Next Steps in Bridge

Tom Helen, I have a confession. Last Tuesday I opened a hand with thirteen points, partner raised me to game, and we went down three.

Helen Let me guess. Queens and jacks everywhere, no long suit, and you were very proud of your thirteen.

Tom How did you know?

Helen Because everybody does it once. Some people do it every Tuesday for forty years.

Helen Welcome to Next Steps in Bridge, the podcast for people who've finished beginners' lessons and are now, technically, dangerous. I'm Helen. I've been playing for longer than I'll admit on a recording.

Tom And I'm Tom. I finished beginners' class six weeks ago, and I still sort my cards with my tongue slightly out.

Helen This is episode one: hand evaluation beyond high-card points. Or, as I like to call it, why thirteen points is a rumour, not a fact.

Tom Okay, but the points thing is all we were taught. Ace four, king three, queen two, jack one. Add them up, twelve or thirteen, open the bidding. It's lovely. It's simple.

Helen It's lovely, it's simple, and it's wrong about half the time. Points are a starting estimate. The real value of your hand changes with every bid you hear at the table.

Tom Give me an example, because I think in examples. Mostly bad ones.

Helen Picture two hands, both with exactly thirteen points. Hand A has ace, king, jack, seven, five of spades, and king, queen, ten, nine, two of hearts. Two fives. Every honour sits in a long suit.

Tom That sounds like a hand that wants to play the contract.

Helen It does. Now Hand B. Queen-jack-three of spades. Queen-jack-four of hearts. King-queen-five of diamonds. Queen, five, four, three of clubs.

Tom Oh no. That's the hand I had on Tuesday.

Helen Same thirteen points. But Hand A, opposite a partner with three spades and nothing else, can make ten tricks. Hand B struggles to make seven. Hand B's queens and jacks are what we call soft values. They look like points on paper, but they only take tricks when the opponents are being generous.

Tom And the opponents at my club are never generous. One of them brings her own pencil.

Helen So we nudge the count up or down. Here are the upgrades. First, honours together in a long suit. Ace-king-jack in a five-card suit is worth much more than the same cards scattered around.

Tom Because they take tricks together.

Helen Exactly. Second, good spot cards. Tens and nines, especially in no-trump. Third, a second five-card suit. Five-five hands play far better than their points suggest. Fourth, honours in a suit your right-hand opponent bid, because you sit over them. And fifth, shortness, but only once you've found a trump fit.

Tom And the downgrades?

Helen Unsupported honours in short suits. A singleton king. A doubleton queen-jack. Then the flat shape, four-three-three-three. Deduct a point for that; it's the saddest shape in bridge. Queens and jacks without aces and kings to help them. Honours in a suit your left-hand opponent bid, because they sit over you. And shortness in partner's suit, which is a misfit. We'll do a whole episode on misfits.

Tom Can I offer a rule? A king in a five-card suit is a trick. A singleton king is a hostage.

Helen That's annoyingly good, Tom. Write it on your hand.

Helen Next, the Rule of Twenty. This is for borderline hands, eleven or twelve points with some shape. Add your high-card points to the number of cards in your two longest suits. If the total is twenty or more, open at the one level.

Tom Do one.

Helen King, queen, ten, six, three of spades. Ace, jack, eight, five, two of hearts. A singleton diamond and two small clubs. That's ten points.

Tom Plus five spades plus five hearts. Twenty! I open one spade.

Helen You do. And enjoy the look on their faces. Now, queen-eight-three of spades, king-seven-two of hearts, queen-jack-five of diamonds, queen-jack-four-two of clubs.

Tom Eleven points. Plus four clubs, plus three of something. Eighteen. So I pass?

Helen You pass, and you feel smug when partner opens. The rule works because shape takes tricks. One footnote: in fourth seat, many people use the Rule of Fifteen instead. Points plus number of spades. Fifteen or more, open. Otherwise, pass the hand out and go and get a biscuit.

Tom I like any rule that ends with a biscuit.

Helen Now the most important idea in this episode. Your hand is not a fixed asset, like a house. It's more like a share price, and partner's bids are the quarterly results.

Tom So I re-value every time partner bids.

Helen Yes. Take king, ten, eight, four of spades, a singleton heart, ace-queen-seven-three of diamonds, and jack-nine-four-two of clubs. Ten points. If partner opens one spade, what's your hand worth?

Tom I've got four spades, and a singleton heart. So I can ruff hearts. It feels a lot better.

Helen About thirteen. You're thinking game. Now partner opens one heart instead.

Tom Ugh. My singleton is in partner's suit.

Helen About nine. You respond one spade and keep your expectations modest.

Tom Like a man on his fourth dating app.

Helen I'll take your word for it. That's where dummy points come in. Once you've found a fit and you're going to be dummy, add for shortness. With four or more trumps, a void is five, a singleton three, a doubleton one. With only three trumps, void three, singleton two, doubleton one.

Helen Last big idea: the Losing Trick Count. Once you've found an eight-card fit, you count losers suit by suit.

Tom Talk me through the counting, slowly. Pretend I'm me.

Helen Look only at the top three cards in each suit. In a suit of three or more cards, the ace, king and queen each cancel a loser. In a doubleton, only the ace and king count. In a singleton, only the ace. Every other top card is a loser.

Tom So a void is no losers. A singleton is one, unless it's the ace.

Helen Right. Then add your losers to partner's. A minimum opening hand has about seven. Subtract the total from twenty-four, and that's how many tricks your side should make.

Tom Twenty-four. Why twenty-four?

Helen Because it works, Tom. Don't ask a magician to explain the trick. Let's do one. Partner opens one spade. You hold king-nine-five-two of spades, ace-four of hearts, king-eight-six-five-three of diamonds, and seven-six of clubs.

Tom Spades. King-nine-five. The king counts, the nine and five don't. Two losers. Hearts, ace-four. One loser. Diamonds, king-eight-six. Two losers. Clubs, seven-six. Two losers. Seven altogether.

Helen Partner has seven, you have seven. Fourteen. Twenty-four minus fourteen?

Tom Ten tricks. So I bid game. With only ten points!

Helen A pure point-counter would invite. The Losing Trick Count sees four trumps and two doubletons and calls you a coward. A rough guide for raising partner's major: nine losers, raise to two. Eight losers, raise to three. Seven losers, bid game.

Tom Any health warnings?

Helen One. The Losing Trick Count is optimistic about wild hands with no high cards. Use it to adjust your points, not to replace them. And if the two methods disagree by a lot, split the difference and blame partner.

Helen Quiz time. You're in first seat. You hold ace, queen, ten, seven, six of spades, king, jack, nine, eight, five of hearts, a singleton diamond, and two small clubs. Open or pass?

Tom Ten points, plus five, plus five. Twenty. I open one spade.

Helen Correct. With five-five, open the higher-ranking suit. Second question. Your left-hand opponent opened one heart, and you hold king-jack-four of hearts. Upgrade or downgrade?

Tom Downgrade. They probably hold the ace and queen, and they play after me, so my king and jack are sitting underneath them.

Helen Six weeks, and he's already explaining it to me.

Helen So, the rules to take away. One: honours are worth most in long suits and least in short ones. Two: the Rule of Twenty for opening borderline hands. Three: re-value your hand after every bid. Four: add dummy points only once you have a fit. And five: once you have a fit, count your losers.

Tom And homework?

Helen At the club this week, write down three hands where you upgraded or downgraded. Check the hand record afterwards to see if you were right. And count your losers on every hand you play as declarer.

Tom Next time, competitive bidding. Helen says we are going to stop letting the opponents bid in peace.

Helen Most deals are contested, so it is the episode that will change your scores the most. Thanks for listening to Next Steps in Bridge. The full lesson, with pictures of every hand, is on the course page.

Tom See you at the table. Bring a biscuit.

Tom Helen, in beginners' class, the opponents always passed. It was very polite. One side bid, the other side waited its turn.

Helen Like Australians at a bus stop.

Tom Exactly. And then I went to a real club, and everyone bids on everything. It's like a Boxing Day sale.

Helen That's real bridge, Tom. Most deals are contested. And the pair that competes sensibly wins more points than the pair with the fanciest slam conventions.

Helen Welcome to Next Steps in Bridge. I'm Helen.

Tom And I'm Tom. This is episode two: competitive bidding. Overcalls, takeout doubles, negative doubles, and something called the Law of Total Tricks, which sounds like a heist film.

Helen It's better than a heist film. It actually works. Let's start with overcalls.

Tom An overcall is when the opponents open, and I bid a suit.

Helen Right. And it does three jobs. It competes for the contract. It gets in their way. And it tells partner what to lead. Beginners forget the third job, and then partner leads from a suit you overcalled on four rubbish cards and a prayer.

Tom So what do I need?

Helen At the one level, eight to sixteen points and a good five-card suit. At the two level, eleven to sixteen and a good five- or six-card suit, and be stricter when you're vulnerable. A one no-trump overcall is fifteen to eighteen with a stopper in their suit. And a weak jump overcall, say one club, two spades, is six to ten points with a good six-card suit, like a weak two.

Tom What counts as a good suit? Everyone at my club says "good suit" the way people say "good wine." Nobody explains it.

Helen There's a test for that. The Suit Quality Test. Add the length of your suit to the number of honours in it: ace, king, queen, jack and ten. The total should be at least the number of tricks you're bidding for. Seven to overcall at the one level. Eight at the two level.

Tom Try me.

Helen King, jack, ten, nine, five of spades.

Tom Five cards. Honours: king, jack, ten. That's three. Eight. So I can overcall even at the two level.

Helen Now queen, seven, five, four, three of spades, with twelve points outside.

Tom Five cards, one honour. Six. That fails even at the one level? But I've got twelve points!

Helen And if you overcall, partner leads a spade from king-small and hands declarer a trick. Twelve points, but you'd be asking partner to lead from a disaster.

Tom Okay. What about when partner overcalls, and it's my turn?

Helen Raise with three-card support. Partner has five, you have three, that's an eight-card fit. With a really good hand, ten points or more, cue bid their suit. If they opened one heart and partner bid one spade, your two hearts says, "Partner, I have spade support and real values."

Tom So bidding their suit means I like ours. Bridge is weird.

Helen Bridge is weird. A new suit is constructive but not forcing, and one no-trump shows about eight to eleven with a stopper in their suit.

Helen Now the takeout double. When the opponents open, say, one heart, and you double, you're saying: I have an opening hand, I'm short in your suit, and I can support anything partner bids.

Tom It's like saying, "I'm easy, you pick the restaurant."

Helen Except you actually mean it. The perfect shape is four-one-four-four: four spades, a singleton heart, four diamonds, four clubs. Picture four little columns, and the heart column is tiny.

Tom And partner has to bid?

Helen Partner must bid. Even with zero points. Especially with zero points. If you pass, they play one heart doubled, make it with overtricks, and the scorer draws a little sad face next to your names.

Tom How does partner bid?

Helen With nought to eight points, bid your longest unbid suit at the cheapest level, preferring a major. With nine to eleven, jump. With twelve or more, cue bid their suit to force. The only time you pass is with a long, strong holding in their suit, like king, queen, jack, ten, nine of hearts. Then you're converting it to penalties. That's rare.

Tom There's another kind of takeout double, isn't there?

Helen The "too strong to overcall" double. Seventeen or more points with a good suit. You double first, then bid your suit. Partner assumes you have the normal shape until you correct them.

Helen Now let's flip it. Partner opens, and your right-hand opponent overcalls. If you double now, it's not for penalties. It's a negative double. It shows the unbid major and at least six points.

Tom Example, please.

Helen Partner opens one diamond. Right-hand opponent bids one heart. You hold king, queen, seven, four of spades, nine-six-two of hearts, eight-five of diamonds and ace, ten, five, three of clubs.

Tom Nine points and four spades. Do I bid one spade?

Helen One spade here would show five. The double shows exactly four. So you double.

Tom And if I actually want to double them for penalties? Say I've got king, jack, ten, nine of their suit?

Helen Then you pass, and you hope. If opener is short in their suit, opener will reopen with a double, and you pass that for penalties. It's the most satisfying thing in bridge.

Tom More satisfying than finding a parking spot at the club?

Helen Narrowly. Agree with partner how high negative doubles go. "Through three spades" is common.

Helen And now, the Law of Total Tricks. The idea is that on most deals, the total number of tricks both sides can make is roughly the total number of trumps in both sides' best fits. Larry Cohen made it famous. You don't need the theory. You need the rule.

Tom Give me the rule.

Helen In a competitive auction, bid to the level equal to the number of trumps your side holds. Eight trumps, compete to the two level. Nine trumps, the three level. Ten trumps, the four level.

Tom That's it?

Helen That's it. Here's how it plays. Left-hand opponent opens one heart. Partner overcalls one spade. Right-hand opponent raises to two hearts. You hold queen, ten, six, three of spades, a singleton heart, king-eight-seven-two of diamonds and jack-nine-five-three of clubs.

Tom I've only got six points. I'd normally pass.

Helen How many spades does partner have?

Tom An overcall promises five. I've got four. Nine trumps. So the Law says three spades.

Helen And bid it now. Jump straight to three spades. It's pre-emptive. It takes away their bidding space. If you bid two spades now and three spades next round, you've given them a free look at the problem.

Tom I've been giving people free looks at problems my whole life.

Helen One last idea. Balancing. When an auction like one heart, pass, pass comes round to you, they've stopped low. Partner might have a good hand with hearts and nowhere to go. In this balancing seat, bid or double with about three points less than you'd need in direct seat.

Tom Because I'm bidding partner's points as well as mine.

Helen Exactly. If it goes wrong, say you were borrowing a king. That's what bridge players say instead of "I panicked."

Helen Quiz. Your right-hand opponent opens one spade. You hold seven-two of spades, ace, queen, jack, ten, nine of hearts, king-nine-three of diamonds and queen-eight-four of clubs. Your call?

Tom Twelve points. Hearts: five cards, four honours. Nine. Easily good enough for two hearts.

Helen Two hearts it is. Next. One heart, pass, pass to you. You hold king-nine-six-two of spades, seven-three of hearts, ace-jack-eight-four of diamonds and queen-ten-five of clubs.

Tom Ten points, short hearts, balancing seat. Double!

Helen Correct. Partner probably has ten to fourteen and couldn't act over one heart.

Helen Rules to remember. Use the Suit Quality Test before you overcall. When partner doubles, you must bid. A double after partner opens and they overcall is a negative double, showing the unbid major. Compete to the level of your trump count. And in the balancing seat, act a little lighter.

Tom Homework: for one session, use the Suit Quality Test before every overcall, and write down the ones I'd have made without it. And agree with my partner: negative doubles up to three spades.

Helen Next time, conventions. The ten worth adding, in the order to learn them, and how not to forget them at exactly the wrong moment.

Tom I forget things at exactly the wrong moment professionally. This is Next Steps in Bridge. See you at the table.

Tom Helen, my partner and I agreed to play a convention last week. Then she used it, and I'd forgotten it, and we ended up in four clubs with three clubs between us.

Helen Which convention?

Tom I don't remember. That's the point of the story.

Helen Then you're ready for this episode.

Helen Welcome to Next Steps in Bridge. I'm Helen.

Tom I'm Tom. This is episode three: conventions worth adding next.

Helen A convention is an artificial bid. It means something other than what it says. Two clubs over partner's one no-trump doesn't say "I like clubs." It says, "Have you got a four-card major?"

Tom And conventions are great when both people remember them.

Helen And catastrophic when one doesn't. So add them one or two at a time, in this order. Stayman. Jacoby transfers. Weak twos. Negative doubles, which we covered last episode. Roman Key Card Blackwood. Jacoby two no-trump. Splinters. Fourth suit forcing. Michaels and the Unusual two no-trump. And Lebensohl.

Tom That's ten. I can barely remember my PIN.

Helen That's why it's one or two at a time. Let's go through the important ones.

Helen Number one: Stayman. Partner opens one no-trump, fifteen to seventeen. You bid two clubs, asking for a four-card major. You need about eight points or more, and at least one four-card major.

Tom And partner's answers?

Helen Two diamonds says, "No four-card major." Two hearts says, "Four hearts," and possibly four spades as well. Two spades says, "Four spades, but not four hearts."

Tom Then what?

Helen If you've found a fit, raise. Three of the major invites; four bids game. No fit? Two no-trump invites; three no-trump is game.

Tom Show me a hand.

Helen King, jack, eight, five of spades. Ace, ten, six, four of hearts. Seven-three of diamonds. Queen-five-two of clubs. Ten points, both majors. Partner opens one no-trump.

Tom Two clubs. If partner bids two hearts or two spades, I jump to game in it. If partner bids two diamonds, three no-trump.

Helen Perfect. And there's a cheeky version called Garbage Stayman. With a weak hand that's short in clubs, say four spades, four hearts, five diamonds and no clubs, you bid two clubs and pass whatever partner says. You're happy in two diamonds, two hearts or two spades.

Tom It's like ordering whatever the waiter recommends.

Helen Number two: Jacoby transfers. Over one no-trump, two diamonds shows five or more hearts and asks partner to bid two hearts. Two hearts shows five or more spades and asks for two spades.

Tom Why not just bid the suit?

Helen Because this way the strong hand becomes declarer. The opening lead comes up to the strong hand instead of through it, and the strong hand stays hidden.

Tom Clever. So with five spades and nothing, I transfer and pass?

Helen Yes. Transfer, then pass two spades. With five spades and an invitational hand, transfer, then bid two no-trump. With five spades and game values, transfer, then bid three no-trump, and partner chooses between three no-trump and four spades. With six spades and game values, transfer, then bid four spades.

Helen Number three: weak two-bids. Open two diamonds, two hearts or two spades with six to ten points and a good six-card suit. Two of the top three honours, or three of the top five.

Tom King, queen, jack, nine, seven, four of spades and nothing else?

Helen A perfect two spade opener. But jack, eight, six, five, four, two of spades with ace-seven of hearts, king-nine of diamonds and queen-three-two of clubs is not. The spades are rubbish, and the points outside make it a defensive hand. Pass.

Tom And if partner opens a weak two?

Helen A raise is pre-emptive. It adds a level and makes their life harder. A new suit is forcing. Two no-trump asks for more information. The simplest version is "show me an outside ace or king."

Helen Number five: Roman Key Card Blackwood. Once you've agreed trumps, four no-trump asks for key cards. There are five of them: the four aces, plus the king of trumps.

Tom The king of trumps counts as an ace? That's a promotion.

Helen It's well deserved. The common responses are called fourteen-thirty. Five clubs shows one or four key cards. Five diamonds, zero or three. Five hearts, two, without the queen of trumps. Five spades, two, with the queen of trumps.

Tom How do I know whether it's one or four?

Helen From the auction. Partner's earlier bidding almost always tells you. Some pairs swap the first two answers, which is called thirty fourteen. Either is fine. Just agree which before the hand where it matters, not during it.

Tom Asking "is it fourteen thirty?" across the table while holding the four no-trump card is frowned upon.

Helen By the director, and by everyone within earshot.

Helen Number six: Jacoby two no-trump. Partner opens one heart or one spade, and you bid two no-trump. That shows four or more trumps and a game-forcing hand, thirteen-plus.

Tom And opener describes their hand?

Helen Yes. A new suit at the three level shows a singleton or void there. Three of the trump suit shows eighteen-plus with no shortness, which is a slam try. Three no-trump is fifteen to seventeen, no shortness. A new suit at the four level shows a good second five-card suit. And four of the major is a minimum: "Let's not."

Tom "Let's not" is also my answer to most social invitations.

Helen Number seven: splinter bids. A double jump in a new suit, like one spade, four clubs. It says: I have four-card support, game values, and a singleton or void in clubs.

Tom Why would partner care?

Helen Because opener can judge whether the honours fit. If opener has king-queen-jack of clubs opposite your singleton, those six points are wasted. Sign off. If opener has two small clubs, every point is working, and slam might be on. We'll do a full splinter deal in the slam episode.

Helen Number eight: fourth suit forcing. When three suits have been bid and you have game values but no natural bid, bid the fourth suit. It's artificial and forcing. For example: one diamond, one heart, one spade, two clubs. Your two clubs says nothing about clubs. It asks partner for more, especially a club stopper for no-trump.

Tom And number nine?

Helen Michaels and the Unusual two no-trump. Two-suited overcalls, at least five-five. If they open one of a minor, a cue bid of their suit shows both majors. If they open one heart, two hearts shows spades and a minor. Over one spade, two spades shows hearts and a minor. Over a major, two no-trump shows both minors.

Tom And Lebensohl?

Helen Lebensohl helps you compete after the opponents interfere over your one no-trump. Learn it only when everything else is automatic. It's the cryptic crossword of conventions.

Helen Quiz. Partner opens one no-trump. You hold nine-four of spades, queen, ten, eight, six, five, two of hearts, seven-three of diamonds, king-eight-four of clubs. Your bid?

Tom Six hearts, five points. Two diamonds, transfer, then pass two hearts.

Helen Correct. It plays far better in two hearts than one no-trump. Next. Right-hand opponent opens one heart. You hold ace, queen, nine, eight, four of spades, a singleton heart, king, jack, nine, five, three of diamonds, and seven-two of clubs.

Tom Five spades, five diamonds. Two hearts, Michaels. Spades and a minor.

Helen And if partner wants to know which minor, they bid two no-trump and you bid three diamonds.

Helen The rule to take away: write every convention on your card with its follow-up bids, and what you do when they interfere. Most accidents come from the follow-ups, not the conventions themselves.

Tom Homework: with my partner, pick the next two conventions from the list we don't already play. Write down the follow-ups together. Then bid ten practice hands from a hand record.

Helen Next time: Moysian fits and misfits. When seven trumps beats no-trump, and when you should stop bidding altogether.

Tom I'm very good at stopping. Just not at the right time. This is Next Steps in Bridge. See you at the table.

Tom Helen, my beginners' teacher said: find an eight-card fit, or play in no-trump. Never anything else.

Helen Your beginners' teacher also told you there was no such thing as a stupid question.

Tom She did say that.

Helen Both statements have limits.

Helen Welcome to Next Steps in Bridge. I'm Helen.

Tom And I'm Tom. This is episode four: Moysian fits and misfits. Or, two ways a partnership can be incompatible. A little bit, and catastrophically.

Helen Like marriage, but with more doubling. Let's start with the little bit. A Moysian is a four-three trump fit: seven trumps between you, instead of the eight you were taught to look for. It's named after Alphonse Moyse, a bridge writer who championed it with the enthusiasm other men save for vintage cars.

Tom Why would I want to play with only seven trumps?

Helen Because sometimes no-trump is worse. A four-three fit is right when three things are true. One: no-trump is unsafe because one suit is wide open. Two: the trumps are strong. The three-card holding is something like ace-king-small or king-queen-small. And three: the hand with three trumps has a short suit, so the ruffs happen there.

Tom Talk me through a real hand.

Helen North deals and opens one diamond. North has king, queen, six of spades. Ace, seven, two of hearts. Ace, jack, eight, seven, four, three of diamonds. And a singleton four of clubs.

Tom Fourteen points, six diamonds, and a singleton club.

Helen South responds one spade. South has ace, jack, five, two of spades, king, eight, four of hearts, king-five of diamonds, and eight, six, three, two of clubs.

Tom Eleven points. And four of the worst clubs I've ever heard read aloud.

Helen North raises to two spades with only three. That's the key bid. Three-card support with a singleton is exactly the hand that makes a good four-three dummy. South invites with three spades, North accepts, and they play four spades.

Tom Why not three no-trump? We've got twenty-five points.

Helen Because of the clubs. In three no-trump, West leads the king of clubs. West has king, queen, jack, ten, five. East has ace, nine, seven. If East overtakes with the ace and returns a club, the defence takes the first five tricks. Down one, with twelve tricks sitting on the table, unused.

Tom That's tragic. And in four spades?

Helen The same club lead is harmless. West wins the king of clubs and continues with the queen. Dummy ruffs with the six of spades. Notice which hand is ruffing.

Tom Dummy. North. The hand with three trumps.

Helen The short-trump hand. Every ruff there is an extra trick. Then declarer draws trumps with the king, the queen, and the ace. They split three-three. Then declarer cashes the king of diamonds, crosses to the ace, and dummy's diamonds run. Twelve tricks.

Tom Twelve tricks in a contract my teacher said didn't exist.

Helen So, how to play a four-three fit. Rule one: ruff in the three-card hand. Ruffing in the four-card hand just shortens your main trumps.

Tom Rule two?

Helen Don't let them force the long hand. If the defence keeps leading a suit you can only ruff in the four-card hand, consider throwing a loser instead and letting them win the trick. Losing a trick you were going to lose anyway costs nothing. Losing trump control costs everything.

Tom What does losing control actually look like?

Helen You have four hearts. West also has four. West leads spades, and you ruff. Now you have three, West still has four. West leads spades again. You ruff again. Now you have two, West has four. When you start drawing trumps, West has two more than you. West draws your trumps and cashes spades.

Tom And I'll think about this hand in the shower for a week.

Helen Rule three: draw trumps with a plan. With seven trumps, the six outstanding split four-two about forty-eight percent of the time, and three-three only about thirty-six percent. Often you draw two or three rounds, cash your side winners, and let a defender ruff with their last trump when it doesn't hurt.

Tom And rule four?

Helen Count trumps. In your head. Out loud is a penalty.

Helen The other common route to a four-three fit is after fourth suit forcing. One diamond, one heart, two clubs, two spades. That two spades is fourth suit forcing, asking about a spade stopper. Opener has no spade stopper, but has three hearts, so bids three hearts. Responder has only four hearts and no spade stopper either. So they pick the four-three heart game over a doomed three no-trump.

Tom Now the catastrophic version. Misfits.

Helen A misfit is when partner's long suit is your short suit, and vice versa. It's two people who each think they're the main character. Misfits play badly in every denomination. And the auction tends to keep going, because each player keeps hoping the other will finally agree.

Tom I've seen this auction. One heart, one spade, two hearts, two spades, three hearts, three spades, four hearts, and everyone looks at the ceiling.

Helen That's the one. Let's say North has a singleton spade and six hearts to the ace-queen-jack. South has six spades to the king-queen-jack and no hearts at all. Twenty-two points between them, and somehow they're in game.

Tom What should have happened?

Helen South should have passed two hearts. Eight tricks is a good result on a misfit.

Tom So what are the warning signs?

Helen Partner bids your void or singleton. You're short in partner's suit. Both of you have rebid your own suit, and nobody has supported anybody.

Tom And what do I do?

Helen Stop early. On a misfit, you need about twenty-eight or twenty-nine points for game, not twenty-five or twenty-six. Prefer no-trump if you have stoppers in the side suits. Long suits run in no-trump; they get ruffed in a suit contract. And never rebid a six-card suit for the third time hoping partner has learned to love it.

Tom They haven't, have they?

Helen They haven't. They won't. And as declarer in a misfit, count your entries first. Set up your long suit while you can still reach it.

Helen Now the fun part. When the opponents are the ones misfitting, double them. Two strong hands that don't fit go down a lot. And the defender with length in both their suits is about to have the best evening of their life.

Tom Example?

Helen Left-hand opponent opens one heart. Right-hand opponent bids one spade. Two hearts. Two spades. Three hearts. Three spades. Partner has passed throughout. You hold ace, jack, ten, eight of spades, a singleton heart, king, nine, eight, five, three of diamonds and ace, six, four of clubs.

Tom They're misfitting. I'm sitting over the spade bidder with ace-jack-ten-eight. And I've got two aces.

Helen So?

Tom Double. With great pleasure.

Helen Each of them thinks the other is short of a fit. Both of them are right.

Helen Quiz. You open one diamond, partner responds one spade. You hold king, jack, seven of spades, a singleton heart, ace, queen, ten, six, five of diamonds and king-nine-four-two of clubs. Your rebid?

Tom Two spades. Three good trumps and a singleton heart. A good four-three dummy if partner only has four.

Helen And it stops them finding their heart fit cheaply. Next: you're in four hearts on a four-three fit. The defence leads a suit you can only ruff in your four-card hand. What do you do?

Tom Throw a loser instead, and keep my trumps for drawing trumps.

Helen Exactly. Ruff later in the short hand.

Helen Rules to remember. A four-three fit beats no-trump when a suit is wide open and the trumps are strong. Ruff in the short hand. Don't let them force the long hand. On a misfit, stop early. And when it's the opponents misfitting, double.

Tom Homework: find two hands from a recent hand record where three no-trump failed but a four-three major fit made. And next time I suspect a misfit, pass one round earlier than feels natural.

Helen Next time, declarer play. Planning, the hold-up, ruffing in dummy, and the most expensive card in bridge.

Tom Which is?

Helen The one you play from dummy at trick one without thinking.

Tom Oh. I play that card a lot. This is Next Steps in Bridge. See you at the table.

Tom Helen, when I'm declarer, partner puts down dummy and goes to get a coffee.

Helen That's dummy's right.

Tom But she always comes back and asks, "What happened at trick one?" in a tone.

Helen That's also dummy's right.

Helen Welcome to Next Steps in Bridge. I'm Helen.

Tom I'm Tom. This is episode five: declarer play technique. Helen promises that by the end, partner's coffee will taste bitter.

Helen Let's start with the most expensive card in bridge. It's the one you play from dummy at trick one without thinking. Every good declarer pauses after dummy goes down.

Tom For how long?

Helen About as long as it takes to read a text message from partner that says, "What were you thinking?"

Tom I get a lot of those.

Helen So here's the pause, in five steps. One: how many tricks do I need? Say the number to yourself. Two: count. In no-trump, count sure winners. In a suit contract, count losers in the hand with long trumps. Three: find the extra tricks. Long suits, finesses, ruffs in the short hand, discards on dummy's winners. Four: look for danger. Which suit can they attack? Which opponent must not get the lead? Have I got enough entries? Five: now play to trick one.

Tom Trick one is where it's won or lost?

Helen Often, yes. Let me show you.

Helen You're South in three no-trump. One no-trump, three no-trump. You have ace-four-three of spades, ace-queen-five of hearts, nine-four-three of diamonds, and king, queen, six, three of clubs.

Tom Fifteen points. Good one no-trump opener.

Helen Dummy has six-five-two of spades, king-seven-three of hearts, king, queen, jack, ten of diamonds and ace, eight, four of clubs. West leads the king of spades.

Tom Okay, I'm pausing. Nine tricks needed. Sure winners: the ace of spades, three hearts, three clubs. Seven.

Helen Where do the other two come from?

Tom Diamonds. Once their ace is gone, I get three diamond tricks. That's ten.

Helen Good. Now step four. Danger.

Tom When they win the ace of diamonds, they'll lead spades. And I've only got one spade stopper.

Helen So what happens if you win the ace of spades straight away and play diamonds?

Tom East wins the ace of diamonds and returns a spade, and West cashes all their spades. West's got five spades: king, queen, jack, ten, seven. Four more tricks plus the ace of diamonds. Down one.

Helen So instead, you hold up. You duck the king of spades. You duck the queen. You win the third spade. East had only two spades, the nine and the eight, and now East has none.

Tom So when East wins the ace of diamonds…

Helen East has nothing to return. You win whatever comes back and take ten tricks. You've cut the phone line between them.

Tom And then I explain the hold-up to partner, slowly, at length.

Helen That's your right as declarer. The interactive version of this deal is on the lesson page. You can step through it one trick at a time and watch the spades disappear from East's hand.

Tom When shouldn't I hold up?

Helen When you have two stoppers, like ace-king-small, or when a switch to another suit would hurt more. And if the dangerous hand can never get in, there's nothing to cut.

Helen Now suit contracts. In a suit contract, you count losers in the long-trump hand. Then you look for ways to get rid of them. And here's the whole secret: trumps in the long hand are already tricks. Ruffing with them doesn't create anything new. Ruffing in dummy, the short-trump hand, creates tricks out of thin air.

Tom Let's have a hand.

Helen You're South in four hearts. You have ace, six, four of spades, king, queen, jack, ten, five of hearts, king-seven of diamonds and ace, nine, two of clubs. Dummy has seven-two of spades, ace, eight, six, three of hearts, ace, eight, five, four, three of diamonds and eight-six of clubs. West leads the king of spades.

Tom Losers in my hand. Spades: ace-six-four, so two losers. Hearts: none. Diamonds: king-seven, and dummy has the ace, so none. Clubs: ace-nine-two, two losers. Four losers. I can only afford three.

Helen How do you get rid of them?

Tom Dummy only has two spades and two clubs. So I can ruff the third spade and the third club in dummy.

Helen Exactly. Win the ace of spades. Draw two rounds of trumps with the king and queen. They split two-two, so that's all of them, and dummy still has two trumps. Then give up a spade, give up a club, and ruff the third round of each in dummy. Eleven tricks.

Tom And if I'd drawn trumps by habit, until dummy had none?

Helen You'd lose two spades and two clubs. Down one. Draw trumps first is good advice right up until dummy's trumps are the ones doing the work.

Helen Quick tour of the rest of the toolkit. Ducking: when you're setting up a long suit with few entries, lose the trick you must lose early, while you still have an entry. Finesses: lead towards the card you hope will win. Discarding losers: draw trumps, then throw losers on dummy's long suit. Crossruff: when each hand is short in a different suit, cash your side winners first, then ruff back and forth. Unblocking: play the high cards from the short hand first. And avoidance: arrange for the safe defender to win the tricks you have to lose.

Tom And suit combinations? People at the club say things like "eight ever, nine never" and I nod as if I understand.

Helen Let's fix that. Ace-queen in dummy, two small in your hand. Lead low from your hand towards the ace-queen. If West plays low, play the queen. You win when West has the king. Fifty percent.

Tom What about king-small in dummy, three small in hand?

Helen Lead towards the king. If West has the ace, the king scores. Never lead the king from dummy.

Tom And "eight ever, nine never"?

Helen When you're missing the queen. With eight cards between you, say ace, king, jack, ten, three opposite seven-four-two, cash the ace, in case the queen is singleton, then finesse the jack. With nine cards, play the ace and king and hope the queen drops.

Tom Eight ever: finesse. Nine never: don't. Got it.

Helen Quiz. Three no-trump. You have seven top tricks. King, queen, jack, ten of diamonds opposite two small can give three more once the ace is gone. They've led a suit where you have one stopper. What's your priority?

Tom Hold up in their suit if I can, then knock out the ace of diamonds straight away.

Helen Yes. Set up your tricks while you still control their suit. Next. Four spades. Dummy has three small trumps and a singleton heart. You have three heart losers. Do you draw trumps straight away?

Tom No. Ruff my heart losers in dummy first, before dummy's trumps disappear.

Helen Correct.

Helen Rules to remember. Pause and plan before trick one. In no-trump, hold up with one stopper. In a suit contract, count losers, and ruff in the short hand. And eight ever, nine never.

Tom Homework: before trick one, every hand this week, say my winner or loser count to myself. And do the first ten BridgeMaster hands on Bridge Base Online, level A.

Helen Next time: opening leads. The only card in bridge you play blind.

Tom I play a lot of cards blind. It's just that I'm supposed to be able to see them. This is Next Steps in Bridge. See you at the table.

Tom Helen, I have a system for opening leads.

Helen Go on.

Tom I lead the king, because it looks impressive.

Helen And how's that going?

Tom Partner has started bringing a stress ball.

Helen Welcome to Next Steps in Bridge. I'm Helen.

Tom I'm Tom. This is episode six: opening leads. The only card in bridge you play without seeing dummy.

Helen Which is why you choose it like a wine for someone you're trying to impress: thoughtfully, quickly, and without showing your working.

Tom Where do I start?

Helen With the auction, not your hand. Your hand tells you about thirteen cards. The auction tells you about the other thirty-nine. Beginners stare at their hand and lead a king. Improvers replay the auction, work out what declarer is about to do, and lead something to stop it.

Helen Here's a decision tree. First question: has partner bid a suit?

Tom If yes, I lead it?

Helen Usually. Partner will forgive almost anything except not leading their suit. If not, second question: is the contract no-trump?

Tom And against no-trump I lead…

Helen Your longest suit, fourth highest. Or a strong sequence, like queen-jack-ten. Avoid short suits; you're trying to set up long cards.

Tom And against a suit contract?

Helen Then you ask what the auction says. Four common clues. One: if dummy gave preference to declarer's second suit, or showed shortness, lead a trump. Declarer is planning to ruff in dummy. Two: if dummy or declarer has shown a long side suit, lead aggressively. Cash your tricks or set them up before the discards come. Three: if they limped into game with limited values, lead passively. A sequence, or a safe suit. And four, if there's no strong clue: top of a sequence, or the unbid suit.

Tom And things I should never do?

Helen Against a suit contract: don't underlead an ace. Declarer's singleton king will thank you. Don't lead away from ace-queen, or from an unsupported king, unless the auction screams that you must be aggressive. And avoid leading a doubleton honour, like queen-small. It usually costs a trick and rarely gains a ruff.

Tom Okay. I've picked the suit. Which card?

Helen The card is a message to partner. With king-queen-jack-five, lead the king. Top of a sequence. It promises the queen.

Tom Queen-jack-ten-four?

Helen The queen. It promises the jack.

Tom King-jack-ten-six-three against no-trump?

Helen The jack. That's an interior sequence. It keeps your king sitting over declarer's queen.

Tom King, ten, seven, five, two against no-trump?

Helen The five. Fourth highest from your longest suit.

Tom Queen-seven-three?

Helen The three. Low from an honour says, "I like this suit."

Tom Eight-six-two?

Helen The eight. Top of nothing. Some pairs play a method called MUD, which stands for middle, up, down. Agree it with partner.

Tom Eight-four?

Helen The eight. Top of a doubleton.

Tom And ace-king-seven-two, against a suit contract?

Helen Standard is the ace from ace-king. Many pairs lead the king instead. Agree it. It matters, because partner needs to know what your lead shows.

Helen Now, the Rule of Eleven. This is for partner of the opening leader. When partner leads their fourth highest card, subtract it from eleven. The answer is the number of higher cards in the other three hands: dummy, you, and declarer.

Tom And I can see dummy and my own hand…

Helen So you know how many higher cards declarer has. It feels like cheating. It isn't. It's arithmetic, which is like cheating for people with a calculator.

Tom Do one.

Helen Partner leads the seven of spades. Dummy has queen-ten-three. You have ace-nine-two. Dummy plays the three.

Tom Eleven minus seven is four. Four cards higher than the seven outside partner's hand. Dummy has two: the queen and the ten. I have two: the ace and the nine. So declarer has…

Helen None.

Tom None! So I can play the nine, and it wins.

Helen And you keep the ace to kill dummy's queen later. Partner had king, jack, eight, seven, five. Declarer had two small. You've saved a trick without seeing a single hidden card.

Tom I feel like a detective.

Helen A detective with a calculator.

Helen Let's do lead problems. These are the best practice there is. The opponents bid one spade, two diamonds, two spades, four spades. You hold seven-two of spades, king, jack, six, four of hearts, queen-three of diamonds and queen, jack, ten, nine, two of clubs.

Tom Clubs are the unbid suit, and I've got a beautiful sequence. Queen of clubs.

Helen Correct. Leading from the king-jack of hearts, or the doubleton queen of diamonds, risks giving a trick away. Next. One no-trump, three no-trump. You hold king, ten, seven, five, two of spades, ace-nine-three of hearts, eight-four of diamonds and jack-six-two of clubs.

Tom Fourth highest of my longest suit. The five of spades. And the ace of hearts is my entry once the spades are set up.

Helen Perfect. One more. One spade, one no-trump, two hearts, pass. You hold king, queen, ten, nine of spades, eight-four-two of hearts, ace-seven-three of diamonds and jack-five-two of clubs.

Tom Hmm. Declarer has spades and hearts. Dummy chose hearts, so dummy's probably short in spades. My spades are strong, so declarer's only way to get rid of spade losers is to ruff them in dummy. Lead a trump!

Helen Lead a trump. Six weeks ago you'd have led the king of spades.

Tom Six weeks ago I'd have led the king of anything.

Helen Rules to remember. Listen to the auction first. Lead partner's suit. Against no-trump, lead your long suit. Against a suit contract, read the clues: trump leads stop ruffs, aggressive leads beat discards. Pick the right card so partner can read it. And use the Rule of Eleven.

Tom Homework: before every opening lead this week, replay the auction in my head and name declarer's likely plan. Then lead. And agree with my partner: ace or king from ace-king, and top of nothing or MUD.

Helen Next time: defence against suit contracts. It's a race, and you need to get there before declarer does.

Tom Like a toddler racing a parent to the iPad. This is Next Steps in Bridge. See you at the table.

Tom Helen, I worked out that when I'm defending, I mostly just follow suit and wait for something to happen.

Helen And does something happen?

Tom Yes. Declarer makes the contract.

Helen That's the something.

Helen Welcome to Next Steps in Bridge. I'm Helen.

Tom I'm Tom. This is episode seven: defence against suit contracts.

Helen Defending a suit contract is a race. Declarer's plan is usually simple: draw trumps, then throw losers on dummy's long suit, or ruff them in dummy. Your plan is to take your tricks before that happens, or to stop it happening.

Tom And when do I decide which?

Helen The moment dummy goes down. Not at trick seven. At trick seven you're writing an apology.

Helen Here's the decision tree. Dummy goes down. First question: does dummy have a long, strong side suit declarer can discard on?

Tom If yes?

Helen Active defence. Cash your tricks, or set them up, right now. If no, second question: is dummy short in a suit, with trumps to ruff it?

Tom If yes, I lead trumps?

Helen Trump attack. Lead trumps every time you get in, to stop dummy ruffing. If no, third question: do you or partner hold four trumps, or is declarer short of trumps?

Tom Then?

Helen Forcing defence. Keep leading your long suit, and make declarer ruff until declarer loses control. And if none of those, passive defence. Lead safe suits, and let declarer do the work and break new suits themselves.

Tom Active, trump attack, forcing, passive. Four flavours.

Helen Like a disappointing ice-cream shop. Let's see one in action.

Helen You're West. South opens one spade, you overcall two hearts, North bids three diamonds, South three spades, North four spades. You hold king-six of spades, queen, jack, ten, eight, six, two of hearts, nine-three of diamonds and queen, jack, ten of clubs.

Tom I lead the queen of hearts. Top of my sequence.

Helen Declarer wins the ace. Then declarer crosses to dummy's ace of diamonds and leads the ten of spades for a finesse. It loses to your king. Now. Look at dummy.

Tom Dummy has ten-five-four of spades, seven-three of hearts, ace, king, queen, jack, six of diamonds and eight-six-two of clubs.

Helen Five solid diamonds. What's declarer about to do?

Tom Draw trumps, and throw all their losers on the diamonds.

Helen So which defence?

Tom Active. I have to cash things now. I'll lead the queen of clubs.

Helen And partner has ace-king-seven-five of clubs. The queen of clubs holds, partner encouraging with the seven. The jack of clubs holds. On the third club, partner wins. That's three club tricks and the king of spades. Down one.

Tom And if I'd been lazy and led another heart?

Helen Declarer wins, draws trumps, and runs the diamonds, throwing a heart and two clubs. You get the king of spades and one club. Declarer makes eleven tricks and smiles in a way that stays with you.

Tom The interactive version is on the lesson page?

Helen It is. You play it as West, trick by trick.

Helen The rule here: count declarer's tricks. Add dummy's long suit to what declarer showed in the auction. If that reaches the contract, take your tricks now. Don't wait for partner to do it.

Helen Now some card-by-card habits. Second hand low. When declarer leads towards dummy, play low. Your honour usually does more by waiting.

Tom Third hand high?

Helen Third hand high, but only as high as you need. From king-queen-small, play the queen, the lower of touching honours.

Tom And covering an honour with an honour? People say that like it's scripture.

Helen It's good advice when covering might promote a card for your side. Say dummy has queen-jack-five, you have king-seven-four sitting after dummy, declarer has ace-six-two, and partner has ten-nine-eight-three. Dummy leads the queen.

Tom If I never cover?

Helen Declarer wins the queen, then the jack, then drops your king under the ace. Three tricks. If you cover once, the queen or the jack, declarer makes only two, because partner's ten gets promoted. With touching honours in dummy, the habit is to cover the last one.

Helen Giving partner a ruff. A singleton lead can be deadly when you can get back in to give a second ruff. So lead a singleton when you have a trump entry, like the ace of trumps.

Tom Why does the trump ace help?

Helen Because when declarer starts drawing trumps, you win the ace immediately, while you still hold a small trump. Then you put partner on lead, partner returns your suit, and you ruff.

Tom How does partner know how to put me on lead?

Helen Suit preference signals. That's episode nine. Now, trump tricks for defenders. The uppercut: ruff high, even with a card you'd normally save, to force declarer to over-ruff with an honour. That can promote partner's trump queen. Second: don't over-ruff with a trump that's already a sure trick. Throw a loser instead. You still score that trump later, and refusing can promote a second trump trick. And third, trump promotion: lead a suit where both partner and declarer are void, so declarer must ruff high or be over-ruffed.

Helen Last habit: count everything. Count declarer's shape from the auction and from who follows to what. Once you know three suits, you know the fourth. Count points too. If declarer opened one no-trump, showing fifteen to seventeen, and has already shown fifteen, partner must have the missing ace.

Tom It's like being a detective, except the murderer is sitting right there, eating a biscuit.

Helen Quiz. Defending four hearts. Dummy is flat, four-three-three-three, with no long suit. Your side has no obvious tricks. Which defence?

Tom Passive. Declarer has nothing to discard on. Lead safe suits and make declarer break the suits.

Helen Correct. Next: defending four spades. Dummy has four trumps and a singleton club, and you hold three good clubs. What do you lead when you get in?

Tom Trumps. Otherwise declarer ruffs club losers in dummy.

Helen Correct.

Helen Rules to remember. Decide your defence when dummy goes down: active, passive, trump attack or forcing. Count declarer's tricks. Second hand low, third hand high. Cover an honour when it can promote something. And count everything.

Tom Homework: every time dummy goes down this week, label the defence before I play a card. Then check one hand afterwards to see if my label was right.

Helen Next time: defence against no-trump. No trumps, no ruffing, which means you win by being patient and slightly boring.

Tom Finally, a module that plays to my strengths. This is Next Steps in Bridge. See you at the table.

Tom Helen, when I'm defending no-trump and my suit isn't working, I switch to something new.

Helen How's that going?

Tom It's like changing queues at the supermarket. The old queue always starts moving the moment I leave.

Helen Then you already understand this episode.

Helen Welcome to Next Steps in Bridge. I'm Helen.

Tom I'm Tom. This is episode eight: defence against no-trump.

Helen Against no-trump, defenders usually beat the contract by setting up one long suit and keeping an entry to cash it. That's it. One suit, one entry. The temptation is to switch to something new every time you get the lead, because the old suit hasn't worked yet. Resist it.

Tom Even if I really want to?

Helen Especially then.

Helen Let's defend a whole hand. South opens one no-trump, North raises to three no-trump. You're East. Partner leads the five of spades, fourth highest.

Tom What's in dummy?

Helen Dummy has nine-six of spades, ace-six-four of hearts, king, queen, jack, ten, four of diamonds and ten-eight-three of clubs. You have ace-seven-three of spades, ten-nine-seven-three of hearts, eight-six-five of diamonds and king-nine-five of clubs.

Tom Those diamonds in dummy are frightening.

Helen They are. As soon as declarer knocks out the diamond ace, they run. So you need your tricks fast. First, Rule of Eleven. Partner led the five.

Tom Eleven minus five is six. Six cards higher than the five outside partner's hand. Dummy has two, the nine and six. I have two, the ace and the seven. So declarer has two.

Helen Dummy plays the six. Which spade do you play?

Tom Third hand high. The ace.

Helen Then what do you return?

Tom Partner's suit. Which card?

Helen With two left, the seven and the three, return the higher one. The seven.

Tom Okay. Seven of spades.

Helen Declarer plays the ten. Partner wins with the jack. Partner cashes the king, and declarer's queen falls. Then partner cashes the eight and the two. Partner started with king, jack, eight, five, two.

Tom So that's five spade tricks!

Helen Five tricks for the defence, down one, before declarer even touches those diamonds.

Tom And if I'd played the seven at trick one?

Helen Declarer wins cheaply with the ten, knocks out the diamond ace, and runs ten tricks. Or if you won the ace and switched to a heart, to try something different, same result. You spend the drive home rehearsing an explanation.

Tom I've rehearsed many explanations on that drive.

Helen Returning partner's suit. Here's the simple rule. If you started with three cards, return the higher of the two you have left. That tells partner you had three. If you started with four, return your original fourth highest. So from king-eight-five-two, after winning the king, return the two. And if you had two, return the one you've got left.

Tom Why does it matter which card?

Helen Because partner is counting. Partner needs to know how the suit is splitting, to know whether declarer still has a stopper and how many more tricks are there.

Helen Next: unblocking. If partner has the long suit and you have a short holding with an honour, get your honour out of the way so it doesn't block partner's run.

Tom Example.

Helen Partner leads the queen of spades from queen, jack, ten, nine, five. You have ace-three. Dummy has seven-four-two. Declarer has king-eight-six.

Tom If I play low…

Helen Then later, you might win the second round with the ace and have no spade to return. The suit is blocked. So play the ace, and return the three. Partner's suit flows.

Tom Get out of partner's way. Life advice.

Helen Third-hand play against no-trump. Partner leads the four. You have king-jack-three, dummy has eight-six-two. Play the jack, the lowest card that might win. Partner leads the four. You have queen-ten-three. Dummy has jack-five-two and plays the two. Play the ten.

Tom Why not the queen?

Helen It's called finessing against dummy. If declarer wins with the ace or king, your queen still sits over dummy's jack. If you play the queen, dummy's jack becomes a stopper.

Tom Ooh. That's sneaky.

Helen Defence is mostly sneaky. Next: holding up as a defender. When dummy has a long suit and no outside entry, and you hold the ace, duck until declarer runs out of cards in that suit. Then dummy's long suit is stranded.

Tom How do I know when declarer has run out?

Helen Partner gives you count. That's next episode.

Helen Finally, discarding. When declarer runs a long suit, you'll have to discard. Three rules. Keep length to match dummy. If dummy has four hearts, keep four hearts. Keep partner's suit if you have an entry and a card to return. And discard from the suit nobody needs.

Tom And the worst thing I can do?

Helen Discard from the suit you're guarding. That's how declarer makes the trick they never had. Death by a thousand discards, and the discards are yours.

Helen Quiz. Partner leads the three of spades against three no-trump. Dummy has jack-five-two and plays low. You hold queen-ten-four. Which card?

Tom The ten. Keep my queen over dummy's jack.

Helen Correct. Next: you started with king-eight-five-two in partner's suit. You win the king. What do you return?

Tom The two. My original fourth highest, showing four.

Helen Excellent.

Helen Rules to remember. Pick one suit and keep attacking it. Third hand high, but only as high as needed. Return the right card. Unblock for partner. And discard from the suit nobody needs.

Tom Homework: every time partner leads against no-trump this week, apply the Rule of Eleven before playing to trick one. And review any no-trump hand where we switched suits. Would sticking with it have beaten the contract?

Helen Next time: signals and discards. How to talk to partner using only the cards.

Tom No kicking under the table?

Helen No kicking under the table. This is Next Steps in Bridge. See you at the table.

Tom Helen, last week my partner played the nine of hearts, then stared at me very hard.

Helen What did you do?

Tom I stared back. I thought it was a moment.

Helen It was a signal, Tom.

Helen Welcome to Next Steps in Bridge. I'm Helen.

Tom I'm Tom. This is episode nine: signals and discards. You and partner can't talk. You can't make faces. You can't kick each other under the table.

Helen Although I'm told some couples have tried.

Tom All we have is the cards.

Helen Exactly. Every card you play when you're not trying to win the trick can carry one message. Which message depends on the situation. The secret is agreeing with partner which message applies when. That conversation takes ten minutes, it's free, and it saves more points than any convention.

Helen There are three signals, in order of priority. First, attitude. That applies when partner leads a suit and you're following but not trying to win the trick. A high card says, "I like this suit, continue." A low card says, "Switch, please."

Tom So my partner's nine of hearts…

Helen Was saying, "I like hearts, keep going." Picture the cards from two up to nine laid out in a row. The low end means discourage. The high end means encourage.

Tom Give me a hand.

Helen Against four spades, partner leads the king of hearts. Partner has king, queen, ten, four. Dummy has seven-five-three. You have jack-eight-two. Which card?

Tom I've got the jack. That makes partner's king-queen-ten strong. So, encourage. The eight.

Helen The eight. With eight-six-two and nothing useful, you'd play the two: "please try something else."

Helen Second signal: count. That applies when declarer leads a suit, or when attitude is already known. High then low shows an even number of cards. Low then high shows an odd number.

Tom Why would I tell partner how many cards I have?

Helen Because sometimes partner needs it to time their ace. Say it's a no-trump contract. Dummy has king, queen, jack, ten, four of diamonds, and no outside entry. Declarer has three-two. You're East with ace-seven-five. Partner has nine-eight-six. Declarer leads the three towards dummy.

Tom What does partner play?

Helen Partner plays the six, the lowest card. Low-high shows an odd number, so three. Now you count. Three in partner's hand, five in dummy, three in yours. Eleven. So declarer has?

Tom Two.

Helen So you duck the first round and win the second. Declarer has no diamonds left, and dummy's diamonds are stranded.

Tom Like tourists after the last ferry.

Helen Exactly like that.

Helen Third signal: suit preference. This applies when you're giving partner a ruff, or when attitude and count are both obvious. A high card asks for the higher-ranking of the other suits. A low card asks for the lower-ranking.

Tom Which other suits?

Helen Ignore trumps, and ignore the suit being played. That leaves two suits. High asks for the higher of them; low asks for the lower.

Tom Example please. My brain has gone a bit tight.

Helen South is in four hearts. Partner leads a singleton two of diamonds. You win the ace. You hold ace, jack, ten, eight, seven of diamonds, and the ace of spades. You're going to give partner a ruff. Which diamond do you return?

Tom Hearts are trumps, diamonds are being played. So the other suits are spades and clubs. My entry is the ace of spades. Spades are higher. So a high diamond. The jack!

Helen The jack. Partner ruffs, leads a spade to your ace, and ruffs another diamond. With the ace of clubs instead, you'd return a low diamond, the seven.

Tom That's beautiful. I feel like we just passed a note in class.

Helen Now, discards. When you can't follow suit, your discard is a signal too. Choose one method with partner. Standard: a high card means "I like this suit." Reverse, or upside-down: a low card means "I like this suit," which saves you wasting high cards. Odd-even: an odd card means "I like this suit." An even card says "I don't," and its size points to another suit, high for the higher, low for the lower. And McKenney, also called Lavinthal: the suit you discard says "not this one," and high or low says which of the other two you want.

Tom Which should we play?

Helen Whichever one you'll both actually remember. Standard or reverse is fine for most club players.

Helen Common mistakes. One: signalling when partner already knows, and throwing away a potential trick to do it. Two: treating a signal as an order. It's information. Partner still has to think. Three: giving count when only declarer benefits. Give count when partner needs it, like the hold-up we just did.

Tom So don't shout the answers when only declarer is listening.

Helen Precisely.

Helen Quiz. Partner leads the ace of clubs against four hearts. Dummy has jack-seven-four. You hold queen-six-three. Which club, standard attitude?

Tom I have the queen, so I like clubs. Encourage with the six.

Helen Correct. Next. Declarer leads a suit from hand. You hold nine-four. Which card do you play to show count?

Tom The nine, then the four. High-low shows an even number.

Helen Correct. Last one. Spades are trumps. You're giving partner a ruff in diamonds, and your entry is the ace of clubs. Which diamond do you return from king, ten, seven, two?

Tom The other suits are hearts and clubs. I want clubs, the lower one. So a low diamond. The two.

Helen Spot on.

Helen Rules to remember. Attitude when partner leads. Count when declarer leads. Suit preference when giving a ruff, or when the rest is obvious. Pick one discard method and stick to it. And a signal is information, not an order.

Tom Homework: with my regular partner, agree attitude, count, and one discard method, and write them on our card. Then play ten hands concentrating only on signals. After each one, we both write down what we thought the other's signal meant, and compare.

Helen Brace yourself for that conversation. Next time: slam bidding.

Tom Twelve tricks, a big bonus, and the fastest legal way to lose fourteen hundred and thirty points in four minutes.

Helen That's the one. This is Next Steps in Bridge. See you at the table.

Tom Helen, I bid my first slam last week.

Helen Congratulations! Did it make?

Tom It went down two. But for about four minutes, I felt like a genius.

Helen That's slam bidding in a nutshell.

Helen Welcome to Next Steps in Bridge. I'm Helen.

Tom I'm Tom. This is episode ten: slam bidding.

Helen A slam needs three things. Enough tricks, from high cards or a great fit. No suit where the opponents can take two quick tricks. And a way to find out both, without going past game too early.

Tom And the third one is where people come unstuck?

Helen Always. They have the first two, get excited, and bid four no-trump the way a toddler presses a lift button.

Helen Rough guidelines. A small slam, twelve tricks, needs about thirty-three points with two balanced hands. With a good fit and shape, often twenty-eight to thirty. A grand slam, thirteen tricks, needs about thirty-seven points, or thirteen tricks you can actually count.

Tom So fit and shape can replace a lot of points.

Helen A lot. And here's rule one: agree trumps first. Every slam tool assumes both partners know the trump suit.

Helen Now the toolkit, in order. Step one: show interest below game. Jacoby two no-trump, splinters and jump shifts tell partner you have extras before you've committed to anything.

Tom Step two?

Helen Control bids, also called cue bids. Once trumps are agreed, a new suit at the four level shows first-round control in that suit: the ace, or a void. You bid them cheapest first. If you skip a suit, you're denying control of it.

Tom Why not just use Blackwood?

Helen Because Blackwood counts aces. It can't tell you whether the opponents can cash two tricks in one suit. Control bids find that suit.

Tom And step three is Blackwood.

Helen Roman Key Card Blackwood, four no-trump. It counts key cards: the four aces and the king of trumps. With fourteen-thirty responses: five clubs, one or four. Five diamonds, zero or three. Five hearts, two without the trump queen. Five spades, two with the trump queen.

Tom And step four?

Helen Follow-ups. The next step up, not the trump suit, asks for the trump queen. Five no-trump asks for kings, and it promises all the key cards, so partner knows a grand slam is in view.

Helen Let's bid one. South opens one spade with ace, king, ten, five, three of spades, king-queen-four of hearts, ace-six-two of diamonds and eight-five of clubs.

Tom Sixteen points. Good hand.

Helen North has queen, jack, eight, six of spades, ace, seven, three, two of hearts, king, queen, nine, four of diamonds, and a singleton four of clubs. North bids four clubs.

Tom That's a splinter. Four spades, game values, and a singleton or void in clubs.

Helen How does South feel about that?

Tom South has two small clubs. So not a single high card is wasted opposite partner's singleton. South loves it.

Helen So South bids four no-trump. North bids five clubs.

Tom One or four key cards. And it can't be four.

Helen Right. South has three: the ace and king of spades, and the ace of diamonds. One missing. South bids six spades.

Tom Do they make it?

Helen Five spade tricks, three hearts, three diamonds, and a club ruff in dummy. Twelve tricks. They lose only the ace of clubs. And they've only got twenty-eight points between them.

Tom Points alone would never have found that.

Helen Never. Now, compare. If South had held ace, king, jack, six, four of spades, ace-five of hearts, nine-eight-three of diamonds and king, queen, jack of clubs, and partner splintered in clubs?

Tom Those king-queen-jack of clubs are pointing at partner's singleton. Six points doing nothing. And I've got three diamond losers.

Helen So you sign off in four spades. Splinters tell you where your honours aren't useful.

Helen Here's an example with control bids. South opens one spade with ace, king, jack, seven, five of spades, king-four of hearts, ace, eight, three of diamonds and king, jack, six of clubs. North bids two no-trump, Jacoby. Four spades, game force.

Tom North has queen, nine, six, two of spades, ace, seven, three of hearts, king, five, four of diamonds and ace, queen, two of clubs.

Helen South bids three spades: eighteen plus, no shortness, slam interest. North bids four clubs: I have the ace of clubs. South bids four diamonds: I have the ace of diamonds. North bids four hearts: I have the ace of hearts.

Tom So every suit is covered.

Helen Now South bids four no-trump. North bids five spades: two key cards, with the trump queen. South knows the partnership has all five key cards and the queen. But only twelve tricks: five spades, two hearts, two diamonds, three clubs. So South bids six spades, not seven.

Tom That's very satisfying. It's like a conversation where everyone actually listens.

Helen When not to use four no-trump. One: when you have a void. If partner shows one ace, you won't know whether it's the ace in your void. Use control bids instead. Two: when you have two quick losers in an unbid suit. Control-bid to find out if partner covers it. Three: when a bad answer would leave you too high, especially with a minor as trumps.

Tom And otherwise?

Helen When every suit is controlled and you just need to count aces, four no-trump is perfect.

Helen Quiz. Hearts are agreed. You hold a void in clubs and want to know about aces. Four no-trump?

Tom No. If partner shows one ace, I won't know if it's the useless ace of clubs. Use control bids.

Helen Correct. Next. Spades are agreed. You control-bid four diamonds, skipping clubs. What have you told partner?

Tom I have first-round control of diamonds, and I don't have first-round control of clubs.

Helen Exactly. If partner can't control clubs either, you stop.

Helen Rules to remember. Agree trumps first. Show interest below game. Control bids find the suit with two quick losers. Blackwood counts key cards. And don't use Blackwood with a void.

Tom Homework: from a hand record, find ten boards where a slam made. Bid them with partner without looking at each other's hands. Where did we stop, and why? And agree: fourteen-thirty or thirty-fourteen, and what five no-trump means.

Helen Next time, our final episode: scoring tactics, penalty doubles, and sacrifices.

Tom The only part of bridge where losing is a strategy. I'm going to be great at it. This is Next Steps in Bridge. See you at the table.

Tom Helen, I made an overtrick on Tuesday and my partner high-fived me. Then I made one in a teams match on Thursday, and my teammate said, "Nobody cares."

Helen Both of them were right.

Tom How can both of them be right?

Helen That's this episode.

Helen Welcome to Next Steps in Bridge. I'm Helen.

Tom I'm Tom. This is episode eleven, our last one: scoring tactics, penalty doubles and sacrifices. The same hand, played two different ways, depending on how they're keeping score.

Helen It's like the difference between golf with your boss and golf with your friends.

Helen At a typical club pairs game, you're scored by matchpoints. On each board, you get a point for every pair you beat. Beating them by ten points is as good as beating them by a thousand.

Tom So that's why the overtrick mattered on Tuesday.

Helen Yes. At teams, the scores are converted to IMPs, international match points. IMPs squash big swings and barely notice small ones. An overtrick is usually worth nothing at all.

Tom So matchpoints reward precision…

Helen And IMPs reward not being an idiot.

Helen Let's compare decisions. Overtricks: very important at matchpoints, almost irrelevant at IMPs. Safety plays: at matchpoints, you often skip them if they cost an overtrick. At IMPs, always take them.

Tom What about choosing the contract?

Helen At matchpoints, the higher-scoring strain wins. No-trump beats a major, a major beats a minor. At IMPs, the safest contract wins. Games: at matchpoints, bid them when they're fifty percent or better. At IMPs, bid vulnerable games at about forty percent, because the reward is so much bigger than the risk.

Tom And part-scores?

Helen At matchpoints, fight hard. Minus one hundred beats minus one hundred and ten. At IMPs, don't risk big penalties for small gains.

Helen Here's the cleanest example. Not vulnerable. Three different pairs take exactly eleven tricks. One plays three no-trump and makes two overtricks: four hundred and sixty. One plays four spades and makes an overtrick: four hundred and fifty. One plays five diamonds and makes it: four hundred.

Tom Same eleven tricks, three different scores.

Helen At matchpoints, the pair in three no-trump beats every pair in four spades, and the pair in five diamonds beats nobody. At IMPs, all three are within one IMP of each other. So pick whichever is most likely to make.

Helen Now, penalty doubles. Three rules. One: double low-level contracts when you hold length and strength in their trumps, and your side has the balance of points.

Tom Two?

Helen Double misfitting opponents. We talked about this in episode four. Two good hands that don't fit go down a lot.

Tom And three?

Helen Don't double a freely bid game just because you have high cards. Declarer knows where they are and plays around them. If they make it, you've doubled their score and given them a story they'll tell for years.

Tom I've been the story. It's not fun.

Helen And it helps to know what a penalty is worth. Doubled, not vulnerable: one down is a hundred, two down three hundred, three down five hundred, four down eight hundred. Doubled and vulnerable: two hundred, five hundred, eight hundred, eleven hundred.

Helen Sacrifices. A sacrifice is bidding a contract you expect to fail, because going down costs less than letting them make theirs.

Tom The only part of bridge where losing is a strategy. I told you I'd be good at it.

Helen Let's do the maths. The opponents are vulnerable, and they're going to make four spades. That's six hundred and twenty to them. You're not vulnerable. You bid five diamonds, and they double you.

Tom If I go down two doubled, not vulnerable…

Helen Three hundred. Much cheaper than six hundred and twenty.

Tom Down three?

Helen Five hundred. Still cheaper.

Tom Down four?

Helen Eight hundred. Now you've made it worse.

Tom So vulnerability is everything.

Helen Everything. Not vulnerable against vulnerable is the classic time to sacrifice. Vulnerable against not vulnerable, almost never. And the golden rule: when in doubt, defend. If there's a real chance of beating their contract, take it. Sacrificing against a contract that was going down is a gift with a bow on it.

Tom And the Law of Total Tricks helps here?

Helen It does. When both sides have ten trumps, both games often make or nearly make. That's when sacrifices tend to be right.

Helen Quiz. Matchpoints. You're in four spades. You can take a finesse for an overtrick, or a safety play that guarantees ten tricks but no more. Most of the room will be in four spades. Which?

Tom Matchpoints, and everyone's in the same contract. So the overtrick decides it. Take the finesse.

Helen Usually, yes. At IMPs, you'd take the safety play. Next. The opponents bid to four hearts, vulnerable. You're not vulnerable, with a ten-card spade fit and no defensive tricks. Sacrifice in four spades?

Tom Probably yes. Ten trumps, good vulnerability, no defence. Even three down doubled is five hundred, which beats six hundred and twenty.

Helen Correct. Last one. The opponents bid one no-trump, three no-trump. You've got fourteen points but no long suit. Double?

Tom No. Points without a source of tricks rarely beat a game. And a double just tells declarer where the high cards are.

Helen Perfect.

Helen Rules to remember. At pairs, overtricks matter and no-trump scores most. At teams, make the contract and bid your vulnerable games. Double low contracts when you hold their trumps. Don't double a freely bid game for high cards alone. Sacrifice not vulnerable against vulnerable, with a big fit and no defence. And when in doubt, defend.

Tom Homework: next pairs session, count how many overtricks I made that others didn't. Next teams session, count my safety plays. And learn the vulnerability colours on the boards.

Helen And that's the course. Eleven episodes. If you've listened to all of them, you're now an improver.

Tom Which in bridge means…

Helen You know exactly how much you don't know.

Tom That's oddly comforting. Thank you, Helen.

Helen Thank you, Tom. Keep the hand records, keep a notebook, and keep playing with the same partner long enough to argue productively.

Tom This has been Next Steps in Bridge. The lessons, with pictures and play-through deals, are on the course page. See you at the table.