Losing Trick Count
The basic losing trick count (LTC) can be used after a trump fit has been established. It is not designed for notrump hands and is quite unsuitable for misfit hands. It does not replace point count. Rather, it is used as an adjunct to the point count system when a trump fit comes to light. After the trump fit is known, the LTC will give a more accurate guide to the potential of the partnership hands.
THE LTC FORMULA:
1. COUNT your losers
2. ADD partner’s losers
3. DEDUCT this total from 24
The answer is the number of tricks the partnership can expect to win.
For example, a normal opening hand contains 7 losers. If your partner also has 7 losers, these together total 14. This number is subtracted from 24 which leaves 10—the number of tricks the partnership can expect to win.
HOW DO WE COUNT LOSERS?
1. Count no more than 3 losers per suit.
2. Count the A, K and Q as winners, cards below the queen as losers.
3. Count the supported queen as a winner, but count a 3 card or longer suit with the queen and no other honor as 2 ½ losers.
Examples:
AKQxx no losers
AKxxx 1 loser
Axxxx 2 losers
Jxx 3 losers
Jxxx 3 losers
Jxxxx 3 losers
xx 2 losers
Kx 1 loser
Kxx 2 losers
Kxxxx 2 losers
Do you get the idea?
1. A normal minimum opening hand contains 7 losers. If partner opens and you have a 7 loser hand with a fit, you most likely belong in game. An invitational hand contains 8 losers. If your partner opens and you have an 8 loser hand with a fit, invite! Don't worry too much about high card points.
Here is an example of an 8 loser hand which I saw underbid recently:
KQx
A10
Jxx
10xxx
In the actual case, there was an opening bid of 1H and an overcall of 1S. Next hand passsed and this hand had to take a call. A simple raise prevented the partnership from getting to game, whereas a cuebid, showing an invitational hand, provided the impetus needed to bid game. This was a team game where games must be bid.
2. If your partner opens the bidding and you have a 5 loser hand, you should immediately think about slam, particularly if you have a fit. The calculation is simple: 7 + 5 = 12. 24 - 12 = 12: the number of tricks you expect to take.
If your partner opens 1S and you hold either of the following 5 loser hands, you should explore for slam.
Axx
KQxx
x
AKxx
QJxx
Ax
KQJxx
Kx
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Intentional errors
Players DO not make mistakes intentionally, so play bridge and shut up.
Negative comments are unacceptable.
Chances are, you both are right in your disagreement, just agree as to how you would handle the same situation if it came up again.
You have to be playing the same system, regardless of what it is.
People with less experience need opportunity to learn. Be patient.
See you at the table.
Negative comments are unacceptable.
Chances are, you both are right in your disagreement, just agree as to how you would handle the same situation if it came up again.
You have to be playing the same system, regardless of what it is.
People with less experience need opportunity to learn. Be patient.
See you at the table.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
New Minor Forcing
New Minor Forcing.
New Minor Forcing comes up when responder bids a new minor after opener has rebid 1NT. For example,
1C 1S 1NT 2D !
2D is artificial, showing 11+ points and asking opener to further describe his hand. Responder is interested in game, normally has a five-card major suit and wants to know if opener has support.
Opener's responses, in order of priority, are:
Two of the other major
Two of responder's major
Three of responder's major
2NT
3NT
Raise of the new minor
Rebid of opener's suit shows a 4-card suit
shows 3-card support, 12 to 13- pts
shows 3-card support, 13+ to 14+ pts
shows a stopper in the unbid suit, 12 to 13- pts
shows a stopper in the unbid suit, 13+ to 14 pts
Natural, denies the ability to make any other bid
Denies the ability to make any other bid
To show a genuine two-suiter, responder can rebid the new minor on the third round.
New Minor Forcing is OFF in competition.
New Minor Forcing comes up when responder bids a new minor after opener has rebid 1NT. For example,
1C 1S 1NT 2D !
2D is artificial, showing 11+ points and asking opener to further describe his hand. Responder is interested in game, normally has a five-card major suit and wants to know if opener has support.
Opener's responses, in order of priority, are:
Two of the other major
Two of responder's major
Three of responder's major
2NT
3NT
Raise of the new minor
Rebid of opener's suit shows a 4-card suit
shows 3-card support, 12 to 13- pts
shows 3-card support, 13+ to 14+ pts
shows a stopper in the unbid suit, 12 to 13- pts
shows a stopper in the unbid suit, 13+ to 14 pts
Natural, denies the ability to make any other bid
Denies the ability to make any other bid
To show a genuine two-suiter, responder can rebid the new minor on the third round.
New Minor Forcing is OFF in competition.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
When you are searching for a trump suit, your first goal is to find an 8-card or longer fit in a major.
________________________________________
When you're 4-4 or 4-4-4
If partner opens and you have two or three 4-card suits you could bid at the one-level, you should respond your cheapest suit (or, with a weak hand, your cheaper major). This practice is called "up-the-line", and opener also follows it with his rebids. After you respond, if opener has a 4-card suit he can show at the one-level, he'll always bid it. If he has two 4-card suits, he'll bid the cheaper one.
This practice conserves space and assures that you'll always find a 4-4 major-suit fit if you have one. Here's an example:
Partner You
Q7 AK86
KQ65 J973
J102 65
KQJ4 865
Partner opens 1C. Even though your spades are stronger, the correct response with your hand is 1H (the cheaper of your 4-card suits). With the hand above, partner will raise to 2H, you'll pass, and you'll probably make an overtrick.
Look what happens if you violate the "up-the-line" practice and respond 1S with the hand above. Opener will assume that since you bypassed a 1H bid, you don't hold 4 hearts, so he'll rebid 1NT to show his minimum opener and keep the bidding low. Your hand isn't strong enough to risk going to the 2-level in a new suit, so you'll have to pass, and you've missed your 8-card heart fit. Your 1NT contract will go down if an opponent has 5 or more diamonds.
Now change partner's hand by moving two of the small hearts to spades, giving him Q765 KQ J102 KQJ4.
With this hand, he won't raise hearts, but he has room to bid 1S to show a 4-card suit, which you'll raise to 2S. By responding your cheaper major, you've left room to find a possible fit in either major.
Note that there are three more basic tenets of bridge bidding that opener and responder are following here:
1) New suits at the one-level are forcing. With rare exceptions, after an opening and a response, neither of you should pass until you've reached a contract of 1NT or 2 of a suit.
2) If you hold a balanced minimum , don't bid past 1NT unless you know you have a trump fit. This rule applies to opener (whose minimum is 13-15 pts.) and responder (6-9 pts.). In general, when you have a weak hand with only 4-card suits, the only time you should go to the 2-level is when you're raising partner's suit to confirm an 8+-card fit.
3) If partner bypasses a suit he could have bid at the one-level, you should assume he does not have 4-card length in it. The only time you should ever bid a suit partner has denied is when you have significant extra values and want to force the auction higher (see the lesson on The Reverse).
Bypassing diamonds
Many pairs apply the "up-the-line" principle only to majors, and they will bypass a 4-card diamond suit -- or even a 5-carder -- to show their cheaper major. The weaker your hand, the more anxious you should be to follow this guideline.
________________________________________
When you're 5-4
The up-the-line rule applies only when you have 4-card suits of equal length. If you have suits of unequal length, you should still show your longer one first.
If your 5-card suit is lower in rank than your 4-carder, you won't have to bid both of them. If partner opens 1C, respond 1H with K1092 QJ983 8 Q64 . If partner now rebids 1NT, you won't have to worry about showing your spades because you know you don't have a fit there -- since partner bypassed a 1S bid, you should assume that he does not hold 4 spades. Over 1NT, you would bid 2H and partner will pass.
If your 5-card suit is higher in rank than your 4-card suit, there will be many auctions where you'll want to bid both suits. If partner opens 1D, you would respond 1S with J10942 KJ86 K7 54. This will imply that you don't have 4 hearts, but if partner rebids 1NT, you plan to show your heart suit by bidding 2H. Partner will know you had a good reason for skipping hearts with your first response, and that reason has to be that your spades are longer. This specific auction is not forcing and asks partner to choose between your two suits, either by passing (if he prefers hearts) or by bidding 2S. Going to the 2-level is safe here because partner's 1NT rebid promises at least 2-3 cards in every suit, so you know you have a fair fit.
________________________________________
When you're 5-5
A different principle operates when you have two 5-card suits. In this case, you should respond the higher-ranking suit first, and then bid the lower-ranking one. With two long suits, you'll often want to force partner to choose one, so it's important to plan your bids so you can leave partner with maximum bidding space on the second round of the auction.
If partner opens 1D and you hold K8742 KJ952 J 43, you should respond 1S (the higher-ranking suit). If partner rebids 1NT, you'll bid 2H, which is non-forcing and lets him choose between your suits at the 2-level. If you instead responded 1H on the first round, you would have to bid 2S at your next turn. If partner preferred hearts, he'd have to go up to the 3-level to take you back to that suit.
If you have a weak hand and partner does not rebid 1NT, you'll have to give up on showing both of your suits. With the hand above, after 1D by partner--1S by you--2D by partner, you should pass. A 2H rebid by you would be forcing here, and your hand is too weak to risk taking this non-fitting auction any higher.
This approach works well with stronger hands, too. For example, if partner opens 1C, you would bid 1S with
AK1084 KJ872 J3 4. Over partner's 1NT rebid, you would now jump to 3H (because, as noted above, 2H would not be forcing here). If partner has 3-card spade support, he'll bid 3S over your 3H. If he has 4 hearts, he'll raise to 4H. If he has neither of these holdings, he'll rebid 3NT and you can now complete the picture of your hand by bidding 4H.
________________________________________
When you're 4-4 or 4-4-4
If partner opens and you have two or three 4-card suits you could bid at the one-level, you should respond your cheapest suit (or, with a weak hand, your cheaper major). This practice is called "up-the-line", and opener also follows it with his rebids. After you respond, if opener has a 4-card suit he can show at the one-level, he'll always bid it. If he has two 4-card suits, he'll bid the cheaper one.
This practice conserves space and assures that you'll always find a 4-4 major-suit fit if you have one. Here's an example:
Partner You
Q7 AK86
KQ65 J973
J102 65
KQJ4 865
Partner opens 1C. Even though your spades are stronger, the correct response with your hand is 1H (the cheaper of your 4-card suits). With the hand above, partner will raise to 2H, you'll pass, and you'll probably make an overtrick.
Look what happens if you violate the "up-the-line" practice and respond 1S with the hand above. Opener will assume that since you bypassed a 1H bid, you don't hold 4 hearts, so he'll rebid 1NT to show his minimum opener and keep the bidding low. Your hand isn't strong enough to risk going to the 2-level in a new suit, so you'll have to pass, and you've missed your 8-card heart fit. Your 1NT contract will go down if an opponent has 5 or more diamonds.
Now change partner's hand by moving two of the small hearts to spades, giving him Q765 KQ J102 KQJ4.
With this hand, he won't raise hearts, but he has room to bid 1S to show a 4-card suit, which you'll raise to 2S. By responding your cheaper major, you've left room to find a possible fit in either major.
Note that there are three more basic tenets of bridge bidding that opener and responder are following here:
1) New suits at the one-level are forcing. With rare exceptions, after an opening and a response, neither of you should pass until you've reached a contract of 1NT or 2 of a suit.
2) If you hold a balanced minimum , don't bid past 1NT unless you know you have a trump fit. This rule applies to opener (whose minimum is 13-15 pts.) and responder (6-9 pts.). In general, when you have a weak hand with only 4-card suits, the only time you should go to the 2-level is when you're raising partner's suit to confirm an 8+-card fit.
3) If partner bypasses a suit he could have bid at the one-level, you should assume he does not have 4-card length in it. The only time you should ever bid a suit partner has denied is when you have significant extra values and want to force the auction higher (see the lesson on The Reverse).
Bypassing diamonds
Many pairs apply the "up-the-line" principle only to majors, and they will bypass a 4-card diamond suit -- or even a 5-carder -- to show their cheaper major. The weaker your hand, the more anxious you should be to follow this guideline.
________________________________________
When you're 5-4
The up-the-line rule applies only when you have 4-card suits of equal length. If you have suits of unequal length, you should still show your longer one first.
If your 5-card suit is lower in rank than your 4-carder, you won't have to bid both of them. If partner opens 1C, respond 1H with K1092 QJ983 8 Q64 . If partner now rebids 1NT, you won't have to worry about showing your spades because you know you don't have a fit there -- since partner bypassed a 1S bid, you should assume that he does not hold 4 spades. Over 1NT, you would bid 2H and partner will pass.
If your 5-card suit is higher in rank than your 4-card suit, there will be many auctions where you'll want to bid both suits. If partner opens 1D, you would respond 1S with J10942 KJ86 K7 54. This will imply that you don't have 4 hearts, but if partner rebids 1NT, you plan to show your heart suit by bidding 2H. Partner will know you had a good reason for skipping hearts with your first response, and that reason has to be that your spades are longer. This specific auction is not forcing and asks partner to choose between your two suits, either by passing (if he prefers hearts) or by bidding 2S. Going to the 2-level is safe here because partner's 1NT rebid promises at least 2-3 cards in every suit, so you know you have a fair fit.
________________________________________
When you're 5-5
A different principle operates when you have two 5-card suits. In this case, you should respond the higher-ranking suit first, and then bid the lower-ranking one. With two long suits, you'll often want to force partner to choose one, so it's important to plan your bids so you can leave partner with maximum bidding space on the second round of the auction.
If partner opens 1D and you hold K8742 KJ952 J 43, you should respond 1S (the higher-ranking suit). If partner rebids 1NT, you'll bid 2H, which is non-forcing and lets him choose between your suits at the 2-level. If you instead responded 1H on the first round, you would have to bid 2S at your next turn. If partner preferred hearts, he'd have to go up to the 3-level to take you back to that suit.
If you have a weak hand and partner does not rebid 1NT, you'll have to give up on showing both of your suits. With the hand above, after 1D by partner--1S by you--2D by partner, you should pass. A 2H rebid by you would be forcing here, and your hand is too weak to risk taking this non-fitting auction any higher.
This approach works well with stronger hands, too. For example, if partner opens 1C, you would bid 1S with
AK1084 KJ872 J3 4. Over partner's 1NT rebid, you would now jump to 3H (because, as noted above, 2H would not be forcing here). If partner has 3-card spade support, he'll bid 3S over your 3H. If he has 4 hearts, he'll raise to 4H. If he has neither of these holdings, he'll rebid 3NT and you can now complete the picture of your hand by bidding 4H.
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