Bridge 1 Basics And Opening
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The document provides an introduction to bridge lessons for beginners. It discusses counting high-card points, the game level threshold of 26 points for 3NT contracts and above, scoring including bonuses for games and slams, and opening bidding guidelines based on point counts. The opening guidelines recommend bidding 1NT with 15-17 points or 2NT with 20-21 for a balanced hand, or opening 1 of a 5-card major suit with an unbalanced hand otherwise bidding a longer minor suit.
Bridge 1 Basics And Opening
- 1. Bridge Lessons - Beginners NYU Bridge and Spades Club
- 2. Lesson 1 Basics and Opening
- 3. Counting Points Counting high-card points (HCPs) Ace = 4 points King = 3 points Queen = 2 points Jack = 1 point Some people count distribution points but for our purposes, we won’t yet Counting Points Counting high-card points (HCPs) Ace = 4 points King = 3 points Queen = 2 points Jack = 1 point Some people count distribution points but for our purposes, we won’t yet
- 4. Game Level Counting high-card points (HCPs) Ace = 4 points King = 3 points Queen = 2 points Jack = 1 point Some people count distribution points but for our purposes, we won’t yet I keep hearing about the “game level”. What is it? “ Game” is a kind of contract threshold All contracts BID and MADE at or above this level are given a bonus score Game contracts 3NT and up – requires ~ 26 points to make 4H/S and up – requires ~ 26 points to make 5C/S and up – requires ~ 29 points to make (eww) NB: all 6-level contracts are slams while 7-level contracts are grand slams NB 2: since it takes less points to make major (H/S) or NT games, most bidding conventions are aimed at finding those games
- 5. Scoring Counting high-card points (HCPs) Ace = 4 points King = 3 points Queen = 2 points Jack = 1 point Some people count distribution points but for our purposes, we won’t yet Scoring in Bridge 20 points per minor trick (i.e. 1C gives 20 points), 30 points per major trick and 40 points for the first NT trick, 30 thereafter Partials (below game level) get a 50 point bonus Games get a 300/500 point bonus (non-vul/vul) Slams 500/750 + game bonus Grand slams 1000/1500 + game bonus
- 6. Opening Bids - Basics Counting high-card points (HCPs) Ace = 4 points King = 3 points Queen = 2 points Jack = 1 point Some people count distribution points but for our purposes, we won’t yet Opening Bids - Basics Definition of an opening bid: An opening bid is a bid made by the first bidder not to pass Requirement for opening: 13 points Why? Because game is 26 points. If you don’t have at least half of that and partner cannot open either, your partnership didn’t miss a game and probably didn’t lose out on too much
- 7. Opening Bids Counting high-card points (HCPs) Ace = 4 points King = 3 points Queen = 2 points Jack = 1 point Some people count distribution points but for our purposes, we won’t yet Opening Bids Do you have 13-21 points? Yes No 22+ points: 2C Else, don’t open Balanced? No Yes 15-17 points: 1NT 20-21 points: 2NT Anything else 5-card major: 1M Else, longer minor
- 8. Why do we open this way? Why do we Open this way? NT has a narrow range so it can describe our hand well Preciseness is key in contract bridge Minors are our last priority because minor games are harder to play in