Do the writers of bridge books get better hands than I do?

I just casually re-skimmed an intro bridge book, prior to lending it to a new player, and I was reminded of how my group's little system has diverged from the standard American we were taught.

One significant shift is in the way we handle powerful hands (also fondly known as rockcrushers, bunker-busters, and other compound nouns that suggest their unstoppable strength).

Classically we're taught to open 2C with a strong hand of 22+ points; 2NT with 21-22; and 3NT with 24-26 points. With fewer than 22 points, open at the one level.

Now, in all my years of playing bridge, I think I've held a 22-point hand once or twice, and never anything stronger. I'm sure it's a fine thing to be able to deal with these beauties when they come up, but if they are so rare, I don't quite see the sense in having so many calls dedicated to magical hands that occur so rarely, when those could be applied to more common situations.

As a result, our little group currently bids:

1NT: 15-17 points and a balanced hand
2NT: 18-20 points and a balanced hand
2C: 20+ points -- can be shaded toward 18 points if you have an especially nice suit, or two nice suits

It seems to work quite well. The potential downsides, I guess, are that it becomes a little more difficult to find the perfect contract when you hold a real atom-smasher, but I have not been blessed with that particular problem much.

What do you think? Are we missing out by adjusting our system this way?

Running score tally

full page view

The WSJ notices bridge

There's not a great deal of meat in this wry appreciation of the game written by Alexander McCall Smith for the Wall Street Journal's "Life & Style" section, but it's not wrong, I'd say.

Send the link, perhaps, to non-playing friends as a way to explain where we all disappear to so often.

To force or not to force

I've learned a lot since I wrote about The 18-21 Problem, but I'm still somewhat plagued by hands like this one, which I held last night.

 A 5

 A K Q J 7 5

 Q 8

 Q 9 7

I dealt and have to bid. With 18 high-card points and a solid major suit, I suspect we have a shot at game even if partner's hand is weak. In our Standard American variant, there's no realistic way to force my partner to respond. I opened 1H and was left to play it there. Here's the complete deal:

North

 K J 10 6 4

 9 8

 4 3

 J 8 6 5

West

 Q 9 7

 10 3 2

 A 10 9 6

 K 10 4

East

 8 3 2

 6 4

 K J 7 5 2

 A 2 3

South

 A 5

 A K Q J 7 5

 Q 8

 Q 9 7

Perfect defense would have scored four minor tricks off the top, but their communication faltered. With that luck and the successful spade finesse, I made four overtricks: a total of 5H, if only we had bid it.

What's to be done with hands like these? Leave them alone, because on the whole they are settable? Or push harder to get good results when good results are possible?

Healthy nerves

Here's a photo of a Camel ad that I snapped at New York's Science, Industry, and Business Library's exhibition of cigarette ads. Click the thumbnail above to see the whole thing.

A friendly game

This is a photo from Life magazine; click it to see it full-size.

Four people playing a bridge game at the Goldings as others look on.
Location: Westchester, NY, US
Date taken: April 24, 1888
Photographer: Wallace G. Levison

Two of hearts

All the kids are doing MP3 blogs, I hear, and when a new pop hit concerns questions of card-playing, I do not mind joining them.

Remember Stacey Q? Annie does.

Bridge in a browser

At last, Bridge Base's browser-based online bridge software is out of beta! Now anyone -- that means you, Mac people -- can play online with a world-class community of bridge players, any time, totally free.

Check it out!

Some doubles

"What did her double mean?" is one of those questions that gets tossed around the casual bridge table. (I'll get to "is that forcing?" another time.)

Here is a look at some popular doubles, where they are found, and what they mean.


Takeout double

West	North	East	South
1	Dbl	Pass

This is a double, early in the auction, that asks -- nay, forces -- the doubler's partner to bid a suit. The doubler has opening points and support for the unbid suits.

West	North	East	South
3	Pass	Pass	Dbl
Pass

Takeout doubles apply after a preemptive opening just as they do after a 1-level opening. You may pass your partner's double of a preempt only if you are rather sure you can set the contract.


If a player's first bid is a double, chances are that double is for takeout. If the player has bid already in the auction and then doubles on a later round, chances are that double is not for takeout.


Strength-showing double
This is still a takeout double but I'm giving it its own section to call attention to it. Whenever you overcall, you indicate your point count. A jump overcall is the weakest bid you can make that's not a pass. A non-jump overcall is stronger, promising 10+ points. If you have a whopping hand in overcalling position, regardless of your suit distribution, double. This is the strongest bid you can make. It forces your partner to bid.

In the next round, with 13 or so points, pass your partner's suit unless it's awful. If you bid a new suit after your double -- especially at a higher level -- that indicates you have more points.

Responsive double

West	North	East	South
1	Dbl	2	Dbl

This is a double in response to partner's takeout double. Partner has support for the unbid suits and wants you to pick one -- you have points too, and want him to pick a suit.

West	North	East	South
1	2	2	Dbl

It also works when partner has named a suit you don't like, to say you have points but no support for that; can he name his second suit please?


Business double
This is the original double, the double they were doing in the 16th century, also known as the penalty double. It comes when the opponents' auction is drawing to a close and you don't think they can make it; e.g. if you have four trumps in your hand, or if they seemed to be struggling to find a fit.

Matos double
This is a version of the business double. Its actual origin is lost in history, but it's named for Michaelangelo Matos, the dearly remembered founder of this site. A Matos double is a penalty double issued by a player who has a void in the trump suit, having deduced that his partner probably has a lot of trump. The declarer will assume the doubler is the one with the excess of trump, and misplay the hand.

Negative double

West	North	East	South
1	2	Dbl

This form of takeout double occurs after partner has bid and the opponent has overcalled. It says: "I have some points and a suit, but thee opponent got in the way of my naming it." In the diagram, the doubler has spades but fewer than 10 points, so can't bid 2S.

Lead-directing double

West	North	East	South
1	Pass	2	Pass
3	Pass	3	Pass
4NT	Pass	4	Dbl
6	Pass	Pass	Pass

This is an opportunistic double, usually in the middle of the opponents' auction. It's clear that the opponents have all the points and are going to play a game or a slam. You double a suit they happen to mention en route, as a way of indicating that this is the suit you'd like led to you if you have a chance of defeating the contract. In the diagram, South wants North to open with a diamond. 4NT is Blackwood, of course.

Lightner double

West	North	East	South
1	Pass	1	Pass
2	Pass	6	Dbl
Pass	Pass	Pass

This is a conventional double. It is a double of a slam bid that sounds like a penalty double (and functions as one, because it's the final bid) but has the conventional meaning of requesting that partner choose an unusual lead, not what he would have led otherwise. The doubler may have a void in a side suit, or honors in dummy's suit, such that a non-standard lead may be the only way to defeat the slam. Sitting North in the diagram, I would lead a heart.

There are plenty more doubles where those came from. What's your favorite?