AUCTION BRIDGE 7 Clarant Scores Towards Th E Game All Th E Tricks

O UTLIN ES

A UCT I O N B R I D G E

B EI N G A CON CI S E S TATE' EN T O'

T ' E RU LES O ' T ' E GA' E

TOG ET' ER ' I T'

An elucidation of th e essential points a Bridge player must ' now in order to play AU CTI ON

C' AR LES STUART STREET

” A C e ' ' U ' ' D e uthor of oncis hist , hist p to at , ” ” B d e U ' ' D e x B ' n ri g p to at , S i t ridge a ds , “ ” and Good Bri ge .

N E' YOR ' 1909 C O ' YR I G ' T . 1 9 09

B Y C ' ARLE S S T UART S TRE E T I ntroduction

In the following few pages I have tried to show the Bridge player what he must know

in order to play Auction . R eali ' ing the pain ful fact that there are many who wish to

I e learn , and few students , hav outlined in this brief manual a system of play which has

been tested and found satisfactory .

' AR T C LES S U ART STREET . OU TLI N ES O' AU CTI ON BR I D GE

will be mailed on receipt

of price , 7 5 cents .

AD D RES S C' ARLES STU ART STREET

2 Sl st t . N . Y . 40 East S , The R ules of Auction

In addition to the generally known rules of Bridge the following rules govern the play of Auction

h e e 1 . T valu of the tricks is the same as in

e e e Bridge , but no one can v r scor towards the

e e e th e h e gam xc pt declarant , and only when

e he fulﬁlls his contract . The oppon nts can

e e e i n n ver score xc pt the honor column .

h e 2 . T winners of th e rubber add 2 50

h e points in t honor column .

e e e 3 . The d al r must declar to win at least the odd trick in a trump suit or at No ' trumps

th e he cannot pass bid .

4 . th e e After original d claration , each play er in turn has the right to pass , to double or 6 AU CTION BRIDGE

or redouble , to make a higher bid than the previous one Thus , one odd in Clubs out

' ranks one in Spades , and one in No trumps is higher than one in Hearts . Also , the player who undertakes to win two odd in Diamonds is making a higher bid th an the one who ven

e th e tures one in H arts , because two in Diamonds e'ual 1 2 as against 8 for the one trick in Hearts . So also a bid of two in

' c Diamonds outranks one in No trumps be ause ,

e 1 2 one while each bid 'uals , the who de clares to take the greater number of tricks is considered the h igher bidder .

5 . A player always may bid higher than

' r the previous bid , even if it is his pa tner s , but cannot raise his own bid after the other

e e three play rs hav passed .

ec e 6 . The ﬁnal d larant 'wheth r doubled or not'plays the dummy except that when a

' player has raised his partner s bid i n the

ec same suit , the original d larant of that suit is the one who plays the dummy .

d e 7 . When he fulﬁlls his contract , the AUCTION BRIDGE 7 clarant scores towards th e game all th e tricks

e he wins , wheth r exactly the number he undertakes to make , or more .

e l 8 . When the d clarant fails to fu ﬁll his contract neither side can score anything to wards th e game but th e adversari es score 50 points in th e honor column for each trick that the declarant misses ' this penalty is in creased to 1 00 points for each trick if the de

l r e 2 0 c a ant has been doubl d , and 0 if either he or his partner has redoubled .

n e e e 9 . O a d claration of one spad , wh ther

' doubled or not , the declarant s loss is limited

1 00 e to points , regardless of the numb r of tricks the adversaries take .

e ec e 1 0 . If a play r d lar s out of turn , the

e let e play r on his left may the d claration stand , whereupon th e bidding continues ' or he may

e demand a new d al .

e 1 1 . If a player in his d claration fails to c all a sufﬁcient number of tricks to outbid the

h e e e e previous call , is forc d to incr as his bid 8 AUCTION BRIDGE to the proper number and his partner is de barred from any further declaration unless

e e the adversaries mak some oth r bid , or double .

1 2 . A player is always entitled during the play of th e hand to know what was the value v in of the ﬁnal declaration , but if an player

i e forms his partner n regard to a pr vious call ,

e e e the oppon nts may demand a n w d al .

n e f e 1 3 . Doubling a d r doubling a f ct the trick value in the score wh en the declarant

e th e fulﬁlls his contract , but do not chang value of th e tricks in bidding ' one Heart still outbids a doubled Diamond .

ec 1 4 . A d laration can be doubled and re

e e doubl d , but that is all . A play r cannot

' double his partner s call nor redouble w hen

e e his partn r has doubled . But wh n his part

' e ner s call has be n doubled by the opponent ,

e he can r double .

e 1 5 . A doubl is considered as a continua tion of the bidding and allows furth er declara AUCTION BRIDGE 9 t l “ ions to be made . It is on y after three play ers in succession have passed that the bidding i e s nded .

1 6 . If a player whose declaration has been doubled fulﬁlls his contract , he scores not only his doubled trick score but also 50 points in the honor column for fulﬁlling his contract

e and 50 points more for each trick ov r . If he or his partner has redoubled he scores in the same way 1 00 points instead of SO.

t 1 7 . If a player doubles out of turn his lef h and opponent may demand a new deal .

' e 1 8 . If eith r of the declarant s opponents

ec leads out of turn , the d larant may consider the card led as an exposed card or may call a lead from either adversary when it is his turn to lead .

1 9 . There is no penalty for a lead out of

th e turn on the part of declarant .

2 0 . e When the declarant r vokes , the adver sari es score 1 50 points in their honor column in addition to the penalty the declarant has 1 0 AUCTION BRIDGE

incurred if he has failed to fulﬁll h is contract . Having revoked he can score nothing in the trick column but is entitled to honors or

e chican .

e e d e 2 1 . Wh n either adversary revok s the clarant may score 1 50 points in the honor col

mn e r h u or tak 3 t icks from t em , which tricks m ay be counted by him towards fulﬁlling his contract but carry no bonus in the honor col umn if the declaration has been doubled . AUCTION BRIDGE 1 1

The ' alue of the D eclaration

l There are ﬁve channe s of proﬁt in Auction ,

ﬁve things to play for .

1 To w in an am e t es eciall . y g bu p y th e r r ubbe .

As th e e e be ob'ct of any gam must to win it , it is wise to declare and to play wi th that end in view and

with th e score consta ntly in mind .

2 To o t i th e a vers ari es w en . u b d d h sh ort of th e suit th ey are bidding i n eve n if you cannot go gam e on your

bid .

' or ex e e tw o ' ear e ampl , should th y bid on ts wh n you are short in ' earts but have a very long and

strong Club suit , you should bid four in Clubs , not w ith th e idea of going far in Clubs but of preventing 1 2 AUCTION BRIDGE

them perhaps from w inning th e game . ' ere you are not playing so much to w i n yourself as to ' eep them from w inning.

To score in th e onor col mn 3 . h u by b eati n g their ma'e .

' hen holding good cards in their suit and having re e t e e no g at str ng h of your own , it is b tt r not to

e e ' tr e e . play for m r ly a tric or two , but to y to b at th m

in h l 4 . To score t e honor co umn by ' doubling th e oppon ents ma'e .

O e e th e e e e ft n , as wh n scor d mands that th y shall tr e e can y to go out or pr v nt you from going out , you outbid them and so drive them on to declare beyond

e e t e can e e e . th ir str ng h , wh n you doubl and b at th m B u t unless they are out anyw ay on their declaration it is always dangerous to double and perhaps lose th e

e gam .

To revent th e a v r ari e from 5 . p d e s s going out by outbidding their ma'e

ven w en ex ecti n to lo se e h p g .

Late in th e rubber game it is wise to try to secure th e play of th e dummy hand . You wi ll then ' eep th e adversaries from going out although you may lose th m in e honor colu n . AUCTION BRIDGE 1 3

The Original Declaration

As dealer you should declare as follows

1 ' D E e S A with a hand below the averag , con e ee taining not mor than thr tricks , and with no future declaration ever to come

out of it . This bid your partner m u st n ot molest unless h e has a really strong

hand .

‘ i x ' 4 1 CLU B with along and strong suit of Clubs

and but little else .

1 I ' ON D i e D A w th ither a long , strong suit of

e Diamonds and little els , or a badly balanced hand which is good if Dia

not monds are trumps , but is of much assistance to a Heart make or a No

trump . 1 4 AUCTION BRIDGE

1 ' T t EAR with a long , strong suit of Hear s

and little else , or with a good Heart hand which may go game and is not

' e suited to change to a No trump r .

1 N O ' TRU ' ' with any good No ' trump hand

holding three or two Aces . Any one

Ace No' trum per is dangerous and should not be declared unless the hand

is otherwise very strong . Such a de

claration of 1 No ' trump is best when

the hand must be either a No ' trump or a black make It is usually unwise where there is any choice between a

' No trumper and a red make .

2 S' AD ES with a generally good hand con

taining four or more tricks , regardless

entirely of what is held in Spades . Such a hand should be better than the

an average , could probably support y it declaration from partner , and might

self become a red make or a No ' trump

' according to your partner s declaration . AUCTION BRIDGE 1 5

This is a most important and informa

tory declaration , and unless the second player has made some bid your partner m ust i n crea se your bid so as to give

e you another chanc .

When you are th e original declarant you m ust also bear in mind th at in addition to the above you can always declare any suit when the state of th e score is such that you think you can go out . 1 6 AUCTION BRIDGE

' The Second 'layer s D eclaration

' Wh en you are the second player you usually pass the bid , but you declare in the following cases

1 e . Wh n you have a hand worth trying for

th e e gam in . When one spade has been declared and

e you hav any good make . If you do not declare now you may never have another

chance .

e 3 . Wh n you have a very long and strong

suit without much else .

. e e 4 . Wh n you can doubl the ﬁrst declara h tion , especially w en 1 Spade has been declared and you have Ace and ' ing of

Spades , although short in the suit .

r You , as second player , must be cha y

' about decl aring 1 No ' trump when short of “ n r a y suit like Clubs , Diamonds or Hea ts de clared originally , as that must be long , and

s lie strongly against you .

1 8 AUCTION BRIDGE

‘ r e two t icks probably at any d claration , but the 'ueen suit is of value only if it remains the trump . Holding a bad hand or a long Spade

ou e suit , y can bid 3 Spad s which bid your partner can change to suit his hand .

2 e 1 With Ac s , or Ace and two other suits

e 1 prot cted , or Ace and a strong suit , you can

' declare 1 No trump at once .

' U pon your partner s declaration of 1 No

red trump if you have a long and strong suit , without much else , it would probably be better

e to chang to that . AUCTION BRIDGE 1 9

' The 'ourth ' layer s Declaration

When you are the fourth player you have h eard more evidence than anyone else before you come to your declaration , and your course of action is determined by what the others have done . After an initi al 1 Spade bid if the oth ers have passed you must choose to w in on some declaration of your own or to try

' e e to beat the adversaries mak , p rhaps even doubling it . But you must remember that doubling re ' opens the bidding and allows th e dealer or his partner to change to another

e suit . You yourself should not declar unless you h ave a really good make or some very

e 1 strong suit . Also aft r an initial Spade , if

e e your partner has doubled , or d clared som suit , you can credit him with taking cards

' and perhaps change to a No trump . Again , after an initial 1 Spade bid if your partner h as 20 AUCTION BRIDGE p assed and the third player has declared som e

e e s uit , th reby showing a hand strong r than

e usual , you , as fourth play r , must give due

. weight to that fact before launching a more

e r em e xp nsive make . ' o it must be r embered that the initial 1 Spade does not necessarily mean a worthless hand ' there may be three t ricks in it or even an Ace and a ' ing .

After an initial 2 Spade declaration if part n er has passed and the third player has in

h e creased t bid , you , as fourth player , must have a hand stronger than th e average to bid

e . at all , as str ngth lies on both sides of you But if the third player has bid 3 Spades you h ave a right to credit your partner with some s trength in the red suits . AUCTION BRIDGE 2 1

C ontinuation of the Bidding

When the bidding comes around again

ri i you , as the o g nal declarant , unless the other three p layers have passed , have a ri ght to make a secon d bid . After your initial

1 Spade bid has been raised by your partner , who in turn has been outbid by the adver

' aries s , you should increase your partner s bid only when you can supply two tri cks or are

rt ri e sho of the suit the adversa es have declar d .

Wh en your initial bid was 2 Spades and your partner has lifted you out with some red

le make which suits your hand , you should t

ne it stand , but if you have only o or none of that suit , it may be better to change t o a No

trump . If you have three fair suits and he bids in the fourth , or if you are very strong

in two suits and he bids on a third , it is prob

' ably a No trump . If , however , your partner

e e bids thr e spades , he is eith r long in Spades

or has a poor hand . After such a bid by him

e ul unless the adversary has d clared , you sho d 2 2 AUCTION BRIDGE try to change your bid even to a doubtful No

Y em e trump . ou must r mber it is better to try for seven tricks in No' trumps than nin e in

Spades , as you are confronting a ﬁxed loss of h 50 points a trick for eac trick you fail to get ,

e ' wheth r it is Spades or No trumps .

After the ﬁrst round of th e declaration each player must be keenly alert to collate , weigh , record and remember every item of informa

e tion , no matter how slight , that can be glean d

' from every previous player s action . Only with such absolute knowledge , together with

' an exact reali ation of the state of the score , can he decide whether to venture a higher

e bid , to doubl , or to pass .

Late in th e rubber game it often pays to de clare beyond the strength of your hand and secure the bid even if you lose in the h onor

th e e column , as in that way oppon nts cannot

e go out , and you have anoth r chance for the rubber . But it is unwise to carry such play to extremes , as your loss may become so great that the winning of the rubber later will fail to reimburse you . AUCTION BRIDGE 23

Doubling

e In Auction , doubling simply m ans that you w ager that the declarant will not fulﬁll his c ontract . If he undertakes to get 3 odd in ' earts and you double him , it does not mean

that you expect to win the odd , as in Bridge . If he gets 2 odd you win your 1 00 in the

honor column and he can score nothing .

Therefore , upon a bid of 4 or 3 tricks from

r the adversa y , you fre'uently can double ,

although very short in trumps , if you have

enough outside tricks to count . 24 AUCTION BRIDGE

Suggestions for Doubling

You can double an original 1 Spade bid if you hold Ace and ' ing of Spades and want to

r ' encourage your pa tner to make it No trumps .

Do not be in a hurry to double any other 1 trick made . It alarms th e opponents and al t lows hem to change to another suit . If you wait and double a 2 tri ck or 3 tri ck declara

is l to tion , any change they may make like y

e e x prov 'ually e pensive .

Do not s double when your double , if it lose , . e will help the adversaries to win th game .

' or example , to double a 1 Heart make when

e 1 the oppon nts are 6 is bad , but you can double a 2 Heart make if your hand warrants

a it , as they are out nyway , if they win , with out your double .

Remember that doubling never can help

e ad your trick score , but can h lp that of the r versari es . You can win only in the hono col umn but they can go out .

26 AUCTION BRIDGE

I n D eclare Tr m d u p .

As in Bridge any suit headed by two cards in se'uence is usually a good lead so also is a short suit when not holding four tr umps .

e It is better to hold Ac s in reserve .

Avoid leading any suit th e adversaries have

' declared in unless you are short in it or are leading through strength on your left .

Th e best way to help your partner when h e has doubled a declared trump make is by

' et leading an Ace ' ing suit or a singl on .

He rarely wants a trum p l ead from you . AUCTION BRIDGE 2 7

Discard

Discard as in Bridge , a low card meaning u sually that you do not want the suit , and a c d ard higher than the 6 that you may , an p robably do want it .

A high discard early in the hand usually m eans that you are strong in that suit and e ither wish to show it at once or have to dis card that way to protect other cards . Late in the hand a high discard simply means pro tection to aid your partner in his discard . 2 8 AUCTION BRIDGE

'inal ' ints

Always use th e same expressions in your “ ” ”

' . ' e e 1 2 bidding r ly say No trump , or ” ” “ e rt 1 H a s , double or I pass . Avoid a ny form which would imply doubt or h esita “ ' ” t ation e , such as I think I ll doubl .

In all bidding remember that Aces an d ' ings are th e cards of permanent value in th e

e e e h e shifting sc n of the mak s . You av a right to count on your partner for at least on e

e g ood card in any suit that h bids on .

R emember th e importance of fulﬁlling your

' c e ontract . Wh n you can do that , don t ﬁnesse or try for one trick more unless an

e ee xtra trick is n ded for th e game .

In all declaring and doubling consider care

e fully from which hand the l ad will come . This often makes an enormous difference in

h e t hand . AUCTION BRIDGE 29

R eali ' e that Auction is not ' oker and that bluﬂi n g in your declaration is likely to prove

e a boomerang . Any false st p on your part may

u h ' l re your partner to a ard a fatal move .

B e conservative at ﬁrst until you have s ettled in your mind th e values of the diff er ent declarations .

' Don t become excited and play an emotional

e g ame . The play r who is sanguine , reckless , o bstinate , or careless will be a sure loser at

Auction .

R emember that the state of the score is the

compass by which you steer your game . Watch it every instant ' it should guide you

e in ach move that you make .