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Competitive Bidding (9-12)

Lesson 5:

From Unit Games People Play (9-12)

Lesson

Handouts

Academic Standards

Philanthropy Framework

9th-12th Grade

Subjects:

Language Arts, Math, Philanthropy and Social Studies

Key Words/Concepts click to view

ELA:	Communicate; Listening; Teamwork; Vocabulary
MAT:	Comparing Numbers; Counting; Data Analysis/Probability; Inductive/Deductive Reasoning; Infer; Mental Computation; Numeral Patterns; Predict; Problem Solving; Similarity; Sort/Classify; Symbols
PHIL:	Bridge LEAGUE; Cooperate; LEAGUE Wildcard Lesson: School Bridge
SOC:	Cause/Effect; Rules

Purpose:

Students learn the advantages and disadvantages of bidding after an opponent has opened the bidding. They also learn the slam contract and take-out double.

Duration:

Three 45-minute class periods, plus time to practice

Objectives:

The learner will:

state the advantages of competitive bidding.
state the disadvantages of competitive bidding.
state how vulnerability affects scoring.
explain the penalty double.
identify the number of points needed for a slam contract.
identify three hands for bidding the take-out double.
practice responding to a take-out double.

Materials:

NSEW Guide cards (Lesson Three: Attachment Nine)
two decks of cards for each table of four
score sheet and pencil
bidding boxes if available
student copies of Attachment One: Bridge Words for making a Bridge vocabulary wordsearch puzzle

Handout 1: Bridge Wordsearch

Teacher Preparation:

Alfred Sheinwold was an American Bridge player and author of numerous books about Bridge. He chaired the ACBL (American Contract Bridge League) from 1964 to 1975. He is credited with making the slam contract seen below. Before looking at the hands, cover the east-west hands, and count your sure winners in the north and south hands. How would you play this hand to bring home the 6 hearts contract? Now read to see Sheinwold's brilliant play.

		♠	KJ5
		♥	QJ
		♦	AK6532
		♣	94
♠	9842	N W E S		♠	Q103
♥	85			♥	10942
♦	J8			♦	Q1097
♣	Q10862			♣	J7
		♠	A76
		♥	AK763
		♦	4
		♣	AK53

South, Sheinwold, played 6♥. West led the ♥5, and East followed suit with the ♥2, as Sheinwold let dummy's ♥J win. To cater for a 4-2 break in both red suits, Sheinwold led dummy's ♦2 to the second trick.

Now, Sheinwold could subsequently take dummy's ♥Q, ruff a low diamond, pull trumps and get to dummy with the ♠K to run the diamonds. The likely 4-2 diamond split means that playing even one top diamond before ruffing a low one upsets the communication between the two hands: this forces declarer to rely on a spade finesse or a low-percentage throw-in.

"The player who can't defend accurately should try to become the declarer (or dummy)." --Alfred Sheinwold

Instructional Procedure(s):

Day One:

Anticipatory Set

Say to the students: "We know there are four players at every Bridge table. There is an opener and responder, but what about the other two players? Your opponents still have the right to bid. This lesson focus is on competitive bidding."

An overcall is a bid made after one team has already opened the bidding. Anytime you bid after your opponents have already opened the bidding, you are making an overcall. You are making a "call" over the opponents' bid. You have now started a bidding war to win the final contract.
Example of bidding: North: 1 heart; East: 2 diamonds. In this example, East has made an overcall.
The rules for making an overcall are different than an opening bid. You must have:
- five cards or more in the suit you bid; six would be better, especially if you are bidding on the 2 level.
- 8-10 high-card points (HCP) if you are making the overcall at the 1 level. Remember, your partner does not assume you have an opening hand.
- 11+ high-card points if you overcall on the 2 level.
- If you overcall 1NT, you must have a balanced hand, 15-17 points, and a stopper in opponents' suit.
Given the following hands and your right-hand opponent opened 1 diamond, what do you do?
- (♠) J, 9, 8, 7, 6 (♥) A, 4, 3 (♦) Q, 5, 2 (♣) Q, 8 Pass; you only have nine HCP.
- (♠) J, 7, 5 (♥) K, Q, 7, 3, 2 (♦) A, Q, 6 (♣) 4, 3 Bid 1 heart.
- (♠) A, 8, 4 (♥) A, Q, 9 (♦) K, 10, 9 (♣) Q, 7, 5, 3 Overcall 1 no trump; you have 15 points and a stopper in opponent's suit.
Why overcall?
- To tell your partner what to lead. Hopefully you have some honor cards in the suit.
- To tell your partner that you have some points and some honor cards.
- To interfere with your opponents' thoughts about whether they should bid a partial, game, or even slam. They know you have some points!
Nothing is perfect! Before you make a competitive bid, consider the advantages and disadvantages in the scoring.
On a deal, you can be vulnerable or nonvulnerable. Vulnerability refers to the scoring bonus you get when you bid and make game or slam. If you are vulnerable, the bonuses and the penalties are high.
There is another bid to prevent a player from bidding too much without a lot of penalty: the penalty double. If your opponents bid to a contract that you do not think they can make, you can "double." This means that if they don't make the contract, you and your partner will get points for that hand. However, if they make the tricks they need, they get double plus their score.
The penalty double:
- Never double your partner.
- Double only when it is your turn to bid.
- A double does not mean the auction is over. The other players still have a chance to bid.
There is another double that is not for penalty. We call this the "take-out double." It is a bid that is made by you or your partner on the 1 level. The advantage of the double is that it does not take up any room in the bidding. It is a very specific bid. It tells your partner:
- I have at least ten HCP and three or more cards in every suit, except the one that the opponents bid.
- 1 club double says you have at least ten HCP and diamonds, hearts, and spades. It asks your partner to bid his or her longest and best suit.
- 1 diamond double shows you have clubs, hearts, and spades.
- 1 heart double shows you have clubs, diamonds, and spades.
- 1 spade double shows you have clubs, diamonds, and spades.
- This bid forces your partner to bid if your opponent on the left passes.
  - Partner responds with his best suit with 0-9 points.
  - Partner jumps into his best suit with ten or more HCP.
Given the following hand and your right hand opponent has opened 1 diamond, what is your bid?
- (♠) J, 7, 5 (♥) A, J, 7, 4, 2 (♦) A, Q, 3 (♣) 9, 8 You have twelve HCP; bid 1 heart.
- (♠) 10, 7 (♥) K, Q, 10, 4, 3, 2 (♦) A, 6, 5, 4, 3 (♣) 9 You have nine HCP; bid heart (higher ranking suit first).
Give the Bridge players time to play and practice competitive bidding.

Day Two: How to Bid a Slam

Anticipatory Set

Tell the students that today they are going to learn about the Slam Zone. First review: to bid and make the Golden Game in 3 NT, 4 spades, or 4 hearts, you need 25+ points. In the minor suits, you need 29+ points. Ask the students to guess how many points you need to make a small slam. A grand slam? Answer: You know there are 40 high card points in a deck. It takes 33-36 points for the small slam. It takes 37-40 points for the grand slam. Ask, How many tricks do you need to make a small slam contract? 12 How many tricks for a grand slam? 13

Let's assume your partner opens 1NT, you look at your hand and smile to yourself. You were about to open 1NT too! This is a good time to practice your "poker" face. Never let the opponents see what you are thinking. At a Duplicate Bridge game, your opponents can report you as giving your partner too much silent information. That's why we bid!!!
- What are the minimum number of points between the partnership? 30 Thirty is not quite enough for slam.
- With 16-17 points and a balanced hand, respond 4NT. This is a limit bid. It tells your partner your exact point count is 15-17 points.
- With 18-19 points, respond 6NT.
- With 20-21 HCP, respond 5NT. This bid tells your partner, "if you are at the top of your no trump opener, bid 7NT, if not, bid 6NT."
- With 22+, bid 7NT PROUDLY!

The 4NT bid is considered a limit bid. Opener will add the points together of both hands and decide if he should bid or pass.
The 5NT bid asks which slam you want to play.
With an unbalanced hand, you can transfer your partner to your major, then KEEP bidding. Remember, everytime you change suits, your partner must bid. It is considered forcing.
If partner has a fit for your suit, raise to the 5 level with 15-17 points, the 6 level with 18-21 points, and the 7 level with 22+.
Remember, your partner's first bid is limiting. You know exactly how many points your partner has in his or her hand. It is your job to accurately describe your hand.
When partner opens 1 of a suit, and you have a maximum hand, first look for the golden fit in the major. Keep exploring and imagine your partner's hand.
Opener should never pass if a new suit is introduced by the responder. This gives the responder another chance to describe his or her hand.
Tell students that there are conventions that help a partnership reach slam. These conventions are called Gerber, Blackwood, and Roman Keycard Blackwood. If students are interested, they can explore Bridge books, online lessons, and the ACBL website for more information on those conventions.
Give students time to play. The more they play, the more they will want to play. The more they want to play, their powers of concentration, memory, and skills will improve. Have fun!

Day Three: Take-out Double

Anticipatory Set

Teacher: The overcall is used when you want to compete and you have a suit. But what if you don’t have a suit? Another way to compete is the take-out double. This double tells the partner that you want to compete, but asks the partner to choose the strain. The double says you don’t have the suit of your opponent, but you have support for the unbid suits.

Give the students an overview of the take-out double.

There are two kinds of double:

1. Double – This says to your opponent, "I don’t think you can make the contract you just bid because I have sure tricks." If you double and they don't make their contract, they are penalized and you get double the score they bid.

2. Take-out double – At a low level, you are not penalizing your opponents, rather you are asking your partner to bid another suit.

Overview of the Take-out Double:

1. The bidding is at the level below game.

2. Opponents have bid a suit.

3. It is the doubler’s first opportunity to double.

4. The doubler’s partner has not done anything except pass.

5. The doubler has the strength for an opening hand.

6. Take-out double can be too strong for an overcall bid.

7. A take-out double is forcing unless there is an intervening bid.

You can make a take-out double with three types of hands. Show the students these three demonstration hands to teach when it is appropriate to bid the take-out double.
First Hand:

♠) A, 9, 5, 3 ♥) 4 ♦) K, J, 8, 7 ♣) A K 10 9

Your right hand opponent has opened 1 heart. You have a nice hand, 15 HCP, but you don’t have a great suit. Use the take-out double to solve this problem.

To make a take-out double, you need to have:

· An opening bid (12+)

· Adequate trump support for the all the unbid suits

The second type of hand for a take-out double is one of 18+ points. It is too big a hand to make a simple overcall.

♠) A, K, Q, J, 7, 6 ♥) A, K, 7 ♦) Q, 6 ♣) K, 9

You have 19 HCP. This time when you double your opponents, you are not really telling your partner to pick a suit. After your partner names his or her suit, you will name spades. When you double and bid a new suit, you are showing a very strong hand.

The third kind of take-out double is one with a balanced hand that is too strong for a 1NT overcall. That is, you have more than 18 points. If you had a balanced hand with 15-17 points, you would overcall 1NT
- You have a balanced hand.
- You have at least one stopper and a half stoppers in the opponents' suit.
- You have 18+ points.
- Your plan is to double and then bid no trump over your partner’s response.

♠) A, K, 2 ♥) K, Q, J, ♦) Q, 10 ♣) K, 9, 8, 7

With this hand, you double, then bid 1NT. This tells your partner you have a balanced hand with at least 18 points.

How do you respond when your partner makes a take-out double?

When your partner doubles at the 1 level, you are required to bid if there is no intervening bid. Take-out doubles are meant to take out the bid. If there is an intervening bid, you are not required to bid; you may pass.
The advancer bids as follows:
- With 0 - 8 points in his or her hand, the advancer bids a four-card or longer unbid major at the cheapest level. With no major, advancer bids a four-card or longer unbid minor suit.
- With 9 - 11 points, the advancer jumps in a four-card or longer unbid major. With no major, advancer jumps in a four-card or longer unbid minor suit
- With 12 or more, the advancer jumps to game in a four-card or longer unbid major suit. The advancer also can use the cue bid to determine the best strain.
No trump responses after a take-out double:
- With 8 - 10 HCP points, bid 1NT with no major suit to bid and 1 stopper in opponents suit.
- With 11 - 12 HCP points, bid 2NT with no major and at least 1 ½ stoppers in opponent’s suit.
- With 13+ HCP, the advancer jumps to game in a four-card or longer unbid major suit, or cue bid to force to game, or bid 3NT with no major suit and 1½ stoppers.
Very rarely do you pass a take-out double

Rebids by the Take-out Doubler:

When rebidding after making a take-out double, be very careful if partner shows a minimum hand. Pass with a minimum hand, raise one level with a medium hand, and jump raise with a maximum hand.

Playing the hand:

When you are declarer, take a few moments at the beginning of each deal to make a plan. This is the essential time for planning your strategy to win tricks. Ask yourself the following questions:
- How many tricks do I have to make?
- How many winners and losers do I have?
- What are my alternatives?
- Which suits can be developed?
Remember promoting, developing a long suit, finesses, ruffling, and discarding losers. Watch your entries.
Give the students time to practice several hands of Bridge. Tell them to watch for opportunities to bid the take-out double.

School/Home Connection:

Students should be encouraged to play Bridge with their friends.

Cross-Curriculum Extensions:

Students use the Bridge Wordsearch attachment to create a wordsearch or crossword puzzle with Bridge words.

Bibliographical References:

Bridge Tips (tri-fold handout) http://learningtogive.org/lessons/BridgeTips.pdf
Harrington, Pat. Introduction to Bridge. http://www.bonitabridge.com/Pat%20Harrington/Beginner%20Lesson1.pdf

Ellison, Don and Jude Goodwin. Teach Me to Play, a First Bridge Book. Pando Publications, 1988. ISBN-13: 978-0944705018
Grant, Audrey and Starzec, Betty. ACBL Bridge Series: Bidding in the 21st Century. Baron Barclay Bridge, 2007. ISBN-13: 9780939460939
Seagrams, Barbara. Beginning Bridge Master Point Press, 2008. ISBN-13: 978-1897106334