Bridge For Dummies®, 2nd Edition
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2006926377
ISBN-13: 978-0-471-92426-5 Manufactured in the United States of America
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Eddie Kantar, a transplanted Californian, is one of the best-known bridge writers in the world. He has more than 30 bridge books in print, some translated into 8 languages, and is a regular contributor to the Bulletin, The Bridge World, Bridge Today, and many other bridge publications.
Eddie, a two-time World Champion, is highly regarded as a player and known as one of bridge’s great ambassadors.
Eddie learned to play bridge at age 11. By the time he was 17, he was teaching the game to his friends. Eddie was so enthusiastic about bridge that he often took his bridge books to school, hiding them behind his textbooks so that the teachers couldn’t see him reading about bridge during class. At the University of Minnesota, where Eddie studied foreign languages, he taught bridge to pay his tuition.
Eddie gained stature as a player by winning 2 World Championship titles and 11 North American Championships. His North American titles include wins in the Spingold Knockout Teams, the Reisinger Board-a-Match Teams, the Vanderbilt Knockout Teams, and the Grand National Teams. Eddie is a Grand Master in World Bridge Federation rankings and an ACBL Grand Life Master.
Today Eddie is best known as a writer, and many of his books are considered classics. When not playing bridge or writing about the subject, he can be found playing paddle tennis (an offshoot of tennis) or bridge at the paddle tennis courts at Venice Beach (come and join the fun in either game). By the way, Eddie is the only person ever to have played in both a World Bridge Championship and a World Table Tennis Championship (he did better at bridge).
Eddie was inducted into the Bridge Hall of Fame in 1996, the same year he was inducted into the Minnesota State Table Tennis Hall of Fame.
I’d like to dedicate this book to my mom and dad, who stuck with me even when all the relatives were telling them that I’d come to no good end being a card player and asking why I didn’t find a “regular” job like everybody else. Thanks for hanging in there with me.
I have to start by thanking Joyce Pepple, the acquisitions director, who I convinced that the diagrams in the first edition had to go. She, along with Stacy Kennedy, the acquisitions editor, were instrumental in convincing the powers that be that the diagrams needed more of a “bridge look.”
Second, I would like to thank Georgette Beatty, my project editor. Georgette is an absolute dream to work with. She couldn’t have been more supportive, and her ideas, suggestions, and corrections were spot on each time.
I also had a great copy editor, Krista Hansing, and an equally wonderful technical reviewer, Cyndy Cradick. What a team!
But every team needs a coach and I had the best: my wife, Yvonne. Her patience and understanding of just how far to go in this book saved me headaches and heartaches, not to mention extra work. Just as with the first edition, there would have been no second edition without Yvonne. I kid you not.
We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/.
Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development
Project Editor: Georgette Beatty
(Previous Edition: Mary Goodwin)
Acquisitions Editor: Stacy Kennedy
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Editorial Program Coordinator: Hanna K. Scott
Technical Editor: Cyndy Cradick
Editorial Manager: Michelle Hacker
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Special Help Victoria M. Adang
Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies
Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies
Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies
Kristin A. Cocks, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies
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Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel
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Title
Introduction
About This Book
Conventions Used in This Book
What You’re Not to Read
Foolish Assumptions
How This Book Is Organized
Icons Used in This Book
Where to Go from Here
Part I : Beginning with Basic Notrump Play
Chapter 1: Going to Bridge Boot Camp
Starting a Game with the Right Stuff
Ranking the Cards
Knowing Your Directions
Playing the Game in Phases
Understanding Notrump and Trump Play
Building Your Skills with Clubs, Tournaments, and the Internet
Chapter 2: Counting and Taking Sure Tricks
Counting Sure Tricks after the Dummy Comes Down
Taking Sure Tricks
Chapter 3: Using Winning Trick Techniques at Notrump Play
Establishing Tricks with Lower Honor Cards
Taking Tricks with Small Cards
Chapter 4: Outsmarting Your Opponents at Notrump Play
Slipping Lower Honors Past Higher Honors: The Finesse
Cutting Communications: The Hold-Up Play
Overtaking One Honor with Another
Part II : Playing the Hand in a Trump Contract
Chapter 5: Introducing Trump Suits
Understanding the Basics of Trump Suits
Eliminating Your Opponents’ Trump Cards
Looking at How Trump Suits Can Be Divided
Counting Losers and Extra Winners
Chapter 6: Creating Extra Winners and Discarding Losers
Establishing Extra Winners in the Dummy
Finessing for Extra Winners
Determining How to Make Your Contract with Extra Winners
Chapter 7: Establishing the Dummy’s Long Suit
Turning Small Cards into Winning Tricks
Setting Up a Long Suit with a Finesse
Paying Attention to Long Suits in the Dummy
Making a Grand Slam with Long-Suit Establishment
Chapter 8: Getting Rid of Losers by Using the Dummy’s Trump Cards
Understanding the Concept of Using the Dummy’s Trumps to Your Advantage
Knowing When to Trump in the Short Hand
Saving Enough Trumps in the Dummy When Facing a Counterattack
Steering Clear of Trumping Losers in the Long Hand
Part III : Bidding for Fun and Profit
Chapter 9: Starting with Bidding Basics
Grasping the Importance of Bidding
Surveying the Stages of Bidding
Looking at the Structure and the Rank of a Bid
Settling Who Plays the Hand
Valuing the Strength of Your Hand
Chapter 10: Making a Successful Opening Bid
The Basics of Opening the Bidding
Opening the Bidding with 12 to 20 HCP in Your Hand
Opening the Bidding with 21 or More HCP
Making a Preemptive Opening Bid with 6 to 10 HCP
Chapter 11: Responding to an Opening Bid
Knowing When You Can Respond to an Opening Bid
Responding to a 1' Opening Bid
Responding to a 1l Opening Bid
Responding to a 1k Opening Bid
Responding to a 1; Opening Bid
Responding to a 1NT Opening Bid
Responding with a Jump Shift
Chapter 12: Rebidding by the Opener
Knowing When to Rebid and When to Pass
Rebidding After a One-Over-One Response
Rebidding After a Two-Over-One Response
Rebidding After a Limited Response
Chapter 13: Rebidding by the Responder
Becoming the Captain
Rebidding After Your Limited Response of 1NT
Rebidding After Your Partner Rebids 1NT
Rebidding Notrump After Your Partner Shows Two Suits
Rebidding with Four-Card Support for Your Partner’s Second Suit
Rebidding After Your Partner Repeats Her Suit
Rebidding Your Long Suit
Rebidding After a Two-Over-One Response
Playing the Waiting Game
Part IV : Taking Advantage of Advanced Bidding Techniques
Chapter 14: Creating Interference: Defensive Bidding
Getting Nasty with the Bad Guys: Overcalling
Listen Carefully: Responding to Your Partner’s Overcall
Chapter 15: Double Trouble: Doubling and Redoubling
Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is: The Penalty Double
Talking Back: Redoubling
Taking a Chance on a Takeout Double
Communicating Length: The Negative Double
Chapter 16: Hitting Hard: Slam Bidding
Getting to Know Your Slams
Bidding Notrump Slams
Bidding Slams at a Trump Contract
Part V : Playing a Strong Defense and Keeping Score
Chapter 17: Defending against Notrump Contracts
Making the Opening Lead against a Notrump Contract
Playing Third Hand against a Notrump Contract
Chapter 18: Defending against Trump Contracts
Opening Leads against a Trump Contract
Third-Hand Play against a Trump Contract
Chapter 19: Playing Second Hand
Playing Second Hand with Vision
Defending with the Dummy on Your Right
Defending with the Dummy on Your Left
Chapter 20: Wrapping Up with Scorekeeping
Knowing What It Takes to Win
Making Your Contract
Charting Your Points
Drawing Lines: The Basics of Scoring a Rubber
Not Making Your Contract: Handling Penalties
Scoring Slams
Scoring Doubled and Redoubled Contracts
Another Option: Playing Chicago
Playing Duplicate Bridge
Part VI : Becoming Addicted to Bridge
Chapter 21: Joining Bridge Clubs and the Tournament World
Connecting with Your Local Bridge Club
Playing in Novice Tournaments
Advancing in the Tournament World
Enjoying the Major Tournaments
Chapter 22: Playing Bridge on Your Computer and the Internet
Learning Bridge from Software Programs
Surfing for Bridge Web Sites
Part VII : The Part of Tens
Chapter 23: Ten Ways to Be Kind to Your Partner
Treat Your Partner Like Your Best Friend
Tolerate Your Partner’s Errors
Keep a Poker Face
Deal Well with Disaster
Play Conventions You Both Want to Play
Pick Up the Slack for the Weaker Player
Own Up to Your Own Errors
Offer Words of Encouragement
Treat Your Partner the Same Whether You Win or Lose
Know When to Have Fun
Chapter 24: Ten Great Bridge Resources (Besides This Book)
The American Contract Bridge League
Your Local Bridge Club
Adult Education Classes
Your Local Library and Bookstore
The Daily Bridge Column in Your Newspaper
Bridge Magazines
The Internet
The Daily Bridge Calendar
Bridge Supply Houses
Bridge Travel
Bridge, quite simply, is the best card game ever. No other game even comes close. Of course, I may be a little biased. I’ve been playing since I was 11 years old, when my best friend’s father asked our gambling group, “Why don’t you guys find a good game to play?” What I found was a great game, and I’ve never looked back.
What exactly is it about bridge that fascinates countless millions, has fascinated countless millions, and will continue to fascinate countless millions? Let me count the ways:
Bridge is a social game: You play with a partner and two opponents. Right off the bat, you have four people together. Inevitably, you meet a host of new friends with a strong common bond, the game of bridge. Bridge is not an “I” game — bridge is a “we” game.
Bridge is a challenging game: Each hand is an adventure; each hand presents a unique set of conditions that you react to and solve. You have to do a little thinking. Studies have proven that playing bridge keeps the brain cells active, which is helpful when you get a bit older.
Bridge is a game of psychology: If you fancy yourself a keen observer of human behavior, look no further. You have found your niche. Players aren’t supposed to show any emotion during the play, but the dam always has a few leaks.
Bridge is fun: Hours become minutes! Playing bridge can mean endless hours of pleasure, a host of new friends, and many laughs.
If you’re an absolute beginner, this is the book for you. I take you on a hand-held tour explaining the fundamentals in terms you can understand. I walk you through the different aspects of the game, showing you real-life examples, so you can feel comfortable with the basics before you start to play.
If you have played (or tried to play) bridge before, this book still has much to offer you. I condense my years of experience with the game into tips and hints that can make you a better player. And you don’t have to read the book from start to finish if you don’t want to; just flip it open and find the chapter or part on the topic that you want to know more about.
If you’re a bridge novice, eventually you’ll have to play a few hands to feel like a real bridge player. This book offers an easy-to-follow path that will increase your comfort zone when you actually have to play on your own!
No, not bridge “conventions” yet! The conventions in this section refer to those used to help you navigate this book with maximum ease.
For example, I use a few symbols when referring to cards and bids. In a deck of cards, you have four suits: spades (
), hearts (
), diamonds (
), and clubs (
). When I refer to a particular card, I use abbreviations. For example, the six of spades becomes 6, and the jack of hearts transforms into J. However, when discussing the final contract, I use 6, not 6.
I talk a lot about cards in this book. Sometimes I want to show you all the cards in your hand, and sometimes I want to show you the cards in every player’s hand (that’s 52 cards!). Instead of listing those cards in the text, I set them aside in figures so you can more easily see who has which cards. The cards in a hand are separated by suit, making it even easier to see each player’s holdings.
In these figures, you may notice that I’ve assigned a “direction” to each of the four players: You see a North, South, East, and West. Again, I use directions to make it easier for you to follow the play as it goes around the table. For most of the book, you are South. If I want you to see something from a different perspective, I tell you where you’re seated.
When I talk about bidding (especially in Parts III and IV), I use a table like the following to show you how a bidding sequence progresses.
Don’t worry about what this bidding means. For now, I just want you to understand that you read these tables starting at the upper-left corner, continuing to the right until the fourth player, and then back to the second line and the first player. For example, for the preceding sequence, the bidding starts with the first player, South (who bids 1), and continues to the right until the fourth player, East (who passes). Then the sequence goes back to South, the first player, who passes.
To top it off, I use a few other general conventions:
Italics highlight defined terms.
Boldface text highlights key words in bulleted lists and the action part of numbered steps.
Monofont is used for Web addresses.
At times, it may seem that I overrun you with rules, but I’m just giving you guidelines, something to get you started. When you begin to play, you’ll see occasional exceptions to these guidelines. In bridge, “always” and “never” don’t apply. Just remember that bridge is based most of all on common sense. After reading this book, you’ll have a good idea of what to do when you encounter new situations.
When I wrote this book, it wasn’t with the intention of telling you what not to read! But if you can live without some items, they’re the sidebars (those shaded gray boxes featured throughout the chapters). Actually, some of them are pretty funny, but if you didn’t read them, you wouldn’t lose any of what you’re supposed to be learning.
I’m assuming that you’re not going to understand everything that you’re reading the first time around. Nobody does. Think of bridge as a foreign language. Patience, patience, patience.
I’m also assuming that you will go out and find three other people in your shoes who want to play bridge so you can practice. This is the “living end” for a beginner.
And I’m assuming that some of you want to understand the basics of bridge, while others may be seasoned players who want to pick up a few new techniques. I’m foolishly assuming that I can help both groups.
You’ll find the book divided into seven parts, each focusing on a different aspect of the game.
Chapter 1 starts at ground zero and describes the mechanics of the game, giving you a bird’s-eye view of bridge. The rest of the part discusses various techniques for taking tricks in a notrump contract.
In this part, you discover the special know-how you need so you can bring home the tricks when you end up in a trump contract.
This part also covers the fundamentals of bidding — when to bid, how high to bid, and how to shut up your partner!
This part deals with defensive bidding, doubles, and redoubles. I also introduce slam bidding.
You just can’t let your opponents walk all over you! In this part, you discover how to stick out your foot and really trip up your opponents with stellar defense. You also find out all about bridge scoring.
You will come to love this game. In this part, you can read up on finding the best software, playing in clubs and tournaments, and playing on the Internet.
In this part, you can read about the most important factor in any hand — your partner. This part also offers a list of some really great bridge resources that you can use after you put this book back on the shelf. (But of course, you can always take this book off the shelf and use it over and over again!)
The icons used in this book highlight important topics and help you pick out what you want to know.
I describe many plays and sample hands throughout this book. To get a real feel for the game, try reading the book with a deck of cards nearby. In fact, you can save yourself weeks or months of time if you lay out the cards that you see in the example diagrams and play the cards as I suggest.
Better yet, try to find three other players who want to play this exciting game. You can read the book together and actually practice playing the hands as you read. Experience is the best teacher, and if you’re not ready for a real hand, you can use the material in this book as a kind of dry run.
If you are completely new to bridge, head straight to Chapter 1 so you can get a feel for the game. If you’re an old bridge pro, you can start anywhere you like and read the chapters in any order you like.
If, during the course of reading this book, you feel like you just have to get in on the action, feel free to jump into any game you can find. Play as often as you can. It’s the best way to learn. You can find information about bridge clubs and tournaments in Chapter 21.
Finally, log onto the Net for more bridge info or even online play! Yes, you can play online! Check out Chapter 22 for more on this topic.
In this part . . .
Don’t get scared off by the title of the first chapter — “Going to Bridge Boot Camp.” I promise, I won’t ask you to drop and give me 20 sit-ups. But you can consider this chapter a kind of induction into the world of bridge; I cover all the fundamentals you need to get a quick start with the game.
In the rest of the part, I go over the various elements of playing a hand at a notrump contract, in which the highest card in the suit wins the shootin’ match (the trick). I show you how to count and take sure tricks, use winning techniques, and outsmart your opponents.