AUCTION BRIDGE.

Matamata Record, Volume XIII, Issue 1110, 31 March 1930, Page 2

AUCTION BRIDGE.

(Special to Record) : . No. 7. To be even an average bridge player you must practise by dealing hands and playing them with all the cards face up. This is called “double dummy,” and gives excellent practise in dealing, sorting the cards, bidding and assisting, leading and play. If you have dealt hands as advised in the lessons, you have no doubt found hands which are .very strong but no use for a suit bid. Spades and Hearts are called “A” Class bids, No Trumps “B ” Class and Diamonds and Clubs “ C ” Class. If the hand contains a biddable major suit (Spades or Hearts) is should be bid in preference to No Trumps, but when the hand contains a biddable Minor suit (Diamonds or Clubs) but is suitable for No Trumps, do not bid the minor suit. A “B ” Class bid offers a better chance for game than a “ C ” Class bid. At No Trump, only 3 over are required for game, but 5 over are necessary with a Minor suit and a love score. The object should, always be game, 30 points. In only about one game in twelve does a partial score | help in making game. For a bid of 1 No Trump, three | suits must be “ stopped.” A suit is | “ stopped ” when you hold high , cards which will take one trick in the i suit if it is led originally. The following cards will “ stop ” a suit; Ace, King and one other, Queen Jack and one other, Queen and three others, Jack, Ten and two others, i The last two are weak “stoppers.” I For No Trump bidding, the high ! cards are valued as follow : Ace, 4; King, 3; Queen 2, Jack 1; and the count of the high cards must be at least 12 for an initial bid by first or second player, and 14 to 16 for an initial bid by third or fourth player. The ideal No Trump hand has the suits distributed as f0110w5:—4,3,3,3, . and stoppers in all suits. Of course, 1 such a hand is rare, but you should not bid No Trump originally if your hand contains a Singleton (An Ace is the only exception, and even that is risky) or a worthless doubleton such as Queen, Jack or lower. If you only hold one or two low cards of a suit and partner is short, your opponents will make five or more tricks in that suit before you take a trick. In such cases, make a suit bid and try and discover who holds- your weak suit. As East, holding A.K.Q. J.X.X.X. of a minor suit against a No Trump call by South, I would not bid. With such a holding, game for me would be hopeless, but the contract would be defeated. Remember No Trump hands are the most difficult ones to play. When a suit has been bid' over partner’s No Trump, you must have the opponents’ suits stopped at least once before you can consider raising. When it is stopped, double the Quick Trick values of all your high cards, and if the count is four, jou can raise once, more if it exceeds four. Blank suits, singletons and doubletons are of course not counted. What are “ A,” “B ” and “C ” 'Class bids? Which suits are Major and which are Minor ? V/hen is a suit “ stopped?” How are the high cards valued for No Trump bidding? When your hand contains a singleton or a weak doubleton, should you bid 1 No Trump originally? (Copyright by S, N. v Lythgo, Box 401, G.P.0., Melbourne).