Bridge Tips

Be nice to your partner and polite and courteous to your opponents.

You are declarer and you have a two-way finesse to take. Eg. A J 2 opposite K 10 3. Ideally you would like the opponents to lead the suit for you and guarantee you three tricks. Unfortunately, it is not possible to arrange an endplay and you will have to make a decision.

Failing all else you should choose the opponent you would least like to win the trick and finesse through them. To sum it up “FINESSE THROUGH GRUMPY”

There can be the tendency either to retreat into one’s shell or, conversely, to over-compensate when playing stronger opponents.  Just “Keep calm and carry on”.

If you make a pre emptive bid, remember you have told your partner everything they need to know about your hand, and unless they make a forcing bid, you do not need to tell them twice!
Or if your partner opens a suit bid, never deny a 4 card major and respond in NT to show your points. Always bid the major on the way.

You should always treat your partner, whoever that may be at the moment, as the best bridge player in the world. 

Opener’s REBID describes his hand .

ie. Whether he is Balanced/Unbalanced,  Weak ( 12-15 ) or Strong  ( 16- 19 ).

Bridge can be a fickle game, sometimes you can do well against good opponents and badly against weaker players, through no fault of your own.

It works both ways. The important thing is to use your mental energy on the deal, not on the pesky opps.

Worrying about the opposition can affect your focus and be damaging to your scores. Don’t let it!

Pre-empts are difficult to accurately defend against because they prevent your opponents from having a conversation.

Therefore my tip is to pre-empt as high as possible. If you are non-vulnerable against vulnerable opponents and you play weak twos consider opening at the three-level with only a good six-card suit. This works really well when your suit is spades.

At the same vulnerability consider opening 4C/D rather than 3C/D. Remember this  “THEY CAN’T SEE YOUR HAND”

If you are feeling down or have something on your mind have a game of bridge the concentration needed will give your mind a complete break from your troubles for a couple of hours and you really will feel the benefit.

If you make a pre-emptive bid, remember you have told your partner everything they need to know about your hand, and unless they make a forcing bid, you do not need to tell them twice!