The Rule of 14

When replying to partner's opening bid of one of a suit, it is usual to make a bid of our own in Acol bridge if we hold 6+ points.

As a general rule, we shouldn't raise to the two level if we hold less than 9 points. If we can't support partner's suit and hold another suit that we are able to bid at the one level then there isn't usually a problem - we bid it. If we don't hold a suit that can be bid at the 1 level, then we bid 1NT. As a responding bid, 1NT doesn't tell partner we have a balanced hand, it just tells them we have 6+ points and so have to make a bid.

Look at this hand which we hold when replying to partner. Partner has opened with a bid of 1 spade.

Spades: 8 7

Hearts: Q J 8 3 2

Diamonds: Q 7 5 3

Clubs: J 6

Ideally we would like to bid 1 heart, but as partner has already bid spades we can't bid hearts without raising to the two level.  We have to bid 1NT.

Are there any circumstances where we can bid at the two level even if we hold fewer than 9 points?

This is where we use the:

Rule of 14.

This rule is used in one circumstance only - when replying to partner's opening bid of 1 of a suit and when holding 6 - 8 points and when our longest suit has a lower rank than the suit bid by partner.  Add up the number of points in your hand and then add that to the number of cards in your longest suit.

If the total = 14+ then we can use the Rule of 14 and make our bid at the two level.

In the previous example that would give us a total of 6 (high card points) plus 5 (cards in longest suit) = 11.  The hand doesn't satisfy the Rule of 14 and should be bid as 1NT.

Some More Examples

Example 1

Our hand

S: J 8 6

H: 10 3

D: K 6 4

C: K J 10 8 2

Partner opened the bidding with 1H.  Ideally we would bid 1C, but that is a lower rank bid than partner's opening so we would have to raise to the two level.  If we use the Rule of 14 we get a total of 13.  We have 8 points in hand and 5 cards in our longest suit.  The total is less than 14 so we bid 1NT.

Example 2

Our hand

S: 9 4 2

H: J

D: J 8 5

C: A Q 9 7 3 2

Again, partner has opened the bidding with 1H. Ideally we would like to make a club bid, but to do so would have to bid at the two level.  We apply the Rule of 14.  We cold 8 points in hand and we have 6 cards in our longest suit.  This gives us a total of 14, so this time we satisfy the Rule of 14 and can bid our clubs at the two level.

You can practice using the Rule of 14 if you join No Fear Bridge for your two week trial membership.

Acol players (UK, Ireland, NZ) can join HERE.

American Standard players can join HERE.

Beginners Bridge Holidays 2012

The sun is shining and I'm sitting in the garden with a cup of tea and my laptop.  Time for the annual round-up of beginners bridge holidays.  It's easy to find weekends/weeks and other breaks for experienced bridge players, but it's harder to find holidays aimed specifically at beginners.

HF Holidays are running a 4 night break for complete beginners at Alnmouth in October 2012.

Begin Bridge run several events throughout the year for beginning bridge players, including at least two weekends aimed at absolute beginners.  For 2012 the absolute beginners weekends are in Windermere and then Harrogate.

If you fancy a break in France, Dordogne Bridge Holidays run courses for all levels, including beginners.

Fourth Suit Forcing

Fourth suit forcing is a bridge convention and it is used to help decide the best contract.  It is a bid used by the responder if they have 11+ points and is used if:

• Three suits have already been bid (hence the name)
• You don’t have a fit (8+ cards in a suit) with your partner
• You DON’T have a stopper in the remaining (4^th) suit.

At this stage (3 suits already bid) a bid of the fourth suit doesn’t mean that you hold good cards in the suit and want to bid it.  It is a conventional bid which means “I don’t have a stopper in this suit, what else do you have?”

If the declarer’s answer is “yes, I do have a stopper in that fourth suit” then they can bid No Trumps.

Here is an example to help explain:

Example

Responder holds: Spades  K J 8 5 2, Hearts 7 4 3, Diamonds A 6, Clubs A Q 7

Opener bid 1D, responder bid 1S.  Opener rebid 2C.

This hand has enough points for a NT bid, but doesn’t have a stopper in hearts. Three of the four suits have now been bid, so if responder bids the remaining suit (hearts in this case) the bid is asking the opener if they stopper in that suit. If they do, they bid NT. If they don’t have a stopper in hearts they must make another bid.  As the name implies, the bid of the fourth suit is a forcing bid and the opener must bid again.

Remember that 4^th Suit Forcing should only be used if you have 11+ points.  You can use 4^th suit forcing at the 3 level if you have 13+ points as you know you and partner have at least 25 points (partner held the 12 points or the equivalent to open) and are looking bid for game.

Openers Rebids

With stopper in fourth suit

• If the opener has a stopper in the fourth suit but just a minimum opening hand (12 -13 points) then s/he should bid 2NT
• If the opener has a stopper AND 14+ points then s/he can bid 3NT as they know there are enough for game.  (14 + partner’s minimum of 11)

Without Stopper in Fourth Suit

• If the opener has extra length in either their first or second bid suits they should rebid them.  A rebid of the first suit would show 6 cards and a rebid of the second suit would show 5 cards.
• With 3 card for responder’s original suit and minimum points, bid two of the responder’s suit.
• With 3 card support in responder’s original suit AND 13+ then make a jump bid.

The main aim of answering a 4^th Suit Forcing bid is tell your partner something that they don’t already know, if possible.

Here are a few examples:

Example 1

Opener has Spades – 6, Hearts – K 5 2, Diamonds, A Q 9 5 3, Clubs K 10 7 3.

Opener bid 1D, Responder bid 1S, Opener rebid 2C, Responder bid 2 H.  The 4^th suit forcing bid by responder shows 11+ points

Opener has a stopper in hearts but only minimum points (12), so bids 2 NT.  Responder can rebid 3NT with 13+ points.

Example 2

Opener has Spades – 8, Hearts – K 9 4, Diamonds – A Q J 7 3, Clubs K Q 6 5.  The bidding went as before in example 1.  But this time opener holds 15 points and so can go straight to 3NT

Example 3

Opener has Spades – J 6 3, Hearts – 8, Diamonds – A Q J 7 3, Clubs – K Q 9 4. Bidding as before.  Opener doesn’t have a stopper in hearts but can rebid 2S to show 3 cards in spades.  It’s possible responder might hold 5 spades.  They already know opener doesn’t have four, otherwise opener would have supported their first bid of 1S.

Bridge Bidding Boxes

Many clubs, and some home players, use bridge bidding boxes.  If you use these then you make your bid by displaying the relevant cards, rather than speaking it out loud.  This has obvious advantages in a large club, where spoken bidding could be distracting to players on other tables. It also means that, even in a social situation, everyone is clear what your bid is. No mistakes from mishearing.

Each box contains a set of cards, with one card for each possible bid.


When a player makes a bid he places the relevant card (together with all the cards behind it in the box) on the table. Every player can see the bid without any words having to be spoken.

When the bidding has finished the player gathers up the cards and replaces them in the box.

The box also contains extra cards which are used for special functions such as passing and doubling. There is also a stop card which is used before making a jump bid and an alert card which you use if your partner makes a bid that has a special meaning for your partnerships - for example if you are using Stayman or Blackwood.

Learn to Play Bridge Online

I'm getting lazy I think.  It's over six months since I posted to this blog. In that time it's been found by many people who want to learn to play bridge online.

Learning to play bridge can be daunting and many beginners feel intimidated about playing with more experienced players and will become flustered and play badly.  The joy of learning to play bridge online is that computers have endless patience and you can practice your play over and over again without your fellow players becoming bored or frustrated.

If you are learning Acol bridge there really is only one place to learn to play bridge online.

Novice Bridge Players - Residential Weekend in Winchester

Harold Schogger is running a residential weekend for novice bridge players at the Pederson hotel in Winchester from 13th - 15th May 2011.

The weekend starts at 6pm on Friday with a sherry reception, followed by dinner and a supervised competition. On Saturday tuition starts at 11am with a Q&A seminar.  There is another tuition session in the afternoon and the day finished with a gentle introduction to duplicate bridge.  On Sunday, tuition starts at 11am with another Q&A seminar, followed by Sunday lunch and then a supervised topic session.  The weekend finishes at 3.45 on Sunday afternoon.

The hotel is in the heart of the historic town of Winchester and non-playing friends and partners are welcome.  The cost for the full weekend in £185, with a £30 reduction for non-playing guests.

Download full information and the booking form HERE

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Beginners Bridge Holidays - 2011

For the 2014 list of bridge holidays for beginners, click here http://no-fear-bridge.blogspot.com/2014/06/bridge-holidays-for-beginners-2014.html

Are you looking for a beginners bridge holiday?  Once again I've produced a list of beginners residential bridge holidays.

Harold Schogger is running a weekend for novice players in Winchester from 13 - 15th May.  Full details and booking form HERE.

HF Holidays are offering four 3 - 5 night holidays in 2011 in Bourton-on-the-Water, Malhamdale, Freshwater Bay and Abingworth.

Urchfont Manor Have a course from Jan 21 - 23.  This course is for people who have never played bridge – or for those who have not played the game for a long time.  The atmosphere will be relaxed.

Earnley Concourse in Chichester have a weekend for complete beginners in February.

Begin Bridge run weekends in a variety of locations throughout the year.