Winning at Duplicate Competitive Bidding: Table Judgment Points to Master Choosing Contract: Priorities a. 8+ Major Fit b. NT c. 7 card Major Fit Useful Guidelines a. If 3N is reasonable alternative, bid it. b. Cue bid for NT stoppers. c. 2NT is not a “misfit safe house.” d. Follow the “LAW”; bid to the level of your combined trump. e. A 2/1 overcall shows a good suit, especially if acting at unfavorable vulnerability. f. Open light in 3rd position NV. g. With a void and fit, bid one level higher. h. Any undiscussed bids are a one-round force. Hand Evaluation a. Deduct for duplication of values. b. Downgrade hands with “Quacks”. c. Downgrade with balanced hand patterns, especially 4333. d. Upgrade with Aces, Tens and solid trump suits. e. Positional values count more (or less!). Competing On 20-20 Deals a. Rarely let opponents settle at a supported 2M. Suggested Agreement: “Scrambling 2NT”. b. Don’t give opponents a “free pass” when they compete and it is your hand; X and enjoy more frequent tops. c. If opponents try to force you to the 3-level and you are tempted to bid 2NT, think penalty X instead. d. If playing Negative X, Opener protects Responder with re-opening X, if short in Overcaller’s suit. Communication a. Describe your hand in as few bids as possible b. Don’t hide trump support, but bid out your hand. c. Don’t “correct” a previous bidding error by passing.

Winning at Duplicate Competitive Bidding: Table Judgment The “LAW” of Total Tricks (or LoTT) Larry Cohen developed the “Law of Total Tricks” (LoTT or “LAW”) which postulates that when both sides have at least an eight card fit, the total number of tricks available is equal to the sum of the trumps of both pairs. There’s a whole book on the subject which you can read; an approximation, “Simple LAW” is bidding to the level of your side’s trumps. For example, if your partner overcalls and you have three trumps, raise to the 2-level; if you have four trumps, raise to the 3-level and if you have five trumps, raise to the 4-level. The raise to the 3- and 4-levels need to be conditioned on vulnerability and shape.

The reasoning and statistics behind the “LAW” is technical, but basically it says that if you respect the total number of trumps, you will have an optimum or “Par” result. This does not mean you’ll make your contract; rather, you will have arrived at your optimum contract, even if the opponents double and you go down. If you break the “LAW” but your opponents don’t double you, you might still get a good result, as they have let you off the hook. Cohen summarizes his theory: i. When the balance of HCP is unfavorable, bidding to the “LAW” level will act as a useful sacrifice. ii. When the balance of HCP is favorable, bidding to the “LAW” level will be an achievable contract. iii. When the HCP are fairly equally split between the two sides, bidding to the “LAW” level avoids the danger of a losing sacrifice.

Basic LAW Add the two levels plus 11; bid if there are that many trump.1 Bid 2 over 2 15 Total Trump Bid 3 over 2 16 Total Trump Bid 3 over 3 17 Total Trump Bid 4 over 3 18 Total Trump Bid 4 over 4 19 Total Trump Bid 5 over 4 20 Total Trump

1 Jim Slinger, Competitive Bidding Decisions, “Thinking At Bridge”, 2006 Winning at Duplicate Competitive Bidding: Table Judgment Points to Ponder More Useful Guidelines a. With longer Spades (5+) and another suit, consider showing Spades and making a reopening double to bring other suit into auction. b. If you have pushed Opponents with stronger hands into 4 of a minor, you have achieved your purpose. c. Suggested Agreement: Do not use “Western Cue” to show a partial stopper. If there are two suits in question, bid the one where you have a stopper. If opponents have bid a suit, a cue bid asks for a stopper and implies stopper(s) in other unbid suit(s) Hand Evaluation a. If Partner gives you a LR+ and you have a second five card suit, bid game. b. Do not show a splinter when singleton is an Ace. c. Use Simple Loser Count for suit contracts where a fit is found. Opening hand is 7-loser; LR is 8-loser; a simple raise or 1N response is 9-loser. If your combined loser count is 14, game is likely in a Major; if 13, game is likely in a minor; and, if 12, investigate small slam. Communication a. Don’t rescue partner after her Overcall when you are void or singleton in her suit. b. Show your partner a secondary fit to help her judge whether to bid on or X. Preempts & Sacrifices a. Don’t preempt with 2 Aces. b. If you or your Partner have made opponent’s guess at their contract….Pass. c. Bid as if an Unfavorable “sacrifice” doesn’t exist. d. Resist bidding “5 over 5” except with extreme distribution.