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Bid ‘em Up: Play ‘em Safe. “Well, I kept my part of the equation” muttered North as he put down dummy in the grand slam contract to an expectant South, who would like nothing better than to say “thanks” and... read more here

   A real hand to open! “How Low, Joe?” What does a minimum opening bid with both major suits look like? It really can be a little less in strength than if you had both minors, or even just one major since you do not need... read more here

You wish! The Best Guess is “No Guess”. How often have you been in the situation at the bridge table when you know whichever card of two you play will be wrong? Typically, it occurs when you lead towards KJ with absolutely no idea... read more here

Life on the Wild Side. There are times when we get a little tired of trying to restrict overtricks in an opponent’s 1NT or 2H contracts, especially playing Pairs when it is really important. “Something more exciting, Mr. Card-Dealer,... read more here

A Smooth Duck? Well, it has to be smooth, doesn’t it? There is no point in going into a 90 second huddle and then ducking. The secret is out: you had something to think about…and not whether you were playing D4 or D6! If you are... read more here

Avoiding 3NT. When one partner shows a flattish hand and there is no obvious major fit available, it can be difficult to avoid the no-trump game. “If in doubt, bid 3NT.” is a common enough saying when looking for a game contract. Yet,... read more here

Winners never give up. Well, I hope that makes me a winner because I am very reluctant ever to concede! One thing that causes players to lose focus is the sight of a very strong dummy. It can be very intimidating, if you let it. When you see such... read more here

How Good is your hand? There are several advantages in playing an Acol 1NT rebid as 15-17 balanced as opposed to 15-16 and therefore a 2NT rebid as 18-19. Bidding 3NT with a balanced 19 takes away so much valuable space to explore for the right... read more here

Time for A Change. When to switch: when to keep going? These questions are central to defending so many hands. You can play a suit for one round too long and pay the price and equally switch too soon. There’s no guiding rule with every deal... read more here

Locating Honours. We feature today two deals united by the fact that declarer’s success depends entirely on finding which opponent has a missing honour, in one case the queen and in the other the lowly jack. They are separated in time by 23... read more here

  A Certain Way. You will probably say there is nothing certain about the problem given to you for today. Even that statement contains too much doubt! While we think we can make 3NT much of the time (slight tinges of optimism now!) with a... read more here

this suit? Which Suit is Trumps? For a reason which I cannot fully explain, I find a Weak 2 in diamonds a very awkward bid against which to defend. (I can now just see everyone opening this bid against me, no matter what their diamond holding... read more here

                              Dream-time? A bridge dream can be very simplistic: bidding and making... read more here

A “Key” Convention. Cast away on a desert island with just a pack of cards and just three conventions, I would have to select my conventions carefully. Both Stayman and Transfers would be with me and the third would be a form of ace... read more here

The Sneak Attack. It seems to happen quite often. The opposition bid 3NT, not with a balanced 17 count opposite a balanced 12 count with holds in every suit but “just in case it makes”! Or, alternatively, because they were asked by... read more here

Opposite Approaches. Game values? If you have them, and you have a 4-4 major fit, then it seems a good idea to play in 4 of that major. Normally. With less than game values, it can also be correct to seek out a major fit, too. One hand below took... read more here

unusual events. Yes, They Happened! So, as promised, a change for today as we look at a few of the zanier things that have occurred at the bridge table in this country. They are all from about 20-30 years ago. No-one does anything as silly as... read more here

Proving North Wrong. One mark of a good partnership is that when one player takes a rather unusual action which backfires, that their partner is, at least outwardly, very understanding. The “sinner” feels bad enough in recording a... read more here

The Easy Way, The Obscure Way or One Down. I have mentioned more than once that even playing Pairs, there is a lot of good sense in taking a line to ensure your contract and worry about possible overtricks later. They are certainly worth having,... read more here

            COUNTING TO NINE. It’s is nice and straightforward when, in 3NT, you have six tricks in one suit, two in another and one in the suit they led. No degree in mathematics... read more here

Tactics… We left you with two seemingly unconnected problems yesterday, one in the bidding and the other in the play. What was supposed to connect them was a difference in approach playing Pairs as opposed to Teams. However, the reality of... read more here

Creating an Illusion. When you are playing Teams, you do want to beat any contract of the opponents. You do not want them scoring an overtrick or three either if they are at a sensible level. A couple of imps in the out column would be annoying... read more here

                                     “To bid or not to bid.... read more here

THE GUIDE. While beating a contract by two tricks is a nice result, beating that same contract by one trick is better than not beating it all! That was not the initial problem given yesterday. On the assumption, though, you found the right lead,... read more here

Full Steam Ahead…if you Reverse! The concept of reversing at the table is one many players do not seem to understand. If they do, they do not seem to put it into practice. A reverse is the second suit bid by opener, a higher- ranking suit... read more here

ALTERNATIVE EVIDENCE. Opening Leads can be somewhat “hit and miss”, sometimes a lucky “hit”, often a big “miss”! That is, of course, an exaggeration. The recommended leads for any one situation do work more... read more here

Keeping Control. It is very frustrating for a declarer to run out of the one thing that they hope to have plenty of…trumps! Some contracts are blown away because a declarer has none left, or less than an opponent. Were we to look at this... read more here

BEAUTY WHERE YOU LEAST EXPECT IT. You have only a 12 count. You opened the bidding and partner responds with a change of suit in which you have a doubleton.. You have a decent looking 6 card suit, indeed one which will often play for just one... read more here

Supporting Role to the Star. Yours is not the star role today. You cannot perform a brilliancy on every board. (Did I hear you say that one every 1,000 would be nice! If so, do not be so negative.) However, you did have a supporting role to play.... read more here

WHAT IF? We can dream of nice things happening in our life, a big Lotto win, a visit from a long-lost friend, perhaps even a well-played bridge hand. I am sure at least one of those has happened: not sure about all three! Yet, those two little... read more here

An “Open Book”. If you look at the North-South hands below, with no opposition bidding, you could construct a sensible auction to 3NT by South where there are 9 rock-solid tricks, a bonus tenth if West leads a spade. Unsensational.... read more here

What this great video.  Thank you to Prof Sam Punch for allowing us to share this with you read more here

                     CHOOSING THE TRUMP SUIT, IF INDEED THERE IS ONE! Part One of our two-part grand slam series featured whether we could bid to... read more here