against other opponents We win if we
score better than other players managed with our cards and lose if we
score worse
For this comparison to be fair it is necessary that each group of
players who play the same deal should start from the same position
Therefore it is not practicable to play rubbers where the scores
carried forward from deal to deal affect the tactical situation Instead
each deal is scored in its own right and does not affect the scores for
subsequent ones The concept of vulnerability is retained but on each
deal the vulnerability is preassigned
Boards
An almost essential piece of apparatus for playing duplicate bridge is
a set of duplicate boards and a pack of cards for each board Each
board contains four pockets marked North East South and West in
which the cards for the four players are stored Each board also carries
a number to identify it and has marks showing which of the players is
dealer and whether each team is vulnerable or not
Before the boards are played the cards are shuffled dealt and placed
in the pockets by a neutral person or by a player in the presence at
least one opponent
How to Play Bridge
When about to play a board the players take their cards from the
appropriate pockets check to see that they have 13 each and then bid
as usual The mark on the board showing the dealer in practice just
indicates which player is to begin the bidding The opening lead is
always made face down as explained above to give the leaders
partner an opportunity to ask questions about the bidding before the
led card is shown During the play the cards are not played in the
centre of the table but in front of the players At the end of each trick
all four players turn their played card face down The cards played by
each player are overlapped with the longer axis of the card pointing
to the winners of the trick (ie the cards belonging to tricks you have
won are placed upright from your point of view and the ones
belonging to lost tricks sideways) That way you can easily see how
many tricks you have won Also if the cards are kept in order any
dispute about revokes or tricks won or lost can be settled by
reconstructing the play At the end of the play each players cards are
gathered up and replaced in the correct pocket ready for the next time
the board is to be played
When this method of play is used dummy is expected to remain at the
table if at all possible and declarer then always calls dummys cards
rather than pulling them from the dummy You may ask to look at the
cards played to a trick by the other players as long as your own card is
face up Once you have turned your card face down you no longer
have the right to see any of the other cards played to that trick
(Unless you are dummy you are still allowed to peek at your own
played card without exposing it until the lead is made to the next
trick) Scoring
Each board is marked to show whether both sides one side or neither
side is vulnerable for that board You still need to score at least 100
points for tricks bid and made to make a game but on each board
both sides start with zero points towards games - there are no part
scores carried forward
In place of the rubber bonus there are game and part score bonuses
Making a game when vulnerable 500 points
How to Play Bridge
Making a game when not vulnerable 300 points
Making a part score any time 50 points
The rest of the scores are the same as in rubber bridge except that
there are no bonuses for honours in duplicate bridge
BRIDGEMATES
Fortunately although it is good know how the scoring system works
in our case all the scoring is done via our BridgeMates wireless
system All we (generally the players sitting at North table) have to
do is to enter the contract and the result and the system displays the
scores on the computer
MODERN ACOL (Standard English)
There are several methods of bidding Acol is the most used and
there are versions of Acol Modern Acol is the system we use at
Alrewas Bridge Club
Many years ago I was called in to help with a problem Apparently
there were a team of four aspiring rowers who for some odd reason
although there were all fit strong young and healthy trained hard
every day they just couldnrsquot win any rowing races Within minutes I
discovered the reason for their lack of success One of them was
sitting the wrong way round Once corrected their fame became
legendary
However apocryphal this story illustrates the need for all of us to be
paddling in the same direction or in our case to be all playing the
same system particularly so as we generally draw for partners at the
beginning of each playing session Experience players are expected
to play this system particularly when playing with newer members
How to Play Bridge
Bidding Standard English (Acol)
Bidding between partners is an exchange of information Using a very
restricted vocabulary each player in turn tries to describe his hand
The objective is to provide enough information so that one player can
make the decision what suit (if any) should be trumps and how many
tricks should we attempt to take
Initially we will consider the bidding as a dialogue between the pair
with the majority of the high-card strength this is frequently the case
However there are times when the values are more evenly distributed
between the pairs and both sides are then involved in the bidding
phase For now we will ignore this possibility it will be easier to
consider bidding as a partnership exercise before thinking about how
things change when both pairs are bidding
The most important considerations when evaluating your hand for an
opening bid are the high-card strength and the shape of the hand An
opening bid generally requires 12 or more points
Opening the bidding balanced hands
A balanced hand means
no singleton or void
not more than 1 doubleton
no 6-card or longer suit
With 12-14 points (Ace = 4 King = 3 Queen = 2 Jack = 1) and
a balanced hand with no 5-card major suit open 1 No Trump
With 20-22 points and a balanced hand open with a bid of 2NT
With an exceptional hand of 23+ points you will start with an
artificial opening bid of 2clubs - see below
How to Play Bridge
With a balanced hand of 15-19 points you do not initially bid
no trumps You will bid No Trumps later start with a bid in a
suit
Responding to 1NT with a balanced hand
(See Chart 4 at end of book)
Opening with a suit bid
open your longest suit
with two 5-card suits open the higher-ranking
with two 4-card suits open the higher-ranking Exception with
Spades and Hearts open 1
with three 4-card suits open the middle of 3 in a row or the suit
below the ldquogaprdquo
With a hand of exceptional strength where you do not want partner to
pass even with a very weak hand there is the option of opening with a
strong bid of 2 of your long suit or exceptionally 2clubs (artificial and
strong) ndash see below
Responding to an opening bid of 1clubs 1diams 1hearts 1spades
Raising partnerrsquos suit
with less than 6 points pass
6-9 points raise to the 2-level
How to Play Bridge
10-12 points raise to the 3-level
13+ points raise to the 4-level (in a major)
Responding in No Trumps
1 No Trumps 6-9 points (denies a suit that can be bid at
the 1-level or support for partnerrsquos major suit)
2 No Trumps 10-12 points balanced hand
3 No Trumps 13-15 points balanced hand
Responding in a new suit
a response in a new suit to an opening bid of 1 of a suit is
forcing partner cannot pass
respond in your longest suit
with two 5-card suits respond in the higher-ranking You will
then bid the other suit if practical to give partner a choice
with two or three 4-card suits make the most economical
response
bid your own suit before supporting partnerrsquos minor suit
do not bid in a new suit at the 2-level with less than 9 points
How to Play Bridge
remember that if you lack the strength to respond at the 2-level
you may instead respond 1NT (this need not show a balanced
hand)
a ldquojump shiftrdquo response in a new suit shows 16+ points and is
forcing to game
raising partnerrsquos major suit is a priority
do not raise partnerrsquos minor suit if there is an alternative such as
responding in a suit at the 1-level
Openerrsquos second bid
(1) With a weak hand
Pass if partner has made a non-forcing bid (ie a raise of your
suit or a no trump response)
support partnerrsquos major suit with 4-card support
rebid in a new suit at the 1-level
rebid in a lower-ranking suit at the 2-level (NB the ldquosafety
levelrdquo)
rebid your first suit at the lowest level with at least 5 cards
(2) With a strong hand
Jump raise partnerrsquos major suit (promises at least 4-card
support)
Jump rebid your own long (6-card +) suit
Jump in a new suit ndash forcing to game
How to Play Bridge
Bid a new suit at the 2-level above the ldquosafety levelrdquo ndash a reverse
showing a strong hand This is forcing if partner responded in a
suit at the 2-level
(3) With a balanced hand
rebid in No Trumps to show a balanced hand (but prefer to
bid a major suit if you can)
rebid No Trumps at the lowest level with 15-16 points
rebid No Trumps with a jump with 17-18 points
rebid 3NT with 19 points
Strong Opening Bids
Some hands are very powerful With this type of hand you would
normally open the bidding at the 2-level
An opening bid of 2 2 and 2 show a hand worth about 8 playing
tricks in the suit bid or possibly a strong two-suited hand with similar
strength The idea is that if you were to open with a bid of one of a
suit partner may pass and you may miss game (or even a slam) The
bid is forcing for one round (ie partner must respond)
Normal requirements to open 2 2 and 2
8 Playing Tricks
How to Play Bridge
Responses
2NT is the Negative Response It denies the ability to make any other
response Having given a negative response responder may pass on
the next round if opener makes a simple rebid of the suit that he
opened or bids a second suit without a jump
Positive Responses Any positive response is forcing to game
(at least)
A single raise (eg 2 - 3 ) promises a fit and an ace The hand may
have little more than those minimum requirements or it may be a
strong hand when responder will explore for slam
A double raise (eg 2 - 4) shows trump support with strictly
speaking two second-round controls (Kings or singletons) but denies
an Ace (with an Ace responder would make the stronger single raise
leaving more room to explore for a slam) A single raise is stronger
than a double raise Note it is now common practice to make the
double raise on any hand with support for partner and some values but
lacking an ace the old requirement for two second-round controls
tends to be ignored
A response in a new suit (eg 2 - 3) shows a good 5-card or longer
suit and 7+ points Lacking these basic requirements begin with an
alternative response (perhaps even a negative 2NT and then show
signs of life later in the auction) Do not respond in a bad suit
A jump to 3NT (eg 2 - 3NT) indicates a balanced hand with 10-12
points
A jump in a new suit (eg 2 - 4) promises a solid suit (AKQxxx at
least)
How to Play Bridge
The 2NT opening bid
This shows a balanced hand with 20-22 points It is not forcing but
responder needs only 4+ points to know that the values for game are
probably there
Responses a bid of 3hearts or 3spades shows a 5-card suit and asks opener to
choose between game in no trumps (with only two cards in
responderrsquos suit) or game in the major (ie 4hearts or 4spades)
Acol 2 Opening Bid
The artificial opening bid of 2 shows a super strong hand with either
23+ points in a balanced hand (ie too strong to open with an Acol
2NT bid) or a hand that is too strong even to open with a strong
forcing bid of two of a suit
Responding to a 2 Opening
Negative Response
The response with less than 7 points is an artificial bid of 2 The
opener rebids naturally showing his long suit or bidding NT on a
balanced hand The opening bid of 2 is forcing to game
Exception to the rule there is only one situation where the opening
bid of 2 is not forcing to game If after a 2 negative response
opener rebids 2NT he is showing a balanced 23-24 points With
absolutely no values responder may pass this 2NT rebid However
with as little as 2 or 3 points he should bid again responding to the
2NT rebid in a similar manner to the way in which he would respond
to a 2NT opening bid (ie Stayman 3 and 3 forcing)
Remember how strong the opening hand is before you take the
decision to pass the 2NT rebid
How to Play Bridge
NB if opener after 2 - 2 makes any rebid other than 2NT the
responder must keep the bidding open until game (at least) is reached
Positive responses to a 2 opening
2 2 3 3 7+ points and a 5-card suit or a 4-card suit
headed by the A or K
2NT balanced 7-9 points
3NT balanced 10-12 points
Overcalls and Responses
OVERCALLS
In this section we will be highlighting 3 types of overcalls
Simple Overcall
This is usually a weak bid with as little as 8-12 points but is ideal in
disrupting communication between your opponents and also
informing your partner that you hold a good 5 card suit
For the purposes of illustration we will assume that the opponent on
your right has opened 1 Club You hold a good 5 card suit in Spades
but with only 8-12 points How should you bid
Suit Quality Test
To enable you to bid correctly you should firstly apply the lsquosuit
qualityrsquo test Simply count the length of your long suit in this case
spades and add the number of honour cards in that suit The total is
the strength of your suit quality If the total is 7 then you can make
and overcall of 1 Spade If the total is 8 then you can make an
overcall of 2 Spades and so on
How to Play Bridge
Jump Overcall
For a sound jump overcall you would need to have a 6 card suit
together with a suit quality of 8+ and an opening hand of 12+ points
1 NT Overcall
15-18 points with a balanced hand and a stopper in opponentrsquos suit
RESPONSES TO OVERCALLS
Remember that your partner has overcalled on what is probably a
weak hand with only one good suit and with the intention of
obstructing your opponents Therefore the majority of responses to
his overcall should also be barrages However there are responses
available
Supporting Partner
This is the bid your partner wants to hear most of all because it
means that you are cooperating with the idea of using up your
opponents bidding space All bids supporting partners overcall are
weak To determine your bid the deciding factor is the number of
trumps that you hold Assuming that your partner holds a five card
suit for his overcall you should raise your partners overcall to the
same number of tricks that you have trumps between you
So if you think you have a total of eight trumps between you you
should raise partner to 8 tricks (the two level) If you think you have
nine trumps raise to nine tricks (the three level) and so on
So in a barrage situation it is the number of trumps you hold and the
distribution of your hand that is important not your points
How to Play Bridge
RESPONDING WITH A STRONG HAND
What about when the responder has a genuinely good hand
Obviously you canrsquot just support partner and hope he understands
You must make a different bid and the easiest is the so-called un-
assuming cue bid This is a complicated sounding bid but actually
just involves calling the opponents suit at the lowest available level
What the bid means is that you think that you and your partner hold
the majority of the points and that there might be a game contract in
the offing by your side In other words whereas supporting your
partner is crying wolf to make life difficult for your opponents this
bid is saying that you genuinely think your side holds the majority of
the values and that there may be a possibility of bidding to game
How to Play Bridge
Contract Bridge (Rubber) Scoring
Contracts
NT
1 20 30 40
2 40 60 70
3 60 90 100
4 80 120 130
5 100 150 160
6 120 180 190
7 140 210 220
Slams
Not Vul Vul
Small 500 750
Grand 1000 1500
Rubbers
Three Games 500
Two Games 700
Unfinished Rubbers
Game 300
Part Score 50
Overtricks
per overtrick Not
Vul Vul
Not Doubled trick value
Doubled 100 200
Redoubled 200 400
Undertricks
Not Doubled Doubled
Not Vul Vul Not Vul Vul
1 50 100 100 200
2 100 200 300 500
3 150 300 500 800
4 200 400 800 1100
5 250 500 1100 1400
6 300 600 1400 1700
7 350 700 1700 2000
Other Bonuses
4 trump honours in one hand 100
5 trump honours in one hand 150
4 aces in one hand (NT) 150
Making a doubled Contract 50
Making a redoubled Contract 100
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No
How to Play Bridge
Alrewas Bridge Club
We meet every Tuesday
At 2pm
for Beginners and Improvers
And
every Mondays at 2pm
for advanced players
And
Every Wednesdays and Fridays at 2pm
for Advanced and Intermediate Players
For further information please visit our website at
wwwalrewasbridgeclubcouk
Revised January 2015
How to Play Bridge
Introduction
Welcome to Alrewas Bridge
Club This book is intended
to give you an introductory
overall picture of the
wonderful intricacies of the
great game of bridge It is
often described as the
lsquoprince of all card gamesrsquo
It might seem a little
complicated at first sight
but donrsquot worry your fellow
members are here to help
and after only few visits to the club you will soon be getting the hang
of it Enjoy
PLAY MINI-BRIDGE
Perhaps the easiest way to learn how to play Bridge is to start with the
very simplest form namely Mini-Bridge You can learn this in just a
few minutes
Introduction to Bridge - Mini-bridge
The game of Mini-bridge is played with a standard pack of 52 playing
cards with the jokers removed
There are four players who sit round a table and are usually identified
by the points of the compass North South East and West They play
as two partnerships North-South and East-West Partners can be
agreed or designated or the cards can be cut to determine who plays
with whom
How to Play Bridge
Mini-bridge is a trick-taking game One player starts by lsquoleadinglsquo or
playing the first card to a trick Each player in turn clockwise
contributes one card to each trick and the highest card played wins the
trick Aces are high followed in order by the king queen jack ten
nine and so on down to the two the lowest card in each suit
There are four suits of these 13 cards
Spades spades and Hearts hearts (the major suits)
Diamonds diams and Clubs clubs (the minor suits)
When playing to a trick each player must lsquofollow suitrsquo with a card of
the suit led if possible
Otherwise they may discard any card they like but a discard cannot
win the trick however high the card chosen The winner of a trick
makes the lead to the next trick
Deals may be played in lsquono trumpsrsquo or with a trump suit ndash one which
is more powerful than the others Say spades are trumps then any
spade beats any card in the other three suits Players must still follow
suit to each trick if they can but when unable to follow instead of
discarding a trump may be played which will win the trick (unless
another player plays a bigger trump card to the trick)
The main feature of Mini-bridge that distinguishes it from whist and
other similar trick-taking games is the existence of a lsquodeclarerrsquo who
decides the lsquocontractrsquo ndash that is the choice of trump suit and a target
number of tricks to be won by the partnership The contract must
always be for at least 7 of the 13 tricks available but a higher target
The difference between major and minor suits will
become important when we learn about the scoring
If you are cutting for partners then the two
players with the highest cards will play together The person drawing the highest
card can have choice of seat
How to Play Bridge
can be set known as a lsquogamersquo contract for which the declaring side
scores more if it is made Initially the target number of tricks will be
determined by the points held
1 - Shuffle and deal
The pack should be shuffled and cut for dealer (highest deals) Dealer
deals out the cards clockwise one by one to the players so that they
have 13 cards each Dealer for the second game will be the next
player clockwise and so on Please note that many teachers will
provide you with pre-dealt hands in bridge boards
2 - Sorting the hand
3 - Counting points
The value of the hand is worked out by counting up the high card
points held using the following scale
Ace = 4 points King = 3 points Queen = 2 points Jack
= 1 point
Note that there are 40 points altogether between the four hands in
each deal
4 - Announcing points
Beginning with the dealer and then in clockwise order each player
announces how many points his or her hand contains The partnership
The players sort the cards in their own Hand into suits and into sequence within
Each suit without showing the cards to the other players
How to Play Bridge
with the most points becomes the declaring side who decide the
contract The other pair are the defending side who try to prevent the
contract being made by making tricks themselves There is a re-deal if
the point distribution between the partnerships turns out to be 2020
5 - The declaring side
The player with the higher number of points in the declaring side
becomes lsquodeclarerrsquo and his partner becomes lsquodummyrsquo If they both
have the same number of points the player who announced points
first is declarer Dummy then lays his or her hand down face up on the
table to face declarer with the suits arranged in columns (see the
following diagram)
6 - Deciding the trump suit
Declarer may choose no trumps or a trump suit If declarer chooses a
trump contract the cards in dummy in the chosen suit are moved to be
on the dummyrsquos right hand side (the left hand end as declarer looks at
them)
How to Play Bridge
7 ndash Declarerrsquos Target
Declarer will attempt as a minimum to take a target number of tricks
based on the points that his side holds
Combined Declarerrsquos tricks target
points No trumps Suit contract
1-22 7 8
23-24 8 9
25-27 9 10
28-32 10 11
33-36 12 12
37+ 13 13
The points held give an indication of the tricks that might be
achieved Note that this is only a guide ndash the point count will be most
accurate in no trump contracts where the hands are often fairly
balanced although this can vary if the defenders manage to establish
tricks in their long suit
In general the possession of a trump suit will result in the hands
making about one trick more than if there were none This will
become important when we move on to bridge (as opposed to mini-
bridge) and consider the scoring table
8 - Play begins
The player on declarerrsquos left plays the first card ie makes the
lsquoopening leadrsquo Play is in clockwise order and players must follow to
the suit led whenever possible The highest card played wins the trick
(unless in a suit contract it is beaten by a trump since trumps
How to Play Bridge
outrank the other three suits) If several rounds of a suit are played
and a player runs out of cards in that suit he or she may discard a card
from another suit (which cannot win the trick) or in a trump
contractcan choose to play a trump (which will win the trick unless it
is beaten by a higher trump)
9 - Taking tricks
Each card is played face up in front of each player in such a way that
everyone can see the cards clearly When a trick is complete the
cards are turned over players placing the lsquoquittedrsquo cards from their
own hands face down on the table in front of themselves in a neat
row To make it easy to see how many tricks have been won or lost
cards in tricks won are placed upright and cards in tricks lost are
placed sideways on The winner of the first trick leads to the second
and so on
10 - Dummy play
Declarer controls the play of dummyrsquos cards telling partner which
card to play when itrsquos dummyrsquos turn Declarerrsquos partner must always
play dummyrsquos cards as instructed and must keep the cards already
played from dummy in correct order and formation Otherwise
dummy takes no part in the play of this particular deal
11 - Play ends
When all the cards have been played the tricks for each side are
counted and agreed and the result is calculated and scored Players
record their score on a score sheet The session can end when an
agreed target total has been reached by one side or after a set number
of deals has been played
How to Play Bridge
12 - The next deal
The position of dealer moves clockwise round the table for each
game
It is a good idea to have two packs of cards available so that the
second pack can be shuffled by the dealerrsquos partner while the first is
being dealt Before starting dealing the next set of hands these cards
should be cut by the player on the new dealerrsquos right
Rubber Bridge Rules
Rubber Bridge (and Contract Bridge which we will be discussing
later) is merely an advanced form of Minbridge
Players and Cards
There are four players in two fixed partnerships Partners sit facing
each other It is traditional to refer to the players according to their
position at the table as North East South and West so North and
South are partners playing against East and West The game is played
clockwise
A standard 52 card pack is used The cards in each suit rank from
highest to lowest A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Deal
The cards are shuffled by the player to dealers left and cut by the
player to dealers right The dealer deals out all the cards one at a time
so that each player has 13 Turn to deal rotates clockwise
It is traditional to use two packs of cards During each deal the
dealers partner shuffles the other pack and places it to the right The
dealer for the next hand then simply needs to pick up the cards from
the left and pass them across to the right to be cut Provided all the
players understand and operate it this procedure saves time and helps
to remember whose turn it is to deal as the spare pack of cards is
always to the left of the next dealer
How to Play Bridge
Bidding
There is next an auction to decide who will be the declarer A bid
specifies a number of tricks and a trump suit (or that there will be no
trumps) The side which bids highest will try to win at least that
number of tricks bid with the specified suit as trumps
When bidding the number which is said actually represents the
number of tricks in excess of six which the partnership undertakes to
win For example a bid of two hearts represents a contract to win at
least 8 tricks (8 = 6 + 2) with hearts as trumps
For the purpose of bidding the possible trump suits rank as follows
no trumps (highest) spades hearts diamonds clubs (lowest) A bid
of a larger number of tricks always beats a bid of a smaller number
and if the number of tricks bid are equal the higher suit beats the
lower The lowest bid allowed is one club (to win at least 7 tricks
with clubs as trumps) and the highest is seven no trumps (to win all
13 tricks without trumps
It is also possible during the auction to double a bid by the other
side or to redouble the opponents double Doubling and redoubling
essentially increase the score for the bid contract if won and the
penalties if lost If someone then bids higher any previous doubles
and redoubles are cancelled
Note that doubling does not affect the ranking of a bid - for example a
bid of two spades is always higher than two hearts even if the two
hearts bid has been doubled or redoubled
The dealer begins the auction and the turn to speak passes clockwise
At each turn a player may either
make a bid which must be higher than the previous bid if any
say double if the previous bid was by an opponent and has
not already been doubled
say redouble if the previous bid was by ones own side and
has been doubled by an opponent but not yet redoubled
How to Play Bridge
pass by saying no bid or pass This indicates that the player
does not wish to bid double or redouble on that round but a
player who has passed is still allowed to bid double or redouble
at a later turn NB Either no bid or pass is permissible but
you should stick to one term or the other No bid is usual in
Britain pass is usual in the USA
If all four players pass on their first turn to speak the hand is said to
be passed out The cards are thrown in and the next dealer deals
If anyone bids then the auction continues until there are three passes
in succession and then stops After three consecutive passes the last
bid becomes the contract The team who made the final bid will now
try to make the contract The first player of this team who mentioned
the denomination (suit or no trumps) of the contract becomes the
declarer The declarers partner is known as the dummy
Example of an auction (North dealt)
North East South West
Pass 1 heart double 3 hearts
3 spades Pass 4 spades Pass
Pass Pass
North-South will try to win at least 10 tricks with spades as trumps
North who mentioned spades first is the declarer Souths double of
one heart was cancelled by Wests bid of 3 hearts
The Play
The player to the left of the declarer leads to the first trick and may
play any card Immediately after this opening lead the dummys cards
are exposed The dummy should arrange them neatly in suits the
cards of each suit arranged in rank order in an overlapping column
pointing towards the declarer so that all the cards are clearly visible
The trump suit if any should be to dummys right (declarers left) in
the diagram spades are trump
How to Play Bridge
Play proceeds clockwise Each of the other three players in turn must
if possible play a card of the same suit that the leader played A player
with no card of the suit led may play any card A trick consists of four
cards one from each player and is won by the highest trump in it or
if no trumps were played by the highest card of the suit led The
winner of a trick leads to the next and may lead any card
Each trick is gathered together and turned face down when complete
but you may ask to see the cards and ask who played which card until
you or your partner has played to the next trick The tricks won are to
be arranged neatly in front of one member of the winning side so that
they can easily be counted
Dummy takes no active part in the play of the hand Whenever it is
dummys turn to play the declarer must say which of dummys cards
is to be played and dummy plays the card as instructed (provided that
it is legal) Dummy is not permitted to offer any advice or comment
on the play When dummy wins a trick the declarer specifies which
card dummy should lead to the next trick If when calling for a card
the declarer specifies the suit only dummy is to play the lowest card
of that suit
It is also legal and not unusual for the declarer to play dummys
cards by physically taking them from dummys hand rather than just
calling for them This allows the dummy player to leave the table
during the play of the hand
Scoring
As its name suggests rubber bridge is played in rubbers A rubber is
the best of three games A game is won by the first team to score 100
or more points for successful contracts over several deals if
necessary
A side which has already won one game towards the current rubber is
said to be vulnerable A side which has not yet won a game is not
vulnerable A side which is vulnerable is subject to higher bonuses
and penalties than one that is not
How to Play Bridge
The score is kept on a piece of paper divided into two columns headed
WE and THEY for the two teams with a horizontal line part-way
down (see sample) Scores for successful contracts are entered below
the line and count towards winning a game Other scores such as
bonuses for tricks made in excess of the contract (overtricks) or
penalties for tricks short of the contract (undertricks) are entered
above the line and do not count towards winning the game
Score for making the contract
For a successful contract the score below the line for each trick (in
excess of 6) bid and made is as follows
If trumps are Clubs or Diamonds 20 per trick
If trumps are Hearts or Spades 30 per trick
If there are No Trumps 40 for the first trick and 30 for each
subsequent trick
If the contract was doubled the above scores are doubled If it was
doubled and redoubled they are multiplied by 4
In addition the declarers side scores an extra 50 points above the line
if they succeed in a doubled contract This is sometimes known as 50
for the insult For making a redoubled contract the bonus is 100
above the line
Because of the difference in score clubs and diamonds are called the
minor suits and hearts and spades are the major suits
Slam bonus
A contract to make 12 tricks is known as a small slam A contract to
make all 13 tricks is called a grand slam For bidding and making a
slam declarers side get an extra bonus above the line depending on
their vulnerability as follows
Slam bonus small slam grand slam
not vulnerable 500 1000
vulnerable 750 1500
How to Play Bridge
Score for overtricks
If the declarers side wins more tricks than were bid and were not
doubled then in addition to the score below the line for the contract
they score for the overtricks above the line at the same rate as for bid
tricks - ie 20 per trick if a minor suit was trumps 30 per trick in a
major suit or no trumps
If the contract was doubled or redoubled the bonus for overtricks
does not depend on the trump suit but does depend on whether the
declarers side was vulnerable as follows
Score per overtrick doubled redoubled
not vulnerable 100 200
vulnerable 200 400
Penalty for undertricks
If the declarers side win fewer tricks than they bid neither side scores
anything below the line but the declarers opponents score above the
line This score depends on the declarers sides vulnerability and
whether the contract was doubled or redoubled as follows
Undertrick penalty not vulnerable vulnerable
Not doubled - each undertrick 50 100
Doubled - first undertrick 100 200
Doubled - 2nd and 3rd undertrick 200 each 300 each
Doubled - subsequent undertricks 300 each 300 each
Redoubled undertricks cost twice as much as doubled
undertricks
How to Play Bridge
Honours
The top five trumps (A K Q J 10) are called honours If one player
holds all five of these cards that players side scores a bonus of 150
above the line Four honours in one hand score 100 If there are no
trumps and a player holds four aces that players side scores 150 for
honours
Scores for honours are to be claimed at the end of the play (it is
assumed that the players will remember what they held)
As there is no skill in scoring for honours players often agree to play
without the honour bonuses
Game and Rubber
A side that accumulates 100 points or more below the line has won a
game A new line is drawn under the scores Anything the opponents
had below the line does not count towards the next game - they start
from zero again
It is important to notice that starting from zero and in the absence of
doubles to make a game in one hand you need to succeed in a
contract of at least three no trumps four spades four hearts five clubs
or five diamonds
The side which first wins two games wins the rubber For this they get
a bonus of 700 if they won it two games to zero or 500 if it was two
games to one Both sides scores are then totaled and if the game is
being played for money the side with the higher score wins an
amount proportional to the difference in scores from the side with the
lower score
If play ends for any reason with a rubber unfinished then a side with
a game gets a bonus of 300 points and a side with a part score (ie a
score below the line towards an uncompleted game) gets a bonus of
100
How to Play Bridge
Example of Rubber Bridge scoring
The scoresheet of a completed rubber might look like the example
below (The letters in brackets indicate successive deals as described
in the corresponding footnotes - they would not appear on the
scoresheet)
We They
500
(f)
50 (f)
100
(f)
200
(e)
500
(i)
300
(b)
30 (g)
60 (a) 30 (c)
The Line
60 (a) 100
(c)
End of Game
360
(f)
90 (d)
End of Game
60 (h) 40 (g)
90 (i)
End of
Rubber
(a) we bid 2 hearts and made 10 tricks - 60 below the line for the
contract and 60 above for the overtricks
How to Play Bridge
(b) they bid 4 spades we doubled them and they took only 8 tricks -
we score 100 for their first undertrick and 200 for the second
(c) they bid 3 no trumps and made 10 tricks This gives them a game
(100 below the line) plus 30 above the line for their overtrick A new
line is ruled below the scores to indicate the start of a new game
(d) they bid and made 3 spades
(e) they bid two diamonds and made 6 tricks - they are now
vulnerable so we score 100 for each undertrick
(f) we bid 6 hearts they doubled us but we won all 13 tricks We
score 360 (180 x 2) below the line for our doubled contract giving us
a game 100 above for our doubled non-vulnerable overtrick 50
above for making a doubled contract and 500 bonus for a small slam
bid and made
(g) they bid one no trump and took 8 tricks note that their 90 on deal
(d) was part of the previous game so the 40 below does not give them
a game
(h) we bid 3 clubs and made exactly 9 tricks
(i) they bid 3 hearts and took exactly 9 tricks giving their second
game and the rubber for a bonus of 500 (two games to one)
Adding up the scores we have 1690 and they have 880 Therefore we
have won by 810 points (even though they won the rubber)
In this example the above the line scores were entered starting
immediately above the line and working upwards This is traditional
at least in Britain but not necessary - you can start at the top just
below the WE-THEY headings and work downwards if you prefer
There is a Contract Bridge Scoring Card at the back of this book
How to Play Bridge
DUPLICATE BRIDGE
Duplicate Bridge the system we generally play at Alrewas Bridge
Club is only slightly different to Contract Bridge
In rubber bridge although the better players have a noticable edge
and will undoubtedly win in the long run the outcome of a single
rubber depends heavily on which side is dealt the better cards The
idea of duplicate bridge is to eliminate this element of luck by
having the same hands played more than once by different sets of
players
Suppose we are partners and play a hand of duplicate bridge as North-
South Instead of being rewarded for our absolute score on that hand
our score is compared with those of other players who played the
same deal as North-South against other opponents We win if we
score better than other players managed with our cards and lose if we
score worse
For this comparison to be fair it is necessary that each group of
players who play the same deal should start from the same position
Therefore it is not practicable to play rubbers where the scores
carried forward from deal to deal affect the tactical situation Instead
each deal is scored in its own right and does not affect the scores for
subsequent ones The concept of vulnerability is retained but on each
deal the vulnerability is preassigned
Boards
An almost essential piece of apparatus for playing duplicate bridge is
a set of duplicate boards and a pack of cards for each board Each
board contains four pockets marked North East South and West in
which the cards for the four players are stored Each board also carries
a number to identify it and has marks showing which of the players is
dealer and whether each team is vulnerable or not
Before the boards are played the cards are shuffled dealt and placed
in the pockets by a neutral person or by a player in the presence at
least one opponent
How to Play Bridge
When about to play a board the players take their cards from the
appropriate pockets check to see that they have 13 each and then bid
as usual The mark on the board showing the dealer in practice just
indicates which player is to begin the bidding The opening lead is
always made face down as explained above to give the leaders
partner an opportunity to ask questions about the bidding before the
led card is shown During the play the cards are not played in the
centre of the table but in front of the players At the end of each trick
all four players turn their played card face down The cards played by
each player are overlapped with the longer axis of the card pointing
to the winners of the trick (ie the cards belonging to tricks you have
won are placed upright from your point of view and the ones
belonging to lost tricks sideways) That way you can easily see how
many tricks you have won Also if the cards are kept in order any
dispute about revokes or tricks won or lost can be settled by
reconstructing the play At the end of the play each players cards are
gathered up and replaced in the correct pocket ready for the next time
the board is to be played
When this method of play is used dummy is expected to remain at the
table if at all possible and declarer then always calls dummys cards
rather than pulling them from the dummy You may ask to look at the
cards played to a trick by the other players as long as your own card is
face up Once you have turned your card face down you no longer
have the right to see any of the other cards played to that trick
(Unless you are dummy you are still allowed to peek at your own
played card without exposing it until the lead is made to the next
trick) Scoring
Each board is marked to show whether both sides one side or neither
side is vulnerable for that board You still need to score at least 100
points for tricks bid and made to make a game but on each board
both sides start with zero points towards games - there are no part
scores carried forward
In place of the rubber bonus there are game and part score bonuses
Making a game when vulnerable 500 points
How to Play Bridge
Making a game when not vulnerable 300 points
Making a part score any time 50 points
The rest of the scores are the same as in rubber bridge except that
there are no bonuses for honours in duplicate bridge
BRIDGEMATES
Fortunately although it is good know how the scoring system works
in our case all the scoring is done via our BridgeMates wireless
system All we (generally the players sitting at North table) have to
do is to enter the contract and the result and the system displays the
scores on the computer
MODERN ACOL (Standard English)
There are several methods of bidding Acol is the most used and
there are versions of Acol Modern Acol is the system we use at
Alrewas Bridge Club
Many years ago I was called in to help with a problem Apparently
there were a team of four aspiring rowers who for some odd reason
although there were all fit strong young and healthy trained hard
every day they just couldnrsquot win any rowing races Within minutes I
discovered the reason for their lack of success One of them was
sitting the wrong way round Once corrected their fame became
legendary
However apocryphal this story illustrates the need for all of us to be
paddling in the same direction or in our case to be all playing the
same system particularly so as we generally draw for partners at the
beginning of each playing session Experience players are expected
to play this system particularly when playing with newer members
How to Play Bridge
Bidding Standard English (Acol)
Bidding between partners is an exchange of information Using a very
restricted vocabulary each player in turn tries to describe his hand
The objective is to provide enough information so that one player can
make the decision what suit (if any) should be trumps and how many
tricks should we attempt to take
Initially we will consider the bidding as a dialogue between the pair
with the majority of the high-card strength this is frequently the case
However there are times when the values are more evenly distributed
between the pairs and both sides are then involved in the bidding
phase For now we will ignore this possibility it will be easier to
consider bidding as a partnership exercise before thinking about how
things change when both pairs are bidding
The most important considerations when evaluating your hand for an
opening bid are the high-card strength and the shape of the hand An
opening bid generally requires 12 or more points
Opening the bidding balanced hands
A balanced hand means
no singleton or void
not more than 1 doubleton
no 6-card or longer suit
With 12-14 points (Ace = 4 King = 3 Queen = 2 Jack = 1) and
a balanced hand with no 5-card major suit open 1 No Trump
With 20-22 points and a balanced hand open with a bid of 2NT
With an exceptional hand of 23+ points you will start with an
artificial opening bid of 2clubs - see below
How to Play Bridge
With a balanced hand of 15-19 points you do not initially bid
no trumps You will bid No Trumps later start with a bid in a
suit
Responding to 1NT with a balanced hand
(See Chart 4 at end of book)
Opening with a suit bid
open your longest suit
with two 5-card suits open the higher-ranking
with two 4-card suits open the higher-ranking Exception with
Spades and Hearts open 1
with three 4-card suits open the middle of 3 in a row or the suit
below the ldquogaprdquo
With a hand of exceptional strength where you do not want partner to
pass even with a very weak hand there is the option of opening with a
strong bid of 2 of your long suit or exceptionally 2clubs (artificial and
strong) ndash see below
Responding to an opening bid of 1clubs 1diams 1hearts 1spades
Raising partnerrsquos suit
with less than 6 points pass
6-9 points raise to the 2-level
How to Play Bridge
10-12 points raise to the 3-level
13+ points raise to the 4-level (in a major)
Responding in No Trumps
1 No Trumps 6-9 points (denies a suit that can be bid at
the 1-level or support for partnerrsquos major suit)
2 No Trumps 10-12 points balanced hand
3 No Trumps 13-15 points balanced hand
Responding in a new suit
a response in a new suit to an opening bid of 1 of a suit is
forcing partner cannot pass
respond in your longest suit
with two 5-card suits respond in the higher-ranking You will
then bid the other suit if practical to give partner a choice
with two or three 4-card suits make the most economical
response
bid your own suit before supporting partnerrsquos minor suit
do not bid in a new suit at the 2-level with less than 9 points
How to Play Bridge
remember that if you lack the strength to respond at the 2-level
you may instead respond 1NT (this need not show a balanced
hand)
a ldquojump shiftrdquo response in a new suit shows 16+ points and is
forcing to game
raising partnerrsquos major suit is a priority
do not raise partnerrsquos minor suit if there is an alternative such as
responding in a suit at the 1-level
Openerrsquos second bid
(1) With a weak hand
Pass if partner has made a non-forcing bid (ie a raise of your
suit or a no trump response)
support partnerrsquos major suit with 4-card support
rebid in a new suit at the 1-level
rebid in a lower-ranking suit at the 2-level (NB the ldquosafety
levelrdquo)
rebid your first suit at the lowest level with at least 5 cards
(2) With a strong hand
Jump raise partnerrsquos major suit (promises at least 4-card
support)
Jump rebid your own long (6-card +) suit
Jump in a new suit ndash forcing to game
How to Play Bridge
Bid a new suit at the 2-level above the ldquosafety levelrdquo ndash a reverse
showing a strong hand This is forcing if partner responded in a
suit at the 2-level
(3) With a balanced hand
rebid in No Trumps to show a balanced hand (but prefer to
bid a major suit if you can)
rebid No Trumps at the lowest level with 15-16 points
rebid No Trumps with a jump with 17-18 points
rebid 3NT with 19 points
Strong Opening Bids
Some hands are very powerful With this type of hand you would
normally open the bidding at the 2-level
An opening bid of 2 2 and 2 show a hand worth about 8 playing
tricks in the suit bid or possibly a strong two-suited hand with similar
strength The idea is that if you were to open with a bid of one of a
suit partner may pass and you may miss game (or even a slam) The
bid is forcing for one round (ie partner must respond)
Normal requirements to open 2 2 and 2
8 Playing Tricks
How to Play Bridge
Responses
2NT is the Negative Response It denies the ability to make any other
response Having given a negative response responder may pass on
the next round if opener makes a simple rebid of the suit that he
opened or bids a second suit without a jump
Positive Responses Any positive response is forcing to game
(at least)
A single raise (eg 2 - 3 ) promises a fit and an ace The hand may
have little more than those minimum requirements or it may be a
strong hand when responder will explore for slam
A double raise (eg 2 - 4) shows trump support with strictly
speaking two second-round controls (Kings or singletons) but denies
an Ace (with an Ace responder would make the stronger single raise
leaving more room to explore for a slam) A single raise is stronger
than a double raise Note it is now common practice to make the
double raise on any hand with support for partner and some values but
lacking an ace the old requirement for two second-round controls
tends to be ignored
A response in a new suit (eg 2 - 3) shows a good 5-card or longer
suit and 7+ points Lacking these basic requirements begin with an
alternative response (perhaps even a negative 2NT and then show
signs of life later in the auction) Do not respond in a bad suit
A jump to 3NT (eg 2 - 3NT) indicates a balanced hand with 10-12
points
A jump in a new suit (eg 2 - 4) promises a solid suit (AKQxxx at
least)
How to Play Bridge
The 2NT opening bid
This shows a balanced hand with 20-22 points It is not forcing but
responder needs only 4+ points to know that the values for game are
probably there
Responses a bid of 3hearts or 3spades shows a 5-card suit and asks opener to
choose between game in no trumps (with only two cards in
responderrsquos suit) or game in the major (ie 4hearts or 4spades)
Acol 2 Opening Bid
The artificial opening bid of 2 shows a super strong hand with either
23+ points in a balanced hand (ie too strong to open with an Acol
2NT bid) or a hand that is too strong even to open with a strong
forcing bid of two of a suit
Responding to a 2 Opening
Negative Response
The response with less than 7 points is an artificial bid of 2 The
opener rebids naturally showing his long suit or bidding NT on a
balanced hand The opening bid of 2 is forcing to game
Exception to the rule there is only one situation where the opening
bid of 2 is not forcing to game If after a 2 negative response
opener rebids 2NT he is showing a balanced 23-24 points With
absolutely no values responder may pass this 2NT rebid However
with as little as 2 or 3 points he should bid again responding to the
2NT rebid in a similar manner to the way in which he would respond
to a 2NT opening bid (ie Stayman 3 and 3 forcing)
Remember how strong the opening hand is before you take the
decision to pass the 2NT rebid
How to Play Bridge
NB if opener after 2 - 2 makes any rebid other than 2NT the
responder must keep the bidding open until game (at least) is reached
Positive responses to a 2 opening
2 2 3 3 7+ points and a 5-card suit or a 4-card suit
headed by the A or K
2NT balanced 7-9 points
3NT balanced 10-12 points
Overcalls and Responses
OVERCALLS
In this section we will be highlighting 3 types of overcalls
Simple Overcall
This is usually a weak bid with as little as 8-12 points but is ideal in
disrupting communication between your opponents and also
informing your partner that you hold a good 5 card suit
For the purposes of illustration we will assume that the opponent on
your right has opened 1 Club You hold a good 5 card suit in Spades
but with only 8-12 points How should you bid
Suit Quality Test
To enable you to bid correctly you should firstly apply the lsquosuit
qualityrsquo test Simply count the length of your long suit in this case
spades and add the number of honour cards in that suit The total is
the strength of your suit quality If the total is 7 then you can make
and overcall of 1 Spade If the total is 8 then you can make an
overcall of 2 Spades and so on
How to Play Bridge
Jump Overcall
For a sound jump overcall you would need to have a 6 card suit
together with a suit quality of 8+ and an opening hand of 12+ points
1 NT Overcall
15-18 points with a balanced hand and a stopper in opponentrsquos suit
RESPONSES TO OVERCALLS
Remember that your partner has overcalled on what is probably a
weak hand with only one good suit and with the intention of
obstructing your opponents Therefore the majority of responses to
his overcall should also be barrages However there are responses
available
Supporting Partner
This is the bid your partner wants to hear most of all because it
means that you are cooperating with the idea of using up your
opponents bidding space All bids supporting partners overcall are
weak To determine your bid the deciding factor is the number of
trumps that you hold Assuming that your partner holds a five card
suit for his overcall you should raise your partners overcall to the
same number of tricks that you have trumps between you
So if you think you have a total of eight trumps between you you
should raise partner to 8 tricks (the two level) If you think you have
nine trumps raise to nine tricks (the three level) and so on
So in a barrage situation it is the number of trumps you hold and the
distribution of your hand that is important not your points
How to Play Bridge
RESPONDING WITH A STRONG HAND
What about when the responder has a genuinely good hand
Obviously you canrsquot just support partner and hope he understands
You must make a different bid and the easiest is the so-called un-
assuming cue bid This is a complicated sounding bid but actually
just involves calling the opponents suit at the lowest available level
What the bid means is that you think that you and your partner hold
the majority of the points and that there might be a game contract in
the offing by your side In other words whereas supporting your
partner is crying wolf to make life difficult for your opponents this
bid is saying that you genuinely think your side holds the majority of
the values and that there may be a possibility of bidding to game
How to Play Bridge
Contract Bridge (Rubber) Scoring
Contracts
NT
1 20 30 40
2 40 60 70
3 60 90 100
4 80 120 130
5 100 150 160
6 120 180 190
7 140 210 220
Slams
Not Vul Vul
Small 500 750
Grand 1000 1500
Rubbers
Three Games 500
Two Games 700
Unfinished Rubbers
Game 300
Part Score 50
Overtricks
per overtrick Not
Vul Vul
Not Doubled trick value
Doubled 100 200
Redoubled 200 400
Undertricks
Not Doubled Doubled
Not Vul Vul Not Vul Vul
1 50 100 100 200
2 100 200 300 500
3 150 300 500 800
4 200 400 800 1100
5 250 500 1100 1400
6 300 600 1400 1700
7 350 700 1700 2000
Other Bonuses
4 trump honours in one hand 100
5 trump honours in one hand 150
4 aces in one hand (NT) 150
Making a doubled Contract 50
Making a redoubled Contract 100
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No
How to Play Bridge
Introduction
Welcome to Alrewas Bridge
Club This book is intended
to give you an introductory
overall picture of the
wonderful intricacies of the
great game of bridge It is
often described as the
lsquoprince of all card gamesrsquo
It might seem a little
complicated at first sight
but donrsquot worry your fellow
members are here to help
and after only few visits to the club you will soon be getting the hang
of it Enjoy
PLAY MINI-BRIDGE
Perhaps the easiest way to learn how to play Bridge is to start with the
very simplest form namely Mini-Bridge You can learn this in just a
few minutes
Introduction to Bridge - Mini-bridge
The game of Mini-bridge is played with a standard pack of 52 playing
cards with the jokers removed
There are four players who sit round a table and are usually identified
by the points of the compass North South East and West They play
as two partnerships North-South and East-West Partners can be
agreed or designated or the cards can be cut to determine who plays
with whom
How to Play Bridge
Mini-bridge is a trick-taking game One player starts by lsquoleadinglsquo or
playing the first card to a trick Each player in turn clockwise
contributes one card to each trick and the highest card played wins the
trick Aces are high followed in order by the king queen jack ten
nine and so on down to the two the lowest card in each suit
There are four suits of these 13 cards
Spades spades and Hearts hearts (the major suits)
Diamonds diams and Clubs clubs (the minor suits)
When playing to a trick each player must lsquofollow suitrsquo with a card of
the suit led if possible
Otherwise they may discard any card they like but a discard cannot
win the trick however high the card chosen The winner of a trick
makes the lead to the next trick
Deals may be played in lsquono trumpsrsquo or with a trump suit ndash one which
is more powerful than the others Say spades are trumps then any
spade beats any card in the other three suits Players must still follow
suit to each trick if they can but when unable to follow instead of
discarding a trump may be played which will win the trick (unless
another player plays a bigger trump card to the trick)
The main feature of Mini-bridge that distinguishes it from whist and
other similar trick-taking games is the existence of a lsquodeclarerrsquo who
decides the lsquocontractrsquo ndash that is the choice of trump suit and a target
number of tricks to be won by the partnership The contract must
always be for at least 7 of the 13 tricks available but a higher target
The difference between major and minor suits will
become important when we learn about the scoring
If you are cutting for partners then the two
players with the highest cards will play together The person drawing the highest
card can have choice of seat
How to Play Bridge
can be set known as a lsquogamersquo contract for which the declaring side
scores more if it is made Initially the target number of tricks will be
determined by the points held
1 - Shuffle and deal
The pack should be shuffled and cut for dealer (highest deals) Dealer
deals out the cards clockwise one by one to the players so that they
have 13 cards each Dealer for the second game will be the next
player clockwise and so on Please note that many teachers will
provide you with pre-dealt hands in bridge boards
2 - Sorting the hand
3 - Counting points
The value of the hand is worked out by counting up the high card
points held using the following scale
Ace = 4 points King = 3 points Queen = 2 points Jack
= 1 point
Note that there are 40 points altogether between the four hands in
each deal
4 - Announcing points
Beginning with the dealer and then in clockwise order each player
announces how many points his or her hand contains The partnership
The players sort the cards in their own Hand into suits and into sequence within
Each suit without showing the cards to the other players
How to Play Bridge
with the most points becomes the declaring side who decide the
contract The other pair are the defending side who try to prevent the
contract being made by making tricks themselves There is a re-deal if
the point distribution between the partnerships turns out to be 2020
5 - The declaring side
The player with the higher number of points in the declaring side
becomes lsquodeclarerrsquo and his partner becomes lsquodummyrsquo If they both
have the same number of points the player who announced points
first is declarer Dummy then lays his or her hand down face up on the
table to face declarer with the suits arranged in columns (see the
following diagram)
6 - Deciding the trump suit
Declarer may choose no trumps or a trump suit If declarer chooses a
trump contract the cards in dummy in the chosen suit are moved to be
on the dummyrsquos right hand side (the left hand end as declarer looks at
them)
How to Play Bridge
7 ndash Declarerrsquos Target
Declarer will attempt as a minimum to take a target number of tricks
based on the points that his side holds
Combined Declarerrsquos tricks target
points No trumps Suit contract
1-22 7 8
23-24 8 9
25-27 9 10
28-32 10 11
33-36 12 12
37+ 13 13
The points held give an indication of the tricks that might be
achieved Note that this is only a guide ndash the point count will be most
accurate in no trump contracts where the hands are often fairly
balanced although this can vary if the defenders manage to establish
tricks in their long suit
In general the possession of a trump suit will result in the hands
making about one trick more than if there were none This will
become important when we move on to bridge (as opposed to mini-
bridge) and consider the scoring table
8 - Play begins
The player on declarerrsquos left plays the first card ie makes the
lsquoopening leadrsquo Play is in clockwise order and players must follow to
the suit led whenever possible The highest card played wins the trick
(unless in a suit contract it is beaten by a trump since trumps
How to Play Bridge
outrank the other three suits) If several rounds of a suit are played
and a player runs out of cards in that suit he or she may discard a card
from another suit (which cannot win the trick) or in a trump
contractcan choose to play a trump (which will win the trick unless it
is beaten by a higher trump)
9 - Taking tricks
Each card is played face up in front of each player in such a way that
everyone can see the cards clearly When a trick is complete the
cards are turned over players placing the lsquoquittedrsquo cards from their
own hands face down on the table in front of themselves in a neat
row To make it easy to see how many tricks have been won or lost
cards in tricks won are placed upright and cards in tricks lost are
placed sideways on The winner of the first trick leads to the second
and so on
10 - Dummy play
Declarer controls the play of dummyrsquos cards telling partner which
card to play when itrsquos dummyrsquos turn Declarerrsquos partner must always
play dummyrsquos cards as instructed and must keep the cards already
played from dummy in correct order and formation Otherwise
dummy takes no part in the play of this particular deal
11 - Play ends
When all the cards have been played the tricks for each side are
counted and agreed and the result is calculated and scored Players
record their score on a score sheet The session can end when an
agreed target total has been reached by one side or after a set number
of deals has been played
How to Play Bridge
12 - The next deal
The position of dealer moves clockwise round the table for each
game
It is a good idea to have two packs of cards available so that the
second pack can be shuffled by the dealerrsquos partner while the first is
being dealt Before starting dealing the next set of hands these cards
should be cut by the player on the new dealerrsquos right
Rubber Bridge Rules
Rubber Bridge (and Contract Bridge which we will be discussing
later) is merely an advanced form of Minbridge
Players and Cards
There are four players in two fixed partnerships Partners sit facing
each other It is traditional to refer to the players according to their
position at the table as North East South and West so North and
South are partners playing against East and West The game is played
clockwise
A standard 52 card pack is used The cards in each suit rank from
highest to lowest A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Deal
The cards are shuffled by the player to dealers left and cut by the
player to dealers right The dealer deals out all the cards one at a time
so that each player has 13 Turn to deal rotates clockwise
It is traditional to use two packs of cards During each deal the
dealers partner shuffles the other pack and places it to the right The
dealer for the next hand then simply needs to pick up the cards from
the left and pass them across to the right to be cut Provided all the
players understand and operate it this procedure saves time and helps
to remember whose turn it is to deal as the spare pack of cards is
always to the left of the next dealer
How to Play Bridge
Bidding
There is next an auction to decide who will be the declarer A bid
specifies a number of tricks and a trump suit (or that there will be no
trumps) The side which bids highest will try to win at least that
number of tricks bid with the specified suit as trumps
When bidding the number which is said actually represents the
number of tricks in excess of six which the partnership undertakes to
win For example a bid of two hearts represents a contract to win at
least 8 tricks (8 = 6 + 2) with hearts as trumps
For the purpose of bidding the possible trump suits rank as follows
no trumps (highest) spades hearts diamonds clubs (lowest) A bid
of a larger number of tricks always beats a bid of a smaller number
and if the number of tricks bid are equal the higher suit beats the
lower The lowest bid allowed is one club (to win at least 7 tricks
with clubs as trumps) and the highest is seven no trumps (to win all
13 tricks without trumps
It is also possible during the auction to double a bid by the other
side or to redouble the opponents double Doubling and redoubling
essentially increase the score for the bid contract if won and the
penalties if lost If someone then bids higher any previous doubles
and redoubles are cancelled
Note that doubling does not affect the ranking of a bid - for example a
bid of two spades is always higher than two hearts even if the two
hearts bid has been doubled or redoubled
The dealer begins the auction and the turn to speak passes clockwise
At each turn a player may either
make a bid which must be higher than the previous bid if any
say double if the previous bid was by an opponent and has
not already been doubled
say redouble if the previous bid was by ones own side and
has been doubled by an opponent but not yet redoubled
How to Play Bridge
pass by saying no bid or pass This indicates that the player
does not wish to bid double or redouble on that round but a
player who has passed is still allowed to bid double or redouble
at a later turn NB Either no bid or pass is permissible but
you should stick to one term or the other No bid is usual in
Britain pass is usual in the USA
If all four players pass on their first turn to speak the hand is said to
be passed out The cards are thrown in and the next dealer deals
If anyone bids then the auction continues until there are three passes
in succession and then stops After three consecutive passes the last
bid becomes the contract The team who made the final bid will now
try to make the contract The first player of this team who mentioned
the denomination (suit or no trumps) of the contract becomes the
declarer The declarers partner is known as the dummy
Example of an auction (North dealt)
North East South West
Pass 1 heart double 3 hearts
3 spades Pass 4 spades Pass
Pass Pass
North-South will try to win at least 10 tricks with spades as trumps
North who mentioned spades first is the declarer Souths double of
one heart was cancelled by Wests bid of 3 hearts
The Play
The player to the left of the declarer leads to the first trick and may
play any card Immediately after this opening lead the dummys cards
are exposed The dummy should arrange them neatly in suits the
cards of each suit arranged in rank order in an overlapping column
pointing towards the declarer so that all the cards are clearly visible
The trump suit if any should be to dummys right (declarers left) in
the diagram spades are trump
How to Play Bridge
Play proceeds clockwise Each of the other three players in turn must
if possible play a card of the same suit that the leader played A player
with no card of the suit led may play any card A trick consists of four
cards one from each player and is won by the highest trump in it or
if no trumps were played by the highest card of the suit led The
winner of a trick leads to the next and may lead any card
Each trick is gathered together and turned face down when complete
but you may ask to see the cards and ask who played which card until
you or your partner has played to the next trick The tricks won are to
be arranged neatly in front of one member of the winning side so that
they can easily be counted
Dummy takes no active part in the play of the hand Whenever it is
dummys turn to play the declarer must say which of dummys cards
is to be played and dummy plays the card as instructed (provided that
it is legal) Dummy is not permitted to offer any advice or comment
on the play When dummy wins a trick the declarer specifies which
card dummy should lead to the next trick If when calling for a card
the declarer specifies the suit only dummy is to play the lowest card
of that suit
It is also legal and not unusual for the declarer to play dummys
cards by physically taking them from dummys hand rather than just
calling for them This allows the dummy player to leave the table
during the play of the hand
Scoring
As its name suggests rubber bridge is played in rubbers A rubber is
the best of three games A game is won by the first team to score 100
or more points for successful contracts over several deals if
necessary
A side which has already won one game towards the current rubber is
said to be vulnerable A side which has not yet won a game is not
vulnerable A side which is vulnerable is subject to higher bonuses
and penalties than one that is not
How to Play Bridge
The score is kept on a piece of paper divided into two columns headed
WE and THEY for the two teams with a horizontal line part-way
down (see sample) Scores for successful contracts are entered below
the line and count towards winning a game Other scores such as
bonuses for tricks made in excess of the contract (overtricks) or
penalties for tricks short of the contract (undertricks) are entered
above the line and do not count towards winning the game
Score for making the contract
For a successful contract the score below the line for each trick (in
excess of 6) bid and made is as follows
If trumps are Clubs or Diamonds 20 per trick
If trumps are Hearts or Spades 30 per trick
If there are No Trumps 40 for the first trick and 30 for each
subsequent trick
If the contract was doubled the above scores are doubled If it was
doubled and redoubled they are multiplied by 4
In addition the declarers side scores an extra 50 points above the line
if they succeed in a doubled contract This is sometimes known as 50
for the insult For making a redoubled contract the bonus is 100
above the line
Because of the difference in score clubs and diamonds are called the
minor suits and hearts and spades are the major suits
Slam bonus
A contract to make 12 tricks is known as a small slam A contract to
make all 13 tricks is called a grand slam For bidding and making a
slam declarers side get an extra bonus above the line depending on
their vulnerability as follows
Slam bonus small slam grand slam
not vulnerable 500 1000
vulnerable 750 1500
How to Play Bridge
Score for overtricks
If the declarers side wins more tricks than were bid and were not
doubled then in addition to the score below the line for the contract
they score for the overtricks above the line at the same rate as for bid
tricks - ie 20 per trick if a minor suit was trumps 30 per trick in a
major suit or no trumps
If the contract was doubled or redoubled the bonus for overtricks
does not depend on the trump suit but does depend on whether the
declarers side was vulnerable as follows
Score per overtrick doubled redoubled
not vulnerable 100 200
vulnerable 200 400
Penalty for undertricks
If the declarers side win fewer tricks than they bid neither side scores
anything below the line but the declarers opponents score above the
line This score depends on the declarers sides vulnerability and
whether the contract was doubled or redoubled as follows
Undertrick penalty not vulnerable vulnerable
Not doubled - each undertrick 50 100
Doubled - first undertrick 100 200
Doubled - 2nd and 3rd undertrick 200 each 300 each
Doubled - subsequent undertricks 300 each 300 each
Redoubled undertricks cost twice as much as doubled
undertricks
How to Play Bridge
Honours
The top five trumps (A K Q J 10) are called honours If one player
holds all five of these cards that players side scores a bonus of 150
above the line Four honours in one hand score 100 If there are no
trumps and a player holds four aces that players side scores 150 for
honours
Scores for honours are to be claimed at the end of the play (it is
assumed that the players will remember what they held)
As there is no skill in scoring for honours players often agree to play
without the honour bonuses
Game and Rubber
A side that accumulates 100 points or more below the line has won a
game A new line is drawn under the scores Anything the opponents
had below the line does not count towards the next game - they start
from zero again
It is important to notice that starting from zero and in the absence of
doubles to make a game in one hand you need to succeed in a
contract of at least three no trumps four spades four hearts five clubs
or five diamonds
The side which first wins two games wins the rubber For this they get
a bonus of 700 if they won it two games to zero or 500 if it was two
games to one Both sides scores are then totaled and if the game is
being played for money the side with the higher score wins an
amount proportional to the difference in scores from the side with the
lower score
If play ends for any reason with a rubber unfinished then a side with
a game gets a bonus of 300 points and a side with a part score (ie a
score below the line towards an uncompleted game) gets a bonus of
100
How to Play Bridge
Example of Rubber Bridge scoring
The scoresheet of a completed rubber might look like the example
below (The letters in brackets indicate successive deals as described
in the corresponding footnotes - they would not appear on the
scoresheet)
We They
500
(f)
50 (f)
100
(f)
200
(e)
500
(i)
300
(b)
30 (g)
60 (a) 30 (c)
The Line
60 (a) 100
(c)
End of Game
360
(f)
90 (d)
End of Game
60 (h) 40 (g)
90 (i)
End of
Rubber
(a) we bid 2 hearts and made 10 tricks - 60 below the line for the
contract and 60 above for the overtricks
How to Play Bridge
(b) they bid 4 spades we doubled them and they took only 8 tricks -
we score 100 for their first undertrick and 200 for the second
(c) they bid 3 no trumps and made 10 tricks This gives them a game
(100 below the line) plus 30 above the line for their overtrick A new
line is ruled below the scores to indicate the start of a new game
(d) they bid and made 3 spades
(e) they bid two diamonds and made 6 tricks - they are now
vulnerable so we score 100 for each undertrick
(f) we bid 6 hearts they doubled us but we won all 13 tricks We
score 360 (180 x 2) below the line for our doubled contract giving us
a game 100 above for our doubled non-vulnerable overtrick 50
above for making a doubled contract and 500 bonus for a small slam
bid and made
(g) they bid one no trump and took 8 tricks note that their 90 on deal
(d) was part of the previous game so the 40 below does not give them
a game
(h) we bid 3 clubs and made exactly 9 tricks
(i) they bid 3 hearts and took exactly 9 tricks giving their second
game and the rubber for a bonus of 500 (two games to one)
Adding up the scores we have 1690 and they have 880 Therefore we
have won by 810 points (even though they won the rubber)
In this example the above the line scores were entered starting
immediately above the line and working upwards This is traditional
at least in Britain but not necessary - you can start at the top just
below the WE-THEY headings and work downwards if you prefer
There is a Contract Bridge Scoring Card at the back of this book
How to Play Bridge
DUPLICATE BRIDGE
Duplicate Bridge the system we generally play at Alrewas Bridge
Club is only slightly different to Contract Bridge
In rubber bridge although the better players have a noticable edge
and will undoubtedly win in the long run the outcome of a single
rubber depends heavily on which side is dealt the better cards The
idea of duplicate bridge is to eliminate this element of luck by
having the same hands played more than once by different sets of
players
Suppose we are partners and play a hand of duplicate bridge as North-
South Instead of being rewarded for our absolute score on that hand
our score is compared with those of other players who played the
same deal as North-South against other opponents We win if we
score better than other players managed with our cards and lose if we
score worse
For this comparison to be fair it is necessary that each group of
players who play the same deal should start from the same position
Therefore it is not practicable to play rubbers where the scores
carried forward from deal to deal affect the tactical situation Instead
each deal is scored in its own right and does not affect the scores for
subsequent ones The concept of vulnerability is retained but on each
deal the vulnerability is preassigned
Boards
An almost essential piece of apparatus for playing duplicate bridge is
a set of duplicate boards and a pack of cards for each board Each
board contains four pockets marked North East South and West in
which the cards for the four players are stored Each board also carries
a number to identify it and has marks showing which of the players is
dealer and whether each team is vulnerable or not
Before the boards are played the cards are shuffled dealt and placed
in the pockets by a neutral person or by a player in the presence at
least one opponent
How to Play Bridge
When about to play a board the players take their cards from the
appropriate pockets check to see that they have 13 each and then bid
as usual The mark on the board showing the dealer in practice just
indicates which player is to begin the bidding The opening lead is
always made face down as explained above to give the leaders
partner an opportunity to ask questions about the bidding before the
led card is shown During the play the cards are not played in the
centre of the table but in front of the players At the end of each trick
all four players turn their played card face down The cards played by
each player are overlapped with the longer axis of the card pointing
to the winners of the trick (ie the cards belonging to tricks you have
won are placed upright from your point of view and the ones
belonging to lost tricks sideways) That way you can easily see how
many tricks you have won Also if the cards are kept in order any
dispute about revokes or tricks won or lost can be settled by
reconstructing the play At the end of the play each players cards are
gathered up and replaced in the correct pocket ready for the next time
the board is to be played
When this method of play is used dummy is expected to remain at the
table if at all possible and declarer then always calls dummys cards
rather than pulling them from the dummy You may ask to look at the
cards played to a trick by the other players as long as your own card is
face up Once you have turned your card face down you no longer
have the right to see any of the other cards played to that trick
(Unless you are dummy you are still allowed to peek at your own
played card without exposing it until the lead is made to the next
trick) Scoring
Each board is marked to show whether both sides one side or neither
side is vulnerable for that board You still need to score at least 100
points for tricks bid and made to make a game but on each board
both sides start with zero points towards games - there are no part
scores carried forward
In place of the rubber bonus there are game and part score bonuses
Making a game when vulnerable 500 points
How to Play Bridge
Making a game when not vulnerable 300 points
Making a part score any time 50 points
The rest of the scores are the same as in rubber bridge except that
there are no bonuses for honours in duplicate bridge
BRIDGEMATES
Fortunately although it is good know how the scoring system works
in our case all the scoring is done via our BridgeMates wireless
system All we (generally the players sitting at North table) have to
do is to enter the contract and the result and the system displays the
scores on the computer
MODERN ACOL (Standard English)
There are several methods of bidding Acol is the most used and
there are versions of Acol Modern Acol is the system we use at
Alrewas Bridge Club
Many years ago I was called in to help with a problem Apparently
there were a team of four aspiring rowers who for some odd reason
although there were all fit strong young and healthy trained hard
every day they just couldnrsquot win any rowing races Within minutes I
discovered the reason for their lack of success One of them was
sitting the wrong way round Once corrected their fame became
legendary
However apocryphal this story illustrates the need for all of us to be
paddling in the same direction or in our case to be all playing the
same system particularly so as we generally draw for partners at the
beginning of each playing session Experience players are expected
to play this system particularly when playing with newer members
How to Play Bridge
Bidding Standard English (Acol)
Bidding between partners is an exchange of information Using a very
restricted vocabulary each player in turn tries to describe his hand
The objective is to provide enough information so that one player can
make the decision what suit (if any) should be trumps and how many
tricks should we attempt to take
Initially we will consider the bidding as a dialogue between the pair
with the majority of the high-card strength this is frequently the case
However there are times when the values are more evenly distributed
between the pairs and both sides are then involved in the bidding
phase For now we will ignore this possibility it will be easier to
consider bidding as a partnership exercise before thinking about how
things change when both pairs are bidding
The most important considerations when evaluating your hand for an
opening bid are the high-card strength and the shape of the hand An
opening bid generally requires 12 or more points
Opening the bidding balanced hands
A balanced hand means
no singleton or void
not more than 1 doubleton
no 6-card or longer suit
With 12-14 points (Ace = 4 King = 3 Queen = 2 Jack = 1) and
a balanced hand with no 5-card major suit open 1 No Trump
With 20-22 points and a balanced hand open with a bid of 2NT
With an exceptional hand of 23+ points you will start with an
artificial opening bid of 2clubs - see below
How to Play Bridge
With a balanced hand of 15-19 points you do not initially bid
no trumps You will bid No Trumps later start with a bid in a
suit
Responding to 1NT with a balanced hand
(See Chart 4 at end of book)
Opening with a suit bid
open your longest suit
with two 5-card suits open the higher-ranking
with two 4-card suits open the higher-ranking Exception with
Spades and Hearts open 1
with three 4-card suits open the middle of 3 in a row or the suit
below the ldquogaprdquo
With a hand of exceptional strength where you do not want partner to
pass even with a very weak hand there is the option of opening with a
strong bid of 2 of your long suit or exceptionally 2clubs (artificial and
strong) ndash see below
Responding to an opening bid of 1clubs 1diams 1hearts 1spades
Raising partnerrsquos suit
with less than 6 points pass
6-9 points raise to the 2-level
How to Play Bridge
10-12 points raise to the 3-level
13+ points raise to the 4-level (in a major)
Responding in No Trumps
1 No Trumps 6-9 points (denies a suit that can be bid at
the 1-level or support for partnerrsquos major suit)
2 No Trumps 10-12 points balanced hand
3 No Trumps 13-15 points balanced hand
Responding in a new suit
a response in a new suit to an opening bid of 1 of a suit is
forcing partner cannot pass
respond in your longest suit
with two 5-card suits respond in the higher-ranking You will
then bid the other suit if practical to give partner a choice
with two or three 4-card suits make the most economical
response
bid your own suit before supporting partnerrsquos minor suit
do not bid in a new suit at the 2-level with less than 9 points
How to Play Bridge
remember that if you lack the strength to respond at the 2-level
you may instead respond 1NT (this need not show a balanced
hand)
a ldquojump shiftrdquo response in a new suit shows 16+ points and is
forcing to game
raising partnerrsquos major suit is a priority
do not raise partnerrsquos minor suit if there is an alternative such as
responding in a suit at the 1-level
Openerrsquos second bid
(1) With a weak hand
Pass if partner has made a non-forcing bid (ie a raise of your
suit or a no trump response)
support partnerrsquos major suit with 4-card support
rebid in a new suit at the 1-level
rebid in a lower-ranking suit at the 2-level (NB the ldquosafety
levelrdquo)
rebid your first suit at the lowest level with at least 5 cards
(2) With a strong hand
Jump raise partnerrsquos major suit (promises at least 4-card
support)
Jump rebid your own long (6-card +) suit
Jump in a new suit ndash forcing to game
How to Play Bridge
Bid a new suit at the 2-level above the ldquosafety levelrdquo ndash a reverse
showing a strong hand This is forcing if partner responded in a
suit at the 2-level
(3) With a balanced hand
rebid in No Trumps to show a balanced hand (but prefer to
bid a major suit if you can)
rebid No Trumps at the lowest level with 15-16 points
rebid No Trumps with a jump with 17-18 points
rebid 3NT with 19 points
Strong Opening Bids
Some hands are very powerful With this type of hand you would
normally open the bidding at the 2-level
An opening bid of 2 2 and 2 show a hand worth about 8 playing
tricks in the suit bid or possibly a strong two-suited hand with similar
strength The idea is that if you were to open with a bid of one of a
suit partner may pass and you may miss game (or even a slam) The
bid is forcing for one round (ie partner must respond)
Normal requirements to open 2 2 and 2
8 Playing Tricks
How to Play Bridge
Responses
2NT is the Negative Response It denies the ability to make any other
response Having given a negative response responder may pass on
the next round if opener makes a simple rebid of the suit that he
opened or bids a second suit without a jump
Positive Responses Any positive response is forcing to game
(at least)
A single raise (eg 2 - 3 ) promises a fit and an ace The hand may
have little more than those minimum requirements or it may be a
strong hand when responder will explore for slam
A double raise (eg 2 - 4) shows trump support with strictly
speaking two second-round controls (Kings or singletons) but denies
an Ace (with an Ace responder would make the stronger single raise
leaving more room to explore for a slam) A single raise is stronger
than a double raise Note it is now common practice to make the
double raise on any hand with support for partner and some values but
lacking an ace the old requirement for two second-round controls
tends to be ignored
A response in a new suit (eg 2 - 3) shows a good 5-card or longer
suit and 7+ points Lacking these basic requirements begin with an
alternative response (perhaps even a negative 2NT and then show
signs of life later in the auction) Do not respond in a bad suit
A jump to 3NT (eg 2 - 3NT) indicates a balanced hand with 10-12
points
A jump in a new suit (eg 2 - 4) promises a solid suit (AKQxxx at
least)
How to Play Bridge
The 2NT opening bid
This shows a balanced hand with 20-22 points It is not forcing but
responder needs only 4+ points to know that the values for game are
probably there
Responses a bid of 3hearts or 3spades shows a 5-card suit and asks opener to
choose between game in no trumps (with only two cards in
responderrsquos suit) or game in the major (ie 4hearts or 4spades)
Acol 2 Opening Bid
The artificial opening bid of 2 shows a super strong hand with either
23+ points in a balanced hand (ie too strong to open with an Acol
2NT bid) or a hand that is too strong even to open with a strong
forcing bid of two of a suit
Responding to a 2 Opening
Negative Response
The response with less than 7 points is an artificial bid of 2 The
opener rebids naturally showing his long suit or bidding NT on a
balanced hand The opening bid of 2 is forcing to game
Exception to the rule there is only one situation where the opening
bid of 2 is not forcing to game If after a 2 negative response
opener rebids 2NT he is showing a balanced 23-24 points With
absolutely no values responder may pass this 2NT rebid However
with as little as 2 or 3 points he should bid again responding to the
2NT rebid in a similar manner to the way in which he would respond
to a 2NT opening bid (ie Stayman 3 and 3 forcing)
Remember how strong the opening hand is before you take the
decision to pass the 2NT rebid
How to Play Bridge
NB if opener after 2 - 2 makes any rebid other than 2NT the
responder must keep the bidding open until game (at least) is reached
Positive responses to a 2 opening
2 2 3 3 7+ points and a 5-card suit or a 4-card suit
headed by the A or K
2NT balanced 7-9 points
3NT balanced 10-12 points
Overcalls and Responses
OVERCALLS
In this section we will be highlighting 3 types of overcalls
Simple Overcall
This is usually a weak bid with as little as 8-12 points but is ideal in
disrupting communication between your opponents and also
informing your partner that you hold a good 5 card suit
For the purposes of illustration we will assume that the opponent on
your right has opened 1 Club You hold a good 5 card suit in Spades
but with only 8-12 points How should you bid
Suit Quality Test
To enable you to bid correctly you should firstly apply the lsquosuit
qualityrsquo test Simply count the length of your long suit in this case
spades and add the number of honour cards in that suit The total is
the strength of your suit quality If the total is 7 then you can make
and overcall of 1 Spade If the total is 8 then you can make an
overcall of 2 Spades and so on
How to Play Bridge
Jump Overcall
For a sound jump overcall you would need to have a 6 card suit
together with a suit quality of 8+ and an opening hand of 12+ points
1 NT Overcall
15-18 points with a balanced hand and a stopper in opponentrsquos suit
RESPONSES TO OVERCALLS
Remember that your partner has overcalled on what is probably a
weak hand with only one good suit and with the intention of
obstructing your opponents Therefore the majority of responses to
his overcall should also be barrages However there are responses
available
Supporting Partner
This is the bid your partner wants to hear most of all because it
means that you are cooperating with the idea of using up your
opponents bidding space All bids supporting partners overcall are
weak To determine your bid the deciding factor is the number of
trumps that you hold Assuming that your partner holds a five card
suit for his overcall you should raise your partners overcall to the
same number of tricks that you have trumps between you
So if you think you have a total of eight trumps between you you
should raise partner to 8 tricks (the two level) If you think you have
nine trumps raise to nine tricks (the three level) and so on
So in a barrage situation it is the number of trumps you hold and the
distribution of your hand that is important not your points
How to Play Bridge
RESPONDING WITH A STRONG HAND
What about when the responder has a genuinely good hand
Obviously you canrsquot just support partner and hope he understands
You must make a different bid and the easiest is the so-called un-
assuming cue bid This is a complicated sounding bid but actually
just involves calling the opponents suit at the lowest available level
What the bid means is that you think that you and your partner hold
the majority of the points and that there might be a game contract in
the offing by your side In other words whereas supporting your
partner is crying wolf to make life difficult for your opponents this
bid is saying that you genuinely think your side holds the majority of
the values and that there may be a possibility of bidding to game
How to Play Bridge
Contract Bridge (Rubber) Scoring
Contracts
NT
1 20 30 40
2 40 60 70
3 60 90 100
4 80 120 130
5 100 150 160
6 120 180 190
7 140 210 220
Slams
Not Vul Vul
Small 500 750
Grand 1000 1500
Rubbers
Three Games 500
Two Games 700
Unfinished Rubbers
Game 300
Part Score 50
Overtricks
per overtrick Not
Vul Vul
Not Doubled trick value
Doubled 100 200
Redoubled 200 400
Undertricks
Not Doubled Doubled
Not Vul Vul Not Vul Vul
1 50 100 100 200
2 100 200 300 500
3 150 300 500 800
4 200 400 800 1100
5 250 500 1100 1400
6 300 600 1400 1700
7 350 700 1700 2000
Other Bonuses
4 trump honours in one hand 100
5 trump honours in one hand 150
4 aces in one hand (NT) 150
Making a doubled Contract 50
Making a redoubled Contract 100
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No
How to Play Bridge
Mini-bridge is a trick-taking game One player starts by lsquoleadinglsquo or
playing the first card to a trick Each player in turn clockwise
contributes one card to each trick and the highest card played wins the
trick Aces are high followed in order by the king queen jack ten
nine and so on down to the two the lowest card in each suit
There are four suits of these 13 cards
Spades spades and Hearts hearts (the major suits)
Diamonds diams and Clubs clubs (the minor suits)
When playing to a trick each player must lsquofollow suitrsquo with a card of
the suit led if possible
Otherwise they may discard any card they like but a discard cannot
win the trick however high the card chosen The winner of a trick
makes the lead to the next trick
Deals may be played in lsquono trumpsrsquo or with a trump suit ndash one which
is more powerful than the others Say spades are trumps then any
spade beats any card in the other three suits Players must still follow
suit to each trick if they can but when unable to follow instead of
discarding a trump may be played which will win the trick (unless
another player plays a bigger trump card to the trick)
The main feature of Mini-bridge that distinguishes it from whist and
other similar trick-taking games is the existence of a lsquodeclarerrsquo who
decides the lsquocontractrsquo ndash that is the choice of trump suit and a target
number of tricks to be won by the partnership The contract must
always be for at least 7 of the 13 tricks available but a higher target
The difference between major and minor suits will
become important when we learn about the scoring
If you are cutting for partners then the two
players with the highest cards will play together The person drawing the highest
card can have choice of seat
How to Play Bridge
can be set known as a lsquogamersquo contract for which the declaring side
scores more if it is made Initially the target number of tricks will be
determined by the points held
1 - Shuffle and deal
The pack should be shuffled and cut for dealer (highest deals) Dealer
deals out the cards clockwise one by one to the players so that they
have 13 cards each Dealer for the second game will be the next
player clockwise and so on Please note that many teachers will
provide you with pre-dealt hands in bridge boards
2 - Sorting the hand
3 - Counting points
The value of the hand is worked out by counting up the high card
points held using the following scale
Ace = 4 points King = 3 points Queen = 2 points Jack
= 1 point
Note that there are 40 points altogether between the four hands in
each deal
4 - Announcing points
Beginning with the dealer and then in clockwise order each player
announces how many points his or her hand contains The partnership
The players sort the cards in their own Hand into suits and into sequence within
Each suit without showing the cards to the other players
How to Play Bridge
with the most points becomes the declaring side who decide the
contract The other pair are the defending side who try to prevent the
contract being made by making tricks themselves There is a re-deal if
the point distribution between the partnerships turns out to be 2020
5 - The declaring side
The player with the higher number of points in the declaring side
becomes lsquodeclarerrsquo and his partner becomes lsquodummyrsquo If they both
have the same number of points the player who announced points
first is declarer Dummy then lays his or her hand down face up on the
table to face declarer with the suits arranged in columns (see the
following diagram)
6 - Deciding the trump suit
Declarer may choose no trumps or a trump suit If declarer chooses a
trump contract the cards in dummy in the chosen suit are moved to be
on the dummyrsquos right hand side (the left hand end as declarer looks at
them)
How to Play Bridge
7 ndash Declarerrsquos Target
Declarer will attempt as a minimum to take a target number of tricks
based on the points that his side holds
Combined Declarerrsquos tricks target
points No trumps Suit contract
1-22 7 8
23-24 8 9
25-27 9 10
28-32 10 11
33-36 12 12
37+ 13 13
The points held give an indication of the tricks that might be
achieved Note that this is only a guide ndash the point count will be most
accurate in no trump contracts where the hands are often fairly
balanced although this can vary if the defenders manage to establish
tricks in their long suit
In general the possession of a trump suit will result in the hands
making about one trick more than if there were none This will
become important when we move on to bridge (as opposed to mini-
bridge) and consider the scoring table
8 - Play begins
The player on declarerrsquos left plays the first card ie makes the
lsquoopening leadrsquo Play is in clockwise order and players must follow to
the suit led whenever possible The highest card played wins the trick
(unless in a suit contract it is beaten by a trump since trumps
How to Play Bridge
outrank the other three suits) If several rounds of a suit are played
and a player runs out of cards in that suit he or she may discard a card
from another suit (which cannot win the trick) or in a trump
contractcan choose to play a trump (which will win the trick unless it
is beaten by a higher trump)
9 - Taking tricks
Each card is played face up in front of each player in such a way that
everyone can see the cards clearly When a trick is complete the
cards are turned over players placing the lsquoquittedrsquo cards from their
own hands face down on the table in front of themselves in a neat
row To make it easy to see how many tricks have been won or lost
cards in tricks won are placed upright and cards in tricks lost are
placed sideways on The winner of the first trick leads to the second
and so on
10 - Dummy play
Declarer controls the play of dummyrsquos cards telling partner which
card to play when itrsquos dummyrsquos turn Declarerrsquos partner must always
play dummyrsquos cards as instructed and must keep the cards already
played from dummy in correct order and formation Otherwise
dummy takes no part in the play of this particular deal
11 - Play ends
When all the cards have been played the tricks for each side are
counted and agreed and the result is calculated and scored Players
record their score on a score sheet The session can end when an
agreed target total has been reached by one side or after a set number
of deals has been played
How to Play Bridge
12 - The next deal
The position of dealer moves clockwise round the table for each
game
It is a good idea to have two packs of cards available so that the
second pack can be shuffled by the dealerrsquos partner while the first is
being dealt Before starting dealing the next set of hands these cards
should be cut by the player on the new dealerrsquos right
Rubber Bridge Rules
Rubber Bridge (and Contract Bridge which we will be discussing
later) is merely an advanced form of Minbridge
Players and Cards
There are four players in two fixed partnerships Partners sit facing
each other It is traditional to refer to the players according to their
position at the table as North East South and West so North and
South are partners playing against East and West The game is played
clockwise
A standard 52 card pack is used The cards in each suit rank from
highest to lowest A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Deal
The cards are shuffled by the player to dealers left and cut by the
player to dealers right The dealer deals out all the cards one at a time
so that each player has 13 Turn to deal rotates clockwise
It is traditional to use two packs of cards During each deal the
dealers partner shuffles the other pack and places it to the right The
dealer for the next hand then simply needs to pick up the cards from
the left and pass them across to the right to be cut Provided all the
players understand and operate it this procedure saves time and helps
to remember whose turn it is to deal as the spare pack of cards is
always to the left of the next dealer
How to Play Bridge
Bidding
There is next an auction to decide who will be the declarer A bid
specifies a number of tricks and a trump suit (or that there will be no
trumps) The side which bids highest will try to win at least that
number of tricks bid with the specified suit as trumps
When bidding the number which is said actually represents the
number of tricks in excess of six which the partnership undertakes to
win For example a bid of two hearts represents a contract to win at
least 8 tricks (8 = 6 + 2) with hearts as trumps
For the purpose of bidding the possible trump suits rank as follows
no trumps (highest) spades hearts diamonds clubs (lowest) A bid
of a larger number of tricks always beats a bid of a smaller number
and if the number of tricks bid are equal the higher suit beats the
lower The lowest bid allowed is one club (to win at least 7 tricks
with clubs as trumps) and the highest is seven no trumps (to win all
13 tricks without trumps
It is also possible during the auction to double a bid by the other
side or to redouble the opponents double Doubling and redoubling
essentially increase the score for the bid contract if won and the
penalties if lost If someone then bids higher any previous doubles
and redoubles are cancelled
Note that doubling does not affect the ranking of a bid - for example a
bid of two spades is always higher than two hearts even if the two
hearts bid has been doubled or redoubled
The dealer begins the auction and the turn to speak passes clockwise
At each turn a player may either
make a bid which must be higher than the previous bid if any
say double if the previous bid was by an opponent and has
not already been doubled
say redouble if the previous bid was by ones own side and
has been doubled by an opponent but not yet redoubled
How to Play Bridge
pass by saying no bid or pass This indicates that the player
does not wish to bid double or redouble on that round but a
player who has passed is still allowed to bid double or redouble
at a later turn NB Either no bid or pass is permissible but
you should stick to one term or the other No bid is usual in
Britain pass is usual in the USA
If all four players pass on their first turn to speak the hand is said to
be passed out The cards are thrown in and the next dealer deals
If anyone bids then the auction continues until there are three passes
in succession and then stops After three consecutive passes the last
bid becomes the contract The team who made the final bid will now
try to make the contract The first player of this team who mentioned
the denomination (suit or no trumps) of the contract becomes the
declarer The declarers partner is known as the dummy
Example of an auction (North dealt)
North East South West
Pass 1 heart double 3 hearts
3 spades Pass 4 spades Pass
Pass Pass
North-South will try to win at least 10 tricks with spades as trumps
North who mentioned spades first is the declarer Souths double of
one heart was cancelled by Wests bid of 3 hearts
The Play
The player to the left of the declarer leads to the first trick and may
play any card Immediately after this opening lead the dummys cards
are exposed The dummy should arrange them neatly in suits the
cards of each suit arranged in rank order in an overlapping column
pointing towards the declarer so that all the cards are clearly visible
The trump suit if any should be to dummys right (declarers left) in
the diagram spades are trump
How to Play Bridge
Play proceeds clockwise Each of the other three players in turn must
if possible play a card of the same suit that the leader played A player
with no card of the suit led may play any card A trick consists of four
cards one from each player and is won by the highest trump in it or
if no trumps were played by the highest card of the suit led The
winner of a trick leads to the next and may lead any card
Each trick is gathered together and turned face down when complete
but you may ask to see the cards and ask who played which card until
you or your partner has played to the next trick The tricks won are to
be arranged neatly in front of one member of the winning side so that
they can easily be counted
Dummy takes no active part in the play of the hand Whenever it is
dummys turn to play the declarer must say which of dummys cards
is to be played and dummy plays the card as instructed (provided that
it is legal) Dummy is not permitted to offer any advice or comment
on the play When dummy wins a trick the declarer specifies which
card dummy should lead to the next trick If when calling for a card
the declarer specifies the suit only dummy is to play the lowest card
of that suit
It is also legal and not unusual for the declarer to play dummys
cards by physically taking them from dummys hand rather than just
calling for them This allows the dummy player to leave the table
during the play of the hand
Scoring
As its name suggests rubber bridge is played in rubbers A rubber is
the best of three games A game is won by the first team to score 100
or more points for successful contracts over several deals if
necessary
A side which has already won one game towards the current rubber is
said to be vulnerable A side which has not yet won a game is not
vulnerable A side which is vulnerable is subject to higher bonuses
and penalties than one that is not
How to Play Bridge
The score is kept on a piece of paper divided into two columns headed
WE and THEY for the two teams with a horizontal line part-way
down (see sample) Scores for successful contracts are entered below
the line and count towards winning a game Other scores such as
bonuses for tricks made in excess of the contract (overtricks) or
penalties for tricks short of the contract (undertricks) are entered
above the line and do not count towards winning the game
Score for making the contract
For a successful contract the score below the line for each trick (in
excess of 6) bid and made is as follows
If trumps are Clubs or Diamonds 20 per trick
If trumps are Hearts or Spades 30 per trick
If there are No Trumps 40 for the first trick and 30 for each
subsequent trick
If the contract was doubled the above scores are doubled If it was
doubled and redoubled they are multiplied by 4
In addition the declarers side scores an extra 50 points above the line
if they succeed in a doubled contract This is sometimes known as 50
for the insult For making a redoubled contract the bonus is 100
above the line
Because of the difference in score clubs and diamonds are called the
minor suits and hearts and spades are the major suits
Slam bonus
A contract to make 12 tricks is known as a small slam A contract to
make all 13 tricks is called a grand slam For bidding and making a
slam declarers side get an extra bonus above the line depending on
their vulnerability as follows
Slam bonus small slam grand slam
not vulnerable 500 1000
vulnerable 750 1500
How to Play Bridge
Score for overtricks
If the declarers side wins more tricks than were bid and were not
doubled then in addition to the score below the line for the contract
they score for the overtricks above the line at the same rate as for bid
tricks - ie 20 per trick if a minor suit was trumps 30 per trick in a
major suit or no trumps
If the contract was doubled or redoubled the bonus for overtricks
does not depend on the trump suit but does depend on whether the
declarers side was vulnerable as follows
Score per overtrick doubled redoubled
not vulnerable 100 200
vulnerable 200 400
Penalty for undertricks
If the declarers side win fewer tricks than they bid neither side scores
anything below the line but the declarers opponents score above the
line This score depends on the declarers sides vulnerability and
whether the contract was doubled or redoubled as follows
Undertrick penalty not vulnerable vulnerable
Not doubled - each undertrick 50 100
Doubled - first undertrick 100 200
Doubled - 2nd and 3rd undertrick 200 each 300 each
Doubled - subsequent undertricks 300 each 300 each
Redoubled undertricks cost twice as much as doubled
undertricks
How to Play Bridge
Honours
The top five trumps (A K Q J 10) are called honours If one player
holds all five of these cards that players side scores a bonus of 150
above the line Four honours in one hand score 100 If there are no
trumps and a player holds four aces that players side scores 150 for
honours
Scores for honours are to be claimed at the end of the play (it is
assumed that the players will remember what they held)
As there is no skill in scoring for honours players often agree to play
without the honour bonuses
Game and Rubber
A side that accumulates 100 points or more below the line has won a
game A new line is drawn under the scores Anything the opponents
had below the line does not count towards the next game - they start
from zero again
It is important to notice that starting from zero and in the absence of
doubles to make a game in one hand you need to succeed in a
contract of at least three no trumps four spades four hearts five clubs
or five diamonds
The side which first wins two games wins the rubber For this they get
a bonus of 700 if they won it two games to zero or 500 if it was two
games to one Both sides scores are then totaled and if the game is
being played for money the side with the higher score wins an
amount proportional to the difference in scores from the side with the
lower score
If play ends for any reason with a rubber unfinished then a side with
a game gets a bonus of 300 points and a side with a part score (ie a
score below the line towards an uncompleted game) gets a bonus of
100
How to Play Bridge
Example of Rubber Bridge scoring
The scoresheet of a completed rubber might look like the example
below (The letters in brackets indicate successive deals as described
in the corresponding footnotes - they would not appear on the
scoresheet)
We They
500
(f)
50 (f)
100
(f)
200
(e)
500
(i)
300
(b)
30 (g)
60 (a) 30 (c)
The Line
60 (a) 100
(c)
End of Game
360
(f)
90 (d)
End of Game
60 (h) 40 (g)
90 (i)
End of
Rubber
(a) we bid 2 hearts and made 10 tricks - 60 below the line for the
contract and 60 above for the overtricks
How to Play Bridge
(b) they bid 4 spades we doubled them and they took only 8 tricks -
we score 100 for their first undertrick and 200 for the second
(c) they bid 3 no trumps and made 10 tricks This gives them a game
(100 below the line) plus 30 above the line for their overtrick A new
line is ruled below the scores to indicate the start of a new game
(d) they bid and made 3 spades
(e) they bid two diamonds and made 6 tricks - they are now
vulnerable so we score 100 for each undertrick
(f) we bid 6 hearts they doubled us but we won all 13 tricks We
score 360 (180 x 2) below the line for our doubled contract giving us
a game 100 above for our doubled non-vulnerable overtrick 50
above for making a doubled contract and 500 bonus for a small slam
bid and made
(g) they bid one no trump and took 8 tricks note that their 90 on deal
(d) was part of the previous game so the 40 below does not give them
a game
(h) we bid 3 clubs and made exactly 9 tricks
(i) they bid 3 hearts and took exactly 9 tricks giving their second
game and the rubber for a bonus of 500 (two games to one)
Adding up the scores we have 1690 and they have 880 Therefore we
have won by 810 points (even though they won the rubber)
In this example the above the line scores were entered starting
immediately above the line and working upwards This is traditional
at least in Britain but not necessary - you can start at the top just
below the WE-THEY headings and work downwards if you prefer
There is a Contract Bridge Scoring Card at the back of this book
How to Play Bridge
DUPLICATE BRIDGE
Duplicate Bridge the system we generally play at Alrewas Bridge
Club is only slightly different to Contract Bridge
In rubber bridge although the better players have a noticable edge
and will undoubtedly win in the long run the outcome of a single
rubber depends heavily on which side is dealt the better cards The
idea of duplicate bridge is to eliminate this element of luck by
having the same hands played more than once by different sets of
players
Suppose we are partners and play a hand of duplicate bridge as North-
South Instead of being rewarded for our absolute score on that hand
our score is compared with those of other players who played the
same deal as North-South against other opponents We win if we
score better than other players managed with our cards and lose if we
score worse
For this comparison to be fair it is necessary that each group of
players who play the same deal should start from the same position
Therefore it is not practicable to play rubbers where the scores
carried forward from deal to deal affect the tactical situation Instead
each deal is scored in its own right and does not affect the scores for
subsequent ones The concept of vulnerability is retained but on each
deal the vulnerability is preassigned
Boards
An almost essential piece of apparatus for playing duplicate bridge is
a set of duplicate boards and a pack of cards for each board Each
board contains four pockets marked North East South and West in
which the cards for the four players are stored Each board also carries
a number to identify it and has marks showing which of the players is
dealer and whether each team is vulnerable or not
Before the boards are played the cards are shuffled dealt and placed
in the pockets by a neutral person or by a player in the presence at
least one opponent
How to Play Bridge
When about to play a board the players take their cards from the
appropriate pockets check to see that they have 13 each and then bid
as usual The mark on the board showing the dealer in practice just
indicates which player is to begin the bidding The opening lead is
always made face down as explained above to give the leaders
partner an opportunity to ask questions about the bidding before the
led card is shown During the play the cards are not played in the
centre of the table but in front of the players At the end of each trick
all four players turn their played card face down The cards played by
each player are overlapped with the longer axis of the card pointing
to the winners of the trick (ie the cards belonging to tricks you have
won are placed upright from your point of view and the ones
belonging to lost tricks sideways) That way you can easily see how
many tricks you have won Also if the cards are kept in order any
dispute about revokes or tricks won or lost can be settled by
reconstructing the play At the end of the play each players cards are
gathered up and replaced in the correct pocket ready for the next time
the board is to be played
When this method of play is used dummy is expected to remain at the
table if at all possible and declarer then always calls dummys cards
rather than pulling them from the dummy You may ask to look at the
cards played to a trick by the other players as long as your own card is
face up Once you have turned your card face down you no longer
have the right to see any of the other cards played to that trick
(Unless you are dummy you are still allowed to peek at your own
played card without exposing it until the lead is made to the next
trick) Scoring
Each board is marked to show whether both sides one side or neither
side is vulnerable for that board You still need to score at least 100
points for tricks bid and made to make a game but on each board
both sides start with zero points towards games - there are no part
scores carried forward
In place of the rubber bonus there are game and part score bonuses
Making a game when vulnerable 500 points
How to Play Bridge
Making a game when not vulnerable 300 points
Making a part score any time 50 points
The rest of the scores are the same as in rubber bridge except that
there are no bonuses for honours in duplicate bridge
BRIDGEMATES
Fortunately although it is good know how the scoring system works
in our case all the scoring is done via our BridgeMates wireless
system All we (generally the players sitting at North table) have to
do is to enter the contract and the result and the system displays the
scores on the computer
MODERN ACOL (Standard English)
There are several methods of bidding Acol is the most used and
there are versions of Acol Modern Acol is the system we use at
Alrewas Bridge Club
Many years ago I was called in to help with a problem Apparently
there were a team of four aspiring rowers who for some odd reason
although there were all fit strong young and healthy trained hard
every day they just couldnrsquot win any rowing races Within minutes I
discovered the reason for their lack of success One of them was
sitting the wrong way round Once corrected their fame became
legendary
However apocryphal this story illustrates the need for all of us to be
paddling in the same direction or in our case to be all playing the
same system particularly so as we generally draw for partners at the
beginning of each playing session Experience players are expected
to play this system particularly when playing with newer members
How to Play Bridge
Bidding Standard English (Acol)
Bidding between partners is an exchange of information Using a very
restricted vocabulary each player in turn tries to describe his hand
The objective is to provide enough information so that one player can
make the decision what suit (if any) should be trumps and how many
tricks should we attempt to take
Initially we will consider the bidding as a dialogue between the pair
with the majority of the high-card strength this is frequently the case
However there are times when the values are more evenly distributed
between the pairs and both sides are then involved in the bidding
phase For now we will ignore this possibility it will be easier to
consider bidding as a partnership exercise before thinking about how
things change when both pairs are bidding
The most important considerations when evaluating your hand for an
opening bid are the high-card strength and the shape of the hand An
opening bid generally requires 12 or more points
Opening the bidding balanced hands
A balanced hand means
no singleton or void
not more than 1 doubleton
no 6-card or longer suit
With 12-14 points (Ace = 4 King = 3 Queen = 2 Jack = 1) and
a balanced hand with no 5-card major suit open 1 No Trump
With 20-22 points and a balanced hand open with a bid of 2NT
With an exceptional hand of 23+ points you will start with an
artificial opening bid of 2clubs - see below
How to Play Bridge
With a balanced hand of 15-19 points you do not initially bid
no trumps You will bid No Trumps later start with a bid in a
suit
Responding to 1NT with a balanced hand
(See Chart 4 at end of book)
Opening with a suit bid
open your longest suit
with two 5-card suits open the higher-ranking
with two 4-card suits open the higher-ranking Exception with
Spades and Hearts open 1
with three 4-card suits open the middle of 3 in a row or the suit
below the ldquogaprdquo
With a hand of exceptional strength where you do not want partner to
pass even with a very weak hand there is the option of opening with a
strong bid of 2 of your long suit or exceptionally 2clubs (artificial and
strong) ndash see below
Responding to an opening bid of 1clubs 1diams 1hearts 1spades
Raising partnerrsquos suit
with less than 6 points pass
6-9 points raise to the 2-level
How to Play Bridge
10-12 points raise to the 3-level
13+ points raise to the 4-level (in a major)
Responding in No Trumps
1 No Trumps 6-9 points (denies a suit that can be bid at
the 1-level or support for partnerrsquos major suit)
2 No Trumps 10-12 points balanced hand
3 No Trumps 13-15 points balanced hand
Responding in a new suit
a response in a new suit to an opening bid of 1 of a suit is
forcing partner cannot pass
respond in your longest suit
with two 5-card suits respond in the higher-ranking You will
then bid the other suit if practical to give partner a choice
with two or three 4-card suits make the most economical
response
bid your own suit before supporting partnerrsquos minor suit
do not bid in a new suit at the 2-level with less than 9 points
How to Play Bridge
remember that if you lack the strength to respond at the 2-level
you may instead respond 1NT (this need not show a balanced
hand)
a ldquojump shiftrdquo response in a new suit shows 16+ points and is
forcing to game
raising partnerrsquos major suit is a priority
do not raise partnerrsquos minor suit if there is an alternative such as
responding in a suit at the 1-level
Openerrsquos second bid
(1) With a weak hand
Pass if partner has made a non-forcing bid (ie a raise of your
suit or a no trump response)
support partnerrsquos major suit with 4-card support
rebid in a new suit at the 1-level
rebid in a lower-ranking suit at the 2-level (NB the ldquosafety
levelrdquo)
rebid your first suit at the lowest level with at least 5 cards
(2) With a strong hand
Jump raise partnerrsquos major suit (promises at least 4-card
support)
Jump rebid your own long (6-card +) suit
Jump in a new suit ndash forcing to game
How to Play Bridge
Bid a new suit at the 2-level above the ldquosafety levelrdquo ndash a reverse
showing a strong hand This is forcing if partner responded in a
suit at the 2-level
(3) With a balanced hand
rebid in No Trumps to show a balanced hand (but prefer to
bid a major suit if you can)
rebid No Trumps at the lowest level with 15-16 points
rebid No Trumps with a jump with 17-18 points
rebid 3NT with 19 points
Strong Opening Bids
Some hands are very powerful With this type of hand you would
normally open the bidding at the 2-level
An opening bid of 2 2 and 2 show a hand worth about 8 playing
tricks in the suit bid or possibly a strong two-suited hand with similar
strength The idea is that if you were to open with a bid of one of a
suit partner may pass and you may miss game (or even a slam) The
bid is forcing for one round (ie partner must respond)
Normal requirements to open 2 2 and 2
8 Playing Tricks
How to Play Bridge
Responses
2NT is the Negative Response It denies the ability to make any other
response Having given a negative response responder may pass on
the next round if opener makes a simple rebid of the suit that he
opened or bids a second suit without a jump
Positive Responses Any positive response is forcing to game
(at least)
A single raise (eg 2 - 3 ) promises a fit and an ace The hand may
have little more than those minimum requirements or it may be a
strong hand when responder will explore for slam
A double raise (eg 2 - 4) shows trump support with strictly
speaking two second-round controls (Kings or singletons) but denies
an Ace (with an Ace responder would make the stronger single raise
leaving more room to explore for a slam) A single raise is stronger
than a double raise Note it is now common practice to make the
double raise on any hand with support for partner and some values but
lacking an ace the old requirement for two second-round controls
tends to be ignored
A response in a new suit (eg 2 - 3) shows a good 5-card or longer
suit and 7+ points Lacking these basic requirements begin with an
alternative response (perhaps even a negative 2NT and then show
signs of life later in the auction) Do not respond in a bad suit
A jump to 3NT (eg 2 - 3NT) indicates a balanced hand with 10-12
points
A jump in a new suit (eg 2 - 4) promises a solid suit (AKQxxx at
least)
How to Play Bridge
The 2NT opening bid
This shows a balanced hand with 20-22 points It is not forcing but
responder needs only 4+ points to know that the values for game are
probably there
Responses a bid of 3hearts or 3spades shows a 5-card suit and asks opener to
choose between game in no trumps (with only two cards in
responderrsquos suit) or game in the major (ie 4hearts or 4spades)
Acol 2 Opening Bid
The artificial opening bid of 2 shows a super strong hand with either
23+ points in a balanced hand (ie too strong to open with an Acol
2NT bid) or a hand that is too strong even to open with a strong
forcing bid of two of a suit
Responding to a 2 Opening
Negative Response
The response with less than 7 points is an artificial bid of 2 The
opener rebids naturally showing his long suit or bidding NT on a
balanced hand The opening bid of 2 is forcing to game
Exception to the rule there is only one situation where the opening
bid of 2 is not forcing to game If after a 2 negative response
opener rebids 2NT he is showing a balanced 23-24 points With
absolutely no values responder may pass this 2NT rebid However
with as little as 2 or 3 points he should bid again responding to the
2NT rebid in a similar manner to the way in which he would respond
to a 2NT opening bid (ie Stayman 3 and 3 forcing)
Remember how strong the opening hand is before you take the
decision to pass the 2NT rebid
How to Play Bridge
NB if opener after 2 - 2 makes any rebid other than 2NT the
responder must keep the bidding open until game (at least) is reached
Positive responses to a 2 opening
2 2 3 3 7+ points and a 5-card suit or a 4-card suit
headed by the A or K
2NT balanced 7-9 points
3NT balanced 10-12 points
Overcalls and Responses
OVERCALLS
In this section we will be highlighting 3 types of overcalls
Simple Overcall
This is usually a weak bid with as little as 8-12 points but is ideal in
disrupting communication between your opponents and also
informing your partner that you hold a good 5 card suit
For the purposes of illustration we will assume that the opponent on
your right has opened 1 Club You hold a good 5 card suit in Spades
but with only 8-12 points How should you bid
Suit Quality Test
To enable you to bid correctly you should firstly apply the lsquosuit
qualityrsquo test Simply count the length of your long suit in this case
spades and add the number of honour cards in that suit The total is
the strength of your suit quality If the total is 7 then you can make
and overcall of 1 Spade If the total is 8 then you can make an
overcall of 2 Spades and so on
How to Play Bridge
Jump Overcall
For a sound jump overcall you would need to have a 6 card suit
together with a suit quality of 8+ and an opening hand of 12+ points
1 NT Overcall
15-18 points with a balanced hand and a stopper in opponentrsquos suit
RESPONSES TO OVERCALLS
Remember that your partner has overcalled on what is probably a
weak hand with only one good suit and with the intention of
obstructing your opponents Therefore the majority of responses to
his overcall should also be barrages However there are responses
available
Supporting Partner
This is the bid your partner wants to hear most of all because it
means that you are cooperating with the idea of using up your
opponents bidding space All bids supporting partners overcall are
weak To determine your bid the deciding factor is the number of
trumps that you hold Assuming that your partner holds a five card
suit for his overcall you should raise your partners overcall to the
same number of tricks that you have trumps between you
So if you think you have a total of eight trumps between you you
should raise partner to 8 tricks (the two level) If you think you have
nine trumps raise to nine tricks (the three level) and so on
So in a barrage situation it is the number of trumps you hold and the
distribution of your hand that is important not your points
How to Play Bridge
RESPONDING WITH A STRONG HAND
What about when the responder has a genuinely good hand
Obviously you canrsquot just support partner and hope he understands
You must make a different bid and the easiest is the so-called un-
assuming cue bid This is a complicated sounding bid but actually
just involves calling the opponents suit at the lowest available level
What the bid means is that you think that you and your partner hold
the majority of the points and that there might be a game contract in
the offing by your side In other words whereas supporting your
partner is crying wolf to make life difficult for your opponents this
bid is saying that you genuinely think your side holds the majority of
the values and that there may be a possibility of bidding to game
How to Play Bridge
Contract Bridge (Rubber) Scoring
Contracts
NT
1 20 30 40
2 40 60 70
3 60 90 100
4 80 120 130
5 100 150 160
6 120 180 190
7 140 210 220
Slams
Not Vul Vul
Small 500 750
Grand 1000 1500
Rubbers
Three Games 500
Two Games 700
Unfinished Rubbers
Game 300
Part Score 50
Overtricks
per overtrick Not
Vul Vul
Not Doubled trick value
Doubled 100 200
Redoubled 200 400
Undertricks
Not Doubled Doubled
Not Vul Vul Not Vul Vul
1 50 100 100 200
2 100 200 300 500
3 150 300 500 800
4 200 400 800 1100
5 250 500 1100 1400
6 300 600 1400 1700
7 350 700 1700 2000
Other Bonuses
4 trump honours in one hand 100
5 trump honours in one hand 150
4 aces in one hand (NT) 150
Making a doubled Contract 50
Making a redoubled Contract 100
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No
How to Play Bridge
can be set known as a lsquogamersquo contract for which the declaring side
scores more if it is made Initially the target number of tricks will be
determined by the points held
1 - Shuffle and deal
The pack should be shuffled and cut for dealer (highest deals) Dealer
deals out the cards clockwise one by one to the players so that they
have 13 cards each Dealer for the second game will be the next
player clockwise and so on Please note that many teachers will
provide you with pre-dealt hands in bridge boards
2 - Sorting the hand
3 - Counting points
The value of the hand is worked out by counting up the high card
points held using the following scale
Ace = 4 points King = 3 points Queen = 2 points Jack
= 1 point
Note that there are 40 points altogether between the four hands in
each deal
4 - Announcing points
Beginning with the dealer and then in clockwise order each player
announces how many points his or her hand contains The partnership
The players sort the cards in their own Hand into suits and into sequence within
Each suit without showing the cards to the other players
How to Play Bridge
with the most points becomes the declaring side who decide the
contract The other pair are the defending side who try to prevent the
contract being made by making tricks themselves There is a re-deal if
the point distribution between the partnerships turns out to be 2020
5 - The declaring side
The player with the higher number of points in the declaring side
becomes lsquodeclarerrsquo and his partner becomes lsquodummyrsquo If they both
have the same number of points the player who announced points
first is declarer Dummy then lays his or her hand down face up on the
table to face declarer with the suits arranged in columns (see the
following diagram)
6 - Deciding the trump suit
Declarer may choose no trumps or a trump suit If declarer chooses a
trump contract the cards in dummy in the chosen suit are moved to be
on the dummyrsquos right hand side (the left hand end as declarer looks at
them)
How to Play Bridge
7 ndash Declarerrsquos Target
Declarer will attempt as a minimum to take a target number of tricks
based on the points that his side holds
Combined Declarerrsquos tricks target
points No trumps Suit contract
1-22 7 8
23-24 8 9
25-27 9 10
28-32 10 11
33-36 12 12
37+ 13 13
The points held give an indication of the tricks that might be
achieved Note that this is only a guide ndash the point count will be most
accurate in no trump contracts where the hands are often fairly
balanced although this can vary if the defenders manage to establish
tricks in their long suit
In general the possession of a trump suit will result in the hands
making about one trick more than if there were none This will
become important when we move on to bridge (as opposed to mini-
bridge) and consider the scoring table
8 - Play begins
The player on declarerrsquos left plays the first card ie makes the
lsquoopening leadrsquo Play is in clockwise order and players must follow to
the suit led whenever possible The highest card played wins the trick
(unless in a suit contract it is beaten by a trump since trumps
How to Play Bridge
outrank the other three suits) If several rounds of a suit are played
and a player runs out of cards in that suit he or she may discard a card
from another suit (which cannot win the trick) or in a trump
contractcan choose to play a trump (which will win the trick unless it
is beaten by a higher trump)
9 - Taking tricks
Each card is played face up in front of each player in such a way that
everyone can see the cards clearly When a trick is complete the
cards are turned over players placing the lsquoquittedrsquo cards from their
own hands face down on the table in front of themselves in a neat
row To make it easy to see how many tricks have been won or lost
cards in tricks won are placed upright and cards in tricks lost are
placed sideways on The winner of the first trick leads to the second
and so on
10 - Dummy play
Declarer controls the play of dummyrsquos cards telling partner which
card to play when itrsquos dummyrsquos turn Declarerrsquos partner must always
play dummyrsquos cards as instructed and must keep the cards already
played from dummy in correct order and formation Otherwise
dummy takes no part in the play of this particular deal
11 - Play ends
When all the cards have been played the tricks for each side are
counted and agreed and the result is calculated and scored Players
record their score on a score sheet The session can end when an
agreed target total has been reached by one side or after a set number
of deals has been played
How to Play Bridge
12 - The next deal
The position of dealer moves clockwise round the table for each
game
It is a good idea to have two packs of cards available so that the
second pack can be shuffled by the dealerrsquos partner while the first is
being dealt Before starting dealing the next set of hands these cards
should be cut by the player on the new dealerrsquos right
Rubber Bridge Rules
Rubber Bridge (and Contract Bridge which we will be discussing
later) is merely an advanced form of Minbridge
Players and Cards
There are four players in two fixed partnerships Partners sit facing
each other It is traditional to refer to the players according to their
position at the table as North East South and West so North and
South are partners playing against East and West The game is played
clockwise
A standard 52 card pack is used The cards in each suit rank from
highest to lowest A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Deal
The cards are shuffled by the player to dealers left and cut by the
player to dealers right The dealer deals out all the cards one at a time
so that each player has 13 Turn to deal rotates clockwise
It is traditional to use two packs of cards During each deal the
dealers partner shuffles the other pack and places it to the right The
dealer for the next hand then simply needs to pick up the cards from
the left and pass them across to the right to be cut Provided all the
players understand and operate it this procedure saves time and helps
to remember whose turn it is to deal as the spare pack of cards is
always to the left of the next dealer
How to Play Bridge
Bidding
There is next an auction to decide who will be the declarer A bid
specifies a number of tricks and a trump suit (or that there will be no
trumps) The side which bids highest will try to win at least that
number of tricks bid with the specified suit as trumps
When bidding the number which is said actually represents the
number of tricks in excess of six which the partnership undertakes to
win For example a bid of two hearts represents a contract to win at
least 8 tricks (8 = 6 + 2) with hearts as trumps
For the purpose of bidding the possible trump suits rank as follows
no trumps (highest) spades hearts diamonds clubs (lowest) A bid
of a larger number of tricks always beats a bid of a smaller number
and if the number of tricks bid are equal the higher suit beats the
lower The lowest bid allowed is one club (to win at least 7 tricks
with clubs as trumps) and the highest is seven no trumps (to win all
13 tricks without trumps
It is also possible during the auction to double a bid by the other
side or to redouble the opponents double Doubling and redoubling
essentially increase the score for the bid contract if won and the
penalties if lost If someone then bids higher any previous doubles
and redoubles are cancelled
Note that doubling does not affect the ranking of a bid - for example a
bid of two spades is always higher than two hearts even if the two
hearts bid has been doubled or redoubled
The dealer begins the auction and the turn to speak passes clockwise
At each turn a player may either
make a bid which must be higher than the previous bid if any
say double if the previous bid was by an opponent and has
not already been doubled
say redouble if the previous bid was by ones own side and
has been doubled by an opponent but not yet redoubled
How to Play Bridge
pass by saying no bid or pass This indicates that the player
does not wish to bid double or redouble on that round but a
player who has passed is still allowed to bid double or redouble
at a later turn NB Either no bid or pass is permissible but
you should stick to one term or the other No bid is usual in
Britain pass is usual in the USA
If all four players pass on their first turn to speak the hand is said to
be passed out The cards are thrown in and the next dealer deals
If anyone bids then the auction continues until there are three passes
in succession and then stops After three consecutive passes the last
bid becomes the contract The team who made the final bid will now
try to make the contract The first player of this team who mentioned
the denomination (suit or no trumps) of the contract becomes the
declarer The declarers partner is known as the dummy
Example of an auction (North dealt)
North East South West
Pass 1 heart double 3 hearts
3 spades Pass 4 spades Pass
Pass Pass
North-South will try to win at least 10 tricks with spades as trumps
North who mentioned spades first is the declarer Souths double of
one heart was cancelled by Wests bid of 3 hearts
The Play
The player to the left of the declarer leads to the first trick and may
play any card Immediately after this opening lead the dummys cards
are exposed The dummy should arrange them neatly in suits the
cards of each suit arranged in rank order in an overlapping column
pointing towards the declarer so that all the cards are clearly visible
The trump suit if any should be to dummys right (declarers left) in
the diagram spades are trump
How to Play Bridge
Play proceeds clockwise Each of the other three players in turn must
if possible play a card of the same suit that the leader played A player
with no card of the suit led may play any card A trick consists of four
cards one from each player and is won by the highest trump in it or
if no trumps were played by the highest card of the suit led The
winner of a trick leads to the next and may lead any card
Each trick is gathered together and turned face down when complete
but you may ask to see the cards and ask who played which card until
you or your partner has played to the next trick The tricks won are to
be arranged neatly in front of one member of the winning side so that
they can easily be counted
Dummy takes no active part in the play of the hand Whenever it is
dummys turn to play the declarer must say which of dummys cards
is to be played and dummy plays the card as instructed (provided that
it is legal) Dummy is not permitted to offer any advice or comment
on the play When dummy wins a trick the declarer specifies which
card dummy should lead to the next trick If when calling for a card
the declarer specifies the suit only dummy is to play the lowest card
of that suit
It is also legal and not unusual for the declarer to play dummys
cards by physically taking them from dummys hand rather than just
calling for them This allows the dummy player to leave the table
during the play of the hand
Scoring
As its name suggests rubber bridge is played in rubbers A rubber is
the best of three games A game is won by the first team to score 100
or more points for successful contracts over several deals if
necessary
A side which has already won one game towards the current rubber is
said to be vulnerable A side which has not yet won a game is not
vulnerable A side which is vulnerable is subject to higher bonuses
and penalties than one that is not
How to Play Bridge
The score is kept on a piece of paper divided into two columns headed
WE and THEY for the two teams with a horizontal line part-way
down (see sample) Scores for successful contracts are entered below
the line and count towards winning a game Other scores such as
bonuses for tricks made in excess of the contract (overtricks) or
penalties for tricks short of the contract (undertricks) are entered
above the line and do not count towards winning the game
Score for making the contract
For a successful contract the score below the line for each trick (in
excess of 6) bid and made is as follows
If trumps are Clubs or Diamonds 20 per trick
If trumps are Hearts or Spades 30 per trick
If there are No Trumps 40 for the first trick and 30 for each
subsequent trick
If the contract was doubled the above scores are doubled If it was
doubled and redoubled they are multiplied by 4
In addition the declarers side scores an extra 50 points above the line
if they succeed in a doubled contract This is sometimes known as 50
for the insult For making a redoubled contract the bonus is 100
above the line
Because of the difference in score clubs and diamonds are called the
minor suits and hearts and spades are the major suits
Slam bonus
A contract to make 12 tricks is known as a small slam A contract to
make all 13 tricks is called a grand slam For bidding and making a
slam declarers side get an extra bonus above the line depending on
their vulnerability as follows
Slam bonus small slam grand slam
not vulnerable 500 1000
vulnerable 750 1500
How to Play Bridge
Score for overtricks
If the declarers side wins more tricks than were bid and were not
doubled then in addition to the score below the line for the contract
they score for the overtricks above the line at the same rate as for bid
tricks - ie 20 per trick if a minor suit was trumps 30 per trick in a
major suit or no trumps
If the contract was doubled or redoubled the bonus for overtricks
does not depend on the trump suit but does depend on whether the
declarers side was vulnerable as follows
Score per overtrick doubled redoubled
not vulnerable 100 200
vulnerable 200 400
Penalty for undertricks
If the declarers side win fewer tricks than they bid neither side scores
anything below the line but the declarers opponents score above the
line This score depends on the declarers sides vulnerability and
whether the contract was doubled or redoubled as follows
Undertrick penalty not vulnerable vulnerable
Not doubled - each undertrick 50 100
Doubled - first undertrick 100 200
Doubled - 2nd and 3rd undertrick 200 each 300 each
Doubled - subsequent undertricks 300 each 300 each
Redoubled undertricks cost twice as much as doubled
undertricks
How to Play Bridge
Honours
The top five trumps (A K Q J 10) are called honours If one player
holds all five of these cards that players side scores a bonus of 150
above the line Four honours in one hand score 100 If there are no
trumps and a player holds four aces that players side scores 150 for
honours
Scores for honours are to be claimed at the end of the play (it is
assumed that the players will remember what they held)
As there is no skill in scoring for honours players often agree to play
without the honour bonuses
Game and Rubber
A side that accumulates 100 points or more below the line has won a
game A new line is drawn under the scores Anything the opponents
had below the line does not count towards the next game - they start
from zero again
It is important to notice that starting from zero and in the absence of
doubles to make a game in one hand you need to succeed in a
contract of at least three no trumps four spades four hearts five clubs
or five diamonds
The side which first wins two games wins the rubber For this they get
a bonus of 700 if they won it two games to zero or 500 if it was two
games to one Both sides scores are then totaled and if the game is
being played for money the side with the higher score wins an
amount proportional to the difference in scores from the side with the
lower score
If play ends for any reason with a rubber unfinished then a side with
a game gets a bonus of 300 points and a side with a part score (ie a
score below the line towards an uncompleted game) gets a bonus of
100
How to Play Bridge
Example of Rubber Bridge scoring
The scoresheet of a completed rubber might look like the example
below (The letters in brackets indicate successive deals as described
in the corresponding footnotes - they would not appear on the
scoresheet)
We They
500
(f)
50 (f)
100
(f)
200
(e)
500
(i)
300
(b)
30 (g)
60 (a) 30 (c)
The Line
60 (a) 100
(c)
End of Game
360
(f)
90 (d)
End of Game
60 (h) 40 (g)
90 (i)
End of
Rubber
(a) we bid 2 hearts and made 10 tricks - 60 below the line for the
contract and 60 above for the overtricks
How to Play Bridge
(b) they bid 4 spades we doubled them and they took only 8 tricks -
we score 100 for their first undertrick and 200 for the second
(c) they bid 3 no trumps and made 10 tricks This gives them a game
(100 below the line) plus 30 above the line for their overtrick A new
line is ruled below the scores to indicate the start of a new game
(d) they bid and made 3 spades
(e) they bid two diamonds and made 6 tricks - they are now
vulnerable so we score 100 for each undertrick
(f) we bid 6 hearts they doubled us but we won all 13 tricks We
score 360 (180 x 2) below the line for our doubled contract giving us
a game 100 above for our doubled non-vulnerable overtrick 50
above for making a doubled contract and 500 bonus for a small slam
bid and made
(g) they bid one no trump and took 8 tricks note that their 90 on deal
(d) was part of the previous game so the 40 below does not give them
a game
(h) we bid 3 clubs and made exactly 9 tricks
(i) they bid 3 hearts and took exactly 9 tricks giving their second
game and the rubber for a bonus of 500 (two games to one)
Adding up the scores we have 1690 and they have 880 Therefore we
have won by 810 points (even though they won the rubber)
In this example the above the line scores were entered starting
immediately above the line and working upwards This is traditional
at least in Britain but not necessary - you can start at the top just
below the WE-THEY headings and work downwards if you prefer
There is a Contract Bridge Scoring Card at the back of this book
How to Play Bridge
DUPLICATE BRIDGE
Duplicate Bridge the system we generally play at Alrewas Bridge
Club is only slightly different to Contract Bridge
In rubber bridge although the better players have a noticable edge
and will undoubtedly win in the long run the outcome of a single
rubber depends heavily on which side is dealt the better cards The
idea of duplicate bridge is to eliminate this element of luck by
having the same hands played more than once by different sets of
players
Suppose we are partners and play a hand of duplicate bridge as North-
South Instead of being rewarded for our absolute score on that hand
our score is compared with those of other players who played the
same deal as North-South against other opponents We win if we
score better than other players managed with our cards and lose if we
score worse
For this comparison to be fair it is necessary that each group of
players who play the same deal should start from the same position
Therefore it is not practicable to play rubbers where the scores
carried forward from deal to deal affect the tactical situation Instead
each deal is scored in its own right and does not affect the scores for
subsequent ones The concept of vulnerability is retained but on each
deal the vulnerability is preassigned
Boards
An almost essential piece of apparatus for playing duplicate bridge is
a set of duplicate boards and a pack of cards for each board Each
board contains four pockets marked North East South and West in
which the cards for the four players are stored Each board also carries
a number to identify it and has marks showing which of the players is
dealer and whether each team is vulnerable or not
Before the boards are played the cards are shuffled dealt and placed
in the pockets by a neutral person or by a player in the presence at
least one opponent
How to Play Bridge
When about to play a board the players take their cards from the
appropriate pockets check to see that they have 13 each and then bid
as usual The mark on the board showing the dealer in practice just
indicates which player is to begin the bidding The opening lead is
always made face down as explained above to give the leaders
partner an opportunity to ask questions about the bidding before the
led card is shown During the play the cards are not played in the
centre of the table but in front of the players At the end of each trick
all four players turn their played card face down The cards played by
each player are overlapped with the longer axis of the card pointing
to the winners of the trick (ie the cards belonging to tricks you have
won are placed upright from your point of view and the ones
belonging to lost tricks sideways) That way you can easily see how
many tricks you have won Also if the cards are kept in order any
dispute about revokes or tricks won or lost can be settled by
reconstructing the play At the end of the play each players cards are
gathered up and replaced in the correct pocket ready for the next time
the board is to be played
When this method of play is used dummy is expected to remain at the
table if at all possible and declarer then always calls dummys cards
rather than pulling them from the dummy You may ask to look at the
cards played to a trick by the other players as long as your own card is
face up Once you have turned your card face down you no longer
have the right to see any of the other cards played to that trick
(Unless you are dummy you are still allowed to peek at your own
played card without exposing it until the lead is made to the next
trick) Scoring
Each board is marked to show whether both sides one side or neither
side is vulnerable for that board You still need to score at least 100
points for tricks bid and made to make a game but on each board
both sides start with zero points towards games - there are no part
scores carried forward
In place of the rubber bonus there are game and part score bonuses
Making a game when vulnerable 500 points
How to Play Bridge
Making a game when not vulnerable 300 points
Making a part score any time 50 points
The rest of the scores are the same as in rubber bridge except that
there are no bonuses for honours in duplicate bridge
BRIDGEMATES
Fortunately although it is good know how the scoring system works
in our case all the scoring is done via our BridgeMates wireless
system All we (generally the players sitting at North table) have to
do is to enter the contract and the result and the system displays the
scores on the computer
MODERN ACOL (Standard English)
There are several methods of bidding Acol is the most used and
there are versions of Acol Modern Acol is the system we use at
Alrewas Bridge Club
Many years ago I was called in to help with a problem Apparently
there were a team of four aspiring rowers who for some odd reason
although there were all fit strong young and healthy trained hard
every day they just couldnrsquot win any rowing races Within minutes I
discovered the reason for their lack of success One of them was
sitting the wrong way round Once corrected their fame became
legendary
However apocryphal this story illustrates the need for all of us to be
paddling in the same direction or in our case to be all playing the
same system particularly so as we generally draw for partners at the
beginning of each playing session Experience players are expected
to play this system particularly when playing with newer members
How to Play Bridge
Bidding Standard English (Acol)
Bidding between partners is an exchange of information Using a very
restricted vocabulary each player in turn tries to describe his hand
The objective is to provide enough information so that one player can
make the decision what suit (if any) should be trumps and how many
tricks should we attempt to take
Initially we will consider the bidding as a dialogue between the pair
with the majority of the high-card strength this is frequently the case
However there are times when the values are more evenly distributed
between the pairs and both sides are then involved in the bidding
phase For now we will ignore this possibility it will be easier to
consider bidding as a partnership exercise before thinking about how
things change when both pairs are bidding
The most important considerations when evaluating your hand for an
opening bid are the high-card strength and the shape of the hand An
opening bid generally requires 12 or more points
Opening the bidding balanced hands
A balanced hand means
no singleton or void
not more than 1 doubleton
no 6-card or longer suit
With 12-14 points (Ace = 4 King = 3 Queen = 2 Jack = 1) and
a balanced hand with no 5-card major suit open 1 No Trump
With 20-22 points and a balanced hand open with a bid of 2NT
With an exceptional hand of 23+ points you will start with an
artificial opening bid of 2clubs - see below
How to Play Bridge
With a balanced hand of 15-19 points you do not initially bid
no trumps You will bid No Trumps later start with a bid in a
suit
Responding to 1NT with a balanced hand
(See Chart 4 at end of book)
Opening with a suit bid
open your longest suit
with two 5-card suits open the higher-ranking
with two 4-card suits open the higher-ranking Exception with
Spades and Hearts open 1
with three 4-card suits open the middle of 3 in a row or the suit
below the ldquogaprdquo
With a hand of exceptional strength where you do not want partner to
pass even with a very weak hand there is the option of opening with a
strong bid of 2 of your long suit or exceptionally 2clubs (artificial and
strong) ndash see below
Responding to an opening bid of 1clubs 1diams 1hearts 1spades
Raising partnerrsquos suit
with less than 6 points pass
6-9 points raise to the 2-level
How to Play Bridge
10-12 points raise to the 3-level
13+ points raise to the 4-level (in a major)
Responding in No Trumps
1 No Trumps 6-9 points (denies a suit that can be bid at
the 1-level or support for partnerrsquos major suit)
2 No Trumps 10-12 points balanced hand
3 No Trumps 13-15 points balanced hand
Responding in a new suit
a response in a new suit to an opening bid of 1 of a suit is
forcing partner cannot pass
respond in your longest suit
with two 5-card suits respond in the higher-ranking You will
then bid the other suit if practical to give partner a choice
with two or three 4-card suits make the most economical
response
bid your own suit before supporting partnerrsquos minor suit
do not bid in a new suit at the 2-level with less than 9 points
How to Play Bridge
remember that if you lack the strength to respond at the 2-level
you may instead respond 1NT (this need not show a balanced
hand)
a ldquojump shiftrdquo response in a new suit shows 16+ points and is
forcing to game
raising partnerrsquos major suit is a priority
do not raise partnerrsquos minor suit if there is an alternative such as
responding in a suit at the 1-level
Openerrsquos second bid
(1) With a weak hand
Pass if partner has made a non-forcing bid (ie a raise of your
suit or a no trump response)
support partnerrsquos major suit with 4-card support
rebid in a new suit at the 1-level
rebid in a lower-ranking suit at the 2-level (NB the ldquosafety
levelrdquo)
rebid your first suit at the lowest level with at least 5 cards
(2) With a strong hand
Jump raise partnerrsquos major suit (promises at least 4-card
support)
Jump rebid your own long (6-card +) suit
Jump in a new suit ndash forcing to game
How to Play Bridge
Bid a new suit at the 2-level above the ldquosafety levelrdquo ndash a reverse
showing a strong hand This is forcing if partner responded in a
suit at the 2-level
(3) With a balanced hand
rebid in No Trumps to show a balanced hand (but prefer to
bid a major suit if you can)
rebid No Trumps at the lowest level with 15-16 points
rebid No Trumps with a jump with 17-18 points
rebid 3NT with 19 points
Strong Opening Bids
Some hands are very powerful With this type of hand you would
normally open the bidding at the 2-level
An opening bid of 2 2 and 2 show a hand worth about 8 playing
tricks in the suit bid or possibly a strong two-suited hand with similar
strength The idea is that if you were to open with a bid of one of a
suit partner may pass and you may miss game (or even a slam) The
bid is forcing for one round (ie partner must respond)
Normal requirements to open 2 2 and 2
8 Playing Tricks
How to Play Bridge
Responses
2NT is the Negative Response It denies the ability to make any other
response Having given a negative response responder may pass on
the next round if opener makes a simple rebid of the suit that he
opened or bids a second suit without a jump
Positive Responses Any positive response is forcing to game
(at least)
A single raise (eg 2 - 3 ) promises a fit and an ace The hand may
have little more than those minimum requirements or it may be a
strong hand when responder will explore for slam
A double raise (eg 2 - 4) shows trump support with strictly
speaking two second-round controls (Kings or singletons) but denies
an Ace (with an Ace responder would make the stronger single raise
leaving more room to explore for a slam) A single raise is stronger
than a double raise Note it is now common practice to make the
double raise on any hand with support for partner and some values but
lacking an ace the old requirement for two second-round controls
tends to be ignored
A response in a new suit (eg 2 - 3) shows a good 5-card or longer
suit and 7+ points Lacking these basic requirements begin with an
alternative response (perhaps even a negative 2NT and then show
signs of life later in the auction) Do not respond in a bad suit
A jump to 3NT (eg 2 - 3NT) indicates a balanced hand with 10-12
points
A jump in a new suit (eg 2 - 4) promises a solid suit (AKQxxx at
least)
How to Play Bridge
The 2NT opening bid
This shows a balanced hand with 20-22 points It is not forcing but
responder needs only 4+ points to know that the values for game are
probably there
Responses a bid of 3hearts or 3spades shows a 5-card suit and asks opener to
choose between game in no trumps (with only two cards in
responderrsquos suit) or game in the major (ie 4hearts or 4spades)
Acol 2 Opening Bid
The artificial opening bid of 2 shows a super strong hand with either
23+ points in a balanced hand (ie too strong to open with an Acol
2NT bid) or a hand that is too strong even to open with a strong
forcing bid of two of a suit
Responding to a 2 Opening
Negative Response
The response with less than 7 points is an artificial bid of 2 The
opener rebids naturally showing his long suit or bidding NT on a
balanced hand The opening bid of 2 is forcing to game
Exception to the rule there is only one situation where the opening
bid of 2 is not forcing to game If after a 2 negative response
opener rebids 2NT he is showing a balanced 23-24 points With
absolutely no values responder may pass this 2NT rebid However
with as little as 2 or 3 points he should bid again responding to the
2NT rebid in a similar manner to the way in which he would respond
to a 2NT opening bid (ie Stayman 3 and 3 forcing)
Remember how strong the opening hand is before you take the
decision to pass the 2NT rebid
How to Play Bridge
NB if opener after 2 - 2 makes any rebid other than 2NT the
responder must keep the bidding open until game (at least) is reached
Positive responses to a 2 opening
2 2 3 3 7+ points and a 5-card suit or a 4-card suit
headed by the A or K
2NT balanced 7-9 points
3NT balanced 10-12 points
Overcalls and Responses
OVERCALLS
In this section we will be highlighting 3 types of overcalls
Simple Overcall
This is usually a weak bid with as little as 8-12 points but is ideal in
disrupting communication between your opponents and also
informing your partner that you hold a good 5 card suit
For the purposes of illustration we will assume that the opponent on
your right has opened 1 Club You hold a good 5 card suit in Spades
but with only 8-12 points How should you bid
Suit Quality Test
To enable you to bid correctly you should firstly apply the lsquosuit
qualityrsquo test Simply count the length of your long suit in this case
spades and add the number of honour cards in that suit The total is
the strength of your suit quality If the total is 7 then you can make
and overcall of 1 Spade If the total is 8 then you can make an
overcall of 2 Spades and so on
How to Play Bridge
Jump Overcall
For a sound jump overcall you would need to have a 6 card suit
together with a suit quality of 8+ and an opening hand of 12+ points
1 NT Overcall
15-18 points with a balanced hand and a stopper in opponentrsquos suit
RESPONSES TO OVERCALLS
Remember that your partner has overcalled on what is probably a
weak hand with only one good suit and with the intention of
obstructing your opponents Therefore the majority of responses to
his overcall should also be barrages However there are responses
available
Supporting Partner
This is the bid your partner wants to hear most of all because it
means that you are cooperating with the idea of using up your
opponents bidding space All bids supporting partners overcall are
weak To determine your bid the deciding factor is the number of
trumps that you hold Assuming that your partner holds a five card
suit for his overcall you should raise your partners overcall to the
same number of tricks that you have trumps between you
So if you think you have a total of eight trumps between you you
should raise partner to 8 tricks (the two level) If you think you have
nine trumps raise to nine tricks (the three level) and so on
So in a barrage situation it is the number of trumps you hold and the
distribution of your hand that is important not your points
How to Play Bridge
RESPONDING WITH A STRONG HAND
What about when the responder has a genuinely good hand
Obviously you canrsquot just support partner and hope he understands
You must make a different bid and the easiest is the so-called un-
assuming cue bid This is a complicated sounding bid but actually
just involves calling the opponents suit at the lowest available level
What the bid means is that you think that you and your partner hold
the majority of the points and that there might be a game contract in
the offing by your side In other words whereas supporting your
partner is crying wolf to make life difficult for your opponents this
bid is saying that you genuinely think your side holds the majority of
the values and that there may be a possibility of bidding to game
How to Play Bridge
Contract Bridge (Rubber) Scoring
Contracts
NT
1 20 30 40
2 40 60 70
3 60 90 100
4 80 120 130
5 100 150 160
6 120 180 190
7 140 210 220
Slams
Not Vul Vul
Small 500 750
Grand 1000 1500
Rubbers
Three Games 500
Two Games 700
Unfinished Rubbers
Game 300
Part Score 50
Overtricks
per overtrick Not
Vul Vul
Not Doubled trick value
Doubled 100 200
Redoubled 200 400
Undertricks
Not Doubled Doubled
Not Vul Vul Not Vul Vul
1 50 100 100 200
2 100 200 300 500
3 150 300 500 800
4 200 400 800 1100
5 250 500 1100 1400
6 300 600 1400 1700
7 350 700 1700 2000
Other Bonuses
4 trump honours in one hand 100
5 trump honours in one hand 150
4 aces in one hand (NT) 150
Making a doubled Contract 50
Making a redoubled Contract 100
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No
How to Play Bridge
with the most points becomes the declaring side who decide the
contract The other pair are the defending side who try to prevent the
contract being made by making tricks themselves There is a re-deal if
the point distribution between the partnerships turns out to be 2020
5 - The declaring side
The player with the higher number of points in the declaring side
becomes lsquodeclarerrsquo and his partner becomes lsquodummyrsquo If they both
have the same number of points the player who announced points
first is declarer Dummy then lays his or her hand down face up on the
table to face declarer with the suits arranged in columns (see the
following diagram)
6 - Deciding the trump suit
Declarer may choose no trumps or a trump suit If declarer chooses a
trump contract the cards in dummy in the chosen suit are moved to be
on the dummyrsquos right hand side (the left hand end as declarer looks at
them)
How to Play Bridge
7 ndash Declarerrsquos Target
Declarer will attempt as a minimum to take a target number of tricks
based on the points that his side holds
Combined Declarerrsquos tricks target
points No trumps Suit contract
1-22 7 8
23-24 8 9
25-27 9 10
28-32 10 11
33-36 12 12
37+ 13 13
The points held give an indication of the tricks that might be
achieved Note that this is only a guide ndash the point count will be most
accurate in no trump contracts where the hands are often fairly
balanced although this can vary if the defenders manage to establish
tricks in their long suit
In general the possession of a trump suit will result in the hands
making about one trick more than if there were none This will
become important when we move on to bridge (as opposed to mini-
bridge) and consider the scoring table
8 - Play begins
The player on declarerrsquos left plays the first card ie makes the
lsquoopening leadrsquo Play is in clockwise order and players must follow to
the suit led whenever possible The highest card played wins the trick
(unless in a suit contract it is beaten by a trump since trumps
How to Play Bridge
outrank the other three suits) If several rounds of a suit are played
and a player runs out of cards in that suit he or she may discard a card
from another suit (which cannot win the trick) or in a trump
contractcan choose to play a trump (which will win the trick unless it
is beaten by a higher trump)
9 - Taking tricks
Each card is played face up in front of each player in such a way that
everyone can see the cards clearly When a trick is complete the
cards are turned over players placing the lsquoquittedrsquo cards from their
own hands face down on the table in front of themselves in a neat
row To make it easy to see how many tricks have been won or lost
cards in tricks won are placed upright and cards in tricks lost are
placed sideways on The winner of the first trick leads to the second
and so on
10 - Dummy play
Declarer controls the play of dummyrsquos cards telling partner which
card to play when itrsquos dummyrsquos turn Declarerrsquos partner must always
play dummyrsquos cards as instructed and must keep the cards already
played from dummy in correct order and formation Otherwise
dummy takes no part in the play of this particular deal
11 - Play ends
When all the cards have been played the tricks for each side are
counted and agreed and the result is calculated and scored Players
record their score on a score sheet The session can end when an
agreed target total has been reached by one side or after a set number
of deals has been played
How to Play Bridge
12 - The next deal
The position of dealer moves clockwise round the table for each
game
It is a good idea to have two packs of cards available so that the
second pack can be shuffled by the dealerrsquos partner while the first is
being dealt Before starting dealing the next set of hands these cards
should be cut by the player on the new dealerrsquos right
Rubber Bridge Rules
Rubber Bridge (and Contract Bridge which we will be discussing
later) is merely an advanced form of Minbridge
Players and Cards
There are four players in two fixed partnerships Partners sit facing
each other It is traditional to refer to the players according to their
position at the table as North East South and West so North and
South are partners playing against East and West The game is played
clockwise
A standard 52 card pack is used The cards in each suit rank from
highest to lowest A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Deal
The cards are shuffled by the player to dealers left and cut by the
player to dealers right The dealer deals out all the cards one at a time
so that each player has 13 Turn to deal rotates clockwise
It is traditional to use two packs of cards During each deal the
dealers partner shuffles the other pack and places it to the right The
dealer for the next hand then simply needs to pick up the cards from
the left and pass them across to the right to be cut Provided all the
players understand and operate it this procedure saves time and helps
to remember whose turn it is to deal as the spare pack of cards is
always to the left of the next dealer
How to Play Bridge
Bidding
There is next an auction to decide who will be the declarer A bid
specifies a number of tricks and a trump suit (or that there will be no
trumps) The side which bids highest will try to win at least that
number of tricks bid with the specified suit as trumps
When bidding the number which is said actually represents the
number of tricks in excess of six which the partnership undertakes to
win For example a bid of two hearts represents a contract to win at
least 8 tricks (8 = 6 + 2) with hearts as trumps
For the purpose of bidding the possible trump suits rank as follows
no trumps (highest) spades hearts diamonds clubs (lowest) A bid
of a larger number of tricks always beats a bid of a smaller number
and if the number of tricks bid are equal the higher suit beats the
lower The lowest bid allowed is one club (to win at least 7 tricks
with clubs as trumps) and the highest is seven no trumps (to win all
13 tricks without trumps
It is also possible during the auction to double a bid by the other
side or to redouble the opponents double Doubling and redoubling
essentially increase the score for the bid contract if won and the
penalties if lost If someone then bids higher any previous doubles
and redoubles are cancelled
Note that doubling does not affect the ranking of a bid - for example a
bid of two spades is always higher than two hearts even if the two
hearts bid has been doubled or redoubled
The dealer begins the auction and the turn to speak passes clockwise
At each turn a player may either
make a bid which must be higher than the previous bid if any
say double if the previous bid was by an opponent and has
not already been doubled
say redouble if the previous bid was by ones own side and
has been doubled by an opponent but not yet redoubled
How to Play Bridge
pass by saying no bid or pass This indicates that the player
does not wish to bid double or redouble on that round but a
player who has passed is still allowed to bid double or redouble
at a later turn NB Either no bid or pass is permissible but
you should stick to one term or the other No bid is usual in
Britain pass is usual in the USA
If all four players pass on their first turn to speak the hand is said to
be passed out The cards are thrown in and the next dealer deals
If anyone bids then the auction continues until there are three passes
in succession and then stops After three consecutive passes the last
bid becomes the contract The team who made the final bid will now
try to make the contract The first player of this team who mentioned
the denomination (suit or no trumps) of the contract becomes the
declarer The declarers partner is known as the dummy
Example of an auction (North dealt)
North East South West
Pass 1 heart double 3 hearts
3 spades Pass 4 spades Pass
Pass Pass
North-South will try to win at least 10 tricks with spades as trumps
North who mentioned spades first is the declarer Souths double of
one heart was cancelled by Wests bid of 3 hearts
The Play
The player to the left of the declarer leads to the first trick and may
play any card Immediately after this opening lead the dummys cards
are exposed The dummy should arrange them neatly in suits the
cards of each suit arranged in rank order in an overlapping column
pointing towards the declarer so that all the cards are clearly visible
The trump suit if any should be to dummys right (declarers left) in
the diagram spades are trump
How to Play Bridge
Play proceeds clockwise Each of the other three players in turn must
if possible play a card of the same suit that the leader played A player
with no card of the suit led may play any card A trick consists of four
cards one from each player and is won by the highest trump in it or
if no trumps were played by the highest card of the suit led The
winner of a trick leads to the next and may lead any card
Each trick is gathered together and turned face down when complete
but you may ask to see the cards and ask who played which card until
you or your partner has played to the next trick The tricks won are to
be arranged neatly in front of one member of the winning side so that
they can easily be counted
Dummy takes no active part in the play of the hand Whenever it is
dummys turn to play the declarer must say which of dummys cards
is to be played and dummy plays the card as instructed (provided that
it is legal) Dummy is not permitted to offer any advice or comment
on the play When dummy wins a trick the declarer specifies which
card dummy should lead to the next trick If when calling for a card
the declarer specifies the suit only dummy is to play the lowest card
of that suit
It is also legal and not unusual for the declarer to play dummys
cards by physically taking them from dummys hand rather than just
calling for them This allows the dummy player to leave the table
during the play of the hand
Scoring
As its name suggests rubber bridge is played in rubbers A rubber is
the best of three games A game is won by the first team to score 100
or more points for successful contracts over several deals if
necessary
A side which has already won one game towards the current rubber is
said to be vulnerable A side which has not yet won a game is not
vulnerable A side which is vulnerable is subject to higher bonuses
and penalties than one that is not
How to Play Bridge
The score is kept on a piece of paper divided into two columns headed
WE and THEY for the two teams with a horizontal line part-way
down (see sample) Scores for successful contracts are entered below
the line and count towards winning a game Other scores such as
bonuses for tricks made in excess of the contract (overtricks) or
penalties for tricks short of the contract (undertricks) are entered
above the line and do not count towards winning the game
Score for making the contract
For a successful contract the score below the line for each trick (in
excess of 6) bid and made is as follows
If trumps are Clubs or Diamonds 20 per trick
If trumps are Hearts or Spades 30 per trick
If there are No Trumps 40 for the first trick and 30 for each
subsequent trick
If the contract was doubled the above scores are doubled If it was
doubled and redoubled they are multiplied by 4
In addition the declarers side scores an extra 50 points above the line
if they succeed in a doubled contract This is sometimes known as 50
for the insult For making a redoubled contract the bonus is 100
above the line
Because of the difference in score clubs and diamonds are called the
minor suits and hearts and spades are the major suits
Slam bonus
A contract to make 12 tricks is known as a small slam A contract to
make all 13 tricks is called a grand slam For bidding and making a
slam declarers side get an extra bonus above the line depending on
their vulnerability as follows
Slam bonus small slam grand slam
not vulnerable 500 1000
vulnerable 750 1500
How to Play Bridge
Score for overtricks
If the declarers side wins more tricks than were bid and were not
doubled then in addition to the score below the line for the contract
they score for the overtricks above the line at the same rate as for bid
tricks - ie 20 per trick if a minor suit was trumps 30 per trick in a
major suit or no trumps
If the contract was doubled or redoubled the bonus for overtricks
does not depend on the trump suit but does depend on whether the
declarers side was vulnerable as follows
Score per overtrick doubled redoubled
not vulnerable 100 200
vulnerable 200 400
Penalty for undertricks
If the declarers side win fewer tricks than they bid neither side scores
anything below the line but the declarers opponents score above the
line This score depends on the declarers sides vulnerability and
whether the contract was doubled or redoubled as follows
Undertrick penalty not vulnerable vulnerable
Not doubled - each undertrick 50 100
Doubled - first undertrick 100 200
Doubled - 2nd and 3rd undertrick 200 each 300 each
Doubled - subsequent undertricks 300 each 300 each
Redoubled undertricks cost twice as much as doubled
undertricks
How to Play Bridge
Honours
The top five trumps (A K Q J 10) are called honours If one player
holds all five of these cards that players side scores a bonus of 150
above the line Four honours in one hand score 100 If there are no
trumps and a player holds four aces that players side scores 150 for
honours
Scores for honours are to be claimed at the end of the play (it is
assumed that the players will remember what they held)
As there is no skill in scoring for honours players often agree to play
without the honour bonuses
Game and Rubber
A side that accumulates 100 points or more below the line has won a
game A new line is drawn under the scores Anything the opponents
had below the line does not count towards the next game - they start
from zero again
It is important to notice that starting from zero and in the absence of
doubles to make a game in one hand you need to succeed in a
contract of at least three no trumps four spades four hearts five clubs
or five diamonds
The side which first wins two games wins the rubber For this they get
a bonus of 700 if they won it two games to zero or 500 if it was two
games to one Both sides scores are then totaled and if the game is
being played for money the side with the higher score wins an
amount proportional to the difference in scores from the side with the
lower score
If play ends for any reason with a rubber unfinished then a side with
a game gets a bonus of 300 points and a side with a part score (ie a
score below the line towards an uncompleted game) gets a bonus of
100
How to Play Bridge
Example of Rubber Bridge scoring
The scoresheet of a completed rubber might look like the example
below (The letters in brackets indicate successive deals as described
in the corresponding footnotes - they would not appear on the
scoresheet)
We They
500
(f)
50 (f)
100
(f)
200
(e)
500
(i)
300
(b)
30 (g)
60 (a) 30 (c)
The Line
60 (a) 100
(c)
End of Game
360
(f)
90 (d)
End of Game
60 (h) 40 (g)
90 (i)
End of
Rubber
(a) we bid 2 hearts and made 10 tricks - 60 below the line for the
contract and 60 above for the overtricks
How to Play Bridge
(b) they bid 4 spades we doubled them and they took only 8 tricks -
we score 100 for their first undertrick and 200 for the second
(c) they bid 3 no trumps and made 10 tricks This gives them a game
(100 below the line) plus 30 above the line for their overtrick A new
line is ruled below the scores to indicate the start of a new game
(d) they bid and made 3 spades
(e) they bid two diamonds and made 6 tricks - they are now
vulnerable so we score 100 for each undertrick
(f) we bid 6 hearts they doubled us but we won all 13 tricks We
score 360 (180 x 2) below the line for our doubled contract giving us
a game 100 above for our doubled non-vulnerable overtrick 50
above for making a doubled contract and 500 bonus for a small slam
bid and made
(g) they bid one no trump and took 8 tricks note that their 90 on deal
(d) was part of the previous game so the 40 below does not give them
a game
(h) we bid 3 clubs and made exactly 9 tricks
(i) they bid 3 hearts and took exactly 9 tricks giving their second
game and the rubber for a bonus of 500 (two games to one)
Adding up the scores we have 1690 and they have 880 Therefore we
have won by 810 points (even though they won the rubber)
In this example the above the line scores were entered starting
immediately above the line and working upwards This is traditional
at least in Britain but not necessary - you can start at the top just
below the WE-THEY headings and work downwards if you prefer
There is a Contract Bridge Scoring Card at the back of this book
How to Play Bridge
DUPLICATE BRIDGE
Duplicate Bridge the system we generally play at Alrewas Bridge
Club is only slightly different to Contract Bridge
In rubber bridge although the better players have a noticable edge
and will undoubtedly win in the long run the outcome of a single
rubber depends heavily on which side is dealt the better cards The
idea of duplicate bridge is to eliminate this element of luck by
having the same hands played more than once by different sets of
players
Suppose we are partners and play a hand of duplicate bridge as North-
South Instead of being rewarded for our absolute score on that hand
our score is compared with those of other players who played the
same deal as North-South against other opponents We win if we
score better than other players managed with our cards and lose if we
score worse
For this comparison to be fair it is necessary that each group of
players who play the same deal should start from the same position
Therefore it is not practicable to play rubbers where the scores
carried forward from deal to deal affect the tactical situation Instead
each deal is scored in its own right and does not affect the scores for
subsequent ones The concept of vulnerability is retained but on each
deal the vulnerability is preassigned
Boards
An almost essential piece of apparatus for playing duplicate bridge is
a set of duplicate boards and a pack of cards for each board Each
board contains four pockets marked North East South and West in
which the cards for the four players are stored Each board also carries
a number to identify it and has marks showing which of the players is
dealer and whether each team is vulnerable or not
Before the boards are played the cards are shuffled dealt and placed
in the pockets by a neutral person or by a player in the presence at
least one opponent
How to Play Bridge
When about to play a board the players take their cards from the
appropriate pockets check to see that they have 13 each and then bid
as usual The mark on the board showing the dealer in practice just
indicates which player is to begin the bidding The opening lead is
always made face down as explained above to give the leaders
partner an opportunity to ask questions about the bidding before the
led card is shown During the play the cards are not played in the
centre of the table but in front of the players At the end of each trick
all four players turn their played card face down The cards played by
each player are overlapped with the longer axis of the card pointing
to the winners of the trick (ie the cards belonging to tricks you have
won are placed upright from your point of view and the ones
belonging to lost tricks sideways) That way you can easily see how
many tricks you have won Also if the cards are kept in order any
dispute about revokes or tricks won or lost can be settled by
reconstructing the play At the end of the play each players cards are
gathered up and replaced in the correct pocket ready for the next time
the board is to be played
When this method of play is used dummy is expected to remain at the
table if at all possible and declarer then always calls dummys cards
rather than pulling them from the dummy You may ask to look at the
cards played to a trick by the other players as long as your own card is
face up Once you have turned your card face down you no longer
have the right to see any of the other cards played to that trick
(Unless you are dummy you are still allowed to peek at your own
played card without exposing it until the lead is made to the next
trick) Scoring
Each board is marked to show whether both sides one side or neither
side is vulnerable for that board You still need to score at least 100
points for tricks bid and made to make a game but on each board
both sides start with zero points towards games - there are no part
scores carried forward
In place of the rubber bonus there are game and part score bonuses
Making a game when vulnerable 500 points
How to Play Bridge
Making a game when not vulnerable 300 points
Making a part score any time 50 points
The rest of the scores are the same as in rubber bridge except that
there are no bonuses for honours in duplicate bridge
BRIDGEMATES
Fortunately although it is good know how the scoring system works
in our case all the scoring is done via our BridgeMates wireless
system All we (generally the players sitting at North table) have to
do is to enter the contract and the result and the system displays the
scores on the computer
MODERN ACOL (Standard English)
There are several methods of bidding Acol is the most used and
there are versions of Acol Modern Acol is the system we use at
Alrewas Bridge Club
Many years ago I was called in to help with a problem Apparently
there were a team of four aspiring rowers who for some odd reason
although there were all fit strong young and healthy trained hard
every day they just couldnrsquot win any rowing races Within minutes I
discovered the reason for their lack of success One of them was
sitting the wrong way round Once corrected their fame became
legendary
However apocryphal this story illustrates the need for all of us to be
paddling in the same direction or in our case to be all playing the
same system particularly so as we generally draw for partners at the
beginning of each playing session Experience players are expected
to play this system particularly when playing with newer members
How to Play Bridge
Bidding Standard English (Acol)
Bidding between partners is an exchange of information Using a very
restricted vocabulary each player in turn tries to describe his hand
The objective is to provide enough information so that one player can
make the decision what suit (if any) should be trumps and how many
tricks should we attempt to take
Initially we will consider the bidding as a dialogue between the pair
with the majority of the high-card strength this is frequently the case
However there are times when the values are more evenly distributed
between the pairs and both sides are then involved in the bidding
phase For now we will ignore this possibility it will be easier to
consider bidding as a partnership exercise before thinking about how
things change when both pairs are bidding
The most important considerations when evaluating your hand for an
opening bid are the high-card strength and the shape of the hand An
opening bid generally requires 12 or more points
Opening the bidding balanced hands
A balanced hand means
no singleton or void
not more than 1 doubleton
no 6-card or longer suit
With 12-14 points (Ace = 4 King = 3 Queen = 2 Jack = 1) and
a balanced hand with no 5-card major suit open 1 No Trump
With 20-22 points and a balanced hand open with a bid of 2NT
With an exceptional hand of 23+ points you will start with an
artificial opening bid of 2clubs - see below
How to Play Bridge
With a balanced hand of 15-19 points you do not initially bid
no trumps You will bid No Trumps later start with a bid in a
suit
Responding to 1NT with a balanced hand
(See Chart 4 at end of book)
Opening with a suit bid
open your longest suit
with two 5-card suits open the higher-ranking
with two 4-card suits open the higher-ranking Exception with
Spades and Hearts open 1
with three 4-card suits open the middle of 3 in a row or the suit
below the ldquogaprdquo
With a hand of exceptional strength where you do not want partner to
pass even with a very weak hand there is the option of opening with a
strong bid of 2 of your long suit or exceptionally 2clubs (artificial and
strong) ndash see below
Responding to an opening bid of 1clubs 1diams 1hearts 1spades
Raising partnerrsquos suit
with less than 6 points pass
6-9 points raise to the 2-level
How to Play Bridge
10-12 points raise to the 3-level
13+ points raise to the 4-level (in a major)
Responding in No Trumps
1 No Trumps 6-9 points (denies a suit that can be bid at
the 1-level or support for partnerrsquos major suit)
2 No Trumps 10-12 points balanced hand
3 No Trumps 13-15 points balanced hand
Responding in a new suit
a response in a new suit to an opening bid of 1 of a suit is
forcing partner cannot pass
respond in your longest suit
with two 5-card suits respond in the higher-ranking You will
then bid the other suit if practical to give partner a choice
with two or three 4-card suits make the most economical
response
bid your own suit before supporting partnerrsquos minor suit
do not bid in a new suit at the 2-level with less than 9 points
How to Play Bridge
remember that if you lack the strength to respond at the 2-level
you may instead respond 1NT (this need not show a balanced
hand)
a ldquojump shiftrdquo response in a new suit shows 16+ points and is
forcing to game
raising partnerrsquos major suit is a priority
do not raise partnerrsquos minor suit if there is an alternative such as
responding in a suit at the 1-level
Openerrsquos second bid
(1) With a weak hand
Pass if partner has made a non-forcing bid (ie a raise of your
suit or a no trump response)
support partnerrsquos major suit with 4-card support
rebid in a new suit at the 1-level
rebid in a lower-ranking suit at the 2-level (NB the ldquosafety
levelrdquo)
rebid your first suit at the lowest level with at least 5 cards
(2) With a strong hand
Jump raise partnerrsquos major suit (promises at least 4-card
support)
Jump rebid your own long (6-card +) suit
Jump in a new suit ndash forcing to game
How to Play Bridge
Bid a new suit at the 2-level above the ldquosafety levelrdquo ndash a reverse
showing a strong hand This is forcing if partner responded in a
suit at the 2-level
(3) With a balanced hand
rebid in No Trumps to show a balanced hand (but prefer to
bid a major suit if you can)
rebid No Trumps at the lowest level with 15-16 points
rebid No Trumps with a jump with 17-18 points
rebid 3NT with 19 points
Strong Opening Bids
Some hands are very powerful With this type of hand you would
normally open the bidding at the 2-level
An opening bid of 2 2 and 2 show a hand worth about 8 playing
tricks in the suit bid or possibly a strong two-suited hand with similar
strength The idea is that if you were to open with a bid of one of a
suit partner may pass and you may miss game (or even a slam) The
bid is forcing for one round (ie partner must respond)
Normal requirements to open 2 2 and 2
8 Playing Tricks
How to Play Bridge
Responses
2NT is the Negative Response It denies the ability to make any other
response Having given a negative response responder may pass on
the next round if opener makes a simple rebid of the suit that he
opened or bids a second suit without a jump
Positive Responses Any positive response is forcing to game
(at least)
A single raise (eg 2 - 3 ) promises a fit and an ace The hand may
have little more than those minimum requirements or it may be a
strong hand when responder will explore for slam
A double raise (eg 2 - 4) shows trump support with strictly
speaking two second-round controls (Kings or singletons) but denies
an Ace (with an Ace responder would make the stronger single raise
leaving more room to explore for a slam) A single raise is stronger
than a double raise Note it is now common practice to make the
double raise on any hand with support for partner and some values but
lacking an ace the old requirement for two second-round controls
tends to be ignored
A response in a new suit (eg 2 - 3) shows a good 5-card or longer
suit and 7+ points Lacking these basic requirements begin with an
alternative response (perhaps even a negative 2NT and then show
signs of life later in the auction) Do not respond in a bad suit
A jump to 3NT (eg 2 - 3NT) indicates a balanced hand with 10-12
points
A jump in a new suit (eg 2 - 4) promises a solid suit (AKQxxx at
least)
How to Play Bridge
The 2NT opening bid
This shows a balanced hand with 20-22 points It is not forcing but
responder needs only 4+ points to know that the values for game are
probably there
Responses a bid of 3hearts or 3spades shows a 5-card suit and asks opener to
choose between game in no trumps (with only two cards in
responderrsquos suit) or game in the major (ie 4hearts or 4spades)
Acol 2 Opening Bid
The artificial opening bid of 2 shows a super strong hand with either
23+ points in a balanced hand (ie too strong to open with an Acol
2NT bid) or a hand that is too strong even to open with a strong
forcing bid of two of a suit
Responding to a 2 Opening
Negative Response
The response with less than 7 points is an artificial bid of 2 The
opener rebids naturally showing his long suit or bidding NT on a
balanced hand The opening bid of 2 is forcing to game
Exception to the rule there is only one situation where the opening
bid of 2 is not forcing to game If after a 2 negative response
opener rebids 2NT he is showing a balanced 23-24 points With
absolutely no values responder may pass this 2NT rebid However
with as little as 2 or 3 points he should bid again responding to the
2NT rebid in a similar manner to the way in which he would respond
to a 2NT opening bid (ie Stayman 3 and 3 forcing)
Remember how strong the opening hand is before you take the
decision to pass the 2NT rebid
How to Play Bridge
NB if opener after 2 - 2 makes any rebid other than 2NT the
responder must keep the bidding open until game (at least) is reached
Positive responses to a 2 opening
2 2 3 3 7+ points and a 5-card suit or a 4-card suit
headed by the A or K
2NT balanced 7-9 points
3NT balanced 10-12 points
Overcalls and Responses
OVERCALLS
In this section we will be highlighting 3 types of overcalls
Simple Overcall
This is usually a weak bid with as little as 8-12 points but is ideal in
disrupting communication between your opponents and also
informing your partner that you hold a good 5 card suit
For the purposes of illustration we will assume that the opponent on
your right has opened 1 Club You hold a good 5 card suit in Spades
but with only 8-12 points How should you bid
Suit Quality Test
To enable you to bid correctly you should firstly apply the lsquosuit
qualityrsquo test Simply count the length of your long suit in this case
spades and add the number of honour cards in that suit The total is
the strength of your suit quality If the total is 7 then you can make
and overcall of 1 Spade If the total is 8 then you can make an
overcall of 2 Spades and so on
How to Play Bridge
Jump Overcall
For a sound jump overcall you would need to have a 6 card suit
together with a suit quality of 8+ and an opening hand of 12+ points
1 NT Overcall
15-18 points with a balanced hand and a stopper in opponentrsquos suit
RESPONSES TO OVERCALLS
Remember that your partner has overcalled on what is probably a
weak hand with only one good suit and with the intention of
obstructing your opponents Therefore the majority of responses to
his overcall should also be barrages However there are responses
available
Supporting Partner
This is the bid your partner wants to hear most of all because it
means that you are cooperating with the idea of using up your
opponents bidding space All bids supporting partners overcall are
weak To determine your bid the deciding factor is the number of
trumps that you hold Assuming that your partner holds a five card
suit for his overcall you should raise your partners overcall to the
same number of tricks that you have trumps between you
So if you think you have a total of eight trumps between you you
should raise partner to 8 tricks (the two level) If you think you have
nine trumps raise to nine tricks (the three level) and so on
So in a barrage situation it is the number of trumps you hold and the
distribution of your hand that is important not your points
How to Play Bridge
RESPONDING WITH A STRONG HAND
What about when the responder has a genuinely good hand
Obviously you canrsquot just support partner and hope he understands
You must make a different bid and the easiest is the so-called un-
assuming cue bid This is a complicated sounding bid but actually
just involves calling the opponents suit at the lowest available level
What the bid means is that you think that you and your partner hold
the majority of the points and that there might be a game contract in
the offing by your side In other words whereas supporting your
partner is crying wolf to make life difficult for your opponents this
bid is saying that you genuinely think your side holds the majority of
the values and that there may be a possibility of bidding to game
How to Play Bridge
Contract Bridge (Rubber) Scoring
Contracts
NT
1 20 30 40
2 40 60 70
3 60 90 100
4 80 120 130
5 100 150 160
6 120 180 190
7 140 210 220
Slams
Not Vul Vul
Small 500 750
Grand 1000 1500
Rubbers
Three Games 500
Two Games 700
Unfinished Rubbers
Game 300
Part Score 50
Overtricks
per overtrick Not
Vul Vul
Not Doubled trick value
Doubled 100 200
Redoubled 200 400
Undertricks
Not Doubled Doubled
Not Vul Vul Not Vul Vul
1 50 100 100 200
2 100 200 300 500
3 150 300 500 800
4 200 400 800 1100
5 250 500 1100 1400
6 300 600 1400 1700
7 350 700 1700 2000
Other Bonuses
4 trump honours in one hand 100
5 trump honours in one hand 150
4 aces in one hand (NT) 150
Making a doubled Contract 50
Making a redoubled Contract 100
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No
How to Play Bridge
7 ndash Declarerrsquos Target
Declarer will attempt as a minimum to take a target number of tricks
based on the points that his side holds
Combined Declarerrsquos tricks target
points No trumps Suit contract
1-22 7 8
23-24 8 9
25-27 9 10
28-32 10 11
33-36 12 12
37+ 13 13
The points held give an indication of the tricks that might be
achieved Note that this is only a guide ndash the point count will be most
accurate in no trump contracts where the hands are often fairly
balanced although this can vary if the defenders manage to establish
tricks in their long suit
In general the possession of a trump suit will result in the hands
making about one trick more than if there were none This will
become important when we move on to bridge (as opposed to mini-
bridge) and consider the scoring table
8 - Play begins
The player on declarerrsquos left plays the first card ie makes the
lsquoopening leadrsquo Play is in clockwise order and players must follow to
the suit led whenever possible The highest card played wins the trick
(unless in a suit contract it is beaten by a trump since trumps
How to Play Bridge
outrank the other three suits) If several rounds of a suit are played
and a player runs out of cards in that suit he or she may discard a card
from another suit (which cannot win the trick) or in a trump
contractcan choose to play a trump (which will win the trick unless it
is beaten by a higher trump)
9 - Taking tricks
Each card is played face up in front of each player in such a way that
everyone can see the cards clearly When a trick is complete the
cards are turned over players placing the lsquoquittedrsquo cards from their
own hands face down on the table in front of themselves in a neat
row To make it easy to see how many tricks have been won or lost
cards in tricks won are placed upright and cards in tricks lost are
placed sideways on The winner of the first trick leads to the second
and so on
10 - Dummy play
Declarer controls the play of dummyrsquos cards telling partner which
card to play when itrsquos dummyrsquos turn Declarerrsquos partner must always
play dummyrsquos cards as instructed and must keep the cards already
played from dummy in correct order and formation Otherwise
dummy takes no part in the play of this particular deal
11 - Play ends
When all the cards have been played the tricks for each side are
counted and agreed and the result is calculated and scored Players
record their score on a score sheet The session can end when an
agreed target total has been reached by one side or after a set number
of deals has been played
How to Play Bridge
12 - The next deal
The position of dealer moves clockwise round the table for each
game
It is a good idea to have two packs of cards available so that the
second pack can be shuffled by the dealerrsquos partner while the first is
being dealt Before starting dealing the next set of hands these cards
should be cut by the player on the new dealerrsquos right
Rubber Bridge Rules
Rubber Bridge (and Contract Bridge which we will be discussing
later) is merely an advanced form of Minbridge
Players and Cards
There are four players in two fixed partnerships Partners sit facing
each other It is traditional to refer to the players according to their
position at the table as North East South and West so North and
South are partners playing against East and West The game is played
clockwise
A standard 52 card pack is used The cards in each suit rank from
highest to lowest A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Deal
The cards are shuffled by the player to dealers left and cut by the
player to dealers right The dealer deals out all the cards one at a time
so that each player has 13 Turn to deal rotates clockwise
It is traditional to use two packs of cards During each deal the
dealers partner shuffles the other pack and places it to the right The
dealer for the next hand then simply needs to pick up the cards from
the left and pass them across to the right to be cut Provided all the
players understand and operate it this procedure saves time and helps
to remember whose turn it is to deal as the spare pack of cards is
always to the left of the next dealer
How to Play Bridge
Bidding
There is next an auction to decide who will be the declarer A bid
specifies a number of tricks and a trump suit (or that there will be no
trumps) The side which bids highest will try to win at least that
number of tricks bid with the specified suit as trumps
When bidding the number which is said actually represents the
number of tricks in excess of six which the partnership undertakes to
win For example a bid of two hearts represents a contract to win at
least 8 tricks (8 = 6 + 2) with hearts as trumps
For the purpose of bidding the possible trump suits rank as follows
no trumps (highest) spades hearts diamonds clubs (lowest) A bid
of a larger number of tricks always beats a bid of a smaller number
and if the number of tricks bid are equal the higher suit beats the
lower The lowest bid allowed is one club (to win at least 7 tricks
with clubs as trumps) and the highest is seven no trumps (to win all
13 tricks without trumps
It is also possible during the auction to double a bid by the other
side or to redouble the opponents double Doubling and redoubling
essentially increase the score for the bid contract if won and the
penalties if lost If someone then bids higher any previous doubles
and redoubles are cancelled
Note that doubling does not affect the ranking of a bid - for example a
bid of two spades is always higher than two hearts even if the two
hearts bid has been doubled or redoubled
The dealer begins the auction and the turn to speak passes clockwise
At each turn a player may either
make a bid which must be higher than the previous bid if any
say double if the previous bid was by an opponent and has
not already been doubled
say redouble if the previous bid was by ones own side and
has been doubled by an opponent but not yet redoubled
How to Play Bridge
pass by saying no bid or pass This indicates that the player
does not wish to bid double or redouble on that round but a
player who has passed is still allowed to bid double or redouble
at a later turn NB Either no bid or pass is permissible but
you should stick to one term or the other No bid is usual in
Britain pass is usual in the USA
If all four players pass on their first turn to speak the hand is said to
be passed out The cards are thrown in and the next dealer deals
If anyone bids then the auction continues until there are three passes
in succession and then stops After three consecutive passes the last
bid becomes the contract The team who made the final bid will now
try to make the contract The first player of this team who mentioned
the denomination (suit or no trumps) of the contract becomes the
declarer The declarers partner is known as the dummy
Example of an auction (North dealt)
North East South West
Pass 1 heart double 3 hearts
3 spades Pass 4 spades Pass
Pass Pass
North-South will try to win at least 10 tricks with spades as trumps
North who mentioned spades first is the declarer Souths double of
one heart was cancelled by Wests bid of 3 hearts
The Play
The player to the left of the declarer leads to the first trick and may
play any card Immediately after this opening lead the dummys cards
are exposed The dummy should arrange them neatly in suits the
cards of each suit arranged in rank order in an overlapping column
pointing towards the declarer so that all the cards are clearly visible
The trump suit if any should be to dummys right (declarers left) in
the diagram spades are trump
How to Play Bridge
Play proceeds clockwise Each of the other three players in turn must
if possible play a card of the same suit that the leader played A player
with no card of the suit led may play any card A trick consists of four
cards one from each player and is won by the highest trump in it or
if no trumps were played by the highest card of the suit led The
winner of a trick leads to the next and may lead any card
Each trick is gathered together and turned face down when complete
but you may ask to see the cards and ask who played which card until
you or your partner has played to the next trick The tricks won are to
be arranged neatly in front of one member of the winning side so that
they can easily be counted
Dummy takes no active part in the play of the hand Whenever it is
dummys turn to play the declarer must say which of dummys cards
is to be played and dummy plays the card as instructed (provided that
it is legal) Dummy is not permitted to offer any advice or comment
on the play When dummy wins a trick the declarer specifies which
card dummy should lead to the next trick If when calling for a card
the declarer specifies the suit only dummy is to play the lowest card
of that suit
It is also legal and not unusual for the declarer to play dummys
cards by physically taking them from dummys hand rather than just
calling for them This allows the dummy player to leave the table
during the play of the hand
Scoring
As its name suggests rubber bridge is played in rubbers A rubber is
the best of three games A game is won by the first team to score 100
or more points for successful contracts over several deals if
necessary
A side which has already won one game towards the current rubber is
said to be vulnerable A side which has not yet won a game is not
vulnerable A side which is vulnerable is subject to higher bonuses
and penalties than one that is not
How to Play Bridge
The score is kept on a piece of paper divided into two columns headed
WE and THEY for the two teams with a horizontal line part-way
down (see sample) Scores for successful contracts are entered below
the line and count towards winning a game Other scores such as
bonuses for tricks made in excess of the contract (overtricks) or
penalties for tricks short of the contract (undertricks) are entered
above the line and do not count towards winning the game
Score for making the contract
For a successful contract the score below the line for each trick (in
excess of 6) bid and made is as follows
If trumps are Clubs or Diamonds 20 per trick
If trumps are Hearts or Spades 30 per trick
If there are No Trumps 40 for the first trick and 30 for each
subsequent trick
If the contract was doubled the above scores are doubled If it was
doubled and redoubled they are multiplied by 4
In addition the declarers side scores an extra 50 points above the line
if they succeed in a doubled contract This is sometimes known as 50
for the insult For making a redoubled contract the bonus is 100
above the line
Because of the difference in score clubs and diamonds are called the
minor suits and hearts and spades are the major suits
Slam bonus
A contract to make 12 tricks is known as a small slam A contract to
make all 13 tricks is called a grand slam For bidding and making a
slam declarers side get an extra bonus above the line depending on
their vulnerability as follows
Slam bonus small slam grand slam
not vulnerable 500 1000
vulnerable 750 1500
How to Play Bridge
Score for overtricks
If the declarers side wins more tricks than were bid and were not
doubled then in addition to the score below the line for the contract
they score for the overtricks above the line at the same rate as for bid
tricks - ie 20 per trick if a minor suit was trumps 30 per trick in a
major suit or no trumps
If the contract was doubled or redoubled the bonus for overtricks
does not depend on the trump suit but does depend on whether the
declarers side was vulnerable as follows
Score per overtrick doubled redoubled
not vulnerable 100 200
vulnerable 200 400
Penalty for undertricks
If the declarers side win fewer tricks than they bid neither side scores
anything below the line but the declarers opponents score above the
line This score depends on the declarers sides vulnerability and
whether the contract was doubled or redoubled as follows
Undertrick penalty not vulnerable vulnerable
Not doubled - each undertrick 50 100
Doubled - first undertrick 100 200
Doubled - 2nd and 3rd undertrick 200 each 300 each
Doubled - subsequent undertricks 300 each 300 each
Redoubled undertricks cost twice as much as doubled
undertricks
How to Play Bridge
Honours
The top five trumps (A K Q J 10) are called honours If one player
holds all five of these cards that players side scores a bonus of 150
above the line Four honours in one hand score 100 If there are no
trumps and a player holds four aces that players side scores 150 for
honours
Scores for honours are to be claimed at the end of the play (it is
assumed that the players will remember what they held)
As there is no skill in scoring for honours players often agree to play
without the honour bonuses
Game and Rubber
A side that accumulates 100 points or more below the line has won a
game A new line is drawn under the scores Anything the opponents
had below the line does not count towards the next game - they start
from zero again
It is important to notice that starting from zero and in the absence of
doubles to make a game in one hand you need to succeed in a
contract of at least three no trumps four spades four hearts five clubs
or five diamonds
The side which first wins two games wins the rubber For this they get
a bonus of 700 if they won it two games to zero or 500 if it was two
games to one Both sides scores are then totaled and if the game is
being played for money the side with the higher score wins an
amount proportional to the difference in scores from the side with the
lower score
If play ends for any reason with a rubber unfinished then a side with
a game gets a bonus of 300 points and a side with a part score (ie a
score below the line towards an uncompleted game) gets a bonus of
100
How to Play Bridge
Example of Rubber Bridge scoring
The scoresheet of a completed rubber might look like the example
below (The letters in brackets indicate successive deals as described
in the corresponding footnotes - they would not appear on the
scoresheet)
We They
500
(f)
50 (f)
100
(f)
200
(e)
500
(i)
300
(b)
30 (g)
60 (a) 30 (c)
The Line
60 (a) 100
(c)
End of Game
360
(f)
90 (d)
End of Game
60 (h) 40 (g)
90 (i)
End of
Rubber
(a) we bid 2 hearts and made 10 tricks - 60 below the line for the
contract and 60 above for the overtricks
How to Play Bridge
(b) they bid 4 spades we doubled them and they took only 8 tricks -
we score 100 for their first undertrick and 200 for the second
(c) they bid 3 no trumps and made 10 tricks This gives them a game
(100 below the line) plus 30 above the line for their overtrick A new
line is ruled below the scores to indicate the start of a new game
(d) they bid and made 3 spades
(e) they bid two diamonds and made 6 tricks - they are now
vulnerable so we score 100 for each undertrick
(f) we bid 6 hearts they doubled us but we won all 13 tricks We
score 360 (180 x 2) below the line for our doubled contract giving us
a game 100 above for our doubled non-vulnerable overtrick 50
above for making a doubled contract and 500 bonus for a small slam
bid and made
(g) they bid one no trump and took 8 tricks note that their 90 on deal
(d) was part of the previous game so the 40 below does not give them
a game
(h) we bid 3 clubs and made exactly 9 tricks
(i) they bid 3 hearts and took exactly 9 tricks giving their second
game and the rubber for a bonus of 500 (two games to one)
Adding up the scores we have 1690 and they have 880 Therefore we
have won by 810 points (even though they won the rubber)
In this example the above the line scores were entered starting
immediately above the line and working upwards This is traditional
at least in Britain but not necessary - you can start at the top just
below the WE-THEY headings and work downwards if you prefer
There is a Contract Bridge Scoring Card at the back of this book
How to Play Bridge
DUPLICATE BRIDGE
Duplicate Bridge the system we generally play at Alrewas Bridge
Club is only slightly different to Contract Bridge
In rubber bridge although the better players have a noticable edge
and will undoubtedly win in the long run the outcome of a single
rubber depends heavily on which side is dealt the better cards The
idea of duplicate bridge is to eliminate this element of luck by
having the same hands played more than once by different sets of
players
Suppose we are partners and play a hand of duplicate bridge as North-
South Instead of being rewarded for our absolute score on that hand
our score is compared with those of other players who played the
same deal as North-South against other opponents We win if we
score better than other players managed with our cards and lose if we
score worse
For this comparison to be fair it is necessary that each group of
players who play the same deal should start from the same position
Therefore it is not practicable to play rubbers where the scores
carried forward from deal to deal affect the tactical situation Instead
each deal is scored in its own right and does not affect the scores for
subsequent ones The concept of vulnerability is retained but on each
deal the vulnerability is preassigned
Boards
An almost essential piece of apparatus for playing duplicate bridge is
a set of duplicate boards and a pack of cards for each board Each
board contains four pockets marked North East South and West in
which the cards for the four players are stored Each board also carries
a number to identify it and has marks showing which of the players is
dealer and whether each team is vulnerable or not
Before the boards are played the cards are shuffled dealt and placed
in the pockets by a neutral person or by a player in the presence at
least one opponent
How to Play Bridge
When about to play a board the players take their cards from the
appropriate pockets check to see that they have 13 each and then bid
as usual The mark on the board showing the dealer in practice just
indicates which player is to begin the bidding The opening lead is
always made face down as explained above to give the leaders
partner an opportunity to ask questions about the bidding before the
led card is shown During the play the cards are not played in the
centre of the table but in front of the players At the end of each trick
all four players turn their played card face down The cards played by
each player are overlapped with the longer axis of the card pointing
to the winners of the trick (ie the cards belonging to tricks you have
won are placed upright from your point of view and the ones
belonging to lost tricks sideways) That way you can easily see how
many tricks you have won Also if the cards are kept in order any
dispute about revokes or tricks won or lost can be settled by
reconstructing the play At the end of the play each players cards are
gathered up and replaced in the correct pocket ready for the next time
the board is to be played
When this method of play is used dummy is expected to remain at the
table if at all possible and declarer then always calls dummys cards
rather than pulling them from the dummy You may ask to look at the
cards played to a trick by the other players as long as your own card is
face up Once you have turned your card face down you no longer
have the right to see any of the other cards played to that trick
(Unless you are dummy you are still allowed to peek at your own
played card without exposing it until the lead is made to the next
trick) Scoring
Each board is marked to show whether both sides one side or neither
side is vulnerable for that board You still need to score at least 100
points for tricks bid and made to make a game but on each board
both sides start with zero points towards games - there are no part
scores carried forward
In place of the rubber bonus there are game and part score bonuses
Making a game when vulnerable 500 points
How to Play Bridge
Making a game when not vulnerable 300 points
Making a part score any time 50 points
The rest of the scores are the same as in rubber bridge except that
there are no bonuses for honours in duplicate bridge
BRIDGEMATES
Fortunately although it is good know how the scoring system works
in our case all the scoring is done via our BridgeMates wireless
system All we (generally the players sitting at North table) have to
do is to enter the contract and the result and the system displays the
scores on the computer
MODERN ACOL (Standard English)
There are several methods of bidding Acol is the most used and
there are versions of Acol Modern Acol is the system we use at
Alrewas Bridge Club
Many years ago I was called in to help with a problem Apparently
there were a team of four aspiring rowers who for some odd reason
although there were all fit strong young and healthy trained hard
every day they just couldnrsquot win any rowing races Within minutes I
discovered the reason for their lack of success One of them was
sitting the wrong way round Once corrected their fame became
legendary
However apocryphal this story illustrates the need for all of us to be
paddling in the same direction or in our case to be all playing the
same system particularly so as we generally draw for partners at the
beginning of each playing session Experience players are expected
to play this system particularly when playing with newer members
How to Play Bridge
Bidding Standard English (Acol)
Bidding between partners is an exchange of information Using a very
restricted vocabulary each player in turn tries to describe his hand
The objective is to provide enough information so that one player can
make the decision what suit (if any) should be trumps and how many
tricks should we attempt to take
Initially we will consider the bidding as a dialogue between the pair
with the majority of the high-card strength this is frequently the case
However there are times when the values are more evenly distributed
between the pairs and both sides are then involved in the bidding
phase For now we will ignore this possibility it will be easier to
consider bidding as a partnership exercise before thinking about how
things change when both pairs are bidding
The most important considerations when evaluating your hand for an
opening bid are the high-card strength and the shape of the hand An
opening bid generally requires 12 or more points
Opening the bidding balanced hands
A balanced hand means
no singleton or void
not more than 1 doubleton
no 6-card or longer suit
With 12-14 points (Ace = 4 King = 3 Queen = 2 Jack = 1) and
a balanced hand with no 5-card major suit open 1 No Trump
With 20-22 points and a balanced hand open with a bid of 2NT
With an exceptional hand of 23+ points you will start with an
artificial opening bid of 2clubs - see below
How to Play Bridge
With a balanced hand of 15-19 points you do not initially bid
no trumps You will bid No Trumps later start with a bid in a
suit
Responding to 1NT with a balanced hand
(See Chart 4 at end of book)
Opening with a suit bid
open your longest suit
with two 5-card suits open the higher-ranking
with two 4-card suits open the higher-ranking Exception with
Spades and Hearts open 1
with three 4-card suits open the middle of 3 in a row or the suit
below the ldquogaprdquo
With a hand of exceptional strength where you do not want partner to
pass even with a very weak hand there is the option of opening with a
strong bid of 2 of your long suit or exceptionally 2clubs (artificial and
strong) ndash see below
Responding to an opening bid of 1clubs 1diams 1hearts 1spades
Raising partnerrsquos suit
with less than 6 points pass
6-9 points raise to the 2-level
How to Play Bridge
10-12 points raise to the 3-level
13+ points raise to the 4-level (in a major)
Responding in No Trumps
1 No Trumps 6-9 points (denies a suit that can be bid at
the 1-level or support for partnerrsquos major suit)
2 No Trumps 10-12 points balanced hand
3 No Trumps 13-15 points balanced hand
Responding in a new suit
a response in a new suit to an opening bid of 1 of a suit is
forcing partner cannot pass
respond in your longest suit
with two 5-card suits respond in the higher-ranking You will
then bid the other suit if practical to give partner a choice
with two or three 4-card suits make the most economical
response
bid your own suit before supporting partnerrsquos minor suit
do not bid in a new suit at the 2-level with less than 9 points
How to Play Bridge
remember that if you lack the strength to respond at the 2-level
you may instead respond 1NT (this need not show a balanced
hand)
a ldquojump shiftrdquo response in a new suit shows 16+ points and is
forcing to game
raising partnerrsquos major suit is a priority
do not raise partnerrsquos minor suit if there is an alternative such as
responding in a suit at the 1-level
Openerrsquos second bid
(1) With a weak hand
Pass if partner has made a non-forcing bid (ie a raise of your
suit or a no trump response)
support partnerrsquos major suit with 4-card support
rebid in a new suit at the 1-level
rebid in a lower-ranking suit at the 2-level (NB the ldquosafety
levelrdquo)
rebid your first suit at the lowest level with at least 5 cards
(2) With a strong hand
Jump raise partnerrsquos major suit (promises at least 4-card
support)
Jump rebid your own long (6-card +) suit
Jump in a new suit ndash forcing to game
How to Play Bridge
Bid a new suit at the 2-level above the ldquosafety levelrdquo ndash a reverse
showing a strong hand This is forcing if partner responded in a
suit at the 2-level
(3) With a balanced hand
rebid in No Trumps to show a balanced hand (but prefer to
bid a major suit if you can)
rebid No Trumps at the lowest level with 15-16 points
rebid No Trumps with a jump with 17-18 points
rebid 3NT with 19 points
Strong Opening Bids
Some hands are very powerful With this type of hand you would
normally open the bidding at the 2-level
An opening bid of 2 2 and 2 show a hand worth about 8 playing
tricks in the suit bid or possibly a strong two-suited hand with similar
strength The idea is that if you were to open with a bid of one of a
suit partner may pass and you may miss game (or even a slam) The
bid is forcing for one round (ie partner must respond)
Normal requirements to open 2 2 and 2
8 Playing Tricks
How to Play Bridge
Responses
2NT is the Negative Response It denies the ability to make any other
response Having given a negative response responder may pass on
the next round if opener makes a simple rebid of the suit that he
opened or bids a second suit without a jump
Positive Responses Any positive response is forcing to game
(at least)
A single raise (eg 2 - 3 ) promises a fit and an ace The hand may
have little more than those minimum requirements or it may be a
strong hand when responder will explore for slam
A double raise (eg 2 - 4) shows trump support with strictly
speaking two second-round controls (Kings or singletons) but denies
an Ace (with an Ace responder would make the stronger single raise
leaving more room to explore for a slam) A single raise is stronger
than a double raise Note it is now common practice to make the
double raise on any hand with support for partner and some values but
lacking an ace the old requirement for two second-round controls
tends to be ignored
A response in a new suit (eg 2 - 3) shows a good 5-card or longer
suit and 7+ points Lacking these basic requirements begin with an
alternative response (perhaps even a negative 2NT and then show
signs of life later in the auction) Do not respond in a bad suit
A jump to 3NT (eg 2 - 3NT) indicates a balanced hand with 10-12
points
A jump in a new suit (eg 2 - 4) promises a solid suit (AKQxxx at
least)
How to Play Bridge
The 2NT opening bid
This shows a balanced hand with 20-22 points It is not forcing but
responder needs only 4+ points to know that the values for game are
probably there
Responses a bid of 3hearts or 3spades shows a 5-card suit and asks opener to
choose between game in no trumps (with only two cards in
responderrsquos suit) or game in the major (ie 4hearts or 4spades)
Acol 2 Opening Bid
The artificial opening bid of 2 shows a super strong hand with either
23+ points in a balanced hand (ie too strong to open with an Acol
2NT bid) or a hand that is too strong even to open with a strong
forcing bid of two of a suit
Responding to a 2 Opening
Negative Response
The response with less than 7 points is an artificial bid of 2 The
opener rebids naturally showing his long suit or bidding NT on a
balanced hand The opening bid of 2 is forcing to game
Exception to the rule there is only one situation where the opening
bid of 2 is not forcing to game If after a 2 negative response
opener rebids 2NT he is showing a balanced 23-24 points With
absolutely no values responder may pass this 2NT rebid However
with as little as 2 or 3 points he should bid again responding to the
2NT rebid in a similar manner to the way in which he would respond
to a 2NT opening bid (ie Stayman 3 and 3 forcing)
Remember how strong the opening hand is before you take the
decision to pass the 2NT rebid
How to Play Bridge
NB if opener after 2 - 2 makes any rebid other than 2NT the
responder must keep the bidding open until game (at least) is reached
Positive responses to a 2 opening
2 2 3 3 7+ points and a 5-card suit or a 4-card suit
headed by the A or K
2NT balanced 7-9 points
3NT balanced 10-12 points
Overcalls and Responses
OVERCALLS
In this section we will be highlighting 3 types of overcalls
Simple Overcall
This is usually a weak bid with as little as 8-12 points but is ideal in
disrupting communication between your opponents and also
informing your partner that you hold a good 5 card suit
For the purposes of illustration we will assume that the opponent on
your right has opened 1 Club You hold a good 5 card suit in Spades
but with only 8-12 points How should you bid
Suit Quality Test
To enable you to bid correctly you should firstly apply the lsquosuit
qualityrsquo test Simply count the length of your long suit in this case
spades and add the number of honour cards in that suit The total is
the strength of your suit quality If the total is 7 then you can make
and overcall of 1 Spade If the total is 8 then you can make an
overcall of 2 Spades and so on
How to Play Bridge
Jump Overcall
For a sound jump overcall you would need to have a 6 card suit
together with a suit quality of 8+ and an opening hand of 12+ points
1 NT Overcall
15-18 points with a balanced hand and a stopper in opponentrsquos suit
RESPONSES TO OVERCALLS
Remember that your partner has overcalled on what is probably a
weak hand with only one good suit and with the intention of
obstructing your opponents Therefore the majority of responses to
his overcall should also be barrages However there are responses
available
Supporting Partner
This is the bid your partner wants to hear most of all because it
means that you are cooperating with the idea of using up your
opponents bidding space All bids supporting partners overcall are
weak To determine your bid the deciding factor is the number of
trumps that you hold Assuming that your partner holds a five card
suit for his overcall you should raise your partners overcall to the
same number of tricks that you have trumps between you
So if you think you have a total of eight trumps between you you
should raise partner to 8 tricks (the two level) If you think you have
nine trumps raise to nine tricks (the three level) and so on
So in a barrage situation it is the number of trumps you hold and the
distribution of your hand that is important not your points
How to Play Bridge
RESPONDING WITH A STRONG HAND
What about when the responder has a genuinely good hand
Obviously you canrsquot just support partner and hope he understands
You must make a different bid and the easiest is the so-called un-
assuming cue bid This is a complicated sounding bid but actually
just involves calling the opponents suit at the lowest available level
What the bid means is that you think that you and your partner hold
the majority of the points and that there might be a game contract in
the offing by your side In other words whereas supporting your
partner is crying wolf to make life difficult for your opponents this
bid is saying that you genuinely think your side holds the majority of
the values and that there may be a possibility of bidding to game
How to Play Bridge
Contract Bridge (Rubber) Scoring
Contracts
NT
1 20 30 40
2 40 60 70
3 60 90 100
4 80 120 130
5 100 150 160
6 120 180 190
7 140 210 220
Slams
Not Vul Vul
Small 500 750
Grand 1000 1500
Rubbers
Three Games 500
Two Games 700
Unfinished Rubbers
Game 300
Part Score 50
Overtricks
per overtrick Not
Vul Vul
Not Doubled trick value
Doubled 100 200
Redoubled 200 400
Undertricks
Not Doubled Doubled
Not Vul Vul Not Vul Vul
1 50 100 100 200
2 100 200 300 500
3 150 300 500 800
4 200 400 800 1100
5 250 500 1100 1400
6 300 600 1400 1700
7 350 700 1700 2000
Other Bonuses
4 trump honours in one hand 100
5 trump honours in one hand 150
4 aces in one hand (NT) 150
Making a doubled Contract 50
Making a redoubled Contract 100
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No
How to Play Bridge
outrank the other three suits) If several rounds of a suit are played
and a player runs out of cards in that suit he or she may discard a card
from another suit (which cannot win the trick) or in a trump
contractcan choose to play a trump (which will win the trick unless it
is beaten by a higher trump)
9 - Taking tricks
Each card is played face up in front of each player in such a way that
everyone can see the cards clearly When a trick is complete the
cards are turned over players placing the lsquoquittedrsquo cards from their
own hands face down on the table in front of themselves in a neat
row To make it easy to see how many tricks have been won or lost
cards in tricks won are placed upright and cards in tricks lost are
placed sideways on The winner of the first trick leads to the second
and so on
10 - Dummy play
Declarer controls the play of dummyrsquos cards telling partner which
card to play when itrsquos dummyrsquos turn Declarerrsquos partner must always
play dummyrsquos cards as instructed and must keep the cards already
played from dummy in correct order and formation Otherwise
dummy takes no part in the play of this particular deal
11 - Play ends
When all the cards have been played the tricks for each side are
counted and agreed and the result is calculated and scored Players
record their score on a score sheet The session can end when an
agreed target total has been reached by one side or after a set number
of deals has been played
How to Play Bridge
12 - The next deal
The position of dealer moves clockwise round the table for each
game
It is a good idea to have two packs of cards available so that the
second pack can be shuffled by the dealerrsquos partner while the first is
being dealt Before starting dealing the next set of hands these cards
should be cut by the player on the new dealerrsquos right
Rubber Bridge Rules
Rubber Bridge (and Contract Bridge which we will be discussing
later) is merely an advanced form of Minbridge
Players and Cards
There are four players in two fixed partnerships Partners sit facing
each other It is traditional to refer to the players according to their
position at the table as North East South and West so North and
South are partners playing against East and West The game is played
clockwise
A standard 52 card pack is used The cards in each suit rank from
highest to lowest A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Deal
The cards are shuffled by the player to dealers left and cut by the
player to dealers right The dealer deals out all the cards one at a time
so that each player has 13 Turn to deal rotates clockwise
It is traditional to use two packs of cards During each deal the
dealers partner shuffles the other pack and places it to the right The
dealer for the next hand then simply needs to pick up the cards from
the left and pass them across to the right to be cut Provided all the
players understand and operate it this procedure saves time and helps
to remember whose turn it is to deal as the spare pack of cards is
always to the left of the next dealer
How to Play Bridge
Bidding
There is next an auction to decide who will be the declarer A bid
specifies a number of tricks and a trump suit (or that there will be no
trumps) The side which bids highest will try to win at least that
number of tricks bid with the specified suit as trumps
When bidding the number which is said actually represents the
number of tricks in excess of six which the partnership undertakes to
win For example a bid of two hearts represents a contract to win at
least 8 tricks (8 = 6 + 2) with hearts as trumps
For the purpose of bidding the possible trump suits rank as follows
no trumps (highest) spades hearts diamonds clubs (lowest) A bid
of a larger number of tricks always beats a bid of a smaller number
and if the number of tricks bid are equal the higher suit beats the
lower The lowest bid allowed is one club (to win at least 7 tricks
with clubs as trumps) and the highest is seven no trumps (to win all
13 tricks without trumps
It is also possible during the auction to double a bid by the other
side or to redouble the opponents double Doubling and redoubling
essentially increase the score for the bid contract if won and the
penalties if lost If someone then bids higher any previous doubles
and redoubles are cancelled
Note that doubling does not affect the ranking of a bid - for example a
bid of two spades is always higher than two hearts even if the two
hearts bid has been doubled or redoubled
The dealer begins the auction and the turn to speak passes clockwise
At each turn a player may either
make a bid which must be higher than the previous bid if any
say double if the previous bid was by an opponent and has
not already been doubled
say redouble if the previous bid was by ones own side and
has been doubled by an opponent but not yet redoubled
How to Play Bridge
pass by saying no bid or pass This indicates that the player
does not wish to bid double or redouble on that round but a
player who has passed is still allowed to bid double or redouble
at a later turn NB Either no bid or pass is permissible but
you should stick to one term or the other No bid is usual in
Britain pass is usual in the USA
If all four players pass on their first turn to speak the hand is said to
be passed out The cards are thrown in and the next dealer deals
If anyone bids then the auction continues until there are three passes
in succession and then stops After three consecutive passes the last
bid becomes the contract The team who made the final bid will now
try to make the contract The first player of this team who mentioned
the denomination (suit or no trumps) of the contract becomes the
declarer The declarers partner is known as the dummy
Example of an auction (North dealt)
North East South West
Pass 1 heart double 3 hearts
3 spades Pass 4 spades Pass
Pass Pass
North-South will try to win at least 10 tricks with spades as trumps
North who mentioned spades first is the declarer Souths double of
one heart was cancelled by Wests bid of 3 hearts
The Play
The player to the left of the declarer leads to the first trick and may
play any card Immediately after this opening lead the dummys cards
are exposed The dummy should arrange them neatly in suits the
cards of each suit arranged in rank order in an overlapping column
pointing towards the declarer so that all the cards are clearly visible
The trump suit if any should be to dummys right (declarers left) in
the diagram spades are trump
How to Play Bridge
Play proceeds clockwise Each of the other three players in turn must
if possible play a card of the same suit that the leader played A player
with no card of the suit led may play any card A trick consists of four
cards one from each player and is won by the highest trump in it or
if no trumps were played by the highest card of the suit led The
winner of a trick leads to the next and may lead any card
Each trick is gathered together and turned face down when complete
but you may ask to see the cards and ask who played which card until
you or your partner has played to the next trick The tricks won are to
be arranged neatly in front of one member of the winning side so that
they can easily be counted
Dummy takes no active part in the play of the hand Whenever it is
dummys turn to play the declarer must say which of dummys cards
is to be played and dummy plays the card as instructed (provided that
it is legal) Dummy is not permitted to offer any advice or comment
on the play When dummy wins a trick the declarer specifies which
card dummy should lead to the next trick If when calling for a card
the declarer specifies the suit only dummy is to play the lowest card
of that suit
It is also legal and not unusual for the declarer to play dummys
cards by physically taking them from dummys hand rather than just
calling for them This allows the dummy player to leave the table
during the play of the hand
Scoring
As its name suggests rubber bridge is played in rubbers A rubber is
the best of three games A game is won by the first team to score 100
or more points for successful contracts over several deals if
necessary
A side which has already won one game towards the current rubber is
said to be vulnerable A side which has not yet won a game is not
vulnerable A side which is vulnerable is subject to higher bonuses
and penalties than one that is not
How to Play Bridge
The score is kept on a piece of paper divided into two columns headed
WE and THEY for the two teams with a horizontal line part-way
down (see sample) Scores for successful contracts are entered below
the line and count towards winning a game Other scores such as
bonuses for tricks made in excess of the contract (overtricks) or
penalties for tricks short of the contract (undertricks) are entered
above the line and do not count towards winning the game
Score for making the contract
For a successful contract the score below the line for each trick (in
excess of 6) bid and made is as follows
If trumps are Clubs or Diamonds 20 per trick
If trumps are Hearts or Spades 30 per trick
If there are No Trumps 40 for the first trick and 30 for each
subsequent trick
If the contract was doubled the above scores are doubled If it was
doubled and redoubled they are multiplied by 4
In addition the declarers side scores an extra 50 points above the line
if they succeed in a doubled contract This is sometimes known as 50
for the insult For making a redoubled contract the bonus is 100
above the line
Because of the difference in score clubs and diamonds are called the
minor suits and hearts and spades are the major suits
Slam bonus
A contract to make 12 tricks is known as a small slam A contract to
make all 13 tricks is called a grand slam For bidding and making a
slam declarers side get an extra bonus above the line depending on
their vulnerability as follows
Slam bonus small slam grand slam
not vulnerable 500 1000
vulnerable 750 1500
How to Play Bridge
Score for overtricks
If the declarers side wins more tricks than were bid and were not
doubled then in addition to the score below the line for the contract
they score for the overtricks above the line at the same rate as for bid
tricks - ie 20 per trick if a minor suit was trumps 30 per trick in a
major suit or no trumps
If the contract was doubled or redoubled the bonus for overtricks
does not depend on the trump suit but does depend on whether the
declarers side was vulnerable as follows
Score per overtrick doubled redoubled
not vulnerable 100 200
vulnerable 200 400
Penalty for undertricks
If the declarers side win fewer tricks than they bid neither side scores
anything below the line but the declarers opponents score above the
line This score depends on the declarers sides vulnerability and
whether the contract was doubled or redoubled as follows
Undertrick penalty not vulnerable vulnerable
Not doubled - each undertrick 50 100
Doubled - first undertrick 100 200
Doubled - 2nd and 3rd undertrick 200 each 300 each
Doubled - subsequent undertricks 300 each 300 each
Redoubled undertricks cost twice as much as doubled
undertricks
How to Play Bridge
Honours
The top five trumps (A K Q J 10) are called honours If one player
holds all five of these cards that players side scores a bonus of 150
above the line Four honours in one hand score 100 If there are no
trumps and a player holds four aces that players side scores 150 for
honours
Scores for honours are to be claimed at the end of the play (it is
assumed that the players will remember what they held)
As there is no skill in scoring for honours players often agree to play
without the honour bonuses
Game and Rubber
A side that accumulates 100 points or more below the line has won a
game A new line is drawn under the scores Anything the opponents
had below the line does not count towards the next game - they start
from zero again
It is important to notice that starting from zero and in the absence of
doubles to make a game in one hand you need to succeed in a
contract of at least three no trumps four spades four hearts five clubs
or five diamonds
The side which first wins two games wins the rubber For this they get
a bonus of 700 if they won it two games to zero or 500 if it was two
games to one Both sides scores are then totaled and if the game is
being played for money the side with the higher score wins an
amount proportional to the difference in scores from the side with the
lower score
If play ends for any reason with a rubber unfinished then a side with
a game gets a bonus of 300 points and a side with a part score (ie a
score below the line towards an uncompleted game) gets a bonus of
100
How to Play Bridge
Example of Rubber Bridge scoring
The scoresheet of a completed rubber might look like the example
below (The letters in brackets indicate successive deals as described
in the corresponding footnotes - they would not appear on the
scoresheet)
We They
500
(f)
50 (f)
100
(f)
200
(e)
500
(i)
300
(b)
30 (g)
60 (a) 30 (c)
The Line
60 (a) 100
(c)
End of Game
360
(f)
90 (d)
End of Game
60 (h) 40 (g)
90 (i)
End of
Rubber
(a) we bid 2 hearts and made 10 tricks - 60 below the line for the
contract and 60 above for the overtricks
How to Play Bridge
(b) they bid 4 spades we doubled them and they took only 8 tricks -
we score 100 for their first undertrick and 200 for the second
(c) they bid 3 no trumps and made 10 tricks This gives them a game
(100 below the line) plus 30 above the line for their overtrick A new
line is ruled below the scores to indicate the start of a new game
(d) they bid and made 3 spades
(e) they bid two diamonds and made 6 tricks - they are now
vulnerable so we score 100 for each undertrick
(f) we bid 6 hearts they doubled us but we won all 13 tricks We
score 360 (180 x 2) below the line for our doubled contract giving us
a game 100 above for our doubled non-vulnerable overtrick 50
above for making a doubled contract and 500 bonus for a small slam
bid and made
(g) they bid one no trump and took 8 tricks note that their 90 on deal
(d) was part of the previous game so the 40 below does not give them
a game
(h) we bid 3 clubs and made exactly 9 tricks
(i) they bid 3 hearts and took exactly 9 tricks giving their second
game and the rubber for a bonus of 500 (two games to one)
Adding up the scores we have 1690 and they have 880 Therefore we
have won by 810 points (even though they won the rubber)
In this example the above the line scores were entered starting
immediately above the line and working upwards This is traditional
at least in Britain but not necessary - you can start at the top just
below the WE-THEY headings and work downwards if you prefer
There is a Contract Bridge Scoring Card at the back of this book
How to Play Bridge
DUPLICATE BRIDGE
Duplicate Bridge the system we generally play at Alrewas Bridge
Club is only slightly different to Contract Bridge
In rubber bridge although the better players have a noticable edge
and will undoubtedly win in the long run the outcome of a single
rubber depends heavily on which side is dealt the better cards The
idea of duplicate bridge is to eliminate this element of luck by
having the same hands played more than once by different sets of
players
Suppose we are partners and play a hand of duplicate bridge as North-
South Instead of being rewarded for our absolute score on that hand
our score is compared with those of other players who played the
same deal as North-South against other opponents We win if we
score better than other players managed with our cards and lose if we
score worse
For this comparison to be fair it is necessary that each group of
players who play the same deal should start from the same position
Therefore it is not practicable to play rubbers where the scores
carried forward from deal to deal affect the tactical situation Instead
each deal is scored in its own right and does not affect the scores for
subsequent ones The concept of vulnerability is retained but on each
deal the vulnerability is preassigned
Boards
An almost essential piece of apparatus for playing duplicate bridge is
a set of duplicate boards and a pack of cards for each board Each
board contains four pockets marked North East South and West in
which the cards for the four players are stored Each board also carries
a number to identify it and has marks showing which of the players is
dealer and whether each team is vulnerable or not
Before the boards are played the cards are shuffled dealt and placed
in the pockets by a neutral person or by a player in the presence at
least one opponent
How to Play Bridge
When about to play a board the players take their cards from the
appropriate pockets check to see that they have 13 each and then bid
as usual The mark on the board showing the dealer in practice just
indicates which player is to begin the bidding The opening lead is
always made face down as explained above to give the leaders
partner an opportunity to ask questions about the bidding before the
led card is shown During the play the cards are not played in the
centre of the table but in front of the players At the end of each trick
all four players turn their played card face down The cards played by
each player are overlapped with the longer axis of the card pointing
to the winners of the trick (ie the cards belonging to tricks you have
won are placed upright from your point of view and the ones
belonging to lost tricks sideways) That way you can easily see how
many tricks you have won Also if the cards are kept in order any
dispute about revokes or tricks won or lost can be settled by
reconstructing the play At the end of the play each players cards are
gathered up and replaced in the correct pocket ready for the next time
the board is to be played
When this method of play is used dummy is expected to remain at the
table if at all possible and declarer then always calls dummys cards
rather than pulling them from the dummy You may ask to look at the
cards played to a trick by the other players as long as your own card is
face up Once you have turned your card face down you no longer
have the right to see any of the other cards played to that trick
(Unless you are dummy you are still allowed to peek at your own
played card without exposing it until the lead is made to the next
trick) Scoring
Each board is marked to show whether both sides one side or neither
side is vulnerable for that board You still need to score at least 100
points for tricks bid and made to make a game but on each board
both sides start with zero points towards games - there are no part
scores carried forward
In place of the rubber bonus there are game and part score bonuses
Making a game when vulnerable 500 points
How to Play Bridge
Making a game when not vulnerable 300 points
Making a part score any time 50 points
The rest of the scores are the same as in rubber bridge except that
there are no bonuses for honours in duplicate bridge
BRIDGEMATES
Fortunately although it is good know how the scoring system works
in our case all the scoring is done via our BridgeMates wireless
system All we (generally the players sitting at North table) have to
do is to enter the contract and the result and the system displays the
scores on the computer
MODERN ACOL (Standard English)
There are several methods of bidding Acol is the most used and
there are versions of Acol Modern Acol is the system we use at
Alrewas Bridge Club
Many years ago I was called in to help with a problem Apparently
there were a team of four aspiring rowers who for some odd reason
although there were all fit strong young and healthy trained hard
every day they just couldnrsquot win any rowing races Within minutes I
discovered the reason for their lack of success One of them was
sitting the wrong way round Once corrected their fame became
legendary
However apocryphal this story illustrates the need for all of us to be
paddling in the same direction or in our case to be all playing the
same system particularly so as we generally draw for partners at the
beginning of each playing session Experience players are expected
to play this system particularly when playing with newer members
How to Play Bridge
Bidding Standard English (Acol)
Bidding between partners is an exchange of information Using a very
restricted vocabulary each player in turn tries to describe his hand
The objective is to provide enough information so that one player can
make the decision what suit (if any) should be trumps and how many
tricks should we attempt to take
Initially we will consider the bidding as a dialogue between the pair
with the majority of the high-card strength this is frequently the case
However there are times when the values are more evenly distributed
between the pairs and both sides are then involved in the bidding
phase For now we will ignore this possibility it will be easier to
consider bidding as a partnership exercise before thinking about how
things change when both pairs are bidding
The most important considerations when evaluating your hand for an
opening bid are the high-card strength and the shape of the hand An
opening bid generally requires 12 or more points
Opening the bidding balanced hands
A balanced hand means
no singleton or void
not more than 1 doubleton
no 6-card or longer suit
With 12-14 points (Ace = 4 King = 3 Queen = 2 Jack = 1) and
a balanced hand with no 5-card major suit open 1 No Trump
With 20-22 points and a balanced hand open with a bid of 2NT
With an exceptional hand of 23+ points you will start with an
artificial opening bid of 2clubs - see below
How to Play Bridge
With a balanced hand of 15-19 points you do not initially bid
no trumps You will bid No Trumps later start with a bid in a
suit
Responding to 1NT with a balanced hand
(See Chart 4 at end of book)
Opening with a suit bid
open your longest suit
with two 5-card suits open the higher-ranking
with two 4-card suits open the higher-ranking Exception with
Spades and Hearts open 1
with three 4-card suits open the middle of 3 in a row or the suit
below the ldquogaprdquo
With a hand of exceptional strength where you do not want partner to
pass even with a very weak hand there is the option of opening with a
strong bid of 2 of your long suit or exceptionally 2clubs (artificial and
strong) ndash see below
Responding to an opening bid of 1clubs 1diams 1hearts 1spades
Raising partnerrsquos suit
with less than 6 points pass
6-9 points raise to the 2-level
How to Play Bridge
10-12 points raise to the 3-level
13+ points raise to the 4-level (in a major)
Responding in No Trumps
1 No Trumps 6-9 points (denies a suit that can be bid at
the 1-level or support for partnerrsquos major suit)
2 No Trumps 10-12 points balanced hand
3 No Trumps 13-15 points balanced hand
Responding in a new suit
a response in a new suit to an opening bid of 1 of a suit is
forcing partner cannot pass
respond in your longest suit
with two 5-card suits respond in the higher-ranking You will
then bid the other suit if practical to give partner a choice
with two or three 4-card suits make the most economical
response
bid your own suit before supporting partnerrsquos minor suit
do not bid in a new suit at the 2-level with less than 9 points
How to Play Bridge
remember that if you lack the strength to respond at the 2-level
you may instead respond 1NT (this need not show a balanced
hand)
a ldquojump shiftrdquo response in a new suit shows 16+ points and is
forcing to game
raising partnerrsquos major suit is a priority
do not raise partnerrsquos minor suit if there is an alternative such as
responding in a suit at the 1-level
Openerrsquos second bid
(1) With a weak hand
Pass if partner has made a non-forcing bid (ie a raise of your
suit or a no trump response)
support partnerrsquos major suit with 4-card support
rebid in a new suit at the 1-level
rebid in a lower-ranking suit at the 2-level (NB the ldquosafety
levelrdquo)
rebid your first suit at the lowest level with at least 5 cards
(2) With a strong hand
Jump raise partnerrsquos major suit (promises at least 4-card
support)
Jump rebid your own long (6-card +) suit
Jump in a new suit ndash forcing to game
How to Play Bridge
Bid a new suit at the 2-level above the ldquosafety levelrdquo ndash a reverse
showing a strong hand This is forcing if partner responded in a
suit at the 2-level
(3) With a balanced hand
rebid in No Trumps to show a balanced hand (but prefer to
bid a major suit if you can)
rebid No Trumps at the lowest level with 15-16 points
rebid No Trumps with a jump with 17-18 points
rebid 3NT with 19 points
Strong Opening Bids
Some hands are very powerful With this type of hand you would
normally open the bidding at the 2-level
An opening bid of 2 2 and 2 show a hand worth about 8 playing
tricks in the suit bid or possibly a strong two-suited hand with similar
strength The idea is that if you were to open with a bid of one of a
suit partner may pass and you may miss game (or even a slam) The
bid is forcing for one round (ie partner must respond)
Normal requirements to open 2 2 and 2
8 Playing Tricks
How to Play Bridge
Responses
2NT is the Negative Response It denies the ability to make any other
response Having given a negative response responder may pass on
the next round if opener makes a simple rebid of the suit that he
opened or bids a second suit without a jump
Positive Responses Any positive response is forcing to game
(at least)
A single raise (eg 2 - 3 ) promises a fit and an ace The hand may
have little more than those minimum requirements or it may be a
strong hand when responder will explore for slam
A double raise (eg 2 - 4) shows trump support with strictly
speaking two second-round controls (Kings or singletons) but denies
an Ace (with an Ace responder would make the stronger single raise
leaving more room to explore for a slam) A single raise is stronger
than a double raise Note it is now common practice to make the
double raise on any hand with support for partner and some values but
lacking an ace the old requirement for two second-round controls
tends to be ignored
A response in a new suit (eg 2 - 3) shows a good 5-card or longer
suit and 7+ points Lacking these basic requirements begin with an
alternative response (perhaps even a negative 2NT and then show
signs of life later in the auction) Do not respond in a bad suit
A jump to 3NT (eg 2 - 3NT) indicates a balanced hand with 10-12
points
A jump in a new suit (eg 2 - 4) promises a solid suit (AKQxxx at
least)
How to Play Bridge
The 2NT opening bid
This shows a balanced hand with 20-22 points It is not forcing but
responder needs only 4+ points to know that the values for game are
probably there
Responses a bid of 3hearts or 3spades shows a 5-card suit and asks opener to
choose between game in no trumps (with only two cards in
responderrsquos suit) or game in the major (ie 4hearts or 4spades)
Acol 2 Opening Bid
The artificial opening bid of 2 shows a super strong hand with either
23+ points in a balanced hand (ie too strong to open with an Acol
2NT bid) or a hand that is too strong even to open with a strong
forcing bid of two of a suit
Responding to a 2 Opening
Negative Response
The response with less than 7 points is an artificial bid of 2 The
opener rebids naturally showing his long suit or bidding NT on a
balanced hand The opening bid of 2 is forcing to game
Exception to the rule there is only one situation where the opening
bid of 2 is not forcing to game If after a 2 negative response
opener rebids 2NT he is showing a balanced 23-24 points With
absolutely no values responder may pass this 2NT rebid However
with as little as 2 or 3 points he should bid again responding to the
2NT rebid in a similar manner to the way in which he would respond
to a 2NT opening bid (ie Stayman 3 and 3 forcing)
Remember how strong the opening hand is before you take the
decision to pass the 2NT rebid
How to Play Bridge
NB if opener after 2 - 2 makes any rebid other than 2NT the
responder must keep the bidding open until game (at least) is reached
Positive responses to a 2 opening
2 2 3 3 7+ points and a 5-card suit or a 4-card suit
headed by the A or K
2NT balanced 7-9 points
3NT balanced 10-12 points
Overcalls and Responses
OVERCALLS
In this section we will be highlighting 3 types of overcalls
Simple Overcall
This is usually a weak bid with as little as 8-12 points but is ideal in
disrupting communication between your opponents and also
informing your partner that you hold a good 5 card suit
For the purposes of illustration we will assume that the opponent on
your right has opened 1 Club You hold a good 5 card suit in Spades
but with only 8-12 points How should you bid
Suit Quality Test
To enable you to bid correctly you should firstly apply the lsquosuit
qualityrsquo test Simply count the length of your long suit in this case
spades and add the number of honour cards in that suit The total is
the strength of your suit quality If the total is 7 then you can make
and overcall of 1 Spade If the total is 8 then you can make an
overcall of 2 Spades and so on
How to Play Bridge
Jump Overcall
For a sound jump overcall you would need to have a 6 card suit
together with a suit quality of 8+ and an opening hand of 12+ points
1 NT Overcall
15-18 points with a balanced hand and a stopper in opponentrsquos suit
RESPONSES TO OVERCALLS
Remember that your partner has overcalled on what is probably a
weak hand with only one good suit and with the intention of
obstructing your opponents Therefore the majority of responses to
his overcall should also be barrages However there are responses
available
Supporting Partner
This is the bid your partner wants to hear most of all because it
means that you are cooperating with the idea of using up your
opponents bidding space All bids supporting partners overcall are
weak To determine your bid the deciding factor is the number of
trumps that you hold Assuming that your partner holds a five card
suit for his overcall you should raise your partners overcall to the
same number of tricks that you have trumps between you
So if you think you have a total of eight trumps between you you
should raise partner to 8 tricks (the two level) If you think you have
nine trumps raise to nine tricks (the three level) and so on
So in a barrage situation it is the number of trumps you hold and the
distribution of your hand that is important not your points
How to Play Bridge
RESPONDING WITH A STRONG HAND
What about when the responder has a genuinely good hand
Obviously you canrsquot just support partner and hope he understands
You must make a different bid and the easiest is the so-called un-
assuming cue bid This is a complicated sounding bid but actually
just involves calling the opponents suit at the lowest available level
What the bid means is that you think that you and your partner hold
the majority of the points and that there might be a game contract in
the offing by your side In other words whereas supporting your
partner is crying wolf to make life difficult for your opponents this
bid is saying that you genuinely think your side holds the majority of
the values and that there may be a possibility of bidding to game
How to Play Bridge
Contract Bridge (Rubber) Scoring
Contracts
NT
1 20 30 40
2 40 60 70
3 60 90 100
4 80 120 130
5 100 150 160
6 120 180 190
7 140 210 220
Slams
Not Vul Vul
Small 500 750
Grand 1000 1500
Rubbers
Three Games 500
Two Games 700
Unfinished Rubbers
Game 300
Part Score 50
Overtricks
per overtrick Not
Vul Vul
Not Doubled trick value
Doubled 100 200
Redoubled 200 400
Undertricks
Not Doubled Doubled
Not Vul Vul Not Vul Vul
1 50 100 100 200
2 100 200 300 500
3 150 300 500 800
4 200 400 800 1100
5 250 500 1100 1400
6 300 600 1400 1700
7 350 700 1700 2000
Other Bonuses
4 trump honours in one hand 100
5 trump honours in one hand 150
4 aces in one hand (NT) 150
Making a doubled Contract 50
Making a redoubled Contract 100
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No
How to Play Bridge
12 - The next deal
The position of dealer moves clockwise round the table for each
game
It is a good idea to have two packs of cards available so that the
second pack can be shuffled by the dealerrsquos partner while the first is
being dealt Before starting dealing the next set of hands these cards
should be cut by the player on the new dealerrsquos right
Rubber Bridge Rules
Rubber Bridge (and Contract Bridge which we will be discussing
later) is merely an advanced form of Minbridge
Players and Cards
There are four players in two fixed partnerships Partners sit facing
each other It is traditional to refer to the players according to their
position at the table as North East South and West so North and
South are partners playing against East and West The game is played
clockwise
A standard 52 card pack is used The cards in each suit rank from
highest to lowest A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Deal
The cards are shuffled by the player to dealers left and cut by the
player to dealers right The dealer deals out all the cards one at a time
so that each player has 13 Turn to deal rotates clockwise
It is traditional to use two packs of cards During each deal the
dealers partner shuffles the other pack and places it to the right The
dealer for the next hand then simply needs to pick up the cards from
the left and pass them across to the right to be cut Provided all the
players understand and operate it this procedure saves time and helps
to remember whose turn it is to deal as the spare pack of cards is
always to the left of the next dealer
How to Play Bridge
Bidding
There is next an auction to decide who will be the declarer A bid
specifies a number of tricks and a trump suit (or that there will be no
trumps) The side which bids highest will try to win at least that
number of tricks bid with the specified suit as trumps
When bidding the number which is said actually represents the
number of tricks in excess of six which the partnership undertakes to
win For example a bid of two hearts represents a contract to win at
least 8 tricks (8 = 6 + 2) with hearts as trumps
For the purpose of bidding the possible trump suits rank as follows
no trumps (highest) spades hearts diamonds clubs (lowest) A bid
of a larger number of tricks always beats a bid of a smaller number
and if the number of tricks bid are equal the higher suit beats the
lower The lowest bid allowed is one club (to win at least 7 tricks
with clubs as trumps) and the highest is seven no trumps (to win all
13 tricks without trumps
It is also possible during the auction to double a bid by the other
side or to redouble the opponents double Doubling and redoubling
essentially increase the score for the bid contract if won and the
penalties if lost If someone then bids higher any previous doubles
and redoubles are cancelled
Note that doubling does not affect the ranking of a bid - for example a
bid of two spades is always higher than two hearts even if the two
hearts bid has been doubled or redoubled
The dealer begins the auction and the turn to speak passes clockwise
At each turn a player may either
make a bid which must be higher than the previous bid if any
say double if the previous bid was by an opponent and has
not already been doubled
say redouble if the previous bid was by ones own side and
has been doubled by an opponent but not yet redoubled
How to Play Bridge
pass by saying no bid or pass This indicates that the player
does not wish to bid double or redouble on that round but a
player who has passed is still allowed to bid double or redouble
at a later turn NB Either no bid or pass is permissible but
you should stick to one term or the other No bid is usual in
Britain pass is usual in the USA
If all four players pass on their first turn to speak the hand is said to
be passed out The cards are thrown in and the next dealer deals
If anyone bids then the auction continues until there are three passes
in succession and then stops After three consecutive passes the last
bid becomes the contract The team who made the final bid will now
try to make the contract The first player of this team who mentioned
the denomination (suit or no trumps) of the contract becomes the
declarer The declarers partner is known as the dummy
Example of an auction (North dealt)
North East South West
Pass 1 heart double 3 hearts
3 spades Pass 4 spades Pass
Pass Pass
North-South will try to win at least 10 tricks with spades as trumps
North who mentioned spades first is the declarer Souths double of
one heart was cancelled by Wests bid of 3 hearts
The Play
The player to the left of the declarer leads to the first trick and may
play any card Immediately after this opening lead the dummys cards
are exposed The dummy should arrange them neatly in suits the
cards of each suit arranged in rank order in an overlapping column
pointing towards the declarer so that all the cards are clearly visible
The trump suit if any should be to dummys right (declarers left) in
the diagram spades are trump
How to Play Bridge
Play proceeds clockwise Each of the other three players in turn must
if possible play a card of the same suit that the leader played A player
with no card of the suit led may play any card A trick consists of four
cards one from each player and is won by the highest trump in it or
if no trumps were played by the highest card of the suit led The
winner of a trick leads to the next and may lead any card
Each trick is gathered together and turned face down when complete
but you may ask to see the cards and ask who played which card until
you or your partner has played to the next trick The tricks won are to
be arranged neatly in front of one member of the winning side so that
they can easily be counted
Dummy takes no active part in the play of the hand Whenever it is
dummys turn to play the declarer must say which of dummys cards
is to be played and dummy plays the card as instructed (provided that
it is legal) Dummy is not permitted to offer any advice or comment
on the play When dummy wins a trick the declarer specifies which
card dummy should lead to the next trick If when calling for a card
the declarer specifies the suit only dummy is to play the lowest card
of that suit
It is also legal and not unusual for the declarer to play dummys
cards by physically taking them from dummys hand rather than just
calling for them This allows the dummy player to leave the table
during the play of the hand
Scoring
As its name suggests rubber bridge is played in rubbers A rubber is
the best of three games A game is won by the first team to score 100
or more points for successful contracts over several deals if
necessary
A side which has already won one game towards the current rubber is
said to be vulnerable A side which has not yet won a game is not
vulnerable A side which is vulnerable is subject to higher bonuses
and penalties than one that is not
How to Play Bridge
The score is kept on a piece of paper divided into two columns headed
WE and THEY for the two teams with a horizontal line part-way
down (see sample) Scores for successful contracts are entered below
the line and count towards winning a game Other scores such as
bonuses for tricks made in excess of the contract (overtricks) or
penalties for tricks short of the contract (undertricks) are entered
above the line and do not count towards winning the game
Score for making the contract
For a successful contract the score below the line for each trick (in
excess of 6) bid and made is as follows
If trumps are Clubs or Diamonds 20 per trick
If trumps are Hearts or Spades 30 per trick
If there are No Trumps 40 for the first trick and 30 for each
subsequent trick
If the contract was doubled the above scores are doubled If it was
doubled and redoubled they are multiplied by 4
In addition the declarers side scores an extra 50 points above the line
if they succeed in a doubled contract This is sometimes known as 50
for the insult For making a redoubled contract the bonus is 100
above the line
Because of the difference in score clubs and diamonds are called the
minor suits and hearts and spades are the major suits
Slam bonus
A contract to make 12 tricks is known as a small slam A contract to
make all 13 tricks is called a grand slam For bidding and making a
slam declarers side get an extra bonus above the line depending on
their vulnerability as follows
Slam bonus small slam grand slam
not vulnerable 500 1000
vulnerable 750 1500
How to Play Bridge
Score for overtricks
If the declarers side wins more tricks than were bid and were not
doubled then in addition to the score below the line for the contract
they score for the overtricks above the line at the same rate as for bid
tricks - ie 20 per trick if a minor suit was trumps 30 per trick in a
major suit or no trumps
If the contract was doubled or redoubled the bonus for overtricks
does not depend on the trump suit but does depend on whether the
declarers side was vulnerable as follows
Score per overtrick doubled redoubled
not vulnerable 100 200
vulnerable 200 400
Penalty for undertricks
If the declarers side win fewer tricks than they bid neither side scores
anything below the line but the declarers opponents score above the
line This score depends on the declarers sides vulnerability and
whether the contract was doubled or redoubled as follows
Undertrick penalty not vulnerable vulnerable
Not doubled - each undertrick 50 100
Doubled - first undertrick 100 200
Doubled - 2nd and 3rd undertrick 200 each 300 each
Doubled - subsequent undertricks 300 each 300 each
Redoubled undertricks cost twice as much as doubled
undertricks
How to Play Bridge
Honours
The top five trumps (A K Q J 10) are called honours If one player
holds all five of these cards that players side scores a bonus of 150
above the line Four honours in one hand score 100 If there are no
trumps and a player holds four aces that players side scores 150 for
honours
Scores for honours are to be claimed at the end of the play (it is
assumed that the players will remember what they held)
As there is no skill in scoring for honours players often agree to play
without the honour bonuses
Game and Rubber
A side that accumulates 100 points or more below the line has won a
game A new line is drawn under the scores Anything the opponents
had below the line does not count towards the next game - they start
from zero again
It is important to notice that starting from zero and in the absence of
doubles to make a game in one hand you need to succeed in a
contract of at least three no trumps four spades four hearts five clubs
or five diamonds
The side which first wins two games wins the rubber For this they get
a bonus of 700 if they won it two games to zero or 500 if it was two
games to one Both sides scores are then totaled and if the game is
being played for money the side with the higher score wins an
amount proportional to the difference in scores from the side with the
lower score
If play ends for any reason with a rubber unfinished then a side with
a game gets a bonus of 300 points and a side with a part score (ie a
score below the line towards an uncompleted game) gets a bonus of
100
How to Play Bridge
Example of Rubber Bridge scoring
The scoresheet of a completed rubber might look like the example
below (The letters in brackets indicate successive deals as described
in the corresponding footnotes - they would not appear on the
scoresheet)
We They
500
(f)
50 (f)
100
(f)
200
(e)
500
(i)
300
(b)
30 (g)
60 (a) 30 (c)
The Line
60 (a) 100
(c)
End of Game
360
(f)
90 (d)
End of Game
60 (h) 40 (g)
90 (i)
End of
Rubber
(a) we bid 2 hearts and made 10 tricks - 60 below the line for the
contract and 60 above for the overtricks
How to Play Bridge
(b) they bid 4 spades we doubled them and they took only 8 tricks -
we score 100 for their first undertrick and 200 for the second
(c) they bid 3 no trumps and made 10 tricks This gives them a game
(100 below the line) plus 30 above the line for their overtrick A new
line is ruled below the scores to indicate the start of a new game
(d) they bid and made 3 spades
(e) they bid two diamonds and made 6 tricks - they are now
vulnerable so we score 100 for each undertrick
(f) we bid 6 hearts they doubled us but we won all 13 tricks We
score 360 (180 x 2) below the line for our doubled contract giving us
a game 100 above for our doubled non-vulnerable overtrick 50
above for making a doubled contract and 500 bonus for a small slam
bid and made
(g) they bid one no trump and took 8 tricks note that their 90 on deal
(d) was part of the previous game so the 40 below does not give them
a game
(h) we bid 3 clubs and made exactly 9 tricks
(i) they bid 3 hearts and took exactly 9 tricks giving their second
game and the rubber for a bonus of 500 (two games to one)
Adding up the scores we have 1690 and they have 880 Therefore we
have won by 810 points (even though they won the rubber)
In this example the above the line scores were entered starting
immediately above the line and working upwards This is traditional
at least in Britain but not necessary - you can start at the top just
below the WE-THEY headings and work downwards if you prefer
There is a Contract Bridge Scoring Card at the back of this book
How to Play Bridge
DUPLICATE BRIDGE
Duplicate Bridge the system we generally play at Alrewas Bridge
Club is only slightly different to Contract Bridge
In rubber bridge although the better players have a noticable edge
and will undoubtedly win in the long run the outcome of a single
rubber depends heavily on which side is dealt the better cards The
idea of duplicate bridge is to eliminate this element of luck by
having the same hands played more than once by different sets of
players
Suppose we are partners and play a hand of duplicate bridge as North-
South Instead of being rewarded for our absolute score on that hand
our score is compared with those of other players who played the
same deal as North-South against other opponents We win if we
score better than other players managed with our cards and lose if we
score worse
For this comparison to be fair it is necessary that each group of
players who play the same deal should start from the same position
Therefore it is not practicable to play rubbers where the scores
carried forward from deal to deal affect the tactical situation Instead
each deal is scored in its own right and does not affect the scores for
subsequent ones The concept of vulnerability is retained but on each
deal the vulnerability is preassigned
Boards
An almost essential piece of apparatus for playing duplicate bridge is
a set of duplicate boards and a pack of cards for each board Each
board contains four pockets marked North East South and West in
which the cards for the four players are stored Each board also carries
a number to identify it and has marks showing which of the players is
dealer and whether each team is vulnerable or not
Before the boards are played the cards are shuffled dealt and placed
in the pockets by a neutral person or by a player in the presence at
least one opponent
How to Play Bridge
When about to play a board the players take their cards from the
appropriate pockets check to see that they have 13 each and then bid
as usual The mark on the board showing the dealer in practice just
indicates which player is to begin the bidding The opening lead is
always made face down as explained above to give the leaders
partner an opportunity to ask questions about the bidding before the
led card is shown During the play the cards are not played in the
centre of the table but in front of the players At the end of each trick
all four players turn their played card face down The cards played by
each player are overlapped with the longer axis of the card pointing
to the winners of the trick (ie the cards belonging to tricks you have
won are placed upright from your point of view and the ones
belonging to lost tricks sideways) That way you can easily see how
many tricks you have won Also if the cards are kept in order any
dispute about revokes or tricks won or lost can be settled by
reconstructing the play At the end of the play each players cards are
gathered up and replaced in the correct pocket ready for the next time
the board is to be played
When this method of play is used dummy is expected to remain at the
table if at all possible and declarer then always calls dummys cards
rather than pulling them from the dummy You may ask to look at the
cards played to a trick by the other players as long as your own card is
face up Once you have turned your card face down you no longer
have the right to see any of the other cards played to that trick
(Unless you are dummy you are still allowed to peek at your own
played card without exposing it until the lead is made to the next
trick) Scoring
Each board is marked to show whether both sides one side or neither
side is vulnerable for that board You still need to score at least 100
points for tricks bid and made to make a game but on each board
both sides start with zero points towards games - there are no part
scores carried forward
In place of the rubber bonus there are game and part score bonuses
Making a game when vulnerable 500 points
How to Play Bridge
Making a game when not vulnerable 300 points
Making a part score any time 50 points
The rest of the scores are the same as in rubber bridge except that
there are no bonuses for honours in duplicate bridge
BRIDGEMATES
Fortunately although it is good know how the scoring system works
in our case all the scoring is done via our BridgeMates wireless
system All we (generally the players sitting at North table) have to
do is to enter the contract and the result and the system displays the
scores on the computer
MODERN ACOL (Standard English)
There are several methods of bidding Acol is the most used and
there are versions of Acol Modern Acol is the system we use at
Alrewas Bridge Club
Many years ago I was called in to help with a problem Apparently
there were a team of four aspiring rowers who for some odd reason
although there were all fit strong young and healthy trained hard
every day they just couldnrsquot win any rowing races Within minutes I
discovered the reason for their lack of success One of them was
sitting the wrong way round Once corrected their fame became
legendary
However apocryphal this story illustrates the need for all of us to be
paddling in the same direction or in our case to be all playing the
same system particularly so as we generally draw for partners at the
beginning of each playing session Experience players are expected
to play this system particularly when playing with newer members
How to Play Bridge
Bidding Standard English (Acol)
Bidding between partners is an exchange of information Using a very
restricted vocabulary each player in turn tries to describe his hand
The objective is to provide enough information so that one player can
make the decision what suit (if any) should be trumps and how many
tricks should we attempt to take
Initially we will consider the bidding as a dialogue between the pair
with the majority of the high-card strength this is frequently the case
However there are times when the values are more evenly distributed
between the pairs and both sides are then involved in the bidding
phase For now we will ignore this possibility it will be easier to
consider bidding as a partnership exercise before thinking about how
things change when both pairs are bidding
The most important considerations when evaluating your hand for an
opening bid are the high-card strength and the shape of the hand An
opening bid generally requires 12 or more points
Opening the bidding balanced hands
A balanced hand means
no singleton or void
not more than 1 doubleton
no 6-card or longer suit
With 12-14 points (Ace = 4 King = 3 Queen = 2 Jack = 1) and
a balanced hand with no 5-card major suit open 1 No Trump
With 20-22 points and a balanced hand open with a bid of 2NT
With an exceptional hand of 23+ points you will start with an
artificial opening bid of 2clubs - see below
How to Play Bridge
With a balanced hand of 15-19 points you do not initially bid
no trumps You will bid No Trumps later start with a bid in a
suit
Responding to 1NT with a balanced hand
(See Chart 4 at end of book)
Opening with a suit bid
open your longest suit
with two 5-card suits open the higher-ranking
with two 4-card suits open the higher-ranking Exception with
Spades and Hearts open 1
with three 4-card suits open the middle of 3 in a row or the suit
below the ldquogaprdquo
With a hand of exceptional strength where you do not want partner to
pass even with a very weak hand there is the option of opening with a
strong bid of 2 of your long suit or exceptionally 2clubs (artificial and
strong) ndash see below
Responding to an opening bid of 1clubs 1diams 1hearts 1spades
Raising partnerrsquos suit
with less than 6 points pass
6-9 points raise to the 2-level
How to Play Bridge
10-12 points raise to the 3-level
13+ points raise to the 4-level (in a major)
Responding in No Trumps
1 No Trumps 6-9 points (denies a suit that can be bid at
the 1-level or support for partnerrsquos major suit)
2 No Trumps 10-12 points balanced hand
3 No Trumps 13-15 points balanced hand
Responding in a new suit
a response in a new suit to an opening bid of 1 of a suit is
forcing partner cannot pass
respond in your longest suit
with two 5-card suits respond in the higher-ranking You will
then bid the other suit if practical to give partner a choice
with two or three 4-card suits make the most economical
response
bid your own suit before supporting partnerrsquos minor suit
do not bid in a new suit at the 2-level with less than 9 points
How to Play Bridge
remember that if you lack the strength to respond at the 2-level
you may instead respond 1NT (this need not show a balanced
hand)
a ldquojump shiftrdquo response in a new suit shows 16+ points and is
forcing to game
raising partnerrsquos major suit is a priority
do not raise partnerrsquos minor suit if there is an alternative such as
responding in a suit at the 1-level
Openerrsquos second bid
(1) With a weak hand
Pass if partner has made a non-forcing bid (ie a raise of your
suit or a no trump response)
support partnerrsquos major suit with 4-card support
rebid in a new suit at the 1-level
rebid in a lower-ranking suit at the 2-level (NB the ldquosafety
levelrdquo)
rebid your first suit at the lowest level with at least 5 cards
(2) With a strong hand
Jump raise partnerrsquos major suit (promises at least 4-card
support)
Jump rebid your own long (6-card +) suit
Jump in a new suit ndash forcing to game
How to Play Bridge
Bid a new suit at the 2-level above the ldquosafety levelrdquo ndash a reverse
showing a strong hand This is forcing if partner responded in a
suit at the 2-level
(3) With a balanced hand
rebid in No Trumps to show a balanced hand (but prefer to
bid a major suit if you can)
rebid No Trumps at the lowest level with 15-16 points
rebid No Trumps with a jump with 17-18 points
rebid 3NT with 19 points
Strong Opening Bids
Some hands are very powerful With this type of hand you would
normally open the bidding at the 2-level
An opening bid of 2 2 and 2 show a hand worth about 8 playing
tricks in the suit bid or possibly a strong two-suited hand with similar
strength The idea is that if you were to open with a bid of one of a
suit partner may pass and you may miss game (or even a slam) The
bid is forcing for one round (ie partner must respond)
Normal requirements to open 2 2 and 2
8 Playing Tricks
How to Play Bridge
Responses
2NT is the Negative Response It denies the ability to make any other
response Having given a negative response responder may pass on
the next round if opener makes a simple rebid of the suit that he
opened or bids a second suit without a jump
Positive Responses Any positive response is forcing to game
(at least)
A single raise (eg 2 - 3 ) promises a fit and an ace The hand may
have little more than those minimum requirements or it may be a
strong hand when responder will explore for slam
A double raise (eg 2 - 4) shows trump support with strictly
speaking two second-round controls (Kings or singletons) but denies
an Ace (with an Ace responder would make the stronger single raise
leaving more room to explore for a slam) A single raise is stronger
than a double raise Note it is now common practice to make the
double raise on any hand with support for partner and some values but
lacking an ace the old requirement for two second-round controls
tends to be ignored
A response in a new suit (eg 2 - 3) shows a good 5-card or longer
suit and 7+ points Lacking these basic requirements begin with an
alternative response (perhaps even a negative 2NT and then show
signs of life later in the auction) Do not respond in a bad suit
A jump to 3NT (eg 2 - 3NT) indicates a balanced hand with 10-12
points
A jump in a new suit (eg 2 - 4) promises a solid suit (AKQxxx at
least)
How to Play Bridge
The 2NT opening bid
This shows a balanced hand with 20-22 points It is not forcing but
responder needs only 4+ points to know that the values for game are
probably there
Responses a bid of 3hearts or 3spades shows a 5-card suit and asks opener to
choose between game in no trumps (with only two cards in
responderrsquos suit) or game in the major (ie 4hearts or 4spades)
Acol 2 Opening Bid
The artificial opening bid of 2 shows a super strong hand with either
23+ points in a balanced hand (ie too strong to open with an Acol
2NT bid) or a hand that is too strong even to open with a strong
forcing bid of two of a suit
Responding to a 2 Opening
Negative Response
The response with less than 7 points is an artificial bid of 2 The
opener rebids naturally showing his long suit or bidding NT on a
balanced hand The opening bid of 2 is forcing to game
Exception to the rule there is only one situation where the opening
bid of 2 is not forcing to game If after a 2 negative response
opener rebids 2NT he is showing a balanced 23-24 points With
absolutely no values responder may pass this 2NT rebid However
with as little as 2 or 3 points he should bid again responding to the
2NT rebid in a similar manner to the way in which he would respond
to a 2NT opening bid (ie Stayman 3 and 3 forcing)
Remember how strong the opening hand is before you take the
decision to pass the 2NT rebid
How to Play Bridge
NB if opener after 2 - 2 makes any rebid other than 2NT the
responder must keep the bidding open until game (at least) is reached
Positive responses to a 2 opening
2 2 3 3 7+ points and a 5-card suit or a 4-card suit
headed by the A or K
2NT balanced 7-9 points
3NT balanced 10-12 points
Overcalls and Responses
OVERCALLS
In this section we will be highlighting 3 types of overcalls
Simple Overcall
This is usually a weak bid with as little as 8-12 points but is ideal in
disrupting communication between your opponents and also
informing your partner that you hold a good 5 card suit
For the purposes of illustration we will assume that the opponent on
your right has opened 1 Club You hold a good 5 card suit in Spades
but with only 8-12 points How should you bid
Suit Quality Test
To enable you to bid correctly you should firstly apply the lsquosuit
qualityrsquo test Simply count the length of your long suit in this case
spades and add the number of honour cards in that suit The total is
the strength of your suit quality If the total is 7 then you can make
and overcall of 1 Spade If the total is 8 then you can make an
overcall of 2 Spades and so on
How to Play Bridge
Jump Overcall
For a sound jump overcall you would need to have a 6 card suit
together with a suit quality of 8+ and an opening hand of 12+ points
1 NT Overcall
15-18 points with a balanced hand and a stopper in opponentrsquos suit
RESPONSES TO OVERCALLS
Remember that your partner has overcalled on what is probably a
weak hand with only one good suit and with the intention of
obstructing your opponents Therefore the majority of responses to
his overcall should also be barrages However there are responses
available
Supporting Partner
This is the bid your partner wants to hear most of all because it
means that you are cooperating with the idea of using up your
opponents bidding space All bids supporting partners overcall are
weak To determine your bid the deciding factor is the number of
trumps that you hold Assuming that your partner holds a five card
suit for his overcall you should raise your partners overcall to the
same number of tricks that you have trumps between you
So if you think you have a total of eight trumps between you you
should raise partner to 8 tricks (the two level) If you think you have
nine trumps raise to nine tricks (the three level) and so on
So in a barrage situation it is the number of trumps you hold and the
distribution of your hand that is important not your points
How to Play Bridge
RESPONDING WITH A STRONG HAND
What about when the responder has a genuinely good hand
Obviously you canrsquot just support partner and hope he understands
You must make a different bid and the easiest is the so-called un-
assuming cue bid This is a complicated sounding bid but actually
just involves calling the opponents suit at the lowest available level
What the bid means is that you think that you and your partner hold
the majority of the points and that there might be a game contract in
the offing by your side In other words whereas supporting your
partner is crying wolf to make life difficult for your opponents this
bid is saying that you genuinely think your side holds the majority of
the values and that there may be a possibility of bidding to game
How to Play Bridge
Contract Bridge (Rubber) Scoring
Contracts
NT
1 20 30 40
2 40 60 70
3 60 90 100
4 80 120 130
5 100 150 160
6 120 180 190
7 140 210 220
Slams
Not Vul Vul
Small 500 750
Grand 1000 1500
Rubbers
Three Games 500
Two Games 700
Unfinished Rubbers
Game 300
Part Score 50
Overtricks
per overtrick Not
Vul Vul
Not Doubled trick value
Doubled 100 200
Redoubled 200 400
Undertricks
Not Doubled Doubled
Not Vul Vul Not Vul Vul
1 50 100 100 200
2 100 200 300 500
3 150 300 500 800
4 200 400 800 1100
5 250 500 1100 1400
6 300 600 1400 1700
7 350 700 1700 2000
Other Bonuses
4 trump honours in one hand 100
5 trump honours in one hand 150
4 aces in one hand (NT) 150
Making a doubled Contract 50
Making a redoubled Contract 100
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No
How to Play Bridge
Bidding
There is next an auction to decide who will be the declarer A bid
specifies a number of tricks and a trump suit (or that there will be no
trumps) The side which bids highest will try to win at least that
number of tricks bid with the specified suit as trumps
When bidding the number which is said actually represents the
number of tricks in excess of six which the partnership undertakes to
win For example a bid of two hearts represents a contract to win at
least 8 tricks (8 = 6 + 2) with hearts as trumps
For the purpose of bidding the possible trump suits rank as follows
no trumps (highest) spades hearts diamonds clubs (lowest) A bid
of a larger number of tricks always beats a bid of a smaller number
and if the number of tricks bid are equal the higher suit beats the
lower The lowest bid allowed is one club (to win at least 7 tricks
with clubs as trumps) and the highest is seven no trumps (to win all
13 tricks without trumps
It is also possible during the auction to double a bid by the other
side or to redouble the opponents double Doubling and redoubling
essentially increase the score for the bid contract if won and the
penalties if lost If someone then bids higher any previous doubles
and redoubles are cancelled
Note that doubling does not affect the ranking of a bid - for example a
bid of two spades is always higher than two hearts even if the two
hearts bid has been doubled or redoubled
The dealer begins the auction and the turn to speak passes clockwise
At each turn a player may either
make a bid which must be higher than the previous bid if any
say double if the previous bid was by an opponent and has
not already been doubled
say redouble if the previous bid was by ones own side and
has been doubled by an opponent but not yet redoubled
How to Play Bridge
pass by saying no bid or pass This indicates that the player
does not wish to bid double or redouble on that round but a
player who has passed is still allowed to bid double or redouble
at a later turn NB Either no bid or pass is permissible but
you should stick to one term or the other No bid is usual in
Britain pass is usual in the USA
If all four players pass on their first turn to speak the hand is said to
be passed out The cards are thrown in and the next dealer deals
If anyone bids then the auction continues until there are three passes
in succession and then stops After three consecutive passes the last
bid becomes the contract The team who made the final bid will now
try to make the contract The first player of this team who mentioned
the denomination (suit or no trumps) of the contract becomes the
declarer The declarers partner is known as the dummy
Example of an auction (North dealt)
North East South West
Pass 1 heart double 3 hearts
3 spades Pass 4 spades Pass
Pass Pass
North-South will try to win at least 10 tricks with spades as trumps
North who mentioned spades first is the declarer Souths double of
one heart was cancelled by Wests bid of 3 hearts
The Play
The player to the left of the declarer leads to the first trick and may
play any card Immediately after this opening lead the dummys cards
are exposed The dummy should arrange them neatly in suits the
cards of each suit arranged in rank order in an overlapping column
pointing towards the declarer so that all the cards are clearly visible
The trump suit if any should be to dummys right (declarers left) in
the diagram spades are trump
How to Play Bridge
Play proceeds clockwise Each of the other three players in turn must
if possible play a card of the same suit that the leader played A player
with no card of the suit led may play any card A trick consists of four
cards one from each player and is won by the highest trump in it or
if no trumps were played by the highest card of the suit led The
winner of a trick leads to the next and may lead any card
Each trick is gathered together and turned face down when complete
but you may ask to see the cards and ask who played which card until
you or your partner has played to the next trick The tricks won are to
be arranged neatly in front of one member of the winning side so that
they can easily be counted
Dummy takes no active part in the play of the hand Whenever it is
dummys turn to play the declarer must say which of dummys cards
is to be played and dummy plays the card as instructed (provided that
it is legal) Dummy is not permitted to offer any advice or comment
on the play When dummy wins a trick the declarer specifies which
card dummy should lead to the next trick If when calling for a card
the declarer specifies the suit only dummy is to play the lowest card
of that suit
It is also legal and not unusual for the declarer to play dummys
cards by physically taking them from dummys hand rather than just
calling for them This allows the dummy player to leave the table
during the play of the hand
Scoring
As its name suggests rubber bridge is played in rubbers A rubber is
the best of three games A game is won by the first team to score 100
or more points for successful contracts over several deals if
necessary
A side which has already won one game towards the current rubber is
said to be vulnerable A side which has not yet won a game is not
vulnerable A side which is vulnerable is subject to higher bonuses
and penalties than one that is not
How to Play Bridge
The score is kept on a piece of paper divided into two columns headed
WE and THEY for the two teams with a horizontal line part-way
down (see sample) Scores for successful contracts are entered below
the line and count towards winning a game Other scores such as
bonuses for tricks made in excess of the contract (overtricks) or
penalties for tricks short of the contract (undertricks) are entered
above the line and do not count towards winning the game
Score for making the contract
For a successful contract the score below the line for each trick (in
excess of 6) bid and made is as follows
If trumps are Clubs or Diamonds 20 per trick
If trumps are Hearts or Spades 30 per trick
If there are No Trumps 40 for the first trick and 30 for each
subsequent trick
If the contract was doubled the above scores are doubled If it was
doubled and redoubled they are multiplied by 4
In addition the declarers side scores an extra 50 points above the line
if they succeed in a doubled contract This is sometimes known as 50
for the insult For making a redoubled contract the bonus is 100
above the line
Because of the difference in score clubs and diamonds are called the
minor suits and hearts and spades are the major suits
Slam bonus
A contract to make 12 tricks is known as a small slam A contract to
make all 13 tricks is called a grand slam For bidding and making a
slam declarers side get an extra bonus above the line depending on
their vulnerability as follows
Slam bonus small slam grand slam
not vulnerable 500 1000
vulnerable 750 1500
How to Play Bridge
Score for overtricks
If the declarers side wins more tricks than were bid and were not
doubled then in addition to the score below the line for the contract
they score for the overtricks above the line at the same rate as for bid
tricks - ie 20 per trick if a minor suit was trumps 30 per trick in a
major suit or no trumps
If the contract was doubled or redoubled the bonus for overtricks
does not depend on the trump suit but does depend on whether the
declarers side was vulnerable as follows
Score per overtrick doubled redoubled
not vulnerable 100 200
vulnerable 200 400
Penalty for undertricks
If the declarers side win fewer tricks than they bid neither side scores
anything below the line but the declarers opponents score above the
line This score depends on the declarers sides vulnerability and
whether the contract was doubled or redoubled as follows
Undertrick penalty not vulnerable vulnerable
Not doubled - each undertrick 50 100
Doubled - first undertrick 100 200
Doubled - 2nd and 3rd undertrick 200 each 300 each
Doubled - subsequent undertricks 300 each 300 each
Redoubled undertricks cost twice as much as doubled
undertricks
How to Play Bridge
Honours
The top five trumps (A K Q J 10) are called honours If one player
holds all five of these cards that players side scores a bonus of 150
above the line Four honours in one hand score 100 If there are no
trumps and a player holds four aces that players side scores 150 for
honours
Scores for honours are to be claimed at the end of the play (it is
assumed that the players will remember what they held)
As there is no skill in scoring for honours players often agree to play
without the honour bonuses
Game and Rubber
A side that accumulates 100 points or more below the line has won a
game A new line is drawn under the scores Anything the opponents
had below the line does not count towards the next game - they start
from zero again
It is important to notice that starting from zero and in the absence of
doubles to make a game in one hand you need to succeed in a
contract of at least three no trumps four spades four hearts five clubs
or five diamonds
The side which first wins two games wins the rubber For this they get
a bonus of 700 if they won it two games to zero or 500 if it was two
games to one Both sides scores are then totaled and if the game is
being played for money the side with the higher score wins an
amount proportional to the difference in scores from the side with the
lower score
If play ends for any reason with a rubber unfinished then a side with
a game gets a bonus of 300 points and a side with a part score (ie a
score below the line towards an uncompleted game) gets a bonus of
100
How to Play Bridge
Example of Rubber Bridge scoring
The scoresheet of a completed rubber might look like the example
below (The letters in brackets indicate successive deals as described
in the corresponding footnotes - they would not appear on the
scoresheet)
We They
500
(f)
50 (f)
100
(f)
200
(e)
500
(i)
300
(b)
30 (g)
60 (a) 30 (c)
The Line
60 (a) 100
(c)
End of Game
360
(f)
90 (d)
End of Game
60 (h) 40 (g)
90 (i)
End of
Rubber
(a) we bid 2 hearts and made 10 tricks - 60 below the line for the
contract and 60 above for the overtricks
How to Play Bridge
(b) they bid 4 spades we doubled them and they took only 8 tricks -
we score 100 for their first undertrick and 200 for the second
(c) they bid 3 no trumps and made 10 tricks This gives them a game
(100 below the line) plus 30 above the line for their overtrick A new
line is ruled below the scores to indicate the start of a new game
(d) they bid and made 3 spades
(e) they bid two diamonds and made 6 tricks - they are now
vulnerable so we score 100 for each undertrick
(f) we bid 6 hearts they doubled us but we won all 13 tricks We
score 360 (180 x 2) below the line for our doubled contract giving us
a game 100 above for our doubled non-vulnerable overtrick 50
above for making a doubled contract and 500 bonus for a small slam
bid and made
(g) they bid one no trump and took 8 tricks note that their 90 on deal
(d) was part of the previous game so the 40 below does not give them
a game
(h) we bid 3 clubs and made exactly 9 tricks
(i) they bid 3 hearts and took exactly 9 tricks giving their second
game and the rubber for a bonus of 500 (two games to one)
Adding up the scores we have 1690 and they have 880 Therefore we
have won by 810 points (even though they won the rubber)
In this example the above the line scores were entered starting
immediately above the line and working upwards This is traditional
at least in Britain but not necessary - you can start at the top just
below the WE-THEY headings and work downwards if you prefer
There is a Contract Bridge Scoring Card at the back of this book
How to Play Bridge
DUPLICATE BRIDGE
Duplicate Bridge the system we generally play at Alrewas Bridge
Club is only slightly different to Contract Bridge
In rubber bridge although the better players have a noticable edge
and will undoubtedly win in the long run the outcome of a single
rubber depends heavily on which side is dealt the better cards The
idea of duplicate bridge is to eliminate this element of luck by
having the same hands played more than once by different sets of
players
Suppose we are partners and play a hand of duplicate bridge as North-
South Instead of being rewarded for our absolute score on that hand
our score is compared with those of other players who played the
same deal as North-South against other opponents We win if we
score better than other players managed with our cards and lose if we
score worse
For this comparison to be fair it is necessary that each group of
players who play the same deal should start from the same position
Therefore it is not practicable to play rubbers where the scores
carried forward from deal to deal affect the tactical situation Instead
each deal is scored in its own right and does not affect the scores for
subsequent ones The concept of vulnerability is retained but on each
deal the vulnerability is preassigned
Boards
An almost essential piece of apparatus for playing duplicate bridge is
a set of duplicate boards and a pack of cards for each board Each
board contains four pockets marked North East South and West in
which the cards for the four players are stored Each board also carries
a number to identify it and has marks showing which of the players is
dealer and whether each team is vulnerable or not
Before the boards are played the cards are shuffled dealt and placed
in the pockets by a neutral person or by a player in the presence at
least one opponent
How to Play Bridge
When about to play a board the players take their cards from the
appropriate pockets check to see that they have 13 each and then bid
as usual The mark on the board showing the dealer in practice just
indicates which player is to begin the bidding The opening lead is
always made face down as explained above to give the leaders
partner an opportunity to ask questions about the bidding before the
led card is shown During the play the cards are not played in the
centre of the table but in front of the players At the end of each trick
all four players turn their played card face down The cards played by
each player are overlapped with the longer axis of the card pointing
to the winners of the trick (ie the cards belonging to tricks you have
won are placed upright from your point of view and the ones
belonging to lost tricks sideways) That way you can easily see how
many tricks you have won Also if the cards are kept in order any
dispute about revokes or tricks won or lost can be settled by
reconstructing the play At the end of the play each players cards are
gathered up and replaced in the correct pocket ready for the next time
the board is to be played
When this method of play is used dummy is expected to remain at the
table if at all possible and declarer then always calls dummys cards
rather than pulling them from the dummy You may ask to look at the
cards played to a trick by the other players as long as your own card is
face up Once you have turned your card face down you no longer
have the right to see any of the other cards played to that trick
(Unless you are dummy you are still allowed to peek at your own
played card without exposing it until the lead is made to the next
trick) Scoring
Each board is marked to show whether both sides one side or neither
side is vulnerable for that board You still need to score at least 100
points for tricks bid and made to make a game but on each board
both sides start with zero points towards games - there are no part
scores carried forward
In place of the rubber bonus there are game and part score bonuses
Making a game when vulnerable 500 points
How to Play Bridge
Making a game when not vulnerable 300 points
Making a part score any time 50 points
The rest of the scores are the same as in rubber bridge except that
there are no bonuses for honours in duplicate bridge
BRIDGEMATES
Fortunately although it is good know how the scoring system works
in our case all the scoring is done via our BridgeMates wireless
system All we (generally the players sitting at North table) have to
do is to enter the contract and the result and the system displays the
scores on the computer
MODERN ACOL (Standard English)
There are several methods of bidding Acol is the most used and
there are versions of Acol Modern Acol is the system we use at
Alrewas Bridge Club
Many years ago I was called in to help with a problem Apparently
there were a team of four aspiring rowers who for some odd reason
although there were all fit strong young and healthy trained hard
every day they just couldnrsquot win any rowing races Within minutes I
discovered the reason for their lack of success One of them was
sitting the wrong way round Once corrected their fame became
legendary
However apocryphal this story illustrates the need for all of us to be
paddling in the same direction or in our case to be all playing the
same system particularly so as we generally draw for partners at the
beginning of each playing session Experience players are expected
to play this system particularly when playing with newer members
How to Play Bridge
Bidding Standard English (Acol)
Bidding between partners is an exchange of information Using a very
restricted vocabulary each player in turn tries to describe his hand
The objective is to provide enough information so that one player can
make the decision what suit (if any) should be trumps and how many
tricks should we attempt to take
Initially we will consider the bidding as a dialogue between the pair
with the majority of the high-card strength this is frequently the case
However there are times when the values are more evenly distributed
between the pairs and both sides are then involved in the bidding
phase For now we will ignore this possibility it will be easier to
consider bidding as a partnership exercise before thinking about how
things change when both pairs are bidding
The most important considerations when evaluating your hand for an
opening bid are the high-card strength and the shape of the hand An
opening bid generally requires 12 or more points
Opening the bidding balanced hands
A balanced hand means
no singleton or void
not more than 1 doubleton
no 6-card or longer suit
With 12-14 points (Ace = 4 King = 3 Queen = 2 Jack = 1) and
a balanced hand with no 5-card major suit open 1 No Trump
With 20-22 points and a balanced hand open with a bid of 2NT
With an exceptional hand of 23+ points you will start with an
artificial opening bid of 2clubs - see below
How to Play Bridge
With a balanced hand of 15-19 points you do not initially bid
no trumps You will bid No Trumps later start with a bid in a
suit
Responding to 1NT with a balanced hand
(See Chart 4 at end of book)
Opening with a suit bid
open your longest suit
with two 5-card suits open the higher-ranking
with two 4-card suits open the higher-ranking Exception with
Spades and Hearts open 1
with three 4-card suits open the middle of 3 in a row or the suit
below the ldquogaprdquo
With a hand of exceptional strength where you do not want partner to
pass even with a very weak hand there is the option of opening with a
strong bid of 2 of your long suit or exceptionally 2clubs (artificial and
strong) ndash see below
Responding to an opening bid of 1clubs 1diams 1hearts 1spades
Raising partnerrsquos suit
with less than 6 points pass
6-9 points raise to the 2-level
How to Play Bridge
10-12 points raise to the 3-level
13+ points raise to the 4-level (in a major)
Responding in No Trumps
1 No Trumps 6-9 points (denies a suit that can be bid at
the 1-level or support for partnerrsquos major suit)
2 No Trumps 10-12 points balanced hand
3 No Trumps 13-15 points balanced hand
Responding in a new suit
a response in a new suit to an opening bid of 1 of a suit is
forcing partner cannot pass
respond in your longest suit
with two 5-card suits respond in the higher-ranking You will
then bid the other suit if practical to give partner a choice
with two or three 4-card suits make the most economical
response
bid your own suit before supporting partnerrsquos minor suit
do not bid in a new suit at the 2-level with less than 9 points
How to Play Bridge
remember that if you lack the strength to respond at the 2-level
you may instead respond 1NT (this need not show a balanced
hand)
a ldquojump shiftrdquo response in a new suit shows 16+ points and is
forcing to game
raising partnerrsquos major suit is a priority
do not raise partnerrsquos minor suit if there is an alternative such as
responding in a suit at the 1-level
Openerrsquos second bid
(1) With a weak hand
Pass if partner has made a non-forcing bid (ie a raise of your
suit or a no trump response)
support partnerrsquos major suit with 4-card support
rebid in a new suit at the 1-level
rebid in a lower-ranking suit at the 2-level (NB the ldquosafety
levelrdquo)
rebid your first suit at the lowest level with at least 5 cards
(2) With a strong hand
Jump raise partnerrsquos major suit (promises at least 4-card
support)
Jump rebid your own long (6-card +) suit
Jump in a new suit ndash forcing to game
How to Play Bridge
Bid a new suit at the 2-level above the ldquosafety levelrdquo ndash a reverse
showing a strong hand This is forcing if partner responded in a
suit at the 2-level
(3) With a balanced hand
rebid in No Trumps to show a balanced hand (but prefer to
bid a major suit if you can)
rebid No Trumps at the lowest level with 15-16 points
rebid No Trumps with a jump with 17-18 points
rebid 3NT with 19 points
Strong Opening Bids
Some hands are very powerful With this type of hand you would
normally open the bidding at the 2-level
An opening bid of 2 2 and 2 show a hand worth about 8 playing
tricks in the suit bid or possibly a strong two-suited hand with similar
strength The idea is that if you were to open with a bid of one of a
suit partner may pass and you may miss game (or even a slam) The
bid is forcing for one round (ie partner must respond)
Normal requirements to open 2 2 and 2
8 Playing Tricks
How to Play Bridge
Responses
2NT is the Negative Response It denies the ability to make any other
response Having given a negative response responder may pass on
the next round if opener makes a simple rebid of the suit that he
opened or bids a second suit without a jump
Positive Responses Any positive response is forcing to game
(at least)
A single raise (eg 2 - 3 ) promises a fit and an ace The hand may
have little more than those minimum requirements or it may be a
strong hand when responder will explore for slam
A double raise (eg 2 - 4) shows trump support with strictly
speaking two second-round controls (Kings or singletons) but denies
an Ace (with an Ace responder would make the stronger single raise
leaving more room to explore for a slam) A single raise is stronger
than a double raise Note it is now common practice to make the
double raise on any hand with support for partner and some values but
lacking an ace the old requirement for two second-round controls
tends to be ignored
A response in a new suit (eg 2 - 3) shows a good 5-card or longer
suit and 7+ points Lacking these basic requirements begin with an
alternative response (perhaps even a negative 2NT and then show
signs of life later in the auction) Do not respond in a bad suit
A jump to 3NT (eg 2 - 3NT) indicates a balanced hand with 10-12
points
A jump in a new suit (eg 2 - 4) promises a solid suit (AKQxxx at
least)
How to Play Bridge
The 2NT opening bid
This shows a balanced hand with 20-22 points It is not forcing but
responder needs only 4+ points to know that the values for game are
probably there
Responses a bid of 3hearts or 3spades shows a 5-card suit and asks opener to
choose between game in no trumps (with only two cards in
responderrsquos suit) or game in the major (ie 4hearts or 4spades)
Acol 2 Opening Bid
The artificial opening bid of 2 shows a super strong hand with either
23+ points in a balanced hand (ie too strong to open with an Acol
2NT bid) or a hand that is too strong even to open with a strong
forcing bid of two of a suit
Responding to a 2 Opening
Negative Response
The response with less than 7 points is an artificial bid of 2 The
opener rebids naturally showing his long suit or bidding NT on a
balanced hand The opening bid of 2 is forcing to game
Exception to the rule there is only one situation where the opening
bid of 2 is not forcing to game If after a 2 negative response
opener rebids 2NT he is showing a balanced 23-24 points With
absolutely no values responder may pass this 2NT rebid However
with as little as 2 or 3 points he should bid again responding to the
2NT rebid in a similar manner to the way in which he would respond
to a 2NT opening bid (ie Stayman 3 and 3 forcing)
Remember how strong the opening hand is before you take the
decision to pass the 2NT rebid
How to Play Bridge
NB if opener after 2 - 2 makes any rebid other than 2NT the
responder must keep the bidding open until game (at least) is reached
Positive responses to a 2 opening
2 2 3 3 7+ points and a 5-card suit or a 4-card suit
headed by the A or K
2NT balanced 7-9 points
3NT balanced 10-12 points
Overcalls and Responses
OVERCALLS
In this section we will be highlighting 3 types of overcalls
Simple Overcall
This is usually a weak bid with as little as 8-12 points but is ideal in
disrupting communication between your opponents and also
informing your partner that you hold a good 5 card suit
For the purposes of illustration we will assume that the opponent on
your right has opened 1 Club You hold a good 5 card suit in Spades
but with only 8-12 points How should you bid
Suit Quality Test
To enable you to bid correctly you should firstly apply the lsquosuit
qualityrsquo test Simply count the length of your long suit in this case
spades and add the number of honour cards in that suit The total is
the strength of your suit quality If the total is 7 then you can make
and overcall of 1 Spade If the total is 8 then you can make an
overcall of 2 Spades and so on
How to Play Bridge
Jump Overcall
For a sound jump overcall you would need to have a 6 card suit
together with a suit quality of 8+ and an opening hand of 12+ points
1 NT Overcall
15-18 points with a balanced hand and a stopper in opponentrsquos suit
RESPONSES TO OVERCALLS
Remember that your partner has overcalled on what is probably a
weak hand with only one good suit and with the intention of
obstructing your opponents Therefore the majority of responses to
his overcall should also be barrages However there are responses
available
Supporting Partner
This is the bid your partner wants to hear most of all because it
means that you are cooperating with the idea of using up your
opponents bidding space All bids supporting partners overcall are
weak To determine your bid the deciding factor is the number of
trumps that you hold Assuming that your partner holds a five card
suit for his overcall you should raise your partners overcall to the
same number of tricks that you have trumps between you
So if you think you have a total of eight trumps between you you
should raise partner to 8 tricks (the two level) If you think you have
nine trumps raise to nine tricks (the three level) and so on
So in a barrage situation it is the number of trumps you hold and the
distribution of your hand that is important not your points
How to Play Bridge
RESPONDING WITH A STRONG HAND
What about when the responder has a genuinely good hand
Obviously you canrsquot just support partner and hope he understands
You must make a different bid and the easiest is the so-called un-
assuming cue bid This is a complicated sounding bid but actually
just involves calling the opponents suit at the lowest available level
What the bid means is that you think that you and your partner hold
the majority of the points and that there might be a game contract in
the offing by your side In other words whereas supporting your
partner is crying wolf to make life difficult for your opponents this
bid is saying that you genuinely think your side holds the majority of
the values and that there may be a possibility of bidding to game
How to Play Bridge
Contract Bridge (Rubber) Scoring
Contracts
NT
1 20 30 40
2 40 60 70
3 60 90 100
4 80 120 130
5 100 150 160
6 120 180 190
7 140 210 220
Slams
Not Vul Vul
Small 500 750
Grand 1000 1500
Rubbers
Three Games 500
Two Games 700
Unfinished Rubbers
Game 300
Part Score 50
Overtricks
per overtrick Not
Vul Vul
Not Doubled trick value
Doubled 100 200
Redoubled 200 400
Undertricks
Not Doubled Doubled
Not Vul Vul Not Vul Vul
1 50 100 100 200
2 100 200 300 500
3 150 300 500 800
4 200 400 800 1100
5 250 500 1100 1400
6 300 600 1400 1700
7 350 700 1700 2000
Other Bonuses
4 trump honours in one hand 100
5 trump honours in one hand 150
4 aces in one hand (NT) 150
Making a doubled Contract 50
Making a redoubled Contract 100
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No
How to Play Bridge
pass by saying no bid or pass This indicates that the player
does not wish to bid double or redouble on that round but a
player who has passed is still allowed to bid double or redouble
at a later turn NB Either no bid or pass is permissible but
you should stick to one term or the other No bid is usual in
Britain pass is usual in the USA
If all four players pass on their first turn to speak the hand is said to
be passed out The cards are thrown in and the next dealer deals
If anyone bids then the auction continues until there are three passes
in succession and then stops After three consecutive passes the last
bid becomes the contract The team who made the final bid will now
try to make the contract The first player of this team who mentioned
the denomination (suit or no trumps) of the contract becomes the
declarer The declarers partner is known as the dummy
Example of an auction (North dealt)
North East South West
Pass 1 heart double 3 hearts
3 spades Pass 4 spades Pass
Pass Pass
North-South will try to win at least 10 tricks with spades as trumps
North who mentioned spades first is the declarer Souths double of
one heart was cancelled by Wests bid of 3 hearts
The Play
The player to the left of the declarer leads to the first trick and may
play any card Immediately after this opening lead the dummys cards
are exposed The dummy should arrange them neatly in suits the
cards of each suit arranged in rank order in an overlapping column
pointing towards the declarer so that all the cards are clearly visible
The trump suit if any should be to dummys right (declarers left) in
the diagram spades are trump
How to Play Bridge
Play proceeds clockwise Each of the other three players in turn must
if possible play a card of the same suit that the leader played A player
with no card of the suit led may play any card A trick consists of four
cards one from each player and is won by the highest trump in it or
if no trumps were played by the highest card of the suit led The
winner of a trick leads to the next and may lead any card
Each trick is gathered together and turned face down when complete
but you may ask to see the cards and ask who played which card until
you or your partner has played to the next trick The tricks won are to
be arranged neatly in front of one member of the winning side so that
they can easily be counted
Dummy takes no active part in the play of the hand Whenever it is
dummys turn to play the declarer must say which of dummys cards
is to be played and dummy plays the card as instructed (provided that
it is legal) Dummy is not permitted to offer any advice or comment
on the play When dummy wins a trick the declarer specifies which
card dummy should lead to the next trick If when calling for a card
the declarer specifies the suit only dummy is to play the lowest card
of that suit
It is also legal and not unusual for the declarer to play dummys
cards by physically taking them from dummys hand rather than just
calling for them This allows the dummy player to leave the table
during the play of the hand
Scoring
As its name suggests rubber bridge is played in rubbers A rubber is
the best of three games A game is won by the first team to score 100
or more points for successful contracts over several deals if
necessary
A side which has already won one game towards the current rubber is
said to be vulnerable A side which has not yet won a game is not
vulnerable A side which is vulnerable is subject to higher bonuses
and penalties than one that is not
How to Play Bridge
The score is kept on a piece of paper divided into two columns headed
WE and THEY for the two teams with a horizontal line part-way
down (see sample) Scores for successful contracts are entered below
the line and count towards winning a game Other scores such as
bonuses for tricks made in excess of the contract (overtricks) or
penalties for tricks short of the contract (undertricks) are entered
above the line and do not count towards winning the game
Score for making the contract
For a successful contract the score below the line for each trick (in
excess of 6) bid and made is as follows
If trumps are Clubs or Diamonds 20 per trick
If trumps are Hearts or Spades 30 per trick
If there are No Trumps 40 for the first trick and 30 for each
subsequent trick
If the contract was doubled the above scores are doubled If it was
doubled and redoubled they are multiplied by 4
In addition the declarers side scores an extra 50 points above the line
if they succeed in a doubled contract This is sometimes known as 50
for the insult For making a redoubled contract the bonus is 100
above the line
Because of the difference in score clubs and diamonds are called the
minor suits and hearts and spades are the major suits
Slam bonus
A contract to make 12 tricks is known as a small slam A contract to
make all 13 tricks is called a grand slam For bidding and making a
slam declarers side get an extra bonus above the line depending on
their vulnerability as follows
Slam bonus small slam grand slam
not vulnerable 500 1000
vulnerable 750 1500
How to Play Bridge
Score for overtricks
If the declarers side wins more tricks than were bid and were not
doubled then in addition to the score below the line for the contract
they score for the overtricks above the line at the same rate as for bid
tricks - ie 20 per trick if a minor suit was trumps 30 per trick in a
major suit or no trumps
If the contract was doubled or redoubled the bonus for overtricks
does not depend on the trump suit but does depend on whether the
declarers side was vulnerable as follows
Score per overtrick doubled redoubled
not vulnerable 100 200
vulnerable 200 400
Penalty for undertricks
If the declarers side win fewer tricks than they bid neither side scores
anything below the line but the declarers opponents score above the
line This score depends on the declarers sides vulnerability and
whether the contract was doubled or redoubled as follows
Undertrick penalty not vulnerable vulnerable
Not doubled - each undertrick 50 100
Doubled - first undertrick 100 200
Doubled - 2nd and 3rd undertrick 200 each 300 each
Doubled - subsequent undertricks 300 each 300 each
Redoubled undertricks cost twice as much as doubled
undertricks
How to Play Bridge
Honours
The top five trumps (A K Q J 10) are called honours If one player
holds all five of these cards that players side scores a bonus of 150
above the line Four honours in one hand score 100 If there are no
trumps and a player holds four aces that players side scores 150 for
honours
Scores for honours are to be claimed at the end of the play (it is
assumed that the players will remember what they held)
As there is no skill in scoring for honours players often agree to play
without the honour bonuses
Game and Rubber
A side that accumulates 100 points or more below the line has won a
game A new line is drawn under the scores Anything the opponents
had below the line does not count towards the next game - they start
from zero again
It is important to notice that starting from zero and in the absence of
doubles to make a game in one hand you need to succeed in a
contract of at least three no trumps four spades four hearts five clubs
or five diamonds
The side which first wins two games wins the rubber For this they get
a bonus of 700 if they won it two games to zero or 500 if it was two
games to one Both sides scores are then totaled and if the game is
being played for money the side with the higher score wins an
amount proportional to the difference in scores from the side with the
lower score
If play ends for any reason with a rubber unfinished then a side with
a game gets a bonus of 300 points and a side with a part score (ie a
score below the line towards an uncompleted game) gets a bonus of
100
How to Play Bridge
Example of Rubber Bridge scoring
The scoresheet of a completed rubber might look like the example
below (The letters in brackets indicate successive deals as described
in the corresponding footnotes - they would not appear on the
scoresheet)
We They
500
(f)
50 (f)
100
(f)
200
(e)
500
(i)
300
(b)
30 (g)
60 (a) 30 (c)
The Line
60 (a) 100
(c)
End of Game
360
(f)
90 (d)
End of Game
60 (h) 40 (g)
90 (i)
End of
Rubber
(a) we bid 2 hearts and made 10 tricks - 60 below the line for the
contract and 60 above for the overtricks
How to Play Bridge
(b) they bid 4 spades we doubled them and they took only 8 tricks -
we score 100 for their first undertrick and 200 for the second
(c) they bid 3 no trumps and made 10 tricks This gives them a game
(100 below the line) plus 30 above the line for their overtrick A new
line is ruled below the scores to indicate the start of a new game
(d) they bid and made 3 spades
(e) they bid two diamonds and made 6 tricks - they are now
vulnerable so we score 100 for each undertrick
(f) we bid 6 hearts they doubled us but we won all 13 tricks We
score 360 (180 x 2) below the line for our doubled contract giving us
a game 100 above for our doubled non-vulnerable overtrick 50
above for making a doubled contract and 500 bonus for a small slam
bid and made
(g) they bid one no trump and took 8 tricks note that their 90 on deal
(d) was part of the previous game so the 40 below does not give them
a game
(h) we bid 3 clubs and made exactly 9 tricks
(i) they bid 3 hearts and took exactly 9 tricks giving their second
game and the rubber for a bonus of 500 (two games to one)
Adding up the scores we have 1690 and they have 880 Therefore we
have won by 810 points (even though they won the rubber)
In this example the above the line scores were entered starting
immediately above the line and working upwards This is traditional
at least in Britain but not necessary - you can start at the top just
below the WE-THEY headings and work downwards if you prefer
There is a Contract Bridge Scoring Card at the back of this book
How to Play Bridge
DUPLICATE BRIDGE
Duplicate Bridge the system we generally play at Alrewas Bridge
Club is only slightly different to Contract Bridge
In rubber bridge although the better players have a noticable edge
and will undoubtedly win in the long run the outcome of a single
rubber depends heavily on which side is dealt the better cards The
idea of duplicate bridge is to eliminate this element of luck by
having the same hands played more than once by different sets of
players
Suppose we are partners and play a hand of duplicate bridge as North-
South Instead of being rewarded for our absolute score on that hand
our score is compared with those of other players who played the
same deal as North-South against other opponents We win if we
score better than other players managed with our cards and lose if we
score worse
For this comparison to be fair it is necessary that each group of
players who play the same deal should start from the same position
Therefore it is not practicable to play rubbers where the scores
carried forward from deal to deal affect the tactical situation Instead
each deal is scored in its own right and does not affect the scores for
subsequent ones The concept of vulnerability is retained but on each
deal the vulnerability is preassigned
Boards
An almost essential piece of apparatus for playing duplicate bridge is
a set of duplicate boards and a pack of cards for each board Each
board contains four pockets marked North East South and West in
which the cards for the four players are stored Each board also carries
a number to identify it and has marks showing which of the players is
dealer and whether each team is vulnerable or not
Before the boards are played the cards are shuffled dealt and placed
in the pockets by a neutral person or by a player in the presence at
least one opponent
How to Play Bridge
When about to play a board the players take their cards from the
appropriate pockets check to see that they have 13 each and then bid
as usual The mark on the board showing the dealer in practice just
indicates which player is to begin the bidding The opening lead is
always made face down as explained above to give the leaders
partner an opportunity to ask questions about the bidding before the
led card is shown During the play the cards are not played in the
centre of the table but in front of the players At the end of each trick
all four players turn their played card face down The cards played by
each player are overlapped with the longer axis of the card pointing
to the winners of the trick (ie the cards belonging to tricks you have
won are placed upright from your point of view and the ones
belonging to lost tricks sideways) That way you can easily see how
many tricks you have won Also if the cards are kept in order any
dispute about revokes or tricks won or lost can be settled by
reconstructing the play At the end of the play each players cards are
gathered up and replaced in the correct pocket ready for the next time
the board is to be played
When this method of play is used dummy is expected to remain at the
table if at all possible and declarer then always calls dummys cards
rather than pulling them from the dummy You may ask to look at the
cards played to a trick by the other players as long as your own card is
face up Once you have turned your card face down you no longer
have the right to see any of the other cards played to that trick
(Unless you are dummy you are still allowed to peek at your own
played card without exposing it until the lead is made to the next
trick) Scoring
Each board is marked to show whether both sides one side or neither
side is vulnerable for that board You still need to score at least 100
points for tricks bid and made to make a game but on each board
both sides start with zero points towards games - there are no part
scores carried forward
In place of the rubber bonus there are game and part score bonuses
Making a game when vulnerable 500 points
How to Play Bridge
Making a game when not vulnerable 300 points
Making a part score any time 50 points
The rest of the scores are the same as in rubber bridge except that
there are no bonuses for honours in duplicate bridge
BRIDGEMATES
Fortunately although it is good know how the scoring system works
in our case all the scoring is done via our BridgeMates wireless
system All we (generally the players sitting at North table) have to
do is to enter the contract and the result and the system displays the
scores on the computer
MODERN ACOL (Standard English)
There are several methods of bidding Acol is the most used and
there are versions of Acol Modern Acol is the system we use at
Alrewas Bridge Club
Many years ago I was called in to help with a problem Apparently
there were a team of four aspiring rowers who for some odd reason
although there were all fit strong young and healthy trained hard
every day they just couldnrsquot win any rowing races Within minutes I
discovered the reason for their lack of success One of them was
sitting the wrong way round Once corrected their fame became
legendary
However apocryphal this story illustrates the need for all of us to be
paddling in the same direction or in our case to be all playing the
same system particularly so as we generally draw for partners at the
beginning of each playing session Experience players are expected
to play this system particularly when playing with newer members
How to Play Bridge
Bidding Standard English (Acol)
Bidding between partners is an exchange of information Using a very
restricted vocabulary each player in turn tries to describe his hand
The objective is to provide enough information so that one player can
make the decision what suit (if any) should be trumps and how many
tricks should we attempt to take
Initially we will consider the bidding as a dialogue between the pair
with the majority of the high-card strength this is frequently the case
However there are times when the values are more evenly distributed
between the pairs and both sides are then involved in the bidding
phase For now we will ignore this possibility it will be easier to
consider bidding as a partnership exercise before thinking about how
things change when both pairs are bidding
The most important considerations when evaluating your hand for an
opening bid are the high-card strength and the shape of the hand An
opening bid generally requires 12 or more points
Opening the bidding balanced hands
A balanced hand means
no singleton or void
not more than 1 doubleton
no 6-card or longer suit
With 12-14 points (Ace = 4 King = 3 Queen = 2 Jack = 1) and
a balanced hand with no 5-card major suit open 1 No Trump
With 20-22 points and a balanced hand open with a bid of 2NT
With an exceptional hand of 23+ points you will start with an
artificial opening bid of 2clubs - see below
How to Play Bridge
With a balanced hand of 15-19 points you do not initially bid
no trumps You will bid No Trumps later start with a bid in a
suit
Responding to 1NT with a balanced hand
(See Chart 4 at end of book)
Opening with a suit bid
open your longest suit
with two 5-card suits open the higher-ranking
with two 4-card suits open the higher-ranking Exception with
Spades and Hearts open 1
with three 4-card suits open the middle of 3 in a row or the suit
below the ldquogaprdquo
With a hand of exceptional strength where you do not want partner to
pass even with a very weak hand there is the option of opening with a
strong bid of 2 of your long suit or exceptionally 2clubs (artificial and
strong) ndash see below
Responding to an opening bid of 1clubs 1diams 1hearts 1spades
Raising partnerrsquos suit
with less than 6 points pass
6-9 points raise to the 2-level
How to Play Bridge
10-12 points raise to the 3-level
13+ points raise to the 4-level (in a major)
Responding in No Trumps
1 No Trumps 6-9 points (denies a suit that can be bid at
the 1-level or support for partnerrsquos major suit)
2 No Trumps 10-12 points balanced hand
3 No Trumps 13-15 points balanced hand
Responding in a new suit
a response in a new suit to an opening bid of 1 of a suit is
forcing partner cannot pass
respond in your longest suit
with two 5-card suits respond in the higher-ranking You will
then bid the other suit if practical to give partner a choice
with two or three 4-card suits make the most economical
response
bid your own suit before supporting partnerrsquos minor suit
do not bid in a new suit at the 2-level with less than 9 points
How to Play Bridge
remember that if you lack the strength to respond at the 2-level
you may instead respond 1NT (this need not show a balanced
hand)
a ldquojump shiftrdquo response in a new suit shows 16+ points and is
forcing to game
raising partnerrsquos major suit is a priority
do not raise partnerrsquos minor suit if there is an alternative such as
responding in a suit at the 1-level
Openerrsquos second bid
(1) With a weak hand
Pass if partner has made a non-forcing bid (ie a raise of your
suit or a no trump response)
support partnerrsquos major suit with 4-card support
rebid in a new suit at the 1-level
rebid in a lower-ranking suit at the 2-level (NB the ldquosafety
levelrdquo)
rebid your first suit at the lowest level with at least 5 cards
(2) With a strong hand
Jump raise partnerrsquos major suit (promises at least 4-card
support)
Jump rebid your own long (6-card +) suit
Jump in a new suit ndash forcing to game
How to Play Bridge
Bid a new suit at the 2-level above the ldquosafety levelrdquo ndash a reverse
showing a strong hand This is forcing if partner responded in a
suit at the 2-level
(3) With a balanced hand
rebid in No Trumps to show a balanced hand (but prefer to
bid a major suit if you can)
rebid No Trumps at the lowest level with 15-16 points
rebid No Trumps with a jump with 17-18 points
rebid 3NT with 19 points
Strong Opening Bids
Some hands are very powerful With this type of hand you would
normally open the bidding at the 2-level
An opening bid of 2 2 and 2 show a hand worth about 8 playing
tricks in the suit bid or possibly a strong two-suited hand with similar
strength The idea is that if you were to open with a bid of one of a
suit partner may pass and you may miss game (or even a slam) The
bid is forcing for one round (ie partner must respond)
Normal requirements to open 2 2 and 2
8 Playing Tricks
How to Play Bridge
Responses
2NT is the Negative Response It denies the ability to make any other
response Having given a negative response responder may pass on
the next round if opener makes a simple rebid of the suit that he
opened or bids a second suit without a jump
Positive Responses Any positive response is forcing to game
(at least)
A single raise (eg 2 - 3 ) promises a fit and an ace The hand may
have little more than those minimum requirements or it may be a
strong hand when responder will explore for slam
A double raise (eg 2 - 4) shows trump support with strictly
speaking two second-round controls (Kings or singletons) but denies
an Ace (with an Ace responder would make the stronger single raise
leaving more room to explore for a slam) A single raise is stronger
than a double raise Note it is now common practice to make the
double raise on any hand with support for partner and some values but
lacking an ace the old requirement for two second-round controls
tends to be ignored
A response in a new suit (eg 2 - 3) shows a good 5-card or longer
suit and 7+ points Lacking these basic requirements begin with an
alternative response (perhaps even a negative 2NT and then show
signs of life later in the auction) Do not respond in a bad suit
A jump to 3NT (eg 2 - 3NT) indicates a balanced hand with 10-12
points
A jump in a new suit (eg 2 - 4) promises a solid suit (AKQxxx at
least)
How to Play Bridge
The 2NT opening bid
This shows a balanced hand with 20-22 points It is not forcing but
responder needs only 4+ points to know that the values for game are
probably there
Responses a bid of 3hearts or 3spades shows a 5-card suit and asks opener to
choose between game in no trumps (with only two cards in
responderrsquos suit) or game in the major (ie 4hearts or 4spades)
Acol 2 Opening Bid
The artificial opening bid of 2 shows a super strong hand with either
23+ points in a balanced hand (ie too strong to open with an Acol
2NT bid) or a hand that is too strong even to open with a strong
forcing bid of two of a suit
Responding to a 2 Opening
Negative Response
The response with less than 7 points is an artificial bid of 2 The
opener rebids naturally showing his long suit or bidding NT on a
balanced hand The opening bid of 2 is forcing to game
Exception to the rule there is only one situation where the opening
bid of 2 is not forcing to game If after a 2 negative response
opener rebids 2NT he is showing a balanced 23-24 points With
absolutely no values responder may pass this 2NT rebid However
with as little as 2 or 3 points he should bid again responding to the
2NT rebid in a similar manner to the way in which he would respond
to a 2NT opening bid (ie Stayman 3 and 3 forcing)
Remember how strong the opening hand is before you take the
decision to pass the 2NT rebid
How to Play Bridge
NB if opener after 2 - 2 makes any rebid other than 2NT the
responder must keep the bidding open until game (at least) is reached
Positive responses to a 2 opening
2 2 3 3 7+ points and a 5-card suit or a 4-card suit
headed by the A or K
2NT balanced 7-9 points
3NT balanced 10-12 points
Overcalls and Responses
OVERCALLS
In this section we will be highlighting 3 types of overcalls
Simple Overcall
This is usually a weak bid with as little as 8-12 points but is ideal in
disrupting communication between your opponents and also
informing your partner that you hold a good 5 card suit
For the purposes of illustration we will assume that the opponent on
your right has opened 1 Club You hold a good 5 card suit in Spades
but with only 8-12 points How should you bid
Suit Quality Test
To enable you to bid correctly you should firstly apply the lsquosuit
qualityrsquo test Simply count the length of your long suit in this case
spades and add the number of honour cards in that suit The total is
the strength of your suit quality If the total is 7 then you can make
and overcall of 1 Spade If the total is 8 then you can make an
overcall of 2 Spades and so on
How to Play Bridge
Jump Overcall
For a sound jump overcall you would need to have a 6 card suit
together with a suit quality of 8+ and an opening hand of 12+ points
1 NT Overcall
15-18 points with a balanced hand and a stopper in opponentrsquos suit
RESPONSES TO OVERCALLS
Remember that your partner has overcalled on what is probably a
weak hand with only one good suit and with the intention of
obstructing your opponents Therefore the majority of responses to
his overcall should also be barrages However there are responses
available
Supporting Partner
This is the bid your partner wants to hear most of all because it
means that you are cooperating with the idea of using up your
opponents bidding space All bids supporting partners overcall are
weak To determine your bid the deciding factor is the number of
trumps that you hold Assuming that your partner holds a five card
suit for his overcall you should raise your partners overcall to the
same number of tricks that you have trumps between you
So if you think you have a total of eight trumps between you you
should raise partner to 8 tricks (the two level) If you think you have
nine trumps raise to nine tricks (the three level) and so on
So in a barrage situation it is the number of trumps you hold and the
distribution of your hand that is important not your points
How to Play Bridge
RESPONDING WITH A STRONG HAND
What about when the responder has a genuinely good hand
Obviously you canrsquot just support partner and hope he understands
You must make a different bid and the easiest is the so-called un-
assuming cue bid This is a complicated sounding bid but actually
just involves calling the opponents suit at the lowest available level
What the bid means is that you think that you and your partner hold
the majority of the points and that there might be a game contract in
the offing by your side In other words whereas supporting your
partner is crying wolf to make life difficult for your opponents this
bid is saying that you genuinely think your side holds the majority of
the values and that there may be a possibility of bidding to game
How to Play Bridge
Contract Bridge (Rubber) Scoring
Contracts
NT
1 20 30 40
2 40 60 70
3 60 90 100
4 80 120 130
5 100 150 160
6 120 180 190
7 140 210 220
Slams
Not Vul Vul
Small 500 750
Grand 1000 1500
Rubbers
Three Games 500
Two Games 700
Unfinished Rubbers
Game 300
Part Score 50
Overtricks
per overtrick Not
Vul Vul
Not Doubled trick value
Doubled 100 200
Redoubled 200 400
Undertricks
Not Doubled Doubled
Not Vul Vul Not Vul Vul
1 50 100 100 200
2 100 200 300 500
3 150 300 500 800
4 200 400 800 1100
5 250 500 1100 1400
6 300 600 1400 1700
7 350 700 1700 2000
Other Bonuses
4 trump honours in one hand 100
5 trump honours in one hand 150
4 aces in one hand (NT) 150
Making a doubled Contract 50
Making a redoubled Contract 100
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No
How to Play Bridge
Play proceeds clockwise Each of the other three players in turn must
if possible play a card of the same suit that the leader played A player
with no card of the suit led may play any card A trick consists of four
cards one from each player and is won by the highest trump in it or
if no trumps were played by the highest card of the suit led The
winner of a trick leads to the next and may lead any card
Each trick is gathered together and turned face down when complete
but you may ask to see the cards and ask who played which card until
you or your partner has played to the next trick The tricks won are to
be arranged neatly in front of one member of the winning side so that
they can easily be counted
Dummy takes no active part in the play of the hand Whenever it is
dummys turn to play the declarer must say which of dummys cards
is to be played and dummy plays the card as instructed (provided that
it is legal) Dummy is not permitted to offer any advice or comment
on the play When dummy wins a trick the declarer specifies which
card dummy should lead to the next trick If when calling for a card
the declarer specifies the suit only dummy is to play the lowest card
of that suit
It is also legal and not unusual for the declarer to play dummys
cards by physically taking them from dummys hand rather than just
calling for them This allows the dummy player to leave the table
during the play of the hand
Scoring
As its name suggests rubber bridge is played in rubbers A rubber is
the best of three games A game is won by the first team to score 100
or more points for successful contracts over several deals if
necessary
A side which has already won one game towards the current rubber is
said to be vulnerable A side which has not yet won a game is not
vulnerable A side which is vulnerable is subject to higher bonuses
and penalties than one that is not
How to Play Bridge
The score is kept on a piece of paper divided into two columns headed
WE and THEY for the two teams with a horizontal line part-way
down (see sample) Scores for successful contracts are entered below
the line and count towards winning a game Other scores such as
bonuses for tricks made in excess of the contract (overtricks) or
penalties for tricks short of the contract (undertricks) are entered
above the line and do not count towards winning the game
Score for making the contract
For a successful contract the score below the line for each trick (in
excess of 6) bid and made is as follows
If trumps are Clubs or Diamonds 20 per trick
If trumps are Hearts or Spades 30 per trick
If there are No Trumps 40 for the first trick and 30 for each
subsequent trick
If the contract was doubled the above scores are doubled If it was
doubled and redoubled they are multiplied by 4
In addition the declarers side scores an extra 50 points above the line
if they succeed in a doubled contract This is sometimes known as 50
for the insult For making a redoubled contract the bonus is 100
above the line
Because of the difference in score clubs and diamonds are called the
minor suits and hearts and spades are the major suits
Slam bonus
A contract to make 12 tricks is known as a small slam A contract to
make all 13 tricks is called a grand slam For bidding and making a
slam declarers side get an extra bonus above the line depending on
their vulnerability as follows
Slam bonus small slam grand slam
not vulnerable 500 1000
vulnerable 750 1500
How to Play Bridge
Score for overtricks
If the declarers side wins more tricks than were bid and were not
doubled then in addition to the score below the line for the contract
they score for the overtricks above the line at the same rate as for bid
tricks - ie 20 per trick if a minor suit was trumps 30 per trick in a
major suit or no trumps
If the contract was doubled or redoubled the bonus for overtricks
does not depend on the trump suit but does depend on whether the
declarers side was vulnerable as follows
Score per overtrick doubled redoubled
not vulnerable 100 200
vulnerable 200 400
Penalty for undertricks
If the declarers side win fewer tricks than they bid neither side scores
anything below the line but the declarers opponents score above the
line This score depends on the declarers sides vulnerability and
whether the contract was doubled or redoubled as follows
Undertrick penalty not vulnerable vulnerable
Not doubled - each undertrick 50 100
Doubled - first undertrick 100 200
Doubled - 2nd and 3rd undertrick 200 each 300 each
Doubled - subsequent undertricks 300 each 300 each
Redoubled undertricks cost twice as much as doubled
undertricks
How to Play Bridge
Honours
The top five trumps (A K Q J 10) are called honours If one player
holds all five of these cards that players side scores a bonus of 150
above the line Four honours in one hand score 100 If there are no
trumps and a player holds four aces that players side scores 150 for
honours
Scores for honours are to be claimed at the end of the play (it is
assumed that the players will remember what they held)
As there is no skill in scoring for honours players often agree to play
without the honour bonuses
Game and Rubber
A side that accumulates 100 points or more below the line has won a
game A new line is drawn under the scores Anything the opponents
had below the line does not count towards the next game - they start
from zero again
It is important to notice that starting from zero and in the absence of
doubles to make a game in one hand you need to succeed in a
contract of at least three no trumps four spades four hearts five clubs
or five diamonds
The side which first wins two games wins the rubber For this they get
a bonus of 700 if they won it two games to zero or 500 if it was two
games to one Both sides scores are then totaled and if the game is
being played for money the side with the higher score wins an
amount proportional to the difference in scores from the side with the
lower score
If play ends for any reason with a rubber unfinished then a side with
a game gets a bonus of 300 points and a side with a part score (ie a
score below the line towards an uncompleted game) gets a bonus of
100
How to Play Bridge
Example of Rubber Bridge scoring
The scoresheet of a completed rubber might look like the example
below (The letters in brackets indicate successive deals as described
in the corresponding footnotes - they would not appear on the
scoresheet)
We They
500
(f)
50 (f)
100
(f)
200
(e)
500
(i)
300
(b)
30 (g)
60 (a) 30 (c)
The Line
60 (a) 100
(c)
End of Game
360
(f)
90 (d)
End of Game
60 (h) 40 (g)
90 (i)
End of
Rubber
(a) we bid 2 hearts and made 10 tricks - 60 below the line for the
contract and 60 above for the overtricks
How to Play Bridge
(b) they bid 4 spades we doubled them and they took only 8 tricks -
we score 100 for their first undertrick and 200 for the second
(c) they bid 3 no trumps and made 10 tricks This gives them a game
(100 below the line) plus 30 above the line for their overtrick A new
line is ruled below the scores to indicate the start of a new game
(d) they bid and made 3 spades
(e) they bid two diamonds and made 6 tricks - they are now
vulnerable so we score 100 for each undertrick
(f) we bid 6 hearts they doubled us but we won all 13 tricks We
score 360 (180 x 2) below the line for our doubled contract giving us
a game 100 above for our doubled non-vulnerable overtrick 50
above for making a doubled contract and 500 bonus for a small slam
bid and made
(g) they bid one no trump and took 8 tricks note that their 90 on deal
(d) was part of the previous game so the 40 below does not give them
a game
(h) we bid 3 clubs and made exactly 9 tricks
(i) they bid 3 hearts and took exactly 9 tricks giving their second
game and the rubber for a bonus of 500 (two games to one)
Adding up the scores we have 1690 and they have 880 Therefore we
have won by 810 points (even though they won the rubber)
In this example the above the line scores were entered starting
immediately above the line and working upwards This is traditional
at least in Britain but not necessary - you can start at the top just
below the WE-THEY headings and work downwards if you prefer
There is a Contract Bridge Scoring Card at the back of this book
How to Play Bridge
DUPLICATE BRIDGE
Duplicate Bridge the system we generally play at Alrewas Bridge
Club is only slightly different to Contract Bridge
In rubber bridge although the better players have a noticable edge
and will undoubtedly win in the long run the outcome of a single
rubber depends heavily on which side is dealt the better cards The
idea of duplicate bridge is to eliminate this element of luck by
having the same hands played more than once by different sets of
players
Suppose we are partners and play a hand of duplicate bridge as North-
South Instead of being rewarded for our absolute score on that hand
our score is compared with those of other players who played the
same deal as North-South against other opponents We win if we
score better than other players managed with our cards and lose if we
score worse
For this comparison to be fair it is necessary that each group of
players who play the same deal should start from the same position
Therefore it is not practicable to play rubbers where the scores
carried forward from deal to deal affect the tactical situation Instead
each deal is scored in its own right and does not affect the scores for
subsequent ones The concept of vulnerability is retained but on each
deal the vulnerability is preassigned
Boards
An almost essential piece of apparatus for playing duplicate bridge is
a set of duplicate boards and a pack of cards for each board Each
board contains four pockets marked North East South and West in
which the cards for the four players are stored Each board also carries
a number to identify it and has marks showing which of the players is
dealer and whether each team is vulnerable or not
Before the boards are played the cards are shuffled dealt and placed
in the pockets by a neutral person or by a player in the presence at
least one opponent
How to Play Bridge
When about to play a board the players take their cards from the
appropriate pockets check to see that they have 13 each and then bid
as usual The mark on the board showing the dealer in practice just
indicates which player is to begin the bidding The opening lead is
always made face down as explained above to give the leaders
partner an opportunity to ask questions about the bidding before the
led card is shown During the play the cards are not played in the
centre of the table but in front of the players At the end of each trick
all four players turn their played card face down The cards played by
each player are overlapped with the longer axis of the card pointing
to the winners of the trick (ie the cards belonging to tricks you have
won are placed upright from your point of view and the ones
belonging to lost tricks sideways) That way you can easily see how
many tricks you have won Also if the cards are kept in order any
dispute about revokes or tricks won or lost can be settled by
reconstructing the play At the end of the play each players cards are
gathered up and replaced in the correct pocket ready for the next time
the board is to be played
When this method of play is used dummy is expected to remain at the
table if at all possible and declarer then always calls dummys cards
rather than pulling them from the dummy You may ask to look at the
cards played to a trick by the other players as long as your own card is
face up Once you have turned your card face down you no longer
have the right to see any of the other cards played to that trick
(Unless you are dummy you are still allowed to peek at your own
played card without exposing it until the lead is made to the next
trick) Scoring
Each board is marked to show whether both sides one side or neither
side is vulnerable for that board You still need to score at least 100
points for tricks bid and made to make a game but on each board
both sides start with zero points towards games - there are no part
scores carried forward
In place of the rubber bonus there are game and part score bonuses
Making a game when vulnerable 500 points
How to Play Bridge
Making a game when not vulnerable 300 points
Making a part score any time 50 points
The rest of the scores are the same as in rubber bridge except that
there are no bonuses for honours in duplicate bridge
BRIDGEMATES
Fortunately although it is good know how the scoring system works
in our case all the scoring is done via our BridgeMates wireless
system All we (generally the players sitting at North table) have to
do is to enter the contract and the result and the system displays the
scores on the computer
MODERN ACOL (Standard English)
There are several methods of bidding Acol is the most used and
there are versions of Acol Modern Acol is the system we use at
Alrewas Bridge Club
Many years ago I was called in to help with a problem Apparently
there were a team of four aspiring rowers who for some odd reason
although there were all fit strong young and healthy trained hard
every day they just couldnrsquot win any rowing races Within minutes I
discovered the reason for their lack of success One of them was
sitting the wrong way round Once corrected their fame became
legendary
However apocryphal this story illustrates the need for all of us to be
paddling in the same direction or in our case to be all playing the
same system particularly so as we generally draw for partners at the
beginning of each playing session Experience players are expected
to play this system particularly when playing with newer members
How to Play Bridge
Bidding Standard English (Acol)
Bidding between partners is an exchange of information Using a very
restricted vocabulary each player in turn tries to describe his hand
The objective is to provide enough information so that one player can
make the decision what suit (if any) should be trumps and how many
tricks should we attempt to take
Initially we will consider the bidding as a dialogue between the pair
with the majority of the high-card strength this is frequently the case
However there are times when the values are more evenly distributed
between the pairs and both sides are then involved in the bidding
phase For now we will ignore this possibility it will be easier to
consider bidding as a partnership exercise before thinking about how
things change when both pairs are bidding
The most important considerations when evaluating your hand for an
opening bid are the high-card strength and the shape of the hand An
opening bid generally requires 12 or more points
Opening the bidding balanced hands
A balanced hand means
no singleton or void
not more than 1 doubleton
no 6-card or longer suit
With 12-14 points (Ace = 4 King = 3 Queen = 2 Jack = 1) and
a balanced hand with no 5-card major suit open 1 No Trump
With 20-22 points and a balanced hand open with a bid of 2NT
With an exceptional hand of 23+ points you will start with an
artificial opening bid of 2clubs - see below
How to Play Bridge
With a balanced hand of 15-19 points you do not initially bid
no trumps You will bid No Trumps later start with a bid in a
suit
Responding to 1NT with a balanced hand
(See Chart 4 at end of book)
Opening with a suit bid
open your longest suit
with two 5-card suits open the higher-ranking
with two 4-card suits open the higher-ranking Exception with
Spades and Hearts open 1
with three 4-card suits open the middle of 3 in a row or the suit
below the ldquogaprdquo
With a hand of exceptional strength where you do not want partner to
pass even with a very weak hand there is the option of opening with a
strong bid of 2 of your long suit or exceptionally 2clubs (artificial and
strong) ndash see below
Responding to an opening bid of 1clubs 1diams 1hearts 1spades
Raising partnerrsquos suit
with less than 6 points pass
6-9 points raise to the 2-level
How to Play Bridge
10-12 points raise to the 3-level
13+ points raise to the 4-level (in a major)
Responding in No Trumps
1 No Trumps 6-9 points (denies a suit that can be bid at
the 1-level or support for partnerrsquos major suit)
2 No Trumps 10-12 points balanced hand
3 No Trumps 13-15 points balanced hand
Responding in a new suit
a response in a new suit to an opening bid of 1 of a suit is
forcing partner cannot pass
respond in your longest suit
with two 5-card suits respond in the higher-ranking You will
then bid the other suit if practical to give partner a choice
with two or three 4-card suits make the most economical
response
bid your own suit before supporting partnerrsquos minor suit
do not bid in a new suit at the 2-level with less than 9 points
How to Play Bridge
remember that if you lack the strength to respond at the 2-level
you may instead respond 1NT (this need not show a balanced
hand)
a ldquojump shiftrdquo response in a new suit shows 16+ points and is
forcing to game
raising partnerrsquos major suit is a priority
do not raise partnerrsquos minor suit if there is an alternative such as
responding in a suit at the 1-level
Openerrsquos second bid
(1) With a weak hand
Pass if partner has made a non-forcing bid (ie a raise of your
suit or a no trump response)
support partnerrsquos major suit with 4-card support
rebid in a new suit at the 1-level
rebid in a lower-ranking suit at the 2-level (NB the ldquosafety
levelrdquo)
rebid your first suit at the lowest level with at least 5 cards
(2) With a strong hand
Jump raise partnerrsquos major suit (promises at least 4-card
support)
Jump rebid your own long (6-card +) suit
Jump in a new suit ndash forcing to game
How to Play Bridge
Bid a new suit at the 2-level above the ldquosafety levelrdquo ndash a reverse
showing a strong hand This is forcing if partner responded in a
suit at the 2-level
(3) With a balanced hand
rebid in No Trumps to show a balanced hand (but prefer to
bid a major suit if you can)
rebid No Trumps at the lowest level with 15-16 points
rebid No Trumps with a jump with 17-18 points
rebid 3NT with 19 points
Strong Opening Bids
Some hands are very powerful With this type of hand you would
normally open the bidding at the 2-level
An opening bid of 2 2 and 2 show a hand worth about 8 playing
tricks in the suit bid or possibly a strong two-suited hand with similar
strength The idea is that if you were to open with a bid of one of a
suit partner may pass and you may miss game (or even a slam) The
bid is forcing for one round (ie partner must respond)
Normal requirements to open 2 2 and 2
8 Playing Tricks
How to Play Bridge
Responses
2NT is the Negative Response It denies the ability to make any other
response Having given a negative response responder may pass on
the next round if opener makes a simple rebid of the suit that he
opened or bids a second suit without a jump
Positive Responses Any positive response is forcing to game
(at least)
A single raise (eg 2 - 3 ) promises a fit and an ace The hand may
have little more than those minimum requirements or it may be a
strong hand when responder will explore for slam
A double raise (eg 2 - 4) shows trump support with strictly
speaking two second-round controls (Kings or singletons) but denies
an Ace (with an Ace responder would make the stronger single raise
leaving more room to explore for a slam) A single raise is stronger
than a double raise Note it is now common practice to make the
double raise on any hand with support for partner and some values but
lacking an ace the old requirement for two second-round controls
tends to be ignored
A response in a new suit (eg 2 - 3) shows a good 5-card or longer
suit and 7+ points Lacking these basic requirements begin with an
alternative response (perhaps even a negative 2NT and then show
signs of life later in the auction) Do not respond in a bad suit
A jump to 3NT (eg 2 - 3NT) indicates a balanced hand with 10-12
points
A jump in a new suit (eg 2 - 4) promises a solid suit (AKQxxx at
least)
How to Play Bridge
The 2NT opening bid
This shows a balanced hand with 20-22 points It is not forcing but
responder needs only 4+ points to know that the values for game are
probably there
Responses a bid of 3hearts or 3spades shows a 5-card suit and asks opener to
choose between game in no trumps (with only two cards in
responderrsquos suit) or game in the major (ie 4hearts or 4spades)
Acol 2 Opening Bid
The artificial opening bid of 2 shows a super strong hand with either
23+ points in a balanced hand (ie too strong to open with an Acol
2NT bid) or a hand that is too strong even to open with a strong
forcing bid of two of a suit
Responding to a 2 Opening
Negative Response
The response with less than 7 points is an artificial bid of 2 The
opener rebids naturally showing his long suit or bidding NT on a
balanced hand The opening bid of 2 is forcing to game
Exception to the rule there is only one situation where the opening
bid of 2 is not forcing to game If after a 2 negative response
opener rebids 2NT he is showing a balanced 23-24 points With
absolutely no values responder may pass this 2NT rebid However
with as little as 2 or 3 points he should bid again responding to the
2NT rebid in a similar manner to the way in which he would respond
to a 2NT opening bid (ie Stayman 3 and 3 forcing)
Remember how strong the opening hand is before you take the
decision to pass the 2NT rebid
How to Play Bridge
NB if opener after 2 - 2 makes any rebid other than 2NT the
responder must keep the bidding open until game (at least) is reached
Positive responses to a 2 opening
2 2 3 3 7+ points and a 5-card suit or a 4-card suit
headed by the A or K
2NT balanced 7-9 points
3NT balanced 10-12 points
Overcalls and Responses
OVERCALLS
In this section we will be highlighting 3 types of overcalls
Simple Overcall
This is usually a weak bid with as little as 8-12 points but is ideal in
disrupting communication between your opponents and also
informing your partner that you hold a good 5 card suit
For the purposes of illustration we will assume that the opponent on
your right has opened 1 Club You hold a good 5 card suit in Spades
but with only 8-12 points How should you bid
Suit Quality Test
To enable you to bid correctly you should firstly apply the lsquosuit
qualityrsquo test Simply count the length of your long suit in this case
spades and add the number of honour cards in that suit The total is
the strength of your suit quality If the total is 7 then you can make
and overcall of 1 Spade If the total is 8 then you can make an
overcall of 2 Spades and so on
How to Play Bridge
Jump Overcall
For a sound jump overcall you would need to have a 6 card suit
together with a suit quality of 8+ and an opening hand of 12+ points
1 NT Overcall
15-18 points with a balanced hand and a stopper in opponentrsquos suit
RESPONSES TO OVERCALLS
Remember that your partner has overcalled on what is probably a
weak hand with only one good suit and with the intention of
obstructing your opponents Therefore the majority of responses to
his overcall should also be barrages However there are responses
available
Supporting Partner
This is the bid your partner wants to hear most of all because it
means that you are cooperating with the idea of using up your
opponents bidding space All bids supporting partners overcall are
weak To determine your bid the deciding factor is the number of
trumps that you hold Assuming that your partner holds a five card
suit for his overcall you should raise your partners overcall to the
same number of tricks that you have trumps between you
So if you think you have a total of eight trumps between you you
should raise partner to 8 tricks (the two level) If you think you have
nine trumps raise to nine tricks (the three level) and so on
So in a barrage situation it is the number of trumps you hold and the
distribution of your hand that is important not your points
How to Play Bridge
RESPONDING WITH A STRONG HAND
What about when the responder has a genuinely good hand
Obviously you canrsquot just support partner and hope he understands
You must make a different bid and the easiest is the so-called un-
assuming cue bid This is a complicated sounding bid but actually
just involves calling the opponents suit at the lowest available level
What the bid means is that you think that you and your partner hold
the majority of the points and that there might be a game contract in
the offing by your side In other words whereas supporting your
partner is crying wolf to make life difficult for your opponents this
bid is saying that you genuinely think your side holds the majority of
the values and that there may be a possibility of bidding to game
How to Play Bridge
Contract Bridge (Rubber) Scoring
Contracts
NT
1 20 30 40
2 40 60 70
3 60 90 100
4 80 120 130
5 100 150 160
6 120 180 190
7 140 210 220
Slams
Not Vul Vul
Small 500 750
Grand 1000 1500
Rubbers
Three Games 500
Two Games 700
Unfinished Rubbers
Game 300
Part Score 50
Overtricks
per overtrick Not
Vul Vul
Not Doubled trick value
Doubled 100 200
Redoubled 200 400
Undertricks
Not Doubled Doubled
Not Vul Vul Not Vul Vul
1 50 100 100 200
2 100 200 300 500
3 150 300 500 800
4 200 400 800 1100
5 250 500 1100 1400
6 300 600 1400 1700
7 350 700 1700 2000
Other Bonuses
4 trump honours in one hand 100
5 trump honours in one hand 150
4 aces in one hand (NT) 150
Making a doubled Contract 50
Making a redoubled Contract 100
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No
How to Play Bridge
The score is kept on a piece of paper divided into two columns headed
WE and THEY for the two teams with a horizontal line part-way
down (see sample) Scores for successful contracts are entered below
the line and count towards winning a game Other scores such as
bonuses for tricks made in excess of the contract (overtricks) or
penalties for tricks short of the contract (undertricks) are entered
above the line and do not count towards winning the game
Score for making the contract
For a successful contract the score below the line for each trick (in
excess of 6) bid and made is as follows
If trumps are Clubs or Diamonds 20 per trick
If trumps are Hearts or Spades 30 per trick
If there are No Trumps 40 for the first trick and 30 for each
subsequent trick
If the contract was doubled the above scores are doubled If it was
doubled and redoubled they are multiplied by 4
In addition the declarers side scores an extra 50 points above the line
if they succeed in a doubled contract This is sometimes known as 50
for the insult For making a redoubled contract the bonus is 100
above the line
Because of the difference in score clubs and diamonds are called the
minor suits and hearts and spades are the major suits
Slam bonus
A contract to make 12 tricks is known as a small slam A contract to
make all 13 tricks is called a grand slam For bidding and making a
slam declarers side get an extra bonus above the line depending on
their vulnerability as follows
Slam bonus small slam grand slam
not vulnerable 500 1000
vulnerable 750 1500
How to Play Bridge
Score for overtricks
If the declarers side wins more tricks than were bid and were not
doubled then in addition to the score below the line for the contract
they score for the overtricks above the line at the same rate as for bid
tricks - ie 20 per trick if a minor suit was trumps 30 per trick in a
major suit or no trumps
If the contract was doubled or redoubled the bonus for overtricks
does not depend on the trump suit but does depend on whether the
declarers side was vulnerable as follows
Score per overtrick doubled redoubled
not vulnerable 100 200
vulnerable 200 400
Penalty for undertricks
If the declarers side win fewer tricks than they bid neither side scores
anything below the line but the declarers opponents score above the
line This score depends on the declarers sides vulnerability and
whether the contract was doubled or redoubled as follows
Undertrick penalty not vulnerable vulnerable
Not doubled - each undertrick 50 100
Doubled - first undertrick 100 200
Doubled - 2nd and 3rd undertrick 200 each 300 each
Doubled - subsequent undertricks 300 each 300 each
Redoubled undertricks cost twice as much as doubled
undertricks
How to Play Bridge
Honours
The top five trumps (A K Q J 10) are called honours If one player
holds all five of these cards that players side scores a bonus of 150
above the line Four honours in one hand score 100 If there are no
trumps and a player holds four aces that players side scores 150 for
honours
Scores for honours are to be claimed at the end of the play (it is
assumed that the players will remember what they held)
As there is no skill in scoring for honours players often agree to play
without the honour bonuses
Game and Rubber
A side that accumulates 100 points or more below the line has won a
game A new line is drawn under the scores Anything the opponents
had below the line does not count towards the next game - they start
from zero again
It is important to notice that starting from zero and in the absence of
doubles to make a game in one hand you need to succeed in a
contract of at least three no trumps four spades four hearts five clubs
or five diamonds
The side which first wins two games wins the rubber For this they get
a bonus of 700 if they won it two games to zero or 500 if it was two
games to one Both sides scores are then totaled and if the game is
being played for money the side with the higher score wins an
amount proportional to the difference in scores from the side with the
lower score
If play ends for any reason with a rubber unfinished then a side with
a game gets a bonus of 300 points and a side with a part score (ie a
score below the line towards an uncompleted game) gets a bonus of
100
How to Play Bridge
Example of Rubber Bridge scoring
The scoresheet of a completed rubber might look like the example
below (The letters in brackets indicate successive deals as described
in the corresponding footnotes - they would not appear on the
scoresheet)
We They
500
(f)
50 (f)
100
(f)
200
(e)
500
(i)
300
(b)
30 (g)
60 (a) 30 (c)
The Line
60 (a) 100
(c)
End of Game
360
(f)
90 (d)
End of Game
60 (h) 40 (g)
90 (i)
End of
Rubber
(a) we bid 2 hearts and made 10 tricks - 60 below the line for the
contract and 60 above for the overtricks
How to Play Bridge
(b) they bid 4 spades we doubled them and they took only 8 tricks -
we score 100 for their first undertrick and 200 for the second
(c) they bid 3 no trumps and made 10 tricks This gives them a game
(100 below the line) plus 30 above the line for their overtrick A new
line is ruled below the scores to indicate the start of a new game
(d) they bid and made 3 spades
(e) they bid two diamonds and made 6 tricks - they are now
vulnerable so we score 100 for each undertrick
(f) we bid 6 hearts they doubled us but we won all 13 tricks We
score 360 (180 x 2) below the line for our doubled contract giving us
a game 100 above for our doubled non-vulnerable overtrick 50
above for making a doubled contract and 500 bonus for a small slam
bid and made
(g) they bid one no trump and took 8 tricks note that their 90 on deal
(d) was part of the previous game so the 40 below does not give them
a game
(h) we bid 3 clubs and made exactly 9 tricks
(i) they bid 3 hearts and took exactly 9 tricks giving their second
game and the rubber for a bonus of 500 (two games to one)
Adding up the scores we have 1690 and they have 880 Therefore we
have won by 810 points (even though they won the rubber)
In this example the above the line scores were entered starting
immediately above the line and working upwards This is traditional
at least in Britain but not necessary - you can start at the top just
below the WE-THEY headings and work downwards if you prefer
There is a Contract Bridge Scoring Card at the back of this book
How to Play Bridge
DUPLICATE BRIDGE
Duplicate Bridge the system we generally play at Alrewas Bridge
Club is only slightly different to Contract Bridge
In rubber bridge although the better players have a noticable edge
and will undoubtedly win in the long run the outcome of a single
rubber depends heavily on which side is dealt the better cards The
idea of duplicate bridge is to eliminate this element of luck by
having the same hands played more than once by different sets of
players
Suppose we are partners and play a hand of duplicate bridge as North-
South Instead of being rewarded for our absolute score on that hand
our score is compared with those of other players who played the
same deal as North-South against other opponents We win if we
score better than other players managed with our cards and lose if we
score worse
For this comparison to be fair it is necessary that each group of
players who play the same deal should start from the same position
Therefore it is not practicable to play rubbers where the scores
carried forward from deal to deal affect the tactical situation Instead
each deal is scored in its own right and does not affect the scores for
subsequent ones The concept of vulnerability is retained but on each
deal the vulnerability is preassigned
Boards
An almost essential piece of apparatus for playing duplicate bridge is
a set of duplicate boards and a pack of cards for each board Each
board contains four pockets marked North East South and West in
which the cards for the four players are stored Each board also carries
a number to identify it and has marks showing which of the players is
dealer and whether each team is vulnerable or not
Before the boards are played the cards are shuffled dealt and placed
in the pockets by a neutral person or by a player in the presence at
least one opponent
How to Play Bridge
When about to play a board the players take their cards from the
appropriate pockets check to see that they have 13 each and then bid
as usual The mark on the board showing the dealer in practice just
indicates which player is to begin the bidding The opening lead is
always made face down as explained above to give the leaders
partner an opportunity to ask questions about the bidding before the
led card is shown During the play the cards are not played in the
centre of the table but in front of the players At the end of each trick
all four players turn their played card face down The cards played by
each player are overlapped with the longer axis of the card pointing
to the winners of the trick (ie the cards belonging to tricks you have
won are placed upright from your point of view and the ones
belonging to lost tricks sideways) That way you can easily see how
many tricks you have won Also if the cards are kept in order any
dispute about revokes or tricks won or lost can be settled by
reconstructing the play At the end of the play each players cards are
gathered up and replaced in the correct pocket ready for the next time
the board is to be played
When this method of play is used dummy is expected to remain at the
table if at all possible and declarer then always calls dummys cards
rather than pulling them from the dummy You may ask to look at the
cards played to a trick by the other players as long as your own card is
face up Once you have turned your card face down you no longer
have the right to see any of the other cards played to that trick
(Unless you are dummy you are still allowed to peek at your own
played card without exposing it until the lead is made to the next
trick) Scoring
Each board is marked to show whether both sides one side or neither
side is vulnerable for that board You still need to score at least 100
points for tricks bid and made to make a game but on each board
both sides start with zero points towards games - there are no part
scores carried forward
In place of the rubber bonus there are game and part score bonuses
Making a game when vulnerable 500 points
How to Play Bridge
Making a game when not vulnerable 300 points
Making a part score any time 50 points
The rest of the scores are the same as in rubber bridge except that
there are no bonuses for honours in duplicate bridge
BRIDGEMATES
Fortunately although it is good know how the scoring system works
in our case all the scoring is done via our BridgeMates wireless
system All we (generally the players sitting at North table) have to
do is to enter the contract and the result and the system displays the
scores on the computer
MODERN ACOL (Standard English)
There are several methods of bidding Acol is the most used and
there are versions of Acol Modern Acol is the system we use at
Alrewas Bridge Club
Many years ago I was called in to help with a problem Apparently
there were a team of four aspiring rowers who for some odd reason
although there were all fit strong young and healthy trained hard
every day they just couldnrsquot win any rowing races Within minutes I
discovered the reason for their lack of success One of them was
sitting the wrong way round Once corrected their fame became
legendary
However apocryphal this story illustrates the need for all of us to be
paddling in the same direction or in our case to be all playing the
same system particularly so as we generally draw for partners at the
beginning of each playing session Experience players are expected
to play this system particularly when playing with newer members
How to Play Bridge
Bidding Standard English (Acol)
Bidding between partners is an exchange of information Using a very
restricted vocabulary each player in turn tries to describe his hand
The objective is to provide enough information so that one player can
make the decision what suit (if any) should be trumps and how many
tricks should we attempt to take
Initially we will consider the bidding as a dialogue between the pair
with the majority of the high-card strength this is frequently the case
However there are times when the values are more evenly distributed
between the pairs and both sides are then involved in the bidding
phase For now we will ignore this possibility it will be easier to
consider bidding as a partnership exercise before thinking about how
things change when both pairs are bidding
The most important considerations when evaluating your hand for an
opening bid are the high-card strength and the shape of the hand An
opening bid generally requires 12 or more points
Opening the bidding balanced hands
A balanced hand means
no singleton or void
not more than 1 doubleton
no 6-card or longer suit
With 12-14 points (Ace = 4 King = 3 Queen = 2 Jack = 1) and
a balanced hand with no 5-card major suit open 1 No Trump
With 20-22 points and a balanced hand open with a bid of 2NT
With an exceptional hand of 23+ points you will start with an
artificial opening bid of 2clubs - see below
How to Play Bridge
With a balanced hand of 15-19 points you do not initially bid
no trumps You will bid No Trumps later start with a bid in a
suit
Responding to 1NT with a balanced hand
(See Chart 4 at end of book)
Opening with a suit bid
open your longest suit
with two 5-card suits open the higher-ranking
with two 4-card suits open the higher-ranking Exception with
Spades and Hearts open 1
with three 4-card suits open the middle of 3 in a row or the suit
below the ldquogaprdquo
With a hand of exceptional strength where you do not want partner to
pass even with a very weak hand there is the option of opening with a
strong bid of 2 of your long suit or exceptionally 2clubs (artificial and
strong) ndash see below
Responding to an opening bid of 1clubs 1diams 1hearts 1spades
Raising partnerrsquos suit
with less than 6 points pass
6-9 points raise to the 2-level
How to Play Bridge
10-12 points raise to the 3-level
13+ points raise to the 4-level (in a major)
Responding in No Trumps
1 No Trumps 6-9 points (denies a suit that can be bid at
the 1-level or support for partnerrsquos major suit)
2 No Trumps 10-12 points balanced hand
3 No Trumps 13-15 points balanced hand
Responding in a new suit
a response in a new suit to an opening bid of 1 of a suit is
forcing partner cannot pass
respond in your longest suit
with two 5-card suits respond in the higher-ranking You will
then bid the other suit if practical to give partner a choice
with two or three 4-card suits make the most economical
response
bid your own suit before supporting partnerrsquos minor suit
do not bid in a new suit at the 2-level with less than 9 points
How to Play Bridge
remember that if you lack the strength to respond at the 2-level
you may instead respond 1NT (this need not show a balanced
hand)
a ldquojump shiftrdquo response in a new suit shows 16+ points and is
forcing to game
raising partnerrsquos major suit is a priority
do not raise partnerrsquos minor suit if there is an alternative such as
responding in a suit at the 1-level
Openerrsquos second bid
(1) With a weak hand
Pass if partner has made a non-forcing bid (ie a raise of your
suit or a no trump response)
support partnerrsquos major suit with 4-card support
rebid in a new suit at the 1-level
rebid in a lower-ranking suit at the 2-level (NB the ldquosafety
levelrdquo)
rebid your first suit at the lowest level with at least 5 cards
(2) With a strong hand
Jump raise partnerrsquos major suit (promises at least 4-card
support)
Jump rebid your own long (6-card +) suit
Jump in a new suit ndash forcing to game
How to Play Bridge
Bid a new suit at the 2-level above the ldquosafety levelrdquo ndash a reverse
showing a strong hand This is forcing if partner responded in a
suit at the 2-level
(3) With a balanced hand
rebid in No Trumps to show a balanced hand (but prefer to
bid a major suit if you can)
rebid No Trumps at the lowest level with 15-16 points
rebid No Trumps with a jump with 17-18 points
rebid 3NT with 19 points
Strong Opening Bids
Some hands are very powerful With this type of hand you would
normally open the bidding at the 2-level
An opening bid of 2 2 and 2 show a hand worth about 8 playing
tricks in the suit bid or possibly a strong two-suited hand with similar
strength The idea is that if you were to open with a bid of one of a
suit partner may pass and you may miss game (or even a slam) The
bid is forcing for one round (ie partner must respond)
Normal requirements to open 2 2 and 2
8 Playing Tricks
How to Play Bridge
Responses
2NT is the Negative Response It denies the ability to make any other
response Having given a negative response responder may pass on
the next round if opener makes a simple rebid of the suit that he
opened or bids a second suit without a jump
Positive Responses Any positive response is forcing to game
(at least)
A single raise (eg 2 - 3 ) promises a fit and an ace The hand may
have little more than those minimum requirements or it may be a
strong hand when responder will explore for slam
A double raise (eg 2 - 4) shows trump support with strictly
speaking two second-round controls (Kings or singletons) but denies
an Ace (with an Ace responder would make the stronger single raise
leaving more room to explore for a slam) A single raise is stronger
than a double raise Note it is now common practice to make the
double raise on any hand with support for partner and some values but
lacking an ace the old requirement for two second-round controls
tends to be ignored
A response in a new suit (eg 2 - 3) shows a good 5-card or longer
suit and 7+ points Lacking these basic requirements begin with an
alternative response (perhaps even a negative 2NT and then show
signs of life later in the auction) Do not respond in a bad suit
A jump to 3NT (eg 2 - 3NT) indicates a balanced hand with 10-12
points
A jump in a new suit (eg 2 - 4) promises a solid suit (AKQxxx at
least)
How to Play Bridge
The 2NT opening bid
This shows a balanced hand with 20-22 points It is not forcing but
responder needs only 4+ points to know that the values for game are
probably there
Responses a bid of 3hearts or 3spades shows a 5-card suit and asks opener to
choose between game in no trumps (with only two cards in
responderrsquos suit) or game in the major (ie 4hearts or 4spades)
Acol 2 Opening Bid
The artificial opening bid of 2 shows a super strong hand with either
23+ points in a balanced hand (ie too strong to open with an Acol
2NT bid) or a hand that is too strong even to open with a strong
forcing bid of two of a suit
Responding to a 2 Opening
Negative Response
The response with less than 7 points is an artificial bid of 2 The
opener rebids naturally showing his long suit or bidding NT on a
balanced hand The opening bid of 2 is forcing to game
Exception to the rule there is only one situation where the opening
bid of 2 is not forcing to game If after a 2 negative response
opener rebids 2NT he is showing a balanced 23-24 points With
absolutely no values responder may pass this 2NT rebid However
with as little as 2 or 3 points he should bid again responding to the
2NT rebid in a similar manner to the way in which he would respond
to a 2NT opening bid (ie Stayman 3 and 3 forcing)
Remember how strong the opening hand is before you take the
decision to pass the 2NT rebid
How to Play Bridge
NB if opener after 2 - 2 makes any rebid other than 2NT the
responder must keep the bidding open until game (at least) is reached
Positive responses to a 2 opening
2 2 3 3 7+ points and a 5-card suit or a 4-card suit
headed by the A or K
2NT balanced 7-9 points
3NT balanced 10-12 points
Overcalls and Responses
OVERCALLS
In this section we will be highlighting 3 types of overcalls
Simple Overcall
This is usually a weak bid with as little as 8-12 points but is ideal in
disrupting communication between your opponents and also
informing your partner that you hold a good 5 card suit
For the purposes of illustration we will assume that the opponent on
your right has opened 1 Club You hold a good 5 card suit in Spades
but with only 8-12 points How should you bid
Suit Quality Test
To enable you to bid correctly you should firstly apply the lsquosuit
qualityrsquo test Simply count the length of your long suit in this case
spades and add the number of honour cards in that suit The total is
the strength of your suit quality If the total is 7 then you can make
and overcall of 1 Spade If the total is 8 then you can make an
overcall of 2 Spades and so on
How to Play Bridge
Jump Overcall
For a sound jump overcall you would need to have a 6 card suit
together with a suit quality of 8+ and an opening hand of 12+ points
1 NT Overcall
15-18 points with a balanced hand and a stopper in opponentrsquos suit
RESPONSES TO OVERCALLS
Remember that your partner has overcalled on what is probably a
weak hand with only one good suit and with the intention of
obstructing your opponents Therefore the majority of responses to
his overcall should also be barrages However there are responses
available
Supporting Partner
This is the bid your partner wants to hear most of all because it
means that you are cooperating with the idea of using up your
opponents bidding space All bids supporting partners overcall are
weak To determine your bid the deciding factor is the number of
trumps that you hold Assuming that your partner holds a five card
suit for his overcall you should raise your partners overcall to the
same number of tricks that you have trumps between you
So if you think you have a total of eight trumps between you you
should raise partner to 8 tricks (the two level) If you think you have
nine trumps raise to nine tricks (the three level) and so on
So in a barrage situation it is the number of trumps you hold and the
distribution of your hand that is important not your points
How to Play Bridge
RESPONDING WITH A STRONG HAND
What about when the responder has a genuinely good hand
Obviously you canrsquot just support partner and hope he understands
You must make a different bid and the easiest is the so-called un-
assuming cue bid This is a complicated sounding bid but actually
just involves calling the opponents suit at the lowest available level
What the bid means is that you think that you and your partner hold
the majority of the points and that there might be a game contract in
the offing by your side In other words whereas supporting your
partner is crying wolf to make life difficult for your opponents this
bid is saying that you genuinely think your side holds the majority of
the values and that there may be a possibility of bidding to game
How to Play Bridge
Contract Bridge (Rubber) Scoring
Contracts
NT
1 20 30 40
2 40 60 70
3 60 90 100
4 80 120 130
5 100 150 160
6 120 180 190
7 140 210 220
Slams
Not Vul Vul
Small 500 750
Grand 1000 1500
Rubbers
Three Games 500
Two Games 700
Unfinished Rubbers
Game 300
Part Score 50
Overtricks
per overtrick Not
Vul Vul
Not Doubled trick value
Doubled 100 200
Redoubled 200 400
Undertricks
Not Doubled Doubled
Not Vul Vul Not Vul Vul
1 50 100 100 200
2 100 200 300 500
3 150 300 500 800
4 200 400 800 1100
5 250 500 1100 1400
6 300 600 1400 1700
7 350 700 1700 2000
Other Bonuses
4 trump honours in one hand 100
5 trump honours in one hand 150
4 aces in one hand (NT) 150
Making a doubled Contract 50
Making a redoubled Contract 100
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No
How to Play Bridge
Score for overtricks
If the declarers side wins more tricks than were bid and were not
doubled then in addition to the score below the line for the contract
they score for the overtricks above the line at the same rate as for bid
tricks - ie 20 per trick if a minor suit was trumps 30 per trick in a
major suit or no trumps
If the contract was doubled or redoubled the bonus for overtricks
does not depend on the trump suit but does depend on whether the
declarers side was vulnerable as follows
Score per overtrick doubled redoubled
not vulnerable 100 200
vulnerable 200 400
Penalty for undertricks
If the declarers side win fewer tricks than they bid neither side scores
anything below the line but the declarers opponents score above the
line This score depends on the declarers sides vulnerability and
whether the contract was doubled or redoubled as follows
Undertrick penalty not vulnerable vulnerable
Not doubled - each undertrick 50 100
Doubled - first undertrick 100 200
Doubled - 2nd and 3rd undertrick 200 each 300 each
Doubled - subsequent undertricks 300 each 300 each
Redoubled undertricks cost twice as much as doubled
undertricks
How to Play Bridge
Honours
The top five trumps (A K Q J 10) are called honours If one player
holds all five of these cards that players side scores a bonus of 150
above the line Four honours in one hand score 100 If there are no
trumps and a player holds four aces that players side scores 150 for
honours
Scores for honours are to be claimed at the end of the play (it is
assumed that the players will remember what they held)
As there is no skill in scoring for honours players often agree to play
without the honour bonuses
Game and Rubber
A side that accumulates 100 points or more below the line has won a
game A new line is drawn under the scores Anything the opponents
had below the line does not count towards the next game - they start
from zero again
It is important to notice that starting from zero and in the absence of
doubles to make a game in one hand you need to succeed in a
contract of at least three no trumps four spades four hearts five clubs
or five diamonds
The side which first wins two games wins the rubber For this they get
a bonus of 700 if they won it two games to zero or 500 if it was two
games to one Both sides scores are then totaled and if the game is
being played for money the side with the higher score wins an
amount proportional to the difference in scores from the side with the
lower score
If play ends for any reason with a rubber unfinished then a side with
a game gets a bonus of 300 points and a side with a part score (ie a
score below the line towards an uncompleted game) gets a bonus of
100
How to Play Bridge
Example of Rubber Bridge scoring
The scoresheet of a completed rubber might look like the example
below (The letters in brackets indicate successive deals as described
in the corresponding footnotes - they would not appear on the
scoresheet)
We They
500
(f)
50 (f)
100
(f)
200
(e)
500
(i)
300
(b)
30 (g)
60 (a) 30 (c)
The Line
60 (a) 100
(c)
End of Game
360
(f)
90 (d)
End of Game
60 (h) 40 (g)
90 (i)
End of
Rubber
(a) we bid 2 hearts and made 10 tricks - 60 below the line for the
contract and 60 above for the overtricks
How to Play Bridge
(b) they bid 4 spades we doubled them and they took only 8 tricks -
we score 100 for their first undertrick and 200 for the second
(c) they bid 3 no trumps and made 10 tricks This gives them a game
(100 below the line) plus 30 above the line for their overtrick A new
line is ruled below the scores to indicate the start of a new game
(d) they bid and made 3 spades
(e) they bid two diamonds and made 6 tricks - they are now
vulnerable so we score 100 for each undertrick
(f) we bid 6 hearts they doubled us but we won all 13 tricks We
score 360 (180 x 2) below the line for our doubled contract giving us
a game 100 above for our doubled non-vulnerable overtrick 50
above for making a doubled contract and 500 bonus for a small slam
bid and made
(g) they bid one no trump and took 8 tricks note that their 90 on deal
(d) was part of the previous game so the 40 below does not give them
a game
(h) we bid 3 clubs and made exactly 9 tricks
(i) they bid 3 hearts and took exactly 9 tricks giving their second
game and the rubber for a bonus of 500 (two games to one)
Adding up the scores we have 1690 and they have 880 Therefore we
have won by 810 points (even though they won the rubber)
In this example the above the line scores were entered starting
immediately above the line and working upwards This is traditional
at least in Britain but not necessary - you can start at the top just
below the WE-THEY headings and work downwards if you prefer
There is a Contract Bridge Scoring Card at the back of this book
How to Play Bridge
DUPLICATE BRIDGE
Duplicate Bridge the system we generally play at Alrewas Bridge
Club is only slightly different to Contract Bridge
In rubber bridge although the better players have a noticable edge
and will undoubtedly win in the long run the outcome of a single
rubber depends heavily on which side is dealt the better cards The
idea of duplicate bridge is to eliminate this element of luck by
having the same hands played more than once by different sets of
players
Suppose we are partners and play a hand of duplicate bridge as North-
South Instead of being rewarded for our absolute score on that hand
our score is compared with those of other players who played the
same deal as North-South against other opponents We win if we
score better than other players managed with our cards and lose if we
score worse
For this comparison to be fair it is necessary that each group of
players who play the same deal should start from the same position
Therefore it is not practicable to play rubbers where the scores
carried forward from deal to deal affect the tactical situation Instead
each deal is scored in its own right and does not affect the scores for
subsequent ones The concept of vulnerability is retained but on each
deal the vulnerability is preassigned
Boards
An almost essential piece of apparatus for playing duplicate bridge is
a set of duplicate boards and a pack of cards for each board Each
board contains four pockets marked North East South and West in
which the cards for the four players are stored Each board also carries
a number to identify it and has marks showing which of the players is
dealer and whether each team is vulnerable or not
Before the boards are played the cards are shuffled dealt and placed
in the pockets by a neutral person or by a player in the presence at
least one opponent
How to Play Bridge
When about to play a board the players take their cards from the
appropriate pockets check to see that they have 13 each and then bid
as usual The mark on the board showing the dealer in practice just
indicates which player is to begin the bidding The opening lead is
always made face down as explained above to give the leaders
partner an opportunity to ask questions about the bidding before the
led card is shown During the play the cards are not played in the
centre of the table but in front of the players At the end of each trick
all four players turn their played card face down The cards played by
each player are overlapped with the longer axis of the card pointing
to the winners of the trick (ie the cards belonging to tricks you have
won are placed upright from your point of view and the ones
belonging to lost tricks sideways) That way you can easily see how
many tricks you have won Also if the cards are kept in order any
dispute about revokes or tricks won or lost can be settled by
reconstructing the play At the end of the play each players cards are
gathered up and replaced in the correct pocket ready for the next time
the board is to be played
When this method of play is used dummy is expected to remain at the
table if at all possible and declarer then always calls dummys cards
rather than pulling them from the dummy You may ask to look at the
cards played to a trick by the other players as long as your own card is
face up Once you have turned your card face down you no longer
have the right to see any of the other cards played to that trick
(Unless you are dummy you are still allowed to peek at your own
played card without exposing it until the lead is made to the next
trick) Scoring
Each board is marked to show whether both sides one side or neither
side is vulnerable for that board You still need to score at least 100
points for tricks bid and made to make a game but on each board
both sides start with zero points towards games - there are no part
scores carried forward
In place of the rubber bonus there are game and part score bonuses
Making a game when vulnerable 500 points
How to Play Bridge
Making a game when not vulnerable 300 points
Making a part score any time 50 points
The rest of the scores are the same as in rubber bridge except that
there are no bonuses for honours in duplicate bridge
BRIDGEMATES
Fortunately although it is good know how the scoring system works
in our case all the scoring is done via our BridgeMates wireless
system All we (generally the players sitting at North table) have to
do is to enter the contract and the result and the system displays the
scores on the computer
MODERN ACOL (Standard English)
There are several methods of bidding Acol is the most used and
there are versions of Acol Modern Acol is the system we use at
Alrewas Bridge Club
Many years ago I was called in to help with a problem Apparently
there were a team of four aspiring rowers who for some odd reason
although there were all fit strong young and healthy trained hard
every day they just couldnrsquot win any rowing races Within minutes I
discovered the reason for their lack of success One of them was
sitting the wrong way round Once corrected their fame became
legendary
However apocryphal this story illustrates the need for all of us to be
paddling in the same direction or in our case to be all playing the
same system particularly so as we generally draw for partners at the
beginning of each playing session Experience players are expected
to play this system particularly when playing with newer members
How to Play Bridge
Bidding Standard English (Acol)
Bidding between partners is an exchange of information Using a very
restricted vocabulary each player in turn tries to describe his hand
The objective is to provide enough information so that one player can
make the decision what suit (if any) should be trumps and how many
tricks should we attempt to take
Initially we will consider the bidding as a dialogue between the pair
with the majority of the high-card strength this is frequently the case
However there are times when the values are more evenly distributed
between the pairs and both sides are then involved in the bidding
phase For now we will ignore this possibility it will be easier to
consider bidding as a partnership exercise before thinking about how
things change when both pairs are bidding
The most important considerations when evaluating your hand for an
opening bid are the high-card strength and the shape of the hand An
opening bid generally requires 12 or more points
Opening the bidding balanced hands
A balanced hand means
no singleton or void
not more than 1 doubleton
no 6-card or longer suit
With 12-14 points (Ace = 4 King = 3 Queen = 2 Jack = 1) and
a balanced hand with no 5-card major suit open 1 No Trump
With 20-22 points and a balanced hand open with a bid of 2NT
With an exceptional hand of 23+ points you will start with an
artificial opening bid of 2clubs - see below
How to Play Bridge
With a balanced hand of 15-19 points you do not initially bid
no trumps You will bid No Trumps later start with a bid in a
suit
Responding to 1NT with a balanced hand
(See Chart 4 at end of book)
Opening with a suit bid
open your longest suit
with two 5-card suits open the higher-ranking
with two 4-card suits open the higher-ranking Exception with
Spades and Hearts open 1
with three 4-card suits open the middle of 3 in a row or the suit
below the ldquogaprdquo
With a hand of exceptional strength where you do not want partner to
pass even with a very weak hand there is the option of opening with a
strong bid of 2 of your long suit or exceptionally 2clubs (artificial and
strong) ndash see below
Responding to an opening bid of 1clubs 1diams 1hearts 1spades
Raising partnerrsquos suit
with less than 6 points pass
6-9 points raise to the 2-level
How to Play Bridge
10-12 points raise to the 3-level
13+ points raise to the 4-level (in a major)
Responding in No Trumps
1 No Trumps 6-9 points (denies a suit that can be bid at
the 1-level or support for partnerrsquos major suit)
2 No Trumps 10-12 points balanced hand
3 No Trumps 13-15 points balanced hand
Responding in a new suit
a response in a new suit to an opening bid of 1 of a suit is
forcing partner cannot pass
respond in your longest suit
with two 5-card suits respond in the higher-ranking You will
then bid the other suit if practical to give partner a choice
with two or three 4-card suits make the most economical
response
bid your own suit before supporting partnerrsquos minor suit
do not bid in a new suit at the 2-level with less than 9 points
How to Play Bridge
remember that if you lack the strength to respond at the 2-level
you may instead respond 1NT (this need not show a balanced
hand)
a ldquojump shiftrdquo response in a new suit shows 16+ points and is
forcing to game
raising partnerrsquos major suit is a priority
do not raise partnerrsquos minor suit if there is an alternative such as
responding in a suit at the 1-level
Openerrsquos second bid
(1) With a weak hand
Pass if partner has made a non-forcing bid (ie a raise of your
suit or a no trump response)
support partnerrsquos major suit with 4-card support
rebid in a new suit at the 1-level
rebid in a lower-ranking suit at the 2-level (NB the ldquosafety
levelrdquo)
rebid your first suit at the lowest level with at least 5 cards
(2) With a strong hand
Jump raise partnerrsquos major suit (promises at least 4-card
support)
Jump rebid your own long (6-card +) suit
Jump in a new suit ndash forcing to game
How to Play Bridge
Bid a new suit at the 2-level above the ldquosafety levelrdquo ndash a reverse
showing a strong hand This is forcing if partner responded in a
suit at the 2-level
(3) With a balanced hand
rebid in No Trumps to show a balanced hand (but prefer to
bid a major suit if you can)
rebid No Trumps at the lowest level with 15-16 points
rebid No Trumps with a jump with 17-18 points
rebid 3NT with 19 points
Strong Opening Bids
Some hands are very powerful With this type of hand you would
normally open the bidding at the 2-level
An opening bid of 2 2 and 2 show a hand worth about 8 playing
tricks in the suit bid or possibly a strong two-suited hand with similar
strength The idea is that if you were to open with a bid of one of a
suit partner may pass and you may miss game (or even a slam) The
bid is forcing for one round (ie partner must respond)
Normal requirements to open 2 2 and 2
8 Playing Tricks
How to Play Bridge
Responses
2NT is the Negative Response It denies the ability to make any other
response Having given a negative response responder may pass on
the next round if opener makes a simple rebid of the suit that he
opened or bids a second suit without a jump
Positive Responses Any positive response is forcing to game
(at least)
A single raise (eg 2 - 3 ) promises a fit and an ace The hand may
have little more than those minimum requirements or it may be a
strong hand when responder will explore for slam
A double raise (eg 2 - 4) shows trump support with strictly
speaking two second-round controls (Kings or singletons) but denies
an Ace (with an Ace responder would make the stronger single raise
leaving more room to explore for a slam) A single raise is stronger
than a double raise Note it is now common practice to make the
double raise on any hand with support for partner and some values but
lacking an ace the old requirement for two second-round controls
tends to be ignored
A response in a new suit (eg 2 - 3) shows a good 5-card or longer
suit and 7+ points Lacking these basic requirements begin with an
alternative response (perhaps even a negative 2NT and then show
signs of life later in the auction) Do not respond in a bad suit
A jump to 3NT (eg 2 - 3NT) indicates a balanced hand with 10-12
points
A jump in a new suit (eg 2 - 4) promises a solid suit (AKQxxx at
least)
How to Play Bridge
The 2NT opening bid
This shows a balanced hand with 20-22 points It is not forcing but
responder needs only 4+ points to know that the values for game are
probably there
Responses a bid of 3hearts or 3spades shows a 5-card suit and asks opener to
choose between game in no trumps (with only two cards in
responderrsquos suit) or game in the major (ie 4hearts or 4spades)
Acol 2 Opening Bid
The artificial opening bid of 2 shows a super strong hand with either
23+ points in a balanced hand (ie too strong to open with an Acol
2NT bid) or a hand that is too strong even to open with a strong
forcing bid of two of a suit
Responding to a 2 Opening
Negative Response
The response with less than 7 points is an artificial bid of 2 The
opener rebids naturally showing his long suit or bidding NT on a
balanced hand The opening bid of 2 is forcing to game
Exception to the rule there is only one situation where the opening
bid of 2 is not forcing to game If after a 2 negative response
opener rebids 2NT he is showing a balanced 23-24 points With
absolutely no values responder may pass this 2NT rebid However
with as little as 2 or 3 points he should bid again responding to the
2NT rebid in a similar manner to the way in which he would respond
to a 2NT opening bid (ie Stayman 3 and 3 forcing)
Remember how strong the opening hand is before you take the
decision to pass the 2NT rebid
How to Play Bridge
NB if opener after 2 - 2 makes any rebid other than 2NT the
responder must keep the bidding open until game (at least) is reached
Positive responses to a 2 opening
2 2 3 3 7+ points and a 5-card suit or a 4-card suit
headed by the A or K
2NT balanced 7-9 points
3NT balanced 10-12 points
Overcalls and Responses
OVERCALLS
In this section we will be highlighting 3 types of overcalls
Simple Overcall
This is usually a weak bid with as little as 8-12 points but is ideal in
disrupting communication between your opponents and also
informing your partner that you hold a good 5 card suit
For the purposes of illustration we will assume that the opponent on
your right has opened 1 Club You hold a good 5 card suit in Spades
but with only 8-12 points How should you bid
Suit Quality Test
To enable you to bid correctly you should firstly apply the lsquosuit
qualityrsquo test Simply count the length of your long suit in this case
spades and add the number of honour cards in that suit The total is
the strength of your suit quality If the total is 7 then you can make
and overcall of 1 Spade If the total is 8 then you can make an
overcall of 2 Spades and so on
How to Play Bridge
Jump Overcall
For a sound jump overcall you would need to have a 6 card suit
together with a suit quality of 8+ and an opening hand of 12+ points
1 NT Overcall
15-18 points with a balanced hand and a stopper in opponentrsquos suit
RESPONSES TO OVERCALLS
Remember that your partner has overcalled on what is probably a
weak hand with only one good suit and with the intention of
obstructing your opponents Therefore the majority of responses to
his overcall should also be barrages However there are responses
available
Supporting Partner
This is the bid your partner wants to hear most of all because it
means that you are cooperating with the idea of using up your
opponents bidding space All bids supporting partners overcall are
weak To determine your bid the deciding factor is the number of
trumps that you hold Assuming that your partner holds a five card
suit for his overcall you should raise your partners overcall to the
same number of tricks that you have trumps between you
So if you think you have a total of eight trumps between you you
should raise partner to 8 tricks (the two level) If you think you have
nine trumps raise to nine tricks (the three level) and so on
So in a barrage situation it is the number of trumps you hold and the
distribution of your hand that is important not your points
How to Play Bridge
RESPONDING WITH A STRONG HAND
What about when the responder has a genuinely good hand
Obviously you canrsquot just support partner and hope he understands
You must make a different bid and the easiest is the so-called un-
assuming cue bid This is a complicated sounding bid but actually
just involves calling the opponents suit at the lowest available level
What the bid means is that you think that you and your partner hold
the majority of the points and that there might be a game contract in
the offing by your side In other words whereas supporting your
partner is crying wolf to make life difficult for your opponents this
bid is saying that you genuinely think your side holds the majority of
the values and that there may be a possibility of bidding to game
How to Play Bridge
Contract Bridge (Rubber) Scoring
Contracts
NT
1 20 30 40
2 40 60 70
3 60 90 100
4 80 120 130
5 100 150 160
6 120 180 190
7 140 210 220
Slams
Not Vul Vul
Small 500 750
Grand 1000 1500
Rubbers
Three Games 500
Two Games 700
Unfinished Rubbers
Game 300
Part Score 50
Overtricks
per overtrick Not
Vul Vul
Not Doubled trick value
Doubled 100 200
Redoubled 200 400
Undertricks
Not Doubled Doubled
Not Vul Vul Not Vul Vul
1 50 100 100 200
2 100 200 300 500
3 150 300 500 800
4 200 400 800 1100
5 250 500 1100 1400
6 300 600 1400 1700
7 350 700 1700 2000
Other Bonuses
4 trump honours in one hand 100
5 trump honours in one hand 150
4 aces in one hand (NT) 150
Making a doubled Contract 50
Making a redoubled Contract 100
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No
How to Play Bridge
Honours
The top five trumps (A K Q J 10) are called honours If one player
holds all five of these cards that players side scores a bonus of 150
above the line Four honours in one hand score 100 If there are no
trumps and a player holds four aces that players side scores 150 for
honours
Scores for honours are to be claimed at the end of the play (it is
assumed that the players will remember what they held)
As there is no skill in scoring for honours players often agree to play
without the honour bonuses
Game and Rubber
A side that accumulates 100 points or more below the line has won a
game A new line is drawn under the scores Anything the opponents
had below the line does not count towards the next game - they start
from zero again
It is important to notice that starting from zero and in the absence of
doubles to make a game in one hand you need to succeed in a
contract of at least three no trumps four spades four hearts five clubs
or five diamonds
The side which first wins two games wins the rubber For this they get
a bonus of 700 if they won it two games to zero or 500 if it was two
games to one Both sides scores are then totaled and if the game is
being played for money the side with the higher score wins an
amount proportional to the difference in scores from the side with the
lower score
If play ends for any reason with a rubber unfinished then a side with
a game gets a bonus of 300 points and a side with a part score (ie a
score below the line towards an uncompleted game) gets a bonus of
100
How to Play Bridge
Example of Rubber Bridge scoring
The scoresheet of a completed rubber might look like the example
below (The letters in brackets indicate successive deals as described
in the corresponding footnotes - they would not appear on the
scoresheet)
We They
500
(f)
50 (f)
100
(f)
200
(e)
500
(i)
300
(b)
30 (g)
60 (a) 30 (c)
The Line
60 (a) 100
(c)
End of Game
360
(f)
90 (d)
End of Game
60 (h) 40 (g)
90 (i)
End of
Rubber
(a) we bid 2 hearts and made 10 tricks - 60 below the line for the
contract and 60 above for the overtricks
How to Play Bridge
(b) they bid 4 spades we doubled them and they took only 8 tricks -
we score 100 for their first undertrick and 200 for the second
(c) they bid 3 no trumps and made 10 tricks This gives them a game
(100 below the line) plus 30 above the line for their overtrick A new
line is ruled below the scores to indicate the start of a new game
(d) they bid and made 3 spades
(e) they bid two diamonds and made 6 tricks - they are now
vulnerable so we score 100 for each undertrick
(f) we bid 6 hearts they doubled us but we won all 13 tricks We
score 360 (180 x 2) below the line for our doubled contract giving us
a game 100 above for our doubled non-vulnerable overtrick 50
above for making a doubled contract and 500 bonus for a small slam
bid and made
(g) they bid one no trump and took 8 tricks note that their 90 on deal
(d) was part of the previous game so the 40 below does not give them
a game
(h) we bid 3 clubs and made exactly 9 tricks
(i) they bid 3 hearts and took exactly 9 tricks giving their second
game and the rubber for a bonus of 500 (two games to one)
Adding up the scores we have 1690 and they have 880 Therefore we
have won by 810 points (even though they won the rubber)
In this example the above the line scores were entered starting
immediately above the line and working upwards This is traditional
at least in Britain but not necessary - you can start at the top just
below the WE-THEY headings and work downwards if you prefer
There is a Contract Bridge Scoring Card at the back of this book
How to Play Bridge
DUPLICATE BRIDGE
Duplicate Bridge the system we generally play at Alrewas Bridge
Club is only slightly different to Contract Bridge
In rubber bridge although the better players have a noticable edge
and will undoubtedly win in the long run the outcome of a single
rubber depends heavily on which side is dealt the better cards The
idea of duplicate bridge is to eliminate this element of luck by
having the same hands played more than once by different sets of
players
Suppose we are partners and play a hand of duplicate bridge as North-
South Instead of being rewarded for our absolute score on that hand
our score is compared with those of other players who played the
same deal as North-South against other opponents We win if we
score better than other players managed with our cards and lose if we
score worse
For this comparison to be fair it is necessary that each group of
players who play the same deal should start from the same position
Therefore it is not practicable to play rubbers where the scores
carried forward from deal to deal affect the tactical situation Instead
each deal is scored in its own right and does not affect the scores for
subsequent ones The concept of vulnerability is retained but on each
deal the vulnerability is preassigned
Boards
An almost essential piece of apparatus for playing duplicate bridge is
a set of duplicate boards and a pack of cards for each board Each
board contains four pockets marked North East South and West in
which the cards for the four players are stored Each board also carries
a number to identify it and has marks showing which of the players is
dealer and whether each team is vulnerable or not
Before the boards are played the cards are shuffled dealt and placed
in the pockets by a neutral person or by a player in the presence at
least one opponent
How to Play Bridge
When about to play a board the players take their cards from the
appropriate pockets check to see that they have 13 each and then bid
as usual The mark on the board showing the dealer in practice just
indicates which player is to begin the bidding The opening lead is
always made face down as explained above to give the leaders
partner an opportunity to ask questions about the bidding before the
led card is shown During the play the cards are not played in the
centre of the table but in front of the players At the end of each trick
all four players turn their played card face down The cards played by
each player are overlapped with the longer axis of the card pointing
to the winners of the trick (ie the cards belonging to tricks you have
won are placed upright from your point of view and the ones
belonging to lost tricks sideways) That way you can easily see how
many tricks you have won Also if the cards are kept in order any
dispute about revokes or tricks won or lost can be settled by
reconstructing the play At the end of the play each players cards are
gathered up and replaced in the correct pocket ready for the next time
the board is to be played
When this method of play is used dummy is expected to remain at the
table if at all possible and declarer then always calls dummys cards
rather than pulling them from the dummy You may ask to look at the
cards played to a trick by the other players as long as your own card is
face up Once you have turned your card face down you no longer
have the right to see any of the other cards played to that trick
(Unless you are dummy you are still allowed to peek at your own
played card without exposing it until the lead is made to the next
trick) Scoring
Each board is marked to show whether both sides one side or neither
side is vulnerable for that board You still need to score at least 100
points for tricks bid and made to make a game but on each board
both sides start with zero points towards games - there are no part
scores carried forward
In place of the rubber bonus there are game and part score bonuses
Making a game when vulnerable 500 points
How to Play Bridge
Making a game when not vulnerable 300 points
Making a part score any time 50 points
The rest of the scores are the same as in rubber bridge except that
there are no bonuses for honours in duplicate bridge
BRIDGEMATES
Fortunately although it is good know how the scoring system works
in our case all the scoring is done via our BridgeMates wireless
system All we (generally the players sitting at North table) have to
do is to enter the contract and the result and the system displays the
scores on the computer
MODERN ACOL (Standard English)
There are several methods of bidding Acol is the most used and
there are versions of Acol Modern Acol is the system we use at
Alrewas Bridge Club
Many years ago I was called in to help with a problem Apparently
there were a team of four aspiring rowers who for some odd reason
although there were all fit strong young and healthy trained hard
every day they just couldnrsquot win any rowing races Within minutes I
discovered the reason for their lack of success One of them was
sitting the wrong way round Once corrected their fame became
legendary
However apocryphal this story illustrates the need for all of us to be
paddling in the same direction or in our case to be all playing the
same system particularly so as we generally draw for partners at the
beginning of each playing session Experience players are expected
to play this system particularly when playing with newer members
How to Play Bridge
Bidding Standard English (Acol)
Bidding between partners is an exchange of information Using a very
restricted vocabulary each player in turn tries to describe his hand
The objective is to provide enough information so that one player can
make the decision what suit (if any) should be trumps and how many
tricks should we attempt to take
Initially we will consider the bidding as a dialogue between the pair
with the majority of the high-card strength this is frequently the case
However there are times when the values are more evenly distributed
between the pairs and both sides are then involved in the bidding
phase For now we will ignore this possibility it will be easier to
consider bidding as a partnership exercise before thinking about how
things change when both pairs are bidding
The most important considerations when evaluating your hand for an
opening bid are the high-card strength and the shape of the hand An
opening bid generally requires 12 or more points
Opening the bidding balanced hands
A balanced hand means
no singleton or void
not more than 1 doubleton
no 6-card or longer suit
With 12-14 points (Ace = 4 King = 3 Queen = 2 Jack = 1) and
a balanced hand with no 5-card major suit open 1 No Trump
With 20-22 points and a balanced hand open with a bid of 2NT
With an exceptional hand of 23+ points you will start with an
artificial opening bid of 2clubs - see below
How to Play Bridge
With a balanced hand of 15-19 points you do not initially bid
no trumps You will bid No Trumps later start with a bid in a
suit
Responding to 1NT with a balanced hand
(See Chart 4 at end of book)
Opening with a suit bid
open your longest suit
with two 5-card suits open the higher-ranking
with two 4-card suits open the higher-ranking Exception with
Spades and Hearts open 1
with three 4-card suits open the middle of 3 in a row or the suit
below the ldquogaprdquo
With a hand of exceptional strength where you do not want partner to
pass even with a very weak hand there is the option of opening with a
strong bid of 2 of your long suit or exceptionally 2clubs (artificial and
strong) ndash see below
Responding to an opening bid of 1clubs 1diams 1hearts 1spades
Raising partnerrsquos suit
with less than 6 points pass
6-9 points raise to the 2-level
How to Play Bridge
10-12 points raise to the 3-level
13+ points raise to the 4-level (in a major)
Responding in No Trumps
1 No Trumps 6-9 points (denies a suit that can be bid at
the 1-level or support for partnerrsquos major suit)
2 No Trumps 10-12 points balanced hand
3 No Trumps 13-15 points balanced hand
Responding in a new suit
a response in a new suit to an opening bid of 1 of a suit is
forcing partner cannot pass
respond in your longest suit
with two 5-card suits respond in the higher-ranking You will
then bid the other suit if practical to give partner a choice
with two or three 4-card suits make the most economical
response
bid your own suit before supporting partnerrsquos minor suit
do not bid in a new suit at the 2-level with less than 9 points
How to Play Bridge
remember that if you lack the strength to respond at the 2-level
you may instead respond 1NT (this need not show a balanced
hand)
a ldquojump shiftrdquo response in a new suit shows 16+ points and is
forcing to game
raising partnerrsquos major suit is a priority
do not raise partnerrsquos minor suit if there is an alternative such as
responding in a suit at the 1-level
Openerrsquos second bid
(1) With a weak hand
Pass if partner has made a non-forcing bid (ie a raise of your
suit or a no trump response)
support partnerrsquos major suit with 4-card support
rebid in a new suit at the 1-level
rebid in a lower-ranking suit at the 2-level (NB the ldquosafety
levelrdquo)
rebid your first suit at the lowest level with at least 5 cards
(2) With a strong hand
Jump raise partnerrsquos major suit (promises at least 4-card
support)
Jump rebid your own long (6-card +) suit
Jump in a new suit ndash forcing to game
How to Play Bridge
Bid a new suit at the 2-level above the ldquosafety levelrdquo ndash a reverse
showing a strong hand This is forcing if partner responded in a
suit at the 2-level
(3) With a balanced hand
rebid in No Trumps to show a balanced hand (but prefer to
bid a major suit if you can)
rebid No Trumps at the lowest level with 15-16 points
rebid No Trumps with a jump with 17-18 points
rebid 3NT with 19 points
Strong Opening Bids
Some hands are very powerful With this type of hand you would
normally open the bidding at the 2-level
An opening bid of 2 2 and 2 show a hand worth about 8 playing
tricks in the suit bid or possibly a strong two-suited hand with similar
strength The idea is that if you were to open with a bid of one of a
suit partner may pass and you may miss game (or even a slam) The
bid is forcing for one round (ie partner must respond)
Normal requirements to open 2 2 and 2
8 Playing Tricks
How to Play Bridge
Responses
2NT is the Negative Response It denies the ability to make any other
response Having given a negative response responder may pass on
the next round if opener makes a simple rebid of the suit that he
opened or bids a second suit without a jump
Positive Responses Any positive response is forcing to game
(at least)
A single raise (eg 2 - 3 ) promises a fit and an ace The hand may
have little more than those minimum requirements or it may be a
strong hand when responder will explore for slam
A double raise (eg 2 - 4) shows trump support with strictly
speaking two second-round controls (Kings or singletons) but denies
an Ace (with an Ace responder would make the stronger single raise
leaving more room to explore for a slam) A single raise is stronger
than a double raise Note it is now common practice to make the
double raise on any hand with support for partner and some values but
lacking an ace the old requirement for two second-round controls
tends to be ignored
A response in a new suit (eg 2 - 3) shows a good 5-card or longer
suit and 7+ points Lacking these basic requirements begin with an
alternative response (perhaps even a negative 2NT and then show
signs of life later in the auction) Do not respond in a bad suit
A jump to 3NT (eg 2 - 3NT) indicates a balanced hand with 10-12
points
A jump in a new suit (eg 2 - 4) promises a solid suit (AKQxxx at
least)
How to Play Bridge
The 2NT opening bid
This shows a balanced hand with 20-22 points It is not forcing but
responder needs only 4+ points to know that the values for game are
probably there
Responses a bid of 3hearts or 3spades shows a 5-card suit and asks opener to
choose between game in no trumps (with only two cards in
responderrsquos suit) or game in the major (ie 4hearts or 4spades)
Acol 2 Opening Bid
The artificial opening bid of 2 shows a super strong hand with either
23+ points in a balanced hand (ie too strong to open with an Acol
2NT bid) or a hand that is too strong even to open with a strong
forcing bid of two of a suit
Responding to a 2 Opening
Negative Response
The response with less than 7 points is an artificial bid of 2 The
opener rebids naturally showing his long suit or bidding NT on a
balanced hand The opening bid of 2 is forcing to game
Exception to the rule there is only one situation where the opening
bid of 2 is not forcing to game If after a 2 negative response
opener rebids 2NT he is showing a balanced 23-24 points With
absolutely no values responder may pass this 2NT rebid However
with as little as 2 or 3 points he should bid again responding to the
2NT rebid in a similar manner to the way in which he would respond
to a 2NT opening bid (ie Stayman 3 and 3 forcing)
Remember how strong the opening hand is before you take the
decision to pass the 2NT rebid
How to Play Bridge
NB if opener after 2 - 2 makes any rebid other than 2NT the
responder must keep the bidding open until game (at least) is reached
Positive responses to a 2 opening
2 2 3 3 7+ points and a 5-card suit or a 4-card suit
headed by the A or K
2NT balanced 7-9 points
3NT balanced 10-12 points
Overcalls and Responses
OVERCALLS
In this section we will be highlighting 3 types of overcalls
Simple Overcall
This is usually a weak bid with as little as 8-12 points but is ideal in
disrupting communication between your opponents and also
informing your partner that you hold a good 5 card suit
For the purposes of illustration we will assume that the opponent on
your right has opened 1 Club You hold a good 5 card suit in Spades
but with only 8-12 points How should you bid
Suit Quality Test
To enable you to bid correctly you should firstly apply the lsquosuit
qualityrsquo test Simply count the length of your long suit in this case
spades and add the number of honour cards in that suit The total is
the strength of your suit quality If the total is 7 then you can make
and overcall of 1 Spade If the total is 8 then you can make an
overcall of 2 Spades and so on
How to Play Bridge
Jump Overcall
For a sound jump overcall you would need to have a 6 card suit
together with a suit quality of 8+ and an opening hand of 12+ points
1 NT Overcall
15-18 points with a balanced hand and a stopper in opponentrsquos suit
RESPONSES TO OVERCALLS
Remember that your partner has overcalled on what is probably a
weak hand with only one good suit and with the intention of
obstructing your opponents Therefore the majority of responses to
his overcall should also be barrages However there are responses
available
Supporting Partner
This is the bid your partner wants to hear most of all because it
means that you are cooperating with the idea of using up your
opponents bidding space All bids supporting partners overcall are
weak To determine your bid the deciding factor is the number of
trumps that you hold Assuming that your partner holds a five card
suit for his overcall you should raise your partners overcall to the
same number of tricks that you have trumps between you
So if you think you have a total of eight trumps between you you
should raise partner to 8 tricks (the two level) If you think you have
nine trumps raise to nine tricks (the three level) and so on
So in a barrage situation it is the number of trumps you hold and the
distribution of your hand that is important not your points
How to Play Bridge
RESPONDING WITH A STRONG HAND
What about when the responder has a genuinely good hand
Obviously you canrsquot just support partner and hope he understands
You must make a different bid and the easiest is the so-called un-
assuming cue bid This is a complicated sounding bid but actually
just involves calling the opponents suit at the lowest available level
What the bid means is that you think that you and your partner hold
the majority of the points and that there might be a game contract in
the offing by your side In other words whereas supporting your
partner is crying wolf to make life difficult for your opponents this
bid is saying that you genuinely think your side holds the majority of
the values and that there may be a possibility of bidding to game
How to Play Bridge
Contract Bridge (Rubber) Scoring
Contracts
NT
1 20 30 40
2 40 60 70
3 60 90 100
4 80 120 130
5 100 150 160
6 120 180 190
7 140 210 220
Slams
Not Vul Vul
Small 500 750
Grand 1000 1500
Rubbers
Three Games 500
Two Games 700
Unfinished Rubbers
Game 300
Part Score 50
Overtricks
per overtrick Not
Vul Vul
Not Doubled trick value
Doubled 100 200
Redoubled 200 400
Undertricks
Not Doubled Doubled
Not Vul Vul Not Vul Vul
1 50 100 100 200
2 100 200 300 500
3 150 300 500 800
4 200 400 800 1100
5 250 500 1100 1400
6 300 600 1400 1700
7 350 700 1700 2000
Other Bonuses
4 trump honours in one hand 100
5 trump honours in one hand 150
4 aces in one hand (NT) 150
Making a doubled Contract 50
Making a redoubled Contract 100
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No
How to Play Bridge
Example of Rubber Bridge scoring
The scoresheet of a completed rubber might look like the example
below (The letters in brackets indicate successive deals as described
in the corresponding footnotes - they would not appear on the
scoresheet)
We They
500
(f)
50 (f)
100
(f)
200
(e)
500
(i)
300
(b)
30 (g)
60 (a) 30 (c)
The Line
60 (a) 100
(c)
End of Game
360
(f)
90 (d)
End of Game
60 (h) 40 (g)
90 (i)
End of
Rubber
(a) we bid 2 hearts and made 10 tricks - 60 below the line for the
contract and 60 above for the overtricks
How to Play Bridge
(b) they bid 4 spades we doubled them and they took only 8 tricks -
we score 100 for their first undertrick and 200 for the second
(c) they bid 3 no trumps and made 10 tricks This gives them a game
(100 below the line) plus 30 above the line for their overtrick A new
line is ruled below the scores to indicate the start of a new game
(d) they bid and made 3 spades
(e) they bid two diamonds and made 6 tricks - they are now
vulnerable so we score 100 for each undertrick
(f) we bid 6 hearts they doubled us but we won all 13 tricks We
score 360 (180 x 2) below the line for our doubled contract giving us
a game 100 above for our doubled non-vulnerable overtrick 50
above for making a doubled contract and 500 bonus for a small slam
bid and made
(g) they bid one no trump and took 8 tricks note that their 90 on deal
(d) was part of the previous game so the 40 below does not give them
a game
(h) we bid 3 clubs and made exactly 9 tricks
(i) they bid 3 hearts and took exactly 9 tricks giving their second
game and the rubber for a bonus of 500 (two games to one)
Adding up the scores we have 1690 and they have 880 Therefore we
have won by 810 points (even though they won the rubber)
In this example the above the line scores were entered starting
immediately above the line and working upwards This is traditional
at least in Britain but not necessary - you can start at the top just
below the WE-THEY headings and work downwards if you prefer
There is a Contract Bridge Scoring Card at the back of this book
How to Play Bridge
DUPLICATE BRIDGE
Duplicate Bridge the system we generally play at Alrewas Bridge
Club is only slightly different to Contract Bridge
In rubber bridge although the better players have a noticable edge
and will undoubtedly win in the long run the outcome of a single
rubber depends heavily on which side is dealt the better cards The
idea of duplicate bridge is to eliminate this element of luck by
having the same hands played more than once by different sets of
players
Suppose we are partners and play a hand of duplicate bridge as North-
South Instead of being rewarded for our absolute score on that hand
our score is compared with those of other players who played the
same deal as North-South against other opponents We win if we
score better than other players managed with our cards and lose if we
score worse
For this comparison to be fair it is necessary that each group of
players who play the same deal should start from the same position
Therefore it is not practicable to play rubbers where the scores
carried forward from deal to deal affect the tactical situation Instead
each deal is scored in its own right and does not affect the scores for
subsequent ones The concept of vulnerability is retained but on each
deal the vulnerability is preassigned
Boards
An almost essential piece of apparatus for playing duplicate bridge is
a set of duplicate boards and a pack of cards for each board Each
board contains four pockets marked North East South and West in
which the cards for the four players are stored Each board also carries
a number to identify it and has marks showing which of the players is
dealer and whether each team is vulnerable or not
Before the boards are played the cards are shuffled dealt and placed
in the pockets by a neutral person or by a player in the presence at
least one opponent
How to Play Bridge
When about to play a board the players take their cards from the
appropriate pockets check to see that they have 13 each and then bid
as usual The mark on the board showing the dealer in practice just
indicates which player is to begin the bidding The opening lead is
always made face down as explained above to give the leaders
partner an opportunity to ask questions about the bidding before the
led card is shown During the play the cards are not played in the
centre of the table but in front of the players At the end of each trick
all four players turn their played card face down The cards played by
each player are overlapped with the longer axis of the card pointing
to the winners of the trick (ie the cards belonging to tricks you have
won are placed upright from your point of view and the ones
belonging to lost tricks sideways) That way you can easily see how
many tricks you have won Also if the cards are kept in order any
dispute about revokes or tricks won or lost can be settled by
reconstructing the play At the end of the play each players cards are
gathered up and replaced in the correct pocket ready for the next time
the board is to be played
When this method of play is used dummy is expected to remain at the
table if at all possible and declarer then always calls dummys cards
rather than pulling them from the dummy You may ask to look at the
cards played to a trick by the other players as long as your own card is
face up Once you have turned your card face down you no longer
have the right to see any of the other cards played to that trick
(Unless you are dummy you are still allowed to peek at your own
played card without exposing it until the lead is made to the next
trick) Scoring
Each board is marked to show whether both sides one side or neither
side is vulnerable for that board You still need to score at least 100
points for tricks bid and made to make a game but on each board
both sides start with zero points towards games - there are no part
scores carried forward
In place of the rubber bonus there are game and part score bonuses
Making a game when vulnerable 500 points
How to Play Bridge
Making a game when not vulnerable 300 points
Making a part score any time 50 points
The rest of the scores are the same as in rubber bridge except that
there are no bonuses for honours in duplicate bridge
BRIDGEMATES
Fortunately although it is good know how the scoring system works
in our case all the scoring is done via our BridgeMates wireless
system All we (generally the players sitting at North table) have to
do is to enter the contract and the result and the system displays the
scores on the computer
MODERN ACOL (Standard English)
There are several methods of bidding Acol is the most used and
there are versions of Acol Modern Acol is the system we use at
Alrewas Bridge Club
Many years ago I was called in to help with a problem Apparently
there were a team of four aspiring rowers who for some odd reason
although there were all fit strong young and healthy trained hard
every day they just couldnrsquot win any rowing races Within minutes I
discovered the reason for their lack of success One of them was
sitting the wrong way round Once corrected their fame became
legendary
However apocryphal this story illustrates the need for all of us to be
paddling in the same direction or in our case to be all playing the
same system particularly so as we generally draw for partners at the
beginning of each playing session Experience players are expected
to play this system particularly when playing with newer members
How to Play Bridge
Bidding Standard English (Acol)
Bidding between partners is an exchange of information Using a very
restricted vocabulary each player in turn tries to describe his hand
The objective is to provide enough information so that one player can
make the decision what suit (if any) should be trumps and how many
tricks should we attempt to take
Initially we will consider the bidding as a dialogue between the pair
with the majority of the high-card strength this is frequently the case
However there are times when the values are more evenly distributed
between the pairs and both sides are then involved in the bidding
phase For now we will ignore this possibility it will be easier to
consider bidding as a partnership exercise before thinking about how
things change when both pairs are bidding
The most important considerations when evaluating your hand for an
opening bid are the high-card strength and the shape of the hand An
opening bid generally requires 12 or more points
Opening the bidding balanced hands
A balanced hand means
no singleton or void
not more than 1 doubleton
no 6-card or longer suit
With 12-14 points (Ace = 4 King = 3 Queen = 2 Jack = 1) and
a balanced hand with no 5-card major suit open 1 No Trump
With 20-22 points and a balanced hand open with a bid of 2NT
With an exceptional hand of 23+ points you will start with an
artificial opening bid of 2clubs - see below
How to Play Bridge
With a balanced hand of 15-19 points you do not initially bid
no trumps You will bid No Trumps later start with a bid in a
suit
Responding to 1NT with a balanced hand
(See Chart 4 at end of book)
Opening with a suit bid
open your longest suit
with two 5-card suits open the higher-ranking
with two 4-card suits open the higher-ranking Exception with
Spades and Hearts open 1
with three 4-card suits open the middle of 3 in a row or the suit
below the ldquogaprdquo
With a hand of exceptional strength where you do not want partner to
pass even with a very weak hand there is the option of opening with a
strong bid of 2 of your long suit or exceptionally 2clubs (artificial and
strong) ndash see below
Responding to an opening bid of 1clubs 1diams 1hearts 1spades
Raising partnerrsquos suit
with less than 6 points pass
6-9 points raise to the 2-level
How to Play Bridge
10-12 points raise to the 3-level
13+ points raise to the 4-level (in a major)
Responding in No Trumps
1 No Trumps 6-9 points (denies a suit that can be bid at
the 1-level or support for partnerrsquos major suit)
2 No Trumps 10-12 points balanced hand
3 No Trumps 13-15 points balanced hand
Responding in a new suit
a response in a new suit to an opening bid of 1 of a suit is
forcing partner cannot pass
respond in your longest suit
with two 5-card suits respond in the higher-ranking You will
then bid the other suit if practical to give partner a choice
with two or three 4-card suits make the most economical
response
bid your own suit before supporting partnerrsquos minor suit
do not bid in a new suit at the 2-level with less than 9 points
How to Play Bridge
remember that if you lack the strength to respond at the 2-level
you may instead respond 1NT (this need not show a balanced
hand)
a ldquojump shiftrdquo response in a new suit shows 16+ points and is
forcing to game
raising partnerrsquos major suit is a priority
do not raise partnerrsquos minor suit if there is an alternative such as
responding in a suit at the 1-level
Openerrsquos second bid
(1) With a weak hand
Pass if partner has made a non-forcing bid (ie a raise of your
suit or a no trump response)
support partnerrsquos major suit with 4-card support
rebid in a new suit at the 1-level
rebid in a lower-ranking suit at the 2-level (NB the ldquosafety
levelrdquo)
rebid your first suit at the lowest level with at least 5 cards
(2) With a strong hand
Jump raise partnerrsquos major suit (promises at least 4-card
support)
Jump rebid your own long (6-card +) suit
Jump in a new suit ndash forcing to game
How to Play Bridge
Bid a new suit at the 2-level above the ldquosafety levelrdquo ndash a reverse
showing a strong hand This is forcing if partner responded in a
suit at the 2-level
(3) With a balanced hand
rebid in No Trumps to show a balanced hand (but prefer to
bid a major suit if you can)
rebid No Trumps at the lowest level with 15-16 points
rebid No Trumps with a jump with 17-18 points
rebid 3NT with 19 points
Strong Opening Bids
Some hands are very powerful With this type of hand you would
normally open the bidding at the 2-level
An opening bid of 2 2 and 2 show a hand worth about 8 playing
tricks in the suit bid or possibly a strong two-suited hand with similar
strength The idea is that if you were to open with a bid of one of a
suit partner may pass and you may miss game (or even a slam) The
bid is forcing for one round (ie partner must respond)
Normal requirements to open 2 2 and 2
8 Playing Tricks
How to Play Bridge
Responses
2NT is the Negative Response It denies the ability to make any other
response Having given a negative response responder may pass on
the next round if opener makes a simple rebid of the suit that he
opened or bids a second suit without a jump
Positive Responses Any positive response is forcing to game
(at least)
A single raise (eg 2 - 3 ) promises a fit and an ace The hand may
have little more than those minimum requirements or it may be a
strong hand when responder will explore for slam
A double raise (eg 2 - 4) shows trump support with strictly
speaking two second-round controls (Kings or singletons) but denies
an Ace (with an Ace responder would make the stronger single raise
leaving more room to explore for a slam) A single raise is stronger
than a double raise Note it is now common practice to make the
double raise on any hand with support for partner and some values but
lacking an ace the old requirement for two second-round controls
tends to be ignored
A response in a new suit (eg 2 - 3) shows a good 5-card or longer
suit and 7+ points Lacking these basic requirements begin with an
alternative response (perhaps even a negative 2NT and then show
signs of life later in the auction) Do not respond in a bad suit
A jump to 3NT (eg 2 - 3NT) indicates a balanced hand with 10-12
points
A jump in a new suit (eg 2 - 4) promises a solid suit (AKQxxx at
least)
How to Play Bridge
The 2NT opening bid
This shows a balanced hand with 20-22 points It is not forcing but
responder needs only 4+ points to know that the values for game are
probably there
Responses a bid of 3hearts or 3spades shows a 5-card suit and asks opener to
choose between game in no trumps (with only two cards in
responderrsquos suit) or game in the major (ie 4hearts or 4spades)
Acol 2 Opening Bid
The artificial opening bid of 2 shows a super strong hand with either
23+ points in a balanced hand (ie too strong to open with an Acol
2NT bid) or a hand that is too strong even to open with a strong
forcing bid of two of a suit
Responding to a 2 Opening
Negative Response
The response with less than 7 points is an artificial bid of 2 The
opener rebids naturally showing his long suit or bidding NT on a
balanced hand The opening bid of 2 is forcing to game
Exception to the rule there is only one situation where the opening
bid of 2 is not forcing to game If after a 2 negative response
opener rebids 2NT he is showing a balanced 23-24 points With
absolutely no values responder may pass this 2NT rebid However
with as little as 2 or 3 points he should bid again responding to the
2NT rebid in a similar manner to the way in which he would respond
to a 2NT opening bid (ie Stayman 3 and 3 forcing)
Remember how strong the opening hand is before you take the
decision to pass the 2NT rebid
How to Play Bridge
NB if opener after 2 - 2 makes any rebid other than 2NT the
responder must keep the bidding open until game (at least) is reached
Positive responses to a 2 opening
2 2 3 3 7+ points and a 5-card suit or a 4-card suit
headed by the A or K
2NT balanced 7-9 points
3NT balanced 10-12 points
Overcalls and Responses
OVERCALLS
In this section we will be highlighting 3 types of overcalls
Simple Overcall
This is usually a weak bid with as little as 8-12 points but is ideal in
disrupting communication between your opponents and also
informing your partner that you hold a good 5 card suit
For the purposes of illustration we will assume that the opponent on
your right has opened 1 Club You hold a good 5 card suit in Spades
but with only 8-12 points How should you bid
Suit Quality Test
To enable you to bid correctly you should firstly apply the lsquosuit
qualityrsquo test Simply count the length of your long suit in this case
spades and add the number of honour cards in that suit The total is
the strength of your suit quality If the total is 7 then you can make
and overcall of 1 Spade If the total is 8 then you can make an
overcall of 2 Spades and so on
How to Play Bridge
Jump Overcall
For a sound jump overcall you would need to have a 6 card suit
together with a suit quality of 8+ and an opening hand of 12+ points
1 NT Overcall
15-18 points with a balanced hand and a stopper in opponentrsquos suit
RESPONSES TO OVERCALLS
Remember that your partner has overcalled on what is probably a
weak hand with only one good suit and with the intention of
obstructing your opponents Therefore the majority of responses to
his overcall should also be barrages However there are responses
available
Supporting Partner
This is the bid your partner wants to hear most of all because it
means that you are cooperating with the idea of using up your
opponents bidding space All bids supporting partners overcall are
weak To determine your bid the deciding factor is the number of
trumps that you hold Assuming that your partner holds a five card
suit for his overcall you should raise your partners overcall to the
same number of tricks that you have trumps between you
So if you think you have a total of eight trumps between you you
should raise partner to 8 tricks (the two level) If you think you have
nine trumps raise to nine tricks (the three level) and so on
So in a barrage situation it is the number of trumps you hold and the
distribution of your hand that is important not your points
How to Play Bridge
RESPONDING WITH A STRONG HAND
What about when the responder has a genuinely good hand
Obviously you canrsquot just support partner and hope he understands
You must make a different bid and the easiest is the so-called un-
assuming cue bid This is a complicated sounding bid but actually
just involves calling the opponents suit at the lowest available level
What the bid means is that you think that you and your partner hold
the majority of the points and that there might be a game contract in
the offing by your side In other words whereas supporting your
partner is crying wolf to make life difficult for your opponents this
bid is saying that you genuinely think your side holds the majority of
the values and that there may be a possibility of bidding to game
How to Play Bridge
Contract Bridge (Rubber) Scoring
Contracts
NT
1 20 30 40
2 40 60 70
3 60 90 100
4 80 120 130
5 100 150 160
6 120 180 190
7 140 210 220
Slams
Not Vul Vul
Small 500 750
Grand 1000 1500
Rubbers
Three Games 500
Two Games 700
Unfinished Rubbers
Game 300
Part Score 50
Overtricks
per overtrick Not
Vul Vul
Not Doubled trick value
Doubled 100 200
Redoubled 200 400
Undertricks
Not Doubled Doubled
Not Vul Vul Not Vul Vul
1 50 100 100 200
2 100 200 300 500
3 150 300 500 800
4 200 400 800 1100
5 250 500 1100 1400
6 300 600 1400 1700
7 350 700 1700 2000
Other Bonuses
4 trump honours in one hand 100
5 trump honours in one hand 150
4 aces in one hand (NT) 150
Making a doubled Contract 50
Making a redoubled Contract 100
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No
How to Play Bridge
(b) they bid 4 spades we doubled them and they took only 8 tricks -
we score 100 for their first undertrick and 200 for the second
(c) they bid 3 no trumps and made 10 tricks This gives them a game
(100 below the line) plus 30 above the line for their overtrick A new
line is ruled below the scores to indicate the start of a new game
(d) they bid and made 3 spades
(e) they bid two diamonds and made 6 tricks - they are now
vulnerable so we score 100 for each undertrick
(f) we bid 6 hearts they doubled us but we won all 13 tricks We
score 360 (180 x 2) below the line for our doubled contract giving us
a game 100 above for our doubled non-vulnerable overtrick 50
above for making a doubled contract and 500 bonus for a small slam
bid and made
(g) they bid one no trump and took 8 tricks note that their 90 on deal
(d) was part of the previous game so the 40 below does not give them
a game
(h) we bid 3 clubs and made exactly 9 tricks
(i) they bid 3 hearts and took exactly 9 tricks giving their second
game and the rubber for a bonus of 500 (two games to one)
Adding up the scores we have 1690 and they have 880 Therefore we
have won by 810 points (even though they won the rubber)
In this example the above the line scores were entered starting
immediately above the line and working upwards This is traditional
at least in Britain but not necessary - you can start at the top just
below the WE-THEY headings and work downwards if you prefer
There is a Contract Bridge Scoring Card at the back of this book
How to Play Bridge
DUPLICATE BRIDGE
Duplicate Bridge the system we generally play at Alrewas Bridge
Club is only slightly different to Contract Bridge
In rubber bridge although the better players have a noticable edge
and will undoubtedly win in the long run the outcome of a single
rubber depends heavily on which side is dealt the better cards The
idea of duplicate bridge is to eliminate this element of luck by
having the same hands played more than once by different sets of
players
Suppose we are partners and play a hand of duplicate bridge as North-
South Instead of being rewarded for our absolute score on that hand
our score is compared with those of other players who played the
same deal as North-South against other opponents We win if we
score better than other players managed with our cards and lose if we
score worse
For this comparison to be fair it is necessary that each group of
players who play the same deal should start from the same position
Therefore it is not practicable to play rubbers where the scores
carried forward from deal to deal affect the tactical situation Instead
each deal is scored in its own right and does not affect the scores for
subsequent ones The concept of vulnerability is retained but on each
deal the vulnerability is preassigned
Boards
An almost essential piece of apparatus for playing duplicate bridge is
a set of duplicate boards and a pack of cards for each board Each
board contains four pockets marked North East South and West in
which the cards for the four players are stored Each board also carries
a number to identify it and has marks showing which of the players is
dealer and whether each team is vulnerable or not
Before the boards are played the cards are shuffled dealt and placed
in the pockets by a neutral person or by a player in the presence at
least one opponent
How to Play Bridge
When about to play a board the players take their cards from the
appropriate pockets check to see that they have 13 each and then bid
as usual The mark on the board showing the dealer in practice just
indicates which player is to begin the bidding The opening lead is
always made face down as explained above to give the leaders
partner an opportunity to ask questions about the bidding before the
led card is shown During the play the cards are not played in the
centre of the table but in front of the players At the end of each trick
all four players turn their played card face down The cards played by
each player are overlapped with the longer axis of the card pointing
to the winners of the trick (ie the cards belonging to tricks you have
won are placed upright from your point of view and the ones
belonging to lost tricks sideways) That way you can easily see how
many tricks you have won Also if the cards are kept in order any
dispute about revokes or tricks won or lost can be settled by
reconstructing the play At the end of the play each players cards are
gathered up and replaced in the correct pocket ready for the next time
the board is to be played
When this method of play is used dummy is expected to remain at the
table if at all possible and declarer then always calls dummys cards
rather than pulling them from the dummy You may ask to look at the
cards played to a trick by the other players as long as your own card is
face up Once you have turned your card face down you no longer
have the right to see any of the other cards played to that trick
(Unless you are dummy you are still allowed to peek at your own
played card without exposing it until the lead is made to the next
trick) Scoring
Each board is marked to show whether both sides one side or neither
side is vulnerable for that board You still need to score at least 100
points for tricks bid and made to make a game but on each board
both sides start with zero points towards games - there are no part
scores carried forward
In place of the rubber bonus there are game and part score bonuses
Making a game when vulnerable 500 points
How to Play Bridge
Making a game when not vulnerable 300 points
Making a part score any time 50 points
The rest of the scores are the same as in rubber bridge except that
there are no bonuses for honours in duplicate bridge
BRIDGEMATES
Fortunately although it is good know how the scoring system works
in our case all the scoring is done via our BridgeMates wireless
system All we (generally the players sitting at North table) have to
do is to enter the contract and the result and the system displays the
scores on the computer
MODERN ACOL (Standard English)
There are several methods of bidding Acol is the most used and
there are versions of Acol Modern Acol is the system we use at
Alrewas Bridge Club
Many years ago I was called in to help with a problem Apparently
there were a team of four aspiring rowers who for some odd reason
although there were all fit strong young and healthy trained hard
every day they just couldnrsquot win any rowing races Within minutes I
discovered the reason for their lack of success One of them was
sitting the wrong way round Once corrected their fame became
legendary
However apocryphal this story illustrates the need for all of us to be
paddling in the same direction or in our case to be all playing the
same system particularly so as we generally draw for partners at the
beginning of each playing session Experience players are expected
to play this system particularly when playing with newer members
How to Play Bridge
Bidding Standard English (Acol)
Bidding between partners is an exchange of information Using a very
restricted vocabulary each player in turn tries to describe his hand
The objective is to provide enough information so that one player can
make the decision what suit (if any) should be trumps and how many
tricks should we attempt to take
Initially we will consider the bidding as a dialogue between the pair
with the majority of the high-card strength this is frequently the case
However there are times when the values are more evenly distributed
between the pairs and both sides are then involved in the bidding
phase For now we will ignore this possibility it will be easier to
consider bidding as a partnership exercise before thinking about how
things change when both pairs are bidding
The most important considerations when evaluating your hand for an
opening bid are the high-card strength and the shape of the hand An
opening bid generally requires 12 or more points
Opening the bidding balanced hands
A balanced hand means
no singleton or void
not more than 1 doubleton
no 6-card or longer suit
With 12-14 points (Ace = 4 King = 3 Queen = 2 Jack = 1) and
a balanced hand with no 5-card major suit open 1 No Trump
With 20-22 points and a balanced hand open with a bid of 2NT
With an exceptional hand of 23+ points you will start with an
artificial opening bid of 2clubs - see below
How to Play Bridge
With a balanced hand of 15-19 points you do not initially bid
no trumps You will bid No Trumps later start with a bid in a
suit
Responding to 1NT with a balanced hand
(See Chart 4 at end of book)
Opening with a suit bid
open your longest suit
with two 5-card suits open the higher-ranking
with two 4-card suits open the higher-ranking Exception with
Spades and Hearts open 1
with three 4-card suits open the middle of 3 in a row or the suit
below the ldquogaprdquo
With a hand of exceptional strength where you do not want partner to
pass even with a very weak hand there is the option of opening with a
strong bid of 2 of your long suit or exceptionally 2clubs (artificial and
strong) ndash see below
Responding to an opening bid of 1clubs 1diams 1hearts 1spades
Raising partnerrsquos suit
with less than 6 points pass
6-9 points raise to the 2-level
How to Play Bridge
10-12 points raise to the 3-level
13+ points raise to the 4-level (in a major)
Responding in No Trumps
1 No Trumps 6-9 points (denies a suit that can be bid at
the 1-level or support for partnerrsquos major suit)
2 No Trumps 10-12 points balanced hand
3 No Trumps 13-15 points balanced hand
Responding in a new suit
a response in a new suit to an opening bid of 1 of a suit is
forcing partner cannot pass
respond in your longest suit
with two 5-card suits respond in the higher-ranking You will
then bid the other suit if practical to give partner a choice
with two or three 4-card suits make the most economical
response
bid your own suit before supporting partnerrsquos minor suit
do not bid in a new suit at the 2-level with less than 9 points
How to Play Bridge
remember that if you lack the strength to respond at the 2-level
you may instead respond 1NT (this need not show a balanced
hand)
a ldquojump shiftrdquo response in a new suit shows 16+ points and is
forcing to game
raising partnerrsquos major suit is a priority
do not raise partnerrsquos minor suit if there is an alternative such as
responding in a suit at the 1-level
Openerrsquos second bid
(1) With a weak hand
Pass if partner has made a non-forcing bid (ie a raise of your
suit or a no trump response)
support partnerrsquos major suit with 4-card support
rebid in a new suit at the 1-level
rebid in a lower-ranking suit at the 2-level (NB the ldquosafety
levelrdquo)
rebid your first suit at the lowest level with at least 5 cards
(2) With a strong hand
Jump raise partnerrsquos major suit (promises at least 4-card
support)
Jump rebid your own long (6-card +) suit
Jump in a new suit ndash forcing to game
How to Play Bridge
Bid a new suit at the 2-level above the ldquosafety levelrdquo ndash a reverse
showing a strong hand This is forcing if partner responded in a
suit at the 2-level
(3) With a balanced hand
rebid in No Trumps to show a balanced hand (but prefer to
bid a major suit if you can)
rebid No Trumps at the lowest level with 15-16 points
rebid No Trumps with a jump with 17-18 points
rebid 3NT with 19 points
Strong Opening Bids
Some hands are very powerful With this type of hand you would
normally open the bidding at the 2-level
An opening bid of 2 2 and 2 show a hand worth about 8 playing
tricks in the suit bid or possibly a strong two-suited hand with similar
strength The idea is that if you were to open with a bid of one of a
suit partner may pass and you may miss game (or even a slam) The
bid is forcing for one round (ie partner must respond)
Normal requirements to open 2 2 and 2
8 Playing Tricks
How to Play Bridge
Responses
2NT is the Negative Response It denies the ability to make any other
response Having given a negative response responder may pass on
the next round if opener makes a simple rebid of the suit that he
opened or bids a second suit without a jump
Positive Responses Any positive response is forcing to game
(at least)
A single raise (eg 2 - 3 ) promises a fit and an ace The hand may
have little more than those minimum requirements or it may be a
strong hand when responder will explore for slam
A double raise (eg 2 - 4) shows trump support with strictly
speaking two second-round controls (Kings or singletons) but denies
an Ace (with an Ace responder would make the stronger single raise
leaving more room to explore for a slam) A single raise is stronger
than a double raise Note it is now common practice to make the
double raise on any hand with support for partner and some values but
lacking an ace the old requirement for two second-round controls
tends to be ignored
A response in a new suit (eg 2 - 3) shows a good 5-card or longer
suit and 7+ points Lacking these basic requirements begin with an
alternative response (perhaps even a negative 2NT and then show
signs of life later in the auction) Do not respond in a bad suit
A jump to 3NT (eg 2 - 3NT) indicates a balanced hand with 10-12
points
A jump in a new suit (eg 2 - 4) promises a solid suit (AKQxxx at
least)
How to Play Bridge
The 2NT opening bid
This shows a balanced hand with 20-22 points It is not forcing but
responder needs only 4+ points to know that the values for game are
probably there
Responses a bid of 3hearts or 3spades shows a 5-card suit and asks opener to
choose between game in no trumps (with only two cards in
responderrsquos suit) or game in the major (ie 4hearts or 4spades)
Acol 2 Opening Bid
The artificial opening bid of 2 shows a super strong hand with either
23+ points in a balanced hand (ie too strong to open with an Acol
2NT bid) or a hand that is too strong even to open with a strong
forcing bid of two of a suit
Responding to a 2 Opening
Negative Response
The response with less than 7 points is an artificial bid of 2 The
opener rebids naturally showing his long suit or bidding NT on a
balanced hand The opening bid of 2 is forcing to game
Exception to the rule there is only one situation where the opening
bid of 2 is not forcing to game If after a 2 negative response
opener rebids 2NT he is showing a balanced 23-24 points With
absolutely no values responder may pass this 2NT rebid However
with as little as 2 or 3 points he should bid again responding to the
2NT rebid in a similar manner to the way in which he would respond
to a 2NT opening bid (ie Stayman 3 and 3 forcing)
Remember how strong the opening hand is before you take the
decision to pass the 2NT rebid
How to Play Bridge
NB if opener after 2 - 2 makes any rebid other than 2NT the
responder must keep the bidding open until game (at least) is reached
Positive responses to a 2 opening
2 2 3 3 7+ points and a 5-card suit or a 4-card suit
headed by the A or K
2NT balanced 7-9 points
3NT balanced 10-12 points
Overcalls and Responses
OVERCALLS
In this section we will be highlighting 3 types of overcalls
Simple Overcall
This is usually a weak bid with as little as 8-12 points but is ideal in
disrupting communication between your opponents and also
informing your partner that you hold a good 5 card suit
For the purposes of illustration we will assume that the opponent on
your right has opened 1 Club You hold a good 5 card suit in Spades
but with only 8-12 points How should you bid
Suit Quality Test
To enable you to bid correctly you should firstly apply the lsquosuit
qualityrsquo test Simply count the length of your long suit in this case
spades and add the number of honour cards in that suit The total is
the strength of your suit quality If the total is 7 then you can make
and overcall of 1 Spade If the total is 8 then you can make an
overcall of 2 Spades and so on
How to Play Bridge
Jump Overcall
For a sound jump overcall you would need to have a 6 card suit
together with a suit quality of 8+ and an opening hand of 12+ points
1 NT Overcall
15-18 points with a balanced hand and a stopper in opponentrsquos suit
RESPONSES TO OVERCALLS
Remember that your partner has overcalled on what is probably a
weak hand with only one good suit and with the intention of
obstructing your opponents Therefore the majority of responses to
his overcall should also be barrages However there are responses
available
Supporting Partner
This is the bid your partner wants to hear most of all because it
means that you are cooperating with the idea of using up your
opponents bidding space All bids supporting partners overcall are
weak To determine your bid the deciding factor is the number of
trumps that you hold Assuming that your partner holds a five card
suit for his overcall you should raise your partners overcall to the
same number of tricks that you have trumps between you
So if you think you have a total of eight trumps between you you
should raise partner to 8 tricks (the two level) If you think you have
nine trumps raise to nine tricks (the three level) and so on
So in a barrage situation it is the number of trumps you hold and the
distribution of your hand that is important not your points
How to Play Bridge
RESPONDING WITH A STRONG HAND
What about when the responder has a genuinely good hand
Obviously you canrsquot just support partner and hope he understands
You must make a different bid and the easiest is the so-called un-
assuming cue bid This is a complicated sounding bid but actually
just involves calling the opponents suit at the lowest available level
What the bid means is that you think that you and your partner hold
the majority of the points and that there might be a game contract in
the offing by your side In other words whereas supporting your
partner is crying wolf to make life difficult for your opponents this
bid is saying that you genuinely think your side holds the majority of
the values and that there may be a possibility of bidding to game
How to Play Bridge
Contract Bridge (Rubber) Scoring
Contracts
NT
1 20 30 40
2 40 60 70
3 60 90 100
4 80 120 130
5 100 150 160
6 120 180 190
7 140 210 220
Slams
Not Vul Vul
Small 500 750
Grand 1000 1500
Rubbers
Three Games 500
Two Games 700
Unfinished Rubbers
Game 300
Part Score 50
Overtricks
per overtrick Not
Vul Vul
Not Doubled trick value
Doubled 100 200
Redoubled 200 400
Undertricks
Not Doubled Doubled
Not Vul Vul Not Vul Vul
1 50 100 100 200
2 100 200 300 500
3 150 300 500 800
4 200 400 800 1100
5 250 500 1100 1400
6 300 600 1400 1700
7 350 700 1700 2000
Other Bonuses
4 trump honours in one hand 100
5 trump honours in one hand 150
4 aces in one hand (NT) 150
Making a doubled Contract 50
Making a redoubled Contract 100
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No
How to Play Bridge
DUPLICATE BRIDGE
Duplicate Bridge the system we generally play at Alrewas Bridge
Club is only slightly different to Contract Bridge
In rubber bridge although the better players have a noticable edge
and will undoubtedly win in the long run the outcome of a single
rubber depends heavily on which side is dealt the better cards The
idea of duplicate bridge is to eliminate this element of luck by
having the same hands played more than once by different sets of
players
Suppose we are partners and play a hand of duplicate bridge as North-
South Instead of being rewarded for our absolute score on that hand
our score is compared with those of other players who played the
same deal as North-South against other opponents We win if we
score better than other players managed with our cards and lose if we
score worse
For this comparison to be fair it is necessary that each group of
players who play the same deal should start from the same position
Therefore it is not practicable to play rubbers where the scores
carried forward from deal to deal affect the tactical situation Instead
each deal is scored in its own right and does not affect the scores for
subsequent ones The concept of vulnerability is retained but on each
deal the vulnerability is preassigned
Boards
An almost essential piece of apparatus for playing duplicate bridge is
a set of duplicate boards and a pack of cards for each board Each
board contains four pockets marked North East South and West in
which the cards for the four players are stored Each board also carries
a number to identify it and has marks showing which of the players is
dealer and whether each team is vulnerable or not
Before the boards are played the cards are shuffled dealt and placed
in the pockets by a neutral person or by a player in the presence at
least one opponent
How to Play Bridge
When about to play a board the players take their cards from the
appropriate pockets check to see that they have 13 each and then bid
as usual The mark on the board showing the dealer in practice just
indicates which player is to begin the bidding The opening lead is
always made face down as explained above to give the leaders
partner an opportunity to ask questions about the bidding before the
led card is shown During the play the cards are not played in the
centre of the table but in front of the players At the end of each trick
all four players turn their played card face down The cards played by
each player are overlapped with the longer axis of the card pointing
to the winners of the trick (ie the cards belonging to tricks you have
won are placed upright from your point of view and the ones
belonging to lost tricks sideways) That way you can easily see how
many tricks you have won Also if the cards are kept in order any
dispute about revokes or tricks won or lost can be settled by
reconstructing the play At the end of the play each players cards are
gathered up and replaced in the correct pocket ready for the next time
the board is to be played
When this method of play is used dummy is expected to remain at the
table if at all possible and declarer then always calls dummys cards
rather than pulling them from the dummy You may ask to look at the
cards played to a trick by the other players as long as your own card is
face up Once you have turned your card face down you no longer
have the right to see any of the other cards played to that trick
(Unless you are dummy you are still allowed to peek at your own
played card without exposing it until the lead is made to the next
trick) Scoring
Each board is marked to show whether both sides one side or neither
side is vulnerable for that board You still need to score at least 100
points for tricks bid and made to make a game but on each board
both sides start with zero points towards games - there are no part
scores carried forward
In place of the rubber bonus there are game and part score bonuses
Making a game when vulnerable 500 points
How to Play Bridge
Making a game when not vulnerable 300 points
Making a part score any time 50 points
The rest of the scores are the same as in rubber bridge except that
there are no bonuses for honours in duplicate bridge
BRIDGEMATES
Fortunately although it is good know how the scoring system works
in our case all the scoring is done via our BridgeMates wireless
system All we (generally the players sitting at North table) have to
do is to enter the contract and the result and the system displays the
scores on the computer
MODERN ACOL (Standard English)
There are several methods of bidding Acol is the most used and
there are versions of Acol Modern Acol is the system we use at
Alrewas Bridge Club
Many years ago I was called in to help with a problem Apparently
there were a team of four aspiring rowers who for some odd reason
although there were all fit strong young and healthy trained hard
every day they just couldnrsquot win any rowing races Within minutes I
discovered the reason for their lack of success One of them was
sitting the wrong way round Once corrected their fame became
legendary
However apocryphal this story illustrates the need for all of us to be
paddling in the same direction or in our case to be all playing the
same system particularly so as we generally draw for partners at the
beginning of each playing session Experience players are expected
to play this system particularly when playing with newer members
How to Play Bridge
Bidding Standard English (Acol)
Bidding between partners is an exchange of information Using a very
restricted vocabulary each player in turn tries to describe his hand
The objective is to provide enough information so that one player can
make the decision what suit (if any) should be trumps and how many
tricks should we attempt to take
Initially we will consider the bidding as a dialogue between the pair
with the majority of the high-card strength this is frequently the case
However there are times when the values are more evenly distributed
between the pairs and both sides are then involved in the bidding
phase For now we will ignore this possibility it will be easier to
consider bidding as a partnership exercise before thinking about how
things change when both pairs are bidding
The most important considerations when evaluating your hand for an
opening bid are the high-card strength and the shape of the hand An
opening bid generally requires 12 or more points
Opening the bidding balanced hands
A balanced hand means
no singleton or void
not more than 1 doubleton
no 6-card or longer suit
With 12-14 points (Ace = 4 King = 3 Queen = 2 Jack = 1) and
a balanced hand with no 5-card major suit open 1 No Trump
With 20-22 points and a balanced hand open with a bid of 2NT
With an exceptional hand of 23+ points you will start with an
artificial opening bid of 2clubs - see below
How to Play Bridge
With a balanced hand of 15-19 points you do not initially bid
no trumps You will bid No Trumps later start with a bid in a
suit
Responding to 1NT with a balanced hand
(See Chart 4 at end of book)
Opening with a suit bid
open your longest suit
with two 5-card suits open the higher-ranking
with two 4-card suits open the higher-ranking Exception with
Spades and Hearts open 1
with three 4-card suits open the middle of 3 in a row or the suit
below the ldquogaprdquo
With a hand of exceptional strength where you do not want partner to
pass even with a very weak hand there is the option of opening with a
strong bid of 2 of your long suit or exceptionally 2clubs (artificial and
strong) ndash see below
Responding to an opening bid of 1clubs 1diams 1hearts 1spades
Raising partnerrsquos suit
with less than 6 points pass
6-9 points raise to the 2-level
How to Play Bridge
10-12 points raise to the 3-level
13+ points raise to the 4-level (in a major)
Responding in No Trumps
1 No Trumps 6-9 points (denies a suit that can be bid at
the 1-level or support for partnerrsquos major suit)
2 No Trumps 10-12 points balanced hand
3 No Trumps 13-15 points balanced hand
Responding in a new suit
a response in a new suit to an opening bid of 1 of a suit is
forcing partner cannot pass
respond in your longest suit
with two 5-card suits respond in the higher-ranking You will
then bid the other suit if practical to give partner a choice
with two or three 4-card suits make the most economical
response
bid your own suit before supporting partnerrsquos minor suit
do not bid in a new suit at the 2-level with less than 9 points
How to Play Bridge
remember that if you lack the strength to respond at the 2-level
you may instead respond 1NT (this need not show a balanced
hand)
a ldquojump shiftrdquo response in a new suit shows 16+ points and is
forcing to game
raising partnerrsquos major suit is a priority
do not raise partnerrsquos minor suit if there is an alternative such as
responding in a suit at the 1-level
Openerrsquos second bid
(1) With a weak hand
Pass if partner has made a non-forcing bid (ie a raise of your
suit or a no trump response)
support partnerrsquos major suit with 4-card support
rebid in a new suit at the 1-level
rebid in a lower-ranking suit at the 2-level (NB the ldquosafety
levelrdquo)
rebid your first suit at the lowest level with at least 5 cards
(2) With a strong hand
Jump raise partnerrsquos major suit (promises at least 4-card
support)
Jump rebid your own long (6-card +) suit
Jump in a new suit ndash forcing to game
How to Play Bridge
Bid a new suit at the 2-level above the ldquosafety levelrdquo ndash a reverse
showing a strong hand This is forcing if partner responded in a
suit at the 2-level
(3) With a balanced hand
rebid in No Trumps to show a balanced hand (but prefer to
bid a major suit if you can)
rebid No Trumps at the lowest level with 15-16 points
rebid No Trumps with a jump with 17-18 points
rebid 3NT with 19 points
Strong Opening Bids
Some hands are very powerful With this type of hand you would
normally open the bidding at the 2-level
An opening bid of 2 2 and 2 show a hand worth about 8 playing
tricks in the suit bid or possibly a strong two-suited hand with similar
strength The idea is that if you were to open with a bid of one of a
suit partner may pass and you may miss game (or even a slam) The
bid is forcing for one round (ie partner must respond)
Normal requirements to open 2 2 and 2
8 Playing Tricks
How to Play Bridge
Responses
2NT is the Negative Response It denies the ability to make any other
response Having given a negative response responder may pass on
the next round if opener makes a simple rebid of the suit that he
opened or bids a second suit without a jump
Positive Responses Any positive response is forcing to game
(at least)
A single raise (eg 2 - 3 ) promises a fit and an ace The hand may
have little more than those minimum requirements or it may be a
strong hand when responder will explore for slam
A double raise (eg 2 - 4) shows trump support with strictly
speaking two second-round controls (Kings or singletons) but denies
an Ace (with an Ace responder would make the stronger single raise
leaving more room to explore for a slam) A single raise is stronger
than a double raise Note it is now common practice to make the
double raise on any hand with support for partner and some values but
lacking an ace the old requirement for two second-round controls
tends to be ignored
A response in a new suit (eg 2 - 3) shows a good 5-card or longer
suit and 7+ points Lacking these basic requirements begin with an
alternative response (perhaps even a negative 2NT and then show
signs of life later in the auction) Do not respond in a bad suit
A jump to 3NT (eg 2 - 3NT) indicates a balanced hand with 10-12
points
A jump in a new suit (eg 2 - 4) promises a solid suit (AKQxxx at
least)
How to Play Bridge
The 2NT opening bid
This shows a balanced hand with 20-22 points It is not forcing but
responder needs only 4+ points to know that the values for game are
probably there
Responses a bid of 3hearts or 3spades shows a 5-card suit and asks opener to
choose between game in no trumps (with only two cards in
responderrsquos suit) or game in the major (ie 4hearts or 4spades)
Acol 2 Opening Bid
The artificial opening bid of 2 shows a super strong hand with either
23+ points in a balanced hand (ie too strong to open with an Acol
2NT bid) or a hand that is too strong even to open with a strong
forcing bid of two of a suit
Responding to a 2 Opening
Negative Response
The response with less than 7 points is an artificial bid of 2 The
opener rebids naturally showing his long suit or bidding NT on a
balanced hand The opening bid of 2 is forcing to game
Exception to the rule there is only one situation where the opening
bid of 2 is not forcing to game If after a 2 negative response
opener rebids 2NT he is showing a balanced 23-24 points With
absolutely no values responder may pass this 2NT rebid However
with as little as 2 or 3 points he should bid again responding to the
2NT rebid in a similar manner to the way in which he would respond
to a 2NT opening bid (ie Stayman 3 and 3 forcing)
Remember how strong the opening hand is before you take the
decision to pass the 2NT rebid
How to Play Bridge
NB if opener after 2 - 2 makes any rebid other than 2NT the
responder must keep the bidding open until game (at least) is reached
Positive responses to a 2 opening
2 2 3 3 7+ points and a 5-card suit or a 4-card suit
headed by the A or K
2NT balanced 7-9 points
3NT balanced 10-12 points
Overcalls and Responses
OVERCALLS
In this section we will be highlighting 3 types of overcalls
Simple Overcall
This is usually a weak bid with as little as 8-12 points but is ideal in
disrupting communication between your opponents and also
informing your partner that you hold a good 5 card suit
For the purposes of illustration we will assume that the opponent on
your right has opened 1 Club You hold a good 5 card suit in Spades
but with only 8-12 points How should you bid
Suit Quality Test
To enable you to bid correctly you should firstly apply the lsquosuit
qualityrsquo test Simply count the length of your long suit in this case
spades and add the number of honour cards in that suit The total is
the strength of your suit quality If the total is 7 then you can make
and overcall of 1 Spade If the total is 8 then you can make an
overcall of 2 Spades and so on
How to Play Bridge
Jump Overcall
For a sound jump overcall you would need to have a 6 card suit
together with a suit quality of 8+ and an opening hand of 12+ points
1 NT Overcall
15-18 points with a balanced hand and a stopper in opponentrsquos suit
RESPONSES TO OVERCALLS
Remember that your partner has overcalled on what is probably a
weak hand with only one good suit and with the intention of
obstructing your opponents Therefore the majority of responses to
his overcall should also be barrages However there are responses
available
Supporting Partner
This is the bid your partner wants to hear most of all because it
means that you are cooperating with the idea of using up your
opponents bidding space All bids supporting partners overcall are
weak To determine your bid the deciding factor is the number of
trumps that you hold Assuming that your partner holds a five card
suit for his overcall you should raise your partners overcall to the
same number of tricks that you have trumps between you
So if you think you have a total of eight trumps between you you
should raise partner to 8 tricks (the two level) If you think you have
nine trumps raise to nine tricks (the three level) and so on
So in a barrage situation it is the number of trumps you hold and the
distribution of your hand that is important not your points
How to Play Bridge
RESPONDING WITH A STRONG HAND
What about when the responder has a genuinely good hand
Obviously you canrsquot just support partner and hope he understands
You must make a different bid and the easiest is the so-called un-
assuming cue bid This is a complicated sounding bid but actually
just involves calling the opponents suit at the lowest available level
What the bid means is that you think that you and your partner hold
the majority of the points and that there might be a game contract in
the offing by your side In other words whereas supporting your
partner is crying wolf to make life difficult for your opponents this
bid is saying that you genuinely think your side holds the majority of
the values and that there may be a possibility of bidding to game
How to Play Bridge
Contract Bridge (Rubber) Scoring
Contracts
NT
1 20 30 40
2 40 60 70
3 60 90 100
4 80 120 130
5 100 150 160
6 120 180 190
7 140 210 220
Slams
Not Vul Vul
Small 500 750
Grand 1000 1500
Rubbers
Three Games 500
Two Games 700
Unfinished Rubbers
Game 300
Part Score 50
Overtricks
per overtrick Not
Vul Vul
Not Doubled trick value
Doubled 100 200
Redoubled 200 400
Undertricks
Not Doubled Doubled
Not Vul Vul Not Vul Vul
1 50 100 100 200
2 100 200 300 500
3 150 300 500 800
4 200 400 800 1100
5 250 500 1100 1400
6 300 600 1400 1700
7 350 700 1700 2000
Other Bonuses
4 trump honours in one hand 100
5 trump honours in one hand 150
4 aces in one hand (NT) 150
Making a doubled Contract 50
Making a redoubled Contract 100
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No
How to Play Bridge
When about to play a board the players take their cards from the
appropriate pockets check to see that they have 13 each and then bid
as usual The mark on the board showing the dealer in practice just
indicates which player is to begin the bidding The opening lead is
always made face down as explained above to give the leaders
partner an opportunity to ask questions about the bidding before the
led card is shown During the play the cards are not played in the
centre of the table but in front of the players At the end of each trick
all four players turn their played card face down The cards played by
each player are overlapped with the longer axis of the card pointing
to the winners of the trick (ie the cards belonging to tricks you have
won are placed upright from your point of view and the ones
belonging to lost tricks sideways) That way you can easily see how
many tricks you have won Also if the cards are kept in order any
dispute about revokes or tricks won or lost can be settled by
reconstructing the play At the end of the play each players cards are
gathered up and replaced in the correct pocket ready for the next time
the board is to be played
When this method of play is used dummy is expected to remain at the
table if at all possible and declarer then always calls dummys cards
rather than pulling them from the dummy You may ask to look at the
cards played to a trick by the other players as long as your own card is
face up Once you have turned your card face down you no longer
have the right to see any of the other cards played to that trick
(Unless you are dummy you are still allowed to peek at your own
played card without exposing it until the lead is made to the next
trick) Scoring
Each board is marked to show whether both sides one side or neither
side is vulnerable for that board You still need to score at least 100
points for tricks bid and made to make a game but on each board
both sides start with zero points towards games - there are no part
scores carried forward
In place of the rubber bonus there are game and part score bonuses
Making a game when vulnerable 500 points
How to Play Bridge
Making a game when not vulnerable 300 points
Making a part score any time 50 points
The rest of the scores are the same as in rubber bridge except that
there are no bonuses for honours in duplicate bridge
BRIDGEMATES
Fortunately although it is good know how the scoring system works
in our case all the scoring is done via our BridgeMates wireless
system All we (generally the players sitting at North table) have to
do is to enter the contract and the result and the system displays the
scores on the computer
MODERN ACOL (Standard English)
There are several methods of bidding Acol is the most used and
there are versions of Acol Modern Acol is the system we use at
Alrewas Bridge Club
Many years ago I was called in to help with a problem Apparently
there were a team of four aspiring rowers who for some odd reason
although there were all fit strong young and healthy trained hard
every day they just couldnrsquot win any rowing races Within minutes I
discovered the reason for their lack of success One of them was
sitting the wrong way round Once corrected their fame became
legendary
However apocryphal this story illustrates the need for all of us to be
paddling in the same direction or in our case to be all playing the
same system particularly so as we generally draw for partners at the
beginning of each playing session Experience players are expected
to play this system particularly when playing with newer members
How to Play Bridge
Bidding Standard English (Acol)
Bidding between partners is an exchange of information Using a very
restricted vocabulary each player in turn tries to describe his hand
The objective is to provide enough information so that one player can
make the decision what suit (if any) should be trumps and how many
tricks should we attempt to take
Initially we will consider the bidding as a dialogue between the pair
with the majority of the high-card strength this is frequently the case
However there are times when the values are more evenly distributed
between the pairs and both sides are then involved in the bidding
phase For now we will ignore this possibility it will be easier to
consider bidding as a partnership exercise before thinking about how
things change when both pairs are bidding
The most important considerations when evaluating your hand for an
opening bid are the high-card strength and the shape of the hand An
opening bid generally requires 12 or more points
Opening the bidding balanced hands
A balanced hand means
no singleton or void
not more than 1 doubleton
no 6-card or longer suit
With 12-14 points (Ace = 4 King = 3 Queen = 2 Jack = 1) and
a balanced hand with no 5-card major suit open 1 No Trump
With 20-22 points and a balanced hand open with a bid of 2NT
With an exceptional hand of 23+ points you will start with an
artificial opening bid of 2clubs - see below
How to Play Bridge
With a balanced hand of 15-19 points you do not initially bid
no trumps You will bid No Trumps later start with a bid in a
suit
Responding to 1NT with a balanced hand
(See Chart 4 at end of book)
Opening with a suit bid
open your longest suit
with two 5-card suits open the higher-ranking
with two 4-card suits open the higher-ranking Exception with
Spades and Hearts open 1
with three 4-card suits open the middle of 3 in a row or the suit
below the ldquogaprdquo
With a hand of exceptional strength where you do not want partner to
pass even with a very weak hand there is the option of opening with a
strong bid of 2 of your long suit or exceptionally 2clubs (artificial and
strong) ndash see below
Responding to an opening bid of 1clubs 1diams 1hearts 1spades
Raising partnerrsquos suit
with less than 6 points pass
6-9 points raise to the 2-level
How to Play Bridge
10-12 points raise to the 3-level
13+ points raise to the 4-level (in a major)
Responding in No Trumps
1 No Trumps 6-9 points (denies a suit that can be bid at
the 1-level or support for partnerrsquos major suit)
2 No Trumps 10-12 points balanced hand
3 No Trumps 13-15 points balanced hand
Responding in a new suit
a response in a new suit to an opening bid of 1 of a suit is
forcing partner cannot pass
respond in your longest suit
with two 5-card suits respond in the higher-ranking You will
then bid the other suit if practical to give partner a choice
with two or three 4-card suits make the most economical
response
bid your own suit before supporting partnerrsquos minor suit
do not bid in a new suit at the 2-level with less than 9 points
How to Play Bridge
remember that if you lack the strength to respond at the 2-level
you may instead respond 1NT (this need not show a balanced
hand)
a ldquojump shiftrdquo response in a new suit shows 16+ points and is
forcing to game
raising partnerrsquos major suit is a priority
do not raise partnerrsquos minor suit if there is an alternative such as
responding in a suit at the 1-level
Openerrsquos second bid
(1) With a weak hand
Pass if partner has made a non-forcing bid (ie a raise of your
suit or a no trump response)
support partnerrsquos major suit with 4-card support
rebid in a new suit at the 1-level
rebid in a lower-ranking suit at the 2-level (NB the ldquosafety
levelrdquo)
rebid your first suit at the lowest level with at least 5 cards
(2) With a strong hand
Jump raise partnerrsquos major suit (promises at least 4-card
support)
Jump rebid your own long (6-card +) suit
Jump in a new suit ndash forcing to game
How to Play Bridge
Bid a new suit at the 2-level above the ldquosafety levelrdquo ndash a reverse
showing a strong hand This is forcing if partner responded in a
suit at the 2-level
(3) With a balanced hand
rebid in No Trumps to show a balanced hand (but prefer to
bid a major suit if you can)
rebid No Trumps at the lowest level with 15-16 points
rebid No Trumps with a jump with 17-18 points
rebid 3NT with 19 points
Strong Opening Bids
Some hands are very powerful With this type of hand you would
normally open the bidding at the 2-level
An opening bid of 2 2 and 2 show a hand worth about 8 playing
tricks in the suit bid or possibly a strong two-suited hand with similar
strength The idea is that if you were to open with a bid of one of a
suit partner may pass and you may miss game (or even a slam) The
bid is forcing for one round (ie partner must respond)
Normal requirements to open 2 2 and 2
8 Playing Tricks
How to Play Bridge
Responses
2NT is the Negative Response It denies the ability to make any other
response Having given a negative response responder may pass on
the next round if opener makes a simple rebid of the suit that he
opened or bids a second suit without a jump
Positive Responses Any positive response is forcing to game
(at least)
A single raise (eg 2 - 3 ) promises a fit and an ace The hand may
have little more than those minimum requirements or it may be a
strong hand when responder will explore for slam
A double raise (eg 2 - 4) shows trump support with strictly
speaking two second-round controls (Kings or singletons) but denies
an Ace (with an Ace responder would make the stronger single raise
leaving more room to explore for a slam) A single raise is stronger
than a double raise Note it is now common practice to make the
double raise on any hand with support for partner and some values but
lacking an ace the old requirement for two second-round controls
tends to be ignored
A response in a new suit (eg 2 - 3) shows a good 5-card or longer
suit and 7+ points Lacking these basic requirements begin with an
alternative response (perhaps even a negative 2NT and then show
signs of life later in the auction) Do not respond in a bad suit
A jump to 3NT (eg 2 - 3NT) indicates a balanced hand with 10-12
points
A jump in a new suit (eg 2 - 4) promises a solid suit (AKQxxx at
least)
How to Play Bridge
The 2NT opening bid
This shows a balanced hand with 20-22 points It is not forcing but
responder needs only 4+ points to know that the values for game are
probably there
Responses a bid of 3hearts or 3spades shows a 5-card suit and asks opener to
choose between game in no trumps (with only two cards in
responderrsquos suit) or game in the major (ie 4hearts or 4spades)
Acol 2 Opening Bid
The artificial opening bid of 2 shows a super strong hand with either
23+ points in a balanced hand (ie too strong to open with an Acol
2NT bid) or a hand that is too strong even to open with a strong
forcing bid of two of a suit
Responding to a 2 Opening
Negative Response
The response with less than 7 points is an artificial bid of 2 The
opener rebids naturally showing his long suit or bidding NT on a
balanced hand The opening bid of 2 is forcing to game
Exception to the rule there is only one situation where the opening
bid of 2 is not forcing to game If after a 2 negative response
opener rebids 2NT he is showing a balanced 23-24 points With
absolutely no values responder may pass this 2NT rebid However
with as little as 2 or 3 points he should bid again responding to the
2NT rebid in a similar manner to the way in which he would respond
to a 2NT opening bid (ie Stayman 3 and 3 forcing)
Remember how strong the opening hand is before you take the
decision to pass the 2NT rebid
How to Play Bridge
NB if opener after 2 - 2 makes any rebid other than 2NT the
responder must keep the bidding open until game (at least) is reached
Positive responses to a 2 opening
2 2 3 3 7+ points and a 5-card suit or a 4-card suit
headed by the A or K
2NT balanced 7-9 points
3NT balanced 10-12 points
Overcalls and Responses
OVERCALLS
In this section we will be highlighting 3 types of overcalls
Simple Overcall
This is usually a weak bid with as little as 8-12 points but is ideal in
disrupting communication between your opponents and also
informing your partner that you hold a good 5 card suit
For the purposes of illustration we will assume that the opponent on
your right has opened 1 Club You hold a good 5 card suit in Spades
but with only 8-12 points How should you bid
Suit Quality Test
To enable you to bid correctly you should firstly apply the lsquosuit
qualityrsquo test Simply count the length of your long suit in this case
spades and add the number of honour cards in that suit The total is
the strength of your suit quality If the total is 7 then you can make
and overcall of 1 Spade If the total is 8 then you can make an
overcall of 2 Spades and so on
How to Play Bridge
Jump Overcall
For a sound jump overcall you would need to have a 6 card suit
together with a suit quality of 8+ and an opening hand of 12+ points
1 NT Overcall
15-18 points with a balanced hand and a stopper in opponentrsquos suit
RESPONSES TO OVERCALLS
Remember that your partner has overcalled on what is probably a
weak hand with only one good suit and with the intention of
obstructing your opponents Therefore the majority of responses to
his overcall should also be barrages However there are responses
available
Supporting Partner
This is the bid your partner wants to hear most of all because it
means that you are cooperating with the idea of using up your
opponents bidding space All bids supporting partners overcall are
weak To determine your bid the deciding factor is the number of
trumps that you hold Assuming that your partner holds a five card
suit for his overcall you should raise your partners overcall to the
same number of tricks that you have trumps between you
So if you think you have a total of eight trumps between you you
should raise partner to 8 tricks (the two level) If you think you have
nine trumps raise to nine tricks (the three level) and so on
So in a barrage situation it is the number of trumps you hold and the
distribution of your hand that is important not your points
How to Play Bridge
RESPONDING WITH A STRONG HAND
What about when the responder has a genuinely good hand
Obviously you canrsquot just support partner and hope he understands
You must make a different bid and the easiest is the so-called un-
assuming cue bid This is a complicated sounding bid but actually
just involves calling the opponents suit at the lowest available level
What the bid means is that you think that you and your partner hold
the majority of the points and that there might be a game contract in
the offing by your side In other words whereas supporting your
partner is crying wolf to make life difficult for your opponents this
bid is saying that you genuinely think your side holds the majority of
the values and that there may be a possibility of bidding to game
How to Play Bridge
Contract Bridge (Rubber) Scoring
Contracts
NT
1 20 30 40
2 40 60 70
3 60 90 100
4 80 120 130
5 100 150 160
6 120 180 190
7 140 210 220
Slams
Not Vul Vul
Small 500 750
Grand 1000 1500
Rubbers
Three Games 500
Two Games 700
Unfinished Rubbers
Game 300
Part Score 50
Overtricks
per overtrick Not
Vul Vul
Not Doubled trick value
Doubled 100 200
Redoubled 200 400
Undertricks
Not Doubled Doubled
Not Vul Vul Not Vul Vul
1 50 100 100 200
2 100 200 300 500
3 150 300 500 800
4 200 400 800 1100
5 250 500 1100 1400
6 300 600 1400 1700
7 350 700 1700 2000
Other Bonuses
4 trump honours in one hand 100
5 trump honours in one hand 150
4 aces in one hand (NT) 150
Making a doubled Contract 50
Making a redoubled Contract 100
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No
How to Play Bridge
Making a game when not vulnerable 300 points
Making a part score any time 50 points
The rest of the scores are the same as in rubber bridge except that
there are no bonuses for honours in duplicate bridge
BRIDGEMATES
Fortunately although it is good know how the scoring system works
in our case all the scoring is done via our BridgeMates wireless
system All we (generally the players sitting at North table) have to
do is to enter the contract and the result and the system displays the
scores on the computer
MODERN ACOL (Standard English)
There are several methods of bidding Acol is the most used and
there are versions of Acol Modern Acol is the system we use at
Alrewas Bridge Club
Many years ago I was called in to help with a problem Apparently
there were a team of four aspiring rowers who for some odd reason
although there were all fit strong young and healthy trained hard
every day they just couldnrsquot win any rowing races Within minutes I
discovered the reason for their lack of success One of them was
sitting the wrong way round Once corrected their fame became
legendary
However apocryphal this story illustrates the need for all of us to be
paddling in the same direction or in our case to be all playing the
same system particularly so as we generally draw for partners at the
beginning of each playing session Experience players are expected
to play this system particularly when playing with newer members
How to Play Bridge
Bidding Standard English (Acol)
Bidding between partners is an exchange of information Using a very
restricted vocabulary each player in turn tries to describe his hand
The objective is to provide enough information so that one player can
make the decision what suit (if any) should be trumps and how many
tricks should we attempt to take
Initially we will consider the bidding as a dialogue between the pair
with the majority of the high-card strength this is frequently the case
However there are times when the values are more evenly distributed
between the pairs and both sides are then involved in the bidding
phase For now we will ignore this possibility it will be easier to
consider bidding as a partnership exercise before thinking about how
things change when both pairs are bidding
The most important considerations when evaluating your hand for an
opening bid are the high-card strength and the shape of the hand An
opening bid generally requires 12 or more points
Opening the bidding balanced hands
A balanced hand means
no singleton or void
not more than 1 doubleton
no 6-card or longer suit
With 12-14 points (Ace = 4 King = 3 Queen = 2 Jack = 1) and
a balanced hand with no 5-card major suit open 1 No Trump
With 20-22 points and a balanced hand open with a bid of 2NT
With an exceptional hand of 23+ points you will start with an
artificial opening bid of 2clubs - see below
How to Play Bridge
With a balanced hand of 15-19 points you do not initially bid
no trumps You will bid No Trumps later start with a bid in a
suit
Responding to 1NT with a balanced hand
(See Chart 4 at end of book)
Opening with a suit bid
open your longest suit
with two 5-card suits open the higher-ranking
with two 4-card suits open the higher-ranking Exception with
Spades and Hearts open 1
with three 4-card suits open the middle of 3 in a row or the suit
below the ldquogaprdquo
With a hand of exceptional strength where you do not want partner to
pass even with a very weak hand there is the option of opening with a
strong bid of 2 of your long suit or exceptionally 2clubs (artificial and
strong) ndash see below
Responding to an opening bid of 1clubs 1diams 1hearts 1spades
Raising partnerrsquos suit
with less than 6 points pass
6-9 points raise to the 2-level
How to Play Bridge
10-12 points raise to the 3-level
13+ points raise to the 4-level (in a major)
Responding in No Trumps
1 No Trumps 6-9 points (denies a suit that can be bid at
the 1-level or support for partnerrsquos major suit)
2 No Trumps 10-12 points balanced hand
3 No Trumps 13-15 points balanced hand
Responding in a new suit
a response in a new suit to an opening bid of 1 of a suit is
forcing partner cannot pass
respond in your longest suit
with two 5-card suits respond in the higher-ranking You will
then bid the other suit if practical to give partner a choice
with two or three 4-card suits make the most economical
response
bid your own suit before supporting partnerrsquos minor suit
do not bid in a new suit at the 2-level with less than 9 points
How to Play Bridge
remember that if you lack the strength to respond at the 2-level
you may instead respond 1NT (this need not show a balanced
hand)
a ldquojump shiftrdquo response in a new suit shows 16+ points and is
forcing to game
raising partnerrsquos major suit is a priority
do not raise partnerrsquos minor suit if there is an alternative such as
responding in a suit at the 1-level
Openerrsquos second bid
(1) With a weak hand
Pass if partner has made a non-forcing bid (ie a raise of your
suit or a no trump response)
support partnerrsquos major suit with 4-card support
rebid in a new suit at the 1-level
rebid in a lower-ranking suit at the 2-level (NB the ldquosafety
levelrdquo)
rebid your first suit at the lowest level with at least 5 cards
(2) With a strong hand
Jump raise partnerrsquos major suit (promises at least 4-card
support)
Jump rebid your own long (6-card +) suit
Jump in a new suit ndash forcing to game
How to Play Bridge
Bid a new suit at the 2-level above the ldquosafety levelrdquo ndash a reverse
showing a strong hand This is forcing if partner responded in a
suit at the 2-level
(3) With a balanced hand
rebid in No Trumps to show a balanced hand (but prefer to
bid a major suit if you can)
rebid No Trumps at the lowest level with 15-16 points
rebid No Trumps with a jump with 17-18 points
rebid 3NT with 19 points
Strong Opening Bids
Some hands are very powerful With this type of hand you would
normally open the bidding at the 2-level
An opening bid of 2 2 and 2 show a hand worth about 8 playing
tricks in the suit bid or possibly a strong two-suited hand with similar
strength The idea is that if you were to open with a bid of one of a
suit partner may pass and you may miss game (or even a slam) The
bid is forcing for one round (ie partner must respond)
Normal requirements to open 2 2 and 2
8 Playing Tricks
How to Play Bridge
Responses
2NT is the Negative Response It denies the ability to make any other
response Having given a negative response responder may pass on
the next round if opener makes a simple rebid of the suit that he
opened or bids a second suit without a jump
Positive Responses Any positive response is forcing to game
(at least)
A single raise (eg 2 - 3 ) promises a fit and an ace The hand may
have little more than those minimum requirements or it may be a
strong hand when responder will explore for slam
A double raise (eg 2 - 4) shows trump support with strictly
speaking two second-round controls (Kings or singletons) but denies
an Ace (with an Ace responder would make the stronger single raise
leaving more room to explore for a slam) A single raise is stronger
than a double raise Note it is now common practice to make the
double raise on any hand with support for partner and some values but
lacking an ace the old requirement for two second-round controls
tends to be ignored
A response in a new suit (eg 2 - 3) shows a good 5-card or longer
suit and 7+ points Lacking these basic requirements begin with an
alternative response (perhaps even a negative 2NT and then show
signs of life later in the auction) Do not respond in a bad suit
A jump to 3NT (eg 2 - 3NT) indicates a balanced hand with 10-12
points
A jump in a new suit (eg 2 - 4) promises a solid suit (AKQxxx at
least)
How to Play Bridge
The 2NT opening bid
This shows a balanced hand with 20-22 points It is not forcing but
responder needs only 4+ points to know that the values for game are
probably there
Responses a bid of 3hearts or 3spades shows a 5-card suit and asks opener to
choose between game in no trumps (with only two cards in
responderrsquos suit) or game in the major (ie 4hearts or 4spades)
Acol 2 Opening Bid
The artificial opening bid of 2 shows a super strong hand with either
23+ points in a balanced hand (ie too strong to open with an Acol
2NT bid) or a hand that is too strong even to open with a strong
forcing bid of two of a suit
Responding to a 2 Opening
Negative Response
The response with less than 7 points is an artificial bid of 2 The
opener rebids naturally showing his long suit or bidding NT on a
balanced hand The opening bid of 2 is forcing to game
Exception to the rule there is only one situation where the opening
bid of 2 is not forcing to game If after a 2 negative response
opener rebids 2NT he is showing a balanced 23-24 points With
absolutely no values responder may pass this 2NT rebid However
with as little as 2 or 3 points he should bid again responding to the
2NT rebid in a similar manner to the way in which he would respond
to a 2NT opening bid (ie Stayman 3 and 3 forcing)
Remember how strong the opening hand is before you take the
decision to pass the 2NT rebid
How to Play Bridge
NB if opener after 2 - 2 makes any rebid other than 2NT the
responder must keep the bidding open until game (at least) is reached
Positive responses to a 2 opening
2 2 3 3 7+ points and a 5-card suit or a 4-card suit
headed by the A or K
2NT balanced 7-9 points
3NT balanced 10-12 points
Overcalls and Responses
OVERCALLS
In this section we will be highlighting 3 types of overcalls
Simple Overcall
This is usually a weak bid with as little as 8-12 points but is ideal in
disrupting communication between your opponents and also
informing your partner that you hold a good 5 card suit
For the purposes of illustration we will assume that the opponent on
your right has opened 1 Club You hold a good 5 card suit in Spades
but with only 8-12 points How should you bid
Suit Quality Test
To enable you to bid correctly you should firstly apply the lsquosuit
qualityrsquo test Simply count the length of your long suit in this case
spades and add the number of honour cards in that suit The total is
the strength of your suit quality If the total is 7 then you can make
and overcall of 1 Spade If the total is 8 then you can make an
overcall of 2 Spades and so on
How to Play Bridge
Jump Overcall
For a sound jump overcall you would need to have a 6 card suit
together with a suit quality of 8+ and an opening hand of 12+ points
1 NT Overcall
15-18 points with a balanced hand and a stopper in opponentrsquos suit
RESPONSES TO OVERCALLS
Remember that your partner has overcalled on what is probably a
weak hand with only one good suit and with the intention of
obstructing your opponents Therefore the majority of responses to
his overcall should also be barrages However there are responses
available
Supporting Partner
This is the bid your partner wants to hear most of all because it
means that you are cooperating with the idea of using up your
opponents bidding space All bids supporting partners overcall are
weak To determine your bid the deciding factor is the number of
trumps that you hold Assuming that your partner holds a five card
suit for his overcall you should raise your partners overcall to the
same number of tricks that you have trumps between you
So if you think you have a total of eight trumps between you you
should raise partner to 8 tricks (the two level) If you think you have
nine trumps raise to nine tricks (the three level) and so on
So in a barrage situation it is the number of trumps you hold and the
distribution of your hand that is important not your points
How to Play Bridge
RESPONDING WITH A STRONG HAND
What about when the responder has a genuinely good hand
Obviously you canrsquot just support partner and hope he understands
You must make a different bid and the easiest is the so-called un-
assuming cue bid This is a complicated sounding bid but actually
just involves calling the opponents suit at the lowest available level
What the bid means is that you think that you and your partner hold
the majority of the points and that there might be a game contract in
the offing by your side In other words whereas supporting your
partner is crying wolf to make life difficult for your opponents this
bid is saying that you genuinely think your side holds the majority of
the values and that there may be a possibility of bidding to game
How to Play Bridge
Contract Bridge (Rubber) Scoring
Contracts
NT
1 20 30 40
2 40 60 70
3 60 90 100
4 80 120 130
5 100 150 160
6 120 180 190
7 140 210 220
Slams
Not Vul Vul
Small 500 750
Grand 1000 1500
Rubbers
Three Games 500
Two Games 700
Unfinished Rubbers
Game 300
Part Score 50
Overtricks
per overtrick Not
Vul Vul
Not Doubled trick value
Doubled 100 200
Redoubled 200 400
Undertricks
Not Doubled Doubled
Not Vul Vul Not Vul Vul
1 50 100 100 200
2 100 200 300 500
3 150 300 500 800
4 200 400 800 1100
5 250 500 1100 1400
6 300 600 1400 1700
7 350 700 1700 2000
Other Bonuses
4 trump honours in one hand 100
5 trump honours in one hand 150
4 aces in one hand (NT) 150
Making a doubled Contract 50
Making a redoubled Contract 100
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No
How to Play Bridge
Bidding Standard English (Acol)
Bidding between partners is an exchange of information Using a very
restricted vocabulary each player in turn tries to describe his hand
The objective is to provide enough information so that one player can
make the decision what suit (if any) should be trumps and how many
tricks should we attempt to take
Initially we will consider the bidding as a dialogue between the pair
with the majority of the high-card strength this is frequently the case
However there are times when the values are more evenly distributed
between the pairs and both sides are then involved in the bidding
phase For now we will ignore this possibility it will be easier to
consider bidding as a partnership exercise before thinking about how
things change when both pairs are bidding
The most important considerations when evaluating your hand for an
opening bid are the high-card strength and the shape of the hand An
opening bid generally requires 12 or more points
Opening the bidding balanced hands
A balanced hand means
no singleton or void
not more than 1 doubleton
no 6-card or longer suit
With 12-14 points (Ace = 4 King = 3 Queen = 2 Jack = 1) and
a balanced hand with no 5-card major suit open 1 No Trump
With 20-22 points and a balanced hand open with a bid of 2NT
With an exceptional hand of 23+ points you will start with an
artificial opening bid of 2clubs - see below
How to Play Bridge
With a balanced hand of 15-19 points you do not initially bid
no trumps You will bid No Trumps later start with a bid in a
suit
Responding to 1NT with a balanced hand
(See Chart 4 at end of book)
Opening with a suit bid
open your longest suit
with two 5-card suits open the higher-ranking
with two 4-card suits open the higher-ranking Exception with
Spades and Hearts open 1
with three 4-card suits open the middle of 3 in a row or the suit
below the ldquogaprdquo
With a hand of exceptional strength where you do not want partner to
pass even with a very weak hand there is the option of opening with a
strong bid of 2 of your long suit or exceptionally 2clubs (artificial and
strong) ndash see below
Responding to an opening bid of 1clubs 1diams 1hearts 1spades
Raising partnerrsquos suit
with less than 6 points pass
6-9 points raise to the 2-level
How to Play Bridge
10-12 points raise to the 3-level
13+ points raise to the 4-level (in a major)
Responding in No Trumps
1 No Trumps 6-9 points (denies a suit that can be bid at
the 1-level or support for partnerrsquos major suit)
2 No Trumps 10-12 points balanced hand
3 No Trumps 13-15 points balanced hand
Responding in a new suit
a response in a new suit to an opening bid of 1 of a suit is
forcing partner cannot pass
respond in your longest suit
with two 5-card suits respond in the higher-ranking You will
then bid the other suit if practical to give partner a choice
with two or three 4-card suits make the most economical
response
bid your own suit before supporting partnerrsquos minor suit
do not bid in a new suit at the 2-level with less than 9 points
How to Play Bridge
remember that if you lack the strength to respond at the 2-level
you may instead respond 1NT (this need not show a balanced
hand)
a ldquojump shiftrdquo response in a new suit shows 16+ points and is
forcing to game
raising partnerrsquos major suit is a priority
do not raise partnerrsquos minor suit if there is an alternative such as
responding in a suit at the 1-level
Openerrsquos second bid
(1) With a weak hand
Pass if partner has made a non-forcing bid (ie a raise of your
suit or a no trump response)
support partnerrsquos major suit with 4-card support
rebid in a new suit at the 1-level
rebid in a lower-ranking suit at the 2-level (NB the ldquosafety
levelrdquo)
rebid your first suit at the lowest level with at least 5 cards
(2) With a strong hand
Jump raise partnerrsquos major suit (promises at least 4-card
support)
Jump rebid your own long (6-card +) suit
Jump in a new suit ndash forcing to game
How to Play Bridge
Bid a new suit at the 2-level above the ldquosafety levelrdquo ndash a reverse
showing a strong hand This is forcing if partner responded in a
suit at the 2-level
(3) With a balanced hand
rebid in No Trumps to show a balanced hand (but prefer to
bid a major suit if you can)
rebid No Trumps at the lowest level with 15-16 points
rebid No Trumps with a jump with 17-18 points
rebid 3NT with 19 points
Strong Opening Bids
Some hands are very powerful With this type of hand you would
normally open the bidding at the 2-level
An opening bid of 2 2 and 2 show a hand worth about 8 playing
tricks in the suit bid or possibly a strong two-suited hand with similar
strength The idea is that if you were to open with a bid of one of a
suit partner may pass and you may miss game (or even a slam) The
bid is forcing for one round (ie partner must respond)
Normal requirements to open 2 2 and 2
8 Playing Tricks
How to Play Bridge
Responses
2NT is the Negative Response It denies the ability to make any other
response Having given a negative response responder may pass on
the next round if opener makes a simple rebid of the suit that he
opened or bids a second suit without a jump
Positive Responses Any positive response is forcing to game
(at least)
A single raise (eg 2 - 3 ) promises a fit and an ace The hand may
have little more than those minimum requirements or it may be a
strong hand when responder will explore for slam
A double raise (eg 2 - 4) shows trump support with strictly
speaking two second-round controls (Kings or singletons) but denies
an Ace (with an Ace responder would make the stronger single raise
leaving more room to explore for a slam) A single raise is stronger
than a double raise Note it is now common practice to make the
double raise on any hand with support for partner and some values but
lacking an ace the old requirement for two second-round controls
tends to be ignored
A response in a new suit (eg 2 - 3) shows a good 5-card or longer
suit and 7+ points Lacking these basic requirements begin with an
alternative response (perhaps even a negative 2NT and then show
signs of life later in the auction) Do not respond in a bad suit
A jump to 3NT (eg 2 - 3NT) indicates a balanced hand with 10-12
points
A jump in a new suit (eg 2 - 4) promises a solid suit (AKQxxx at
least)
How to Play Bridge
The 2NT opening bid
This shows a balanced hand with 20-22 points It is not forcing but
responder needs only 4+ points to know that the values for game are
probably there
Responses a bid of 3hearts or 3spades shows a 5-card suit and asks opener to
choose between game in no trumps (with only two cards in
responderrsquos suit) or game in the major (ie 4hearts or 4spades)
Acol 2 Opening Bid
The artificial opening bid of 2 shows a super strong hand with either
23+ points in a balanced hand (ie too strong to open with an Acol
2NT bid) or a hand that is too strong even to open with a strong
forcing bid of two of a suit
Responding to a 2 Opening
Negative Response
The response with less than 7 points is an artificial bid of 2 The
opener rebids naturally showing his long suit or bidding NT on a
balanced hand The opening bid of 2 is forcing to game
Exception to the rule there is only one situation where the opening
bid of 2 is not forcing to game If after a 2 negative response
opener rebids 2NT he is showing a balanced 23-24 points With
absolutely no values responder may pass this 2NT rebid However
with as little as 2 or 3 points he should bid again responding to the
2NT rebid in a similar manner to the way in which he would respond
to a 2NT opening bid (ie Stayman 3 and 3 forcing)
Remember how strong the opening hand is before you take the
decision to pass the 2NT rebid
How to Play Bridge
NB if opener after 2 - 2 makes any rebid other than 2NT the
responder must keep the bidding open until game (at least) is reached
Positive responses to a 2 opening
2 2 3 3 7+ points and a 5-card suit or a 4-card suit
headed by the A or K
2NT balanced 7-9 points
3NT balanced 10-12 points
Overcalls and Responses
OVERCALLS
In this section we will be highlighting 3 types of overcalls
Simple Overcall
This is usually a weak bid with as little as 8-12 points but is ideal in
disrupting communication between your opponents and also
informing your partner that you hold a good 5 card suit
For the purposes of illustration we will assume that the opponent on
your right has opened 1 Club You hold a good 5 card suit in Spades
but with only 8-12 points How should you bid
Suit Quality Test
To enable you to bid correctly you should firstly apply the lsquosuit
qualityrsquo test Simply count the length of your long suit in this case
spades and add the number of honour cards in that suit The total is
the strength of your suit quality If the total is 7 then you can make
and overcall of 1 Spade If the total is 8 then you can make an
overcall of 2 Spades and so on
How to Play Bridge
Jump Overcall
For a sound jump overcall you would need to have a 6 card suit
together with a suit quality of 8+ and an opening hand of 12+ points
1 NT Overcall
15-18 points with a balanced hand and a stopper in opponentrsquos suit
RESPONSES TO OVERCALLS
Remember that your partner has overcalled on what is probably a
weak hand with only one good suit and with the intention of
obstructing your opponents Therefore the majority of responses to
his overcall should also be barrages However there are responses
available
Supporting Partner
This is the bid your partner wants to hear most of all because it
means that you are cooperating with the idea of using up your
opponents bidding space All bids supporting partners overcall are
weak To determine your bid the deciding factor is the number of
trumps that you hold Assuming that your partner holds a five card
suit for his overcall you should raise your partners overcall to the
same number of tricks that you have trumps between you
So if you think you have a total of eight trumps between you you
should raise partner to 8 tricks (the two level) If you think you have
nine trumps raise to nine tricks (the three level) and so on
So in a barrage situation it is the number of trumps you hold and the
distribution of your hand that is important not your points
How to Play Bridge
RESPONDING WITH A STRONG HAND
What about when the responder has a genuinely good hand
Obviously you canrsquot just support partner and hope he understands
You must make a different bid and the easiest is the so-called un-
assuming cue bid This is a complicated sounding bid but actually
just involves calling the opponents suit at the lowest available level
What the bid means is that you think that you and your partner hold
the majority of the points and that there might be a game contract in
the offing by your side In other words whereas supporting your
partner is crying wolf to make life difficult for your opponents this
bid is saying that you genuinely think your side holds the majority of
the values and that there may be a possibility of bidding to game
How to Play Bridge
Contract Bridge (Rubber) Scoring
Contracts
NT
1 20 30 40
2 40 60 70
3 60 90 100
4 80 120 130
5 100 150 160
6 120 180 190
7 140 210 220
Slams
Not Vul Vul
Small 500 750
Grand 1000 1500
Rubbers
Three Games 500
Two Games 700
Unfinished Rubbers
Game 300
Part Score 50
Overtricks
per overtrick Not
Vul Vul
Not Doubled trick value
Doubled 100 200
Redoubled 200 400
Undertricks
Not Doubled Doubled
Not Vul Vul Not Vul Vul
1 50 100 100 200
2 100 200 300 500
3 150 300 500 800
4 200 400 800 1100
5 250 500 1100 1400
6 300 600 1400 1700
7 350 700 1700 2000
Other Bonuses
4 trump honours in one hand 100
5 trump honours in one hand 150
4 aces in one hand (NT) 150
Making a doubled Contract 50
Making a redoubled Contract 100
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No
How to Play Bridge
With a balanced hand of 15-19 points you do not initially bid
no trumps You will bid No Trumps later start with a bid in a
suit
Responding to 1NT with a balanced hand
(See Chart 4 at end of book)
Opening with a suit bid
open your longest suit
with two 5-card suits open the higher-ranking
with two 4-card suits open the higher-ranking Exception with
Spades and Hearts open 1
with three 4-card suits open the middle of 3 in a row or the suit
below the ldquogaprdquo
With a hand of exceptional strength where you do not want partner to
pass even with a very weak hand there is the option of opening with a
strong bid of 2 of your long suit or exceptionally 2clubs (artificial and
strong) ndash see below
Responding to an opening bid of 1clubs 1diams 1hearts 1spades
Raising partnerrsquos suit
with less than 6 points pass
6-9 points raise to the 2-level
How to Play Bridge
10-12 points raise to the 3-level
13+ points raise to the 4-level (in a major)
Responding in No Trumps
1 No Trumps 6-9 points (denies a suit that can be bid at
the 1-level or support for partnerrsquos major suit)
2 No Trumps 10-12 points balanced hand
3 No Trumps 13-15 points balanced hand
Responding in a new suit
a response in a new suit to an opening bid of 1 of a suit is
forcing partner cannot pass
respond in your longest suit
with two 5-card suits respond in the higher-ranking You will
then bid the other suit if practical to give partner a choice
with two or three 4-card suits make the most economical
response
bid your own suit before supporting partnerrsquos minor suit
do not bid in a new suit at the 2-level with less than 9 points
How to Play Bridge
remember that if you lack the strength to respond at the 2-level
you may instead respond 1NT (this need not show a balanced
hand)
a ldquojump shiftrdquo response in a new suit shows 16+ points and is
forcing to game
raising partnerrsquos major suit is a priority
do not raise partnerrsquos minor suit if there is an alternative such as
responding in a suit at the 1-level
Openerrsquos second bid
(1) With a weak hand
Pass if partner has made a non-forcing bid (ie a raise of your
suit or a no trump response)
support partnerrsquos major suit with 4-card support
rebid in a new suit at the 1-level
rebid in a lower-ranking suit at the 2-level (NB the ldquosafety
levelrdquo)
rebid your first suit at the lowest level with at least 5 cards
(2) With a strong hand
Jump raise partnerrsquos major suit (promises at least 4-card
support)
Jump rebid your own long (6-card +) suit
Jump in a new suit ndash forcing to game
How to Play Bridge
Bid a new suit at the 2-level above the ldquosafety levelrdquo ndash a reverse
showing a strong hand This is forcing if partner responded in a
suit at the 2-level
(3) With a balanced hand
rebid in No Trumps to show a balanced hand (but prefer to
bid a major suit if you can)
rebid No Trumps at the lowest level with 15-16 points
rebid No Trumps with a jump with 17-18 points
rebid 3NT with 19 points
Strong Opening Bids
Some hands are very powerful With this type of hand you would
normally open the bidding at the 2-level
An opening bid of 2 2 and 2 show a hand worth about 8 playing
tricks in the suit bid or possibly a strong two-suited hand with similar
strength The idea is that if you were to open with a bid of one of a
suit partner may pass and you may miss game (or even a slam) The
bid is forcing for one round (ie partner must respond)
Normal requirements to open 2 2 and 2
8 Playing Tricks
How to Play Bridge
Responses
2NT is the Negative Response It denies the ability to make any other
response Having given a negative response responder may pass on
the next round if opener makes a simple rebid of the suit that he
opened or bids a second suit without a jump
Positive Responses Any positive response is forcing to game
(at least)
A single raise (eg 2 - 3 ) promises a fit and an ace The hand may
have little more than those minimum requirements or it may be a
strong hand when responder will explore for slam
A double raise (eg 2 - 4) shows trump support with strictly
speaking two second-round controls (Kings or singletons) but denies
an Ace (with an Ace responder would make the stronger single raise
leaving more room to explore for a slam) A single raise is stronger
than a double raise Note it is now common practice to make the
double raise on any hand with support for partner and some values but
lacking an ace the old requirement for two second-round controls
tends to be ignored
A response in a new suit (eg 2 - 3) shows a good 5-card or longer
suit and 7+ points Lacking these basic requirements begin with an
alternative response (perhaps even a negative 2NT and then show
signs of life later in the auction) Do not respond in a bad suit
A jump to 3NT (eg 2 - 3NT) indicates a balanced hand with 10-12
points
A jump in a new suit (eg 2 - 4) promises a solid suit (AKQxxx at
least)
How to Play Bridge
The 2NT opening bid
This shows a balanced hand with 20-22 points It is not forcing but
responder needs only 4+ points to know that the values for game are
probably there
Responses a bid of 3hearts or 3spades shows a 5-card suit and asks opener to
choose between game in no trumps (with only two cards in
responderrsquos suit) or game in the major (ie 4hearts or 4spades)
Acol 2 Opening Bid
The artificial opening bid of 2 shows a super strong hand with either
23+ points in a balanced hand (ie too strong to open with an Acol
2NT bid) or a hand that is too strong even to open with a strong
forcing bid of two of a suit
Responding to a 2 Opening
Negative Response
The response with less than 7 points is an artificial bid of 2 The
opener rebids naturally showing his long suit or bidding NT on a
balanced hand The opening bid of 2 is forcing to game
Exception to the rule there is only one situation where the opening
bid of 2 is not forcing to game If after a 2 negative response
opener rebids 2NT he is showing a balanced 23-24 points With
absolutely no values responder may pass this 2NT rebid However
with as little as 2 or 3 points he should bid again responding to the
2NT rebid in a similar manner to the way in which he would respond
to a 2NT opening bid (ie Stayman 3 and 3 forcing)
Remember how strong the opening hand is before you take the
decision to pass the 2NT rebid
How to Play Bridge
NB if opener after 2 - 2 makes any rebid other than 2NT the
responder must keep the bidding open until game (at least) is reached
Positive responses to a 2 opening
2 2 3 3 7+ points and a 5-card suit or a 4-card suit
headed by the A or K
2NT balanced 7-9 points
3NT balanced 10-12 points
Overcalls and Responses
OVERCALLS
In this section we will be highlighting 3 types of overcalls
Simple Overcall
This is usually a weak bid with as little as 8-12 points but is ideal in
disrupting communication between your opponents and also
informing your partner that you hold a good 5 card suit
For the purposes of illustration we will assume that the opponent on
your right has opened 1 Club You hold a good 5 card suit in Spades
but with only 8-12 points How should you bid
Suit Quality Test
To enable you to bid correctly you should firstly apply the lsquosuit
qualityrsquo test Simply count the length of your long suit in this case
spades and add the number of honour cards in that suit The total is
the strength of your suit quality If the total is 7 then you can make
and overcall of 1 Spade If the total is 8 then you can make an
overcall of 2 Spades and so on
How to Play Bridge
Jump Overcall
For a sound jump overcall you would need to have a 6 card suit
together with a suit quality of 8+ and an opening hand of 12+ points
1 NT Overcall
15-18 points with a balanced hand and a stopper in opponentrsquos suit
RESPONSES TO OVERCALLS
Remember that your partner has overcalled on what is probably a
weak hand with only one good suit and with the intention of
obstructing your opponents Therefore the majority of responses to
his overcall should also be barrages However there are responses
available
Supporting Partner
This is the bid your partner wants to hear most of all because it
means that you are cooperating with the idea of using up your
opponents bidding space All bids supporting partners overcall are
weak To determine your bid the deciding factor is the number of
trumps that you hold Assuming that your partner holds a five card
suit for his overcall you should raise your partners overcall to the
same number of tricks that you have trumps between you
So if you think you have a total of eight trumps between you you
should raise partner to 8 tricks (the two level) If you think you have
nine trumps raise to nine tricks (the three level) and so on
So in a barrage situation it is the number of trumps you hold and the
distribution of your hand that is important not your points
How to Play Bridge
RESPONDING WITH A STRONG HAND
What about when the responder has a genuinely good hand
Obviously you canrsquot just support partner and hope he understands
You must make a different bid and the easiest is the so-called un-
assuming cue bid This is a complicated sounding bid but actually
just involves calling the opponents suit at the lowest available level
What the bid means is that you think that you and your partner hold
the majority of the points and that there might be a game contract in
the offing by your side In other words whereas supporting your
partner is crying wolf to make life difficult for your opponents this
bid is saying that you genuinely think your side holds the majority of
the values and that there may be a possibility of bidding to game
How to Play Bridge
Contract Bridge (Rubber) Scoring
Contracts
NT
1 20 30 40
2 40 60 70
3 60 90 100
4 80 120 130
5 100 150 160
6 120 180 190
7 140 210 220
Slams
Not Vul Vul
Small 500 750
Grand 1000 1500
Rubbers
Three Games 500
Two Games 700
Unfinished Rubbers
Game 300
Part Score 50
Overtricks
per overtrick Not
Vul Vul
Not Doubled trick value
Doubled 100 200
Redoubled 200 400
Undertricks
Not Doubled Doubled
Not Vul Vul Not Vul Vul
1 50 100 100 200
2 100 200 300 500
3 150 300 500 800
4 200 400 800 1100
5 250 500 1100 1400
6 300 600 1400 1700
7 350 700 1700 2000
Other Bonuses
4 trump honours in one hand 100
5 trump honours in one hand 150
4 aces in one hand (NT) 150
Making a doubled Contract 50
Making a redoubled Contract 100
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No
How to Play Bridge
10-12 points raise to the 3-level
13+ points raise to the 4-level (in a major)
Responding in No Trumps
1 No Trumps 6-9 points (denies a suit that can be bid at
the 1-level or support for partnerrsquos major suit)
2 No Trumps 10-12 points balanced hand
3 No Trumps 13-15 points balanced hand
Responding in a new suit
a response in a new suit to an opening bid of 1 of a suit is
forcing partner cannot pass
respond in your longest suit
with two 5-card suits respond in the higher-ranking You will
then bid the other suit if practical to give partner a choice
with two or three 4-card suits make the most economical
response
bid your own suit before supporting partnerrsquos minor suit
do not bid in a new suit at the 2-level with less than 9 points
How to Play Bridge
remember that if you lack the strength to respond at the 2-level
you may instead respond 1NT (this need not show a balanced
hand)
a ldquojump shiftrdquo response in a new suit shows 16+ points and is
forcing to game
raising partnerrsquos major suit is a priority
do not raise partnerrsquos minor suit if there is an alternative such as
responding in a suit at the 1-level
Openerrsquos second bid
(1) With a weak hand
Pass if partner has made a non-forcing bid (ie a raise of your
suit or a no trump response)
support partnerrsquos major suit with 4-card support
rebid in a new suit at the 1-level
rebid in a lower-ranking suit at the 2-level (NB the ldquosafety
levelrdquo)
rebid your first suit at the lowest level with at least 5 cards
(2) With a strong hand
Jump raise partnerrsquos major suit (promises at least 4-card
support)
Jump rebid your own long (6-card +) suit
Jump in a new suit ndash forcing to game
How to Play Bridge
Bid a new suit at the 2-level above the ldquosafety levelrdquo ndash a reverse
showing a strong hand This is forcing if partner responded in a
suit at the 2-level
(3) With a balanced hand
rebid in No Trumps to show a balanced hand (but prefer to
bid a major suit if you can)
rebid No Trumps at the lowest level with 15-16 points
rebid No Trumps with a jump with 17-18 points
rebid 3NT with 19 points
Strong Opening Bids
Some hands are very powerful With this type of hand you would
normally open the bidding at the 2-level
An opening bid of 2 2 and 2 show a hand worth about 8 playing
tricks in the suit bid or possibly a strong two-suited hand with similar
strength The idea is that if you were to open with a bid of one of a
suit partner may pass and you may miss game (or even a slam) The
bid is forcing for one round (ie partner must respond)
Normal requirements to open 2 2 and 2
8 Playing Tricks
How to Play Bridge
Responses
2NT is the Negative Response It denies the ability to make any other
response Having given a negative response responder may pass on
the next round if opener makes a simple rebid of the suit that he
opened or bids a second suit without a jump
Positive Responses Any positive response is forcing to game
(at least)
A single raise (eg 2 - 3 ) promises a fit and an ace The hand may
have little more than those minimum requirements or it may be a
strong hand when responder will explore for slam
A double raise (eg 2 - 4) shows trump support with strictly
speaking two second-round controls (Kings or singletons) but denies
an Ace (with an Ace responder would make the stronger single raise
leaving more room to explore for a slam) A single raise is stronger
than a double raise Note it is now common practice to make the
double raise on any hand with support for partner and some values but
lacking an ace the old requirement for two second-round controls
tends to be ignored
A response in a new suit (eg 2 - 3) shows a good 5-card or longer
suit and 7+ points Lacking these basic requirements begin with an
alternative response (perhaps even a negative 2NT and then show
signs of life later in the auction) Do not respond in a bad suit
A jump to 3NT (eg 2 - 3NT) indicates a balanced hand with 10-12
points
A jump in a new suit (eg 2 - 4) promises a solid suit (AKQxxx at
least)
How to Play Bridge
The 2NT opening bid
This shows a balanced hand with 20-22 points It is not forcing but
responder needs only 4+ points to know that the values for game are
probably there
Responses a bid of 3hearts or 3spades shows a 5-card suit and asks opener to
choose between game in no trumps (with only two cards in
responderrsquos suit) or game in the major (ie 4hearts or 4spades)
Acol 2 Opening Bid
The artificial opening bid of 2 shows a super strong hand with either
23+ points in a balanced hand (ie too strong to open with an Acol
2NT bid) or a hand that is too strong even to open with a strong
forcing bid of two of a suit
Responding to a 2 Opening
Negative Response
The response with less than 7 points is an artificial bid of 2 The
opener rebids naturally showing his long suit or bidding NT on a
balanced hand The opening bid of 2 is forcing to game
Exception to the rule there is only one situation where the opening
bid of 2 is not forcing to game If after a 2 negative response
opener rebids 2NT he is showing a balanced 23-24 points With
absolutely no values responder may pass this 2NT rebid However
with as little as 2 or 3 points he should bid again responding to the
2NT rebid in a similar manner to the way in which he would respond
to a 2NT opening bid (ie Stayman 3 and 3 forcing)
Remember how strong the opening hand is before you take the
decision to pass the 2NT rebid
How to Play Bridge
NB if opener after 2 - 2 makes any rebid other than 2NT the
responder must keep the bidding open until game (at least) is reached
Positive responses to a 2 opening
2 2 3 3 7+ points and a 5-card suit or a 4-card suit
headed by the A or K
2NT balanced 7-9 points
3NT balanced 10-12 points
Overcalls and Responses
OVERCALLS
In this section we will be highlighting 3 types of overcalls
Simple Overcall
This is usually a weak bid with as little as 8-12 points but is ideal in
disrupting communication between your opponents and also
informing your partner that you hold a good 5 card suit
For the purposes of illustration we will assume that the opponent on
your right has opened 1 Club You hold a good 5 card suit in Spades
but with only 8-12 points How should you bid
Suit Quality Test
To enable you to bid correctly you should firstly apply the lsquosuit
qualityrsquo test Simply count the length of your long suit in this case
spades and add the number of honour cards in that suit The total is
the strength of your suit quality If the total is 7 then you can make
and overcall of 1 Spade If the total is 8 then you can make an
overcall of 2 Spades and so on
How to Play Bridge
Jump Overcall
For a sound jump overcall you would need to have a 6 card suit
together with a suit quality of 8+ and an opening hand of 12+ points
1 NT Overcall
15-18 points with a balanced hand and a stopper in opponentrsquos suit
RESPONSES TO OVERCALLS
Remember that your partner has overcalled on what is probably a
weak hand with only one good suit and with the intention of
obstructing your opponents Therefore the majority of responses to
his overcall should also be barrages However there are responses
available
Supporting Partner
This is the bid your partner wants to hear most of all because it
means that you are cooperating with the idea of using up your
opponents bidding space All bids supporting partners overcall are
weak To determine your bid the deciding factor is the number of
trumps that you hold Assuming that your partner holds a five card
suit for his overcall you should raise your partners overcall to the
same number of tricks that you have trumps between you
So if you think you have a total of eight trumps between you you
should raise partner to 8 tricks (the two level) If you think you have
nine trumps raise to nine tricks (the three level) and so on
So in a barrage situation it is the number of trumps you hold and the
distribution of your hand that is important not your points
How to Play Bridge
RESPONDING WITH A STRONG HAND
What about when the responder has a genuinely good hand
Obviously you canrsquot just support partner and hope he understands
You must make a different bid and the easiest is the so-called un-
assuming cue bid This is a complicated sounding bid but actually
just involves calling the opponents suit at the lowest available level
What the bid means is that you think that you and your partner hold
the majority of the points and that there might be a game contract in
the offing by your side In other words whereas supporting your
partner is crying wolf to make life difficult for your opponents this
bid is saying that you genuinely think your side holds the majority of
the values and that there may be a possibility of bidding to game
How to Play Bridge
Contract Bridge (Rubber) Scoring
Contracts
NT
1 20 30 40
2 40 60 70
3 60 90 100
4 80 120 130
5 100 150 160
6 120 180 190
7 140 210 220
Slams
Not Vul Vul
Small 500 750
Grand 1000 1500
Rubbers
Three Games 500
Two Games 700
Unfinished Rubbers
Game 300
Part Score 50
Overtricks
per overtrick Not
Vul Vul
Not Doubled trick value
Doubled 100 200
Redoubled 200 400
Undertricks
Not Doubled Doubled
Not Vul Vul Not Vul Vul
1 50 100 100 200
2 100 200 300 500
3 150 300 500 800
4 200 400 800 1100
5 250 500 1100 1400
6 300 600 1400 1700
7 350 700 1700 2000
Other Bonuses
4 trump honours in one hand 100
5 trump honours in one hand 150
4 aces in one hand (NT) 150
Making a doubled Contract 50
Making a redoubled Contract 100
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No
How to Play Bridge
remember that if you lack the strength to respond at the 2-level
you may instead respond 1NT (this need not show a balanced
hand)
a ldquojump shiftrdquo response in a new suit shows 16+ points and is
forcing to game
raising partnerrsquos major suit is a priority
do not raise partnerrsquos minor suit if there is an alternative such as
responding in a suit at the 1-level
Openerrsquos second bid
(1) With a weak hand
Pass if partner has made a non-forcing bid (ie a raise of your
suit or a no trump response)
support partnerrsquos major suit with 4-card support
rebid in a new suit at the 1-level
rebid in a lower-ranking suit at the 2-level (NB the ldquosafety
levelrdquo)
rebid your first suit at the lowest level with at least 5 cards
(2) With a strong hand
Jump raise partnerrsquos major suit (promises at least 4-card
support)
Jump rebid your own long (6-card +) suit
Jump in a new suit ndash forcing to game
How to Play Bridge
Bid a new suit at the 2-level above the ldquosafety levelrdquo ndash a reverse
showing a strong hand This is forcing if partner responded in a
suit at the 2-level
(3) With a balanced hand
rebid in No Trumps to show a balanced hand (but prefer to
bid a major suit if you can)
rebid No Trumps at the lowest level with 15-16 points
rebid No Trumps with a jump with 17-18 points
rebid 3NT with 19 points
Strong Opening Bids
Some hands are very powerful With this type of hand you would
normally open the bidding at the 2-level
An opening bid of 2 2 and 2 show a hand worth about 8 playing
tricks in the suit bid or possibly a strong two-suited hand with similar
strength The idea is that if you were to open with a bid of one of a
suit partner may pass and you may miss game (or even a slam) The
bid is forcing for one round (ie partner must respond)
Normal requirements to open 2 2 and 2
8 Playing Tricks
How to Play Bridge
Responses
2NT is the Negative Response It denies the ability to make any other
response Having given a negative response responder may pass on
the next round if opener makes a simple rebid of the suit that he
opened or bids a second suit without a jump
Positive Responses Any positive response is forcing to game
(at least)
A single raise (eg 2 - 3 ) promises a fit and an ace The hand may
have little more than those minimum requirements or it may be a
strong hand when responder will explore for slam
A double raise (eg 2 - 4) shows trump support with strictly
speaking two second-round controls (Kings or singletons) but denies
an Ace (with an Ace responder would make the stronger single raise
leaving more room to explore for a slam) A single raise is stronger
than a double raise Note it is now common practice to make the
double raise on any hand with support for partner and some values but
lacking an ace the old requirement for two second-round controls
tends to be ignored
A response in a new suit (eg 2 - 3) shows a good 5-card or longer
suit and 7+ points Lacking these basic requirements begin with an
alternative response (perhaps even a negative 2NT and then show
signs of life later in the auction) Do not respond in a bad suit
A jump to 3NT (eg 2 - 3NT) indicates a balanced hand with 10-12
points
A jump in a new suit (eg 2 - 4) promises a solid suit (AKQxxx at
least)
How to Play Bridge
The 2NT opening bid
This shows a balanced hand with 20-22 points It is not forcing but
responder needs only 4+ points to know that the values for game are
probably there
Responses a bid of 3hearts or 3spades shows a 5-card suit and asks opener to
choose between game in no trumps (with only two cards in
responderrsquos suit) or game in the major (ie 4hearts or 4spades)
Acol 2 Opening Bid
The artificial opening bid of 2 shows a super strong hand with either
23+ points in a balanced hand (ie too strong to open with an Acol
2NT bid) or a hand that is too strong even to open with a strong
forcing bid of two of a suit
Responding to a 2 Opening
Negative Response
The response with less than 7 points is an artificial bid of 2 The
opener rebids naturally showing his long suit or bidding NT on a
balanced hand The opening bid of 2 is forcing to game
Exception to the rule there is only one situation where the opening
bid of 2 is not forcing to game If after a 2 negative response
opener rebids 2NT he is showing a balanced 23-24 points With
absolutely no values responder may pass this 2NT rebid However
with as little as 2 or 3 points he should bid again responding to the
2NT rebid in a similar manner to the way in which he would respond
to a 2NT opening bid (ie Stayman 3 and 3 forcing)
Remember how strong the opening hand is before you take the
decision to pass the 2NT rebid
How to Play Bridge
NB if opener after 2 - 2 makes any rebid other than 2NT the
responder must keep the bidding open until game (at least) is reached
Positive responses to a 2 opening
2 2 3 3 7+ points and a 5-card suit or a 4-card suit
headed by the A or K
2NT balanced 7-9 points
3NT balanced 10-12 points
Overcalls and Responses
OVERCALLS
In this section we will be highlighting 3 types of overcalls
Simple Overcall
This is usually a weak bid with as little as 8-12 points but is ideal in
disrupting communication between your opponents and also
informing your partner that you hold a good 5 card suit
For the purposes of illustration we will assume that the opponent on
your right has opened 1 Club You hold a good 5 card suit in Spades
but with only 8-12 points How should you bid
Suit Quality Test
To enable you to bid correctly you should firstly apply the lsquosuit
qualityrsquo test Simply count the length of your long suit in this case
spades and add the number of honour cards in that suit The total is
the strength of your suit quality If the total is 7 then you can make
and overcall of 1 Spade If the total is 8 then you can make an
overcall of 2 Spades and so on
How to Play Bridge
Jump Overcall
For a sound jump overcall you would need to have a 6 card suit
together with a suit quality of 8+ and an opening hand of 12+ points
1 NT Overcall
15-18 points with a balanced hand and a stopper in opponentrsquos suit
RESPONSES TO OVERCALLS
Remember that your partner has overcalled on what is probably a
weak hand with only one good suit and with the intention of
obstructing your opponents Therefore the majority of responses to
his overcall should also be barrages However there are responses
available
Supporting Partner
This is the bid your partner wants to hear most of all because it
means that you are cooperating with the idea of using up your
opponents bidding space All bids supporting partners overcall are
weak To determine your bid the deciding factor is the number of
trumps that you hold Assuming that your partner holds a five card
suit for his overcall you should raise your partners overcall to the
same number of tricks that you have trumps between you
So if you think you have a total of eight trumps between you you
should raise partner to 8 tricks (the two level) If you think you have
nine trumps raise to nine tricks (the three level) and so on
So in a barrage situation it is the number of trumps you hold and the
distribution of your hand that is important not your points
How to Play Bridge
RESPONDING WITH A STRONG HAND
What about when the responder has a genuinely good hand
Obviously you canrsquot just support partner and hope he understands
You must make a different bid and the easiest is the so-called un-
assuming cue bid This is a complicated sounding bid but actually
just involves calling the opponents suit at the lowest available level
What the bid means is that you think that you and your partner hold
the majority of the points and that there might be a game contract in
the offing by your side In other words whereas supporting your
partner is crying wolf to make life difficult for your opponents this
bid is saying that you genuinely think your side holds the majority of
the values and that there may be a possibility of bidding to game
How to Play Bridge
Contract Bridge (Rubber) Scoring
Contracts
NT
1 20 30 40
2 40 60 70
3 60 90 100
4 80 120 130
5 100 150 160
6 120 180 190
7 140 210 220
Slams
Not Vul Vul
Small 500 750
Grand 1000 1500
Rubbers
Three Games 500
Two Games 700
Unfinished Rubbers
Game 300
Part Score 50
Overtricks
per overtrick Not
Vul Vul
Not Doubled trick value
Doubled 100 200
Redoubled 200 400
Undertricks
Not Doubled Doubled
Not Vul Vul Not Vul Vul
1 50 100 100 200
2 100 200 300 500
3 150 300 500 800
4 200 400 800 1100
5 250 500 1100 1400
6 300 600 1400 1700
7 350 700 1700 2000
Other Bonuses
4 trump honours in one hand 100
5 trump honours in one hand 150
4 aces in one hand (NT) 150
Making a doubled Contract 50
Making a redoubled Contract 100
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No
How to Play Bridge
Bid a new suit at the 2-level above the ldquosafety levelrdquo ndash a reverse
showing a strong hand This is forcing if partner responded in a
suit at the 2-level
(3) With a balanced hand
rebid in No Trumps to show a balanced hand (but prefer to
bid a major suit if you can)
rebid No Trumps at the lowest level with 15-16 points
rebid No Trumps with a jump with 17-18 points
rebid 3NT with 19 points
Strong Opening Bids
Some hands are very powerful With this type of hand you would
normally open the bidding at the 2-level
An opening bid of 2 2 and 2 show a hand worth about 8 playing
tricks in the suit bid or possibly a strong two-suited hand with similar
strength The idea is that if you were to open with a bid of one of a
suit partner may pass and you may miss game (or even a slam) The
bid is forcing for one round (ie partner must respond)
Normal requirements to open 2 2 and 2
8 Playing Tricks
How to Play Bridge
Responses
2NT is the Negative Response It denies the ability to make any other
response Having given a negative response responder may pass on
the next round if opener makes a simple rebid of the suit that he
opened or bids a second suit without a jump
Positive Responses Any positive response is forcing to game
(at least)
A single raise (eg 2 - 3 ) promises a fit and an ace The hand may
have little more than those minimum requirements or it may be a
strong hand when responder will explore for slam
A double raise (eg 2 - 4) shows trump support with strictly
speaking two second-round controls (Kings or singletons) but denies
an Ace (with an Ace responder would make the stronger single raise
leaving more room to explore for a slam) A single raise is stronger
than a double raise Note it is now common practice to make the
double raise on any hand with support for partner and some values but
lacking an ace the old requirement for two second-round controls
tends to be ignored
A response in a new suit (eg 2 - 3) shows a good 5-card or longer
suit and 7+ points Lacking these basic requirements begin with an
alternative response (perhaps even a negative 2NT and then show
signs of life later in the auction) Do not respond in a bad suit
A jump to 3NT (eg 2 - 3NT) indicates a balanced hand with 10-12
points
A jump in a new suit (eg 2 - 4) promises a solid suit (AKQxxx at
least)
How to Play Bridge
The 2NT opening bid
This shows a balanced hand with 20-22 points It is not forcing but
responder needs only 4+ points to know that the values for game are
probably there
Responses a bid of 3hearts or 3spades shows a 5-card suit and asks opener to
choose between game in no trumps (with only two cards in
responderrsquos suit) or game in the major (ie 4hearts or 4spades)
Acol 2 Opening Bid
The artificial opening bid of 2 shows a super strong hand with either
23+ points in a balanced hand (ie too strong to open with an Acol
2NT bid) or a hand that is too strong even to open with a strong
forcing bid of two of a suit
Responding to a 2 Opening
Negative Response
The response with less than 7 points is an artificial bid of 2 The
opener rebids naturally showing his long suit or bidding NT on a
balanced hand The opening bid of 2 is forcing to game
Exception to the rule there is only one situation where the opening
bid of 2 is not forcing to game If after a 2 negative response
opener rebids 2NT he is showing a balanced 23-24 points With
absolutely no values responder may pass this 2NT rebid However
with as little as 2 or 3 points he should bid again responding to the
2NT rebid in a similar manner to the way in which he would respond
to a 2NT opening bid (ie Stayman 3 and 3 forcing)
Remember how strong the opening hand is before you take the
decision to pass the 2NT rebid
How to Play Bridge
NB if opener after 2 - 2 makes any rebid other than 2NT the
responder must keep the bidding open until game (at least) is reached
Positive responses to a 2 opening
2 2 3 3 7+ points and a 5-card suit or a 4-card suit
headed by the A or K
2NT balanced 7-9 points
3NT balanced 10-12 points
Overcalls and Responses
OVERCALLS
In this section we will be highlighting 3 types of overcalls
Simple Overcall
This is usually a weak bid with as little as 8-12 points but is ideal in
disrupting communication between your opponents and also
informing your partner that you hold a good 5 card suit
For the purposes of illustration we will assume that the opponent on
your right has opened 1 Club You hold a good 5 card suit in Spades
but with only 8-12 points How should you bid
Suit Quality Test
To enable you to bid correctly you should firstly apply the lsquosuit
qualityrsquo test Simply count the length of your long suit in this case
spades and add the number of honour cards in that suit The total is
the strength of your suit quality If the total is 7 then you can make
and overcall of 1 Spade If the total is 8 then you can make an
overcall of 2 Spades and so on
How to Play Bridge
Jump Overcall
For a sound jump overcall you would need to have a 6 card suit
together with a suit quality of 8+ and an opening hand of 12+ points
1 NT Overcall
15-18 points with a balanced hand and a stopper in opponentrsquos suit
RESPONSES TO OVERCALLS
Remember that your partner has overcalled on what is probably a
weak hand with only one good suit and with the intention of
obstructing your opponents Therefore the majority of responses to
his overcall should also be barrages However there are responses
available
Supporting Partner
This is the bid your partner wants to hear most of all because it
means that you are cooperating with the idea of using up your
opponents bidding space All bids supporting partners overcall are
weak To determine your bid the deciding factor is the number of
trumps that you hold Assuming that your partner holds a five card
suit for his overcall you should raise your partners overcall to the
same number of tricks that you have trumps between you
So if you think you have a total of eight trumps between you you
should raise partner to 8 tricks (the two level) If you think you have
nine trumps raise to nine tricks (the three level) and so on
So in a barrage situation it is the number of trumps you hold and the
distribution of your hand that is important not your points
How to Play Bridge
RESPONDING WITH A STRONG HAND
What about when the responder has a genuinely good hand
Obviously you canrsquot just support partner and hope he understands
You must make a different bid and the easiest is the so-called un-
assuming cue bid This is a complicated sounding bid but actually
just involves calling the opponents suit at the lowest available level
What the bid means is that you think that you and your partner hold
the majority of the points and that there might be a game contract in
the offing by your side In other words whereas supporting your
partner is crying wolf to make life difficult for your opponents this
bid is saying that you genuinely think your side holds the majority of
the values and that there may be a possibility of bidding to game
How to Play Bridge
Contract Bridge (Rubber) Scoring
Contracts
NT
1 20 30 40
2 40 60 70
3 60 90 100
4 80 120 130
5 100 150 160
6 120 180 190
7 140 210 220
Slams
Not Vul Vul
Small 500 750
Grand 1000 1500
Rubbers
Three Games 500
Two Games 700
Unfinished Rubbers
Game 300
Part Score 50
Overtricks
per overtrick Not
Vul Vul
Not Doubled trick value
Doubled 100 200
Redoubled 200 400
Undertricks
Not Doubled Doubled
Not Vul Vul Not Vul Vul
1 50 100 100 200
2 100 200 300 500
3 150 300 500 800
4 200 400 800 1100
5 250 500 1100 1400
6 300 600 1400 1700
7 350 700 1700 2000
Other Bonuses
4 trump honours in one hand 100
5 trump honours in one hand 150
4 aces in one hand (NT) 150
Making a doubled Contract 50
Making a redoubled Contract 100
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No
How to Play Bridge
Responses
2NT is the Negative Response It denies the ability to make any other
response Having given a negative response responder may pass on
the next round if opener makes a simple rebid of the suit that he
opened or bids a second suit without a jump
Positive Responses Any positive response is forcing to game
(at least)
A single raise (eg 2 - 3 ) promises a fit and an ace The hand may
have little more than those minimum requirements or it may be a
strong hand when responder will explore for slam
A double raise (eg 2 - 4) shows trump support with strictly
speaking two second-round controls (Kings or singletons) but denies
an Ace (with an Ace responder would make the stronger single raise
leaving more room to explore for a slam) A single raise is stronger
than a double raise Note it is now common practice to make the
double raise on any hand with support for partner and some values but
lacking an ace the old requirement for two second-round controls
tends to be ignored
A response in a new suit (eg 2 - 3) shows a good 5-card or longer
suit and 7+ points Lacking these basic requirements begin with an
alternative response (perhaps even a negative 2NT and then show
signs of life later in the auction) Do not respond in a bad suit
A jump to 3NT (eg 2 - 3NT) indicates a balanced hand with 10-12
points
A jump in a new suit (eg 2 - 4) promises a solid suit (AKQxxx at
least)
How to Play Bridge
The 2NT opening bid
This shows a balanced hand with 20-22 points It is not forcing but
responder needs only 4+ points to know that the values for game are
probably there
Responses a bid of 3hearts or 3spades shows a 5-card suit and asks opener to
choose between game in no trumps (with only two cards in
responderrsquos suit) or game in the major (ie 4hearts or 4spades)
Acol 2 Opening Bid
The artificial opening bid of 2 shows a super strong hand with either
23+ points in a balanced hand (ie too strong to open with an Acol
2NT bid) or a hand that is too strong even to open with a strong
forcing bid of two of a suit
Responding to a 2 Opening
Negative Response
The response with less than 7 points is an artificial bid of 2 The
opener rebids naturally showing his long suit or bidding NT on a
balanced hand The opening bid of 2 is forcing to game
Exception to the rule there is only one situation where the opening
bid of 2 is not forcing to game If after a 2 negative response
opener rebids 2NT he is showing a balanced 23-24 points With
absolutely no values responder may pass this 2NT rebid However
with as little as 2 or 3 points he should bid again responding to the
2NT rebid in a similar manner to the way in which he would respond
to a 2NT opening bid (ie Stayman 3 and 3 forcing)
Remember how strong the opening hand is before you take the
decision to pass the 2NT rebid
How to Play Bridge
NB if opener after 2 - 2 makes any rebid other than 2NT the
responder must keep the bidding open until game (at least) is reached
Positive responses to a 2 opening
2 2 3 3 7+ points and a 5-card suit or a 4-card suit
headed by the A or K
2NT balanced 7-9 points
3NT balanced 10-12 points
Overcalls and Responses
OVERCALLS
In this section we will be highlighting 3 types of overcalls
Simple Overcall
This is usually a weak bid with as little as 8-12 points but is ideal in
disrupting communication between your opponents and also
informing your partner that you hold a good 5 card suit
For the purposes of illustration we will assume that the opponent on
your right has opened 1 Club You hold a good 5 card suit in Spades
but with only 8-12 points How should you bid
Suit Quality Test
To enable you to bid correctly you should firstly apply the lsquosuit
qualityrsquo test Simply count the length of your long suit in this case
spades and add the number of honour cards in that suit The total is
the strength of your suit quality If the total is 7 then you can make
and overcall of 1 Spade If the total is 8 then you can make an
overcall of 2 Spades and so on
How to Play Bridge
Jump Overcall
For a sound jump overcall you would need to have a 6 card suit
together with a suit quality of 8+ and an opening hand of 12+ points
1 NT Overcall
15-18 points with a balanced hand and a stopper in opponentrsquos suit
RESPONSES TO OVERCALLS
Remember that your partner has overcalled on what is probably a
weak hand with only one good suit and with the intention of
obstructing your opponents Therefore the majority of responses to
his overcall should also be barrages However there are responses
available
Supporting Partner
This is the bid your partner wants to hear most of all because it
means that you are cooperating with the idea of using up your
opponents bidding space All bids supporting partners overcall are
weak To determine your bid the deciding factor is the number of
trumps that you hold Assuming that your partner holds a five card
suit for his overcall you should raise your partners overcall to the
same number of tricks that you have trumps between you
So if you think you have a total of eight trumps between you you
should raise partner to 8 tricks (the two level) If you think you have
nine trumps raise to nine tricks (the three level) and so on
So in a barrage situation it is the number of trumps you hold and the
distribution of your hand that is important not your points
How to Play Bridge
RESPONDING WITH A STRONG HAND
What about when the responder has a genuinely good hand
Obviously you canrsquot just support partner and hope he understands
You must make a different bid and the easiest is the so-called un-
assuming cue bid This is a complicated sounding bid but actually
just involves calling the opponents suit at the lowest available level
What the bid means is that you think that you and your partner hold
the majority of the points and that there might be a game contract in
the offing by your side In other words whereas supporting your
partner is crying wolf to make life difficult for your opponents this
bid is saying that you genuinely think your side holds the majority of
the values and that there may be a possibility of bidding to game
How to Play Bridge
Contract Bridge (Rubber) Scoring
Contracts
NT
1 20 30 40
2 40 60 70
3 60 90 100
4 80 120 130
5 100 150 160
6 120 180 190
7 140 210 220
Slams
Not Vul Vul
Small 500 750
Grand 1000 1500
Rubbers
Three Games 500
Two Games 700
Unfinished Rubbers
Game 300
Part Score 50
Overtricks
per overtrick Not
Vul Vul
Not Doubled trick value
Doubled 100 200
Redoubled 200 400
Undertricks
Not Doubled Doubled
Not Vul Vul Not Vul Vul
1 50 100 100 200
2 100 200 300 500
3 150 300 500 800
4 200 400 800 1100
5 250 500 1100 1400
6 300 600 1400 1700
7 350 700 1700 2000
Other Bonuses
4 trump honours in one hand 100
5 trump honours in one hand 150
4 aces in one hand (NT) 150
Making a doubled Contract 50
Making a redoubled Contract 100
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No
How to Play Bridge
The 2NT opening bid
This shows a balanced hand with 20-22 points It is not forcing but
responder needs only 4+ points to know that the values for game are
probably there
Responses a bid of 3hearts or 3spades shows a 5-card suit and asks opener to
choose between game in no trumps (with only two cards in
responderrsquos suit) or game in the major (ie 4hearts or 4spades)
Acol 2 Opening Bid
The artificial opening bid of 2 shows a super strong hand with either
23+ points in a balanced hand (ie too strong to open with an Acol
2NT bid) or a hand that is too strong even to open with a strong
forcing bid of two of a suit
Responding to a 2 Opening
Negative Response
The response with less than 7 points is an artificial bid of 2 The
opener rebids naturally showing his long suit or bidding NT on a
balanced hand The opening bid of 2 is forcing to game
Exception to the rule there is only one situation where the opening
bid of 2 is not forcing to game If after a 2 negative response
opener rebids 2NT he is showing a balanced 23-24 points With
absolutely no values responder may pass this 2NT rebid However
with as little as 2 or 3 points he should bid again responding to the
2NT rebid in a similar manner to the way in which he would respond
to a 2NT opening bid (ie Stayman 3 and 3 forcing)
Remember how strong the opening hand is before you take the
decision to pass the 2NT rebid
How to Play Bridge
NB if opener after 2 - 2 makes any rebid other than 2NT the
responder must keep the bidding open until game (at least) is reached
Positive responses to a 2 opening
2 2 3 3 7+ points and a 5-card suit or a 4-card suit
headed by the A or K
2NT balanced 7-9 points
3NT balanced 10-12 points
Overcalls and Responses
OVERCALLS
In this section we will be highlighting 3 types of overcalls
Simple Overcall
This is usually a weak bid with as little as 8-12 points but is ideal in
disrupting communication between your opponents and also
informing your partner that you hold a good 5 card suit
For the purposes of illustration we will assume that the opponent on
your right has opened 1 Club You hold a good 5 card suit in Spades
but with only 8-12 points How should you bid
Suit Quality Test
To enable you to bid correctly you should firstly apply the lsquosuit
qualityrsquo test Simply count the length of your long suit in this case
spades and add the number of honour cards in that suit The total is
the strength of your suit quality If the total is 7 then you can make
and overcall of 1 Spade If the total is 8 then you can make an
overcall of 2 Spades and so on
How to Play Bridge
Jump Overcall
For a sound jump overcall you would need to have a 6 card suit
together with a suit quality of 8+ and an opening hand of 12+ points
1 NT Overcall
15-18 points with a balanced hand and a stopper in opponentrsquos suit
RESPONSES TO OVERCALLS
Remember that your partner has overcalled on what is probably a
weak hand with only one good suit and with the intention of
obstructing your opponents Therefore the majority of responses to
his overcall should also be barrages However there are responses
available
Supporting Partner
This is the bid your partner wants to hear most of all because it
means that you are cooperating with the idea of using up your
opponents bidding space All bids supporting partners overcall are
weak To determine your bid the deciding factor is the number of
trumps that you hold Assuming that your partner holds a five card
suit for his overcall you should raise your partners overcall to the
same number of tricks that you have trumps between you
So if you think you have a total of eight trumps between you you
should raise partner to 8 tricks (the two level) If you think you have
nine trumps raise to nine tricks (the three level) and so on
So in a barrage situation it is the number of trumps you hold and the
distribution of your hand that is important not your points
How to Play Bridge
RESPONDING WITH A STRONG HAND
What about when the responder has a genuinely good hand
Obviously you canrsquot just support partner and hope he understands
You must make a different bid and the easiest is the so-called un-
assuming cue bid This is a complicated sounding bid but actually
just involves calling the opponents suit at the lowest available level
What the bid means is that you think that you and your partner hold
the majority of the points and that there might be a game contract in
the offing by your side In other words whereas supporting your
partner is crying wolf to make life difficult for your opponents this
bid is saying that you genuinely think your side holds the majority of
the values and that there may be a possibility of bidding to game
How to Play Bridge
Contract Bridge (Rubber) Scoring
Contracts
NT
1 20 30 40
2 40 60 70
3 60 90 100
4 80 120 130
5 100 150 160
6 120 180 190
7 140 210 220
Slams
Not Vul Vul
Small 500 750
Grand 1000 1500
Rubbers
Three Games 500
Two Games 700
Unfinished Rubbers
Game 300
Part Score 50
Overtricks
per overtrick Not
Vul Vul
Not Doubled trick value
Doubled 100 200
Redoubled 200 400
Undertricks
Not Doubled Doubled
Not Vul Vul Not Vul Vul
1 50 100 100 200
2 100 200 300 500
3 150 300 500 800
4 200 400 800 1100
5 250 500 1100 1400
6 300 600 1400 1700
7 350 700 1700 2000
Other Bonuses
4 trump honours in one hand 100
5 trump honours in one hand 150
4 aces in one hand (NT) 150
Making a doubled Contract 50
Making a redoubled Contract 100
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No
How to Play Bridge
NB if opener after 2 - 2 makes any rebid other than 2NT the
responder must keep the bidding open until game (at least) is reached
Positive responses to a 2 opening
2 2 3 3 7+ points and a 5-card suit or a 4-card suit
headed by the A or K
2NT balanced 7-9 points
3NT balanced 10-12 points
Overcalls and Responses
OVERCALLS
In this section we will be highlighting 3 types of overcalls
Simple Overcall
This is usually a weak bid with as little as 8-12 points but is ideal in
disrupting communication between your opponents and also
informing your partner that you hold a good 5 card suit
For the purposes of illustration we will assume that the opponent on
your right has opened 1 Club You hold a good 5 card suit in Spades
but with only 8-12 points How should you bid
Suit Quality Test
To enable you to bid correctly you should firstly apply the lsquosuit
qualityrsquo test Simply count the length of your long suit in this case
spades and add the number of honour cards in that suit The total is
the strength of your suit quality If the total is 7 then you can make
and overcall of 1 Spade If the total is 8 then you can make an
overcall of 2 Spades and so on
How to Play Bridge
Jump Overcall
For a sound jump overcall you would need to have a 6 card suit
together with a suit quality of 8+ and an opening hand of 12+ points
1 NT Overcall
15-18 points with a balanced hand and a stopper in opponentrsquos suit
RESPONSES TO OVERCALLS
Remember that your partner has overcalled on what is probably a
weak hand with only one good suit and with the intention of
obstructing your opponents Therefore the majority of responses to
his overcall should also be barrages However there are responses
available
Supporting Partner
This is the bid your partner wants to hear most of all because it
means that you are cooperating with the idea of using up your
opponents bidding space All bids supporting partners overcall are
weak To determine your bid the deciding factor is the number of
trumps that you hold Assuming that your partner holds a five card
suit for his overcall you should raise your partners overcall to the
same number of tricks that you have trumps between you
So if you think you have a total of eight trumps between you you
should raise partner to 8 tricks (the two level) If you think you have
nine trumps raise to nine tricks (the three level) and so on
So in a barrage situation it is the number of trumps you hold and the
distribution of your hand that is important not your points
How to Play Bridge
RESPONDING WITH A STRONG HAND
What about when the responder has a genuinely good hand
Obviously you canrsquot just support partner and hope he understands
You must make a different bid and the easiest is the so-called un-
assuming cue bid This is a complicated sounding bid but actually
just involves calling the opponents suit at the lowest available level
What the bid means is that you think that you and your partner hold
the majority of the points and that there might be a game contract in
the offing by your side In other words whereas supporting your
partner is crying wolf to make life difficult for your opponents this
bid is saying that you genuinely think your side holds the majority of
the values and that there may be a possibility of bidding to game
How to Play Bridge
Contract Bridge (Rubber) Scoring
Contracts
NT
1 20 30 40
2 40 60 70
3 60 90 100
4 80 120 130
5 100 150 160
6 120 180 190
7 140 210 220
Slams
Not Vul Vul
Small 500 750
Grand 1000 1500
Rubbers
Three Games 500
Two Games 700
Unfinished Rubbers
Game 300
Part Score 50
Overtricks
per overtrick Not
Vul Vul
Not Doubled trick value
Doubled 100 200
Redoubled 200 400
Undertricks
Not Doubled Doubled
Not Vul Vul Not Vul Vul
1 50 100 100 200
2 100 200 300 500
3 150 300 500 800
4 200 400 800 1100
5 250 500 1100 1400
6 300 600 1400 1700
7 350 700 1700 2000
Other Bonuses
4 trump honours in one hand 100
5 trump honours in one hand 150
4 aces in one hand (NT) 150
Making a doubled Contract 50
Making a redoubled Contract 100
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No
How to Play Bridge
Jump Overcall
For a sound jump overcall you would need to have a 6 card suit
together with a suit quality of 8+ and an opening hand of 12+ points
1 NT Overcall
15-18 points with a balanced hand and a stopper in opponentrsquos suit
RESPONSES TO OVERCALLS
Remember that your partner has overcalled on what is probably a
weak hand with only one good suit and with the intention of
obstructing your opponents Therefore the majority of responses to
his overcall should also be barrages However there are responses
available
Supporting Partner
This is the bid your partner wants to hear most of all because it
means that you are cooperating with the idea of using up your
opponents bidding space All bids supporting partners overcall are
weak To determine your bid the deciding factor is the number of
trumps that you hold Assuming that your partner holds a five card
suit for his overcall you should raise your partners overcall to the
same number of tricks that you have trumps between you
So if you think you have a total of eight trumps between you you
should raise partner to 8 tricks (the two level) If you think you have
nine trumps raise to nine tricks (the three level) and so on
So in a barrage situation it is the number of trumps you hold and the
distribution of your hand that is important not your points
How to Play Bridge
RESPONDING WITH A STRONG HAND
What about when the responder has a genuinely good hand
Obviously you canrsquot just support partner and hope he understands
You must make a different bid and the easiest is the so-called un-
assuming cue bid This is a complicated sounding bid but actually
just involves calling the opponents suit at the lowest available level
What the bid means is that you think that you and your partner hold
the majority of the points and that there might be a game contract in
the offing by your side In other words whereas supporting your
partner is crying wolf to make life difficult for your opponents this
bid is saying that you genuinely think your side holds the majority of
the values and that there may be a possibility of bidding to game
How to Play Bridge
Contract Bridge (Rubber) Scoring
Contracts
NT
1 20 30 40
2 40 60 70
3 60 90 100
4 80 120 130
5 100 150 160
6 120 180 190
7 140 210 220
Slams
Not Vul Vul
Small 500 750
Grand 1000 1500
Rubbers
Three Games 500
Two Games 700
Unfinished Rubbers
Game 300
Part Score 50
Overtricks
per overtrick Not
Vul Vul
Not Doubled trick value
Doubled 100 200
Redoubled 200 400
Undertricks
Not Doubled Doubled
Not Vul Vul Not Vul Vul
1 50 100 100 200
2 100 200 300 500
3 150 300 500 800
4 200 400 800 1100
5 250 500 1100 1400
6 300 600 1400 1700
7 350 700 1700 2000
Other Bonuses
4 trump honours in one hand 100
5 trump honours in one hand 150
4 aces in one hand (NT) 150
Making a doubled Contract 50
Making a redoubled Contract 100
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No
How to Play Bridge
RESPONDING WITH A STRONG HAND
What about when the responder has a genuinely good hand
Obviously you canrsquot just support partner and hope he understands
You must make a different bid and the easiest is the so-called un-
assuming cue bid This is a complicated sounding bid but actually
just involves calling the opponents suit at the lowest available level
What the bid means is that you think that you and your partner hold
the majority of the points and that there might be a game contract in
the offing by your side In other words whereas supporting your
partner is crying wolf to make life difficult for your opponents this
bid is saying that you genuinely think your side holds the majority of
the values and that there may be a possibility of bidding to game
How to Play Bridge
Contract Bridge (Rubber) Scoring
Contracts
NT
1 20 30 40
2 40 60 70
3 60 90 100
4 80 120 130
5 100 150 160
6 120 180 190
7 140 210 220
Slams
Not Vul Vul
Small 500 750
Grand 1000 1500
Rubbers
Three Games 500
Two Games 700
Unfinished Rubbers
Game 300
Part Score 50
Overtricks
per overtrick Not
Vul Vul
Not Doubled trick value
Doubled 100 200
Redoubled 200 400
Undertricks
Not Doubled Doubled
Not Vul Vul Not Vul Vul
1 50 100 100 200
2 100 200 300 500
3 150 300 500 800
4 200 400 800 1100
5 250 500 1100 1400
6 300 600 1400 1700
7 350 700 1700 2000
Other Bonuses
4 trump honours in one hand 100
5 trump honours in one hand 150
4 aces in one hand (NT) 150
Making a doubled Contract 50
Making a redoubled Contract 100
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No
How to Play Bridge
Contract Bridge (Rubber) Scoring
Contracts
NT
1 20 30 40
2 40 60 70
3 60 90 100
4 80 120 130
5 100 150 160
6 120 180 190
7 140 210 220
Slams
Not Vul Vul
Small 500 750
Grand 1000 1500
Rubbers
Three Games 500
Two Games 700
Unfinished Rubbers
Game 300
Part Score 50
Overtricks
per overtrick Not
Vul Vul
Not Doubled trick value
Doubled 100 200
Redoubled 200 400
Undertricks
Not Doubled Doubled
Not Vul Vul Not Vul Vul
1 50 100 100 200
2 100 200 300 500
3 150 300 500 800
4 200 400 800 1100
5 250 500 1100 1400
6 300 600 1400 1700
7 350 700 1700 2000
Other Bonuses
4 trump honours in one hand 100
5 trump honours in one hand 150
4 aces in one hand (NT) 150
Making a doubled Contract 50
Making a redoubled Contract 100
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No
How to Play Bridge
Modern Acol (Standard English) ndash Responding to 1NT (Chart 4)
Do I have a weak hand
(less than 11 points)
No
Yes
Is it a 6-card or
longer club suit
No
No
Yes
No Do I have a 6-card
major suit
Yes
Bid 2clubs (Stayman) but
then bid 3clubs to play
Yes
Yes
Bid 2clubs
Stayman
Have we found a 4-4
major suit fit
Yes Yes
Bid 4hearts 4spades
No
The Exception to the Golden Rule
No
copy Professional Bridge Tuition 2010
Weak with 5-4 in the majors bid 2clubs Stayman pass
a response of 2hearts2spades bid the 5-card major over 2diams
Pass Do I have a 5-card (+)
suit
Bid 2 of your long suit
(asking partner to pass)
Yes
No
Bid 3hearts 3spades asking
partner to choose
3NT or 4hearts 4spades
Bid 3NT (13+ pts)
or invite game
with 2NT (11-12)
Golden Rule Stayman with four bid the suit with more
Do I have a 5-card
major suit
Do I have a 4-card
major suit
Bid 4hearts 4spades (13+ pts)
or invite game with
3hearts 3spades (11-12)
Am I 5-4 in the
majors
No