Hand of the day #337
You can now play the hand of the day on BBO+ and compare how you get on with the...
This conundrum was written by Barbara Seagram's and was originally published in the book Beginning Bridge - you can find out all about it further down the page.
Opening the Bidding
Okay, so you pick up your hand and count your points, both HCP and distribution. Assume for now that you are the dealer. You have the first chance to bid. How do you decide if you should open the bidding? In Standard American, we require a minimum of 13 total points (the bridge ‘magic number’) to open the bidding with one of a suit. This means that when you open, you will have a hand that is at least a little bit better than an average hand. With 13 points, you should always open the bidding. With 12 points or less, you should pass
The Rule of 20
If you are counting short suits, then skip over this section. When you are counting long suits, you sometimes have a hand that has 11 or 12 points after counting both length and distribution. You theoretically do not have enough to open the bidding. You might have no long suits:
♠A865 ♥A743 ♦A654 ♣4
.
You have 12 HCP and no long-suit points. Take it from us, you will want to open the bidding on this hand. To make your final decision about whether to pass or open the bidding, use the Rule of 20 to evaluate your hand.
Here’s how it works. Count up your HCP and then add in the lengths of your two longest suits. If the total comes to 20 or more, you have permission to open the bidding. In the example above, your hand now adds to 20 (12 + 4 + 4). Similarly:
♠AK863 ♥K7432 ♦72 ♣4
You have 10 HCP. Using the rule of 20 you have: 10 HCP + 5 + 5 = 20 Open the bidding.
REMEMBER THIS!
If your hand measures up to the Rule of 20, you can now consider it an opening bid or the equivalent of 13 points
Bidding or Passing
Remember that bidding is a language and everything you say or don’t say carries a message. When you open one of a suit, you are telling your partner that you have a hand that meets the standards for an opening bid with at least 13 points (or it meets the Rule of 20 if you are using long-suit counting). By the same token, when you pass instead of opening, you are telling partner that you have fewer than 13 points.
With this hand, you should open the bidding:
♠KQJ83 ♥A542 ♦Q32 ♣5
But not with this hand:
♠KQ983 ♥K542 ♦Q32 ♣5
It doesn't matter whether you know a heart from a spade right now - by the time you finish this book you'll be able to enjoy a social game of bridge with your friends. This book, for complete beginners, is based on the material that Barbara uses in her own classes to introduce new players to the game every year. Every aspect of the game of bridge is covered - bidding, declarer play, defensive cardplay and scoring - with user-friendly tips, stories and quizzes to help you have fun while you learn.
