"Cardinal Rules"

[jdaming]

How about when in doubt double a junior for penalty?

[Double !]

I have a few rules to consider: aka Don's Rules (lol)

 

#1) Never get involved in the opponents "discussions" at the table. Wait patiently and keep your mouth shut.

 

#2) Never get involved in discussion about a hand or play with your partner at the table, at least until the remaining boards are completed for that round. Make notes and discuss the matter at a more private and convenient time. Remember, your partner is trying just as hard as you are.

 

#3) Pay attention to the time clock during the round just before a hospitality break& try to finish on time. Gives you more time to wait in line at the bathrooms or to run outside for a quick smoke,..... or just to get air and clear your head.

 

#4) If partner suddenly bids some form of ace/ keycard asking bid and a trump suit has NOT been clearly agreed upon, assume the last naturally bid suit as being trumps for the purpose or responding.

 

#5) Do NOT take my Diet Coke from me when you leave my table.

 

 

DHL

[pirate22]

to "Trumpace" nothing is set in stone---but your partners i hope will back your judgement and reply :D))))))))))))))))) ex ample

 

this is what instigated my topic recently to me, you hold xs--AKQJ98652 h---K2 d--xcl

 

pick up partner usual sayc But no transfers.

 

opens first position 1n/t--i responded 2cl(stayman)

2 spades " 4n/t

PASS " ??

 

opening lead small club Opener holds KQ1096 s--104 h--AJ105d--Q10cl

obviously mis counted his hand,and recovered his mistake by not responding to 4 n/t-------------I never found out what his/her drink was,but he/she watched,my play,losing 6 cl and a spade

[Stephen Tu]

pirate22, you should learn that most people consider 4nt after 1nt opening, either directly over 1nt (1nt-4nt), or directly after stayman/jacoby transfer (1nt-2c-2x-4nt, 1nt-2d-2h-4nt) to be natural, non-forcing, and inviting slam, aka "quantitative". It is not blackwood under standard agreements!

 

You should have bid 4c, Gerber, directly over 1nt; your hand is one of the few hands that actually qualify for that (should be) rarely used convention, but massively overused by most beginner/ints.

 

You also have the option of Texas transfer (4d) followed by 4nt, RKC, if you have those agreements in place, but on the actual hand 4c Gerber would be normal.

[matmat]

i thought it was the abbott that ruled.

[whereagles]

#1) Never get involved in the opponents "discussions" at the table. Wait patiently and keep your mouth shut.

Priceless B)

[pdmunro]

My favorite rule comes from Culbertson (I'm guessing he adapted it from the game of Whist):

 

The Rule of Two and Three

 

"For all 'defensive bids' ... you must be able to win, in your own hand, all but TWO of the tricks you bid for if you are vulnerable; or all but THREE of the tricks you bid for if you are not vulnerable."

 

Source: Ely Culbertson (1954) "Contract Bridge Self-Teacher" Faber and Faber, Price 6S. 6D. (U.K.)

 

As the blurb on the front cover says, "Teach yourself! All you need is this book and a pencil." OK The above rule was all I took from the book, but it was worth the price, $6.98, a slight increase from the original.

 

Another rule I have found helpful comes from Sylvia's Rules of the Rock (1997):

 

"New suits at the three level are game forcing."

 

http://jeffgoldsmith.org/sylvia/bridgepro.html

 

It's strange but I have never seen this rule written elsewhere. Maybe I should read more.

[Gerben42]

The Rule of Two and Three

 

For preemptive opening bids that rule is extremely conservative, especially the "three" part.

 

"New suits at the three level are game forcing."

 

I've noticed that some pairs don't play this, some Italians for one seem to play auctions like 1♠ (2♥) 3♣ as nonforcing. Perhaps they are right!

[hrothgar]

I have a few rules to consider: aka Don's Rules (lol)

 

#1) Never get involved in the opponents "discussions" at the table. Wait patiently and keep your mouth shut.

This might hold true at MP, but its most certainly not true at teams.

 

You should be looking for any opportunity to fan the flames. Opponents who are sniping / yelling at each other aren't going to play at all well...

[BillHiggin]

Cardinal rule:

If your partner says he plays SAYC but no transfers, then you ought to prepare to enjoy the adventures that are about to happen - good bridge is not on the slate today.

[Old York]

There are no Cardinal rules

 

But read "Cardinal Sins" by David Bird and Terence Reese :)

 

Tony

[hanp]

I must say I haven't spotted many good rules in this thread, and lots of bad ones. The bridge rules are generally terrible. The social rules are generally overly sensitive and not conductive to winning bridge.

[Apollo81]

When holding 13 cards in a suit, don't sell out below the 7-level.

[awm]

While I agree that most of the bridge rules are fairly silly, I think the social rules are actually good, and that they are conducive to winning bridge.

[hanp]

Maybe to you offering to buy your partner a coke is the best way to get your mind on track again, to me it isn't..

 

I showed Jeff Goldsmith's If you open a strong notrump with 14 HCP, it's probably good enough to accept a game invitation to a partner. She told me the rule doesn't apply to me. :rolleyes:

[Oof Arted]

:D

 

My cardinal rule when playing with a Lady (even the wife)

 

When she says you are wrong YOU ARE WRONG

 

When she is Wrong she is always RIGHT

 

:rolleyes:

 

 

I'm Still alive to prove it works

[awm]

Maybe to you offering to buy your partner a coke is the best way to get your mind on track again, to me it isn't..

I'd put the rules this way:

 

(1) Bridge can be a high-stress game, but most people play better when they are not under a lot of pressure. Strive to keep partner's stress level down. Things that help with this include arriving to the playing site early, avoiding criticizing partner or analyzing hands at the table, smiling and making it look like you're having a good time during the session, and generally being pleasant and polite as much as possible.

 

(2) It can be difficult to maintain focus during a long event. Do not spend your time thinking about or analyzing hands which you have already played. If you find that you're distracted or not playing your best, try to take advantage of the break times to get your mind clear. Having a drink or snack during the session can help with this. Similarly, if partner seems not to be focused it can help to offer partner a drink or snack.

 

(3) If you must discuss a hand during the session (and it is best to avoid this whenever possible) then approach it from the viewpoint of what you could have done better. Could you have signaled more clearly? Would a different bid have better described your hand? This is much more constructive than asking why partner made a particular dumb play or bid, or insulting partner's choice of play or bid.

[Double !]

:D

 

My cardinal rule when playing with a Lady (even the wife)

 

When she says you are wrong YOU ARE WRONG

 

When she is Wrong she is always RIGHT

 

:rolleyes:

 

 

I'm Still alive to prove it works

lololol

 

I thought this was a universal given!!!!

 

And, it is a given that, should the woman suggest that she might have made an error, it is due to something the male had done.

 

DHL

[bill1157]

Cardinal rule:

If your partner says he plays SAYC but no transfers, then you ought to prepare to enjoy the adventures that are about to happen - good bridge is not on the slate today.

actually it might not work out too bad, at least you won't hear: "but pd aren't we playing stolen bid X's?"

 

Bill

[helene_t]

I never understood why it would be a bad sign if someone doesn't play transfers. Considering that different people have different ideas about when they apply (Our 1NT overcalls? They double our 1NT? They interfere with a 2♣ capp, do we play transfers like GIB does?) it makes perfect sense not to play transfers with a pick-up partner.

[manudude03]

I think it's something to do with when you do a WTO over 1NT, it almost invariably gets raised to 4. It shouldn't happen, but it does. Not to mention all the bidding space used up for potentially partscores.

[se12sam]

I have a cardinal rule specifically for 'real world' bridge that I have seen people of all levels (barring experts) violate often.

 

My rule is "don't lose interest with poor hands". It's so easy that I confess I have broken it often. And I try hard nowadays not to lose interest.

Examples:

     1. I am dealt with a yarborough. Soon enough, I have mentally 'switched off' while defending.

     2. I find myself as a defender, dealt with a hand with one Queen and no other honor card. By trick 4-5, declarer has finessed out my queen. This may be the normal line of play but when the queen drops, so does my interest level in the rest of the deal.

 

The problem is not linked to poor card play per se. It's also to do with obvious body language. In my experience, whenever my partner or I have 'relaxed', the declarer's chances of finding the winning line (for his side) has gone up!

[mycroft]

I never understood why it would be a bad sign if someone doesn't play transfers. Considering that different people have different ideas about when they apply (Our 1NT overcalls? They double our 1NT? They interfere with a 2♣ capp, do we play transfers like GIB does?) it makes perfect sense not to play transfers with a pick-up partner.

I totally agree. However, if partner says they play SAYC without transfers - as the original person said - that is a bad sign. It means,most likely, that they think SAYC = "not 2/1", and you are going to have *no* idea what they play (1S-3C-X. What is it? Unless you *know* SAYC, you might be surprised...) , but it certainly won't be the booklet.

 

I'd rather play straight SA, no transfers. I have a better idea what we play (i.e. nothing) than the inevitable argument when I actually expect them to have seen the Yellow Card.

[pirate22]

Keep them coming--a few comments---losing interest with no points---i have had some super results with no points declarers think i have them all.

Passing 4n/t---of course 1n/t -4n/t is passable but going through any other motion,is to pass a cardinal SIN,must get the book.

Ref holding 2 aces against a slam-reminds me we arrived at 6 n/t minus 2 aces(bidding misunderstanding) the person on lead held them and x vulnerable cash Rubber---now there is in the english language two words "Greed" and AVARICE, THEY UNDERLED ONE OF THEM--i was able to make the contract

another nugget against 2 internationals,me, my, first congress picked up 21 points balanced, i quicly counted left to right right to left and passed-pass pass 1n/t(12-14) pass--pass-pass

 

I led my longest-and we bounced back and forwards--it arrived at trick 10,and declarer,was very agitated(international) the dummy had 2 points,and declarer went 1 down 50 to us-the traveller was torn out of the board,and we were snarled at "Pair no plse" all the scores read 3n/t our way minus 2 it did look pretty 10 results - 100 and ours reading + 50 (why did i pass 21 points?(answer by private e-mail only)

They say lightning never strikes twice in the same place---to date,with competitive bidding mostly low/high level no of n/t's--we have taken all 13 tricks,had the pleasure of this happening 3 times in my lifetime of bridge

 

Good advice,especially with the internet.ENJOY ONES BRIDGE,

[Stephen Tu]

Passing 4n/t---of course 1n/t -4n/t is passable but going through any other motion,is to pass a cardinal SIN,must get the book.

 

Pirate22, *you* are the one who must get a book. Minimum of 95/100 books will say that 1nt-2c-2h-4nt and 1nt-2d-2h-4nt are non-forcing invitational, quantitative. I bet you cannot find any book by a reputable author that says otherwise.