The Bidding Box
ACBL says:
“A player is obligated to choose a call before touching any card in the box. A call is considered made when a bidding card is removed from the bidding box and held touching or nearly touching the table or maintained in such a position to indicate that the call has been made.”
We’ve all seen players fiddling with the bidding box while trying to decide what to bid. Unfortunately this may give information to their partner; thus it is an irregularity and may result in an adjusted score.
Players are allowed to correct their bid IF it’s a result of a mechanical error rather than a change of mind.
Good habits to develop:
- Make your choice of bid before touching the bidding box.
- Look at the bid as you place it on the table to verify that it is your intended call. If not, immediately announce that you made a mechanical error.
Thinking at Trick 1
Mike Lawrence writes in his Private Lessons CD: “I have stated throughout this program and many of my books and classes that proper play to trick one is more important than anyone can imagine. It takes years of seeing big and little errors for you to realize the truth of this.”
The following steps will help with the thinking process:
- Think about each bid as it is made. What is indicated:
- Strength as defined by High Card Points
- Memorize the auction prior to the last pass.
- While waiting for the opening lead, mentally review what you’ve learned thus far.
- Once the opening lead has been made and dummy is faced:
- Count the high card points for each side. Were there clues from the bidding about their possible distribution? Any clues from the opening lead?
- Count your winners and losers.
- Look at the distribution of each suit. How are the missing cards most likely to be distributed?
- Make a plan to play the hand including entry management, finesses, ruffs, when to draw trump, when to take losers, etc.
- Ask “What can go wrong and how can I modify the plan to cope with that possibility?”
- Determine what is critical to count during the play to know if your plan will succeed.
At this point, you are prepared to call the card from dummy. Do not allow the opponents to rush your thinking process. Over time you’ll find that the process gets easier and you will make better plans.
Bid and Play in Tempo
Developing good habits at the table is an important part of learning bridge. Learning to bid and play in tempo is a challenge for all players and it takes time.
Playing in tempo is important for defenders, as changes in tempo may communicate information to declarer about your holdings. Here are some tips to help with the process of playing in tempo:
- Memorize the auction as it proceeds, and repeat the auction in your mind prior to your last pass.
- Once the opening lead has been faced, everyone should study the hand. While declarer is making their plan, the defenders should also be thinking and counting. As you make your plan for the defense, try to anticipate what declarer will do and your response. For example, if declarer is your left hand opponent and the dummy has Qxx of trump and you have K10xx, decide whether you will cover the Q if declarer leads it.
- When you are short in a suit, plan what you want to communicate to partner by your discard when declarer plays the suit.
- If declarer is running a long suit, plan ahead for the position you want to hold once the long suit is exhausted as well as the information you want partner to have.
Remember, it is unethical to vary tempo in an effort to communicate to partner or to trick declarer. Try to take the same amount of time to play each card.
Habits to break
First is “card snapping.” Players in the bridge world are frequently card snappers. Some do it every time they bid or play a card. Others snap some cards, but not others. Bridge requires concentration and if everyone snapped their cards, no one could concentrate and do their best with all the noise.
Second is talking once the cards are removed from the Board. Once you take your cards out of the Board, it is time to focus on the new hand and cease all conversation until that hand is complete.
By breaking these two bad habits, you’ll find your ability to focus will improve and you’ll make fewer mistakes.
Anticipate Your Next Bid
As you evaluate your hand, start to think about your initial bid. If you have an opening hand, plan what you will rebid in an uncontested auction in response to partner’s responses. That way unless there is a skip bid, you are ready to bid in tempo.
If you are in 3rd or 4th seat, plan your bids in case partner opens the bidding at the 1 level. Plan whether you will make an overcall if the opponents bid. If your initial bid is pass, plan what bids you might make in case either partner or the opponents open.
Repeat this process for every round of bidding and you’ll find it much easier to bid in tempo.
