Bidding Practice Games for Lesson 1 (Opening 1 of a Suit)
Note: These games are set up specifically to apply the bidding rules from Lesson 1 on the website:
ATeacherFirst.com. Rather than trying to memorize all the bids, beginners will learn and retain more if
they learn how to reason out each bid, one step at a time, taking into account what his/her partner does
or does not know and what his/her message means. Together, they are trying to find the best contract.
The expected results are given, but these may vary depending on the skill of all the players, both
declarer and defenders. These lessons are meant to help beginners learn to bid simply and build
confidence. Suggestions are given for the first lead card based on the bidding and the strength of the
suits. Once the dummy hand is exposed, Declarer should count losers when in a trump contract and
count winners when in a NT contract in order to determine the best strategy for making the contract.
Board #1 – None vulnerable, Dealer North
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Bidding: (East and West pass throughout.)
N
1♦ 12 HCP, no 5-card major to bid, with 4 cards exactly in both minors, bid diamonds
E Pass 11 HCP, not enough pts to overcall (no 5-card suit)
S
1♥ 11 HCP, will show 4+ hearts, trying to find a major suit fit if possible
W Pass 6 HCP, not enough pts to bid
S has shown minimum 4 hearts but N needs 4 to support, so will now show his
N
1NT
minimum-strength hand, relatively balanced
With 10+ pts, S can go above 1 level to show extra heart in case partner has 3
S
2♥ hearts; if partner bids anything else, S can revert to 2NT
Partner’s bid is non-forcing; with just minimum pts, N will pass, even though N now
N Pass
has support for hearts
Final Contract: 2♥ by South
Lead card: ♠4 or ♣2 by West (lead unbid suits, 4th from top of longest/strongest suit,
promising an honor in that suit)
Expected Results: Count losers when seeing Dummy: 1 possible heart if finesse
does not work favorably, 2 possible clubs unless club is led (then just 1 loser in clubs),
2 possible diamonds. Makes 8 to 10 tricks, depending on the play of the hand.
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Board #2 – N/S vulnerable, Dealer East
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Bidding: (North and South pass throughout.)
19 HCP, no 5-card major, balanced hand but too high to open 1NT; with exactly 4 of
E
1♦ both minors, the rule is to bid diamonds
S Pass 5 HCP, too weak to bid anything
W
1♥ 11 HCP, respond to minor opening bid with 4-card major when you have one
N Pass 5 HCP
Showing 18-19 pts, no 4-card heart suit to support partner’s bid, no 4-card spade
E
2NT
suit, balanced hand
Rebid hearts to show 5 cards in hearts instead of just 4; inviting to game, leaving it
W
3♥ up to Partner now to decide level and strain
E
4♥ Have found the 8-card major suit fit and with enough pts for game, will bid to game
Final Contract: 4♥ by West
Lead card: ♣7 (singleton) by North, South takes it with ♣A. South should suspect his
partner’s lead is a singleton since South has so many clubs. South should lead back a
low club to his partner, which North will trump, for 2 immediate tricks. North should
then lead ♠K (top of touching honors), which will be taken by East’s ♠A
Expected Results: Count losers when seeing Dummy: 1 club, 1 spade, no hearts if
the trump splits evenly between opponents. Should take 11 tricks by West. N/S
should get the first two tricks and that’s it. After winning the 3rd trick, West should pull
trump and then discard losing spade when running clubs and diamonds.
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Board #3 – E/W vulnerable, Dealer South
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Bidding: (East and West pass throughout.)
12 HCP plus 1 for length, no 5-card major, bid longest minor
S
1♦
W
Pass 11 HCP
10 HCP plus 3 for length, change of suit in first round is forcing, will consider
N
1♥
jumping in hearts next round
E
Pass 7 HCP
Re-bid diamonds to show 5 of them; 4 hearts were promised by North, but
S
2♦
South needs 4 to show support
Jump to show extra points and extra length in hearts, inviting to game
N
3♥
S
4♥
With 3-card support for hearts, take it to game.
Final Contract: 4♥ by North
Lead Card: ♦10 by East (Avoid leading from an unsupported King [no Ace or Queen],
even though clubs is an unbid suit and clubs is East’s best suit.) South should play his
♦Ace and not hope that the ♦Q will take the trick.
♥A and then
East, seeing the dummy, should try to get two tricks in clubs, leading either the ♣K or
the ♣8, before North pulls trump.
Expected Results: North should take 10 tricks. North must lose to the
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Board #4 – All vulnerable, Dealer West
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Bidding: (North and South pass throughout.)
W
Pass 5 HCP, not enough pts to open
N
Pass 9 HCP, not enough pts to open
14 HCP plus 3 for length, 7-card spade suit
E
1♠
12 HCP, could have opened 1♣ if East had passed; but too difficult to overcall
S
Pass
now without a good 5-card suit
No support for spades, can’t bid 2♦ (would show 10+ pts), only option is to bid
1NT
showing 6-9 pts (add 2 pts for length in diamonds); there is a chance that
W
1NT
West will pass and leave East in 1♠
How high East jumps depends on East’s style of play. In a competitive game
3♠ or
with experienced players, East may open 3♠ in 3rd seat after two passes instead
E
4♠
of 1♠, in which case, West would probably pass, and East would be left in 3♠.
Final Contract: 1♠, 3♠ or 4♠ by East (difficult to predict, but definitely spades!)
♦K or ♣Q (top of touching honors) by South (it’s best not to lead away
from a tenace*, ♥K/♥J)
Lead Card:
*tenace (pronounced “tennis”) – two honor cards with a gap (e.g. A/Q, K/J); it’s best to have the lead
come around towards a tenace, rather than leading away from a tenace.
Expected Results: Losers: with luck, only 3 — 1 heart, 1 club and 1 diamond. East could
take 10 tricks, depending how it’s played. The finesse in spades will work if it is tried as soon
as East gets the lead on the first trick. East should play over to the ♣A (or if the club is led,
take it with the ♣A), then play the ♠4 towards the ♠A/♠Q, take the trick with the ♠Q if the ♠K is
not played from North’s hand. If South had the ♠K, then the finesse would not work. A finesse
gives only a 50/50 chance, like flipping a coin, but East will be lucky — this time it will work.
However, it is also possible that East will take only 9 tricks. The finesse is a gamble and East
might not think to try it.
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Board #5 – N/S vulnerable, Dealer North
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Bidding:
N
E
S
W
E
W
(North and South pass throughout.)
9 HCP, not enough pts to open
Pass
13 HCP, no 5-card major, open in longest minor
1♦
9 HCP
Pass
9 HCP, respond with 4-card major, showing 4 hearts but not denying
1♥
spades
No fit in hearts, bid 4-card major next, West could have 4 cards in spades
1♠
No fit in either major, no long minor; therefore, bid 1NT, a limiting bid,
1NT
showing a minimum responding hand (6-9 pts)
Final Contract: 1NT by West
Lead: ♣9 by North (lead unbid suit, “top of nothing”)
Expected Results: In a NT contract, Declarer (West) should count winners once the
Dummy hand comes down: 4 clubs and 2 hearts. W needs 1 more trick to make the
contract. Identify the best suit to promote extra winners — diamonds. Once the
♦A
and ♦K are out, diamonds should take 2 tricks, total 7 or 8 tricks possible. West may
go down 1 trick. If so, not to worry, 1NT contracts are sometimes difficult to make.
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Board #6 – E/W vulnerable, Dealer East
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Bidding: (East and West pass throughout.)
9 HCP
E
Pass
17 HCP, not balanced, no 5-card major, bid longest minor
S
1♣
7 HCP
W
Pass
7 HCP, bid 4-card major, with a longer spade suit, bid spades first (with
N
1♠
4-4 split, bid hearts first)
singleton ♥A adds extra ruffing value
S
3♠ or 4♠
N
Pass or 4♠
If South doesn’t take it to game by bidding 4♠, then North should. North
knows that they have 9 trump together which gives added strength.
(South can count on only 4 spades from North’s 1♠ bid and must have
4 to support).
Final Contract: 4♠ by North
Lead Card: ♥Q by East (lead from longest, strongest unbid suit, top of touching
honors)
Expected Results: Count losers when Dummy hand comes down: 1 spade and 1
diamond. Should take 11 tricks.
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Board #7 – All vulnerable, Dealer South
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Bidding: (South
S
Pass
W
Pass
N
Pass
E
1♠
W
2♠
E
4♠
and North pass throughout.)
7 HCP, not enough pts to open
5 HCP, not enough pts to open
9 HCP, not enough pts to open
19 HCP, bid 5-card major suit
5 HCP plus 1 for length (or 1 dummy pt for doubleton), 3+ spade support
for Partner’s opening bid
With 19 HCP and at least 6 pts from partner and support for spades, bring
it to game! “The one who knows, goes!”
Final Contract: 4♠ by East
Lead Card: ♦A by South. (With a long diamond suit, E/W could be void in diamonds
soon and trump in, so it’s sometimes best to lead the Ace. By leading the Ace, which
often takes the first trick, South also gets a chance to look at the dummy hand before
leading the next card. Not knowing that East is now void, South is likely to lead
another diamond.)
Expected Results: Count losers: 1 spade, 1 diamond, 1 club if club finesse does not
work, 1 heart if heart finesse does not work – always hope that one of the finesses
will work – it’s a 50/50 chance each time. In this game, the heart finesse will work
and the club finesse will not. Should take 10 tricks.
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Board #8 – None vulnerable, Dealer West
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Bidding:
W
N
E
S
(West and East pass throughout.)
9 HCP, not enough pts to open
Pass
5 HCP, not enough pts to open
Pass
10 HCP, not enough pts to open
Pass
16 HCP, 5-card major
1♥
N
2♥
S
3♥
N
Pass
3-card heart support for Partner’s bid, showing 6-9 pts
With extra strength into the medium range, should raise the bid to invite
game in case partner has 8-9 pts
Can’t bid any higher with just minimum pts
Final Contract: 3♥ by South
Lead Card: ♣10 by West. With 3 cards, lead MUD (Middle-Up-Down; so play the
middle first). Unfortunately, not a great lead this time. West should avoid leading from
a suit with an unsupported King (no Ace or Queen to support it).
Expected Results: Count losers: 1 diamond, 1 or 2 clubs, 1 spade. South should
take 9 or 10 tricks.
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Board #9 – E/W vulnerable, Dealer North
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Bidding: (North and South pass throughout.)
7 HCP, plus 1 for length, not enough to open
N
Pass
9 HCP, not enough to open
E
Pass
8 HCP
S
Pass
16 HCP plus 1 for length, bid 5-card major
W
1♠
E
2♠
W
3♠
E
4♠
3-card support for spades, showing 6-9 points
With a medium-strength opening hand, West will show points in range 16-18
and invite to game
With 9 pts (top of range for a minimum responding hand), East will go to game
Final Contract 4♠ by West
Lead Card: ♦K by North (promising either the ♦Q or the ♦Ace)
Expected Results: Losers: 2 diamonds, 1 heart, possibly 1 club. Should try the
finesse in clubs, if possible — play the
the ♣J towards the
10 tricks.
♣A first, get over to dummy hand, then play
♣K/♣10/♣8 and play a higher club only if necessary. Should take
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Board #10 – All vulnerable, Dealer East
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Bidding: (South and North pass throughout.)
E
Pass 9 HCP, not enough pts to open
S
Pass 9 HCP
13 HCP, bid 5-card major
W
1♠
N
Pass 9 HCP
Enough points to respond, no fit in spades; only 9 pts (need 10 pts to bid a new
E
1NT
suit at the 2 level); with 6-9 pts and nothing else to bid, bid 1NT
W
Pass No extra pts, so will leave it at 1NT
Final Contract: 1NT by East
Lead Card: ♣2 by South (longest, strongest unbid suit, 4th from the top, against a NT
contract, leading away from an unsupported King is acceptable)
Expected Results: Count winners: Only 4 immediate winners, should get 2 tricks in
clubs once ♣A/♣K are out, and possibly an extra trick in spades or diamonds. Should
make the contract, maybe an overtrick, too.
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Board #11 – None vulnerable, Dealer South
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Bidding: (East and West pass throughout.)
18 HCP, no 5-card major, bid longer minor, balanced hand but too many points to
S
1♦
open 1NT
W
Pass 7 HCP
5 HCP, plus 2 for length; two 5-card majors, with 5-5, bid higher-ranking major
N
1♠
first, even though the hearts are stronger
E
Pass 10 HCP
South can re-evaluate and add 1 extra pt for the doubleton. With minimum 6
S
4♠
points promised from North (6+18+1 = 25 pts, enough for game level
Final Contract: 4♠ by North
Lead Card: ♣10 by East (longest, strongest suit is diamonds but it was bid so maybe
clubs is better, lead “top of nothing”)
Expected Results: Count losers: 1 diamond, 1 heart. North should take 10-11 tricks.
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Board #12 – N/S vulnerable, Dealer West
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Bidding: (East and West pass throughout.)
W
Pass 7 HCP
16 HCP, bid 5-card major
N
1♠
E
Pass 7 HCP
10 HCP. No fit for spades; with 10+ pts, can bid another suit at the 2 level, bid
S
2♦
5-card diamond suit (forcing for one round)
Can support diamonds, has a medium-strength opening hand so will show
N
4♦
extra points by jumping a level and inviting to game.
S
Pass No extra strength above 10 points (which has already been shown).
Final Contract: 4♦ by South
Lead Card: ♣J by West (top of interior sequence)
Expected Results: Count losers: 1 club and 1 diamond. When taking trump, the rule
is “8 ever, 9 never.*” Play the Ace and King and hope the Queen falls. In this hand, it
won’t work but it’s still the best option. As soon as South discovers that East has no
trump, he should still continue pulling trump, taking the A and K and then leading a
low diamond towards the Jack. South should lose only 1 trump. South should take 11
tricks in spite of the lop-sided trump. It would be difficult for N/S to assess their hands
accurately enough to bid to game in diamonds, even though they took 11 tricks. Also,
the ♣Q, being a singleton, doesn’t hold much power if opponents have the Ace,
though it still has some value as a singleton.
*“8 ever, 9 never” means this: With 8 trump, having the Ace, King and Jack with the
Queen missing, try the finesse. With 9 trump, same situation, do not try the finesse.
Play the Ace and King and hope the Queen falls (it will fall only if the trump are split
2-2 between the opponents’ hands, which is what you are gambling on).
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