INTRODUCTORY DUPLICATE BRIDGE A N D E R S H A N S S O N
ANDERS HANSSON is a professor of electrical engineering and the book “Introductory Duplicate Bridge” was written during his first two years as a bridge player. The main motivation was to facilitate his own learning process. He realized during this time that there are few good introductory books on bridge published which teaches the tactics of duplicate bridge—at least for the beginner. Also very few books make sure to teach and explain everything from the very beginning. This book is an attempt to bridge this gap. As a recent beginner himself, he has the insight into what is difficult to learn for beginners. In combination with Anders’ great teaching experience it is hence believed that you will enjoy reading this book and the process of becoming an intermediate player of duplicate bridge. ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
ANDERS HANSSON — INTRODUCTORY DUPLICATE BRIDGE
This book teaches the basics of duplicate bridge. The bidding system used is American Standard. Examples are used throughout the book to explain how you should bid and play the game. Every chapter ends with a summary of what you should remember. This will make it easier for you to memorize what needs to be memorized. Also there are additional examples for each chapter that you may use as practice deals. The contents of the book is divided in such a way that you may first just read parts of it to get a very basic understanding of the game, and then you may go back and read more detailed sections when you are more comfortable with the game. In this way it is believed that the book will accompany you on your way to becoming an intermediate player. References to further reading are given. The book has been used to teach beginners, and several of them have been able to play successfully against experienced players after only one or two games.
A N D E R S H A N S S O N INTRODUCTORY DUPLICATE BRIDGE American Standard With Competitive Strategies
♥♣ ♠♦ VRÅKA 2013
Copyright c 2013 by Anders Hansson All rights reserved. No parts of this book may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the author. Publisher and printing: BoD ISBN: 978–91–7463–174–6
Preface
T
HERE are many books published on the topic of bridge, and among them there are several introductory books, so why would one write yet another one? The main reason is that few of the introductory books already published actually discuss the inherent competitive nature of duplicate bridge which makes it a very fascinating and fun game to play. Duplicate bridge is the most common form of bridge played at bridge clubs around the world. Already in 1965 Kay, Sildor and Karpin, [7], wrote a book on duplicate bridge—probably the first one on topic. However, that book assumes that you already know how to play rubber bridge so that you are familiar with the basic standard American system of bidding, and then it explains the differences between rubber bridge and duplicate bridge. This book does not only aim at teaching the basic ingredients of bridge, which are the bidding in the auction, and the play as both declarer of a contract and as defender against a contract. It also aims at teaching how to do this so as to make you competitive and do well in duplicate bridge already as a beginner. It is believed that it is important for beginners to be able to reach this level of competence quickly in order to enjoy the game. To reach this level does not require sophisticated systems of bidding or many conventions. Most auctions end below what is called game, and they often have both the final declarer of the contract and their op-
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Preface
ponents involved in the bidding, i.e. the bidding is competitive. The rest of the auctions most often end up at the game level, and very few actually reach the level of so-called slam. Therefore it is not believed that slam bidding is an important part of an introductory book on duplicate bridge. Also it is believed that conventions that are only useful on one board out of 36 are of little interest to the beginner. Not knowing these conventions will not prevent you from making a good score. As is pointed out in three letters to the editor of the ACBL (American Contract Bridge League) Bridge Bulletin, published in July 2011, it is more or less sadistic and counterproductive to teach newcomers artificial bidding and conventions. Instead, it is believed that concepts like over-calling, balancing and sacrifice bidding are inherently important. Moreover, non-safe play, where risks are taken in order to make so-called over-tricks, is another skill necessary to master in order to be competitive in duplicate bridge. All of these skills will be taught together with several convincing examples to facilitate the learning process. Summaries of each chapter will be provided so that you have a quick reference to what is important to remember. The explanations and motivations are given in the main body of each chapter. I would like to take the opportunity to thank Tord Andersson for convincing me start to play bridge and Calle Liljegren for teaching me how to play. I am also grateful to Alan Laub for playing with me at the Barrington Bridge Club and to Lars “Lulla” Lindström for playing with me in Gamleby. You have all been great sources of inspiration. Finally I would like to thank my students Erik Hansson, Manon Kok, Tohid Ardeshiri and Niklas Wahlström. Your comments when learning to play have greatly influenced the writing of the book.
Vråka, May 1, 2013 Anders Hansson
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
D
UPLICATE bridge is the most common forms of bridge played in the world. The game of bridge was derived from the game of whist which goes back to the mid 1700’s. Duplicate whist was played already in the mid 1800’s in order to eliminate most of the luck associated with the game, and eventually the duplicate tray was invented in the late 1800’s so that players could replay identical trays or boards. It is not clear if the game of bridge has British, Turkish or Russian origin, but it is likely that the idea of bidding the trump suit, coined “auction bridge” was invented around 1900. The scoring bonuses where introduced by Harold Vanderbilt in 1925 while on a cruise ship, and with this change auction bridge became known as “contract bridge”. In 1930 Ely Culbertson wrote one of the first books on bridge to be published, [1], and after that too much has happened to possibly be mentioned in a short introduction to an introductory book on duplicate bridge. It is interesting to notice that the concept of duplicating the game was invented before the game itself. As just mentioned this book is an introductory book on duplicate bridge. Because of this the book will start with the very basics of bridge.
1
2
Introduction
We will discuss how you play the cards as declarer of a contract and also as defender against a contract. We will also in parallel discuss how you should bid in the auction in order to win it. However, it is not always best to win the auction or even necessary to make a contract you have ended up in, and to understand why this is the case, the scoring system is important to understand. Therefore we will discuss in detail how the scoring system works. Based on this knowledge it will be possible for you to develop your tactical skills and become a competitive player of duplicate bridge already in the beginning of your career. This book will teach what is called American Standard, the bidding system that is used in the United States of America and many other countries. It is also the system used by most players that play on-line at Bridge Base. The remaining part of the book is organized as follows. In Chapter 2 we will discuss the basics of bridge, like terminology, what an auction is, how the cards are played and how you make sure to take as many tricks as possible. We will also discuss the very basic bidding for notrump (NT) auctions. In Chapter 3 we will turn to trump contracts, how you bid them, and how you play them. Then in Chapter 4 we will discuss opening in NT in more detail. This will be the first time when we discuss switching from one strain to another in the bidding process, here from NT to trump in a suit. This is a very common feature of the auction. We will also discuss more strategies for declarer on how to play the cards. In Chapter 5 we will discuss in detail how to look for a fit in a suit when you cannot find it immediately. Then in Chapter 6 we will discuss what to do when you realize that you probably do not have the strength to win the auction, and you also realize that you will have difficulties defending against a contract by the opponents. In some cases it turns out that there might still be hope to do something. This will be the first time we discuss tactics in more detail. In this chapter we will also discuss how you and your partner should defend against a contract by your opponents. In Chapter 7 we will explain how you bid when you and/or your partner have very strong hands. Here we will also discuss how you in defensive play using signaling can inform your partner how
3 you want him to play. Then in Chapter 8 we will get to the topic of over-calling, i.e. how you enter the auction when your opponents have already opened the auction. This is where all the fun starts, but of course not for your opponents. Many of the rules they and you have learned up until now only hold for the case when there has been no intrusion by the opponents. In this chapter we will also discuss in more detail what suits your should lead as defender based on information about what suits your partner has bid and what suits the opponents have bid. In Chapter 9 we will learn what you should do when the opponents have intruded. We will by then have the basic skills for fighting for a contract, and in Chapter 10 we will learn how to use these skills to make tactical bidding. However, first we will go through the scoring in duplicate bridge in more detail so that you understand what consequences it has for your bidding. Finally, in Chapter 11 the contents of the book will be summarized so that you will have a quick reference to the basics of bridge playing. Some sections of the book are presenting more details than what a beginner needs to learn to enjoy playing duplicate bridge. These sections may be skipped at a first reading. They are marked with an ∗. Optional reading within a section is marked with smaller font. Also you may want to skip Chapter 7 in a first reading, except for the section on signaling. After you have become comfortable playing you might want to go back and read these sections and paragraphs to get hints on how to improve your play and bidding skills. At the end of each chapter example deals are provided. Ideally you should try to play them with someone, but in any case you should read them carefully. You may find it useful to put the hands on a table and bid and play all four hands yourself as practice.
CHAPTER 2
Basics and No-Trump Contracts
I
N this chapter we will discuss the basics of bridge, like terminology, what an auction is, how the cards are played and how you make sure to take as many tricks as possible. We will also discuss the very basic bidding for No-Trump (NT) auctions. You will after having read this chapter be able to play your first game of bridge. There will of course remain much to learn.
2.1 What is bridge? Bridge is a game for four players in teams of two players. The teams are called North–South (N–S) and East–West (E–W). You use a normal deck of cards with 52 cards. Each player gets 13 cards. The dealer starts the auction. Each and every player bids clockwise. The team that wins the auction will become declarer and dummy. The other team are defenders. Declarer plays both his/her cards and dummy’s cards. He tells dummy 5
6
Basics and No-Trump Contracts
what cards to play. The person to the left of the declarer plays the lead card, i.e. the first card. You may play a lower card than the ones that have so far been played. Everyone must follow suit if they can. The person playing the highest card wins the trick unless someone plays a trump card. You may only play a trump card if you cannot follow suit. The person who wins the trick plays the lead of the next trick. This could be dummy. There are five strains or denominations ranked from highest to lowest: NT No-Trump – ♠ Spades – ♥ Hearts – ♦ Diamonds – ♣ Clubs Clubs and diamonds are called the minor suits or just the minors, and hearts and spades are called the major suits or just the majors. Hence the strains consist of the minors, the majors and NT. The cards in each suit are ranked from highest to lowest: A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 where A K Q J are called the honor cards. The team that bids the highest wins the auction. The auction ends after three consecutive passes. The bids are ordered in 7 levels and within each level according to the strains: 1 ♣ – 1 ♦ – 1 ♥ – 1 ♠ – 1 NT 2 ♣ – 2 ♦ – 2 ♥ – 2 ♠ – 2 NT . . . 7 ♣ – 7 ♦ – 7 ♥ – 7 ♠ – 7 NT You always have to make a bid that is higher then the previous bids unless you choose to pass. If you win the auction at the n:th level, you should take n + 6 tricks in order to make the contract. Hence, at the 3 level you need to take 3 + 6 = 9 tricks. If the winning bid is in a
Declarer plays the contract
7
suit, that suit will be trump. If the winning bid is in NT, there will be no trump. The person in the winning team that first bid the strain in which the contract is, will be declarer.
2.2 Declarer plays the contract If you are declarer you will play both your own cards and dummy’s cards, but first the person to the left of you, which we call left-hand opponent, will play the lead card. After this your partner will put up his cards as a dummy in front of him. If you are playing trump he will lay down that suit so that it is to the far left from your point of view. Now it is time to think and decide what your strategy should be so that you make the contract, or preferably take more tricks—so-called overtricks. We will see in Chapter 10 why this is important. Here is an example: ♠A754 ♥K3 ♦QJ ♣9753 ♠K6 ♥A82 ♦ K 10 9 3 2 ♣AK2 where the lead is ♥ Q by W. You are S, declarer and play 4 NT. The cards at the top belongs to N, who is dummy, and the ones at the bottom belongs to your hand. Before you start playing you should ask yourself the following questions: 1. How many tricks do I need to fulfill the contract? 2. How many tricks am I certain about?
INTRODUCTORY DUPLICATE BRIDGE A N D E R S H A N S S O N
ANDERS HANSSON is a professor of electrical engineering and the book “Introductory Duplicate Bridge” was written during his first two years as a bridge player. The main motivation was to facilitate his own learning process. He realized during this time that there are few good introductory books on bridge published which teaches the tactics of duplicate bridge—at least for the beginner. Also very few books make sure to teach and explain everything from the very beginning. This book is an attempt to bridge this gap. As a recent beginner himself, he has the insight into what is difficult to learn for beginners. In combination with Anders’ great teaching experience it is hence believed that you will enjoy reading this book and the process of becoming an intermediate player of duplicate bridge. ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣ ♣♣ ♣ ♣ ♣
ANDERS HANSSON — INTRODUCTORY DUPLICATE BRIDGE
This book teaches the basics of duplicate bridge. The bidding system used is American Standard. Examples are used throughout the book to explain how you should bid and play the game. Every chapter ends with a summary of what you should remember. This will make it easier for you to memorize what needs to be memorized. Also there are additional examples for each chapter that you may use as practice deals. The contents of the book is divided in such a way that you may first just read parts of it to get a very basic understanding of the game, and then you may go back and read more detailed sections when you are more comfortable with the game. In this way it is believed that the book will accompany you on your way to becoming an intermediate player. References to further reading are given. The book has been used to teach beginners, and several of them have been able to play successfully against experienced players after only one or two games.
A N D E R S H A N S S O N INTRODUCTORY DUPLICATE BRIDGE American Standard With Competitive Strategies
♥♣ ♠♦ VRÅKA 2013