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Bridge Bidding Cheat Sheet

A look at the No Fear Bridge bidding cheat sheet. This popular and very useful download is available to all members of No Fear Bridge. Just sign up for your trial membership using one of the links below.

Acol Bridge – For players in the UK, Ireland and NZ.… Read the rest

Begin To Play Bridge

Do you want to learn to play bridge? In this video I show you some of the activities for beginning bridge players that are available on No Fear Bridge. Click on one of the links below to start your trial membership.… Read the rest

How To Learn Bridge Complete Beginners

Do you want to learn to play bridge? Are you a complete beginner and don’t know where to start? I am an affiliate for No Fear Bridge where there is a learning path for complete beginners. In this video I show you how a complete beginner can start learning to play bridge.… Read the rest

1 NT Opening Bid With A 5 Card Suit – Acol Bridge

FOR ACOL BRIDGE PLAYERS

As a general rule – you will make an opening bid of 1NT if you hold a balanced hand (no void or singleton, only one doubleton) and have 12 – 14 high card points.

The Exception – A 5 Card Major Suit

Every good rule has an exception. … Read the rest

Should You Draw All The Trumps?

It’s tempting for declarer to draw all the trumps when on lead, but is this always the best approach?

Imagine this is declarer’s combined holding (with dummy) in trumps:

Drawing Trumps in Bridge

Once declarer gets on lead, s/he will usually play A & K hoping that trumps have broken 2-2 and that two rounds will draw all the outstanding trumps.… Read the rest

How Long Does It Take To Learn Bridge?

That’s an interesting question. It’s a bit like asking “how long does it take to learn to play the piano?”.

So how long does it take to learn to play bridge?  Learning the basics shouldn’t take most people more than a few months.… Read the rest

How To Finesse In Bridge

Bridge Finessing

The art of making an extra trick by taking advantage of the favourable position of a high card held by the opposition.  This article will help you with understanding finesse in bridge.

What does that mean?

Finessing is done by declarer playing either from hand or from dummy (ie you need to be able to see two hands to finesse)
So, suppose that you are South and you can see these cards in a suit that you want to use for the finesse:

Finessing in bridge

Is it possible to make a trick with the King?… Read the rest

Jumbo Index Cards

Did you know that you get jumbo index playing cards?

If you have visual difficulties, are partially sighted or finding that your sight isn’t as good as it used to be, these jumbo index cards might be the answer to helping you continue playing the game you love. … Read the rest

Improve Your Game Play By Using Statistics

Every day thousands, if not millions of players around the world enjoy a game of bridge and. They know and understand the basic rules of the game and they practice and play regularly. Many find that regardless of how long they have been playing, their play stops improving.… Read the rest

Boosting Your Memory

We all know that playing bridge regularly helps keep the brain active. Memory is an all important part of playing bridge. You need to remember which cards have been played. Forgetting who has played key cards can cause you to lose a game you might otherwise have won.… Read the rest

Can Playing Bridge Help You Lose Weight?

A while ago I wrote about the health benefits of playing bridge. Could weight loss be one of them? Can playing bridge really help you lose weight?

We all know that exercise, in conjunction with a healthy, calorie controlled diet can help you lose weight.… Read the rest

Is Playing Bridge A Criminal Activity?

You probably think I’ve gone daft in the head for even asking.  What can be more innocent than sitting round the table in your local bridge club playing a few friendly hands of bridge?

This isn’t the view that police in Thailand took a few days ago.  … Read the rest

The Rule of 7

The Rule of 7 is an interesting and little known rule. Why am I writing about a rule that no-one has heard of? Because someone requested that I write about it.

I had to do some research because, I have to be honest, I’d never heard of it.… Read the rest

Bridge Conventions

One of the most commonly used bridge bidding conventions is Stayman. This is used in the initial round of bidding if partner has opened the bidding with 1NT.  You can read more about the Stayman bidding convention HERE.

Bridge players love numbers!  … Read the rest

The Difference Between Acol Bridge And American Standard Bridge

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably decided that you want to learn to play bridge.  It’s a fun, sociable game played by millions of people worldwide.  Confusingly, there is more than one system of bridge bidding and before you start learning it is helpful to decide which system you want to learn.

… Read the rest

The Rule of Seven

Bridge players seem to love rules with numbers.  The Rule of 7 is one of the least know rules, yet it is easy to learn and easy to apply.  You might wonder why I’m writing a whole post about a rule that almost no-one has heard of?  … Read the rest

Bridge IS a Sport?

It’s only a couple of weeks since I wrote about bridge being recognised by the International Olympic Committee as a “mind sport”.  (See this post)

Today comes news that a High Court judge has granted the EBU (English Bridge Union) leave to bring a case that will decide whether or not bridge can be recognised as a sport.  … Read the rest

Using Stayman After a 2NT Opening

One of the first topics that beginning players learn is the use of Stayman after a 1NT opening by partner to ask if partner holds a 4 card major.

Don’t forget that you can also use Stayman after a 2NT opening.  … Read the rest

Bridge – An Olympic Sport?

Update 2 – Sept 2018

The author of this article in the UK newspaper The Guardian has a rather cynical view of why he thinks bridge (and egames) might be considered for inclusion in the Olympics.  The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), he believes, were persuaded to include bridge by Michael Bambang Hartono, a 78-year-old from the small town of Kudus, in Central Java, Indonesia. … Read the rest

Bridge Cruises

Bridge holidays are popular and it seems that everyone wants to go on a cruise.  Why not combine the two?  Enjoy a  your favourite game whilst cruising in luxury and making new friends.  Sounds perfect.

Most cruises offer bridge as one of the many activities available for guests.  … Read the rest

Which Suit To Open

Which suit to open

If you hold two five card suits, or even two six card suits, which suit should you open with?

The answer is that you should always open with the higher ranking suit (not the stronger hand).  The rank of the suit takes precedent over suit quality.  … Read the rest

Bidding A New Suit “Above The Barrier”

If you have opened the bidding, you visualise an imaginary “barrier” above your opening suit, but at the next level.

So if, for example, you have opened with a bid of 1 Heart, the barrier is above 2 Hearts (ie between a bid of 2H and a bid of 2 Spades)

If you hold just 12 -15 points you should avoid bidding “above the barrier” as this shows a stronger hand and partner may be forced to bid at too high a level – leaving you with a contract that you don’t have enough points to make.… Read the rest

Learn Bridge In A Day

Is it possible to learn bridge in a day?  I’m sure you can’t become an expert player in a day, but it’s a great way of introducing the basics without the commitment of regular attendance at a course.  It’s also a good way for a lapsed player to get back to playing bridge and revisiting the basics of the game.… Read the rest

Duplicate Bridge Percentage Scoring

 

How to work out the percentage scores in duplicate bridge

If you take part in duplicate bridge competitions, either at a club or online, you will find each hand you play is awarded a percentage score. This isn’t directly related to the number of points you scored, but tells you how well you did in comparison with the other people who played the same hand.… Read the rest

Finessing in Bridge

Introduction to simple finessing in bridge

The most common form of finessing is leading a low card from one hand, hoping to win the trick with the high card in the other hand.  (You are playing declarer and dummy)

Example:

Imagine the cards in the suit you want to play are distributed like this:

                  Sample finessing in bridge hand

Can you make a trick with the king?… Read the rest

Bridge Courses For Beginners

If you are  just starting to learn to play bridge, you might want to find a local bridge course for beginners.  It’s a sociable and fun way to learn to play and your class will be full of beginners just like you so there will no need to feel embarrassed by your lack of bridge skills.… Read the rest

How Do You Play Bridge?

How Do You Play Bridge?

If you’re asking yourself that question you have certainly come to the right place!  At Blueberry Bridge we are dedicated to teaching you how to play this  popular and fun game.

In this post we’ll give you a very brief overview that should start to answer the question “how do you play bridge?”  … Read the rest

Bridge Bidding Cheat Sheet. Download Your Crib Sheet

A bridge bidding cheat sheet is a very handy thing to have if you are a beginning or improving bridge player.  It’s especially handy if you enjoy playing bridge online – either against robots or against real partners.  Print out the bridge bidding chart and keep it with you when you are playing, then you can quickly and easily look to see what your next bid should be.… Read the rest

Learn How To Play Bridge

Are you looking for a new hobby?  Maybe you want to make new friends and have more of a social life?  If you do, then why not learn how to play bridge?

Once you learn how to play bridge you will find you can enjoy an active social life.  … Read the rest

Stayman Convention

The Stayman convention is one of the first things you learn when you are starting to play bridge.  It is used after partner has made a bid of No Trumps.

As a general rule it is usually better to play in a major suit contract (spades or hearts) than to play in No Trumps, but only if you can find an 8 card fit between you.… Read the rest

Bridge Opening Bids

There are two basic types of bridge opening bids.  No Trumps opening bids and suit opening bids.

Deciding on your opening bid

Once you have been dealt your cards, you should sort them into suits and sort the cards in order within those suits.… Read the rest

System of Bidding in Bridge

Blueberry bridge helps you to play either of the two main bridge bidding systems – Acol and Standard American.

The Acol system of bidding in bridge is mainly used in the UK, Ireland and New Zealand.  Much of the rest of the world plays one of the Standard American bridge bidding systems.… Read the rest

The Rule Of 2, 3 and 4

The Rule of 2, 3 and 4 is one of the more advanced topics that you can learn and practice at www.nofearbridge.co.uk.  It is used when making a pre-emptive opening bid at the three level or higher. If you are still a beginner, make sure you understand vulnerability and the concept of playing duplicate bridge before learning this rule.… Read the rest

New Site For 5 Card Majors/Strong No Trumps Players

Until now, No Fear Bridge has been aimed at players who play Acol bridge – the system used in the UK, New Zealand and a few other countries.

Now there is a brand new No Fear Bridge site aimed at beginning and improving players who want to play 5 card major/strong No Trumps.  … Read the rest

Health Benefits Of Playing Bridge

A study by Berkeley University showed that there are significant health benefits from learning to play bridge.

Back in 2000, Professor Marian Diamond showed that playing bridge boosts the immune system. Bridge requires concentration and while you are playing your brain is kept active and stimulated.… Read the rest

Which Suit To Respond

If partner has opened with a bid of 1 of a suit and you have fewer than 12 points it is usual to respond with a bid at the one level if you hold a four card major suit that you can bid, even if you hold a longer minor suit.  … Read the rest

The Rule of 15

We are West and we have this hand:

Spades: J 2, Hearts: A Q 9 8, Diamonds: A 9 7 6 2,   Clubs: 6 2

The bidding has gone as follows:

North  East   South  West
Pass     Pass   Pass      ?… Read the rest

Opener’s Rebid After Left Hand Opponent Overcall

After a player (“you”) has opened the bidding there is the possibility that the player on your left, who is part of the opposing partnership, might overcall.  When this happens it can sometimes mean that your partner has to bid at a higher level when making a change of suit response than they otherwise would have.… Read the rest

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