A mnemonic for the original (Roman) response structure to theRoman Key Card Blackwoodconvention. It represents "3 or 0" and "1 or 4", meaning that the lowest step response (5♣) to the 4NT key card asking bid shows responder has three or zerokeycardsand the next step (5♦) shows one or four.
1430 or 1430 RKCB
A mnemonic for a variant response structure to theRoman Key Card Blackwoodconvention. It represents "1 or 4" and "3 or 0", meaning that the lowest step response (5♣) to the 4NT key card asking bid shows responder has one or fourkeycardsand the next step (5♦) shows three or zero.
A 2 or 3-level conventional opening bid made two steps below the opener's suit: for example, 2♦to show a weak two bid in spades or 3♣to show a three-level preempt in hearts. If 2♣is a strong, artificial force, 2♥is natural.
Counting points by way of8421means counting an ace for 8 points, a king for 4, a queen for 2, and a jack for 1 point. For example, when a bid is interpreted as"5- 8421 HCP in S",this means the bidder is expected to have 5 or fewer points in spades, counting an ace as 8 points, etc.
Inrubber bridge,the location on the scorepad above the main horizontal line where extra points are entered; extra points are those awarded for holding honor cards in trumps, for bonuses for scoring game, small slam, grand slam or winning a rubber, for overtricks on the declaring side and for undertricks on the defending side and for fulfilling doubled or redoubled contracts. Points awarded for contract odd tricks bid and made are enteredbelow the line.SeeBridge scoring.
Anapproach–forcing,naturalbidding system, based on a weak NT and 4-card majors, popular in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.
Active
An approach to defending a hand that emphasizes quickly setting up winners and taking tricks. ContrastPassive.
An approach to competitive bidding that emphasizes frequent interference with opponents' bidding sequences.
Adjusted score
Induplicate bridge,a score awarded by theDirector(when empowered by theLaws) in order to redress damage to a non-offending side and to take away any advantage gained by an offending side through aninfraction.It may be "assigned" (weighted to reflect the probabilities of a number of potential results) or "artificial" (otherwise). The scores awarded to the two sides need not balance.
Advance cue bid
Thecue bidof a first roundcontrolthat occurs before a partnership has agreed on astrain.
Advance sacrifice
Asacrificebid made before the opponents have had an opportunity to determine their optimum contract. For example: 1♦– (1♠) – Dbl – (5♠).
Advancer
Overcaller's partner, especially one who bids following the overcall.
Adverse vulnerability
Vulnerable against non-vulnerable opponents. Also called "unfavorable vulnerability".
Aggregate scoring
Deciding the outcome of a contest by totaling the raw points gained or lost on each deal. Also called "total point scoring".
Agree
For a partnership to come to a decision, explicitly, conventionally or by implication, on thedenominationin which to play a hand.
Agreement
An understanding between partners as to the meaning of a particular call or defensive play. There are two types of call agreements: (1) when the call isnatural,the agreement is said to be atreatment,and (2) when the call isartificial,the agreement is said to be aconvention.
Air, as "on air"
♥ K Q 5 4
♥ A 7 6 2
W N↑ S↓ E
♥ J 10 9 3
♥ 8
(Slang) To win a trick with a high card while capturing only small cards, commonly said of a defensive play. In the example at right, when South leads the♥8, West must take the♥A on air, or risk making no heart tricks. Nevertheless, best defense on a given hand may call either for ducking the winner or for playing it on air.
Declarer's intentional and unethical attempt to locate a finessable card by revoking. If the play is unintentional, it is nevertheless subject toscore adjustment.
Alert
A method of informing the opponents that partner'scallcarries a meaning they might not expect.Sponsoring organizationsset rules on which calls must be alerted and how; any method of alerting may be authorized, such as saying "Alert", displaying an Alert card from a bidding box, or knocking on the table. Regardless whether a call is alerted, either opponent may ask its meaning, either at his/her turn or after the end of the auction. The player who made the call may contribute to its explanation only after the auction and only if he/she is declarer or dummy. Slightly different rules apply whenscreensare in use.
Announcement
A method of promptly informing the opponents that partner'scallhas a particular meaning. The purposes of announcements andalertsare similar, but an announcement gives the meaning where an alert may prompt the opponents to ask the meaning.Sponsoring organizationsset rules on which calls should be announced. TheACBLspecifies announcements including "Transfer" for sometransferreplies to notrump bids, the point range such as "15 to 17" for an opening bid of one notrump, and "Forcing" or "Semi-forcing" for a 1NT response to a major suit opening bid.
Antipositional
A call is antipositional if it tends to make the "wrong" partner the declarer. IfWestopens the bidding, it may be best for South to declare a North-South contract, so that West will have to play from his high cards on opening lead. This positioning may protect South'stenaces.In that case, a call that will make North declarer is antipositional. Seewrongside.
Appeal
In tournaments, toappealis to request that a committee review a ruling made by a director.
Approach–forcing
A principle, first used in theCulbertson system,that has survived in modern bidding. The original idea was to abandon the indiscriminate notrump bids that characterizedauctionbridge in favor of a slower exchange of information via suit bidding.
Arrow
A marker, usually a large card with an arrow on it, that shows which direction is treated as North at a table in a duplicate event.
Arrow switch
The action of changing the North direction during an event, typically for the last round of aMitchell movement,so that the pairs who were North-South become East-West and vice versa. This allows a single winning pair to be determined.
Artificial
A call that is notnaturalwhich byagreementcarries a coded meaning not necessarily related to the call's (or to the prior call's) denomination.
A bid that, by prior agreement, requests information about a feature of partner's hand: for example, number ofcontrols,suit length, or control of a particular suit.
Attacking lead
A lead that instigates anactivedefense; often, the lead of an honor from a sequence, or aforcing defense.
Attitude
A defender's desire, or lack thereof, for his side to continue playing a suit. By means ofsignals,defender encourages or discourages the continuation of the suit.
Auction bridge,an earlier form of bridge, differing from today'scontract bridgechiefly in the scoring. Most notably,overtrickscounted the same as tricks bid and made, so they were scoredbelow the lineand any contract, no matter how low, could produce agameorslambonus.
A variant of contract bridge for play by one person; alternatively, a means for one to learn or practice the game alone. Information for eachdealis pre-printed on one sheet of paper in a special layout. Such a "deal" is loaded in a mechanical template (see image at right) which the operator-player manipulates selectively and sequentially to reveal some of the information. Paper deals are distributed in numbered sets of "Autobridge Refills".
Inmatchpointscoring, one-half the matchpoints available on a given deal.
Anaverage scoreis sometimes awarded to one or both pairs when for some reason they cannot play the board. If neither pair is at fault or both pairs are at fault, the director may decide to award an average to each side. Law 12.C.2 of theLaws of Duplicate Contract Bridgestates that if one pair is at fault, it receives anaverage-minus(at most, 40% of the available matchpoints on the board). A pair not at all at fault receivesaverage-plus:60% of the available matchpoints on the board, or, if greater, the average of the matchpoints the pair earned on other boards played during the session or of the matchpoints earned against their current opponents. The assigned scores need not sum to the total available matchpoints.
In IMP(Butler)pairs, "average" refers to the "datum" used in scoring.
A play designed to keep a particular defender off lead, often to prevent the lead of a suit through atenaceposition in either declarer's hand or dummy.
To keep the bidding open when it is about to be passed out at a low level. For example, if the bidding goes 1♥– (P) – P – (1NT), the 1NT bid is a balancing action. The balancing bid is often made with a hand of substandard strength in order to prevent the opponents from securing a low-level contract.
Balanced distribution
Narrowly, abalanceddistributionof a hand is 4–3–3–3, 4–4–3–2 or 5–3–3–2. Equivalently, there are no voids, no singletons, and at most one doubleton.
Balancedis sometimes used in a broad sense that includessemi-balanced.Broadly, balanced distribution permits no void, singleton, or 7-card suit.
A hand withbalanced distributionin the narrow or wide sense just above. On the first round of bidding,naturalnotrump bids generally denote balanced hands.
To prevent a player from making abid,either by apenaltycaused by anirregularity,or because partnership agreement requires a pass in a given situation. In either case, the player is said to be "barred."
Bar bid
A bid which by partnership agreement requires partner topass at future turns to call in the current auction.Raises of partner'sweak two opening bidare one common example. The raise might be extending the preempt, to make, or to push the opponents a level too high. If the opponents bid over abar bid raise,the partner who made the bar bid may intend to pass, double for penalty, preempt, or raise again to push the opponents. Hence, the reason that partner is barred. The partner who made thebar bidmay be ″operating.” None of the other three players can know the intent of the player who made thebar bid.Thus, the partner must pass, and the opponents must guess.
Barometer scoring
In a duplicate event, the posting of contestants' running scores after each round. Knowledge of the current standings often adds excitement to the contest, and can affect the strategies adopted by those in a position to win the event.
Aholdupby declarer, to prevent an opponent from continuing a suit. In the classic position, declarer holds♠AJ2 and West, on declarer's left, leads♠K from♠KQ1098. By playing the 2 on West's K, South makes it impossible for West to continue spades without giving South a freefinesse.
Inrubber bridge,the place on the score pad (below the main horizontal line) where trick points scored for making a contract, i.e. tricks bid for and taken exclusive of overtricks, are recorded. These are the points counted towardsgame.SeeAbove the lineandBridge scoring.
Benjaminised Acolor "Benji"
A variant of Acol where 2♣and 2♦are strong bids of different strengths, and 2♥and 2♠areweak twos.Invented by Scottish international playerAlbert Benjamin.
Better minor
A commonly used term for the choice of minor suit opening bid with less than four cards, typically infive card majorsystems. InStandard American Yellow Card,it is normal to bid the longer suit with 3 cards in one and two in the other, and 1♣with 3–3. In this sense the term is a misnomer as a poor club suit (e.g. Jxx) may be opener instead of a stronger diamond suit (e.g. KQx). "Prepared minor" would be more precise terminology. Seeprepared bid.
The trophy awarded to the winner of the World Zonal Open Team Championship, the most prestigious in bridge. More commonly the term refers to the competition itself, a biennial two-week tournament among open teams that have qualified in their geographiczones.
Bid
A specification of bothlevelanddenominationorstrain,such asthree notrumporfour hearts.While any legal bid constitutes a potentialcontract,some bids carry special coded meanings when used by the partnership as aconventional bidand as such are not normally intended as a potential contract.
An obsolete term meaning "contract" (noun).
Bid out of turn
A bid erroneously made when it was another player's turn to bid. Subject topenalty.
Biddable suit
A suit that a partnership regards as long and strong enough to be bid naturally. Partnerships often employ different standards of length and strength for suits named inopening bids,inresponses,inrebidsand inovercalls.
Bidding
The first stage of adeal,when players jointly determine the finalcontract.Having examined their own cards, they make a series ofcallsin rotation, which is called the auction or the bidding.
A box placed on the table (one box for each player) that contains cards withcallsprinted on them, as well as other cards such as "alert". By selecting and displaying a card, a player can make a call without speaking. Silent bidding removes one source ofunauthorized informationfrom the game.
Bidding space
The number of steps available in an auction, or the number of steps consumed by a bid. The sequence 1♣– 1♦consumes only one step, whereas 1♦– 2♣consumes four steps. Because alternative bids are skipped, it often happens that the more steps a bid takes up, the more specific meaning it carries. SeeUseful Space Principle.
The complete set ofagreementsand understandings assigned tocallsand sequences of calls used by apartnership,including a full description of the meaning of eachtreatmentandconvention.
Biltcliffe coup
(British slang) A sarcastic term applied to a poor result as a consequence of four steps: (1) the opponents are about to play in a part score, when youbid in pass-out seat,(2) the opponents then bid game, (3) you double for penalties, and (4) they make the contract. In some circles, thecoupis not recognized unless the contract makes through misdefense.[3]
Popular bidding convention in contract bridge, used to determine number of partner's aces/kings to evaluate for slam bids.
Blank
(Adjective) Unprotected by other, usually lower cards in the same suit: "I held the blank king of spades."[citation needed]
(Verb) To discard in such a way as to leave a card unprotected: "She blanked the king of spades."[citation needed]
Blitz
(Slang) A win by a sufficiently wide margin inIMPsto earn the maximum possible number (or difference) ofvictory points.
Blocked
(Adjective) If a suit is divided between partners in such a way that the hand with the shorter holding has only high cards, the suit cannot be run without anentryto the longer holding in another suit; it is then said to beblocked.If North holds♦AK and South holds♦QJ10, South cannot cash a third diamond trick without an entry in another suit. The diamonds areblockeduntil North is able tounblockby playing the ace and king.
One particular allocation of 52 cards to the four players including thebidding,theplayof the cards and thescoringbased on those cards. Also calleddealorhand.
The dummy's hand. For example, "You're on the board" means "The lead is in the dummy".
Board-a-match (BAM)
A form of scoring forteams,analogous tomatchpointscoring forpairs.A team earns 1 point if its pairs score higher than the opposing pairs (with the same cards at the other table), 1/2 for equal scores, and 0 for lower scores. Board-a-match scoring is now less common thanIMPscoring, or IMPsvictory pointsin aSwiss teamstournament.
Body
Intermediate cards such as the 9, 8 and 7, that contribute to a suit's trick-taking potential.
(Noun) The basic sixtricksthat must be taken by thedeclaringside. The first six "book" tricks are always assumed and are not taken into account inbiddingorscoring.Thus, acontractat the 1-levelcommitsdeclarerto take at least 7 (that is, 6 + 1) tricks, and provides trick points only for the trick above book. The term apparently originated from thewhistpractice of arranging the first six tricks into a stack called a "book."
(Noun) The number of tricks that the defensive side must take so as to hold declarer to his contract. If the contract is 4♠,defenders' book is 3.
(Verb, usually passive) Slang. As declarer, to have lost the maximum number of tricks without being set. At 4♠,declarer is "booked" when he has lost three tricks.
Bottom
At matchpoint scoring, a result no better than any other by a pair playing the same cards, resulting in an award of minimum matchpoints; either jointly (a shared bottom), or alone (a cold bottom, orzero).
Boxed
(British slang) Adjective applied to a card found to be face-up during dealing, and by extension to the whole pack. Also used for a card found to be face-up in a hand extracted from a duplicate board, or for the hand itself.
Bracket
A group of entries in a tournament that will eventually have one winner. The grouping is often done on the basis of masterpoints.
Break
(Noun) The distribution of cards in a suit between the two opponents' (often unseen) hands: "I got a 4–1 spade break." Aneven breakoccurs when the cards are distributed evenly or nearly so, such as 3–3 or 3–2. Abad break,connoting a distribution that is difficult to handle, suggests an unexpectedly uneven distribution, such as 5–1 or 6–0. Seedistribution.
(Verb) To be divided between two hands. "The spades broke 3–2."
(Verb) To lead a particular suit for the first time during a particular deal.
(Verb) Slang. To play for and find a particular distribution, usually the most favorable. "I broke the spades."
Acompilationof short "laws", "rules" and rules-of-thumb advice; often, not always, valid.
The Bridge World(TBW)
A monthly magazine based in New York City,The Bridge Worldis the oldest continuously published periodical concerning contract bridge, and the game's most prestigious technical journal.
Broken sequence
A sequence ofhonorcards, one or more of which is missing, for example AQJ.
Bullet
(Slang) An ace.
Bump
(Slang) A single raise of partner. Used as a noun or a verb.
In duplicate bridge, an adaptation of the Mitchell movement to accommodate a half table. The extra pair moves around the room, substituting themselves in for a particular other pair, bumping out the pair for one round.[4]
(Slang) A very weak hand. Sometimes paired with the name of a long suit: for example, "club bust" to denote a hand with long clubs and very little high card strength. See alsoYarborough.
Busy
A card that is needed for some purpose is said to bebusy.For example, cards that a defender is trying to preserve while declarer executes asqueezeare "busy". ContrastIdle.
A busy defense is an alternative term for anactivedefense.
Butler, or Butler scoring
A method of scoring induplicate bridgepairsevents. Each pair's result on aboardis compared against a "datum" score which is the arithmetic mean of all the results (usually after exclusion of one or more of the top and bottom results), and the difference converted toIMPs.Sometimes, the median is used instead of the mean.
Bye
A round of an event during which a team or pair is not scheduled to play.
A location ( "bye-stand" ) such as a chair or table, where boards are kept when not in use during an event. Typically used in a Mitchell movement with an even number of pairs when there is a "share and relay".
A tournament in which bettors bid on participating pairs orteams.The proceeds from the auction are distributed partly as prizes to the top finishers, partly to the bettors who successfully bid on them. A pair or team can typically buy an interest in itself.
An approach to bidding in which a player bids his shorter suit prior to his longer suit. A feature of the Blue Team Club and the Roman Club.
Captain
In ateamscompetition, one person called thecaptainmust represent a team in stipulated official settings and make stipulated official decisions for a team. A playing captain (pc) is eligible to participate as a player at the table; a non-playing captain (npc) may not play. Many team competitions includingWBFworld championships limit teams to six players, thus to seven members depending on the kind of captain. Other team officials such as a coach are not team members and are not covered in the rules of bridge.[clarification needed]
The partner who makes the decision for a partnership in certain bidding situations, such as ace-asking sequences.
Card reading
The act of determining thedistributionof cards in unseen hands, and the location of high cards therein, by analyzing the bidding, play and other clues.
In a complex event, some participants begin a later stage with scores that depend on performance in an earlier stage. Simple accumulation of scores from stage to stage is full carryover but the term is commonly used only when carryover is less than full.
Someteamevents have a later knockout stage with carryover equal to some fraction of any margin of victory from an early-stage match between the same teams.
Many tournaments for teams, pairs, or individuals have stages that progressively reduce the field, such as by cutting the bottom half at the end of each day. Sometimes thequalifierscontinue with a fraction of their qualifying margins as carryover, which effectively gives weight less than one to points scored in the earlier, larger, lower-quality field. Sometimes there is no carryover; comfortable and borderline qualification are equivalent in the next stage.
Cash
To take a trick with a card that is currently the highest in the suit, thought likely to succeed, or to take all available winners in a suit.
Cavendish variation
A version ofChicago,with dealer's sidenotvulnerable on the second and third hands, as in the standard version.
A variant of rubber bridge in which arubberconsists of four deals withvulnerabilitypredetermined for each deal.
Chicane
A hand without any trumps.
CHO
(Slang) Centre-hand opponent, a derogatory or facetious term for one's partner, or partners generally. CompareLHOandRHO,left- and right-hand opponents.
Chuck
(Slang) An error in bidding or play, which was or might have been costly. Also used as a verb.
Chunky
A suit with enough honor strength to play well unaided by partner's cards (but not solid) ischunky.Normally said of four-card suits. AQJ10 is a chunky suit; AQ96 is not chunky.
Claim
A statement by declarer about how the remaining unplayed tricks will be won or lost. Normally the claiming player exposes his hand and describes the sequence of play for the remaining tricks (but such plays as finesses, unless already proven, are disallowed). A claim is best made only when the play of the rest of the hand is obvious. Claims are often inadvisable: apart from the possibility of a mistaken analysis, it can take longer to explain the line of play than to play it. See alsoConcession.
Clear a suit
Knock out an opponent's high-card control of a suit, or unblock one's own high cards.
Closed hand
Declarer's hand (as distinct from the dummy, which isfacedor open).
Closed room
In ateammatch, a room where two of the pairs compete, and in which spectators are not allowed.
Coffeehousing
Making improper remarks to mislead the opponents, or asking improper questions designed to suggest a defensive play.
Cold
Acontractthat a player cannot fail to make, even against the best defense, iscold.
Colors first
A bidding approach where players indicate suits (denominations) before showing high card strength. For example, natural suit overcalls and natural one-level suit opening bids are usually "colors first". Natural notrump opening bids and natural notrump overcalls usually show strength rather than suits. AMichaels cue bidis usually "colors first", but atakeout doubleis usually more "values first".
A combination finesse is one of several tactics in play of the cards that includes multiplefinessesin one suit or combines another technique with a finesse.
Combination play
A line of play that offers more than one chance to take additional tricks: for example, playing to drop an honor in a longer suit and then finessing for an honor in a shorter suit.
Come-on
A defensive signal that encourages partner to continue a suit, usually by means of the rank of the card used to follow suit.
A notrump overcall that shows a weak hand with a long suit, to which theovercallercan escape if doubled. Also known as Gardener 1NT.
Communication
The placement of theleadin one or the other of the two partnershiphands,so as to make a subsequent lead from the more advantageous hand, specifically the ability to place the lead in such hand.
The means of conveying a message to partner via thebiddingand by the card played to a trick. The only legal means of communication is through the calls and plays themselves, rather than through mannerisms such as tone of voice and hesitations. Often generalized ascommunicationsin both senses.
Comparative scoring
The method of scoring used in matchpoint or Board-a-Match events. The metric used is not the number of points earned on a particular deal, as it is when usingquantitative scoring,but the number of pairs that have been out-scored.
Competitive auction
A bidding sequence which involves both partnerships. Also,competitive bidding.
Concession
A statement by a player as to the number of remaining tricks that he must lose. See alsoClaim.
Condone
To act after an opponent'sirregularitywithout arranging for the penalty specified in the Laws to be applied.
Congratulatory jack
The unnecessary play (by follow-suit or by discard) of a jack following partner's exceptionally successful action. More often used by the defense, but possible as a play from dummy.
Congress
(Mainly British) A nationally or locally organisedduplicate bridgecompetition held at a single location and usually involving bothpairsandteamsevents, typically lasting one or two days but sometimes as many as ten. The more usual North American term istournament.
Constructive
Bidding that is aimed at reaching a side's optimum contract, as distinct from calls intended to interfere with the opponents' bidding.
Constructive raise: by partnership agreement, a single raise of a major suit opening that shows more strength than usual.
Contract
The statement of thepairwho has won thebidding,that they will take at least the stated number oftricks.The contract consists of two components: thelevel,stating the number of tricks to be taken (in addition to thebooktricks), and thedenomination,denoting the trump suit (or its absence in a notrump bid). The lastbidin the bidding phase denotes the final contract.
A feature of ahandwhich prevents the defenders from taking sufficient immediatetricksin a specific suit so as to set the contract or make the setting of the contract unavoidable. Aces are termed "first-round" controls and kings are termed "second-round" controls. Intrumpcontracts,voidsare also considered first-round controls andsingletonssecond-round controls. See alsoStopper.
(Said of trump contracts) Declarer's ability to manage thetrumpsuit successfully. Tolose controlusually means being forced to shorten one's trumps so much that the opponents can subsequently control the play of the hand. SeeForcing defense.
Control-bid
A bid that showscontrolof a particular suit. Often acue bid,but not allcue bidsare control-bids.
Anagreementbetween partners on an artificial meaning of acallor sequence of calls, which is not necessarily related to the length and strength of bid suits or of willingness to play in notrump. Many bidding conventions areartificial;see, for example,Slam-seeking conventions.
An agreement that a particular defensive play has a special meaning. Compare withTreatment.
A form filled out by apartnershipand available to their opponents, that shows the bidding and play conventions they are using. Normally used during tournaments, their format may be prescribed by the governing bridge organization.
Convert
To change the effect of a call. For example, passing partner's overcall of 2♦when playingMichaels cue bidsconverts the overcall from a request to bid a major suit to a contract of 2♦.There are many other applications: for example, to pass partner'stakeout doubleis toconvertit to apenalty double.
In the bidding, to choose (usually) partner's first bid suit; in that case, a correction is equivalent to apreference.
COS
Acronym or initialism for Choice of Slams. An artificial or natural bid made to ask partner to select a strain from several choices where theslammight be played.
Count
(Noun) The number of cards held in a suit or suits, usually said of an opponent's hand.
(Verb) To determine, by inference or by follow-suit, the number of cards held in a suit by an opponent.
(Noun) Insqueezeplay, the number of tricks that declarer must lose before the squeeze can function. Seerectify the count.
Count signal
A defensive card play that shows whether the player has an even or odd number of cards in a suit.
The lead of aside suitin which bothsecondandthird handsarevoid,second hand holding a hightrump,in such a way that third hand cannot be prevented from taking a trick with a low trump. It is a form ofelopement.
A card (honoror extratrump) which is known to compensate one of partner'slosers;for example, a king in trumps covers partner's trump loser.
Crack
(Slang, verb). To make apenalty double.Also, "cracked", a doubled contract, regardless of the result; as in e.g. "The contract was 2♠cracked ".
Crash
(Usually written CRASH or CRaSh) Acronym for Color, RAnk and SHape; aconventionshowing a 2-suited hand, as anovercallat first opportunity after an opponent's strongartificial1♣,1♦,2♣or 2♦opening. The two suits share the same color (red or black), rank (majors,orminors) or shape (roundedorpointed). The type of pairing is shown by the number ofstepsaboveRHO'sbid which are taken up by the over call.
(Uncapitalised) The play of two winners by a pair on a single trick: for example, the ace and king of trumps. This usually involves a declarer's use of a deceptive play to cause a defender to follow suit with one high card (for example, the king from Kx when the other defender holds the singleton ace).
On defense, second hand's play of a higher card than apparently necessary, so as to obtain the lead. The play is intended to prevent fourth hand from being forced into the lead to make a return favorable to declarer. The name suggests a crocodile opening its maw to swallow up partner's winning card.
Cross
To enter the opposite hand. Normally used of dummy or declarer's hand: "He crossed to dummy in diamonds."
A playing technique in trump contracts, where extra tricks are gained byruffingin both hands alternately.
Cross-IMP scoring
A form ofIMP scoringin pairs tournaments, where each pair's score is determined as an (averaged) sum of differences to all other scores (rather than to a singledatumscore). Also known asX-ImpsorCalcutta.
A bid of the opponents'suitin a competitive auction. Usually a conventional, forcing bid that shows strength or an unusualhand,or a particular distribution.
A bid that shows acontrolin a suit (usually with an ace or king, sometimes with a void), but does not indicate length or strength in the suit otherwise. Seecontrol bid.Partnershipagreementsindicate when in an uncontested auction a bid is considered a cuebid. Usually used in exploring for aslamcontract (seeBridge conventions (slam seeking)), or for showingstoppersneeded for a notrumpgame.
Aslam-seeking conventiondevised byEly Culbertson,in which a player bids 4NT or 5NT to show possession of defined numbers of keycards (aces, and kings in bid suits), and to which that player's partner responds in generally natural fashion. Since the 1950s, it has been almost entirely superseded by variants of theBlackwood convention.
Inrubber bridge,it is customary on completion of arubberto invite other players in the cardroom to play in the next one, often by a cry of "Table up". The players in the completed rubber draw cards to determine who will withdraw; the one or more who draw the lowest card or cards are said to cut out, and their replacements to cut in.
An opponent who, if he obtains the lead, can damage declarer's prospects.
When defending, either declarer's or dummy's hand which, if it gains the lead, can damage the defenders' prospects.
Datum
The mean or median of raw scores on a deal. The datum is used as a basis for calculating IMPs for the participating teams or pairs. The datum may be trimmed by removing extreme scores at either end of the distribution, a procedure whose effect on a mean or on a median depends on the degree of skewness in the raw scores.
Dawdling
The practice of introducing an additional round (or rounds) to the bidding to show extra information. Example: On a 1NT – 3NT auction, responder has gone quickly to the final contract. When instead the auction goes 1NT – 2♦;2♥– 3NT, responder has dawdled with the Jacoby Transfer to announce their 5-card heart suit before going to 3NT. Important distinction: Dawdling is part and parcel of thefast arrivalstyle of bidding, and refers to the bids that are not fast; not to be confused with theslow arrivalstyle of bidding.
Dead
A hand that has no card of entry, usually in reference to the dummy.
A hand that has a suit consisting only of low cards of no significance. For example, two dead spades.
Deal
One particular allocation of 52 cards to the four players including thebidding,theplayof the cards and thescoringbased on those cards. Also calledboardorhand.
(Verb) To allocate the 52 cards to the four players or hands, 13 each.
Dealer
The player who makes the firstcallin the auction. In some versions of the game, this player also deals the cards. Inrubber bridge,the first dealer is usually decided by a cut for the highest card. Induplicate bridge,cards are dealt only at the start of the session and the deal is preserved during the session by the use ofboards.The "dealer" who will make the first call is identified by a mark on the physical board, commonly the word "dealer".
Of the partnership that makes the final bid in theauction,declarer is the partner who first names thedenominationorstrainof the final bid, thus the strain of thecontract.During the play, declarer sits across from thedummyand calls for cards from the dummy's hand, or "plays the dummy."
A bid or sequence of bids designed to hinder the opponents' bidding, includingsacrifices.
All bidding by the partnership which does notopen,which necessarily begins with adoubleorovercall(intervention).
Delayed
Postponed, as the jump preference in the auction 1♥– 1♠;2♦– 3♥.Many bids have a different meaning depending on whether or not they are made at the first opportunity.
In the endgame, the play of a side suit through a defender to create an over ruff and a subsequent trump finesse.
D–I
(Abbreviation of Declarative-Interrogative.) 4NT as a general slam try that asks partner to show features. D–I is incorporated in several bidding systems, including Neapolitan, Blue Team Club and Kaplan–Sheinwold. Players distinguish the D–I andBlackwooduses of 4NT by context.
Direction
A player's position at the bridge table (North, East, South or West).
Direct position
Usually said of a bid that is made immediately followingRHO's bid. ContrastBalance(verb), on balancing action in balancing position.
Directional asking bid
Often abbreviated as DAB. Acuebidof opponent's suit below 3NT, showing a partial stop in that suit and requesting partner to bid notrump with a holding such as Qx or Jxx. Common in the UK, less so elsewhere.
Director
Alsotournament director(TD). Thereferee(induplicate bridge). The director enforces the rules, assigns penalties for violations, and oversees the progress of the game. The director may also be responsible for the final scoring. In a large tournament there may be several directors reporting to a Head Director. InACBL-sponsored events, a director's ruling as to bridge fact may be appealed; a ruling as to discipline, so as to maintain an orderly event, may not.
Discard
(Verb) To play a card that is neither of the suit led, nor trump, and that therefore cannot win the trick.
(Noun) The card so played.
Discouraging card
A carding signal that discourages partner from leading a particular suit. ContrastCome-on.
Discovery play
A play, either by declarer or by the defense, intended to obtain information about the location of other cards.
Distribution
(Suit distribution) Of one suit on adeal,the numbers of cards orlengthsin the four hands. Sometimes the length of a suit in one or two hands is known or presumed and its "distribution" covers only three or two hands, as "opposing distribution" said of the other pair from the perspective of one pair or player.
(Hand distribution,alsoshapeorpattern) Of one 13-card hand on adeal,the numbers of cards orlengthsin the four suits. Sometimes the length of one or two suits is known or presumed and "distribution" covers only three or two suits, as "distribution in the minors" said of one hand whose major-suit distribution is known.
General.The degree to which four suits in one hand, one suit in four hands, or all of the hands and suits aredealtin long and short holdings. Long and short holdings constitute "lots of distribution" and three-card holdings in particular constitute "no distribution".
Specific.Either way, four whole numbers that sum to 13 are commonly used to denote a distribution briefly, such as4333or4–3–3–3for a hand comprising one four-card suit and three three-card suits; or for a suit with one four-card holding and three three-card holdings in the four hands. Also22or2–2for the opposing distribution of spades when one pair holds nine of them; or for one hand's distribution in the minors when it holds nine in the Majors.
Fully specified.Conventionally neither4333nor4–3–3–3indicates which is the four-card suit in a hand while4=3=3=3means four spades, represented first, and three each in hearts, diamonds, and clubs. Thus4=6=2=1means 4 spades, 6 hearts, 2 diamonds, and 1 club.
Distribution points
A measure of one hand's strength due to the length or shortness of suits. SeeHand evaluation.
Acronym forDisturbOpponentsNotrump. A conventional defense to notrump opening bids.
DOPE
Acronym forDoubleOdd,PassEven. A conventional method for bidding over interference withBlackwood.
DOPI
A proxi-acronym forDouble,O(the letter O standing for zero or none),Pass andI(the capital i standing for the numeral 1 or one). A conventional method for bidding over interference withBlackwood.Pronounced "dopey."
Double
Acallthat increasespenaltiesif the opponents fail to make theircontract,but consequently also increases thebonusesif they make it. A player can double only a contract bid by the opposition. Referred to as penalty double.
(Adjective or adverb.) Said of a play or line of play that seems to be made with knowledge of all four hands, as if there were at least twodummiesvisible. ContrastSingle dummy.
When said of thedefendersjointly, "double dummy defense" suggests that that pair knows all four hands and agrees on both goals and tactics such asfalsecards,as if the cards were visible and they discussed those points.
Double dummy problem
A bridge problem presented for entertainment or teaching, in which the solver is presented with all four hands and is asked to determine the course of play that will achieve or defeat a particular contract.
To double apart scoresuch that, if the contract is fulfilled, the total of the doubled trick scores will exceed 100 points.
Double knockout
A form ofknockoutcompetition in which teams are eliminated after losing two matches rather than after losing one. Commonly, teams with no losses face each other (undefeated teams) and teams with one loss face each other (one-loser teams), insofar as possible.
Double negative
An agreement regarding a second negative bid by a player who has already made one. Normally used regarding sequences that follow strong, forcing opening bids.
Asqueezein which each opponent must guard a different suit, and both opponents must guard a third suit.
Doubleton
A holding of exactly two cards in a suit.
Down
A contract that is defeated is said to bedown.
(Followed by a number) The number of tricks by which a contract fails: for example, "Down two."
Down the line
To bid the higher of two adjacent suits before the lower. For example, of two five-card majors, the spade suit is normally bid before the heart suit. ContrastUp the line.
Draw
To extract, usually trumps. To remove the opponents' trump cards is to "draw trumps."
Drive out
To force a stopper from an opponent's hand, usually by repeatedly leading the suit.
Drop
(Verb) To fall under a higher card: "The♠Q dropped under the♠K. "
(Noun) That occurrence itself: "He played for the drop instead of finessing."
Aplaytechnique in which a player does not immediately play a card that might take atrick,but plays a small card instead.
Dummy
The partner of thedeclarer.Dummy's cards are placed face up on the table and played by the declarer. Dummy has few rights and may not participate in choices concerning the play of the hand.
A playing technique intrumpcontractsthat gains extra tricks by ruffing in the hand that began with the longer trumps so that that hand ends up with shorter trumps.
Dump
To lose a match deliberately, usually so as to assist another team or pair in the event. A subject of considerable controversy in the 1990s and beyond.
A form of bridge where everydealis played at severaltables,by several pairs, and theirscoreson each deal are subsequently compared. A minimum of two tables (fourpairs) are required for a duplicate bridge event. Each entry might be a pair, or a team consisting of two or more pairs; the type of scoring varies accordingly. The hands of each deal are kept in metal or plastic containers calledboardsthat are passed between tables.
Duplication of values
Possession of values in the same suit in both partners' hands so arranged that they do not pull their full weight. (1) High card values in one hand and a singleton or void in the other; e.g.♠KJ9 facing a void is much less useful than♠KJ9 facing♠Q4. (2) High cards in short suits in both hands, e.g.♠AJ facing♠KQ.
Dustbin Notrump
A bidding response of 1NT to an opening bid that doesn't show a balanced hand but a weak hand (6–9 HCP), no support for partner and no higher ranking 4+ card suit to bid. So the hand could be unbalanced.
A bidding style that developed in the Eastern United States, particularly the New York region. It is characterized by five-card majors with a forcing one "notrump" response and limit raises, strong notrump with Jacoby transfers, and strong (but not game forcing) two-over-one responses.
Eau de cologne
(Slang, chiefly British) A hand with 7–4–1–1 distribution, from the cologne brand4711.
The play of first the higher, then the lower of two cards of the same suit on separate tricks to encourage or, by prior agreement, to discourage (seeupside-down signals) partner's continuation of a suit; or to signal possession of (normally) an even number of cards in the suit at the time the higher card is played.
Every Hand An Adventure, a bidding style that emphasizes very weak notrump opening bids (often 10–12HCP), four-card majors, and undisciplined weak-two bids.
Eight ever, nine never
Abridge maximthat advises players when tofinessefor a missing queen. With eight cards in the suit, always ( "ever" ) finesse; but with nine cards, never finesse, rather play for the queen todropunder the play of the ace and king. Experienced players often ignore this advice in favor of considerations such as thedanger hand,combination play,and the known or inferred distribution of other suits.
EKB
Exclusion Keycard Blackwood, a variant ofRoman Keycard Blackwood.EKB uses a suit bid rather than a notrump bid to show a void in that suit and to exclude the named suit ace from the count of keycards.
Elimination
The removal, by playing a suit or suits, of safeexit cardsfrom defenders' hands, normally in preparation for anendplay.The classic (but not the only) example is to leave an endplayed defender with the choice of conceding aruff and discardor giving declarer afree finesse.
Elope, elopement
To win a trick by ruffing with a trump lower in rank than an opponent's trump. Thecoup en passantis an example of an elopement.
Encrypted
An agreement that the meaning of bids or card signals may change as more information about a deal becomes available. For example, when declarer shows out of a suit, the defenders can tell whether the rank of West's lowest remaining card in the suit is even or odd (and declarer probably does not have that information). The defenders might have agreed that if West's lowest remaining card is even, normal attitude signals will be in effect, but if it is odd,upside-down signalswill be used. In such a case, the defenders' agreement isencrypted.
Ending
The layout of the cards when just a few tricks remain to be played. In a "four-card ending", each player has four cards left. Such positions can be of special interest because squeezes and other endplays tend to occur near the end of the play.
A play which forces a particular opponent to win a trick, so that that opponent must then make a favorable lead. That player is said to be "endplayed". Normally, the player who is endplayed is a defender. Although the word implies that the play occurs toward the end of a hand, it often occurs earlier, and in exceptional cases the opening leader can be said to be "endplayed at trick one."
Enter
To win a trick in the opposite hand, thereby giving it the right to lead to the next trick.
To make the firstcallfor a partnership after the opponents have bid.
A card that allows a particular hand to win a trick that partner or an opponent has led to. Entries are vital tocommunication.
A seating assignment in a bridge competition. Entries designate the participants' initial table number, direction at that table, and (if applicable) section.
A squeeze in which the declarer decides whether to overtake the squeeze card or to let it hold the trick, depending on the play of the intervening opponent.
Asqueezethat puts pressure on a holding that interferes with declarer's entries.
Equal level conversion (ELC)
An agreement concerning rebids aftertake-out doubles.Traditionally, the bid of a new suit by the player who has made a take-out double is considered forcing. Under the equal level conversion agreement, the bid of a new suit by the doubler is not forcing if it is at the same level asadvancer's bid. So, equal level conversion means that in the sequence 1♠– (Dbl) – P – (2♦); P – (2♥), 2♥is considered non-forcing.
Equals
Cards in one hand that are adjacent in rank and thus have equal trick-taking power.
Escape suit
A long suit to which a bidder can escape if necessary or desirable. The bidder of acomic notrumpmight run to his long suit if doubled.
Establish
To make winners of the remaining cards in a suit by playing or forcing out higher cards.
Even
A split with the same number of cards in each hand. A 2–2 split is anevensplit.
Of the number of cards in a suit found in a hand: two cards, four cards, and so on.
The adjustment of matchpoint scores to correct for dissimilar conditions. For example, a game played with aMitchellmovement might have an extra N–S pair, causing abyeround for N–S. Thetopis therefore lower for N–S pairs than for E–W pairs, and the N-S scores are multiplied by a fraction (or "factor" ) to make them commensurate with the E–W scores.
A card played with the intention of deceiving an opponent as to one's true holding. Also, the act of making such a play.
Fast arrival
A style of bidding under which the fewer bids used to reach a contract (usually said ofgamecontracts), the weaker the bidder's hand. Fast arrival holds that 1♠– 2♦;2♠– 4♠is weaker than 1♠– 2♦;2♠– 3♣;3NT – 4♠.A relevant term isdawdling.ContrastSlow arrival.
An honor or shortness in a suit. Conventional bids such assplinter bidsorD-Iare intended to show or elicit features.
Fert
(Slang) Short for "fertilizer", a very weak opening bid. A systemictreatmentinstrong passsystems.
FG
an abbreviation for forcing to game; seeGame force
Field
All the players in a bridge event, as in "with the field" to refer to an action that most players will take, and "against the field" for an unusual action.
Field a psych
Deciding correctly that partner haspsychedin the absence of a call that reveals the psych. Sometimes used when that decision is made on the basis ofunauthorized informationor an undisclosed partnership understanding.
A bid in a suit that shows length and strength in the bid suit plus a fit for partner's suit. Jump shifts in competition are often defined as fit-bids. See alsoFragment bidandMixed(definition 2).
Five-card majors
An agreement that an opening bid in spades or hearts promises at least five cards in the suit. The alternative agreement isfour-card majors.
Fix
(Noun) An undeservedly poor result, usually caused by an opponent's error or eccentric play that happens to turn out well.
(Verb) To be the victim of a fix: "We were fixed on Board 8."
A conventional opening bid of two diamonds (some prefer two hearts instead) to show 11–15 HCP with 5 hearts and 4 spades.
Flat
Flat hand: A hand that lacks distributional features such as a singleton, a void, or a very long suit. Often, 4–3–3–3 distribution.
Flat board: A deal induplicate bridgethat results in scores across thefieldthat are identical, or nearly so.
Float
To be followed by two or three passes. For example, West's spade bid "floated around" to South in 1♠– (P) – P.
To fail to cover the card led, usually by two consecutive hands. "South floated the♠Q to East. "
Flower movement
An adaptation of theHowell movementin which the players, rather than the boards, progress regularly from table to table. Also known as "Endless Howell".
Follow suit, sometimes simply "follow"
To play a card of the samesuitas the one that was firstledto the trick. Failure to follow suit when one can do so constitutes arevoke.
Force to
To bid with the intention of causing the bidding to proceed to a particular level. For example: "In this auction, 2♣forced to game ", or" Myreverseforced to the three-level. "
A bid that, by partnership understanding, requires the bidder's partner to make another bid. A forcing bid is not necessarily a strong bid. It is legal to pass partner's forcing bid, and players occasionally do so if they believe it advantageous on a given hand, but it is damaging to partnership confidence.
The lead and subsequent continuation of a suit that the defenders believe declarer will have to ruff in the long trump hand. The strategy is to shorten declarer's trump holding so as to leave the defenders in control of the hand. SeeTap.
A pass in a competitive auction that requires partner either to make another bid or to double or redouble the opponents' current call. Experienced partnerships often have agreements about the meaning of bidding immediately in contrast to making a forcing pass and then bidding over partner's double (pass and pull).
A board whose cards are not distributed as they were when first played, due to returning the cards to their slots erroneously.
Four-card majors
An agreement that an opening bid of 1♥or 1♠promises at least four cards in the suit bid. The usual alternative isfive-card majors.The four-card major agreement was standard during the first four decades ofcontract bridge,but has since given way to five-card majors in most "standard" systems such as2/1 game forcingandStandard American.It is used inAcol,theBlue Team ClubandEHAA.
The initial use of a bid of the fourth suit as forcing to some level.
An agreement that the partnership's bid of the fourth suit, in addition to its forcing nature, is possiblyartificial.
Fragment
A holding of three or even two cards in a suit, thus not long enough to suggest as a trump suit. A partnership may treat the bid of a fragment as a means of implying shortness in another suit (seefragment bid). A fragment may also be bid after the single raise of a major as ahelp suit game try.
Fragment bid
A second-round jump bid (usually a double jump) that by agreement shows a fit with partner's last-bid suit and shortness in another suit. Under this agreement, in 1♣– 1♥;3♠the bid of 3♠is a fragment bid, showing a fit for hearts and a singleton or void in diamonds. The suit of the fragment bid is often three cards long. Compare withSplinter bid.
Freak, or freak hand
A hand with a very long suit or suits. Most would regard a hand with two six card suits as a freak.
Free bid
A bid that is made when a pass would still allow partner to make a bid. Normally used of a bid that is made after partner has opened the bidding andRHOhas overcalled. Compare withNegative free bid.
Free finesse
A position in which a player leads up to an opponent'stenace,solving that opponent's possible guess. The term is normally used when the player is forced to make that lead.
♥ Q 8
♥ J 5
W N↑ S↓ E
♥ K 3
♥ A 10
Frozen
Afrozensuit is one that neither side can play without damage to its own holding in the suit. Declarer can sometimesduckthe defense's lead to freeze the suit. See example at right.
An opening bid of 3NT. The bidder hopes to make the contract by means of a long minor suit rather than by a preponderance of high cards.
Game
Acontract,bidand made, worth 100 points or more. The undoubled game contracts are 3NT (40 for the first trick + 30 each for the second and third); 4♥and 4♠in themajors(4 tricks × 30 points per trick); 5♣and 5♦in theminors(5 tricks × 20 points per trick). Game can also be made via adoubledorredoubledcontract: e.g., 2♠doubled is worth 2 × (2 tricks × 30 points per trick) = 120 points. The pair bidding and making the game is awarded abonus.Seebridge scoring.
A bid that asks partner not to pass before the partnership's bidding has reached game (or the opponents have been doubled at a level high enough to compensate). Some treatments relax the requirement: for example, the agreement that in the sequence 1M – 2m, the 2m response is a game forceunless the suit is rebid.So, in 1♠– 2♦;2♥– 3♦,3♦would cancel the game-forcing message of the 2♦bid.
Abidthatinvitespartner to bid game in a particular suit, made when a fit in that suit is known more than one level below game. Routinely the occasion a single raise from one to two of a major, as both 1S – 2S and 1C – 1S – 2S (opponents silent). In those two auctions all five bids from 2N to 3S are potentially game tries. What does it mean to bid one side suit rather than another? Ashort suit game tryshows singleton or void in the suit bid, which implies significantduplication of valuesif partner holds the K or Q (the A or J, less so, and three small shows there is no duplication). Ahelp suit game tryshows at least three cards, generally with at least two losers. In 1984, theEncyclopediareferred to the entry "weak suit game try" and gave three small cards for example. It also referred "game try" to the entry "trial bid" with example holdings xxx, Axx, KTxx, and Jxxx in the side suit; shortness is a good holding and so is a good suit. Such a suit is likely to be a good one for the defenders to attack. A long suit game try shows a suit of at least four cards, so that a double fit is not unlikely; if a major suit, that is a potential alternative trump suit. Anyway, it shows that acover cardis useful regardless of length, and other cards are likely to help.
Golden fit
A combined partnership holding of at least eight cards in a suit. In the UK, simply known as afit.
A style of dealing, usually inrubberandChicagogames, where the cards are not thoroughly shuffled between deals and are dealt in groups. It results in "wild" carddistributions.
Grand coup
Atrump coupin which the cards ruffed in the long trump hand are already winners.
(Slang, mainly British) Non-vulnerable. From the colour of the paint on a duplicate board. Also: "green all" and "both green", neither side vulnerable; and "at green" or "green againstred",non-vulnerable against vulnerable.
Grand slam force(GSF)
A method of determining whether the partnership holds the top trump honors when the bid of a grand slam is a possibility. In its original form, the GSF was initiated with a bid of 5NT, asking partner to bid a grand slam with two of the top three honors in the trump suit. Depending on the prior bidding, other bids are often used in place of 5NT, and there is a variety of schemes for responding to the GSF. SeeJosephine.
A play that creates no direct advantage and might lose. Its principal features are that an opponent will not suspect that such an inept play has been made, and that once the opponent realizes what has occurred, he will be frustrated and angry (and therefore less effective) during subsequent hands. The ploy was first described in a satiric story by Frederick B. Turner in the June 1973 issue ofThe Bridge World.
Guard
A holding that prevents an opponent from taking a trick or tricks. Seestopper,guard squeeze.
A document that lists the cards in each hand of every board played in a duplicate bridge session. Often, hand records also list contracts each partnership can make with double dummy declarer play and double dummy defense.
The bid of a side suit after a single raise, used to help partner evaluate game prospects when opener's hand is roughly a trick stronger than a minimum opening. For example, after 1♥– 2♥,opener might rebid 3♣with a side club suit or a strong clubfragment.The bid tells partner where high cards will be most helpful, and requests partner to take positive action, such a direct jump to game, with strength in that suit. Otherwise, the bid requests partner to sign off (in this example, by bidding 3♥). Seeshort-suit game tryandgame try.
A measure or estimate of the strength of cards in the play of a deal. Routinely the high card points of all 13 cards in one player's hand are counted in sum, as a measure of playing strength of the entire hand, or one component of such a measure. Everyhonor cardis assigned a numeric value. SeeHand evaluation.
Hold
To keep declarer to a particular number of tricks, usually the number required to make the contract.
To have in one's hand a particular card or set of cards.
(Of a card) To win a trick although a higher card is outstanding.
(Verb) To defer taking a winning card until an advantageous point in the hand, usually in reference to tricks that the opponents have led to. There are various purposes for holding up a winner, but it is frequently done to force the opponents to use their entries too soon.
(Noun) The act of holding up a winner.
Holding
The cards in a player's hand at a particular point in the play (often, at the start of the play).
The cards in a specific suit in a player's hand.
Honor/honour, or honor/honour card
An ace, king, queen, jack or ten.
Honors/honours, or honor/honour bonus
Atrubber bridgeandChicago,a scoringbonus.The bonus is 100 points for one hand holding four of the five trump suit honors. The bonus is 150 points for all five trump suit honors, or all four aces in a notrump contract.
Honor/honour tricks
A method ofhand evaluationused in theCulbertson system,which assigns point values tohonorsand combinations of honors. AK is two honor tricks, AQ is 11/2honor tricks, A or KQ is 1 honor trick, and Kx is1/2honor trick. Similar in concept toquick tricksin the play of the hand.
An employee of a bridge club who is available as afourth.
Howell movement
A pairs tournamentmovementwhere each pair typically plays against all or most of the other pairs, and there is a single set of winners. Most of the pairs will move to a different seating position (usually at a different table) at the end of each round.
Huddle
(Noun) A pause prior to a bid or play of longer than usual duration.
A card or holding that isto the left of,orbehind,oroveranother. To say that the♠A isin back ofthe♠K is to say that the ace is to the left of the king, or behind it, or over it; so, the♠A is in a position to directly capture the♠K.
Individual
A form ofduplicate bridge,scored at matchpoints, in which each player is paired with a different partner on each round.
A player’s breach of theLaws of Bridgeor of a lawful regulation made under them.
In front of
♠Q54
♠K76
W N↑ S↓ E
Irrelevant
♠A98
A card or holding that isto the right oforunderanother. To say that the♠A isin front ofthe♠K is to say that the ace is to the right of the king, or under it, and normally cannot capture the♠K if it is guarded.
Insufficient bid
A bid that is not higher than the immediately preceding bid, and is therefore illegal.
Insult
(Slang) Thebonusfor making a doubled or redoubled contract is sometimes referred to as the "insult" or as being "for the insult".
Insurance bid
A bid, usually asacrificebid, intended to keep the opponents from playing their presumed or inferredoptimum contract.The bidder hopes that insurance premium – the penalty due to the sacrifice bid – will be less than the damage from allowing the opponents to make their contract.
Interference
A call, such as an overcall or an initialpreempt,that is intended to make it more difficult for the opponents to bid to their best contract.
Intermediate
1) Nines, eights and sevens are sometimes termed "intermediate cards." Seebody.
2) A jump overcall that by agreement may be made with a hand of opening bid strength and a long suit is termed an "intermediate jump overcall."
3) An opening two-bid that by agreement may be made with values just short of those required for a game-forcing opening bid is termed an "intermediate two-bid."
International Match Point (IMP)
1) (Noun) A method of scoring, usually in a teams match, that compares the score achieved on aboardwith that obtained by one's teammates on the same board, and converts the difference between these scores to IMPs using ascaledefined byWBF.The IMP scale's effect is to reduce the weighting of large differences, thus making it less likely that the outcome of an entire match will depend on one or a small number of boards. For example a difference of 30 (one overtrick) is worth 1 IMP, but a difference of 680 (say 1100 at one table and 420 at the other table) is worth only 12 IMPs.
2) (Verb) To perform the IMP score conversion.
Intervenor
The first player on the other side to make a call other than pass when one side has opened the bidding.
International Popular Bridge Monthly,a British bridge magazine.
Iron Duke, Not through the
A hackneyed phrase that describes the play of a high card by a player whose high card holding is led through; or, that player's statement.
Irregularity
A breach of procedure, as described in theLawsandProprieties,in bidding or play. If one is available, adirectorshould be called to the table to make a ruling.
Isolate
(Said of a menace card) To isolate a menace insqueeze playis to arrange that only one opponent can guard one of declarer's threat suits. The play is conceptually similar totransferring a control.
A bidding convention initiated by responder following partner's notrump opening bid that requests opener rebid in the suit ranked just above that bid by responder, i.e. a response in diamonds requests a rebid in hearts and a response in hearts requests a rebid in spades; other responses may carry other meanings; designed to make the stronger hand declarer.
By agreement, a forcing raise of a major suit opening bid, used in conjunction withlimit jump raises.Opener is requested to rebid in a suit where he holds a singleton so that responder can better evaluate the fit.
The discard of an honor, often by a defender, and usually to unblock a suit.
Josephine
Grand slam force,an alternative term popular in Europe. The convention was developed byEly Culbertson,and popularized in a late 1930s article by Josephine Culbertson inThe Bridge World
Opening leadconvention, mainly against notrump contracts, designed to show both what the leader has, and to request specific partner actions in return.
Jump
(Noun) A jump bid.
(Verb) To make a jump bid.
Jump bid
Abidmade at alevelhigher than the lowest level at which that suit could be legally bid.
Jump overcall
Anovercallmade at higher than the minimally legal level: for example, 1♥– (2♠). In the 1930s, jump overcalls were treated as strong bids. They are now more frequently treated as weak, preemptive bids.
Jump preference
A preference to partner's first-bid suit, made at a level higher than the minimally legal level. In the following sequence, 3♥is a jump preference: 1♥– 1♠;2♦– 3♥.For many years, the jump preference was treated as invitational except in support of opener'sminor,when it was treated as forcing. As of 2001, however, most experts treat all three-level jump preference bids as invitational following opener's one-level new-suit rebid: e.g., 1♣– 1♦;1♠– 3♣
Jump raise
A raise of partner's suit one level higher than the minimum legal raise. For example, 1♥– 3♥or 1♦– 1♥;3♥
Jump rebid
A rebid of one's original suit, one level higher than necessary, usually showing a six-card suit: for example, 1♦– 1♥;3♦.The range of strength shown by a jump rebid is a matter of partnership agreement: some treat it as a one-round force, others (particularly if playingKaplan–Sheinwoldand the rebid suit is a minor) play it as only a little weaker than a game-forcing opening bid.
1) As arebidbyopener(e.g. 1♥– 1♠;3♣) orresponder(e.g. 1♥– 1♠;1NT – 3♣), it indicates extra strength
2) As direct response (e.g. 1♥– 2♠): usually, a very strong hand. However, another treatment (weak jump shifts,requiring prior partnershipagreement) uses the bid preemptively to show a weak hand and a long suit.
Junior
A player under the age of 26. Various national, regional, and world competitions use this designation.
A variant of theBlackwood conventionin which fivekeycardsare counted, four aces plus the king of the apparent trump suit, rather than four aces alone. Commonly there is a follow-up to ask about the queen of trump ( "Queen ask" ), effectively the sixth keycard.
An ace-asking or keycard-asking convention initiated by the first step above four of the apparent trump suit rather than uniformly by 4NT. Thus Kickback saves space when the trump suit is not spades. SeeUseful Space PrincipleandBlackwood:Asking bids other than 4NT.
Kiss of death
At pairs, plus or minus 200. A score of minus 200, down two undoubled and vulnerable, or down one doubled and vulnerable, is a likelybottomagainst a part score by the opponents. A score of plus 200 from making five-odd of a major after stopping in a partial, is a likely bottom against the game contracts bid by other pairs holding the same cards.
Knockout(KO), or Knockout Teams
Asingle-elimination tournamentforteams-of-four.Routinely each round pairs all of the competing teams in head-to-head matches—win or lose; no draw or tie. Winners advance to the next round and losers are eliminated. The size of the field, or initial number of competing teams, must be a power of two. Only then, the format generates for each round an even number of teams, which enables a complete set of head-to-head matches.
Minor variants of great practical importance handle fields of any size by incorporatingbyes(definition 1) or matches with more than two teams (stipulated to have more than one winner, more than one winner, or both).
Two major variants aredouble knockout,in which teams are eliminated after losing two matches, andrepechage,in which one-match losers drop into a secondary event from which some number of top performers return to the primary event.
A type ofsqueezethat operates in part against the defender's trump holding, when the defender threatens to win a plain suit trick and then lead a trump, thus reducing declarer's ruffing tricks. It is usual to call this play aknockout squeezewhen the squeezed defender is second to play to the trick, and to call it abackwash squeezewhen the squeezed defender is fourth to play.
Kock–Werner Redouble
A rescue mechanism employed when partner's bid is doubled for penalties. Invented by Rudolf Kock and Einar Werner of Sweden. See alsoSOS Redouble.
A conventional bid that is one step above the current bid and one step below game in a trump suit. It is a mild slam try and conveys no information about the suit bid. After 1♥– 3♥;4♣,4♦is Last Train, invites slam, and doesnotnecessarily show a diamond control.
Late play
A board that is played after the remainder of the event has finished, usually because of slow play or an irregularity.
A guideline stating that the total number of cards held by both sides in their longest trump fits equals the total number of tricks available to both sides in their best trump contracts. SeeHand evaluation.
The Law is sometimes interpreted to mean that one side can profitably contract for a number of tricks equal to its own combined trump length; for example, compete to 3♠with a nine-card spadefit.
The definitions, procedures and remedies that define howrubber bridgeandduplicate bridgeare played. The Laws include theProprieties,which discuss the game's customs and etiquette — often far more important than procedural matters. The Laws apply worldwide. Individual sponsoring organizations, such as theACBLand theEBL,establish their own regulations for play, which may amplify the Laws but may not conflict with them.
One important difference between the laws of rubber bridge (contract) and duplicate bridge is that rubber players are expected to deal withirregularitiesthemselves while duplicate players are expected to call thedirector.
Laydown
A contract that can be made on any rational line of play.
Lead
1) The first card played to atrick,which dictates thesuitthat others must play if able to do so (seefollow suit).
2) The hand that is entitled to lead to the next trick is said to be "on lead" or to "have the lead."
A double by the partner of the prospective opening leader that requests the lead of a particular suit. Experienced partnerships usually agree on a set of suit priorities, such as opening leader's bid suit, doubler's bid suit, dummy's first bid suit, or a suit that dummy has just bid conventionally.
Lead out of turn
Playing a card when it was another player's turn to lead. Subject to penalty.
Lead through strength
Amaximthat advises a defender to lead a suit in whichLHOhas high card strength, forcing declarer to play high or low before third hand plays. The corollary is that a defender is advised to leadup to weaknessin the fourth hand.
A conventional overcall in 4♣or 4♦made in defense to opposing 2-level or 3-level preemptive openings. Leaping Michaels shows a strong two-suited hand (5–5 or longer) that is less suitable for a takeout double and is game forcing. Described as an overcall by some of a weak two-bid of a major, others expand its application to all weak preempts at the 2 or 3-level in both the majors and minors.
Leave in
To pass, often used of passing when partner's double was followed by a pass.
Lebensohl (Leb)
Responder's bid of 2NT as apuppetto 3♣in preparation for asign-off.Normally used after an overcall of partner's 1NT opening, or after a double of partner'sweak two bid.Also used after opponents weak two bid and partner'sbalancingtake-out double.
Leg
(Slang)game.Normally used in reference torubber bridge."A leg up" means being vulnerable vs. non-vulnerable opponents. "Cut off their leg" means becoming vulnerable vs. opponents who are already vulnerable.
Length
The number of cards held in a suit.
Let through
(Slang) To allow a contract to make by misdefense.
Level
1) The number oftricksthat (when added to thebookof six tricks) abidorcontractstates will be taken. For example, a bid at the four level contracts to take (6 + 4) = 10 tricks.
(Slang, verb) Todouble.(In Britain at least, a penalty double: Leave 'er in. The past participle "levered" means, doubled for penalties.)
LHO
Left-hand opponent
Light
(Adv.) To enter the auction with relatively low values (for example, to "open light" or "overcall light" ). To do so can be either a matter of tactics or of general style.
A penaltydouble,usually of aslamcontract, that requests partner to choose an unusual suit for theopening lead.This criterion tends to regard as typical (and thus to exclude) a trump lead, the lead of defenders' bid suit, and the lead of an unbid suit.
Limit
In the bidding, to define a hand's strength with some degree of precision.
Limit Bid
A bid which establishes narrow limits on both the high card strength and distribution of the bidder's hand. In many bidding systems the following bid types are limit bids: (1) Natural notrump bids indicating balanced hands within a narrow high card strength range; (2) raises of partner's suit indicating a minimum number of cards in the raised suit, a narrow high card strength range, and likely ruffing values; or (3) rebids of one's own suit indicating a minimum suit length, an unbalanced hand, and a narrow high card strength range.
Limit jump raise
An invitational jump raise of a major suit, such as 1♥– 3♥.Limit jump raises usually guarantee at least an 8-card fit in partner's major suit and around 10–11HCPor the distributional equivalent.
Limit raise
Anycallwhich invites partner to bid game in a suit partner has bid, previously. A limit raise promises trump support and hand strength about a king less than a minimum strengthgame force.
Line
1) (with "the" ): A line on a bridge scorepad that separates points for tricks that count towardgame(seeBelow the line) from those that do not (seeAbove the line).
2) On a given hand, the play strategy that is adopted by declarer or by the defenders.
3) Any suit of at least four cards. A four-card suit is likely to be called long when in context concerning a hand that is known to hold another suit, or even two, expected to be at least as long.
Long suit game try
Following a major suit raise to the two level, the long suitgame trynames a suit with at least four cards, so that partner'scover cardis useful regardless of length in the suit. A double fit is not unlikely and, if a major suit, that is a potential alternative trump suit.
2) Alternative term for ahelp suit game try.In some usage the "help suit game try"is barely distinguishable from the long, in some barely distinguishable from the weak.
A card play tactic that attempts to create an advantage by playing twolosers,often of different suits, on the same trick. Loser-on-loser play has many applications, including the creation of aruffingposition for declarer, the avoidance ofoverruffsby the defense, and interference with the opponents'communications.
LROB
Limit Raise Or Better. Example: "1H-2NT = Heart-support, LROB."
A defensive card that, if retained, is a liability on one line of play, but that, if played, will be missed on another line of play. The term may be derived from the filmic plot device of thesame name.
Major penalty card
A card that is exposed by a defender prematurely and through intentional play; or, anhonor cardthat is exposed prematurely even if accidentally. A major penalty card remains face up on the table to be played at the first legal opportunity, including as a discard. ContrastMinor penalty card.
The heart suit and the spade suit are major suits, often referred to simply asthe majors.Declarer scores 30 points for each trick taken in an undoubled contract with a major suit as trump. Becausegamerequires at least 100 points for tricks bid and made, both 4♥and 4♠(or 2♥doubled and 2♠doubled) constitute game contracts. ContrastMinor suits.
Major tenace
The highest and the third highest remaining cards in a suit, held in the same hand. For example, the♠AQ before spades have been played. Tenaces define the structure offinesses.Seeminor tenace.
Make
(Verb) To take at least as many tricks as a contract calls for. Frequently used in the past tense of the verb, i.e.Made.
Mama–Papa
(Adjective) An unsophisticated game, approach to bidding, or line of play.
Marionette Bid
(Noun) A type ofrelay bidin which the cheapest response is expected nearly all the time, thus similar but not identical to apuppet bid.Name derives from "a puppet with strings."
Marked
To be known to hold a particular card: "He wasmarkedwith the♥Q. "
Afinessefor a card that evidently lies with a particular opponent.
Master
The highest card of a suit that is yet to be played.
Masterpoints
Units awarded, usually by national organisations, for successful performance in a bridge tournament.
Match
A series of hands played by two teams inknockoutevents. One pair from each team sits North-South at one table and the other pair sits East-West at the other table.
A type of scoring induplicate bridge.A pair's score on a given board is one matchpoint for every pair they outscored and one-half matchpoint for every pair they tied. (Outside the US these awards are often doubled, so as to avoid the award of fractional matchpoints.) Seecomparative scoring.
Matrix
The layout of the cards that play pivotal roles in certain endplays, most typically squeezes.
Maxims
A maxim of bridge is a brief expression of a general principle of the game. MostBridge maximshave some validity but none are true in all circumstances.
Maximal overcall double
By prior agreement, a game-invitational double of an overcall that leaves no room for a bid, when a bid would invite game. For example, after 1♠– (2♥) – 2♠– (3♥) there is no room below 3♠for a game invitation (and a bid of 3♠itself would be taken as merely competitive), so a double is used as a gameinvitation.
The deliberate sacrifice of a high card to remove a vital entry to an opponent's hand, usually the dummy. Named for a ship sunk during the Spanish–American War, to block the entrance to a harbor. Sometimes confused with, and spelled as, the Merrimack, the American Civil War ship that fought theMonitor.SeeDeschapelles coup.
By prior agreement, an immediatecue bidin the suit of an opponent's opening bid, such as 1♦– (2♦), for two-suited takeout. The cue bid of a minor suit shows length in both major suits. The cue bid of a major suit typically shows length in the other major suit and in an unspecified minor suit.
A simplified form ofcontract bridgedesigned to expose newcomers to declarer and defensive playing techniques without the burden of learning a detailed bridgebidding system.
Minor penalty card
A card below the rank of anhonor cardthat is exposed by a defender prematurely but accidentally, via mishap. A minor penalty card remains face up on the table until played. The minor penalty card must be played before any other card below honor rank in the same suit; however, an honor in the same suit may be played before the minor penalty card is played. ContrastMajor penalty card.
The club suit and the diamond suit areminor suits. Declarer scores 20 points for each trick taken in an undoubled contract with a minor suit as trump. Becausegamerequires at least 100 points for tricks bid and made, both 5♣and 5♦(or 3♣doubled and 3♦doubled) constitute game contracts. ContrastMajor suits.
Minor tenace
The second-highest and the fourth-highest (or lower) remaining cards in a suit, held in the same hand. For example, the♠KJ before spades have been played. Seemajor tenace.
Mirror
Identical hand distributions: "North and South had mirror distributions."
Misbid
A bid that fails to describe the hand properly. Often a misdescription of a hand'sshape,as distinct from anoverbidorunderbid.
Misfit
Two partnershiphands,neither of which can support the other's long suit. For example, a redTwo-suiteropposite a blackTwo-suiterconstitutes a misfit.
Mitchell movement
A pairs tournamentmovementin which the pairs sitting in one direction (usually North-South) stay in the same seats throughout, but after each round the pairs sitting in the other direction (usually East-West) move to the next higher numbered table, and the boards are moved to the next lower numbered table. Unless anarrow switchis performed, the effect is to create two events, a "North-South" contest and an "East-West" contest, with separate winning pairs, though a single winner can still be determined by comparingpercentageresults.
Mixed
1) Of an event: contested by pairs or teams in which every pair comprises one male and one female player.
2) In the auction: A mixed raise is, by agreement, a jump cue bid of opener's suit in support of partner's overcall. It tends to show four card support for partner's suit and the strength of a good single raise. In 1♦– (1♥) – 1♠– (3♦), 3♦is amixedraise.
A play that forces the defense to choose between taking a high card that will establish extra winners for declarer, and ducking the trick, after which the high card cannot be cashed.
In a tournament, the scheme for the progression of players and boards from table to table, arranged so that a pair does not play the same boards twice, or meet the same opponents twice etc. The most common movements for pairs tournaments areHowellandMitchell.
Moysian fit
A 4–3 trump fit, or a contract with such a trump fit. Named afterThe Bridge Worldeditor Alphonse "Sonny" Moyse Jr, who wrote and published a variety of articles that promoted the virtues of such fits or contracts, some bidding styles designed to locate them, and some techniques for playing them well.
MUD
Acronym of "Middle, Up, Down", a lead convention which describes the sequence in which cards from a holding of three low ones (all less in rank than the 10) are played.
A call which indicates either: (1) a willingness to play the contract named, (2) a suit bid suggesting length or strength in that suit, (3) a notrump bid that suggests a balanced hand, (4) a double that suggests the ability to defeat the opponent's contract, (5) a redouble to suggest that the contract can be made in the face of a double by opponents, or (6) a pass that suggests weakness, satisfaction with the last bid made or no desire to make a further call. ContrastArtificial.
Responder's suit bid following an opening bid and an overcall. Nonforcing by prior agreement.
Negative inference
An inference based on something that did not happen. For example, if a defender does not overruff, declarer might conclude that hecould notoverruff. Or if declarer does not ruff a loser in dummy, a defender might conclude that declarer does not have a loser in that suit.
Negative response
A bid that shows insufficient values for a stronger response. For example, a 2♦response to a forcing 2♣opening bid is often negative, as is a 1♦response to aPrecision1♣.
Negative slam double
In acompetitive auction,the double of a voluntarily bid slam to shownodefensive tricks, and therefore to suggest a sacrifice.
In duplicate pairs tournaments, a method of fairly adjusting match point scores when not all boards have been played the same number of times. It gives equal weight to each board by calculating the expected number of match points that would have been earned if the board had been played the full number of times.
New minor forcing
By agreement, after 1m – 1M; 1NT, a bid of two of the unbid minor as artificial and forcing, often requesting three card support for responder's bid major or four cards in the unbid major. Sometimes calledPLOB.
Inrubber bridge,the state of the score in which neither pair has made a game. Induplicate bridge,the vulnerability condition under which neither pair is designated as vulnerable for the board in play. Also, "neither side vulnerable."
The state ofvulnerabilityin which bothbonusesandpenaltiesare smaller. Therefore, less is at stake for a non-vulnerable pair investigating game or slam, or that is contesting the part score, than for a vulnerable pair. Also, "non-vulnerable."
Notrump, or no trump (NT)
A contract, or a bid that names a contract without a trump suit. Notrump is the highest-rankingstrain.WikiProject Contract bridgedeprecates the two-word "no trump", however "no trump" is the usual spelling in theUnited Kingdomand in those European countries which have adopted this English term.
Notrump distribution, no trump distribution, or NT distribution
An interference bid whose principal aim is not to preempt or to compete for the contract, but nevertheless to upset the smooth flow of the opponents' bidding sequence.
Number, as "go for a number"
A very large penalty: "He went for a number." Often, "telephone number", alluding to the size of that number if regarded as a quantity. (Dating back to the 1930s when UK telephone numbers were only four figures, plus an exchange name!)[citation needed]See also
1) Of afinesse:Aduck,made in the hope that a high card will fall. For example, declarer holds♥K432 opposite dummy's♥Q765. The♥2 is led to the♥Q, which wins. Declarer now leads dummy's♥5 and RHO follows with the♥J. Declarer ducks, hoping that LHO must now play the♥A. The play isobligatorybecause given the first heart trick, no other play can yield three tricks.
2) Of afalsecard:A falsecard that, like an obligatory finesse, cannot lose and might gain. An example is the play of the card that one is known to hold (for example, the play of a queen after it has been successfully finessed).
Odd
Specifying a level. To make 4♥is to make four-odd.
Odd–even discards
A defensive carding scheme under which the play of an odd-numbered card is encouraging and that of an even-numbered card is discouraging. The rank of the card may be used to showsuit preference.
Odd tricks
The number of tricks above six (thebook) that are taken by declarer.
Off
1) (Slang) Down, or set. "We're off two" means "We have made two fewer tricks than our contract."
High ODR means a hand has characteristics more suited to winning the final contract, while Low ODR means it has characteristics more suited to defending against opponents' contract. ODR is not based on a mathematical formula, but refers to a player's judgement/perception of the hand.
Off shape, offshape, or off-shape
Having a distribution that does not quite conform to that suggested by a bid, such as an opening bid of 1NT with 2=2=6=3 shape, or a weak-two bid with a seven card suit.
Off the top
Said of some number of tricks that can be lost or won without gaining or losing the lead. "There were eleven tricks off the top in spades", to mean that declarer could take eleven tricks without interruption; or, "We're down off the top", to mean that the defenders, having the opening lead, can immediately take as many tricks as necessary to defeat the contract.
Offside
Unfavorably located, from the point of view of the player taking a finesse. If East holds the♣K and North the♣AQ, from South's point of view the♣K is offside. ContrastOnside.
Olympiad
A world bridge championship held every four years under the auspices of theWorld Bridge Federation.
On
1) Makeable. A contract that can be made is said to beon.
3) (Suffix) Inrubber bridge,preceded by a number that indicates progress toward game. If one has 40 pointsBelow the line,one has 40-on.
One club system
Abidding systemthat uses a bid of 1♣as artificial and forcing, but not necessarily strong.
One over one, or one-over-one (1/1)
To an opening one-bid, any one-levelresponse in a suit; that is, one of a higher suit in response to opening one of a lower suit. ContrastTwo over one.
One round force
A bid that requests partner to ensure that the bidding continue for at least one more round. If partner'sRHObids, partner may pass, but is otherwise expected to bid.
A hand with only one long suit, normally refers to a hand with a six card or longer suit.
Onside
Favorably located, from the point of view of the player taking a finesse. If West holds the♣K and North the♣AQ, then from South's point of view the♣K is onside. ContrastOffside.
Open
1) In the auction: To start the bidding by making the first call other than Pass.
2) Of a room used at a team event: allowing spectators. Normally at least one of two rooms isclosedto spectators.
3) Of an event: not restricting entries in some way that is implicit. So participation in anopen eventisunrestrictedin at least one respect:
a) not by invitation only (invitationalevent)
b) not by qualification in a preceding event orqualifier
c) not by representation of geographic zones, nations, cities, clubs, etc; nor by requirement that pair or team members share geographic residence, club membership, etc (nationalevent, etc)
d) not by age, sex, or playing record (seniors,Masters,etc).
Openis generally ambiguous but it does have the last sense (d) in the names ofWBFworld championship events, where the relevantCategoriesare Youth (with subcategories), Seniors, Women, and Open. For the WBF,transnationalmeans open in sense (c).
The first cardledbydefenders.Thedummyis notfaceduntil after the opening lead, which makes the choice of opening lead more difficult than other leads. The opening lead can determine the outcome of thedeal.
In unopposed bidding, the contract that cannot be improved upon by further bidding, nor could have been improved upon by taking a different line in earlier bidding. The contract is regarded as optimum because it offers the maximum score while minimizing the risk of failure.
Our hand
(Informal) A hand on which "our" side can take more tricks than their side.
Two players playing bridge together as partners. Also known as a Partnership.
Pairs
A form ofduplicatebridge in which each pair competes separately, as distinct fromteamandindividualevents. Pairs events are normally scored bymatchpoints.
Palooka
(Slang) Someone who plays bridge worse than others in their usual level of play
Panama
A defence to a Strong Club whereby two-level bids show the suit bid or the other three suits.
A competition that uses composed deals, designed to test each pair's bidding and its card play. After the bidding, pairs are instructed to play (or defend) a specified contract. Results are compared not with other tables but with the predetermined par result.
Anendplayin which declarer is unable to remove all possible safe defensive exit cards, and must hope that the remaining cards are so distributed that the defense cannot get off lead safely.
2) Two partners who play together for an extended period.
3) The complete set of agreements entered into by apair.
Partnership bidding
Sequences in which the opponents do not compete.
Partnership desk
A service, provided by some tournaments, that locates a partner for a player who does not yet have one.
Partnership understanding, or partnership agreement
An agreement betweenpartners,reached prior to the beginning of play, concerning the meaning of acallor ofcarding.
Pass
1) Acallindicating that the player does not wish to change the contract named by the preceding bid, double or redouble. To pass transfers the right to make the next call to passer'sLHO,unless it is the third consecutive pass, which ends the bidding (but seePassed out). See alsoNo bid.
2) To play, from third hand, a lower card than the one led to the trick. If declarer leads the♥J, LHO plays a small heart, and declarer plays the♥2 from dummy's♥AQ2, declarer haspassedthe♥J.
Pass and pull
To make aforcing passand on the next round remove partner's double by bidding.
Passed hand
A player who passed instead of opening the bidding. The inference is that a passed hand does not hold the values required toopenthe bidding (unless playing a strong passbidding system).
Passed out
1) A deal is passed out if the auction begins with four consecutive passes. There is nocontract,noplay of the hand,and (at rubber bridge) no score. The players proceed to the next deal.
2) A bid, double, or redouble (an action) is passed out if it is followed by three passes, which end the auction. The last action identifies the contract and the play follows.
Passive defense
An approach to defending a hand that emphasizes waiting for tricks that declarer must eventually lose, getting off lead safely, and avoiding plays that will set up tricks for declarer. Often indicated when neither declarer nor dummy has a running side suit or when the declaring side may have over-reached in the bidding. ContrastActive.
Pass-or-correct
A bid made in response to partner's ambiguous call. For example, South opens with 1♠and West bids 2♠,by prior agreement showing hearts and a minor. North passes and East bids 3♣,expecting West to pass if he holds clubs and to correct to diamonds otherwise.
Pass out
1) To make the third of three consecutive passes following a bid, double or redouble.
2) To make the fourth of four consecutive passes. Thus, a bid cannot have been made and the table progresses to the nextdeal.
3) (Adjective) The seat where a pass would end the auction.
1) Ascoreawarded to the defense when declarer's contract goesdown.The size of the penalty depends on the number of tricks that declarer was set, thevulnerability,and whether the contract was doubled, or redoubled. SeeScore.
2) A remedy assigned by adirectorto redress damage done by an infraction. The penalty for a minor, procedural infraction might be some number oftricks,matchpointsorIMPs,or disallowing a particular bid or play. A more serious violation of the game'sProprietiesmay be imposed by barring the offender from an event, a portion of an event, or from organized bridge.
Penalty card
A card, incorrectly exposed by the defense, whose subsequent proper play is governed by certain rules. Seemajor penalty cardandminor penalty card.
Inmatchpointscoring, refers to the number of matchpoints actually scored by a pair on a board, session, or event, as a percentage of the maximum number available.
Percentage play
A play that is chosen because the mathematics of suitdistributionsuggests that it is more likely to succeed than an alternative line. Usually said of play in a single suit rather than the hand as a whole.
(Slang; chiefly British) SeeEcho.The term is said to derive from theBlue Peter,a nautical signal.
Phantom pair
In a pairs movement, if there is an odd number of pairs, then in each round one pair will have to sit out. The missing pair that they would have played is known as the phantom pair.
Phantom sacrifice
Asacrificebid against a contract that the opponents would not have made. Also,False sacrificeorPhantom save.
Phoney club
A type of 1 Club opening bid which shows opening values but does not guarantee clubs, denies a five card major (and often 5 diamonds as well) and may have as little as one club (on a 4441 shape hand). Usually played as forcing for one round. A variant of ashort club.
Pianola
(Slang) A hand that is so easy it plays itself. "Pianola" is a trademarked brand ofplayer piano(a piano that plays automatically).
Pick up
1) (Verb) Toruna suit without losing a trick in it.
2) (Adjective) Said of a partner who completes a pair, or of a pair that completes a team, just prior to the start of an event.
Pick-up slip
A type ofscore slipon which the result of adealis recorded for the purpose ofcomparative scoring.Used in certain event formats, it is picked up after each round by thedirectoror hiscaddy.Also referred to as a pick-up card.[7]ContrastTraveller.
1) (Adjective) Of the suit that both defenders must guard in adouble squeeze.
2) (Verb) In party bridge, to change partners while remaining at the same table.
3a) (Verb) In duplicate bridge, to play one round in a given direction, and the next round in the opposite direction at the same table
3b) (Noun) In duplicate bridge, apivot tableis a table where each pair will perform a pivot. This can only happen in aHowell movement,or another similarmovement,where players move between East-West and North-South during the course of the game.
Plafond
A French, whist-like card game whose scoring foreshadowed that used in contract bridge.
1) (Noun) The stage of adealwhen players attempt to take tricks. Thedeclarertries to take at least as manytricksas thecontractcalls for, and thedefenderstry to prevent that outcome.
2) (Verb) To contribute a card to a trick, either by displaying its face (as in duplicate bridge) or by placing it face up on the table (as inrubber bridge).
Play for
To assume that the opponents have a particular distribution or holding, and to plan and conduct the play on that basis.
Playable
1) (Of a contract) A rational, if not necessarily optimal, choice of strain and level.
2) (Of an agreement) Leading to an acceptable result, if not in the best fashion.
Playing tricks
Cards, such aslong cards,that will take tricks (usually, for declarer), and that therefore contribute to a hand's strength.
PLOB
Acronym or initialism for Petty Little Odious Bid, another name forNew Minor Forcing.The name is derived from a diatribe byThe Bridge Worldeditor Alphonse "Sonny" Moyse Jr in the magazine's Master Solver's Club feature, which called the convention an "odious, meaningless,pettylittle bid ".
Pocket
One of four slots in aduplicate boardthat hold the cards between plays.
PODI
A proxi-acronym for Pass=0, Double=1. Method for countering interference overBlackwood.Pronounced "podey".
Point
1) A scoring unit: e.g., a trick taken bydeclarerin a minor suit contract scores 20 points.
2) A metric used inhand evaluation,to quantify its strength in high cards and distribution.
3) A metric, such asmasterpoints,used in rating players.
A method ofhand evaluationwhich assigns a numeric value to a hand's high cards and distributional features, used as a guideline inbidding.
Point count trap
A hand whose intrinsic trick-taking potential is less than a conventional point count would indicate.
Pointed suit
Spades or diamonds. The term refers to the shape at the tops of the suit symbols. ContrastRounded suit.
Portland Club
A bridge club in London which published the first version of theLaws of contract bridge.The club remains part of the ongoing process of revising the laws, along with theACBLand theEBL,because of the vesting of the copyright.
Position
(Noun) Seat at the table: North, South, East, West; or first, second, third, fourth.
A bid that announces the possession of at least minimum values. Often said of a response to a forcing opening bid. ContrastNegative response.
Post mortem
(Slang) A discussion of a hand, and the nature of the result, after the play has concluded.
Powerhouse
An unusually strong hand.
Prealert
Analertwhichmustbe made at thebeginningof the roundbefore play beginson the first board. Different national governing organizations may establish different requirements forprealerts.Examples of methods for which theACBLrequires aprealertinclude the following:
An agreement to lead the small card from "xx" on opening lead
An agreement (canapé) to bid the shorter of two suits before the longer suit with a two-suited hand
An agreement to use any biddingconventionthat entitles the opponents to consult a written defense during the auction
1) A bid (or raise) predicated on length of a suit rather than overall strength, primary function of which is to interfere with the opponents' bidding by taking awaybidding spacethey need to exchange information.
2) (Noun) A bid that has a preemptive effect, regardless of its intent.
Preference
A call that returns the bidding to partner's first-bid suit; for example, in 1♥– 1♠;2♦– 2♥,2♥is a preference. A simple, non-jump preference shows neither strength nor support for the suit; it is simply a return to partner's presumably longer suit.
Prepared bid
A bid which differs from usual partnership practice that is chosen to avoid a later bidding problem. For example, playing five-card majors and holding a minimal strength opening hand, a strong four-card spade suit may be opened in preference to a weak five-card heart suit. See alsoprepared opening bid.
Acardingagreement under which a count signal shows the number of cards currently held. In a count-giving situation, a defender might first play the♥3 from♥753, and the♥7 as his second play. Also, "current count."
A guideline to the play of the hand, concerning the probability of the location of key cards in the unseen hands. In particular it states that if a defender plays one of two adjacent missing cards (e.g.♦QJ) then that defender is less likely also to hold the other missing card.
Progression
The movement of players and deals betweenroundsin an event.
A squeeze in three suits that, when it matures, results in a new squeezed position in two suits.
Promote
1) In the play, to cause a card to become a winner.
2) In the bidding, to assign a higher value to a card, or to the hand as a whole, as a result of earlier calls made by partner or by the opponents.
Proprieties
A section of the Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge that describes, in general terms, proper conduct as to the exchange of information concerning a hand, as to attitude and etiquette, as to partnership agreements, and as to spectators' conduct.
Protect
Seebalance.(In the UK, protect is the more usual term.)
Protest
Seeappeal.(In the UK, protest is the more usual term.)
A position that, to a defender, appears to be a true squeezed position, but is not. Declarer hopes that the defender will misplay as a result. The literature often gives as an example a position in which declarer has a void in dummy's apparent suit of entry.
Acallthat grossly misstates high card strength or distribution, made so as to deceive the opponents. The Laws specify that psychic bids themselves are legal. It is, however, a violation to infer and fail to disclose that partner has psyched, when the inference is based on partnership agreement or experience. Sponsoring organizations regulate the use of certain psychic bids.
Psychic control
A bid that, by partnership agreement, announces that the player's previous bid was a psychic.
Pull
1) To remove the opponents' trumps.
2) To remove partner's double.
Pump
(slang) To force out an opponent's trump, usually by means of aforcing defense.
Puppet
Anartificialbid that simply requests partner to make a specified cheap reply – commonly the cheapest sufficient bid, or next step.
A portmanteau ofqueen and jack.Used in situations where it does not matter whether the queen or the jack is held or played, as well as to emphasize that it does not matter. SeePrinciple of restricted choice.
Qualifying
(Adjective) Asessionor sessions preliminary to the final of anevent.
Quantitative
1) Of a bid: A call based, usually, onhigh card points,rather than a feature such as fit or shortness. A raise from 1NT to 3NT based on a 4–3–3–3 hand with 10HCPis a quantitative raise.
2) Of scoring: The method of scoring used inrubber bridgeor inIMPevents. The metric used is the number of points earned on each deal, perhaps adjusted by the IMP scale andvictory points.In contrast,comparative scoringis based on the number of pairs that have been out-scored.
Queen ask, or queen-ask
InKey Card Blackwood,the cheapest bid over the response to 4NT, to ask responder for the trump queen.
In card play, top ranking holdings able to win tricks immediately. Similar in concept tohonor tricksin the evaluation of hand strength.
Quitted trick
A trick whose cards have all been turned face down (duplicate bridge) or gathered in front of the trick's winner (rubber bridge). Inrubber bridge,a player may inspect a quitted trick if his side has not yet led to the next trick. In duplicate bridge, a player may inspect a quitted trick only if told to do so by a director.
Quotient
Points won divided by the sum of points won and points lost, occasionally used to break a tie.
A trick consisting of all four suits, typically involving low cards.[8]
Raise
Abidof partner's suit at a higherlevel.A raise shows afitfor partner's suit. 1?–2? is a single raise; 1?–3? is a double raise.
Rank
The position of an individual card relative to others: Aces have the highest rank, followed by K, Q, J, 10,... 2.
The order ofdenominationsin the bidding. Notrump is highest-ranked denomination, followed by spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs. A higher-ranked suit may be bid at the samelevelas a lower-ranked suit; the reverse is not true.
A bid by the same player in a suit he has already bid.
Rebiddable suit
A suit with sufficient length and strength, according to partnership agreements, to be rebid in certain defined circumstances.
Recap
(Abbreviation of "recapitulation" ) A summary of results in a bridge tournament.
Recorder
A member of a bridge organization whose responsibility it is to maintain a record of reports of possible violations of theProprieties.
Rectify the count
To lose some number of tricks in preparation for asqueeze.Losing the tricks "tightens up" the end position, removingidlecards from the defenders' hands before they can be used as safediscardsin the squeezed position.
Red
(Slang) Vulnerable. From the color of the paint on a duplicateboard.Also: "Red vs. red" to mean both sides vulnerable, and "red vs. white" to mean vulnerable vs. not. (In British slang, those last two expressions are rarely used. The more usual ones are: "(at) game all", "both red" or "(at) red all"; and "at unfavourable", "at red", "red againstgreen"or" red against not ".)
Redeal
Inrubber bridge,the prescribed remedy for a faulty deal. Induplicate bridge,redeals are not used except in special cases and under a director's supervision.
Redouble
A call that doubles thepenaltiesandbonusesthat apply to a previousdouble.Used conventionally, a redouble may also convey additional information.
Re-entry
A card that enables a hand to gain theleadon a later trick, after that hand has already gained the lead with a different entry card.
An artificial bid that requests partner to further describe his hand. The relay is usually the lowest available bid, so as to leave as much room for description as possible.
A form ofknockoutcompetition in which winners advance and losers drop into a secondary event from which some number of top performers return to the primary event.[clarification needed]
Rescue
Toremovefrom a contract that partner has bid and which, often, has been doubled.
A double that followsLHO's opening bid, partner's takeout double andRHO's raise of opener's suit, to show moderate values and no clear opinion as to the best strain.
Result merchant
(Slang) One who evaluates bids and plays according to their outcome, rather than to their intrinsic merit. Also, "Result player" and "Second guesser".
Retain the lead
Maintain the right to lead to the next trick by leading and winning the current trick.
A bidding sequence in which a single player, on consecutive calls, bids two different suits, and bids the two suits in the reverse order to that expected by the basic bidding system. The specific definition of a reverse therefore depends on the bidding system (seemain article). The reverse is designed to show additional strength without the need to make a jump bid. Because the reverse takes up bidding space, the reverse bidder is usually expected to hold a stronger than average hand, usually more than 16 HCP.
Failure tofollow suitas required when a player is able to do so.
Rewind
(Slang) To redouble.
RHO
Right-hand opponent.
Right-Side the contract
A style of bidding which strives to select the Declarer most beneficial for the partnership. Example: After NT openings, Jacoby Transfers right-side the contract so that the NT opener is the Declarer: As the hand with the known long suit will be the dummy, this right-siding reveals to the opponents very little information that they do not already know.
Rise,as "rise with"
To play a high card in the hope of taking a trick: "Rise with the ace." Also, "go up with"
Acronym for "Raise (is the) Only Non-Force". A treatment used for responding to preempts, usuallyweak two bids.All bids except the single raise areforcing.
Rosenblum Cup
The award for winning the world knockout team championship that is held in even numbered years other than leap years. (The Bermuda Bowl is contested in odd numbered years and the World Team Olympiad in leap years.)
Rotation
The progression of the bidding and play in a clockwise direction around the table.
Roth–Stone
Abidding systempopular in the U.S. during the 1960s. It features sound opening bids, five-card majors and negative doubles. It is the principal foundation for2/1 Game Forcing.
Round
In thebidding,a sequence of four consecutivecalls.
In duplicate bridge, a set of boards leading to another round (e.g., the semi-final round), or a set of boards that twopairsplay against one another.
Of a control, the round on which the control can stop the opponents from winning a trick. An ace, for example, is a first round control; the king is a second round control.
Rounded suit
Hearts or clubs. The term refers to the shape at the tops of the suit symbols. ContrastPointed suit.
The original form ofcontract bridge,a contest with four players in two opposing pairs (as distinct fromduplicate bridge,which requires a minimum of eight players).
Thelead of a suit in which both opponents are void, so that one opponent canruffwhile the otherdiscards(orsluffs). A ruff and discard is usually damaging to the side that leads to the trick. Also,ruff and slufforruff and slough.
Ruff out
To establish a suit by ruffing one or more of its low cards.
Rule of Eight
Devised byEly Culbertson."The total of defensive honor-tricks that will be won at anybid(trump or no-trump) after each deal is about 8 out of the 13 tricks. "
A way to decide whether to overcall an opponent's 1NT opening. Length in long suits, thelosing trick countandHCPare combined.
Devised by David Burn from experience of playing with and of captaining teams of junior players. (1) Subtract the number of aces held by opponents from eight. (2) Don't play at that level.
Rule of Eighteen
Regulation by theWorld Bridge Federationstipulating that an opening bid is acceptable if the sum of the number of cards in the two longest suits plus the number ofHCPis at least 18.
Rule of Eleven
A calculation that can be used when it is assumed thatopening leaderhas led the fourth highest card in a suit. By subtracting thepipson the card led from 11, the result is the number of cards in the other three hands that are higher than the one led. Third hand, for example, can then make inferences about declarer's holding in the suit by examining his own and dummy's holdings; likewise, declarer can make inferences about right-hand-opponent's holding in the suit. (The rule can be modified to subtract from 12 if the lead is thought to be third best, and from 10 if the lead is thought to be fifth best.)
Rule of Fifteen
Guideline for opening light in fourth seat: open if your high card points plus your number of spades is 15 or more. Also known as the Cansino Count.[9]
Rule of Five
When the bidding has reached the 5-level in a competitive auction, tend to defend rather than bid on. In other words, in competitive auctions,5-level contracts belong to the enemy.See alsoLaw of Total Tricks
Rule of Four
Avoid giving support for partner's 5-card suit if a superior 4–4 fit might be available.
Rule of Seven
When declarer's only high card in the suit led by the opponents is the ace, count the number of cards in that suit held by declarer and dummy, subtract from seven and duck that many times.
Rule of Three
On a competitive part score deal, with the points roughly equal between your side and theirs, once the bidding has reached the 3-level, tend to defend rather than bid on (unless your side has 9 trumps). See alsoLaw of Total Tricks
Rule of Twenty
A widely used guideline of theStandard American Yellow Card (SAYC)bidding system which states that a hand may open bidding "normally" (that is, by bidding one of a suit) if the sum obtained by adding the combinedlengthof its longest two suits to its high card points is twenty or more, but that weaker hands must either open with apreemptive bidorpass.See alsoZar pointsevaluation method.
Rule of Two
When missing two non-touching honors, it is normally superior to finesse first for theirlowerhonor. In the following two example hands, three tricks or the maximum possible are needed.
♠AQ10
♠765
♥KJ1053
♥87642
In the first hand, finesse the♠10, not the♠Q. Similarly in the second, lead the♥2 and when West follows with the♥9, it is best to finesse the♥10. When one of the missing honors is the 10 the rule will not apply, as one does not normally finesse for a 10 on the first round.
Rule of Two and Three
A bidding guide suggested byEly Culbertson,which counsels preemptors to be within two tricks of their contract ifvulnerable,and within three if not. Few players now follow the Rule of Two and Three.
Ruling
A finding and decision by a tournament director or appeals committee.
(Noun) A contract that was deliberately bid in the expectation of goingdown,in the hope of apenaltysmaller than the opponents' expected score frommakinga contract they had bid.
(Verb) To bid to such a contract.
Safety level
A level at which the partnership can normally assume, on the basis of the previous bidding, that its contract will succeed. It is the point below which the partnership prefers to explore even higher contracts. Also, "security level."
A play that maximizes the chances for fulfilling the contract (or for achieving a certain score) by avoiding a play which might result in a higher score. ContrastPercentage play,the best play in asuit,whereas a safety play is the bestlinefor thecontract.
Sandbag
(Slang) To bid weakly or pass with good values, in the hope that the opponents will getoverboard.
Sandwich
An overcall made after an opening bid and response by the opponents. The overcall is "sandwiched" between two hands that have each shown strength.
2) (Verb) Of a card, to win a trick: "The♠Q scored. "
Score slip
A paper form used to record the result of eachdealin a duplicate bridge event when electronic scoring devices are not available. Depending upon the event format, the score slip may be either apick-up slipor atraveller.
Scramble
1) To bid to a safer contract.
2) To score small trumps by ruffing, rather than aslong cards.Often used of the play of a contract based on aMoysian fit.
A device which divides the table diagonally, visually separating partners from each other. Used in higher-level competition to reduce the possibility ofunauthorized information.
A bid which is conditionallyforcing:one which requests partner to rebidunlesshis hand is minimal or sub-minimal for his previous bidding. Compareinvitation.
To try for an unusually good result by adopting an abnormal line of play, typically atmatchpointscoring. Declarer hopes that the cards are distributed in such a way that a superior line of play will fail.
Short club
The natural opening bid of 1♣when the suit contains three cards or less. Usually employed by players using thefive-card majorstreatment for opening bids when holding a hand with opening values but lacking a five-card major. When the hand contains two clubs and three diamonds, an opening diamond bid is preferred. Also, "short diamond." These bids may also be called "prepared minors" – "prepared club" and "prepared diamond", or "better minor"bids. TheEBU"Orange Book" recommends the term "prepared club" for bids that show a minimum of three cards, and "short club" where it may only be two cards or less.
By agreement, a bid of ashortside suit after a single raise, hoping to reach game. For example, after 1♥– 2♥,opener might rebid 3♣with a singleton or void in clubs. The bid tells partner where high cards will be least useful, indicatingduplication of values.It requests partner to take positive action with high-card strength outside that suit. Otherwise, the bid requests partner to sign off (in this example, by bidding 3♥). Seehelp-suit game tryandgame try.
A sheet, typically of card or plastic, placed in the center of the table during the bidding period, and marked with numeral, suit and other symbols such that a player can indicate acallby tapping on them with a finger, writing implement, or the like. Largely superseded bybidding boxes.
Simple squeeze
Asqueezeagainst one opponent, in two suits, with thecount(definition 3).
Single dummy
The normal manner of play, with certain knowledge only of one's own cards and dummy's, and without verbal communication between partners. ContrastDouble dummy.
A round in amovementduring which a pair is idle. That pair is said to "sit out" that round.
Skip
An irregular feature of aMitchell movement:typically a move by the East–West pairs of 2 tables up instead of the usual 1, to avoid them playing the same boards twice.
Skip bid warning, or skip-bid warning
A warning toLHOthat one is about to make a jump bid that could cause a revealinghesitationorhuddle;used only when biddingscreensare not in place. The warning is made in one of two ways:
1) Whenbidding boxesare in use, the red Stop card is placed on the table followed by a bid card; LHO is expected to wait 10 seconds before taking action;
2) When bidding boxes are not in use, the jump bidder announces "I am about to make a skip bid, please wait." and then bids. LHO waits 10 seconds.
Slam
1) small slam (or simply, slam): acontractto win at least twelvetricks.
Cards that requireestablishmentbefore they can be cashed.
Slow arrival
A style of bidding that uses a jump to a contract (to which the previous bidding has already forced the partnership) to show a specific holding. ContrastFast arrival.
Slow rubber
A rubber completed in three games. Seefast rubber.
Sluff
Seediscard.Neo-orthography forslough,as used inruff and sluff.
The Smith signal (also known as Smith echo or Smithpeter) is an attitude carding signal in contract bridge showing additional values (or lack thereof) in the first suit led by the defence, while the signal itself is given in the first suit played by declarer.
Smolen
After opener has denied a four-card major in aStaymansequence, responder's jump to 3M to show four cards in the bid major and five cards in the other major.
An endplay that captures an opponent's guarded trump by means of an overruff, when that card cannot be finessed in the normal fashion.
Soft values
Lower honors, as distinct from aces and kings.
Solid
A suit strong enough torunwithout interruption, or (in the bidding) that requires no fit with partner.
Sort
To arrange one's cards by suit, and by rank within suit.
SOS redouble
A conventional redouble that asks partner forrescuefrom a doubled contract. Its name comes from the Morse code distress signalSOS.
Sound
A hand that is relatively strong for a call that is contemplated or that has been made.
South African Texas
A variant ofTexasin which 4♣and 4♦are used as transfers to 4♥and 4♠respectively.
Splinter
A singleton or void in a suit other than the trump suit. A hand with both good support for partner's trumps and a splinter can be very powerful offensively—offering control of the splinter suit (by ruffing the first or second trick) and extra trump winners (by ruffing subsequent rounds). When declarer holds either no top honors or the ace and low cards opposite a splinter in the dummy, the combined hands may win several more tricks than the partnership might have expected without awareness of the powerful fit.
An unusual jump bid that by agreement shows a fit for partner's last-bid suit and a singleton or void in the bid suit. For example, a partnership could treat 4♣in response to an opening bid of 1♠as a splinter bid, showing a good hand with spade support and a singleton or void club. Compare withFragment bid.
Split
1) (Noun) The distribution in the opponents' hands of the cards in a suit.
2) (Verb) To play one of two touching honors when the lead comes through them.
Split menace
A menace insqueeze playwhich depends on values in both declarer's hand and dummy.
Split tenace
A position where the high cards of atenaceare in opposite hands, e.g. Ax opposite Qx; usually relevant only when a lead by an opponent with the missing honor card (here, the K) would be damaging to his side.
Sponsor
1) The organization that puts on a tournament, such as theWBF,theACBLor theEBU,a regional association, or a club.
2) One who hires partners or teammates to compete in anevent.
A playing technique that forces the defender todiscarda vital card, usually an apparentstopper.
Squeeze card
A card whose lead forces one or both defenders to discard their guard in a suit.
Stack
A distribution of cards in defenders' hands that might make the play difficult for declarer. The defenders' trumps, for example, could be said to bestackedif they divide 5–0.
A conventional bid of 2♣that calls for a 1NTopening bidderto bid a four-card major, if one is held, and (usually) 2♦otherwise. Many continuations have been devised.
Steal
To gain an advantage, usually through deception. The theft may be material (e.g., a trick or a contract) or non-material (e.g., atempo). Despite the termsteal,deception is entirely legal if it does not involve unauthorized information or concealment of information to which the opponents are entitled.
Step
In the bidding, the space between one bid and the next highest. SeeUseful Space Principle.
Step bid
A bid that conveys information on the basis of the number of steps it uses.
A squeeze that forces a defender either to be thrown in to act as a stepping-stone to a stranded dummy, or to allow declarer to establish a suit.
Sticks and wheels
(Slang, chiefly British) An 1100-point penalty. Compare"go for a number".
Stiff
(Slang, adjective and noun) A singleton.
Stop
An instruction given to opponents when you make a jump bid, or skip bid.LHOis expected to wait around 10 seconds before calling, so as to avoid communicating information to partner as to how easy his call is to make. Seeskip-bid warning.
Stopper
A high card (normally, anhonor) whose primary function is to prevent the opponents from running a suit in anotrumpcontract.See alsoControl.
1) To remove safe cards of exit from an opponent's hand.
2) To prepare for aruff-and-sluffby removing all cards of a suit (or suits) in a partnership's hands.
Strip squeeze
Asqueezewithout thecountin which one threat is against a safe exit card.
Striped-tail ape double
A double of a laydown contract made in hope of dissuading the opponents from successfully bidding to a higher, more rewarding contract. The doubler must be prepared to run (like the cowardly ape) to anescape suitif the opponents redouble.
A set of conventions that uses an opening bid of 1♣as an artificial, forcing opening that promises a strong hand.
Strong notrump
An opening notrump that shows a balanced hand and 15–17 or 16–18HCP.ContrastWeak notrump.A partnership's choice between the use of a strong notrump or a weak notrump has extensive implications for its entire bidding system.
Strong pass system
A bidding system that mandates a pass by first (or second) hand to show what other systems would regard as an opening bid. A corollary is that if the next hand also passes, third (or fourth) hand must bid to keep the deal from being passed out.
Strong two bid, strong two-bid, or Strong Two
An agreement to use an opening bid of two of a suit so as to indicate a strong hand and a strongholdingin the bid suit.
A ranked division of thedeckof cards into (in descending rank order) spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs. The suit ranking has a profound effect on the bidding and scoring, but none at all on the play. See alsoDenomination,Major suit,andMinor suit).
Suit preference signal
A defensive carding method that signals a preference, or the lack thereof, for a suit other than the suit used for the signal.
Superaccept
A strongly encouraging response to atransfer,such as a jump completion (e.g., 1NT – 2♥;3♠). Many partnerships use a conventional superacceptance such as 1NT – 2♦;2♠,one step above responder's major, to save room for game or slam exploration, and in conformance with theUseful Space Principle.
A double of an overcall that shows a fit for partner's suit, usually distinguished from a direct raise by the length of the suit in responder's hand.
Sure trick
A trick that in the absence of some irregularity a player must win, such as the ace of trumps. Extended byGeorge Coffinto refer to guaranteed lines of play.
Surrogate signals
A count or preference signal made in a different suit, usually the suit which declarer is running, to inform partner in beforehand about a critical decision he will have to make later during the play of the hand.
An aggressive playing style, usually adopted by a pair or team who is behind with some chance to catch the leaders "with a little luck."Swingingplayers will make plays slightly against the odds that will offer large gains if they succeed. For example, a swinging pair might bid a 60% grand slam on a hand where a small slam should be the normal contract. They might also make close doubles of normal contracts that might go down.
Swish
(Slang) Three consecutive passes, ending the auction. "3♠– swish "means 3♠passed out.
Swiss, or Swiss Teams
ASwiss-system tournamentforteams-of-four.Every team plays a series ofmatcheswith a series of opponents whose records or standings are as similar as possible when they face each other, without scheduling repeat matches. Typically these are relatively numerous, relatively short matches. For example, of 54 to 56 boards in one day's play: 6, 7, 8, or 9 matches of 9, 8, 7, or 6 boards respectively.
A large printed card placed on a table in a bridge tournament. The card contains instructions for the players, including players' designations and board numbers. Also, "Guide card."
Table presence
Awareness of opponents' behavior and mannerisms, leading to inferences regarding theirholdingsand problems on a deal. It is improper to take action on inferences made on the basis ofpartner'sbehavior. Also, "Table feel."
Table talk
1) Improper communication between partners, effected by words, gestures, or facial expressions.
2) Extraneous discussion during the play, discouraged as a distraction or possible source of unauthorized information.
A conventional call used in acompetitive auctionto indicate support for the unbid suits in a hand of opening strength, and to request that partner bid. The classic, ideal pattern is 4–4–4–1, with the shortness in the suit doubled. There are manyinformatory doublesthat anticipate a bid from partner, but "takeout double" typically refers to the double immediately overopening bidder.
(Verb and noun) Slang. To adopt a line of defense that is intended to force declarer to ruff in thelong hand.Also, the line of defense itself: "To get the tap going." SeeForcing defense.
1) (Adjective) (alsoTeamsorTeams-of-four) A form ofduplicate bridgeplayed by eight people at two tables. The North–South pair at one table and East–West pair at the other table are teammates. Everydealis played at both tables ( "duplicate" ) and scored by comparing the two raw scores — usually on theIMPorboard-a-matchscale. Matches are commonly played in sets of 6 to 20 deals, with scoring required and player substitutions permitted between sets.
2) (Noun) A group of four or more players who compete together in a teams event. For each deal, four team members are active at two tables. Player substitution occurs between matches or, in many longer matches, between sets of 6 to 20 deals. Most teams events permit four to six players on a team.
Teammate
A member of the same team. Commonly said of any teammate other than one's partner.
1) Having the timing advantage in the play of the cards by possessing the lead and thereby being able to initiate (or continue) one's line of play before the declarer/opponents can establish his/theirs.
2) The speed at which a player executes a call or play. Some players attempt to intimidate less experienced opponents by playing their cards very quickly. Abreakin tempo often indicates that a player has an unexpected problem in bidding or play.
A broken sequence of (often) honor cards, such as♠ A Q or♦ K J. Declarer may lead toward his or dummy's tenace, preparing to finesse for a missing card. A defender may lead through declarer's or dummy's tenace to help his partner score cards behind the tenace.
An opening lead convention that calls for the lead of the third-best card in a suit of up to four card length, and the fifth-best in a longer suit.
Third from even, low from odd
An opening lead convention that calls for the lead of the third-best card from a suit with an even number of cards, and the lowest card from a suit with an odd number of cards.
Third hand
The player who makes the thirdcall,or who is the third to play to a trick.
(Slang) An honor card or honor sequence unaccompanied by low cards: "He had the♥KQ tight. "
Timing
A player's agenda for tasks in the play of the hand: for example, ruff losers and then draw trumps; or, draw trumps and then run the side suit.
Top
Playingmatchpoints,the highest score achieved on a board.
Top of nothing
The lead of a highspotcard from a suit that contains nohonorcard.
Top trick
A card that can take a trick on a given hand. SeeWinner.
Total tricks
The sum of the number of tricks that each partnership can take, with its longest combined suit as trump. SeeLaw of Total tricks.
Touching
Adjacent. Both cards and suits may be touching. In the holding♣KQ5, the king and queen are touching. In deciding whether to respondUp the line,a player notes that hearts and spades are touching suits.
A bid that conventionally shows length in a suit other than the one bid, or requests partner to make a bid in a particular suit, or both. The suit in question is usually the suit immediately above the one bid. Examples:Jacoby transfers(often just called "transfers" ) andTexas transfers( "Texas" ). Also, seetransfer a control.
Transferable values
Cards, such as aces and kings, that are valuable either in declarer's hands or in defenders'.
Transfer a control
Insqueeze play,to shift the responsibility of controlling, orguarding,a menace from one opponent to the other. This is usually accomplished by playing through one opponent in a way that forces him to cover the lead, leaving the other opponent with the remaining control. The purpose is to arrange that one opponent has to guard more menaces than he can successfully manage.
Transnational
1) Apairorteamwhose members differ in "nationality". Typically they are members of different national bridge federations, thus registered players.
2) An event (tournament) that permits transnational pairs or teams to enter. A transnational event isopenin sense (c).
A type ofscore slipon which the result of adealis recorded for the purpose ofcomparative scoring.Used in certain event formats, it is folded, placed into theboardand 'travels' with it to the next table. May also be referred to as a travelling slip or travelling score sheet.[7]ContrastPick-up slip.
Anaturalbid that: (1) either shows a willingness to play in the denomination named, or promises or requests values in that denomination, and (2) by partnershipagreementgives or requests additional information on which action could be based. If the treatment is an unusual one, it requires announcement to the opponents even though it is natural. For example, a partnership that playsFlanneryusually agrees that a 1♠response to a 1♥opening bid shows five spades. So the 1♠response to 1♥,while natural, is a treatment because by agreement it shows at least a five card suit. Compare withConvention,in the auction a call that gives or requests information not necessarily related to the denomination named.
Asqueezethat is so-named because it consists of threesimple squeezesagainst the same opponent. AProgressive squeezeis regarded as a triple squeeze (because it is initiated by one), but not all triple squeezes are progressive.
1) (Noun) A card in thetrump suitwhose trick-taking power is greater than anyplain suitcard.
2) (Verb) To play a trump after aplain suithas been led; seeRuff.
Trump control
The ability, from a combination of theholdingin trumps with play technique, to prevent the opponents from taking too many tricks in aplain suit.
Trump echo
Anechoin thetrump suit,long used to alert partner to the possibility of a defensive ruff, and in the early 21st century to give partner thecount.
Trump promotion
The advancement of a trump to the status of awinnerby creating a position in which an opponent must suffer anuppercut,or an immediate adverseoverruff,or choose to ruff with a higher trump that makes a later winner of an opponent's trump by force of cards.
Trump squeeze
Asqueezethat forces an opponent to weaken his holding in one of thethreatsuits enough that the suit can later beruffed out.
Trump suit,or simply "trumps"
By way of theauction,declarer and declarer's partner select the trump suit on the basis of their combined length and strength in the suit: the greater length to ruff more losers in theplain suits,and the greater strength to better control the play of the trump suit itself. Information about trump suits generally in other card games can be foundhere.
a bidding sequence in which after a one-level opening bid, there is a non-jump response at the two-level.
a bidding system based upon the concept that after a one-level opening bid in a suit, a non-jump response by an unpassed hand at the two-level is forcing to game.
A hand containing two long suits, usually each containing 4 or more cards, with at least 10 cards between the two suits.
Two-way checkback
An inquiry made after opener rebids 1NT. 2♣is apuppetto 2♦(forces a response of 2♦by the 1NT rebidder) which says nothing about responder's strain. It is just a forcing bid to show an invitational hand. On the other hand, a rebid of 2♦after a 1NT rebid is an artificial game force.[clarification needed]
An inquiry about the third (or sometimes fourth) position opener's strength in a major suit. 2♣shows 3-card support, while an inquiry made with 2♦shows four cards in opener's suit.
Two-way finesse
Afinessethat could be taken through either opponent.
Two-way Stayman
Over an opening bid of 1NT, the use of 2♣as non-forcingStaymanand 2♦as agame-forcingmajor suit inquiry.
Information obtained from partner that one is not permitted to act on: for example, the manner in which partner plays a particular card, or the tone of voice when making a bid.
Unbalanced distribution
1) Broadly, anydistributionof a hand or suit other than 4–3–3–3, 4–4–3–2 or 5–3–3–2.
2)Unbalancedis commonly used in a narrow sense that excludessemi-balanced,5–4–2–2 and 6–3–2–2. Narrowly,unbalanced distributionimplies a void, singleton, or 7-card suit.
Unbalanced hand
A 13-card hand with unbalanced distribution in the broad or narrow sense just above.
Unbid suit
A suit that has neither been bid nor indirectly shown.
Unblock
To play a card whose rank interferes with the use of cards in the opposite hand. Opposite dummy's KQJ, declarer's singleton aceblocksthe suit, and so is played to unblock. There are other situations that require unblocking, such as theVienna coup.
1) (Verb) To bid less aggressively, or to a lower contract, than most would with the same cards.
2) (Noun) A bid that most would regard as weaker than warranted by the strength of the hand.
Underlead
To lead a low card when holding the top card or cards in a suit. The underlead is standard in defense of notrump contracts (so as to preservecommunicationsbetween defenders' hands), but unusual against suit contracts.
Underruff
To play a trump lower than one already played on the lead of aplain suit.Usually this is undesirable but is sometimes necessary to adjust the number of trumps held while preparing atrump coup,or while preparing to defend certain squeezed positions.
Undertrick
A trick thatdeclarerdoes not win, causing the contract to go down. Multiple undertricks occur: for example, two undertricks could result in 4♥down two.
Unfinished rubber
A rubber that the players agree not to finish. Inrubber bridgescoring, a 300-point bonus is given to a vulnerable side, and a 100-point bonus to a side with apart score– note this differs from the 50 points for a part score in duplicate bridge.
Unguard
To discard lower cards that help prevent a higher card from being captured by an opponent.
An artificial jump overcall in notrump that shows aTwo-suiter,usually bid to suggest asacrifice.As originally played, 1M – (2NT) showed a hand weak in high cards with, probably, 5–5 in the minor suits.
To bid the lower of two adjacent suits before the higher. For example, of two four card majors, the heart suit is normally bid before the spade suit in response to an opening bid of 1♣or 1♦.
Uppercut
To ruff in the expectation of beingoverruffed,when the overruff will cause a trump in partner's hand to become awinner.
Upside-down signals
An agreement that when following suit to partner's lead, a low card encourages a continuation and a high card discourages. This is "upside-down", or the reverse of traditional practice.
USBC
United States Bridge Championships, competitionssponsoredby theUSBFin which entries compete to represent the United States in world tournaments. The USBC areteams-of-fourtournaments that determine "USA" open, women, and senior teams. Sometimes the USBC winner and runner-up both qualify, as teams "USA1" and "USA2".
USBF
United States Bridge Federation,the association charged with national representation of the United States in international competition. ContrastACBL.
A bid that enables the bidder to obtain more information before making a commitment. For example, some players use 2♦over a 2♣forcing opening bid as a waiting bid rather than as anegative response.
Waive
To condone an irregularity. Induplicate bridge,a waiver is an improper action.
A 1NT opening bid on a balanced hand with, usually, 12–14HCP.The bid has mild preemptive value; contrastStrong notrump.To show a strong notrump, the weak notrump user opens with a suit and rebids in notrump.
Weak suit game try
Following a major suit raise to the two level, the weak suitgame trynames a suit with at least three cards and at least two losers where partner's short suit is likely to be useful, as will a strong suit. Three small cards is ideal.
2) Alternative term for ahelp suit game try.In some usage the "help suit game try"is barely distinguishable from the long, in some barely distinguishable from the weak.
A trick-taking card game and predecessor to contract bridge.
Wholesale
A count or total that obscures cards' identities. A bid of 5♥in response toBlackwoodshows two aces wholesale, without announcing which aces they are.
Wide open
(Said of a suit) Without a stopper.
Wide-ranging bid
A bid made within a wide range of strengths and shapes, the opposite of alimit bid.An example from Acol is an opening bid of one of a suit which may be made with anything from 10 HCP (plus some shape) to 22 HCP (with a shape unsuitable for a 2 bid, such as 4–4–4–1). Such bids are limited only by the failure of the bidder to make a stronger or weaker bid; thus an Acol opening bid of one of a suit is limited by the fact that the opener failed to pass, to make a 2 level opening bid, or to make a pre-emptive opening bid.
The worldsport governing bodyfor bridge. Its members are more than 120 national bridge federations that are grouped in eight geographiczonesfor some purposes. Itsponsorscompetitions including but not limited to world championships, which exclusively convey the title "world champion".
WBU
Welsh Bridge Union.
Wolff signoff
After a jump rebid of 2NT by opener, responder's bid of 3♣as apuppetto 3♦,after which responder can sign off with a weak hand.
Woo twos
A synonym or close variant of theMuiderberg convention,a weak two-bid showing 5 cards in a major and at least four cards in another suit.
Work count, or Work points
The assignment of the numbers 4, 3, 2 and 1 as points to represent aces, kings, queens and jacks in the process ofhand evaluation.Named for Milton Work.
Working card
A card that is useful to a partnership, given the mesh of the cards in the two hands.
Wrongside
(Verb) To place the contract in the less favorable hand for the partnership. SeeAntipositional.
(lowercase) Any small card, of no trick-taking significance.
X
(uppercase)Double,in print or manuscript representation of the auction (where alternatives are "D", "Dbl", etc.) or the final contract. Used inbidding boxes,private scores,and occasionally elsewhere.
XX
(uppercase)Redouble,in print or manuscript representation of the auction (where alternatives are "R", "Rdbl", etc.) or the final contract. Used inbidding boxes,private scores,and occasionally elsewhere.
A convention used in an uncontested auction where 3 suits are bid at the one level. Thereafter a 2♣is apuppetto 2♦,showing a weak♦or an invitational hand. A 2♦bid isgame forcing.A 3♣shows a weak hand.
A convention to be used after a sequence like 1X – 1Y – 1NT. Thereafter a 2♣is apuppetto 2♦,showing a weak♦or an invitational hand. A 2♦bid isgame forcing.Also calledXY Checkback.[clarification needed]
XYZ Notrump
A convention to be used after a sequence like 1X – 1Y – (1Z) – 1NT, or 1X – (1Z) – 1Y – 1NT, where 1Z is an opponent's bid. Thereafter a 2♣is apuppetto 2♦,showing a weak♦or an invitational hand. A 2♦bid isgame forcing.Also calledXYZ Checkback.
Originally, a hand with no card higher than a nine.[10]The BritishEarl of Yarborough,during the 19th century, would offer a wager of £1,000 to £1 against picking up such a hand at whist. (The actualodds againstsuch a hand are approximately 1,827 to 1.) In common usage, it may refer to a very weak hand.
An evaluation method to determine if a hand should be opened. It asks to open whenever you have 26 or moreZars,determined by adding the number of cards in the 2 longest suits, plus high card points, plus number ofcontrols(A=2, K=1), plus the difference between the longest and the shortest suit. An additional point is added for the♠suit if it has 4+ cards. The unsupported honors are diminished 1 point in value. 52 Zar points should produce a NT or major suitgame.
Zero
The lowest score obtained on a deal in a pairs game. Also,bottom.
Zia play
A specific type of falsecard which creates a losing option to declarer.
Zone
One of eight geographic zones in whichWorld Bridge Federationmember "nations" are grouped for some purposes. The WBF was founded August 1958 by delegates from Europe, North America, and South America, which are now Zones 1 to 3. World championshipteams-of-fourcompetition has been organizedzonallyeven longer: theBermuda Bowlwas contested in one long match between representatives of Europe and North America from 1951 (the second rendition) to 1957; in a three-teamround robinincluding the champion of South America for 1958. From 2005 to present, there are 22 teams in zonally organized world championship tournaments. SeeSenior Bowl:StructureandZones and nations.
Zonal organizationsmediate between the world and national levels in some respects. In Zone 1 for instance, theEuropean Bridge Leagueis the zonal organization. Its members are the national bridge federations of 46 countries from Albania to Wales, and geographically from Iceland to Israel.[11]In Zone 2, on the other hand, bridge players are members of theAmerican Contract Bridge League.
Zoom (z)
In arelay system,the facility to joining into the next level of answers without needing to hear a new relay from partner. Usually, after servant[further explanation needed]has the highest possible answer for the level s/he is answering, s/he can jump into the next level assuming the captain made a virtual new relay, saving bidding space.
^Francis et al, 2001, p. 114. This observation in the entry "Denomination" does not appear in the subsequent seventhOfficial Encyclopedia(Manley et al, 2011).
