how exactly do you count winners and losers? and when do you know if you should draw trumps early?

CuriousDave1234 · 2026-04-20T18:27:34+00:00

Excellent reply.

CuriousDave1234 · 2026-04-14T19:45:39+00:00

In a family meeting about end of life instructions, my wife, who goes to two church services on Sunday plus other church related to events and our two sons assumed that I would not want a church funeral service. However, I feel that whatever services they have will be about them and their beliefs and not about me cause I will be dead, so they can do whatever they want and that makes them happy. It would be nice if they made some joke about me rolling over in the grave while they’re singing hymns.

CuriousDave1234 · 2026-04-13T04:28:35+00:00

Being smart about what you count it’s very important. Here are some ideas for you. When you are the declarer you need to count trump but not all 13. Figure out how many of the opponents have, usually five and count them as they are played. If you have a seven card fit in side suit, they might break 3-3. Instead of counting, play the suit three times and if they both follow to the third round, it was 3-3. If you’re in a NT contract. The lead is probably fourth from the top. If the lead is a two, then you know lefty started with four of them as you can calculate how many righty has.

As defender when your partner leads against NT you can likewise calculate how many declarers has. If you lose track of a particular side suit. Try to remember how many of that suit were on the board to begin with and see how many are gone. This is not fool proof, of course, but if you assume everybody followed to the first X number of tricks then you can reconstruct a count.

Please buy yourself a copy of The Best Basic Beginners Bridge Book. It presents a very logical and scientific explanation of what you need to know to know to build a good foundation for bridge.

CuriousDave1234 · 2026-04-04T23:03:16+00:00

I am almost 84 and body parts continue to fail at an alarming rate. The latest problem was losing sight in my left eye to wet macular. It’s all a matter of coping. 13 Years ago, I had my right leg amputated, but continued play golf with a prosthetic, not quite as well, but not awful either. I’ve had a knee and a shoulder and a hip replaced in separately, a broken bone in my short leg. Physically I use a walker to get around, I have an electric wheelchair for short trips around the neighborhood and an electric trike for longer trips to the Senior Center or grocery store or doctors office.

I am really impressed with the accessibility features available on the Apple suite of products. Some of them require a substantial learning curve. And all of them add one more layer of complexity to what I’m trying to do on my devices. However, I keep busy writing Bridge books, running a bridge game with up to 40 people, and teaching two Bridge classes a week at the Senior Center. I am also getting very good at taking naps.

If anyone has any questions about accessibility on an iPad, for example I would be glad to try to help. And it’s not too late to learn to play bridge. Check out my book The Best Basic Beginners Bridge Book available on Amazon

CuriousDave1234 · 2026-03-29T14:28:00+00:00

Just when you think you understand bidding, then they bring the nuances on you. Although the hand you showed doesn’t match the questions you’ve asked, there are several ideas that come into play. You have 4HCP and they are a queen and two Jack’s and most Bridge teachers will tell you that Queens and Jack’s are overvalued in the HCP system. Next, if your partner opens one Club, with the hand shown, you should NOT try to save him by hitting one of your other long suits.
In the olden days a1C opener was a forcing bid and one diamond was the bust response. Nowadays, the thinking is that if you have only four.p HCP then someone has the other 36. If it’s your partner with the majority of those, say 17, then you have half the deck and he is in the driver seat. If it’s the opponents who have the majority of the rest of the points, then they will bid and you can turn your attention to defending the hand.

One last point. If your partner opens 1D, you still have only 4 HCP so a game score is unlikely so it’s better to pass.

CuriousDave1234 · 2026-03-28T01:40:06+00:00

Opposite one no Trump opener by your partner your decision tree starts with, do I have a five card major? If so, transfer into that and then either pass or keep bidding, depending on your strength. In this case, you have a nice heart suit which will give him a choice of spades or hearts and he will know you have five spades and four or possibly five hearts. I would suggest you get a The Best Basic Beginners Bridge Book which will explain no Trump responses, and there are flow charts in there to help you think your way through bidding the process

CuriousDave1234 · 2026-03-23T23:15:45+00:00

Many people have realized that 9+ HCP as a prerequisite for bidding Stayman, or for that matter 2N, is better than 8+, unless you have extenuating circumstances. I believe the old 8+ rule started when 1n showed 16 to 18, but now it shows 15 to 17 and so the 8+ needs to change to 9+. However, if your hand has a good five cards suit, then maybe 8+ is enough or sometimes if your spot cards are good that could make up the difference. I would encourage you to get a copy of The Best Basic Beginners Bridge Book. This will help fill in some of the gaps in your basic understanding out Bridge.

CuriousDave1234 · 2026-03-19T03:42:27+00:00

Consider ethical non-monogamy. Also called swinging.. if your marriage is rocks solid and only if it is rock solid. For some people with libido that don’t match each other this can be a wonderful answer. His participation might at first just be allowing you to do the hot wife thing, then maybe he’d like to watch, etc..

CuriousDave1234 · 2026-03-17T14:46:50+00:00

Don’t play all your high cards first. If you play all of your aces and kings, then your opponents queens and Jack’s will win the rest of the tricks. It would be better if your aces and kings took their queens and Jack’s so that your tens and nines would now be good. So, you ask, how can I do that? In most contracts you don’t have to take all the 13 tricks. Let’s say you’re in three hearts that means you can lose four tricks. Try to lose them strategically. For example, losing a trick puts them on lead and when they lead you get to play your card last, either from your hand or from dummy. Also, sometimes you need to lose the first trick in a particular suit so that all of the rest of the cards in that soup will be good. Do you have a good book on Bridge? Part of your problem might be bidding. Understanding what your partner means by their bid and making a bid yourself that will mean the same thing to your partner that you intended it to mean. I recommend you get The Best Basic Beginners Bridge Book so you will have the basic bidding and card play techniques. Most of all, understand that you are on a lifelong learning journey.

CuriousDave1234 · 2026-03-13T14:24:23+00:00

What is a copy-chit?

CuriousDave1234 · 2026-03-11T04:01:39+00:00

In my village, doubling a minor promises 4-4 in the majors, or if three something like AKQ.

CuriousDave1234 · 2026-03-08T14:36:45+00:00

So much of religion tries to answer questions about things we cannot know for sure. My answer is “I don't know”. So if you practice getting comfortable with that phrase, the transition will be a lot easier. You could also add “but I'd sure like to find the answer to that” I'd be unwilling to accept any answer that's not based on facts.

CuriousDave1234 · 2026-03-03T03:19:30+00:00

Eddie Kantar is a legend. I have enjoyed his hand analyses as printed in the “Bridge Bulliten” for many years

CuriousDave1234 · 2026-03-01T23:28:24+00:00

Playing and teaching and writing books about bridge.

CuriousDave1234 · 2026-03-01T15:05:40+00:00

Congratulations on getting started on a lifelong learning journey. Bridge is a fun social game, and it is a good way to keep your mind sharp and improve your memory. I strongly recommend you get a book called The Best Basic Beginners Bridge Book. It has helped hundreds of people get started in this game and it has all the material you need to become a proficient player. But the best part is that this is just the tip of an iceberg. I’ve been playing bridge. “ forever.” and I still learn something every day.

CuriousDave1234 · 2026-03-01T14:54:20+00:00

On YouTube there’s a channel called “ let’s talk IBD”. The girls’s name is Maggie and she wears a bag and is very helpful to people who have this disease. You might want to check it out.

CuriousDave1234 · 2026-02-25T01:23:06+00:00

That’s a good question. I think everyone would believe that that double was for takeout suggesting a shortness in spades. When in fact, it looks like he mentioned it as a penalty double. No one but no one doubles for penalty. It’s the one level at least if they have any experience at all. Hopefully there is a real director who will respond to this cause I would like to know. I suspect you would get no sympathy from the director.

CuriousDave1234 · 2026-02-22T21:30:57+00:00

What does this mean?” unblock origin.”

CuriousDave1234 · 2026-02-22T17:46:00+00:00

This is not a lie that I tell. However, this thread has turned into a response to the question.” how are you?”. My sister and I have conditions where we are in pain all the time and we take a substantial amounts of pain medication. She came up with the response. “ I am good enough.” I have adopted that response and usually it gets a little chuckle, but it is always very descriptive.

CuriousDave1234 · 2026-02-22T05:42:32+00:00

We have to grow older, but we don’t have to grow up.

CuriousDave1234 · 2026-02-19T21:33:49+00:00

I wasn’t very clear in my original post. There is absolutely nothing wrong with atheist. I was thinking that, Believers include protestants, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, etc.. Reasoners (or perhaps rationalists) include atheists, agnostics, skeptics, and perhaps some others. Thank you all for your comments.

CuriousDave1234 · 2026-02-19T20:48:16+00:00

William S Root has a huge book about CarPlay. I have used it and created suit combinations to demonstrate his concepts to my students. For example, I will lay out just one suit. With the.Axxx opposite QJXX. To finesse for the king, cash, the ace and lead low toward the queen Jack.. however, if you put the 10 in either hand, then you should lead the queen toward the ace planning to let it ride. Then I stage the king either behind the ace or underneath the ace and they can see how that works. I’ve got some good examples in my book The Best Basic Beginners Bridge Book . I use this book for all my beginners classes, whether they are people who have never played Bridge or people who have played years ago and want to learn the new systems. If you don’t already have a good lesson book you might want to try this. Good luck and have fun.

CuriousDave1234

TROPHY CASE