NOVICES TIP 535 1.      With KQ10 opposite A987642 make sure you Ace your Ten to be in correct hand after playing the KQ first     INTERMEDIATES TIP  535 1.    Looking for the opponent’s Queen – to finesse or not to finesse?  w  With 8 between the two hands Finesse every time, with 9 play for the drop and plonk down Ace King. EII EIGHT EVER  NINE NEVER  for finessing the queen   T   The way to remember it, is that Eight and Ever both start with E and Nine and Never both start with N.   ADVANCED TIP  535  Forget about the rule of High Card from the short hand here, As long as you have plenty of entries With AJ3    opposite K986542   play off the King first and then you might be able to finesse the Jack if the suit breaks badly. 3:0                         NOVICES TIP 536 1.      With KQ106 opposite 543   firstly play low towards the KQ10 side and when Ace beats your King then THINK FINESSE of TEN LATER in the hand when you get back to the 5 4 3 side  in situations like this :-                                    K Q 10 6                 J 7 2                                   A 9 8                                        5 4 3     INTERMEDIATES TIP  536 1.    Playing Acol with weak No Trump 2NT rebid after 2♣ is 23/24  and 3NT rebid is 25/26 and if you get so lucky 4NT is 26/28 and 5NT is 29/30- goes up in same way in twos when rebidding 1NT (is 15/16) and 2NT(is 17/18) after a 1 of a Suit Opener.   ADVANCED TIP  536   With A1098543    opposite Q73  if you can afford one loser in this suit then play low towards the Queen and you will always guarantee no more than one loser wherever the 3:0 break is.                           NOVICES TIP 537 1.      When you have balanced hand with a suit wide open still bid No Trumps – most of the time partner will have stopper in that suit and if the  opposition has not overcalled in that suit it is likely to be breaking 4:4 so don’t fret.   INTERMEDIATES TIP  537   When defending you can play leads of Ace is for Attitude and King is for Count- two A sounds and two C sounds is the way to remember it     ADVANCED TIP  537   If partner jumps in a new suit (GAM FORCING) and you now jump rebid in your suit you are showing solid suit offering around 7 tricks eg  1♦     2♠       4♦ 4♦ now shows a hand like this ª  7 4 © K 9 4 ¨ 7 2 § A K Q 10 9 5 4                       NOVICES TIP 538 1.      The BEST WAY to try any finesses is to lay out ONE SUIT ONLY on a square table and do it for yourself with all the cards showing   INTERMEDIATES TIP  538   With Minor suits steer the contract towards 3NT BUT with long Spade or Heart suit prefer to be in 4♠ or 4♥   ADVANCED TIP  538 If there has been a take-out Double at 4 Level and you now say 4NT this is saying I have two places to play- you choose N   E    S    W 1♠  NO   4♠    DBL NO 4NT 4NT says I have either clubs and diamonds or clubs and Hearts or Hearts and Diamonds please choose with a hand like this ª  9 2 ©  Q 6 4 2 ¨ K J 9 8 5 § 4 3 2                       NOVICES TIP 540 1.11NT with a   3♠ answer is very strong and if opener has three card support she goes 4♠ and with only 2 card support she puts herself back into  3NT      INTERMEDIATES TIP  540   With KQ54 opposite A1032   play off KQ first and if the suit breaks badly you might still be able to finesse the 10. You are leaving the A10 there as a Tenace giving you the extra finesse chance   ADVANCED TIP  540 With KQ94 opposite A732   play off K then Ace first and if the suit breaks badly you might still be able to finesse the 9. You are leaving the K9 there as a possible Tenace giving you the extra finesse chance whenever the bad break consists of a singleton 10 or Jack falling  in situations like this :-                                                                K Q 9 4                                          10 8 6 5                          J                                                                 A 7 3 2                        NOVICES TIP 541 If you don't make a direct bid to game but bid something in between it is CONSIDERED INVITATIONAL  in sequences such as 1NT- 2NT is  inviting to 3NT or 1♠ -2♠  - 3♠  is now invitational to 4♠   INTERMEDIATES TIP  541 Limit bids are the most important part of any bidding system so remember theat  1♠ – 2♠ is 6-9 points with 4 card support and 1♠- 3♠ is 10-12 and 4 card support   - remember to give the right response and not to LIE to your partner or partner will not be pleased.     ADVANCED TIP  541 Be aware of the Power of the closed hand If you have KQJ107 in your trump suit in the closed hand and you want the opponents to hold up a round of trumps to stop them getting a ruff or a possible trump promotion then  lead the TEN and second person who might hold the Ace is likely to play Low (we all know second hand plays low). If however you want them to take the Ace immediately then play the King from the closed hand.                          NOVICES TIP 542 1NT is the catch all reply showing 6-9 points and balanced hand or a weak hand  unable to go to the two level commonly called the Dustbin bid. so if partner opens 1♠ and you have   ª  7 © K Q 9 7 ¨ J 9 6 5 2 § J 3 2 even though you are not balanced use the 1NT catch all dustbin bid here   INTERMEDIATES TIP  542 1.    Partner has already opened and you have 17/18 points (a very good hand) THINK SLAM     ADVANCED TIP  542 With KQ54 opposite A1032   play off KQ first and if the suit breaks badly you might still be able to finesse the 10  if you leave that A10 tenace in tact.                            NOVICES TIP 543  If you don't make a direct bid to game but bid something in between it is CONSIDERED INVITATIONAL in sequences such as 1NT- 2NT inviting to 3NT or 1ª-2ª  - 3ª  is now invitational to 4ª   INTERMEDIATES TIP  543 1.    1.    If responder introduces new suit then bids 2NT next, then responder is still showing 11/12 points as if she had made  DIRECT 2NT REPLY in first place.     ADVANCED TIP  543 If you can see you have a Double fit and one suit is 4:4 and the other suit is 5:3 or 5:4 then you need to playin the 4:4 fit anf then you get discards afterwards on the secondary 5 card suit which you would not get had that been trumps.                              NOVICES TIP 544  Sometimes you cannot draw the last winning trump or they will defeat you so you will have to dump a loser first- they can have their winning trump any time they like, it’s the only one out- Rule of 1- if there is one trump out only that is higher than all yours then no necessity in drawing  it – two for one is not a good exchange rate.   INTERMEDIATES TIP  544   1       When you DEFEND your approach should be same as declarer's  "Are you a casher or a BUILDER- I hope you are a BUILDER (of tricks) don’t just play aces,     ADVANCED TIP  544 After they Open 3 of a suit it is recommended that if you bid opener's suit you are showing 5:5 or better in 2 of the remaining suits                            NOVICES TIP 545  If a finesse has worked once and you really enjoyed it,  DO IT AGAIN and  make sure you get into the correct hand first, to do so     INTERMEDIATES TIP 545                                                                                    A Q 9 4 2                                            ? ? ?  ?                                                      ? ? ? ?                                                                                   K 10 6 3   When playing this suit make sure you cash Ace first  just in case there is 4:0 break against you and now you can still finesse either nasty opponent for the   missing Jack- you have taken out insurance by keeping the K10 tenace in one hand and the Q9 tenace in the other hand   ADVANCED TIP  545  If declarer has made a long suit trial bid and partner has rejected it then leading this trial bid suit usually works well.                        NOVICES TIP 546  With Minor suits steer the contract towards 3NT BUT with long Spade or Heart suit prefer to be in 4♠ or 4♥     INTERMEDIATES TIP 546 With 10976   opposite AKJ2   play off Ace first  before committing to the finesse of the Jack just in case that Queen is singleton and no finesse is needed   ADVANCED TIP  546 When you are a passed hand and have 4441 distribution you can come back into the auction with as few as 9 points. eg. NO     NO      NO      1♦ ?   ª  Q 9 7 5 ©  K Q 8 7 ¨ 2 § Q 7 6 5 Double is now fine                         NOVICES TIP 547            With     KQ54                                          KQ106            A83           J109                         J54               A98                     762                                              732             Lead from the 762 TWICE                  Play the 2 and be prepared to try                                                                          the 10   The BEST WAY to try these finesses is to lay out ONE SUIT ONLY on a square table and do it for yourself with all the cards showing.       INTERMEDIATES TIP 547 Partner leads Q form their long suit against No trump contract and you have  King Doubleton or even Ace Doubleton make sure you un block that high card so you don't block partnner's potential.   ADVANCED TIP  547 If their bidding suggests they are out of their depth Lead a Trump.....                            NOVICES TIP 548 Do not lead 4th best with AJ865   against a slam - it can only help declarer out. (This might sound like a very obvious thing not to do BUT I have witnessed this happening on more than one occasion.       INTERMEDIATES TIP 548 1NT – 3♠  answer is very strong and if opener has three card support he  goes 4♠ and with only 2 card support  he puts herself back in 3NT     ADVANCED TIP  548 If dummy has just one entry do not be in hurry for you in third seat after dummy to play high. Save that high card to kill the entry to dummy.                     NOVICES TIP 549 Please stop ruffing in the Long Hand- it might make you feel good but generally speaking it does not generate extra tricks          INTERMEDIATES TIP 549   ♠  A K 10 9 6 4 ♥ A K 8 7 ♦ K Q ♣ 6 If they open 1♣  or 1♦  with Both Majors  prefer to start with Informative Double rather than 1♠     ADVANCED TIP  549 Don't Open a weak two if your six card suit is just headed by a Jack- its not clever  - Just Pass                       NOVICES TIP 550 Playing Acol with a weak No Trump (12-14 points)  then if you have 15-19 points balanced then open your  longest suit and rebid in No Trumps as follows  1NT rebid is 15/16, 2NT is 17/18 and 3NT is 19 points all balanced.        INTERMEDIATES TIP 550 If you have very bad hand and are leading against No Trump then TRY and FIND PARTNER  and lead from your short suit and a doubleton Major would be very attractive in trying to find partner the bidding goes   1NT     3NT   all passing so with   ª   9 5 ©  J 9 6 5 ¨  9 5 4 § 9 6 4 2 Lead ♠9  and get lovely surprise when partner smiles or encourages with large card J     ADVANCED TIP  550 If you can tell from the Rule of 11 that partner's suit is ready to run but partner is unable to deduce this fact yet,  then do not mind discarding an honour is situations like this to help him out                                                                7 6 in dummy                         A 10 8 5 3                                                 Q J 9  (you)                                                                     K 4 2 After partner leads 5 you know there are 6 cards higher in other three hands and between you and dummy there are five so once King has gone  and now  you are in a position to discard then chuck that Queen because partner might posibly  think declarer has the Queen.                       NOVICES TIP 551 At trick One count all your winners to ascertain how many extra tricks you need to generate to make your contract. Winners are DEFINITE TRICKS that require no work  AK opposite Q65   is 3 wnners BUT KQJ10  opposite  9876 is NO WINNERS YET- you have to WORK to FORCE OUT THEOR ACE        INTERMEDIATES TIP 551 If  1♥  - 3♥ promises 10-12 points and 4 card support then   1♥  - 1♠ 2♦      3♥ STILL SHOWS 10-12 points but only 3 card support   (as you have arrived at same destination on both auctions)   ADVANCED TIP  551 If you need to keep the danger hand off lead, if there is no other way then try a loser on loser play to keep that hand off lead                                      NOVICES TIP 552  To overcall you should have GOOD QUALITY FIVE CARD SUIT. - points is less important  than suit quality          INTERMEDIATES TIP 552 With                    A Q 10 5                            opposite                                J 9 3 2     Needing to finesse play the 9 first and let it run and then the Jack just in case you need to Finesse 3 times  and need to be in South at all times  and not waste entries in the other suits.   ADVANCED TIP  552 If partner bids 5NT after a Blackwood sequence and you have a very good outside suit (source of tricks) bid the Grand Slam immediately as all the aces are known to be held by the partnership.                       NOVICES TIP 553 Before you make your opening lead REMEMBER THE AUCTION - maybe partner bid and you need to lead partner's suit.        INTERMEDIATES TIP 553 If partner suddenly switches suits during your defence with him RESPECT his defence and FOLLOW HIS DEFENCE- he probably has his own very good suit or has a singleton and wants a ruff so remember to play back that suit at every opportunity.     ADVANCED TIP  553 If the bidding suggests that the opposition are in a misfitting trump suit DO NOT THINK of LEADING A TRUMP                       NOVICES TIP 554 Every time you make your bi consider the following 1. Am I opening?   2 Am I responding?     3 Am I overcalling?  and try to stop using the mere word bid each time say OPEN say RESPOND and SAY OVERCALL        INTERMEDIATES TIP 554 If you do not make a Negative Double when you could have done so  and you introduce your suit you are now saying I have five or more in said suit and you were not at all fixed by the overcall..     ADVANCED TIP  554 As a defender when you are the danger hand, ignore normal rules and now second hand plays high to prevnt declarer ducking the lead into partner's hand. You will not be popular as a defender who makes this play (occasionally)                       NOVICES TIP 555 If you     OPEN               1NT you are showing 12-14 points Balanced If you    RESPOND       1NT you are showing 6-9 balanced  (often called the dustbin bid) If you   OVERCALL       1NT   you are showing 16-18 Balanced with stopper in opener's suit        INTERMEDIATES TIP 555 If partner leads an Ace and you hold Q72  do remember to ENCOURAGE and play the SEVEN If partner leads  an Ace and you hold 732  do remember to DISCOURAGE and play the TWO this time.     ADVANCED TIP  555 Dummy had long suit which declarer is playing and you have the Ace and are not sure what to play after tkaing the Ace THEN HOLD UP and give PARTNER A CHANCE TO GIVE YOU A CLEAR SIGNAL                     NOVICES TIP 556 Length is Strength in the bidding and even more so in the card play- you must go to your longest suits to generate extra tricks from SUIT ESTABLISHMENT    so with    QJ8765     opposite 104   you must PERSEVERE with this suit forcing out the opoonets' Ace and king to leave you with 4 Established winners        INTERMEDIATES TIP 556 Not sure what to bid next then BID WHAT YOU (with partner) can make so with   ª   7                   Partner opened 1♠ and you of course replied  2♣ and then partner ©  K Q 7 6        rebid 2♠ ¨  K 7 3            Not sure then just bid 3NT as you think you can make it §  A J 8 6 5           ADVANCED TIP  556 In second seat with AQ6 play high when declarer leads a low on from dummy if there are no further entries in dummy otherwise declarer is able to keep the lead in dummy and lead through you again.                           NOVICES TIP 557 Top of Sequence in your LONGEST suit OVERRIDES 4th highest in your long suit so with K Q J 95   you would certainly lead the King- you would not want to lead the 9 and let declarer win the first trick with the Ten would you - you would be a cheapskate.        INTERMEDIATES TIP 557 A reply of 3♠ or 3♥  after partner opens 1NT shows a very good hand and is GAME FORCING and Opener must go to 4 of agreed Major with three card support and with only two card support go to 3NT     ADVANCED TIP  557 In an uncontested auction with cue bidding if you raise partner to 5 of agreed major you are asking fr Good quality trump support. In a contested auction if you bif 5 of the agreed suit you are now asking for conbtrol of opponents suit -if you have 1st or second round control bid 6.                     NOVICES TIP 558 When you follow suit you follow suit with the LOWEST of TOUCHING HONOURS- this is the opposite of leading, when you would lead top of touching honours..     INTERMEDIATES TIP 558 Shapeless hands (4333 or 4432) don’t produce tricks, so if in doubt, don’t bid on.   ADVANCED TIP  558 Bidding to Level of Fit applies to the overcaller's partner NOT the opener’s partner                                     NOVICES TIP 559 You really should  ONLY COUNT SHORTAGE POINTS if there is a FIT- no other time please - the rest of the tine it is your long suits that are so importnat and thats why you can length points then     INTERMEDIATES TIP 559 Once partner replies 3♠ to your 1NT bid you either bid 4♠ with three card support or go back to 3NT with only 2 cards.   ADVANCED TIP  559 If partner  bids 3♠  to you 1NT and you now deviate and don't bid 4♠ or 3NT this is very strong agreement for partner's Spades and is now a NO COST CUE BID showing first round control of the suit you bid and is an overture to a Slam.                       NOVICES TIP 560 You lead your longest suit against No trump contracts because you are trying to establish your suit before declarer can establish his     INTERMEDIATES TIP 560   Bidding to level of fit is for the overcaller’s partner.   ADVANCED TIP  560 Do Not punish partner by bidding on when all partner has done is compete- you don’t have to bid game on every hand to get a good result                                     NOVICES TIP 561 Please don’t play back  the controlling cards in the opponents suit when they lead the suit.     INTERMEDIATES TIP 561 Ace from AK is best leads in bridge as you will win first trick and can look at dummy and plan1.    ADVANCED TIP  561 With Michaels or UNT I THINK you should play either very weak (6-10) or very strong 16+ and with Intermediate hands just bid one suit and then the other (not all agree with this(J)                                                    NOVICES TIP 562 1.       Top of a sequence overrides 4th highest when leading against a No Trump contract. With KQJ96 please lead the King – you would not want to lead the 9 and let declarer win the first trick cheaply with the 9 would you ?J     INTERMEDIATES TIP 562 1.       Open 1NT with any 5332 hand including a five card Major. If occasionally you have a full strength 14 point hand with a five card Major to boot you might upgrade the hand and get ready to rebid in NO trump to show 15 points     ADVANCED TIP  562 1.       After your partner transfers and then bids 2NT you now have 4 possible bids as the 1NT person -           a) you either pass with minimum hand  and 2 of the known Major b) you bid 3NT with Maximum hand and only 2 of the known Major c) you bid 3 of known Major with minimum points and  3 cards in that Major  (now playing in the 5:3 fit) d) you bid 4 of known Major with maximum points and  3 cards in that Major  (now playing in the 5:3 fit)                                         NOVICES TIP 563 1.        AKQ654 is worth 6 tricks a lot of the time when assessing your hand during the auction so BE PREPARED to UPGRADE such a holding.                      Everybody loves upgrades don't they     INTERMEDIATES TIP 563 1.       Rule of 7- once dummy comes down and you are thinking of holding up  look at the number of cards in dummy plus the number of cards in your own hand and take the total away from 7 and that is the number of times you hold up catering for a bad break in opposition’s hands. So with A76  opposite 432  you only need to hold up for one round since you can cope with a 43 break and need to cater for the 52 bad break. (7-6 = just once) – see my film on it too 😊  http://www.haroldschogger.com/teachingmovies.htm#The_Rule_of_7_&_Holding_Up_   ADVANCED TIP  563 1.       When deciding whether or not to do a simple finesse or a ruffing finesse consider who the danger hand is and then finesse through that person                            NOVICES TIP 564 If possible, declarer should try and win last trick and be in closed hand at trick 12 so the opponents might save the “wrong” card.     INTERMEDIATES TIP 564. When discarding and not sure what to keep, then you need to keep one suit and partner needs to keep DIFFERENT Suit. No good you both  discarding the same suit.   ADVANCED TIP  564  When considering your restricted Choice options,  keep your Tenaces in tact in situations like this A1054 opposite K7632    playing off the King first just in case there would be the opportunity to still finesse the A10 if last person were to play Queen or Jack on first round.                               NOVICES TIP 565 1.      Playing 12-14 Weak No Trump, if partner replies in lower ranking suit at two level then a rebid by opener of 2NT now shows 15/16 and a rebid of 3NT shows 17/18. The reason you can do this is because partner is now promising more points when they respond at the two level in a lower ranking suit.     INTERMEDIATES TIP 565. As a defender if you have the Ace of long suit in dummy don’t be in hurry to take that Ace and maybe declarer will not be able to get to dummy   ADVANCED TIP  565 1.       With 4333 don’t bother with Stayman as you have no ruffing values.                                     NOVICES TIP 566  If they open and you have SAME SUIT – you are AT CONFLICT with them so say NO BID     INTERMEDIATES TIP 566 In any overcall situation if you are STUCK for any possible valid overcall then you RESORT to DOUBLING  especially with 19+ points balanced i.e. too many for 1NT or 2NT or 3NT overcall.     ADVANCED TIP  566  With AKJ opposite 10975 before taking an immediate finesse cash the Ace just in case there is a singleton Queen floating about and no finesse is needed.                                     NOVICES TIP 567  If  you haven't got an obvious entry such as an Ace or King to get back to dummy or hand then TRUMP SOMETHING to create the entry you lack     INTERMEDIATES TIP 567 IIt is generally not a good idea to lead a singleton trump as invariably partner might have QXX  or JXXX  and you immediately give declarer a free finesse- Let him draw trumps and discover the bad news for himself     ADVANCED TIP  567  With 4333  and 6-9 points of course reply 1NT  when partner opens 1♠ but with 3244  3 card spade support and a doubleton somewhere now reply 2♠ as you now have ruffing values don't you?                                     NOVICES TIP 568  1.        4333 hand never seem to generate that extra trick so downgrade balanced 4333 hands - nobody likes downgrades but that what you have to do here.     INTERMEDIATES TIP 568 1.          If they open and you have SAME SUIT – you are immediately AT CONFLICT with them so say NO BID   ADVANCED TIP  568 1.       When attempting an elimination, first and foremost.  Identify the crucial suit and leave it alone for as long as possible.                                NOVICES TIP 569 .         If somebody leads a 2 (4th highest) he has exactly 4 card suit as there is nothing lower than a Two.     INTERMEDIATES TIP 569 1.          Don’t hold up if your intermediates are good A10 5 opposite J2 now you have a second control in this suit- do not hold up   ADVANCED TIP  569 1.       With 4333 hands don’t bother with Stayman, the hand is too balanced to want to play in 4♠ or 4♥ even if partner had a four card suit there                       NOVICES TIP 570  1.        Leading 4th highest usually applies to No Trump contracts  - also it is third choice after partner's suit and top of sequnce in longest suit which both override 4th highest     INTERMEDIATES TIP 570 1.       Its all well and good knowing that 3NT rebid is 19 points balanced BUT appreciate you can make this bid because partner has promised 6 or more for his reply   ADVANCED TIP  570 1.                                                      With  A 10 5 4 3 op                         Opposite K 8 5 4            If Right Hand opponents plays the Queen when you "correctly" cash the King first it is now twice as likely that Left Hand Opponent has the Jack. (Theory of restricted choice)  and now you should finesse up the the remaining A10           NOVICES TIP 571 1.        Don’t underlead Aces against suit contracts - this means if you have sit such as A765  you either don’t lead this suit at all (preferable) but if you do lead then lead the  Ace     INTERMEDIATES TIP 571 1.      When the bidding goes 1♥   NO NO  ?        and you are in the 4th seat this is known as the PROTECTIVE SEAT (or balancing seat) and it is your duty to try and bid . In this seat you can join in with 1NT with ONLY 10-14     ADVANCED TIP  571 Respect your partner and FOLLOW PARTNER'S DEFENCE- partner makes a strange switch and you win the trick plays that syit straight back and get a pleasant surprise when partner trumps                                                                           NOVICES TIP 572       Don’t underlead Aces against suit contracts - this means if you have sit such as A765  you either don’t lead this suit at all (preferable) but if you do lead then lead the  Ace     INTERMEDIATES TIP 572 Top of Sequence leads against No trump STILL APPLIES TO LONGEST SUIT ONLY   ADVANCED TIP  572 All 4432 hands should be opened 1 of a suit and rebid in No Trump- do not bid the other suit next as you will DISTORT YOUR HAND PATTERN  - partner is then entitled to think you have 5:4 shape.                                                                             NOVICES TIP 573 1.       When you defend  and partner has led an Ace you play a HIGH CARD TO ENCOURAGE (7 or 8 or 9)- I love you partner please continue the suit           When you defend  and partner has led an Ace you play a LOW CARD TO DISCOURAGE (2 or 3 or4) – Get lost try something else to please me       INTERMEDIATES TIP 573 If partner encourages please don’t be intimidated by an Ace in dummy - respect partner's wishes,   ADVANCED TIP  573 1.      Over weak NO trump I recommend you adopt the following :- a)      1NT rebid 15-17 b)     2NT rebid 18/19 c)      3NT a long Minor and a SOURCE OF TRICKS                                                                        NOVICES TIP 574 1.                  When you know where hand is going bid up quickly           When you are not sure where hand is going bid slowly and exchange information to get to best fit.       INTERMEDIATES TIP 574 With QJ954    opposite A32  play that queen and PRAY that second person has Doubleton K10 or the other defender has 10 Doubleton OR if Second person covers immediately, you could now finesse the 9 on the way back.  Alos remember the bidding here to decide which option to take .   ADVANCED TIP  574 .      Try to create illusions at the bridge table – with QX opposite KJXX play this suit early as you pretend to finesse the Queen and then you might be able to quickly throw away the Queen loser in hand. Do it early before the two defenders can work out your distribution.                                                                      NOVICES TIP 575 1.       1.       You try and cover an Honour with an honour if you can promote something for yourself or something for partner  so if you see all the goodies J109 on the table or you think declarer has them in the closed hand then don't bother to cover.                                                                                        QJ109  dummy                                                                                                                                        K632  YOU   do not cover here     INTERMEDIATES TIP 575 Even when playing 4 card Majors, with three card support and a doubleton somewhere prefer to raise 1♠ to 2♠ rather than reply 1NT as you have ruffing values   ADVANCED TIP  575 .      After intervention the best ways to show good raise is to make an UNASSUMING CUE BID. Therefore, if you raise suit then all raises should be weak and pre-emptive                                                                              NOVICES TIP 576 1.       Rebidding a suit generally shows SIX but sometimes you cannot help yourself if no other bid appeals, perhaps you cannot rebid your second suit as its beyond your barrier bid and that would show extra strength,     INTERMEDIATES TIP 576 1.       When you open 1 of a suit, your hand is totally unlimited and if partner replies in new suit that too is unlimited. so both as opener and responder you need to try and describe your hand with your second bid     ADVANCED TIP  576 .      In a Game Zone bidding sequence be prepared to bid one more if you are void in their suit or you have freakish distribution.                                                                                           NOVICES TIP 576 1.       Rebidding a suit generally shows SIX but sometimes you cannot help yourself if no other bid appeals, perhaps you cannot rebid your second suit as its beyond your barrier bid and that would show extra strength,     INTERMEDIATES TIP 576 1.       When you open 1 of a suit, your hand is totally unlimited and if partner replies in new suit that too is unlimited. so both as opener and responder you need to try and describe your hand with your second bid     ADVANCED TIP  576 .      In a Game Zone bidding sequence be prepared to bid one more if you are void in their suit or you have freakish distribution.                                                                  NOVICES TIP 577 The hardest thing in the world is to bid slams and sometimes you jut GO FOR IT- partner opens 1NT and you have 18 points and six card Spade suit TAKE YOUR CHANCES and REPLY 6♠ immediately- no science just add you hand to partner's 12-14 and what are you frightened of?  BRIDGE IS A WE GAME NOT AN I GAME     INTERMEDIATES TIP 577               What ever you do on OPENING LEADS such as leading tops of Sequences APPLIES MID HAND TOO when you broach new suits.   ADVANCED TIP  577 .          If a certain plays grabs the lead and switches to your bogey suit then THIS PLAYERS MUST BE AVOIDED- this is known as an AVOIDANCE PLAY. So if you have a two way finesse available in a another suit then you finesse into the SAFE HAND  eg                                                      ♠ K J 7 6                                                     ♣   6 4 3                                                       Dummy                          West               ♠ Q X X ??                ♣  A8 7               East                                 East is danger hand if he gets in  and plays a Club.                ♠   Q X X ??                  So finesse East and protect your Club king  not minding if Spade finesse fails    ♣   Q J 10                                                        ♠  A  10 5 4                                                       ♣   K 5 2                                                         You                                              NOVICES TIP 578 Don't use the word  BID  but be EXACT FROM NOW ON –  Use OPEN   REPLY and OVERCALL   and then you are less likely to get muddled when talking about hands       INTERMEDIATES TIP 578               TRY and GET INTO THE SIGNALLING HABIT :- a)       Partner leads an Ace promising the King and you have Queen ENCOURAGE with a 7 8 or 9 b)      Partner leads an Ace and you have Doubleton and want to ruff play a high ENCORAGING ONE such as 7 8 or 9 c)    Conversely if you want partner to switch then play your lowest  2 or 3   ADVANCED TIP  578 .         1.       Don’t overcall with 4 card suits unless you have AKQ or KQJ in the suit and you are desperate for partner to lead that suit                                                                    NOVICES TIP 579   In a No trump contract, please please LEAD PARTNER’S SUIT (ALPS Always lead Partner’s Suit) especially if partner overcalled  and if it turns out he had a really bad quality suit and the lead turns out bad CHANGE YOUR PARTNER     INTERMEDIATES TIP 579               1.          To differentiate between 854   and 94 when you have three small  and when you have two smal            it is recommended that you play MUD Middle Up Down.            with two you play High Low to show doubleton and with three small (no Honour) you play MUD Middle Up Down so with 854 play 5 then 8...   ADVANCED TIP  579 .         1.      Partner either splinters or shows a singleton in a Jacoby sequence and you have KQ65  immedialtley DOWNGRADE this holding - its no good to you as there are now duplicated values between the two hands                                                                          NOVICES TIP 580 1.       Please get into good habit- Partner leads a suit and you like it plays the high card to encourage and that low card to discourage when FOLLOWING to PARTNER’S LEAD       INTERMEDIATES TIP 580               .       The  Informative Double comes in 3 sizes as follows a)       13+ points and liking for unbid suits b)      19+ and balanced for mere 1NT overcall c)       17+ and One suited too strong for mere suit overcall   ADVANCED TIP  580 .        1.       If they bid beyond their high card values i.e they have overbid then Lead a Trump                                                            NOVICES TIP 581 1.      Singleton Honour cards such as QJ or King or Queen  on tier own must be downgraded as they can easily be snapped up by the opposition's Aces and Kings         QJ by itself is nowhere near as good as QJ109 so remember to downgrade that QJ- I know nobody likes downgrades but occasionally you have to accept that       INTERMEDIATES TIP 581 1.       Upgrade hands with 5 and 6 card suits as those suits produce tricks   and when telling experts about your hands remember to tell them about your lovely long suits, not you voids and Doubletons.          Experts like long suits and I personally hate voids and Singletons   ADVANCED TIP  581 .        After an opening bid and an Informative Double there are only 14 points left.         Some people bid on as if some packs have 60 points. I have not seen any 60 point packs recently, but then I have not seen any packs of cards for 9           months!!                                                          NOVICES TIP 582 1.       Dummy has long suit that could all become winners so the defenders must keep same long suit- its known as keeping length with dummy     INTERMEDIATES TIP 582 1.       1.       The Informative Double comes in 3 sizes as follows a)       13+ points and liking for unbid suits b)      19+ and balanced for mere 1NT overcall c)       17+ and One suited too strong for mere suit overcall   ADVANCED TIP  582   Partner Opens 2NT every singleim e you have 3 card Major consider using Puppet Stayman and get to those 5:3 fits.                                                                       NOVICES TIP 583 1.     When playing out a hand WORK HARD and make sure you build tricks and not cash tricks that were always making.     INTERMEDIATES TIP 583 1.    A cue bid is either first or second round control of a suit. FIRST ROUND IS ACE OR VOID and SECOND ROUND IS SINGELTON OR KING.   and you are making overtures to partner for a possible slam   ADVANCED TIP  583 1.         1NT 3♥ is strong bid asking partner to either bid 4♥ with three card support or back to 3NT with only two.           If they disobey then this is AGREEING HEARTS and is CUE BID on the way  so the auction now goes             1NT       3♥              4♣       is now cue bid saying I have Club Ace and I adore your Hearts.                                       NOVICES TIP 584 1.               2nd hand plays low 3rd hand plays high ONLY APPLIES to the 2 DEFENDERS.     INTERMEDIATES TIP 584 1.       Even when you do not have the Ace you must still play high card from short hand so with KQ6 opposite J1054 play the King Queen first so as not to get blocked.   ADVANCED TIP  584 1.         The secret of good defence is PATIENCE and if you can work out that partner has no Points (eg you have 11 dummy has 7 and declarer has opened 2NT with 20-22 you know partner has nothing to contribute then you must be very patient and passive when defending and merely wait for the tricks to come to you                                      NOVICES TIP 585 1.              With a Balanced 12-14 points please do not overcall. You are asking for trouble if you overcall with these hands.     INTERMEDIATES TIP 585 1.      S J Simon said in Why You Lose at Bridge (probably one of the most famous bridge books ever written "Never win a trick until you have made up your mind what card you are going to play next. Start making up your mind as soon as dummy appears. you do not want to do your thinking at a time when hesitating will reveal information about your hand.   ADVANCED TIP  585 1.       A jump shift by responder should be done only only two hand types  1.    1 You have 16+ points and a massive fit in opener's suit        2. 16+ points and your own self supporting suit         You will know which  hand type it is by responder's subsequent rebid.                                NOVICES TIP 586 1.             When your partner leads a King analyse the lead and say to your self partner has probably got KQJ or KQ10 and use that information to help you, the other defender, to defend properly and start counting your pssible winners whilst defending. Its not just a lead......     INTERMEDIATES TIP 586 1.      When sitting after dummy (correct bridge term is sitting over dummy) and you are defending make sure you keep your High honours to beat dummy's highs honours  so if a low card is played from dummy thats the time to follow suit with a low one yourself and just be patient.   ADVANCED TIP  586 1.       Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Before committing to  a finesse in one suit, test out another suit first and something nice might happen and you no longer need that 50% finesse after all.                                   NOVICES TIP 587 1.       Top of sequence overrides 4th highest in all situations because if you had KQJ95  you would not like to led that 9 and get beaten by declarer’s 10 would you? - you are not a cheapskate are you?     INTERMEDIATES TIP 587 1.       1.       To use 2 ♣Stayman you  need a)        5:4 in the Majors and zero or more points basically a weak take-out if no match up fall back onto 2♥ or 2♣whichever suit you have the five card suit. b)       11+ points and 4432 shape with at least one Major- if no match you can still go to 2NT   ADVANCED TIP  587 1.        1.       When you do an Elimination Play you must consider the following points a)       Identify the problem suit and don’t touch it b)      Draw trumps so that the opponents will not have n exit card c)      The eliminate at least one more suit and then eliminate the final suit and throw either player in to do your dirty work either giving away a ruff and discard or giving you a free finesse.                                                 NOVICES TIP 588 1.       If you are likely to forget how many cards have gone in a suit do the following a)       Take a mental photograph of your hand immediately it is dealt b)      Half way through the hand when you forget try to remember what you started with and then work backwards  eg. You can’t remember how many clubs have gone- OH I have two left and I had five to start with  then 10 must have gone     INTERMEDIATES TIP 588 If y       if you notice declarer is not drawing trumps and is trying to start a cross ruffing sequence you YOU, AS A DEFENDER, should PLAY TRUMPS   ADVANCED TIP  588 .If you are going to embark on a cross ruff cash all your side suit winners first. You would not want those winners to be ruffed by the opposition at the 11th hour would you?                                   NOVICES TIP 589 1.       Counting hands quickly just remember that AKQJ is always 10 and AKQ is always 9 and KQ is always 5 and KQ plus KQ is always 10 so try and spot these combinations when adding up your points and the adding up process will be that much quicker- Try it and see     INTERMEDIATES TIP 589 If y      With KJ54 opposite A632 play the Ace first and then low towards that Jack and finesse it and hope second person had Queen from the start.  Lay the cards out and try it for yourself.   ADVANCED TIP  589 If in doubt and especially with a new partner Try not to make ambiguous bids.                                           NOVICES TIP 590 1.      Whne you set up a winners in the ling hand make sure you retain the Ace of that suit as an entry     INTERMEDIATES TIP 590 If y      With AQ5 in third seat play the Queen when partner leads 4th highest - then if declarer has the King he will have to win it and now you will not cut yourself off from partner in a situation like this in a No Trump contract                                95   (dummy)             J 7 5 4 3            A Q 6    (you)           play that Queen otherwise declarer will hold up and you will never get to partner's hand  n                           K 10 8       ADVANCED TIP  590 Endplay the defender who is trump heavy                                      NOVICES TIP 591 1.      ONLY RUFF if you are getting extra tricks – don’t ruff in long hand because more chance of losing control of the suit an quite frankly one only does it because it makes you feel good     INTERMEDIATES TIP 591 If y       1.       With KQ65 opposite A1083 play that KQ first and when suit breaks badly you might still be able to finesse their Jack if you have left  the A10 intact i.e. the tenace     ADVANCED TIP  591 If you want to WAKE YOUR PARTNER up with a DOUBLETON AK you do it the wrong way  round You lead with King then ace and when you follow suit you follow suit with the Ace first and   suddenly play the King next and partner should realise  you are looking for a ruff. When following suit you also do it the wrong way round with a Doubleton AK and you follow suit with the Ace (incorrectly) and then sudenly play the King this is  a wake up call to partner to give you a suit preference signal to now put him in so he can give you a ruff if needs be.                                     NOVICES TIP 592 1.       1.       Once partner makes an Informative Double then you must REACT as follows :- a)       Bid your best suit with  - 7 points b)      Jump in best suit with 8+ points c)       Bid Opener’s suit with 12+ points d)      Pass with a stack of Opener’s suit and at least 9/10 points and maybe five or six card suit there.       INTERMEDIATES TIP 592 If y       Don't join in as an opponent with Balanced 13/14 point hands- you are asking for trouble -                (see "The Power of Pass Is someone holding a Gun to Your Head" by Harold Schogger and Ron Klinger)   ADVANCED TIP  592 In a Cue Bidding sequence you bid up the line and if you go past a suit then you deny first round control in that suit. If you go past that suit a second time you are denying second round control too.                               NOVICES TIP 593 1.       1.       The acceptable Blind Leads against a suit contract are: - a)       Top of a Sequence b)      Top of a Singleton c)       Top of a Doubleton d)      Top of Nothing or MUD if you prefer i.e Middle Up down from three rubbishy cards.     INTERMEDIATES TIP 593 1.       Once the auction is underway, with two four card suits bid up the line.     ADVANCED TIP  593 1.       When you DEFEND  you MUST COUNT WINNERS in the same way declarer does and work out how to defeat the contract  an how you are going to generate the setting tricks- maybe you will need to find an entry to partner's hand so partner can give you a ruff..                                   NOVICES TIP 594                   If declarer is drawing trump or playing off a long suit and you are not sure what to keep then you should keep the same long suit you see in dummy- this is known as “keeping length with dummy” so the small cards in that suit do not suddenly get established      INTERMEDIATES TIP 594           1.       The most important thing to remember after the sequence          N        E      S       W 1H    1♥   DBL   NO     ?  that there are approximately ONLY 14 possible points left as 26 points (approximately) have already been accounted for.   ADVANCED TIP  594          In all situations, if you have the SAME SUIT as the opponents JUST PASS- don’t get involved - be happy to defend, maybe even defnd the contract doubled,  or even but a copy of “The Power of Pass, Is someone holding a gun to your head?” by Ron Klinger an Harold Schogger                                   NOVICES TIP 595                   When adding up your points when you get your hand try and think in terms of permutations  AKQJ always makes 10 a KQ always makes 5 and AKQ always makes 9 so try and spot these permutations and you will add up the hand that much more quickly      INTERMEDIATES TIP 595          Partner overcalls and you have 14 points balanced ONLY INVITE 2NT in case partner has a bare 8 points.   ADVANCED TIP  595         If you play out a suit and an honour   or even and 8 or 9 appears then the adjacent card  is twice as likely to be in the other hand according  to The Theory of Restricted choice          so with                          A K 5                                 10 7                      J 4 3 2                                                   Q 9 8 6        Play off the AK and when the 10 appears no longer play for the suit to be hopefully 33 but now play East for missing Jack and finesse as you have seen the 10 appear- now the Jack is twice as likely to be with East.                                       NOVICES TIP 596            When dummy goes down you should count BOTH WINNERS and LOSERS in all contracts No Trump and Suit contracts.        INTERMEDIATES TIP 596          When you defend you must ALSO COUNT WINNERS  otherwise you will not realise how many extra tricks you will need to generate to beat their contract.             Will you need to give partner a ruff?  Will partner be able to get in to give you a ruff?   ADVANCED TIP  596         If  partner does something weird in defending a hand RESPECT PARTNER and FOLLOW HIS DEFENCE. Maybe he has switched to a singleton and now wants a ruff before its too late.                     NOVICES TIP 597          If dummy has three trumps and a shortage somewhere this is usually a clear indicator to delay drawing trumps so you can do some trumping in the dummy while trumps are still there.        INTERMEDIATES TIP 597         The 2nd person plays low and the third person plays high ONLY APPLIES to the TWO DEFENDERS.   ADVANCED TIP  597           If        When you are considering converting partner's negative double then the following points should be considered: -          a) Tricks in the trump suit         b) Shortage in Opener's (partner) suit         c) Ability to cope with any subsequent Double that partner might make.                                   NOVICES TIP 598          You MUST REMEMBER  to USE DIFFERENT LANGUAGE FOR DIFFERENT BIDS, the same as life, you don’t go around telling everybody you love them- some you love some you hate and some you tolerate and it’s the same with bidding conveying different messages  MATCH THE MESSAGE YOU WANT TO SEND to THE BID.        INTERMEDIATES TIP 598          The 2nd person plays low and the third person plays high ONLY APPLIES to the TWO DEFENDERS.     ADVANCED TIP  598         When considering to make a minimum bid or a stronger bid, compare your actual hand to the hand you might have for the minimum bid. See how much stronger it is and bid accordingly.                           NOVICES TIP 599          1.       After1NT    replies of 3♠ 3♥ 3♦ 3♣ are all VERY STRONG responses 13/14+ points and now Game forcing  Opener must keep bidding until Game has been bid.        INTERMEDIATES TIP 599 1.       With AKJ1085 opposite Q singleton if this is your trump suit don’t hesitate in OVERTAKING that Queen so you can continue to draw trumps and not have to worry about using up entries to get back to your hand.     ADVANCED TIP  599         A  3NT rebid by Opener should be on a hand with a source of tricks- not necessarily a balanced hand so if the bidding went              W        E               1♦       1♠           and you as West hold           ª  9 6 © K 5 4                                   now rebid 3NT  with your source of ¨ A K  J 10 6 2                      Diamond tricks § A Q                                             NOVICES TIP 600          1.       The Double of their 1NT opener is for PENALTIES-(BLOOD) and shows 1 more point than their maximum so if they open 1NT (12-14) it shows 15 or more points and partner should do their utmost to leave it in and watch as 1NT goes two or thre down (most of the time).        INTERMEDIATES TIP 600 1.       Partner opens next player overcalls 1NT and you have 9/10+ points DOUBLE FOR PENALTIES  - see novices  tip  but now you are Doubling their 1NT overcall.     ADVANCED TIP  600         Rather than just rely on one plan of campaign when playing out a hand see if there are two ways to make the contract. Maybe you can drop a Doubleton Queen and then not rely on the finesse. If the Queen doesn't come down in tworounds then go for the finesse.                     NOVICES TIP 601                 With balanced hands containing 13/14 points PASS if you are sitting over an opening bid- there is no known overcall for this hand so JUST PASS.        INTERMEDIATES TIP 601          If you are lucky enough to have two suits in your hand do show them both – Bidding in a new suit does not show extra values.- You are merely giving partner a choice of suits.     ADVANCED TIP  601           Do not Double their slam contract unless you want an unusual lead as your Double is likely to be Lightner asking for dummy's first bid suit or some other unusual lead                     NOVICES TIP 602  If you cannot remember what has gone work backwards. Maybe you have two left and you remember that you started with three so 8 cards must have gone.        INTERMEDIATES TIP 602                 What are chances of setting up long suit              be aware that      even suits break badly,  ie if there are 6 out against you likely to break 4:2  rather than 3:3                                               whilst odd suits tend to break well ie if there are 5 out against you likely to break 3:2 rather than 4:1     ADVANCED TIP  602          You and partner are competitive and force the opponents out of their comfort zone by pushing them to the three level. DO NOT NOW say Double for one down- if the contract makes you have Doubled them into Game. Without the double if it goes off you are still going to get a good score aren't you?                     NOVICES TIP 603        As responder Instead of saying I’ve only got .... points you now say  WE’VE GOT.... POINTS  YES.....        INTERMEDIATES TIP 603                 For strong use of Stayman (i.e.  with 11+ points) 4432 hands are ideal for Stayman and only one of those four card suits needs to be a Major – don’t forget to CONSIDER STAYMAN as an option every single time partner opens 1NT     ADVANCED TIP  603      BE AWARE of all YOUR ENTRIES at TRICK 1 the 8s and 9s of trump even                     NOVICES TIP 604        With KQJ opposite A10654   do not be afraid of overtaking  round  to be in correct had to continue playing the suit without have to waste entries eleswhere.        INTERMEDIATES TIP 604           Rule of 15 for 4th seat Openers - you add you HCPs plus your Cards in Spades and if the total is 15 then you may open light- you could open with 11 points and 4 card spade suit. By following this rule you are less likely to open the door to the opposition for them to overcall and buy a cheap contract. See my video on Open door policy   http://www.haroldschogger.com/teachingmovies.htm#ruleof15     ADVANCED TIP  604      You and partner bid up to 3NT and partner now bids 4♦  this is 100% forcing and suggests slam interest and cannot be passed even if Diamonds was the agreed suit mentioned earlier in the auction                     NOVICES TIP 605                With          (West) AQ105         opposite       7632  (East)  Think double finesse and try the Ten first time around after playing the 2 from East        INTERMEDIATES TIP 605           With  a powerful suit and 15/16+ points in the overcalling seat DOUBLE FIRST and THEN BID YOUR SUIT  so with            ª    A K J 8 7 6      if North opens 1♣   and you are East  now overcall with Double ©    A Q 3 ¨    K 7 §    5 4           ADVANCED TIP  605      Bid your hand ONCE especially if you have opined a weak 2 in first place. PARTNER NOW MAKES ALL THE DECISIONS in the auction and you can only bid again if forced or invited.                                     NOVICES TIP 606                1.       Only count one suit at a time- count trumps first then forget all about them, then try and count a second suit.- that all most experts do J        INTERMEDIATES TIP 606                If you do not have trump control (ie no Ace) you might need to dump some losers first before touching trumps.     ADVANCED TIP  606      Do not bid on if there is a danger that they are now going to bid a making game. Only bid on if you are 100% sure that if they bid on you can defeat them.                                     NOVICES TIP 607            If you have 6+ points and cannot bid new suit at 2 level then your bid is either 1NT or 2 of same suit.        INTERMEDIATES TIP 607                In 4th seat you can bid with less points so in 4th seat 1NT promises only 10-14 as you need to PROTECT YOUR SIDE’S INTERESTS when the bidding               has gone 1H P P ?- if you now pass they buy the contract cheaply, after all one of main attributes of a game of bridge is that it should be COMPETITIVE.     ADVANCED TIP  607      With KJ3 in declarer's hand and only two small cards in dummy be aware that if they lead the suit and third person plays Queen  and you want to cut communications between the two opponents then refuse the first trick and your KJ is still a stopper and you might just cut communications between the two defenders in situations like this                                       8 7                 A 10 5 4 2             Q 9 6                                     K J 3                               NOVICES TIP 608            Please start to in your mind saying WE HAVE, WE CAN, What are we afraid of? So if partner has already opened and you have 14 points yourself, now say WE HAVE LEAST 27 points between us  What are we afraid of?  and so on..          INTERMEDIATES TIP 608                                When defending a No Trump contract, in third seat with Doubleton Ace or Doubleton King if partner plays the King or Queen play that high card so as not to block the suit. Remember in these situations you are now the Short hand and you need to unblock these blocking cards     ADVANCED TIP  608 If you, as a responder, are stuck for a second bid and need to keep the auction going then DEPLOY FOURTH SUIT FORCING especially  after opener has reversed                                     NOVICES TIP 609                     Get your terms sorted out before you start so you know the context of the auction- stop using the word bid           To open 1♥ requires 13 + points        To reply 1♥ only needs 6+ points        To overcall 1♥ need8/9 + points.          INTERMEDIATES TIP 609                       The 5 DOS of LEADING AGAINST A  SUIT CONTRACT a)       Partner’s suit b)      Singleton c)       Top of a sequence d)      Top of a Doubleton e)      With three small card lead MUD- middle up down     ADVANCED TIP  609        If you have good raise in Opener’s suit then you must do TRUSCOTT 2NT reply which shows 10-12 points and a FIT in opener’s suit.  NOTHING TO do with No Trumps whatsoever. If you had natural raise to 2NT you would be REDOUBLING wouldn’t you?                                       NOVICES TIP 610           1.       The reason you lead top of a sequence from something like QJ10 is that eventually you might build  a trick for the defence in that suit.          INTERMEDIATES TIP 610 1.       If the bidding goes 1♥ Dbl and responder now redoubles this shows 8/9+ points, more to the point BALANCE OF POWER and shows no interest in opener’s suit  and is ultimately  Penalty oriented            ADVANCED TIP  610        1.       If one side has a fit, then mathematically the other side must have a fit too so  if they attempt to pre-empt you do not be afraid of introducing another suit- partner will have a fit with you somewhere.                                     NOVICES TIP 611                  When you decide on a finesse  you must decide  which hand to start from. You decide what card you wish to promote and then you must start from the opposite hand so with         K 6   opposite        3 2                       you want to promote the King so start from the 32 side leading up to that honour.          INTERMEDIATES TIP 611               After the bidding has gone    1NT      2♥   (transfer)                                                         2♠       2NT  the 1NT opener now has 4 options as follows :- a)       Passes with a minimum and only 2 spades b)      Bids onto 3NT with maximum and 2 spades. c)       Bids 3♠ with minimum and 3 Spades d)      Bids 4♠ with a maximum and 3 Spades              ADVANCED TIP  611            UNT and Michaels cue Bids both showing 55 or better hands should “I Think”  they should only be used with weak hands – 6-10 or strong hands 16+ and then partner can judge whether or not to bid on. With Intermediate hands just bid one suit then the other.                                NOVICES TIP 612                      LENGTH POINTS count all the time – when opening 1 of a suit, when replying in a new suit and when overcalling in a suit.        SHORTAGE POINTS only count when there is a FIT i.e. you have four card support.          INTERMEDIATES TIP 612           You should NEVER PASS with a very weak hand once your partner makes an informative double- you have to REACT and with 0 -7 point JUST BID YOUR BEST SUIT.              ADVANCED TIP  612           If they intervene with Michaels or UNT then the partner of Opener should DOUBLE with 8/9+ points and it should be Penalty oriented.                              NOVICES TIP 613                     Lead top of doubleton in your partner’s bid suit.          INTERMEDIATES TIP 613           Do not hold up if you fear that they might switch to man even worse suit especially if the lead is 1 TWO and now you know that opponents have led from a four card suit and it might not be necessary to hold up anywhere.              ADVANCED TIP  613           As partner of the Doubler, leave 1NT doubled in – most of the time it will go off and very occasionally you will concede -180                                     NOVICES TIP 614                            Bids are as they sound so when the bidding goes       1♥     -  1♠       2♣      - 2♦       2♥  by the opener now says I am MINIMUM.            INTERMEDIATES TIP 614           If a Grand Slam needs a 50% finesse then only bid the small slam              ADVANCED TIP  614                           If  you, as responder  have 11+ points and cannot bid No Trumps but what to bid on then  REVERT to 4th SUIT FORCING to keep the auction going.                                                   NOVICES TIP 615                            If partner invites you and you have maximum 8 points (or almost maximum) do accept the invitation and bid onto Game            INTERMEDIATES TIP 615           When you defend 1NT the points are spread equally 21-19 or 22-18 or 23-17  so most of the time  you NEED PASSIVE DEFENCE trying not to give away that 7th trick.              ADVANCED TIP  615                       1.    If you have 3 card support for partner’s 1♠ or 1♥ opener and RV (ruffing values, maybe a doubleton somewhere) it is best policy to reply 2♠ or 2♥ rather than 1NT. Also although most UK players play 4 card Majors (and not 5) invariably when somebody opens 1♠ or 1♥ it will be five any way.                                                     NOVICES TIP 616                      Top of sequence against No Trump contract overrides 4th best so when you have J10985 lead the Jack not the 8            INTERMEDIATES TIP 616                          If they open 1NT before you and you wanted to open 1NT Hard luck you just have to now say no Bid.                If they open 1♥ before you and you wanted to open 1♥ hard luck you just have to now say No Bid.                If they open 1 of a suit and you were about to open 1NT you just say No Bid              ADVANCED TIP  616                  After partner opens 2♠ remember that 3♠ reply is PRE-EMPTIVE and the only forward going bid is 2NT.                         NOVICES TIP 617                    Rule of 1- if there is one trump out only that is higher than all your then no necessity in drawing  it – two for one is not a good exchange rate            INTERMEDIATES TIP 617             If you are leading from a Bad suit prefer to lead 2nd one down rather than 4th highest and if partner has nothing in this suit either she will now to switch and find tricks elsewhere             ADVANCED TIP  617               Overcalling 1♠ after they open 1♣  is pre-emptive so you can take all sorts of liberties with minimum destructive overcalling.            However if they open 1♥  and you overcall 1♠  now your hand should be up to scratch - good suit and plenty of potential as the 1♠ bid now has no pre-emptive nuisance value whatsoever.                                     NOVICES TIP 618                   One your partner has made an  informative double REMEMBER there are only 14 possible points left  between you and the other player            INTERMEDIATES TIP 618             With a good hand and five card suit dispense with transfers and just reply 3♥ or 3♠ straight away when partner opens 1NT             ADVANCED TIP  618                              There is no point in leading a singleton, if you have a very good hand against their contract  because  partner cannot get the lead so make sure you make a positive lead from your side of the table instead                                     NOVICES TIP 619                   When you re defending 2nd Hand play low. This means that if you are second person to play there is no necessity to play a high card as you know partner will be finishing the trick off.            INTERMEDIATES TIP 619            With a 17/18 points and a six card suit overcall with DOUBLE and then bid your suit next so with   ª A Q J 10 6 5                when they open  1♣ or 1♦ or 1♥  say double and then bid  your Spades next © A K 4 ¨ K 2 § 7 3              ADVANCED TIP  619               Partner opens 1♠ and you reply 1NT and now opener rebids 3♣ – this IS GAME FORCING promising 18/19 points and you must keep the auction going until Game is reached                                     NOVICES TIP 620           1.       With 20-22 points and a balanced hand open 2NT straight away and after that partner makes all the decisions.          INTERMEDIATES TIP 620           When you have a sequence you lead top of a sequence- declarer must be aware that the leader’s card shows top of sequence and so must the other defender, and therefore think about ALL the ramifications of the lead eg. Queen is led and no king in dummy make sure you in third seat play that Ace. - We do not want declarer making a singleton King in the closed hand do we?          ADVANCED TIP  620            The Double of 1NT is always for penalties whether the opposition opens 1NT or intervenes 1NT- when they open 1NT the double should show one more point than their maximum or more.                                                     NOVICES TIP 621           1.         Partner opens 2NT and you have 6 points the Grand Total is at least 26 points so raise to 3NT.          INTERMEDIATES TIP 621 1.          You cover an honour if there is any chance of promoting a lower card for your side. You cover a queen with a King so that you might promote a Jack or       or 10 for yourself or partner.       ADVANCED TIP  621            Always apologise to partner as soon as you make a mistake- thats the true sign of an expert.                                                       NOVICES TIP 622           1.       My four main rules of drawing trumps are as follows: -  a)    Good trumps and good outside strength then draw trumps before anybody trumps the outside Aces and kings b)    Good trumps and Bad outside then need to make trumps separately by probable cross ruff. c)    Good trumps and a shortage somewhere in dummy – then you might need to trump in dummy while there are still trumps in dummy d)    You do not have trump control(no ace) and you need to dump loser before letting opponent in with the Trump Ace.          INTERMEDIATES TIP 622           With two five card suits you open the higher of fives and when the suits are touching you open the higher one (not ranking) so with 5 clubs and 5 Spades Clubs is higher when they touch so it is correct to open 1♣ giving you plenty of space for your rebid when partner is likely to reply in a red suit.       ADVANCED TIP  622           Please bid your hand once- if you make an Informative double and partner invites you to Game and you were absolutley minimum for your Informative Double in the first place DO NOT ACCEPT the invitation.                                         NOVICES TIP 623           1.       With Doubleton Jack opposite AK65   needing three tricks lead low towards the Jack and hope West has the missing Queen- no mileage in playing that Jack as the opponents will cover with the Queen to promote their Ten- that is known as a Chinese finesse.                                                       J 3           ??? West                                               East   ????                                                   A K 7 5          INTERMEDIATES TIP 623           If possible keep a high trump in both hands to avoid being overruffed       ADVANCED TIP  623           Get rid of dummy's entries to a long suit in dummy and maybe declarer will not be able to get back to dummy especially if he has  not been able to draw trumps yet.             NOVICES TIP 624           1.       No entries and need to get back to the other hand to finesse something then trump something is probably the answer.          INTERMEDIATES TIP 624                          When bidding before doing anything else say to yourself : - a)       Am I opening? b)      Am I responding? c)       Am I overcalling? d)      If you think this through each time then the context of the auction should be clearer.         ADVANCED TIP  624           To avoid an unnecessary trump promotion by the opposition instead of ruffing high do a  Loser on Loser play instead. You had a loser in that suit so why bother to overtrump.                             NOVICES TIP 625           1.       Sometimes you just have to bid what you think you can make . So if partner has opened and you have 14 points and you are fairly blanced just go for it and reply 3NT.          INTERMEDIATES TIP 625                                   Once there has been a Double remember there are only 14 points left or less between the two remaining players so Doubler’s partner REACTS as follows:- a)       0-7 points merely bids best suit b)      8+ points jumps in best suit c)       12+ (extremely good hand) bids opener’s suit and passes the buck- I too have good hand we are going to Game. d)      You can only Pas (very rare) if you have 10+ points and a stack of opener’s suit and want to do a conversion job making partner’s Informative Double into a Penalty Double by Passing.       ADVANCED TIP  625           Please bid your hand once. If you make an Informative Double on minimum values and partner makes a jump in new suit partner is only showing 8-11 points so be happy to play in part-score and no need to bid on. Best to be in 2 ♠ + 1 rather than 4♠ - 1 (same number of tricks)                                         NOVICES TIP 626                                       Leading and Ace when you have AK is important because: - a)       Partner knows you have king to follow b)      You win first trick c)       You can now see dummy and plan ahead d)      You can see if partner encourages or discourage          INTERMEDIATES TIP 626                                    If they open 1NT (12-14)  and you have 15 or more points make a PENALTY DOUBLE        Therefore all other bids in a suit show less than 15 points        ADVANCED TIP  626       In any Forcing situation, if the person between you and partner bids (something other than Pass), then you are now off the hook as you now know partner    will still have another bid. If you are minimum for your original bid just Pass and await developments.                                       NOVICES TIP 627                Be aware of   Blockages- Plumbers are not allowed at the bridge table so       with AKQ52 opposite 9763 be aware that the 9 7 and 6 will all block you, from enjoying the 52 so chuck them under the AKQ          INTERMEDIATES TIP 627                      With KQ opposite A109876   knowing that the opponents have J542 in one hand you know you have a loser regardless so as you are so well endowed in this suit plonk your Ace on the Queen second time around to be in correct hand to be bale to continue the suit and not to waster entries elsewhere.       ADVANCED TIP  627       If you are not sure about bidding on or inviting partner then resort to the LOSING TRICK evaluation and it might make you weary on boards you which might just be hazy                                         NOVICES TIP 628                With AJ1054 make sure you lead the JACK as its almost Top of Interior Sequence. If you lead the 4th one down declarer might  be able to win first trick cheaply with the 9. You would not want to be a cheap skate would you?          INTERMEDIATES TIP 628                                   A tenace is a permutation of two cards that might be able to finesse an opponents card that you are missing and you need to keep that tenace  intact for as long as possible in case you need to finesse  so with AJ876     opposite K5432   Keep that AJ intact just in case the suit breask 3:0 and you can still finesse the opponent's Queen       ADVANCED TIP  628                   Doesn't matter if you play Modern Acol or SAYC  a rebid of 3NT should show  7/8 playing tricks and a source of trick so when the bidding goes 1♦  - 1♥                         3NT   opener should have a hand such as                    ♠ A7                    ♥ 43                i.e. JUST GO FOR IT                    ♦ AKJ1064                    ♣ K74                                   NOVICES TIP 629                As a DEFENDER 2nd player plays low especially if you have the Ace.  Aces do not disappear, only magicians.            INTERMEDIATES TIP 629                                   With AKQ32 opposite 105 needing 4 tricks make sure you duck a round so as not to cut yourself off from the long hand catering for the 4:2 break.       ADVANCED TIP  629                               In SAYC a 2NT rebid  is  18/19 as the 1NT opener would initially show 15-17.        This approach is also used in Modern  Acol too whereby 1NT (when playing weak No Trump Opener)  should be 15-17  with 2NT being 18/19 balanced.         This frees up the 3NT rebid in both to show   source of tricks from a long Minor  suit ready to spring 9 tricks.                                   NOVICES TIP 630               MUD (standing for Middle Up Down) leads from three card suit as the name suggests “mud” no card higher than a nine so with 953  lead 5 then follow it up with the 9            INTERMEDIATES TIP 630                           Playing against 12-14 1NT openers, once they open 1NT and you have ANY 15 POINT HAND say DOUBLE. 3.                  After 1NT all suit bids now show less that 15 don’t they?       ADVANCED TIP  630        Try not to push the opponents into makeable games they were not going to bid- sometimes its not a good idea to bid one more.                                     NOVICES TIP 631               When FOLLOWING SUIT you follow with the opposite of leading,  so with  touching cards you  with the 10 if you hold QJ106.            INTERMEDIATES TIP 631                                          Leading top of Nothing a suit (nothing higher than a NINE (or Middle one from MUD ) is not productive but IS SAFE trying not to help declarer out too much.       ADVANCED TIP  631            The Rule of 26 can also be used once you know partner’s singleton so  if and when a singleton is shown in the Jacoby response use the Rule of 26 to determine if a small slam might be possible.   https://www.haroldschogger.com/teachingmovies.htm#Splinters_and_Rule_of_26                                NOVICES TIP 632                   Play one suit at a time so you can keep track what has gone.            INTERMEDIATES TIP 632                                         With a fit and shapely hands anything around 29-31/32 might be enough in a small slam in a suit contract       ADVANCED TIP  632                   It is not a good idea to splinter into a singleton Ace as partner will be revaluating his hand on the assumption that your singleton is a worthless low card.                               NOVICES TIP 633                                     When you and partner are playing weak No Trump (12-14 Opener)               then the rebids in no Trump work as follows :-        a) 1NT rebid is 15/16 Balanced      ALL THIS ASSUMES PARTNER        b) 2NT rebid is 17/18 Balanced     HAS REPLIED SHOWING 6+ POINTS        c) 3NT rebid is 19/ poor20      The way to remember all this is just to remember 12-14 and all the rebids  go up in TWOS            INTERMEDIATES TIP 633                                           There are only two hand types where you can JUMP IN  NEW SUIT  in response to partner opening 1 of a Suit as follows:- a)       16+ points and a SELF SUPPORTING SUIT AKQJXX  or KQJ109XX b)      16+ and a FIT in Opener’s suit. All other strong hands you should reply slowly as you don’t know where the hand might be going.       ADVANCED TIP  633 1.       The  guidelines for opening with 4441 hands are with red suit singleton Open suit below singleton and with Black suit singleton open 1♥ and by doing this you GIVE PARTNER THE PLATFORM to bid the UNFRIENDLY SINGLETON SUIT and now you can rebid without getting out of control. 2.       In fact one does not really need to worry about the guidelines for suit below the singleton suit just sit there and say “If I bid this suit and partner replies in the singleton suit will my rebid be ok." That’s how the experts did it before there were any guidelines.                              NOVICES TIP 634                         In a No Trump contract go right through your long suit and don’t hold back. In a suit contract you would keep trumps back but not in a No Trump contract.            INTERMEDIATES TIP 634                                         If somebody leads a TWO against your No Trump contract you immediately know that person has led from a FOUR CARD SUIT as there are no cards lower than that Two  and you know how many cards the other defender has. You can also start building up a picture of all the hands like an expert since you know leader must be relatively balanced  as he has led from a 4 card suit.       ADVANCED TIP  634 1.       1.       The bidding 1NT – 3♣ is very strong indeed and suggests Slam interest  and Opener now bids 3NT with NO FIT otherwise should start cuebidding up the line- it s a no COST CUE BID.                       NOVICES TIP 635                 You count winners (definite tricks) to see how many more tricks you NEED TO GENERATE        You count losers (optimistically) so as to see where you need to be careful- maybe you need to dump a loser early.            INTERMEDIATES TIP 635                                         Any rebid by opener that forces responder to give preference at the THREE LEVEL in bridge jargon  is called a reverse and opener would only make responder do that with a good hand  (15/16+ points) hence going above the original barrier bid (the original opening 1 of a suit then the  barrier bid would be 2 of THE SAME SUIT).       ADVANCED TIP  635        If they end up in a contract and you have declarer’s other suit attack trumps so that declarer cannot trump losers in that suit in dummy- hopefully  declarer  will run out of trumps in the dummy                       NOVICES TIP 636                 If dummy has two or three trumps and a doubleton somewhere  clear the doubleton first and ruff then you can ruff  a loser in dummy before drawing trumps (often called ruffing in the short hand)            INTERMEDIATES TIP 636                               Opening 1♣ has no pre-emptive value whatsoever so don’t do it on “silly”  minimum hands whatever the vulnerability.       ADVANCED TIP  636        In 2nd seat keep your Informative double up to scratch 13+ points but in 4th seat, the protective seat, you can make your informative double on as few as 10/11 points.                       NOVICES TIP 637                 You need  to  deliberately lose the the trick (known as holding up) when you might only have the Ace of the suit led to try and cut communications between the two defenders so that the person who led will not be able to get 4 or 5 tricks from the suit he led.            INTERMEDIATES TIP 637                              Mid hand when you play new suit Top of sequence still applies so with KQJ76 please play the King       ADVANCED TIP  637        Do not hold up if you fear that a switch at trick 2 to another vulnerable suit could be worse                       NOVICES TIP 638                 Be aware that 102 opposite  KQJ54  the 10 is now the High card in the short hand nd is good enough to force out their Ace              INTERMEDIATES TIP 638                                  P       Please do not separate the bidding from the card play – see my article      Do you want to divorce or stay married?         ADVANCED TIP  638          If Rule of 11 doesn’t work then you can deduce that partner has led from a bad suit (2nd highest)                           NOVICES TIP 639                        Practice Visualisation EXERCISES ad DECLARER             You are in charge of the of the E/W hands here and can see the AQ and the 54 try to visualize their  cards , the ones in red                                                                                       North                                                                                      7 6                                                             West  A Q              5 4   East                                                                                   K 2                                                                                South                  INTERMEDIATES TIP 6399                         A Strong hand opposite strong hand THINK SLAM   - don't be timid         ADVANCED TIP  639         If there is no other way to build an extra trick THINK DUMMY REVERSAL                       NOVICES TIP 640          In order of priority, the most important leads versus No Trump contracts are a)       Partner’s Suit ALPS. b)      Top of a Sequence ONLY if it’s in YOUR LONGEST SUIT c)       4th one down in your longest suit                       INTERMEDIATES TIP 640                       If  you have good hand (13+points) with 5 card suit bid that 5 card suit at the 4 Level  as you now only need three card support from the 1NT opening bidder to get to 4♠ or 4♥         ADVANCED TIP  640 With a good 12 points and a source of tricks do go straight to 3NT, when partner opens 1NT                                NOVICES TIP 641                  The 4 main leads when making a Blind Lead  against suit contracts are 4 TOPS as follows:- a)        Top of a sequence so when you lead Queen from QJ10 not only is it a guideline BUT partner now knows you have the Jack and 10 to follow b)      Singleton hoping to ruff something before declarer has had a chance to draw trumps c)       Top of a Doubleton for the same reason d)      Top of Nothing to be safe           INTERMEDIATES TIP 641                                           You must start UPGRADING HANDS that have 5 card suits and more 10s and 9s rather than 2s and 3s.     ADVANCED TIP  641     If in doubt about bidding one more, always use as  a secondary check The Losing Trick count.                                NOVICES TIP 642                                 Playing a weak 12-14 point No Trump, the bidding goes 1NT and you reply 3♠ this is Game forcing promising 13+ points and five card suit.             Opener is now expected to bid 4♠  with three card support or put herself back to 3NT with only 2 card support.                    (NB with 1 card support your partner will certainly find a new partner next time J)      INTERMEDIATES TIP 642                                If a person opens and then bids by himself opposite a Passed partner (a partner who is known to hold less that 6 points) then the opener “must be” showing extra strong hand – bidding by himself.   ADVANCED TIP  642                    Elimination Play procedure  is as follows :- a)       Identify the crucial suit b)      Draw trumps (most of the time) so they have no safe exit cards c)       Eliminate one suit from both hands completely d)      Eliminate one suit from both hands completely e)      Now hopefully they will give free finesse or ruff and discard                                NOVICES TIP 643                                Be aware that with 83  opposite AKJ10972 you can play the 8 and stay in correct hand to repeat the finesse if needs be.      INTERMEDIATES TIP 643                     Do not misuse the term “cross ruff”. It is only applicable if you are ruffing in alternate hands, not when you are just ruffing in one hand. On board 1 you need to ruff spades twice and that is just ruffing in the one  hand   ADVANCED TIP  643                    You can start a Splinter sequence once a FIT suit comes to light and once the splinter has been made, partner can then start a cue bidding sequence if they wish to cooperate in moving forward to a Slam                                NOVICES TIP 644                                            Normally in No Trumps you might have to hold up if you have ONLY ONE CONTROLLING CARD in the suit they lead and hopefully you might CUT COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN THE TWO DEFENDERS.  Maybe you only have the Ace of their suit.      INTERMEDIATES TIP 644                      When following suit. you FOLLOW with HIGHEST CARD NECESSARY so with QJ you follow with the Jack (Really its opposite of leading).   ADVANCED TIP  644                   Astro convention after they open 1NT works like this :- a)       2 of a Major Natural b)      Double always one more than their Maximum c)       Bidding anything else promises less than a Double d)      Don’t fall in love with six card suit and 15 points and bid that suit but REMEMBER to DOUBLE e)      2♣ is artificial showing 9 cards in Hearts and a Minor f)        2♦ is artificial showing 9 cards in Spades and another                                  NOVICES TIP 645                                              Never be be afraid of joining in- if one side has a FIT then mathematically the other side ALSO has a FIT      INTERMEDIATES TIP 645                With J1095 opposite AQ7632  please play the Jack when finessing to stay in correct hand in case you need to finesse again   ADVANCED TIP  645                                 The Informative Double comes in 3 sizes as follows:- a)       13+ and liking the other 3 suits b)      Powerful one suited hand and about 17+ points (too strong for mere suit overcall). c)       19+ balanced                                NOVICES TIP 646                                              Please stay with one suit at a time when playing out and then you will remember more easily what has gone      INTERMEDIATES TIP 646                             With same suit as the opposition JUST PASS. You are in conflict with the opposition so say Nothing at all     ADVANCED TIP  646  If a contract is going off then you will get a good score any way, so no necessity in Doubling. If you double and it makes you are definitely onto a very bad score                                NOVICES TIP 647                                                                                        The INFORMATIVE DOUBLE is AN OVERCALL      INTERMEDIATES TIP 647                        Bidding to level of fit is mainly for OVERCALLING SIDE and works like this If partner, the overcaller, has overcalled promising 5 or more card suit With 3 card support raise to 2 level (i.e. for 8 tricks) With 4 card support raise to 3 level (i.e. for 9 tricks) With 5 card support raise to4 level (i.e. for 10 tricks) And don’t worry about your point count – you are doing it to mess up the opponents     ADVANCED TIP  647 Should you open 1NT with 5 card MAJOR and balanced 13/14 points? – The majority of experts now agree you should do so and then there will be no rebid problems later                       NOVICES TIP 648                                              When playing out stay with one suit at a time then you can more easily keep track of HOW MANY "CARDS"  HAVE GONE in the suit      INTERMEDIATES TIP 648                        With AJ5 opposite 102 if they led this suit  you do not need to hold up because you will now have second round control of this suit as long as you play low from dummy at trick One       ADVANCED TIP  648          Some things  to think about in order to read the Opponents cards like an Expert             1. Even if you are going to win first trick STOP and do all YOUR THINKING                  2. Add your points to dummy’s points and take total from 40 and see how many they are left with                 3. If nobody joined in expect the points to be spread 50 50                 4. If somebody opened the bidding expect that player to have 12 points                 5. If somebody hasn’t led an Ace or King then expect that person not to have a sequence of any kind                         NOVICES TIP 649                                      In bidding Length is strength, and in card play even more so, as you try and BUILD TRICKS (known in bridge jargon as SUIT ESTABLISHMENT) in your LONGEST SUIT even when you do not have the Aces and Kings of that suit      INTERMEDIATES TIP 649                   Against their suit contract do not bother to lead a singleton when you have good hand (maybe 12/13 points) and they are in 4♠ or 4♥ as the bidding tells you partner HAS NOTHING and cannot get the lead to give you a ruff so instead try and make a positive lead from your side of the table since you will probably be the only person to take part in the defence of the current hand9   ADVANCED TIP  649 If partner doubles and you are very weak indeed and your main strength is in opener's suit you might have to bid a 3 card suit and hope for the best J                       NOVICES TIP 650                                      Remember NOT TO LIE TO PARTNER but remember to TELL THE TRUTH when making these limit responses.           1♠   - 2♠ 4 card support and 6-9 points          1♠   - 3♠  4 card support and 10-12 points          1♠   - 4♠  weak freak 7-9 points and 2 five card suits or similar          1♠  -  new suit and then 4♠   4 card support and 13-15 points                              – often called a Delayed Game Raise        INTERMEDIATES TIP 650                   If you have ANY 15 or more you should make PENALTY DOUBLE when they open with a weak  1NT (12-14) Th  Therefore any bid in a suit will "obviously" promise no more than 14 points (8/9-14)     ADVANCED TIP  650 With A105 when declarer ruffs high with a K Q or J best not to over-ruff and you might get a trump promotion of your 10                       NOVICES TIP 651                                     Never be shy in introducing 6/7 card suits. You cannot come to much grief with such suits.      INTERMEDIATES TIP 651                 When defending, TLKW   - Throw Losers Keep Winners ( and if in doubt  Keep those long suits as they  are all potential winners)     ADVANCED TIP  651 A singleton King is almost as good for No Trump purposes as a small doubleton. Though it should not be routine to open1NT with a singleton King but is a good idea    you when hand will be awkward with the rebid.                               NOVICES TIP 652                                                                                                                            With J 10 8 6 2                                                                                                                                  K 5 3                                                                                          opposite A Q 9 5              be aware that you have QJ1098  between the two hands and you can play the 8 and let it run when finessing and that will keep you in correct hand to repeat that finesse      INTERMEDIATES TIP 652                       If you see that declarer is not drawing trumps and is attempting to trump something in dummy, you, as a defender, need to play a trump.     ADVANCED TIP  652 In 4th seat, the protective seat a bid of 1NT in this position SHOULD ONLY SHOW  10-14 points With more points just start with Double.                              NOVICES TIP 653                                                                       Try and remember what your partner led because if you get the lead you should be playing back a card from the suit led initially      INTERMEDIATES TIP 653                       When the bidding goes 1NT 3♠   Strong forcing reply by responder Opener must now either bid 4♠ with three card support or go back to 3NT with just two card support     ADVANCED TIP  653 With 44 in the majors (4432) and 15 -19 points its best to open 1♥as you can now still get to a fit in either major whereas if you open 1♠ and partner happens to have 4 Hearts you might now miss out on the Heart fit                       NOVICES TIP 654                                      If there is a choice between Opening 1♣ or any other 1 of a Suit bid  or 1NT there is NO CHOICE – you OPEN 1NT. Then you will have no rebid problems as no rebid is now necessary.      INTERMEDIATES TIP 654                      When you defend and you are third person now you play the card high enough so with J9 over dummy’s 10 all you need to play is the 9  if  declarer plays a low one from dummy- Your 9 is high enough to force out an honour.     ADVANCED TIP  654 If you have KQJ6 in closed hand and you want second person to cover i.e. play their Ace straight away  then play your King but if you don't want them to play Ace straight away and you are trying to sneak trick in this suit early on, play the Jack and hope they are a follower of second player plays low.                       NOVICES TIP 655                                     The best lead in bridge are Ace from Ace King holdings as it allows you to win first trick and LAD—Look at dummy and plan ahead      INTERMEDIATES TIP 655                      In all situations against No Trumps top of a sequence overrides 4th highest           You would not like to lead your 8 here and let declarer win first trick with dummy's 9 would you?                                                       9                   Q J 10 8 5 3                           7 6 4                                                         A K 2     ADVANCED TIP  655 When your partner balances in 4th seat and the next player takes the push to the three Level unless there are exceptional circumstances you should NOW PASS- partner has done the push- maybe the contract will now go down                       NOVICES TIP 656                                     When you open 1NT with bare 12 points you do not have to have an honour in every suit as long as the shape is correct 4333      INTERMEDIATES TIP 656                       When declarer is playing of a long suit each defender should throw from a different suit otherwise declarer might get another trick from a suit to which he is not entitled ,     ADVANCED TIP  656 You get to 5♦ and you think you are going to get a lousy score because all the other players ill be in 3NT with overtricks so bid 6♦ just in case it makes                       NOVICES TIP 657                                      1.         a)  1NT – 2♠ is weak zero plus points and five card suit - Don't you dare bid on Partner or else    b)   1NT – 3♠ is strong 13/14+ points and five card suit NOW GAME FORCING - Don't you dare Pass now - you must bid on (either to 4♠ with three card support or          3NT with only two card support.  With one card support you will need a new partner soon as nobody will play with you again!!      INTERMEDIATES TIP 657                       A jump in new suit by opener is GAME FORCING promising 19+ points             e. g              ª A K J 5             1♦         1♥ © 3 2                    2♠   rebid now ¨ A K J 10 7 § K 6       ADVANCED TIP  657 The point about Unassuming Cue Bids is that once there has been intervention all replies in same suit are now weaker and the only “real correct” way to show a good raise is with an Unassuming Cue Bid- bidding the opponents’ suit                                      NOVICES TIP 658                                    With singleton Ace opposite K Q J 4 play this suit VERY EARLY before it gives you grief and you are blocked  (you have no low cards in that short hand to feed over to the long hand - the K Q J 4 hand      INTERMEDIATES TIP 658                             Make an effort to use the three correct terms instead of bid ie a)       Opening b)      Responding c)       Overcalling       ADVANCED TIP  658   You don't need to bid Game on every hand to get a good score - see below                             NOVICES TIP 659                                     Please play one suit at a time so you can keep track how many have gone      INTERMEDIATES TIP 659                             Please be aware of all your entries at trick 1. You might only have one entry in dummy so don’t use it up at trick 1       ADVANCED TIP  659  If you want to suggest a good lead against their possible No Trump contract then you have to join in  even with a minimum overcall                           NOVICES TIP 660                                     LAD- "Look At Dummy" and just play the highest card necessary please      INTERMEDIATES TIP 660                A hand with Opening bid values  opposite an Opening bid (ie.13+13=26) is generally enough for Game contract - so don't be timid     ADVANCED TIP  660               Having initially replied 2♦ to partner's 2♣ opener afterwards,   with good 5/7 points, responder bids slowly- relatively good hand when you initially promised 0-7 points                     W      E                                W        E             e.g    2♣     2♦                                2♣      2♦                      2♥      4♥                                3♥      3♥           now 4♥ shows support                     Now    3♥ shows support          but about 0-4 points                            but 5-7 points                         NOVICES TIP 661                                                 Don’t lie to partner and relay wrong message :- a)       1♥ – 2♥ is 6-9 points and 4 card suit so when you have 10 points… b)      1♥ -  3♥  is 10-12 points and 4 card support.      INTERMEDIATES TIP 661                Double of the 1NT opening bid or their 1NT overcall is for PENALTIES – over the 1NT opening bid it shows one more than their maximum     ADVANCED TIP  661             1.       Sometimes there is no book bid for every hand played and you must just deduce your bid and make a practical response (bid). if partner has Opened 2♦  weak  and you have the following hand   ♠: K 9                                    Just reply 3NT  - you now expect to make 6 Diamond tricks 2 Clubs and hopefully a ninth on the lead coming around to you ♥: K 9 8 ♦: K 6 2                      ♣: A K 10 9 5                           NOVICES TIP 662                                                 With KQ1097 it is so close to being the sequence of KQJ  so do lead that King.        INTERMEDIATES TIP 662                             After partner makes an Informative Double be aware that 26 points are all ready accounted for and you now REACT as follows: - a)       0 – 7 just bid your best suit. b)      8+ jump in best suit c)       12+ Cue Bid opponents suit d)      Stack of Opener’s suit and 9/10+ points PASS & CONVERT e)       6-9 balanced and values in their suit react with 1NT         ADVANCED TIP  662                    I   If you have strong fit with partner and do not wish to plough into Blackwood or Cuebidding straight away then bid slowly and use the 4th suit forcing mechanism  to keep the auction going                         NOVICES TIP 663                                     Reply in a major rather then going directly to 1NT so that you do not lose your major Suit fits. It is commonly known as not denying a four card Major        INTERMEDIATES TIP 663              Some play 4th suit forcing to 2NT and some play it Forcing to Game- you need to discuss this with new partners. I recommedn you play it Forcing to Game.     ADVANCED TIP  663             Make no cost cue bids on way to 4♠ just in case partner can re-evaluate her hand and  want to now push onto a slam              e.g.          ª  A K 6             Having opened 2♣ and rebid 2NT over partner's     2♦  bid ©  A K 4 2          Partner transfers to Hearts and then rebids 3NT. You will now bid 4♥ with your fit ¨  K 6                  BUT a no cost cuebid of 4♣ on the way cannot hurt     §  A  7 5             Partner might have made a negative but he could still hold Diamond Ace and Heart Queen                         NOVICES TIP 664                                     Please be aware of entries to each hand at trick 1        INTERMEDIATES TIP 664             With AKQ10 opposite J43  be aware that the Jack is an entry should you be short of entries to the other hand.     ADVANCED TIP  664             With AJ9 opposite 1043 when left hand opponent leads 4th highest and right hand opponent plays the King, ACE it as you still have a second stopper – ie very good intermediates with that J 10 and 9 between the 2 hands and THERE IS NO NEED TO HOLD UP.                       NOVICES TIP 665                                           Partner opens 1NT and you have enough immediately to go to Game then bid 3NT. 2NT is only inviting.        INTERMEDIATES TIP 665                     1♦   - 2♦ response if opener now rebids 2NT opener now really needs to have 16/17 points to invite as partner can have not more than 9.     ADVANCED TIP  665                     If the opponents have a 4th suit forcing sequence and end up in No Trumps then leading the 4th suit is likely to be artificial and therefore it is probably the best suit to lead.                         NOVICES TIP 666                                                         Leading an Ace when you hold both Ace and King is one of the BEST Leads in bridge against suit contracts.            You are going to win first trick and cna then see dummy and plan ahead and partner may even give you a signal this point.        INTERMEDIATES TIP 666                    The ONLY two criteria for making a Game forcing bid with a jump in  new suit are a)       16+ and a FIT with opener’s suit b)      16+ and self-supporting suit (usually 6 or 7 card suit headed by at least KQJ10 All other strong hands just bid a new suit- the auction cannot die as partner has to make a rebid- Any way only old people die - not auctions J       ADVANCED TIP  666                            3rd seat opening bids can be light for 3 specific reasons as follows:- a)       The bid can be pre-emptive against 4th player especially if you open 1♠ b)      3rd seat opener should use the Suit Quality Overcall Test because partner will now lead that suit should you end up defending. c)        In 4th seat you no longer need a rebid and can pass anything partner might now bid.                       NOVICES TIP 667                                         Leading a singleton against a suit contract is good for your bridge health BECAUSE you might get to trump before declarer has had a chance to draw trumps        INTERMEDIATES TIP 667                              With singleton  Q opposite AK82 play that queen early before it gives you grief later and you get blocked.         ADVANCED TIP  667                    Suit preference signals work as follows :-      Ignore suit being played and ignore trump suit so if you play      LOW rubbish you want the lower suit back      HIGH rubbish you want the higher suit back                        NOVICES TIP 668                                         When you defend your aces and Kings are meant to beat declarers Kings and Queens so be patient and in second seat don't be in a hurry to play that Ace or King.        INTERMEDIATES TIP 668                              If Right Hand opponent  opens 1NT and you were about to open 1NT then now just PASS and be happy to defend       ADVANCED TIP  668                    With               A Q 10 7 2    opposite K 9 8 3   make sure you keep Q10 tenace intact in one hand and K9  tenace in the other hand and  now you will be guaranteed 5 tricks no matter who has  J 6 5 4          So play the Ace first (despite that being the high card in the long hand) and now you will always make all 5 tricks                       NOVICES TIP 669                      When dummy comes down do please PLAN AHEAD and if dummy does have 3 trumps and a shortage somewhere do not be in hurry to draw trumps but attempt to trump something in that dummy, the short hand.        INTERMEDIATES TIP 669                  With Q5 opposite A6432   play the two towards the Queen the card you are trying to promote. If you play the queen this is known as a Chinese Finesse and the opponents will merely cover the Queen if second person has it.       ADVANCED TIP  669                    If your partner in 4th seat has balanced and you now bid your best suit and the opponents now take the push to the three level DO NOT BID again as your partner has already forced the issue and had been unable to bid at all in first place in situations like this                East ª  K J 6 5 © 9 2 ¨ A 9 6 4 § 7 3 2        W N E    S     Pass    1♥ Pass 2♥ Pass   Pass 2♠ Pass Pass    3♥ Pass Pass ?   Now Just Pass     If                       NOVICES TIP 670                     Playing Acol with all four card suits don't forget  with 4441 Hands to open the suit below the singleton and with a singleton Club its best to Open 1♥  and now you give yourselves (you and partner) the ideal way to find any fit that might manifest itself  especially in the Majors        INTERMEDIATES TIP 670                 To bid on further after partner pre-empts you need at least 15/16  and then be in hurry to SUPPORT PARTNER.       ADVANCED TIP  670                  If the opposition take a sacrifice against you and the contract belongs to you don't forget to double them- better to get +500 than +150 when they are non vulnerable   If                       NOVICES TIP 671                     Partner opens 1NT (12-14) and you have 8 points and 4432 shape, just  PASS. The hand is going nowhere           (NB The 6 points you might be thinking of, ONLY APPLIES if partner OPENS 1 OF A SUIT) (N        INTERMEDIATES TIP 671                 With 4 card support for a Minor BUT YOUR OWN 4 CARD MAJOR please introduce it  so when the bidding goes 1♣ – 2♣ responder is saying he does not have a four card Major       ADVANCED TIP  671                 If you see an elimination play coming, to counter it you may need to throw away a high card in second seat so that declarer is unable to throw you in.                                                       NOVICES TIP 672                                   To open 1NT you do not have to have an honour in every suit so    with           ª  5 4 2        open 1NT   and here you have two suits © 7  6 5                                      without Honours ¨ A 6 5 § A K Q 6 (N        INTERMEDIATES TIP 672                 When defending a suit contract you lead Ace from AKJ654  and you see the Q32 do not be in hurry to try and cash the King at trick two       ADVANCED TIP  672                 You should ONLY  cover an honour if you can potentially promote something for your side (your hand or partner’s). So you cover an honour  - Queen with a Jack if you can promote your side’s 10.                       NOVICES TIP 673                             The best lead in bridge is Ace when you have an AKxx suit- because you can win first trick look at dummy and see if partner encourages or discourages                     (BUT only lead that Ace if you have King as well)        INTERMEDIATES TIP 673   When defending Aces are in fact meant to beat declarer' and dummy’s high card,  so in second seat thats why you should not be in a hurry to play your Ace on a low card     ADVANCED TIP  673                 You have great fit with partner’s second suit so instead of rushing straight to 4♠ or 4♥ make a 4th suit forcing bid to find out more and then leap to 4♠ or 4♥ next                       NOVICES TIP 674                             Please share information during the auction and you will get to your common suit- if you are lucky enough to have two suits- bid them both if possible.        INTERMEDIATES TIP 674   If you open 1♥ and rebid 3♥ it shows 6/7 playing tricks which usually correlates to 15/16 points and good six card suit.     ADVANCED TIP  674                 In Standard Acol (without 4 suit transfers) After 1NT 2♣ followed by 3♣ shows weak take-out in  Club and at least a six card suit. With five just pass 1NT.                       NOVICES TIP 675                             I think the  best piece of advice for inexperienced players with regards to bidding Slamming is JUST GO FOR IT.        INTERMEDIATES TIP 675   With KJ8762 opposite A542  expect the suit to break 2:1 but make allowances in case the suit breaks 3:0 and play the Ace first and then you can still finesse that remaining KJ when the suit breaks 3:0 if the  the Queen is still finessable. (NB That KJ is knonw a a TENACE and needs to be kept in tact for as long as possible- hence you play the Ace first.     ADVANCED TIP  675                 If neither you nor your partner has bid first time around, and now partner balances and manages to push the opponents to the 3 level - DO NOT BID ON, even if you have have a fit. Partner has done his bit and now you need to do your bit and PASS.                       NOVICES TIP 676                            As a defender, if declarer bid a suit during the auction, try to keep cards in that suit, otherwise declarer might get extra tricks in that suit  near the end of the hand that she is not entitled to- this is called keeping length with declarer.        INTERMEDIATES TIP 676             "DFTA"- Don’t Forget The Auction - to work out where certain cards might be when working out who has what.  Maybe one of the opponents opened 1NT and now you know 12 of the remaining points must be in that hand.     ADVANCED TIP  676                 If there is no sign of an extra trick anywhere then Dummy Reversal (very rare) might be the answer where you trump enough times in the long hand and eventually the long hand becomes the short hand                       NOVICES TIP 677                            If you have a really good hand such as 19 points but partner Passes your opening bid of 1♦ NOW be careful your hand opposite NOTHING results in  just  part score and now be happy to DEFEND        INTERMEDIATES TIP 677             If you have 6:5 shape make sure you tell your partner by biding your second suit again just in case you have 5:3 fit in partner's second suit.     ADVANCED TIP  677                 If, from the bidding,  you think declarer has long suit and will easily make 9/10 tricks in his 3NT contract MAKE AN ACTIVE LEAD such as an ACE and look at that dummy, and maybe quickly generate 5 tricks before declarer can make 9.                         NOVICES TIP 678                            With an AKXX suit against a suit contract lead the Ace- one of the best leads in bridge, you win first trick, you see dummy, and now you can plan ahead        INTERMEDIATES TIP 678          With AJ10 against their 6NT contract don’t be in hurry to play that ace- That Ace needs to be used to win either a king or Queen from the opponents     ADVANCED TIP  678                With Q43 opposite J52  leave this suit alone for as long as possible and lets hope the opponents will break this suit open for you and then you will generate 1 trick.                         NOVICES TIP 679                                Most of the time you will only generate extra tricks if you do your trumping in the short hand (i.e. the hand with fewer) trumps, maybe only three and this is usually a SIGN TO DELAY DRAWING ANY TRUMPS YET so you still have trums in that short hand.        INTERMEDIATES TIP 679  Bidding up the line With 2 four card suits - this means that if partner opens 1♦ and you have the following ♠ AK65  ♥ J765   ♦ 43 ♣ 543  you reply 1H (first suit available)     ADVANCED TIP  679                      How to tell if a double is for take-out (INFORMATIVE) or for Penalties (BLOOD)  as follows :-  a)      If your partner has not yet bid all doubles should be for take-out even when the bidding goes 1♠ - 4♠ by the opposition b)      If   they open 1NT or overcall 1NT all doubles should now be for Blood. If either you or your partner makes any type of Limit bid, Doubles thereafter should be PENALTY. So if partner opens 1NT or 2NT or replies 1NT or rebids 2 of same suit or Opens 3 of same suit, as all these bids are limit bids, if partner now Pounces with a Double it should for for Penalties                         NOVICES TIP 680                                When dummy comes down declarer counts his winners and how he is going to generate extra tricks. THE DEFENDERS MUST DO THE SAME !!!        INTERMEDIATES TIP 680  Defenders also need to establish tricks (build) t defeat the opponents' contract especially in a No Trump Contract.     ADVANCED TIP  680          Do not make a penalty double if thre is an chance youyr partner might pull it- you wull get good result without doubling under these circumstances any way.                      NOVICES TIP 681                       To support an overcall the main thing to consider is DO YOU HAVE THREE CARD SUPPORT?        With 3 card support raise one level.        With 4 card support raise to 3 Level        With 4 card support raise to 4 level-          This is known as bidding to level of the  FIT.        INTERMEDIATES TIP 681  1.       With 13 points balanced go directly to 3NT when partner opens 1NT as you have 25 TOGETHER which is enough opposite a weak No trump hand.       ADVANCED TIP  681                 Bidding space is at a premium when you have good hands so please bid SLOWLY.                        NOVICES TIP 682                        When partner leads King and you have A85  DON'T BE LAZY- remember to show ATTITUDE and play that EIGHT to ENCOURAGE         Partner will probably be able to work out that you have the Ace as declarer was not able to beat the King Lead, but that's beside the point. Partner likes it when you show good attitude to her lead J          INTERMEDIATES TIP 682                   With standard attitude signals it is the OPPOSITE OF LEADING and  now Low says Like and High says Hate             FOLLOWING SUIT and low you Dislike and High you  Like.         ADVANCED TIP  682                               Playing standard Acol (not 2/1) only time you should JUMP in a NEW SUIT is when you have   a)       Very strong six card suit of your own and 16+ points or b)      16+ points and  a FIT c)       Rest of time just bid slowly       NOVICES TIP 683                                 Please use the correct three  bidding terms all the time OPENING, RESPONDING and OVERCALLING and then it puts all the auction it all into proper perspective.        INTERMEDIATES TIP 683  1.       With AJ10 opposite 543   play from 543 side twice and you should have 75% chance of success in making 2 tricks out of 3        ADVANCED TIP  683                 1.       1.    Bidding to level of Fit  - when partner intervenes Bid to level of fit- if partner has overcalled showing 5 card suit then if you have         3 card support total trumps are 8 so you can raise to 2 level- 8                and don't worry about your point count   4 card support total trumps are 9 so you can raise to 3 level- 9               as your bid could be highly pre-emptive   5 card support total trumps are 9 so you can raise to 4 level- 10            or with your shape partner will even get home       NOVICES TIP 684                                 The three main leads in order of importance against their NO Trump Contract are a)    Partner’s suit if partner joined in b)   Otherwise Top of a sequence in your LONGEST SUIT c)    Otherwise 4th one down in your LONGEST SUIT       INTERMEDIATES TIP 684               When you defend 3NT it’s the RACE for NINE TRICKS for declarer and the RACE for FIVE TRICKS for the defenders  so COUNT those winners and losers.        ADVANCED TIP  684     With fairly balanced  (4333) 18 points only rebid 2NT when partner has responded 1NT in first place  - Partner might have the barest 6 points and it will be hard to find a 9th trick- you do not need to bid Game on every hand.        NOVICES TIP 685                                      Once partner opens 1NT the RESPONDER should now be SAYING WE HAVE…          INTERMEDIATES TIP 685                  When you sre very well endowed in your trump suit   trump high to avoid any embarrassment of being overtrumped.     ADVANCED TIP  685                     Main things to consider with Lebensohl after interference a)    All 2 level bids are weak and they SOUND WEAK b)   All 3 level bids are STRONG Game Forcing c)    Cue bids are Stayman  - Artificial d)   Bidding quickly shows STOPPER e)    Bidding slowly Denies stopper f)     2NT demands 3♣ from partner  - Artificial g)   FASS = Fast Arrival shows stopper h)   SDS = Slow denies stopper                  For more tips go to  archived tips c             Home   Home