[Lesh18]

Hi guys

I am new to bridge, have completed the ACBL course for beginners, but I am still stuck with the bidding bit.
It is obvious that it is bidding what makes bridge such a complex game.

1) Do I understand it correctly, that Acol or Standard American are both convention systems, and Blackwood or Stayment are conventions on its own? So those systems contain numerous conventions, and it is also possible to add or remove or even make up my own conventions?

2) Is there any convention system suitable for very beginners?

3) Which kind of Contract bridge do you recommend for a casual play? ACBL course teaches me to bid depending on whether I am to score a game, partial or slams. But in Rubber bridge there are no bonus points for scoring a game one one deal, so the bidding system ACBL teaches (Standard American) might be quite pointless with rubber bridge. What do you think? Is Chicago just a duplicate for 4 players?

4) Is it possible (and legal?) to play bridge without conventions? Just using commong sense? I bid 1Club when I feel strong with clubs (however strong) and if my opponent is also strong with clubs, he might respond with 2Club

My questions probably seem basic to you, but I really need to know the answers to get better in the game
Thank you

Lesh

[barmar]

 Lesh18, on 2012-February-18, 21:17, said:

1) Do I understand it correctly, that Acol or Standard American are both convention systems, and Blackwood or Stayment are conventions on its own? So those systems contain numerous conventions, and it is also possible to add or remove or even make up my own conventions?

Yes, you're correct on all counts. New conventions come from someone making it up, and if they're useful they become popular and may eventually get adopted as part of common systems.

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2) Is there any convention system suitable for very beginners?

Any system with a small number of conventions should be OK. When you're just starting, you want to minimize complexity.

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3) Which kind of Contract bridge do you recommend for a casual play? ACBL course teaches me to bid depending on whether I am to score a game, partial or slams. But in Rubber bridge there are no bonus points for scoring a game one one deal, so the bidding system ACBL teaches (Standard American) might be quite pointless with rubber bridge. What do you think? Is Chicago just a duplicate for 4 players?

You don't really need to play different systems in rubber and duplicate. In rubber bridge, you just have to remember that you don't have to bid as high when you have a partial in order to get the game bonus. So if you have 60 on, and partner opens a major, you don't need to jump to invite game or make a game force, just raise him; in fact, if you make a stronger raise, partner should treat it as a slam invitation. But if you don't have a part score, you should bid just like you would in duplicate.

I think you'll find most people here will recommend duplicate bridge. It may be more competitive than casual, but it's also more challenging and less dependent on the luck of the cards.

Chicago is not duplicate, it's a form of rubber bridge. The nice thing about it is that there's a set number of hands, so it's good to play when you have a fixed amount of time (like lunchtime bridge).

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4) Is it possible (and legal?) to play bridge without conventions? Just using commong sense? I bid 1Club when I feel strong with clubs (however strong) and if my opponent is also strong with clubs, he might respond with 2Club

It's possible, but I don't know if anyone here has done it. I never played bridge with my parents, but my mother has told me that when they used to play bridge, they would just bid what they thought they could make.

If you play like this in a duplicate game, you will need to know the common conventions, even if you don't use them yourself. Your opponents will use them, and you'll be confused if you don't recognize them. Also, if you make a bid that everyone else expects to be a convention, you'll probably have to alert it so that they'll know you're doing something unusual. For instance, practically everyone plays Stayman; if you bid 2♣ as natural over your partner's 1NT opening, your partner would have to alert this.

[relknes]

 Lesh18, on 2012-February-18, 21:17, said:

Hi guys

I am new to bridge, have completed the ACBL course for beginners, but I am still stuck with the bidding bit.
It is obvious that it is bidding what makes bridge such a complex game.

1) Do I understand it correctly, that Acol or Standard American are both convention systems, and Blackwood or Stayment are conventions on its own? So those systems contain numerous conventions, and it is also possible to add or remove or even make up my own conventions?

2) Is there any convention system suitable for very beginners?

3) Which kind of Contract bridge do you recommend for a casual play? ACBL course teaches me to bid depending on whether I am to score a game, partial or slams. But in Rubber bridge there are no bonus points for scoring a game one one deal, so the bidding system ACBL teaches (Standard American) might be quite pointless with rubber bridge. What do you think? Is Chicago just a duplicate for 4 players?

4) Is it possible (and legal?) to play bridge without conventions? Just using commong sense? I bid 1Club when I feel strong with clubs (however strong) and if my opponent is also strong with clubs, he might respond with 2Club

My questions probably seem basic to you, but I really need to know the answers to get better in the game
Thank you

Lesh

1) Standard American and Acol are systems, as are Precision and a bunch of others. Systems deal with the basic approach to bidding and attempt to cover every situation you will encounter. Conventions, like Blackwood and Stayman etc., deal with a particular situation that might come up in any system, but don't apply unless specific criteria are met in the bidding sequence (for instance, you can play stayman in a lot of systems, but 2♣ is only considered stayman if partner has oppened a natural 1NT). If a bidding system were a city, than conventions would be the individual streets.
2) Whatever is the most popular system in the area that they are learning in. The exact system is far less important than the ability to practice it with people who know and use it.
3) I am not sure. Sorry.
4) Yes, it is possible and legal. It is what most people cal "Natural bidding", and what people fall back on when they get into situations that their conventions don't cover. Conventions are usually more effective, provided you never mistake their meaning or response structure (a big "if" for beginners). Most beginners would be better off with only a few conventions that they know backwards and forwards, rather than trying to learn complex systems. Stayman, blackwood, game tries, and cuebids should be sufficient for most beginning partnerships.
Hope this helps!

[S2000magic]

 Lesh18, on 2012-February-18, 21:17, said:

Hi guys

I am new to bridge, have completed the ACBL course for beginners, but I am still stuck with the bidding bit.
It is obvious that it is bidding what makes bridge such a complex game.

Indeed, it does.

 Lesh18, on 2012-February-18, 21:17, said:

1) Do I understand it correctly, that Acol or Standard American are both convention systems, and Blackwood or Stayment are conventions on its own? So those systems contain numerous conventions, and it is also possible to add or remove or even make up my own conventions?

Most bidding systems contain some conventions, however, Acol and Standard American are considered to be natural systems in that most opening bids and responses do not employ conventions.

Blackwood and Stayman are not bidding systems; they are individual conventions that are incorporated into bidding systems. (These two are sufficiently popular that they are incorporated in some fashion in virtually every bidding system.)

Yes, it is possible to add and remove conventions. However, if you make up your own conventions you may run afoul of ACBL rules regarding what sorts of conventions are allowed at particular contests.

 Lesh18, on 2012-February-18, 21:17, said:

2) Is there any convention system suitable for very beginners?

In many parts of the world, conventional systems are considered standard and are taught to beginners. In the U.S., Standard American or 2/1 (game forcing) are considered standard; both are natural systems. So, yes, there are conventional systems suitable for beginners, although in the U.S. you will likely find it difficult to find a beginner partner who also knows a conventional system.

Of all of the conventional systems, Precision is probably best suited for a beginner in the U.S. because it's relatively natural and relatively well-known.

 Lesh18, on 2012-February-18, 21:17, said:

3) Which kind of Contract bridge do you recommend for a casual play? ACBL course teaches me to bid depending on whether I am to score a game, partial or slams. But in Rubber bridge there are no bonus points for scoring a game one one deal, so the bidding system ACBL teaches (Standard American) might be quite pointless with rubber bridge. What do you think? Is Chicago just a duplicate for 4 players?

For a casual game in the U.S., I'd stick with Standard American.

There are subtleties for bidding with a part score in rubber bridge, but you'll pick those up easily enough.

Although no bonus is recorded on the scoresheet for the first game of a rubber, it is worth about 300 points. (If you win a rubber two games to none you score 700 points: figure that that's 300 for the first game and 400 for the second.) Standard American works as well for rubber bridge as for duplicate.

Chicago is not duplicate; it's an adaptation of rubber bridge to make the game go faster.

 Lesh18, on 2012-February-18, 21:17, said:

4) Is it possible (and legal?) to play bridge without conventions? Just using commong sense? I bid 1Club when I feel strong with clubs (however strong) and if my opponent is also strong with clubs, he might respond with 2Club

Yes, it is possible to play bridge without conventions. However, you'll find some conventions (such as the aforementioned Blackwood and Stayman) almost indispensable.

 Lesh18, on 2012-February-18, 21:17, said:

My questions probably seem basic to you, but I really need to know the answers to get better in the game

We all started where you are: with basic questions.

 Lesh18, on 2012-February-18, 21:17, said:

Thank you

My pleasure.

[Lesh18]

Thank you so much for the answers. It helped a lot. I have a couple of more though.

5) Are there any bonus points for a partial game in duplicate? I have been really confused because http://www.acbl.org/...eDuplicate.html says there are, but the ACBL Program "Learn to play Bridge" says the exact opposite. This is quite ridiculous.

6) I have found that there is a simple rule of total tricks combined (between two hands) which should be enough for a particular contract. At least 21 combines points for a 1-level bid, or at least 37 points for grand slam. I have been, however, unable to find the table with all suggested points-contracts combinations. Any ideas?

7) When I am playing bridge on a computer against some programmed robots, do they use conventions? If so, which? Or are they just sticking to natural bidding?

8) To me as a beginner it rather seems there is little scope for free action in bridge. Every piece of the game (to be played well) is pre-determined by rules (convention, bidding, playing tricks). So what bridge really is about as far as I am concerned - just to master bidding system and conventions a get a partner who also mastered the system - so you have the best chances regardless of the hand dealt. Am I wrong?

Thank you

[barmar]

5) In duplicate, there's a 50 point bonus for making a part score. This is so much less than the 300 or 500 point bonuses for games that it can practically be ignored, and perhaps that was the point that LTPB was making. The score difference between bidding 3♠ and making 4 and bidding 4♠ and making 4 is huge (170 versus 420/620), so it's important to bid the game if you think you have a good chance to make it (the exact odds required depend on the precise form of duplicate scoring being used -- IMPs, Matchpoints, or Board-a-Match).

6) The rules aren't quite so simple. The number of combined trumps, the location of honor cards, existence of short suits for ruffing or long suits for taking tricks after trumps are drawn, etc. all factor into how many tricks you can take. That's one of the things that makes the game so interesting, the endless variation and complexity. There are some rough guidelines that are useful when starting out: You need at least 25 combined points for 3NT or 4 of a trump suit (i.e. game in NT or a major), about 28 for 5 of a trump suit (i.e. game in a minor), 31 for a small slam in a major if you have a very good fit, so long as you're not missing two aces (that's what Blackwood is good for), 33 for a small slam in NT. But these are only approximations, and as you gain experience you'll learn how to find out about other features of the hands that allow you to make games with less than the usual number of points.

7) The system used by the robots on BBO can be found at http://www.bridgebas...tem_notes.html.

8) When you're first starting out, it seems like there's a simple rule for everything. As you play, you'll discover that you often get hands that don't fit any of the rules very well. Also, there's quite a bit of room for judgement; when you're a beginner, you're often taught to just count your high card points, but experienced players learn that there's more to evaluating a hand than just the points, it also matters where the points are (high cards in a long suit or a suit that partner has bid are worth more than the equivalent cards in side suits). You get to decide whether or not to use a convention, and as you hear partner's bids you try to piece together the puzzle of what your combined hands look like. And after the auction is over, you have to play the hand, which is a whole other set of challenges.

Learning bridge bidding is like learning a foreign language. At your current stage, you're just learning the vocabulary, and it's hard to see much beyond this. But once you learn the language, it opens up a whole new culture -- you can read the literature of that country. That's what really playing the game is like.

[dwar0123]

 Lesh18, on 2012-February-18, 22:53, said:

Thank you so much for the answers. It helped a lot. I have a couple of more though.

5) Are there any bonus points for a partial game in duplicate? I have been really confused because http://www.acbl.org/...eDuplicate.html says there are, but the ACBL Program "Learn to play Bridge" says the exact opposite. This is quite ridiculous.

In duplicate, you get a 50 point bonus plus the points for each trick when the hand is over. Nothing carries over to the next hand in a way that would effect how the next hand is scored.

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6) I have found that there is a simple rule of total tricks combined (between two hands) which should be enough for a particular contract. At least 21 combines points for a 1-level bid, or at least 37 points for grand slam. I have been, however, unable to find the table with all suggested points-contracts combinations. Any ideas?

Probably because it isn't very useful, the more you have the higher you can go, it is a fairly straight line and pays no attention to the suit(or lack there of) of the contract, only the level. Generally when starting out, it is 26 points for 3nt or a 4th level game. 32 points for a slam and thus 28-29 for a 5 level minor suit game.

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7) When I am playing bridge on a computer against some programmed robots, do they use conventions? If so, which? Or are they just sticking to natural bidding?

Depends on the computer program.

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8) To me as a beginner it rather seems there is little scope for free action in bridge. Every piece of the game (to be played well) is pre-determined by rules (convention, bidding, playing tricks). So what bridge really is about as far as I am concerned - just to master bidding system and conventions a get a partner who also mastered the system - so you have the best chances regardless of the hand dealt. Am I wrong?

A large part of bridge is bidding and playing in such a way as to obstruct your opponents. Preempts, false carding, interference bids, pysches. Often you don't want to make a bid that best describes your hand because you already decided where you want to play and the only thing describing your hand further would do is inform the opponents on how to defeat you.

Also, you underestimate the level of commitment it takes to master a bidding system as well as declaring and defending. When you get right down to it, ignorance creates the illusion of almost infinite freedom for pretty much everyone, even the experts. You take a dozen hands and you will get significant disagreements on the best way to bid and play many of them.

A lot of it comes down to taking the 58% line over the 45% line and being able to figure out those odds at the table is hard, even harder is recognizing the different lines of play as options. To make matters worse sometimes it comes down to taking the 45% line over the 58% line just because of how your opponent paused or didn't pause at a specific trick.

[S2000magic]

 Lesh18, on 2012-February-18, 22:53, said:

Thank you so much for the answers. It helped a lot. I have a couple of more though.

5) Are there any bonus points for a partial game in duplicate? I have been really confused because http://www.acbl.org/...eDuplicate.html says there are, but the ACBL Program "Learn to play Bridge" says the exact opposite. This is quite ridiculous.

Yes: you get 50 points extra for a partial, regardless of vulnerability. So if you bid 2♠ and take 8 tricks, you score 110 (2*30 + 50); if you take 9 tricks you score 140 (3*30 + 50).

 Lesh18, on 2012-February-18, 22:53, said:

6) I have found that there is a simple rule of total tricks combined (between two hands) which should be enough for a particular contract. At least 21 combines points for a 1-level bid, or at least 37 points for grand slam. I have been, however, unable to find the table with all suggested points-contracts combinations. Any ideas?

Because a lot depends on distribution, fit, location of high cards (yours and the opponents'), it's tough to give solid rules. Figure about 25 or 26 for 3NT or 4 of a suit, 28 or 29 for 5 of a suit, 33 for a small slam, and 37 for a grand slam. I don't include points for part-score hands because they're even more problematic.

 Lesh18, on 2012-February-18, 22:53, said:

7) When I am playing bridge on a computer against some programmed robots, do they use conventions? If so, which? Or are they just sticking to natural bidding?

They'll certainly be using Stayman and Blackwood. Beyond that, I'm not sure. (I'm relatively new here; some of those with more experience can answer this much better than I.)

 Lesh18, on 2012-February-18, 22:53, said:

8) To me as a beginner it rather seems there is little scope for free action in bridge. Every piece of the game (to be played well) is pre-determined by rules (convention, bidding, playing tricks). So what bridge really is about as far as I am concerned - just to master bidding system and conventions a get a partner who also mastered the system - so you have the best chances regardless of the hand dealt. Am I wrong?

In a word: yes. You're wrong.

There is a lot of judgment involved. There is a lot of psychology involved. There's an art to knowing when to follow the rules and when to break them. And there are a lot of situations which aren't covered by the rules (no matter how detailed your agreements with your partner on bidding and play). That's what makes the game so fascinating. If it were always cut and dried once you learned the rules, people would stop playing bridge and find something more interesting to do.

As an example, today I defended a 6♠ hand where dummy showed up with:

♠ 8 7 2
♥ A
♦ K Q 10 9 4 3 2
♣ K 8

My partner led the ♦ A, on which declarer dropped the ♦ J. Partner then led a low diamond which declarer won in dummy. He drew 2 rounds of trumps, discovering that I held ♠ J 5 4 3, entered dummy with the ♥ A, finessed against my guarded ♠ J, and chalked up his slam.

My partner said that she thought that I might have had the singleton diamond, but she should have inferred from declarer's use of the Blackwood convention (not to mention his ♦ J at trick 1) that he held a singleton. If she had switched to a low heart at trick 2, declarer would have been set. (Once he discovered the bad spade split, he would have only one entry to dummy (♣ K), so he could either finesse in spades or take a diamond (I'd rough the second diamond), but he couldn't finesse and later take two diamonds.) That sort of judgment / skill isn't "one of the rules"; it comes from experience and vision (or imagination).

 Lesh18, on 2012-February-18, 22:53, said:

Thank you

Again, my pleasure.

[Charlie Yu]

Suggested conventions for beginner:

Stayman
Jacoby Transfer
Inverted Minor
4 suit forcing
RKCB
Jacoby 2NT
Gerber (over NT only)

takes a while to learn the conventions, but it surely worths it.

[blackshoe]

 Charlie Yu, on 2012-February-18, 23:57, said:

Suggested conventions for beginner:

Stayman
Jacoby Transfer
Inverted Minor
4 suit forcing
RKCB
Jacoby 2NT
Gerber (over NT only)

takes a while to learn the conventions, but it surely worths it.

Heh. You left out Takeout Doubles.

My list, in priority order:

• Takeout Doubles.
  
• Stayman.
  
• Negative Doubles.
  
• Splinters.
  
• Fourth Suit Forcing.
  
• Some form of Checkback Stayman (there are four in common use, of varying complexity. Crowhurst is probably the simplest, Two way Checkback (similar to Two Way Stayman, not the "2♣ is a relay to 2♦" variant) is probably the most complex).
  
• Jacoby and Texas Transfers (If I had to pick only one to learn first, I'd pick Texas, but they fit so well together one should strive to include both).
  
• Inverted Minor Raises (again, there are several flavors of this).
  
• Jacoby 2NT.
  
• Control Bids (this can be a complex subject; I'm not suggesting you dive into the deep end of the pool here, but you do need to have a basic understanding of them).

Until you learn basic Control Bids, I would avoid BW and Gerber. If you must learn them right away, remember that they are tools designed to keep you out of bad slams, not tools designed to help you find good ones.

Keep in mind that when you add certain conventions to your system, older conventions you thought you already knew may change, sometimes significantly. For example, much of what you learn under the name "Stayman" changes when you have transfers available.

Actually, I would put studying hand evaluation ahead of most conventions. It's an ongoing study, too; you'll probably never "complete" it.

[Lesh18]

Thank you very much indeed.

9) You have mentioned a couple of times that sometimes you need to know whether stick to rules and when to break them. Does it mean using convention and using natural bidding? If so, how can an opponent know then, whether my 2Clubs means a fairly strong hand 22+ HCP or it rather means a natural bidding of clubs: preferred trump and some confidence in power of the hand? Or did you rather mean, that sometimes you cannot follow guidelines like counting cards and assessing opponents' bids, but rather use a common sense? (The latter seems more rational to me). Thanks

[blackshoe]

Two things about conventions: When you establish an agreement with partner (a "partnership understanding") you should probably stick to that agreement unless you have a very good reason to violate it. That said, sometimes you have a choice of calls, and that's where judgement comes in.

The other thing is that, as Edgar Kaplan (I think) famously said "An agreement with partner is not a promise to opponents", so you should not think that when you've told your opponents that you have an agreement, you can't violate it.

However, in some cases, there are rules about what you can and can't do (I'm not talking about "rules of thumb" like "an opening hand normally has 13 HCP", I'm talking about the laws and regulations that govern the game). In particular, playing Standard American or 2/1, you can't deliberately open 2♣ just because you have clubs — the hand has to meet your partnership's agreement as to what "strong" is. For myself, I prefer this "rule of thumb" wrt "strong": the Quick Tricks equal or exceed the losers according to Losing Trick Count. Another possible "rule of thumb": a 2♣ opener contains at least six controls, counting an ace as two controls and a king as one, and at least 22 HCP. Those aren't anything to do with law or regulation per se, but they'll usually keep you out of legal trouble with your 2♣ openings. (Note that a two club opening might be 22+ balanced. A 22 point balanced hand normally has at least seven controls).

[Lesh18]

That is actually very interesting blackshoe. Good point.

10) I have been taught to count my cards in a classical fashion 4-3-2-1 for A-K-Q-J and 5 cards of one suit provide one extra point, 6 cards of one suit provide two extra points and so on. The quick bridge computer program does an automatic counting for me, but obviously ignores 5+ cards in one suit. Also some youtubers discussing bridge deals ignore 5+ cards in one suit when counting cards. What are you recommendations? Is not it better (and right) to include those long-suits in counting? Thanks

[dwar0123]

In general, count them, but for many types of hands there are more then two ways to show them and often it is understood that you bid one way when you have distributional strength and another way when you have high card strength.

As an example. If you have 6 spades and 18 high card points and your rho opens 1♦, you double and if your partner bids 1♥ you bid 1♠. This shows a very strong 18 high card points.
If you have 9 spades headed by the akq♠, only 9 points, but still plays like an 18 point hand in ♠, you just bid 4♠ directly.

[Trinidad]

 Charlie Yu, on 2012-February-18, 23:57, said:

Suggested conventions for beginner:

Stayman
Jacoby Transfer
Inverted Minor
4 suit forcing
RKCB
Jacoby 2NT
Gerber (over NT only)

takes a while to learn the conventions, but it surely worths it.

I strongly disagree. My list of suggested conventions for beginners:
Take out doubles
Stayman

Play that for about half a year and add:
Blackwood and Gerber (to have more fun bidding slams)

Play that for another three years.

In these three years:
- You will learn how to bid naturally (which is the basis for all bidding).
- You will discover why you want to play certain conventions: You have been stuck for a bid quite a few times. The OP has never been stuck for a bid yet. He is still in the phase where he thinks that the bidding rules will solve every situation. We have all started in this phase.
- You will have learned to understand how bridge bidding works. You understand concepts like captaincy and cooperative bidding, constructive, preemptive and competitive bidding. And you will understand what the goal of a convention in each situation should be (getting us to the right, making contract, finding a sacrifice, disturbing the opponents, etc.).
- You will understand the mechanics of conventions: Some are asking bids (like Stayman or Blackwood), some are descriptive bids (like take out doubles) and some put preset mechanics at work (e.g Jacoby transfers or Lebensohl).

After these three years, your game (bidding and play) will have improved in such a way that the lack of conventions has become the bottle neck. Only when this has happened, you should add more conventions.

A good way to add conventions is to sit down with your partner and a "mentor".
Look what kind of conventions would improve your bidding (Negative doubles, Jacoby transfers). Make sure that you understand that adding a convention changes the structure of your system. Make a list of what to add and when. Add the conventions one or two at the time and stick with it for a while to master them.

I have seen way to many people who play even the simplest of conventions the wrong way, because they do not understand basic bidding: They added the convention too early. And the web of conventions stopped them from learning basic bidding.

Think of bridge bidding as building. What tools do you give a 2 year old to learn how to build things? You don't give any tools at all, but you give him wood blocks or Lego, to make him understand the concept of building first. Once he understands the concept of building you will give them a simple tool: A hammer. You do not start by giving him your whole workshop and then give him woodblocks.

This whole story may sound as if I am against the use of conventions. That is far from true. With my preferred partner, I play a highly complex system, whenever we get the chance to play. (This is not often since she is my wife and some one needs to take care of the kids.) I love to play that system. But I can only play it because I understand natural bidding.
The partner that I usually play with knows a lot less conventions, but he has learned them way too early in his bridge career. As a result, he (mis)uses conventions where there are simple natural bids available and he lacks the concept that conventions have a goal which means that he uses the conventions for the sake of using them, rather than for the sake of winning at bridge. He compensates for that by being a nice guy and a very good card player.

Rik

[blackshoe]

Rik and Dwar both make very good points.

An expert counts his points, looks at his distribution and suit textures, and upgrades or downgrades according to his (considerable) experience. Those of us with lesser experience need tools to some degree at least. Mary Bergen has an interesting pamphlet on hand evaluation that provides some good tools. Ten bucks for 24 pages or so, but well worth it IMO. Available from Marty or from Baron-Barclay, and probably other places.

[Lesh18]

Thank you Rik for a comprehensive answer.

11) But is natural bidding really just using a common sense? Beginning from low levels, trying to match a suit with an opponent and then, for the beginning, keep the level of the contract as low as possible. Are there any useful guidelines how natural bidding should really work? I have come across numerous sources on conventions, not so much on natural bidding.

[S2000magic]

 Lesh18, on 2012-February-19, 01:51, said:

Thank you very much indeed.

9) You have mentioned a couple of times that sometimes you need to know whether stick to rules and when to break them. Does it mean using convention and using natural bidding? If so, how can an opponent know then, whether my 2Clubs means a fairly strong hand 22+ HCP or it rather means a natural bidding of clubs: preferred trump and some confidence in power of the hand? Or did you rather mean, that sometimes you cannot follow guidelines like counting cards and assessing opponents' bids, but rather use a common sense? (The latter seems more rational to me). Thanks

When I wrote that you occasionally break the rules, I didn't mean that when you announce that a 2♣ opening shows, say, 22+ HCP, you should occasionally open 2♣ on this:

♠ A 8 3
♥ Q J 10
♦ 10
♣ A K Q J 10 9

What I meant, for example, is that if you announce that a single raise in a major suit is, say, 6 - 9 points, you might occasionally make the bid on a good 5 points, or a lousy 10 points.

Call it judgment or common sense. If you realize that the rules are, as you say, guidelines, then you'll be free to exercise your judgment when necessary. And you'll become a bridge player, not a card pusher.

[S2000magic]

 Lesh18, on 2012-February-19, 08:50, said:

11) But is natural bidding really just using a common sense? Beginning from low levels, trying to match a suit with an opponent and then, for the beginning, keep the level of the contract as low as possible. Are there any useful guidelines how natural bidding should really work? I have come across numerous sources on conventions, not so much on natural bidding.

If you can find a copy of Alfred Sheinwold's Five Weeks to Winning Bridge, buy it and study it. It offers an excellent analysis on natural bidding, as well as the play of the cards.

(Some people complain that it's out of date because it doesn't use 5-card majors as its foundation. While that's true, it will help you develop your skill and judgment better than most books, and it's fun to read. Furthermore, it does explain 5-card majors in the chapter on Modern Bidding Conventions (it was written in the early 1960s), and highly recommends them. What you lose from not having 5-card majors you more than gain back with the wealth of other knowledge you'll get.)

[Trinidad]

 Lesh18, on 2012-February-19, 08:50, said:

Thank you Rik for a comprehensive answer.

11) But is natural bidding really just using a common sense? Beginning from low levels, trying to match a suit with an opponent and then, for the beginning, keep the level of the contract as low as possible. Are there any useful guidelines how natural bidding should really work? I have come across numerous sources on conventions, not so much on natural bidding.

Yes, natural bidding is just using common sense. But it takes some time (actually a lot of time) to develop common sense.

It is important to get a good feeling for:
- How many cards did partner promise in each suit?
- How many points did partner promise?
- Who is the boss of the auction? Do I need to make decisions or do I just need to describe my hand?
- What are the meanings of my possible next bids?

Once you are comfortable with those, just keep playing bridge with only that. You will see how much you will learn about bidding when you are not using conventions. You will also see that you will run into problems every now and then. It may be that some convention could have solved the problem, but it is also possible that there is no solution. But you will also see that you will be able to solve more and more problems with natural bidding, just because you are getting handier at it as well as more creative and imaginative.

When -at the end- you will take up conventions only use the ones that solve your bidding problems. After all, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Never use a convention, because you want to use conventions. Do not use a convention that somebody else uses or recommends if you do not know what problem it solves. This last sentence is the crux of the matter: At this point in your bridge career, you haven't met many bidding problems. Therefore, there cannot be a need for conventions yet.

Just keep practicing and learning. Good luck!

Rik