PSI Bridge Course Winter 2017-2018 Lecture 01 There is a first time for everything

Structure of the lecture History of the game Demographic information The PSI Bridge Club Description of the game Auction (conventions) Play (declarer, dummy) Scoring Behaviour Practice 11/22/2017 Lecture 01

Demographic information American Contract Bridge League (http://www.acbl.org) 25 million Americans over the age of 18 can play bridge Educated: 79% with college degree Average age: 51 years World Bridge Federation (http://www.worldbridge.org) At least 200 million people play bridge worldwide 11/22/2017 Lecture 01

World Teams Championships Bermuda Bowl (open) Venice Cup (women) d’ Orsi Bowl (seniors) The Blue Team Walter Avarelli - Giorgio Belladonna Pietro Forquet - Benito Garozzo Massimo D'Alelio - Camillo Pabis Ticci 13/19 Bermuda Bowls between 1957 and 1975 11/22/2017 Lecture 01

https://clubs.web.psi.ch/bridge/lectures The PSI Bridge Club https://clubs.web.psi.ch/bridge/lectures 11/22/2017 Lecture 01

Description of the game 11/22/2017 Lecture 01

Description of the game: The play A trick is a set of four cards played in the right sequence There are thirteen tricks in total One must follow suit (play a card in the suit of the first card of the current trick) The highest card wins the trick If trumps are defined, one may trump/ruff if one cannot follow suit; the highest trump wins such a trick In a no-trump (NT) contract, one cannot win a trick if unable to follow suit The winner of the trick starts the new trick 11/22/2017 Lecture 01

Description of the game: The auction The goal of the game: maximise your profit (equivalently, minimise your loss) Determine your appropriate contract Determine your optimal contract Eliminate bidding space from your opponents Development of bidding systems (natural, artificial) Development of conventions A bidding system is essentially a language you agree to speak with your partner; if this is not a standard language, the opponents may request a translation (even if not alerted) E-W and N-S may follow different bidding systems British Acol, enriched with some new conventions 11/22/2017 Lecture 01

Description of the game: The auction The auction starts at the level of seven tricks  opening 1 means: “I believe that, with partner’s hand, our side can make 6+1 tricks with hearts as trumps” 7,7,7,7,7NT Grand slam N 6,6,6,6,6NT Small slam 5,5,5,5,5NT W E 4,4,4,4,4NT 3,3,3,3,3NT Pass Double Redouble S 2,2,2,2,2NT 1,1,1,1,1NT Contract points NT: first trick 40 pnts, each subsequent 30 pnts Major suits: ,  (30 pnts per trick) Minor suits: ,  (20 pnts per trick) Game: ≥ 100 pnts  3NT, 4, 4, 5 , 5 Vulnerable (more benefit for games and slams, greater loss in failure) Non-vulnerable 11/22/2017 Lecture 01

Description of the game: Example of an auction Opening lead Dummy Declarer 11/22/2017 Lecture 01

Description of the game: The play 11/22/2017 Lecture 01

The declarer plays his hand and the dummy’s against the two opponents Description of the game: Example of another auction; Preparation for the play Opening lead W N E S - 1NT 3 x 5 xx N W E S Declarer Dummy Contract: 5xx The declarer plays his hand and the dummy’s against the two opponents When the play is over, N scores the deal; one of the opponents checks the scoring 11/22/2017 Lecture 01

Point-Count System (PCS) Charles Goren (1901-1991) Point-Count System (PCS) Honour pnts (HPs) A: 4 pnts K: 3 pnts Q: 2 pnts J: 1 pnt Distribution pnts For the fifth and sixth card in a long suit: + 1 pnt For each card above the sixth: + 2 pnts per card Combined value of the hand: HPs + distribution pnts Shortness pnts Opener Void: + 3 pnts Singleton: + 2 pnts Doubleton: + 1 pnt Supporting partner Void: + 5 pnts Singleton: + 3 pnts 11/22/2017 Lecture 01

When to open the auction? There are 40 HPs in the deck An A is expected to correspond to one trick To be able to make one trick more than the opponents, your side should have 22 HPs vs. 18 HPs of the opponents This is how the magical number of 13+ HPs has been derived usually 11+ or 12+ in competitions Combined-Point Count (including distribution) Other systems to assess opening strength do exist two and a half defensive tricks (A/AK) + distribution 11/22/2017 Lecture 01

Should the following hands be opened?  5 4  K 8 5 4 3  K Q 2  A J 3  4 2  A 3  K J 10 8 7 3 2  K 3  A 8 7  A K 8 4  9 5 3  Q 9 4  A Q 10 9 7  A 7 2  Q 9  7 6 2 According to Goren’s PCS, all these hands should be opened 11/22/2017 Lecture 01

Estimates of minimal numbers of combined points for the ‘interesting’ contracts Game 3NT: ≈ 25 pnts 4,4: ≈ 26 pnts 5,5: ≈ 27-28 pnts Small slam: 33 pnts Grand slam: 37 pnts Game with only 16 HPs 11/22/2017 Lecture 01

An interesting deal W N E S - 1NT 2 3 4 W N E S 2 x 4 - Table Contract Result 1 4xW +3 (E-W: 1390) 2 4N = (N-S: 620) 11/22/2017 Lecture 01

Math is great, but do not overdo it! Goren’s PCS is a general guide, i.e., neither an always-working recipe nor a rule which must be followed Personal judgment is important, in particular with regard to: the opponents’ bidding, bidding system, and bidding style, the position of the caller in the auction, the position of the caller with respect to the opponent with the strong hand, the vulnerability, the overall performance of the partnership on the specific day, the experience of the opponents, etc. 11/22/2017 Lecture 01

Behaviour Do not stare at the opponents (bridge is not poker!) Do not take peeks at the opponents’ cards Protect your cards Do not comment during the auction and the play Do not pass extraneous information to the partner Alert your opponents when following a unusual convention/bidding system Count your cards in the beginning; shuffle and return them to the pockets in the end; do not let others to touch your cards While acting as dummy, you may help the declarer with the cards on the table, prevent the declarer from committing an irregularity, and remind the declarer to lead from the hand or from the table Summon the tournament referee (Director) in case of an irregularity http://www.worldbridge.org/rules-regulations/2017-laws-of-duplicate-bridge 11/22/2017 Lecture 01

Do not forget! Pass is an acceptable call! 11/22/2017 Lecture 01

Good luck! Question: What is the difference between a serial killer and one’s bridge partner? Answer: One can reason with the serial killer 11/22/2017 Lecture 01