Rules and guidelines in our bidding systems aim to give us the best way of communicating information about our hand to partner. But this isn't the whole story and our own judgement... more
How often do you bid 6NT or 7NT? Probably not often enough! Bidding and making a slam contract is a challenging but very satisfying aspect of bridge, rewarded with high scores. You... more
What do you do when you and partner can't find an eight-card suit fit? Frequently you will find yourself in a NT contract going down - misfit hands can be a real challenge. Take a ... more
When partner opens one of a minor suit (diamonds or clubs) it may be fine to support with four or more cards. However, if you hold a 4-card major suit (spades or hearts) it is usua... more
When partner has bid two suits and you have a weak hand and no 8-card fit, it's usually best to leave the contract in the longest suit at the lowest level possible. It can be easy... more
Taking a finesse is a technique to try and make an extra trick or tricks by winning with a lower honour card when opponents have higher honour cards. It works about 50% of the tim... more
4441 hands are difficult to open as they have no long suit and they're not really balanced. If you open one of a suit and bid a second suit you promise five or more cards in the fi... more
The opening bid of 1NT shows a balanced hand 12 –14 HCP (Acol) or 15-17 (Standard). In both systems, an opening bid of 2NT is much stronger and shows around 20 – 22 HCP. The hand n... more
It may not be immediately obvious, but you can't win extra tricks by trumping in the hand with the long trump holding - this is usually the dummy hand. Trying to do so may leave yo... more
The advice to 'cover an honour with an honour' aims to force declarer to use two high cards to win a trick. When this happens, it often promotes a card that can win a trick for you... more