The West Side Bridge Club

ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF THE GAME, WHETHER YOU ARE DECLARING OR DEFENDING: COUNTING!!!

Inferences from the Bidding:

In all cases, always try to count the HCP as they are played:

1. A passed hand can't have 13 points.

2. Opener's partner can't have 6 point and have passed

3. Opening bidder has at least 11-13 points.

4. Responder who has raised partner or bid 1NT has 5-11 HCP.

5. Responder who has freely bid at 2 level has at least 10 HCP.

6. Opening NT bidder does not have a singleton or void.

7. Weak 2 bidder SHOULD HAVE a 6 card suit w/2 of top 3 honors. (unless they are 3rd chair)

8. Major suit opener has at least a 5-card suit.

Inferences from the Play:

1. Whenever a player shows out of a suit, you can figure out the unseen high cards and distribution of that suit.

2. If you know the distribution of 3 suits in an opponent's hand, you can count how many they have in the remaining suit.

3. If the opening lead against a NT Contract is a 2, they have exactly 4 cards in that suit.

4. If opening leader leads a small card, they do not have a sequential holding but probably have an honor in that suit.

5. If opener did not lead an A or K, they do not have touching honors in a suit.

6. If opener leads a small card, they probably have an honor and 3 or more cards in the suit.

7. If partner of opening leader has bid a suit, they have a good reason for not leading it. Most common reasons are: they have an honor sequence in another suit, he has the ace of partner's suit and needs to retain it to trap an honor declarer could be holding or-- he is void in partner's suit.

8. If defender discards a suit that dummy is holding 4 cards in, they do not have 4 cards in that suit. The idea is to keep parity with dummy as long as possible.

9. If opening leader does not lead trump in an auction that calls for a trump lead (ie: 1D-P-1H-P-1S-P-2D-2S - both hands denying a good fit) then they probably have an honor in the trump suit.

10. If opening leader leads trump against declarer they probably do not have a good lead of their own and are protecting broken honors.

11. RULE OF 11: When the lead is 4th best, subtract the value of the card led from 11. The result is the number of cards higher than the led card in the other 3 hands. Counting the cards in his hand and the dummy, both declarer and defender can determine the number of such cards in an opponents hand.

IN ORDER TO BE A GOOD BRIDGE PLAYER, YOU MUST LEARN TO COUNT!!! NOT JUST TRUMP, BUT ALL SUITS-- ESPECIALLY THE ONE YOUR PARTNER LED!!! (if you have trouble remembering what partner led, move that suit to the area nearest your thumb)

ALSO: REMEMBER THE OPENING LEAD-- WHAT WAS IT? WHAT DID IT INDICATE? SHOULD YOU AUTOMATICALLY RETURN IT OR SHOULD YOU DO SOMETHING ELSE FIRST? COUNT THE NUMBER OF CARDS YOU CAN SEE IN THE SUIT LED. WHAT ARE THE CHANCES PARTNER LED A SINGLETON? IF NOT, TRY TO SET UP A TRICK IN ANOTHER SUIT WHILE PARTNER STILL HAS CONTROL OF THE ORIGINAL SUIT LED, ie: partner led a K (showing the Q). Trick is won by the Ace (either by you or declarer). When you gain the lead, see if you can establish a trick in another suit while partner still has their trick in the original suit. This is called timing!!!