Читать книгу The Times Beginner’s Guide to Bridge: All you need to play the game - Andrew Robson - Страница 27

Once the bidding has opened, 12 points are no longer needed to bid. You can enter the bidding if you have a good, long suit. There are two options: to make a higher bid – going up the series of steps shown in the diagram on p. 22 – or to pass. Note that your bid must be higher than the previous one. This is where the ranking order of suits is crucial: you can bid a higher-ranked suit or ‘no-trumps’ (a deal played without a trump suit – see p. 27) at the same level (e.g. at the One level), but to bid a lower-ranked suit you must ‘raise the level’ i.e. ‘contract for’ (promise to win) one more trick than the previous bidder.

The bidding continues until three players in a row pass, which signifies the end of the auction.

The bidding steps: the number next to the suit refers to the number of tricks plus six that you are contracting to make in the chosen trump suit, or in no-trumps (NT)

A typical bidding sequence

North deals and passes as he lacks 12+ points needed to open the bidding. East (next in clockwise rotation) opens the bidding with 1♥ – he has 12+ points and his longest (or equal longest) suit is hearts. South then bids 2♣ – he doesn’t need 12 points as the bidding has opened, but must raise the level to ‘Two’ (i.e. an eight-trick target) because clubs are ranked lower than hearts. West supports his partner’s chosen suit, hearts, by bidding 2♥, North then bids 3♣, upping his partnership’s target to nine winning tricks out of thirteen. North’s 3♣ bid ends the auction, because it is followed by three passes in a row, and 3♣ becomes the final contract. South becomes declarer and must make nine (or more) tricks with clubs as trumps; the defenders E-W need to win five tricks in order to stop him.

must know

Bidding essentials:

• Open the bidding with 12+ points.

• Once the bidding has opened, 12+ points are no longer needed to make a bid.

• You have two choices: to make a higher bid, or to pass (as in any other auction).

• The player within the highest-bidding partnership who was first to name the trump suit (or no-trumps) becomes the declarer. His partner becomes dummy.

• The defender on the left of the declarer leads the first card.