Question 22a.
You have said that the partnership will score 70 points.
This
is correct. In No Trump, you score 40 points
for the first trick and 30 points for the rest. We will talk more about
scoring in a later lesson.
Let us review what you have learned so far in the first
3 lessons.
About Bidding:
-
Opening Bidder needs at least 12 points to open the bidding
- counting A=4;K=3;Q=2;J=1 and any cards over 4 in a suit give an extra
point each
-
To Bid in No Trump as opener promises exactly 12-14 points,
and no 5 card major suits, and no voids or singletons
-
To bid in a Suit promises at least 4 cards in that suit
As Response Bidder (partner of the opening bidder)
-
You need at least 6 points (and 4 cards in his suit)
to support your partner in his suit, or at least 6 points (and your own
suit of at least 4 cards) to bid in your own suit at the 1 level. If you
need to go to the 2 level to bid your suit, you need to have at least 10
points.
-
If you are supporting your partner in No Trump, you need
11-12 to say 2 No Trump; 13 to say 3 No Trump
-
To do a Weakness Takeout of your partner's 1 No Trump bid
needs 6-9 points and a good 5 card suit and you would jump bid on 10 or
more.
Rebids:
-
You add up what you think your partner's points are with
your own, to decide if you should go higher, or leave the bid as it is.
You know that you need approximately 26 points to make a game (which is
your goal) and that involves winning 9 tricks in No Trump, 10 tricks in
Hearts or Spades, and 11 tricks in Clubs or Diamonds.
-
When rebidding in No Trump contracts, if you started with
12 points, you No Bid, if you have 14, you go on to 3 No Trump, and if
you have 13, you might do either.
About Playing the Cards:
-
As opening bidder, you should play a card that gives your
partner some idea about your hand, or if he has bid, play his suit. Against
No Trump, the most common lead is 4th highest of longest suit.
-
When you have a trump, you should try to win control of the
suit as quickly as possible, by taking opposition's trumps out. However,
it might be that you will need to win some other tricks before you lose
a trick in Trump.
-
Always take time to plan your campaign as the dummy goes
down.
-
Usually, second hand plays low, and third hand plays high
to a trick. There will be exceptions to this.
-
Usually, if an honour is led, the person playing second puts
on a higher honour if they have it. There will be exceptions to this.
-
In No Trump, it is important to try to establish extra cards
in long suits and to try to get and keep control in all suits.
Go on to Lesson 4 which is about
Overcall Bidding.