Duplicate bridge players have a lot to think about. Most of us come to our very first games with a bunch of knowledge from lessons, books, and discussions all rolling around in our heads. It all seems to go so fast that there is little time to actually use all the tips we've collected. How do these players do it?
A lot of it is experience. We spend less time scoring because we know the most common scores from having seen them thousands of times. We spend less time recording our results because we have developed a way to do it that we stick to. Simple tasks like sorting cards into suits, turning cards face down into played tricks while keeping score of tricks won, are second nature to experienced players. The more things you can relegate to second nature, the more time you will have to think about bids and plays. Here are some good habits to establish:
Scoring: Every player should always keep a scorecard and do their best to record all the deals they play. At the start of a round, figure out which boards you are going to play and the opponent's pair number; write their pair number down in the Opponent column for each scheduled board. This makes it easier to find the line to write the contact on, since we usually play boards in numerical order. When the auction ends, you'll write something like this on the Contract & Result column:
3Hs 2Ne 5C*n PO 1Nw
The pattern should be clear from these examples: the first number is the level of the contract, followed by the first letter of the trump suit (C D H S, or N for notrump) in a CAPITAL letter, and then followed by a compass position in lower case (n s e w), to distinguish it from the trump suit. An asterisk means the contact was doubled, two (**) means it was redoubled. (The one exception above is PO, which means Passed Out.) Writing the contract down has an additional effect; it helps you remember the contract and makes you aware of how many tricks you will need for success. When I write 3Hs, if I am the South player I think "three hearts, I can lose at most four tricks." If I am East or West I think "three hearts, we need five tricks to beat this." If you want to, you can write in the opening lead in the Comments area: quite often the choice of lead will be a key element in the success of the contract.
When the play is over and the result is agreed, add the result: going down is a minus, overtricks are a plus, = means made exactly (some mathematicians like 0 instead):
3Hs= 2Ne-1 5C*n-3 PO 1Nw+1
And of course you will add the raw score, which goes in the plus column if your side prevailed, and the minus column if their side prevailed.
Timing here is important. Courtesy and etiquette decree that if you are the defender making the opening lead, you make the lead first before writing the contract down. You'll almost always have time to catch up, as the dummy comes down and declarer thinks about how to play the hand. At the end of the play, the first thing to do is to put your cards back into the slot, after a quick mix of your thirteen cards. Often a director will come around and move boards to get other tables started, so don't clutch onto your hand! There is no rule that says you lose the right to contest the result when you put your cards back in the slot. If you are the North player, your personal scoresheet gets updated only after you score the result on the official score slip or the BridgeMate unit.
(The mysteries of bridge scoring will be the subject of BBB #2. The important thing for now is to ensure the score is recorded and you go home with a list of your results.)
Sorting cards: This is an easier ritual, but one that everyone should be able to do while socializing. Normally I sort with spades on the left, followed by hearts, clubs and diamonds, alternating colours for extra clarity. Some players do different things here, some don't even sort until the bidding is over! But sorting your cards into suits has to be a basic skill that requires no thought.
Conditions: Before the bidding begins, you should make a mental note of who the dealer is, and therefore which seat you are in (first is the dealer, second and third and fourth sometimes have different standards on what bids can be made), and which sides are vulnerable. This information might be useful later. There is a pattern here which repeats every 16 boards, so all four players are dealer an equal number of times and all four vulnerability combinations (none, N-S only, E-W only, both) are equally likely.
Point Count: 4-3-2-1 for A-K-Q-J. Count them up as you sort. This information will be key to every bidding decision you make. Nobody likes to play with a player who counts and recounts and recounts points, as though it might change after a round of bidding or a few tricks into the play.
Bid-boxes: The habit to adopt here is this: decide what bid to make before you reach for the box. It makes you look smart. If you have second thoughts while reaching for the box, just smoothly pretend you are tidying a mixed-up box, then continue thinking. Then reach when you're sure.
Cardplay: Opening leads are made face-down, so that if it turns out to be partner's lead (this happens very often) nothing is revealed. After that, it is best to play your cards in a consistent way, especially as a defender. Don't play uncertain cards slowly! Partner is supposed to base decisions on the cards you play, not on how they are played; don't make it difficult for partner by varying the way you play cards. It is better to think then play, than to put a card halfway out and pull it back and do that several times before you make a final decision.
Completed tricks: From your left to your right (don't copy partner and go right to left, this reveals you as a novice following along as best one can...), pointing your way for tricks you have won and their way for tricks you have lost. By the way, if someone else at the table has a card placed wrong, you can only say something in the moments after they place it wrongly, after a new trick is begun it is too late. Trust only your count. Once in a blue moon nobody can agree on the result, and the Director needs to decide, based on the order of the played cards. If there is any doubt, it usually gets resolved against the player whose played cards are messy!
Make all these habits second-nature and you're on your way to bridge mastery, with fewer distractions!
An example deal: For BBB#1 I want my favorite deal from one of my favorite bridge books. This will open your eyes! There is nothing quite like an excellent bridge result obtained by seeing the clues through the distractions and following them to success.
This deal comes from a 1973 classic: How To Read Your Opponents' Cards by world champion player Mike Lawrence, who then asked the following questions to help you come up with the surprising answer:
You might want to change your original answer after going through this line of reasoning. Scroll down for the answer (if you haven't got it already).
The answers to the questions (see how many you got right):
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