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Tutorial

Bidding Defence Declarer

 

 

Odds and  ends

CONTENTS

The three main headings of my site are Bidding, Declarer Play and Defence and you can jump directly to one of these by clicking in the usual way, instead of trawling through the entire site to get there.

OPENERS FIRST BID

•  The Basics. START HERE !

•   Balanced hands with 12-14 points

•  Balanced hands with more than 14 points.

• Unbalanced hands with less than 8 playing tricks ( or, say, less than 20 points )

•  Hands of 4-4-4-1 shape

•  Pre-emptive hands

•  Understanding of potential rebids

• Big Hands

OPENER'S SECOND BID

• After an initial 1NT opening and a suit response

• After an initial 1NT opening and a NT response

• After an initial suit bid with a balanced hand of 15+ points

• After an initial suit bid with an unbalanced hand of 12+ point

• Openers rebids with a 4-4-4-1 shape.

RESPONDERS' FIRST BID

•  Responder's chart of all the options after partner has opened a weak no-trump. This chart is an effective summary of several of the options below.
•  With balanced hand after partner has opened one no-trump
•  With unbalanced hand after partner has opened one no-trump
•  With semi-balanced hand after partner has opened one no-trump
• After partner  has opened one no-trump but with opposition intervention
•  After partner has overcalled one no-trump
• Supporting partner, after a suit bid, with 6-8 points
• Supporting partner, after a suit bid, with 9-10 points
•  Supporting partner, after a suit bid, with 11-12 points
• Supporting partner, after a suit bid, with 13-15 points
•  Supporting partner, after a suit bid, with 16+ points
•  Bidding your suit naturally at the one level
•  Bidding your suit naturally at the two level
•  Bidding two hearts over one spade
•  Making a jump shift after partner has opened one of a suit
• Responding in no-trumps after a suit bid by partner
•  Responding to partner when she has fallen off her chair

RESPONDER'S SECOND BID

PRE-EMPTIVE BIDDING

COMPETITIVE AUCTIONS

• The double for penalties

• The double for take-out

• Escape mechanism for one no-trump doubled

• Overcalling their one no-trump

• Overcalling their suit bid

CONVENTIONS

• Stayman

• Blackwood

• Gerber

EVALUATION

• Evaluation of the trick-taking potential of your hand

BIG HANDS

• The losing trick count

• Big balanced hands

• Big unbalanced hands

• To slam or not to slam---some general considerations

• Cue (or control) bidding

• Defending against slams

THE WINNING TRICK COUNT (closely related to the law of total tricks)

QUIZZES ON BIDDING

• The basics

• Opening bids of one no-trump

• Opening bids with balanced hands of more than 14 points

• Opening bids with unexciting unbalanced hands

• Opening bids with a 4-4-4-1 shape

• Doubling and responses thereto

• Big balanced hands

• Big unbalanced hands

• Responder's first bid

• Responder's second bid based on an opening suit bid

• Responder's second bid based on an opening bid of one no-trump

• Stayman

• Simple Blackwood

• Roman Blackwood

• Roman Key-Card Blackwood

• Gerber

• Overcalling the opponents one no-trump

DECLARER PLAY

•   Some basics

• Common mistakes made by declarer

•  First thoughts on seeing dummy

•  First card played from dummy

•  Counting winners and losers

•   Ruffing in dummy

•   Ruffing in declarer's hand

•   Cross-ruffing

•   Knowing when to take top tricks

•   Knowing when to duck or decline a trick

•  Establishing a suit

•  Finessing

•   Playing the cards in a suit in the right order

•   Making tricks from a long suit

•  Unblocking

• Recognising when to play for the drop

•   Percentage plays

•   Preservation or creation of entries

•   Ruffing finesse

•   Leaving an opponents trump out

•  Safe hand / Danger hand

•   Delaying the drawing of trumps

•   Ruffing out a suit

QUIZZES ON DECLARER PLAY

• Finessing
• Making tricks from a long suit
• Safe hand/danger hand
• Declarer play in general

DEFENCE