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"It takes 26 points to make a game" is clearly a rule of thumb, not a hard rule. Anyone who has played more than a few hands of Bridge should be able to see that, sometimes, light hands combined with intelligent play make a contract; and, sometimes, a solid point count is brought down by a bad lie of cards or a clever defence. I don't think any of this is ...

A true expert will have various resources at their command. Superb declarer play lets them succeed on hands where others might fail, taking advantage of poor defense or advanced plays (say a criss-cross squeeze.) Listening skills are useful. Is partner marked with points, even though they were unable to bid? In that event, one may be bidding on partner's ...

I've never heard of that method. I don't think it's very common, nor do I think it's sensible. A more common and better variant is to not count both distribution and high card points for a suit unless the honor is an A (for a singleton or doubleton) or a K (for a doubleton). Thus, QJ doubleton would be worth 3 points but not 4. The rationale for the rule ...

What North and South did is not a take out double, but a conventional response to a strong club opening. One of the most important things to do facing a strong club is to intervene, making it more difficult for the opposing side to reach the optimum contract. You don't want you opponents to relay themselves into a hard to bid (grand)slam that no one else ...

A complete history of scoring changes, coupled with the whys of those changes would be a complicated story. But those doubled contract penalty changes came about for a simple reason. A few pairs realized that preemptive bidding against slams was simply too much of a potential gain against slams, so the scoring change was implemented to prevent this. Compare ...

The bidding process continues until all players have passed in succession, or three players have passed in succession after a bid. You seem to misunderstand the double and redouble bids - they can't go on indefinitely. After a double from the opposing team, your only options are to go to a higher level or redouble. After a redouble from the opposing ...

Sure the JS is a fairly pointless HCP, but the spade shortness is worth something in a trump game. It's the kind of hand that should definitely be opened, but only at the 1 level. The point of opening the hand is to let partner know you've got something, at which point you're looking for a 4-4 heart fit. So in my opinion the hand should be opened, a ...

1D redoubled making 4 is 830 non-vul and 1430 vul according to this (excellent) calculator: http://www.rpbridge.net/xsc1.htm. Redoubled overtricks count! Partner should bid 1S. 1S double going down 4 with a probable 4-3 or better fit (LHO or RHO both didn't mention spades) and two Kings seems quite unlikely, and that is against opponents for whom double of ...

Sorry for saying this, but this is a very strange question! It looks like you don't really understand the purpose of takeout doubles as they currently are played by the majority of people. As to the specific situation you mention, you seem to be forgetting that Grue-Cheek use a strong club system, in which 1C shows 16+ any (I believe), and thus a takeout ...

This is in part a matter of style, but I would happily make a takeout double with that hand. In my experience (which I think agrees with prevailing expert opinion), it is better to be aggressive in competitive bidding at low levels, and get more cautious when the bidding reaches the 3 level. Advantages to bidding: You have the opportunity to find a ...

"Bidding your suit" typically means 4 or 5 card length. Because of that, I would expect the bidding to go more like this: Partner sitting there with one card in that suit would then respond with their suit (4C in this case), which denies support for your spades and shows that clubs is their best suit. The new suit bid is forcing, so it's now back to you to ...

You presume that standards have fallen, when in fact they have risen substantially. Bidding accuracy from the local club game to the highest levels is substantially higher than 50-60 years ago. You are comparing apples to oranges with your strong 1NT example. The modern 15-17 strong NT is all High-Card Points; Goren's 16-18 NT included distribution points ...

Reference - ACBL SAYC SYSTEM BOOKLET OPENING PREEMPTS Opposite an unpassed partner, an opening 3 or 4-level call in a suit tends toward sound at equal or unfavorable vulnerability. Vulnerable against not, you should be within two tricks of your bid (i.e. with likely distribution of the remaining cards in your suit). When the vulnerability is equal, ...

If you use the 2♥ double negative response, and then 2♦ can be game-forcing (2 queens or stronger). Most pairs agreeing on this employ 2♠ for positive spades and 2NT for positive hearts. You can also reverse the 2♠ and 2NT above, making them reverse transfers. You mean the auction 2♣-2♦;2NT-3♥/♦ can be ...

The most common agreement in the US is that 2D by responder covers almost all hands. At this point you know very little about opener's hand, so if you want to take up more bidding space than that you should be very descriptive. I play that bidding a suit shows two of the top three honors in that suit and nothing of value elsewhere. 2NT by responder has no ...

Transfers are useful over 1N. They are even more useful over 2N or over 2C-2D/2N. While Jacoby (red suit) transfers are popular, 4 suit transfers are also coming into vogue. For example, 2S is often used as a transfer to clubs with 2N as either minor suit Stayman or a transfer to diamonds. Or 3C could be used as a transfer to diamonds. Use of a transfer bid ...

The website http://OhioEuchre.Com/ has much information on bidding strategies. Euchre is a game of chance where aggression pays off. The more you play the better you will get. Take chances! Even when you are getting euchred you're learning more about the game. The person that said there is little strategy to euchre is incorrect. Just play in any ...

Are some 13 point hands not worth an opening bid? Queens and jacks are overrated. Honors in short suits are also. QJ QJxx QJx KJxx Ok, I'll admit that even that miserable excuse for a hand will get a bid from many, though I'd prefer to open it 1NT playing an 11-13 point 1NT. In 4th seat, I'd strongly consider passing it out since I don't play an 11-13 ...

I don't think there is such a thing as a hand that must be opened, of course if you deceive your partner too much they may stop playing with you. In general I'd open 1nt (assuming weak nt) with this hand even without the J so certainly with. The only occasion I might consider passing is if I'm in the fourth seat and partner has already passed, even this is ...

1) Yes, there are systems that that open these ugly 11 counts (Repeat after me: Subtract a point for 4-3-3-3 distribution!), but they are (a) strong club systems that limit an opening bid to 15 or so HCP; (b) systems with a weak NT; or (c) systems with a strong club AND a weak NT. N.B. The average playing potential, in both NT and a suit contract, is almost ...

I don't think there's anything wrong with attempting to bid one's "best" (least worst in this cae) suit after one's takeout double is redoubled. It was unfortunate that this resulted in a terrible contract, but this is Bridge, bad breaks can and do happen. I suppose the question is whether West was sensible to opt for a takeout double at unfavourable ...

Under most circumstances, I wouldn't. If your partner has 3 or 4 clubs and mediocre strength, and decides to support, you might find yourself in a disastrous 4CX or 5CX while your opponents didn't have anything better than a game. It depends on your distribution as well. With 6-4-3-0 I might feel bold enough to try it. With 6-3-2-2, probably not.

First of all, point count responses to 2C are a terrible choice. An ace is worth far more than two queens when you are looking for a slam. I'd offer as better is a waiting 2D (many around here use 2H as a double negative response) or control responses that show the number of aces and kings. Either of those choices is better than point count responses. Is ...

Yes, totally it does. Let's think about the game of Bridge clearly: what is vulnerability? Why is it part of the game? It can't just be that at some arbitrary times you score n points for pulling off a tricky contract, and at other times, for no particular reason, you score n*3 instead. That would seem a pretty random feature. All vulnerability is, to ...

Do people do this? and Is it sensible? are two different questions. There are systems that rely absolutely on this sort of thing: the Mini No Trump is opened on 10-12 points non-vulnerable and 12-14 vulnerable, and it's both legal and difficult to defeat. But whether you should do it generally and without agreement is almost impossible to answer. If ...

In my understanding, vulnerability matters most in competitive bidding, especially when deciding whether to preempt or sacrifice, not strong openings. This page by bridge expert Richard Pavlicek, for instance, indicates that the strength of a preemptive bid should vary from 2-4 depending on whether the vulnerability is unfavorable, even, or favorable.

Now that this is open again: Opposite a strong 1 NT, I bid 3D if it is natural, or I transfer to diamonds if that is available. If partner denies support for diamonds I bid 6D. If he shows support for diamonds I investigate 7D with what-ever methods are available to me. Consider where partner's 16 points are. An "unfortunate" hand from partner would be ...

You have to make a forcing bid, what you specifically bid will depend entirely on what conventions you and your partner are playing with. Assuming you're playing with a strong 1NT opener (15-17 HCP), that means you and your partner have 32-34 HCP. Since it's 33 points for slam and you've got a void, you know you've got that. That means you have to force ...

The point about a pre-empt is precisely the lomg suit. If you bid on a 6-card suit more than once in a blue moon you are misleading your partner (who can be expected to have an opening bid in your example, and may bid up, based on your 7-suit); if you do it often, you are misleading your opponents, and should declare your 'system' in advance.

Assuming Standard American (5 card Majors), I'd open this with 1 diamond. If partner responds 1H you can raise to 2H to show how weak you are. With partner bidding 2D you can pass. What's tough is when partner bids 1S. I personally would rebid 1NT because it best communicates the hand. It denies Spade support, communicates the point count, and truthfully ...