The Times Beginner’s Guide to Bridge电子书

Dedication

Contents

Introduction

Welcome to bridge

First steps

A short history

1 Appetiser

The mechanics

Cards and ranking

Drawing for partners and dealer

Shuffling and dealing etiquette

A trick

A trump

Overtrumping

Your 13 cards – your ‘hand’

Counting points

Making tricks

Counting tricks

Which order to take (‘cash’) the tricks

Extra tricks by force

Extra tricks by length

Trumping

Drawing trumps

Counting trumps

Introducing the bidding

Opening the bidding

After the bidding has opened

After the bidding has ended

After the play

2 Basics

Bidding

Balanced or unbalanced hand?

Opening with a balanced hand

Opening with an unbalanced hand

Finding a fit (making a suit trumps)

Bidding to a game contract

When to go for game

Responding to a 1NT opener

Responding to a suit opener

Bidding after an opponent’s opener

Overcalling

Doubling

Play

Playing our first deal in no-trumps

Defending

Opening lead

Defending against no-trumps

Defending against trumps

After the lead

Three basic deals

3 Core

More on bidding

Opening the bidding

Which suit to open?

Opener’s rebid

Responding to a 1NT opener

Which zone?

Part-score

Part-score/game

Game

Rebid by 1NT opener

Responding to a suit opener

Responder’s support line

Responding without a fit

The Rule of 14

The ‘dustbin’ 1NT

After the ‘dustbin’ 1NT response

More on overcalling

Suit Quality Overcall Test (SQOT)

Supporting an overcall

Overcalling no-trumps

Fulfilling your contract

Tricks without using trumps

Cashing tricks in the right order

By force

By length

By position (the ‘finesse’)

Tricks with trumps

Counting trumps and the Rule of One

When to draw trumps

More on defence

Opening lead

Defending against no-trumps

Picking the suit

Picking the card

Defending against trumps

Picking the suit

Picking the card

Defence issues

Interpreting your partner’s lead

Switching

A typical trick

Second player plays low

Third player plays high

Signalling

Discarding

Ten core deals

4 Development

Double

Two types of double

Take-out double

Responding to a take-out double

Responding to opener – cancelling the double

Take-out or penalty?

Low-level penalty doubles

High level penalty doubles

Doubles of no-trumps

Redouble

Bidding a slam

Grand slams and small slams

Bidding slam in no-trumps

Bidding slams in trump suits

The Blackwood convention

When to use ‘Blackwood’

When not to use Blackwood

4NT: the two meanings

Opening above the One level

Opening 2NT

Responding to 2NT

Opening 2♦, 2♥, 2♠

Responding to 2♦, 2♥, 2♠

Pre-emptive bidding

Opening at the Three level

Responding to Three-level openers

Opening at the Four level

Pre-empting after opponent’s opener

What to do if your opponents pre-empt

The Opening 2♣convention

When to use 2♣

Responding to 2♣

The Stayman convention

Why use Stayman?

When to use Stayman

‘Phoney Stayman’

Opener’s continuations

Bidding review

Opening the bidding

Responding to One-of-a-suit

Opener’s rebid

After hearing support

After hearing a change of suit

Opener’s rebid strategy – according to shape

Opener is balanced

Opener is one-suited: 6322, 6331

Opener is two-suited: 5431, 5422, 5521

Opener is both one-suited and two-suited: 6421, 6430

Opener is three-suited: 4441

Responder’s rebid

Opener rebid no-trumps

Opener supported responder’s suit

Opener repeated his suit

Opener bid a third suit

Coping with opposing intervention

Understanding contested auctions

Evaluating a bridge hand

Assessing your hand

Listening to the bidding

Ten developing deals

Being a good partner

Good partnership guidelines

5 Scoring and systems

How to score bridge

Objective

The score-pad

The scores

Game

Undertricks

Overtricks

Winning the rubber

Scoring doubles

Doubled undertricks

Doubled contracts that make

Redoubled contracts

Scoring slams

Scoring honours

Bridge types and systems

Chicago (‘Four-Deal’) Bridge

Duplicate Bridge

Minibridge

Bridge systems

Further bridge resources

Websites

Apps

Software

Specialist outlets

Books

Magazines

Glossary

Index

About the Author

About the Publisher