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BRIDGE
- THE ELEMENTS OF THE GAME |
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There are a number of forms in which bridge is played. We shall deal here with "Rubber Bridge"
which is the kind |
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of
bridge most played at home or
generally at social gatherings. The
first partners, and the first dealer,
are often |
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chosen
by each player cutting the cards.
The players who cut the two
highest ranking cards become partners. |
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The
player who cuts the highest ranking
card becomes the Dealer. For each subsequent deal, the dealership |
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passes to the next player on the left of the current dealer
and so on to the end of the "rubber" (see later). |
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Overview of the Bidding |
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The first stage
in the game is the "AUCTION".
In this each player may bid to make a contract of so many tricks |
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with his choice of suit as trumps. His bid is defined as the number of tricks
in excess of six he hopes to
make. For |
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example,
he would be required to make at least seven tricks in a contract of "One
Club" with clubs as trumps, or ten |
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tricks in a contract of "Four Spades" with Spades as
trumps. It is also possible to bid for a contract in which there |
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are no trumps, e.g. "Three No-Trumps" would require
him to take at least nine tricks with no trumps being available. |
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A
bid is made by saying "One Club" or "Two Spades" etc when
it is your turn to bid. A contract successfully made |
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will score points for your side, but failure to fulfill your
contract will land you with substantial penalties which may |
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escalate as the number of tricks you make fall short of the
number for which you have bid. |
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For the purposes
of the auction there is a hierarchy for the suits. The lowest suit is Clubs,
next Diamonds,then |
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Hearts, then Spades,and highest ranking of all is No-Trumps.
This means that, in the course of the bidding, a bid of |
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One Club can be overcalled with One Diamond, One Heart, One
Spade or One No-Trump, whereas a bid of say One |
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Heart can still be overcalled with One Spade or One No-Trump,
but would require an overcall of Two Clubs or Two |
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Diamonds.
Similarly, a bid in No-Trumps requires a raise in the contract level from one
to two or two to three etc. to |
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call over it. The
dealer makes the first bid. The player on his left may then overcall with a bid of his own, and then |
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the player on his left may respond with his bid and so on. When a player feels
he does not have the strength and |
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character
of hand to bid at the required level, he says "Pass". The last
actual bid before three passes becomes the |
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contract and the first player to bid in that suit becomes the
Declarer. |
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e.g an auction might go:- North:
- "Pass" East:- "1 Spade" South:- "Pass" West:-
"2 Clubs" |
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(North is Dealer) North: - "Pass" East:- "2 spades" South:- "Pass" West:-
"3 Spades" |
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North: - "Pass"
East:- "4
Spades" South:- "Pass" West:-
"Pass" |
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North:
- "Pass" |
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Thus the final contract is
"Four Spades" by East/West, played by East as Declarer and with
West as "Dummy" |
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(see below). The reason why
East/West may continue to bid after North/South has dropped out of the
bidding will |
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be apparent later in this discussion. |
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We
do not propose to deal in depth with the bidding and play of Bridge hands as
there are plenty of books on the |
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subject which will be much better at it. However, a few of the more basic
factors will be described to get you started. |
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How do you know when you can make the first bid? (Known as the "Opening Bid". |
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Many years ago a number of
clever mathematicians and stastisticians made a study of the qualities which |
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make
a Bridge hand a good bet on which to bid. The most commonly adopted feature
of their deliberations is " The |
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Milton
Point Count". In this evaluation the cards from Ace down to the ten are
dubbed "honour cards" and, in the |
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evaluation
of a hand, points are allocated to the four top ranking cards; four for an
Ace, three for a King, two for a |
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Queen and one for a Jack. |
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The statisticians have calculated
that, normally, a hand containing fewer that 12 points is a shaky proposition
to |
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open the bidding with a first bid so, with fewer than 12 points, they
recommend "passing" which is indicated by a call |
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of "Pass" or "No Bid". You will learn that the number
of points is only one factor in the playing strength of a hand. |
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Texture and distribution are also very important. However, for the moment
we will confine ourselves to the natural |
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bidding of commonplace hands. With 12 or more points you can start the
bidding on suitable holdings. The following |
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hands are examples of minimum holdings which just merit an opening bid. |
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Hand 1 Hand 2 Hand 3 Hand 4 |
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Spades 5 2 A Q
9 8 5 Q 10
7 6 4 A Q 7 |
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Hearts K 10
9 Q J
7
A J 7 K J
8 5 |
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Diamonds K
8 2 K 9
8
K Q 9 Q 9 |
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Clubs A
Q 9 7
5
9 4 7 6 9 8
7 6 |
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Hand 1 just
qualifies for an opening bid of "One Club". Note that it has 12
points and 5 clubs. Hands 2 and 3 |
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similarly qualify for an opening bid of "One Spade". On Hand 1 you are contracting to take 7
tricks with Clubs as |
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trumps or, in the case of Hands 2 and 3, with Spades as trumps. |
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To open one in a suit with
about 12 to 14 points normally requires at least five cards in the suit bid.
With no five |
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or more card suit, and with only 12 to 14 points, the hand, if it is
opened at all, is usually opened "One No-Trump". |
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This applies in the case of Hand 4. If partner responds to your suit bid with a suit of his own,
(we will deal with |
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responding
bids later), it is normal, with only 12 to 14 points, to rebid your long suit
at the lowest available level thus |
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showing at least five cards in your suit and a minimal point count in
your hand. |
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Again, with 15 or more points
and two four card suits, you can bid the second suit if partner responds. |
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Thus responder can generally distinguish between partner having a 12 - 14
point count and one based on 15 - 16. |
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For example Hand 5 Hand
6 |
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Spades A K
7 6 A J
4 2 With your 15 points on Hand
5 you would open "1 Club" |
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Hearts 7 4 K 10 5 and if partner responds "One
Heart" or "One Diamond" |
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Diamonds 10 9 2 K J
7 you would bid "One
Spade". Partner now knows you |
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Clubs A K
J 9 K 10 6
4 probably have four or
possibly more clubs, at least 4 |
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spades and a hand valued at 15 to 16 points. |
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If partner responds "One Spade" then you have found |
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a fit and happily raise him to "Two Spades". |
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Hand 6 you
might bid similarly, but a superior rebid over a respose of "One
Diamond" or "One Heart" would be |
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"One No-Trump". This shows a hand with 15 or 16 points and
suitable to play in No-Trumps. There is also a process |
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for
bidding hands with 17 - 18 points, another for bidding 19 - 22 points and yet
another for the the 23+ hand. |
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However, the above examples are given to illustrate some of the basic
principles of bidding. There are many books |
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available to pursue the subject in greater depth. |
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How do you know when you can respond (make a bid) to your
partners Opening Bid. |
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It is generally accepted
that if partner makes an opening bid you need at least 6 points to respond in
another |
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suit at the one level, and at least 8 points to respond at the two level.
You also need at least four cards in the suit |
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you bid. Thus to an opening bid of say "One Heart", with 6
points, you could respond "One Spade" or |
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"One No-Trump" but to respond "Two Clubs" or
"Two Diamonds" you would require to have at least 8 points. |
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Remember these are the minimum holdings for the responder. An original
change of suit response can be made |
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on unlimited strength so, if responder's first response is in a new suit,
it is essential Opener must
bid again. His |
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partner's response is said to be "forcing for one round". From
then on both players bid or pass as they see fit. |
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Opener therefore seeks to open the bidding in such a way that he has a
fairly comfortable rebid whatever partner may |
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respond. The only responses not forcing are bids in No-Trumps or raises
in openers suit. These are said to be "limit" |
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bids. However, if responder has already passed, his bid is then not
forcing and can be passed. Such a bid usually |
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shows a minimum five card suit and usually little liking for the suit
opened. |
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Overcalls |
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When opponents have opened
the bidding, and you decide to contest the auction, your bids are called |
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"Overcalls".
Overcalls are based more on shape than on high card points and are not
limited by any minimum point |
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count. They may be intended simply to muddy the waters for the
opposition. However, we would strongly suggest that |
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they show a suit of at least five cards in which you would welcome a lead
especially against a No-Trump contract. |
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Also with due regard for vulnerability and the dangers of a
"double". |
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Distribution and Texture. |
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Mention was made earlier
of shape or distribution and texture as factors in assessing the quality of a
hand in |
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relation to the bidding. The following three hands illustrate our
meaning. |
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Hand 6 Hand
7 Hand 8 |
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Spades A 10 5
4 2 A Q 10
4 2 Q J
5 4 2 |
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Hearts K Q
6 K J
6 4 2 K 10 6 3
2 |
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Diamonds 9 8
6
6
Q 6 |
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Clubs Q 2 4 2 Q |
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Hand 6 has 11 points and, in our opinion, does not qualify for an
opening bid. |
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Hand 7 has only 10
points but has a favourable "shape" (two five card suits) and good
"texture" (all of the high card |
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points are in the five card suits). This hand we regard as qualified to
open with "One Spade" |
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Hand 8 also has 10 points and two five card suits but its
"texture" is obviously poor. To open with this hand would |
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be to invite trouble much of the time. |
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These examples are given
simply to show the kind of thing we mean when we refer to "shape"
or "distribution" and |
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"texture". Generally, to
qualify for an opening bid, the lower the point count the more extreme must
be the distribution |
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(i.e. shape) plus texture properties. To take the most extreme of
examples, if you were dealt all thirteen
Spades, |
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you would have a stone cold Grand Slam of Seven Spades in your hand with
only 10 high card points. The ability to |
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assess the influence of shape factors on your bidding will come with
practice and experience. |
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Overview of The Play of the Hands |
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To start the play the
opponent on the left of the Dealer leads a card by placing it face up on the
table. The |
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Declarer's partner then becomes "Dummy" and arranges his cards
face up in their suits in front of him, usually in |
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alternating colours with the trumps on his right, so that Declarer will
be facing something like:- |
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Spades Diamonds Clubs Hearts |
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With Spades A 9 K Q This would in fact
be a suitable hand for East |
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as 10 7 Q 8 in the auction
previously described. |
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Trumps 9 9 6 |
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6 4 |
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After the opening lead it
is Dummy's turn to play a card (actually Declarer plays the cards from both
his own |
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hand
and from the dummy). As each trick is won, its cards are gathered and picked
up by the player who won the |
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trick and placed face down in front of him ready to be counted as a trick
won at the end of the play of the hand. |
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Scoring |
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At this point it will be
convenient to explain the scoring process. This will make clear the value in
sometimes |
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continuing to bid on even though the opponents have dropped out of the
auction. |
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A successful contract with
Clubs and Diamonds as trumps will score 20 points for each trick (in excess
of six) |
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won by the contractor ( he is called the "Declarer"). If
declarer's suit is Hearts or Spades he scores 30 points for each |
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trick. In a No-Trump contract he scores 40 for the first trick and 30 for
each subsequent trick. If he fails to meet his |
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contract he concedes to the opponents 50 points for the each trick by
which he underachieves his contract. If he is |
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"vulnerable" (see below) he concedes 100 points for each trick
he is short of his contract. |
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In Rubber Bridge scores are
entered on a score pad and the score for contracts successfully made are
added up, |
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deal by deal. until the total for one pair reaches 100. The pair
concerned are then declared winners of that "game" and |
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become "vulnerable". They then become subject to the higher
range of penalties. |
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Only the tricks actually bid
count towards game. For example, if a pair bids "One No-Trump" and
subsequently |
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take 9 tricks, only the first 40 points (1 No-Trump as bid) count towards
game, and this score is recorded below a line |
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drawn on the score pad. The overtricks are valued at 30 points each in
the case of No-Trumps,Hearts and Spades - |
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Club
and Diamond overtricks rate 20 points per trick. The points scored for
overtricks are included in the total scoring |
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up at the end, but do not count towards game and are entered on the pad
above the line. The cards are then re-dealt |
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for another game. |
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The first pair to win two
games wins the "rubber" which carries a bonus of 700 if their
opponemts have not |
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previously
scored a game in that rubber, and 500 if they have done so. Thus it can be
seen that a successful |
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contract of "Five Clubs" or "Five Diamonds", each
totalling 100 points or "Four Hearts" or "Four Spades"
each |
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totalling 120 points, or a contract of "Three N0-Trumps" for
100 points, will each produce a game score on the one |
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deal. When you take into account the bonuses which attach to winning a
"rubber", and the fact that winning a game |
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ends
that game and so cancels out any scores opponents may have earned towards the
game, you will see the |
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importance
of systematic bidding, enabling you to estimate the strength of your combined
holdings and so judge |
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how high you can afford to bid to get your below - the - line score
towards 100 without risking a punitive penalty. All |
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bonus and penalty scores are entered above the line. |
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Then there are the slam
bonuses. To make a Small Slam you must bid and make a contract of six, in
other words |
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you can lose only one trick. If successful, this will net you a further
bonus of 500 if you are not vulnerable, or 750 if |
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you
are. A Grand Slam requires you to bid and take every trick in a contract of
"seven" and, if bid and made, will |
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give you an added 1000 non-vulnerable and 1500 if vulnerable. |
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Finally in Rubber Bridge there
are points for honours. If you are Declarer and you hold A, K, Q, & J in
your trump |
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suit, all in the one hand, you get 100 points for "honours".
Add also the 10 and you get 150. All four Aces in a hand in |
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a No-Trump contract will also score a bonus of 100 points. |
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A very important
feature of the scoring is:- PENALTIES |
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When a pair has bid to a
certain level, and an opponent feels confident that the contract will fail,
(called "setting the |
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contract"), he can "Double". This means that, should the
contract succeed, declarer will get double the normal score |
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and it all goes below the line counting towards a game score,e.g.a
contract of "Two Spades" bid, doubled and |
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successfully made yields (2 x 30) x 2 = 120 points and wins the game. On
the other hand if he is doubled and goes |
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down,he will concede penalties on the following scale:- Not Vulnerable he
concedes 100 for one trick down, 300 for two |
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tricks,500 for three tricks and a further 300 added for each subsequent
trick down. Vulnerable he concedes 200 for one |
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trick down and an additional 300 for each subsequent trick down. |
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The importance of an
accurate assessment during the bidding process thus becomes apparent.
Attempts to |
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achieve
such accuracy are made through the use of bidding conventions. There are a
great number of these but the |
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most commonly used one in Great Britain is the "Acol System" on
which such bidding as has been indicated above is |
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based. Again there is a wealth of literature on bidding systems. |
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There are a few points that
need to be learned about the probable value requirements for game and slam |
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contracts. With reasonably moderate distribution, to make a game on one
deal of 3 No-Trumps, or on contracts of 4 |
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Hearts or 4 Spades based on a 4/4 fit in trumps, you will normally need
about 25 points or more high card points |
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between yourself and partner. The above major suit contracts will also
normally require at least one of the hands to |
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hold a doubleton (two cards) or less. A small slam normally requires
about 33 combined points and a grand slam 37. |
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These are very general figures and are subject to variation according to
distributional factors. |
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DUPLICATE BRIDGE |
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Rubber bridge, as described
above, is the usual type of bridge game played at home or other social
gatherings, but |
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there
is little doubt that, once you reach a modicum of proficiency at the game,
and are bitten by the Bridge Bug, you |
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will want to join a Bridge Club and be introduced to the addiction of
Duplicate Bridge. Bidding and play in Duplicate |
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Bridge are essentially the same as in Rubber Bridge but Duplicate Bridge
is played over a number of tables. |
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The played cards are placed
face up in front of the player and at the end of the trick are turned over
facing one way |
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if
the trick was won, and the other way if the trick was lost. When all cards
have been played the hands are preserved |
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as
they were dealt and replaced in the four labelled pockets (North, South, East
and West) of a board which bears the |
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same number as the table at which it started. The result is entered on a
score slip which is attached to the board. |
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Boards and players are moved around at the end of each round in such a
way that, by the end of proceedings, ideally |
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each pair will have played all of the boards. |
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Scores are allocated to each
pair, board by board, according to how they have done in comparison with
their |
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competitors who will have played the same hands. Thus, unlike Rubber
Bridge, your final total score is not dependant |
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on the quality of the hands you are dealt, but on what you make of them
compared with all the other pairs. This being |
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so, it would seem that the best players should win all the time, and this
is largely true if the number of boards is very |
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large. However, over a mere 24 or so boards, typical for a club evening,
the distributional gremlins are such that any |
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moderately competent player, if his luck is in, has a chance of winning
on the night. It is this element of luck, combined |
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with
its truly competitive nature, that accounts for the immense popularity of
Duplicate Bridge. |
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Scoring in Duplicate Bridge is similar trick for trick as in Rubber
Bridge, but there are no rubbers or rubber bonuses. |
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Instead
there is a bonus of 50 for each part score made (i.e.scores of less than
100). Each pair,on each board, is |
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allocated a vulnerability status and the penalties for undertricks are
similar to those in Rubber Bridge. The bonuses for |
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game contracts bid and won are 300
if not vulnerable and 500 if vulnerable. Slam bonuses are similar as in
Rubber Bridge. |
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FINAL OBSERVATION |
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There are no absolute
"dos" or "donts" in bridge. There is no doubt that an
example can be dreamed up to |
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confound almost every statement made on the subject but, as a total
beginner, you will not go far wrong, initially, if you |
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adopt the approach and suggestions I have made. |
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As has been stated, it is
not my purpose to teach advanced bidding and play techniques. There are
dozens of |
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books,
written by players of more exalted rank, which can do better than I can. My
purpose is to impart the basic |
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concept of the game of bridge, with a few elementary suggestions on
bidding, so that aspiring players, with no prior |
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knowledge of the game at all, will be able to learn by experience in play
either, with other beginners like themselves, or |
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with tolerant friends, who can help them get started. If your local
authority or bridge club runs lessons in bridge, it is a |
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good idea to go along, but anyone who wants to get really serious about
the game will have to read some of the books |
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referred to above. There is a plethora of rules and regulations on the
play and ethics of the game, and you will have to |
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become
conversant with these once you start to play in bridge drives or join a
bridge club. |
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However sufficient unto the
day. For a start let us just play along as above and have fun. |
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