BridgeSnaps - July 2011

THE PASS-OUT SEAT

Pass - Pass - Pass - ?

What to bid in the pass-out seat? Well, what game are you playing?

As a matter of fact, the game does matter. Are you playing standard rubber bridge, match-point duplicate, Chicago bridge, teams of four, party bridge? How many ways can you play bridge anyway?

Let’s look at party bridge where: (a) there is a specific number of deals (typically six) played against each competing pair; (b) a passed out deal does not count as one of the six. In this game, part-scores are not worth much. Roughly it takes four of them to equal one game contract. In a three or four round contest of six deals each, generally it takes 3000 or more points to win, and this requires making multiple games. To illustrate, if your pair bid and made 12 part-scores out of 18 deals, you would earn roughly 1200 points, good enough for fourth , fifth, or sixth place out of six pairs.

Now, back to the fourth seat. If you have 13 points (an opener) after three passes, you should pass and re-deal, rather than play for part-score or open the door for the opponents to win the contract. Yes, your opponents might get the good cards on the re-deal. That is an inherent risk of party bridge. This is the best strategy because you are playing against five other pairs, not just the pair at your table.

In fourth seat after three passes, assume partner has 10 points. If this is not enough for game, do not open the bidding. To have a decent shot at game, you should have a good 15 points to open.

KILLING FLIES

A woman asks her husband, “What are you doing?” He answers: “Hunting flies”
She says: “Killing any?” “Yep, 3 males, 2 females.”
“How in the world can you tell?” she wants to know.
Answer: “Three were on the beer can, two were on the phone.”