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Quick summary

You and your partner should focus on getting to a "game" on every hand possible, so you can get the 400 to 600 points for victory. The penalty for failure is usually small.

  1. Check if your hand is balanced
  2. Find out if you have 25 points between you
  3. Do you have an 8-card match ?

With 25 and balanced, bid NT game.

With 25 and Major fit, bid Major game.

spadeheartdiamondclub

Print cribsheet

Bridge Venue

Example Deal
West
spade K 8 3
heart K 5
diamond A 3 2
club K 10 9 7 6
+North
+East
+South
Example Deal
You: West
Dealer: West
Vuln: N-S


Choice of suit in a game going hand.
..
Go to quiz (& full page) of deal # 126019
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WestNorthEastSouth
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«  0001  »

Bidding Objectives = "8 and 25"

The essential things you really need to know

When you bid, the main things you are trying to communicate to each other about your hands are, in order of importance, whether you have:

  1. balanced or unbalanced hands;
  2. a fit either in a Major suit heart spade, or in No Trumps (NT), or failing these, a minor suit club diamond;
  3. sufficient trumps between you for game in a suit: 8 needed for game;
  4. sufficient points between you for game: 25 is the minimum you need for a game in "No Trumps", or in a Major suit. (28 for a minor if you must!)

If you find you have balanced hands, with stopper in all suits, you can play in NT. With NT, both of you need to be (and you can be) very specific about the number of points you have.  If you have 25 points, you should bid up to game (3NT). Bid to game in the knowledge that 25 points should win the game 75% of the time (but with 24 the odds are against you).

If you are unbalanced and therefore must play in a suit, then 25 points is also a good initial guide for bidding up to game (a bid of 4, provided it's in a Major suit). But note, when counting points with a suit contract, shape is important. Credit needs to be given for length and for voids and singletons, unless the short suits are in trumps of course! For a minor, reckon on 28 to be able to bid the 5 tricks needed for game. . . (but in any case try to find something easier to bid, such as 3NT).

How can you be so specific ? The bidding pages & charts explain in detail how. Look out for the thin blue line below the menu bar. There is a simpler version for beginners and revision - with a green line below the menu bar.

1. Bidding strategy
1 Check if your hand is balanced no voids / singletons, max 1 doubleton, max one 5-card suit, long minor useful
2 Do you have an 8-card fit ?  
3 Find out if you have 25 points between you include shape points (and shortage points only if you have 8 trump fit)
Decision a). with 25 and balanced: bid NT game
  b). with 25 and Major fit: bid Major game
Add to your customised cribsheet

Now try the quiz

Can you put all this into action ? Try the quiz for this subject by clicking on the link at the top left of the page, just below the main menu.
(You can try quizzes for any other subjects too while you're there. Look out for the thin red line).

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spadeheartdiamondclub

 


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