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Encyclopedia  of Bridge Terms
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


Duplicate     Bidding     General     Play     Conventions     Jargon     Rubber
 

 

Duplicate

RA - Abbreviation for Regulating Authority
 


General

Rabbi's Rule - The whimsical saying, "Play the Ace when the King is a singleton".   The creator of the Rabbi's Rule is Milton Shattner, appropriately nicknamed the Rabbi.
 

Jargon

Rabbit - An English expression referring to an new player lacking experience.
 

Jargon

Rachel - Queen of Diamonds, referring to the Q, was based on the matriarch described in the Book of Genesis.  See History of Cards and Card Names
 


Jargon

Rags - A colloquial term referring to a hand with few honors or useful intermediate cards, deemed unworthy of taking many tricks.  See Card Names
 

Bidding
Range Stayman - See Conventions

Duplicate

Rainbow Individual Movement - A systematic individual Duplicate Bridge movement where players are segmented by their starting location.  Segmented groups have specific movement directions between rounds according to multi-colored guide cards (i.e., Rainbow colors).
 

Bidding

Raise - To increase partner's bid in the same denomination, typically by one-level unless specifically stated otherwise.  Depending on partnership agreements, a raise may show a minimum or invitational hand.
 

 

 

 

 

 

General

 

 

 

 

 

Duplicate

Rank -

1.

The precedence of suits, factored in bidding and cutting for deal.  The suit priority is (suits are alphabetical from highest to lowest):

First (highest) Notrump N  
Second Spades Major
Third Hearts Major
Fourth Diamonds Minor
Fifth (lowest) Clubs Minor
2.

The priority of cards within a given suit (descending order):

        Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2
 

3.

The rating bestowed by the sponsoring Bridge organization.  In the ACBL, the rankings are:

Junior Master 5 masterpoints
Club Master 20 masterpoints
Sectional Master 50 masterpoints
(5 Silver)
Regional Master 100 masterpoints
(5 Red/Gold & 15 Silver)
NABC Master 200 masterpoints
(5 Gold, 15 Red, & 25 Silver)
Life Master 300 masterpoints
(25 Gold, 25 Red/Gold)
Bronze Life Master 500 masterpoints
Silver Life Master 1,000 masterpoints
Gold Life Master 2,500 masterpoints
Grand Life Master 10,000 masterpoints
(1 victory in North American
open championship)
Cards in general - See Law 1
Cards played - See Law 44
Denominations - See Law 18
Exposed card - See Law 24
Suits - See Law 1  18  44
Duplicate

Ranking - The position achieved by a player, pair, or team achieves in a Bridge tournament.
 

Jargon

Rattle off - To run a series of tricks in a long suit.
 

Jargon

Rattlesnake - The colloquial term for a hand with a tricky 4-4-4-1 distribution.  See Shape
 

Bidding

Rebid - To make a second bid in either the original or secondary suit.
 

Bidding

Rebiddable Suit - A long suit with sufficient honor strength to justify being rebid.  In a non-competitive auction, rebidding a suit typically shows minimum values and is non-forcing.
 

Duplicate

Recap Sheet- A recapitulation summary sheet, showing the individual results of for each board in a tournament. See Example
 


Play

Reciprocal Squeeze - Similar to the double squeeze, the reciprocal squeeze exploits opponents' holdings in two suits.  The unique aspect of the reciprocal squeeze is that the opponents' are each squeezed by winners in each other's guard suit.  See Example
 

Duplicate

Recorder - The official at a tournament responsible to arbitrate issues dealing with non-standard behavior.
 

 

 

Duplicate

Recording ACBL Masterpoints - The ACBL Club or Tournament Director scores and assigns masterpoints earned for eligible members.  The member's name, membership number, and masterpoints are forwarded to the ACBL at Memphis on a monthly basis; the usual practice is to forward the results electronically via a personal computer using ACBLScore software.  In turn, the ACBL accumulates a member's masterpoints earned during the month, adding the points to their overall masterpoints rating.  See ACBL Member's Masterpoint website
 

 

Laws

Rectification - Generally, rectification refers to adjustment made by the Director to permit the auction or play to proceed as normally as possible after an irregularity has occurred.  Redress includes awarding an adjusted score, and requiring or postponing the play of a board.  However, if the Director gave an incorrect ruling, an artificial adjusted score may be awarded to return equity to both non-offending sides. See Law 82.
 

Play

Rectify the Count - To deliberately lose one or more tricks in preparation for a squeeze play.  See Example
 

Jargon

Red Versus Red - Referring to neutral Vulnerability (favorable bonuses but greater penalties for failed contract). See Examples

Jargon

Red Versus White- Referring to unfavorable Vulnerability (higher risk-reward scoring).  See Examples
 

 


Duplicate

Red Points - Pertaining to ACBL masterpoints awarded in certain tournaments, typically earned at Regional and National events.  In addition to Black, Silver, and Gold points, the ACBL requires an achievement of 25 Red Points to become a Life Master.  Regional tournaments and regional events at NABCs award red points except for overall and section tops (see Gold Points below). Grand National Teams (GNT) events, North American Open Pairs (NAOP) events and other special games afford players the opportunity to earn red points at their local clubs.
 

 

 

 


Laws

Redeal - Should the Rubber Bridge dealer accidentally face a card when dealing or the cards are not dealt in the correct manner, the cards should be reshuffled, cut, and redealt; an opponent may also ask for a redeal.  In a Duplicate event, redealing is typically only allowed prior to the first time the cards are played.  In the event all four Duplicate players Pass, the board shall not be reshuffled.  The Director shall not exercise his Law 6 authority to order one board redealt when the final result of a match without that board could be known to a contestant. Instead, he awards an adjusted score.

Auction closed without a bid - See Law 22
Correction of misdeal - See Law 13
Discretion of director to require - See Law 6  86
Misdeal - See Law 13
Team event - See Law 86

 

 

 

 

 

Bidding

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Laws

Redouble - Following a Double, either opponent may Redouble.  A common usage of the Redouble is "SOS", asking partner to help! Another common use is:  1x - (X) - XX  to show 10+ points, possibly implying no fit or interest in penalizing the opposition.  Assuming the Redouble is Passed by all three players, Law 77 dictates scoring bonuses or penalties:

Contract Made Trick score is quadrupled
  Overtricks are 200 points each
if Non-Vulnerable,
400 points  if Vulnerable
  100 points for fulfilling contract (insult)
Contract Not Made For first undertrick,
200 point penalty if Non-Vulnerable
  For first undertrick,
400 point Penalty each, if Vulnerable
  For second and third undertrick,
600 point penalty each, if Non-Vulnerable
  For second and third undertrick,
1,000 point Penalty each, if Vulnerable
  For fourth and above undertrick,
800 point penalty each, if Non-Vulnerable
  For fourth and above undertrick,
1,000 point penalty each, if Vulnerable
Error in stating bid redoubled - See Law 19
Form - 19
Inadmissible - See Law 19  32  35  36  39
Increase in scoring values - See Law 77
Legal - See Law 19
Out of rotation - See Law 32
Proper form - See Law 19
When pass was required - See Law 37

 

 

 

 

Laws

Redouble Out Of Rotation - A legal call is made after one's right hand opponent bids; out of rotation calls, including redoubles, are improper (see Law 32):

Offender's opponent next in rotation accepts the out of rotation Redouble Penalty waived and Redouble accepted  (unless inadmissible); lead penalties may still apply
When offender's right hand opponent was next in rotation If RHO Passes, offender must repeat the Redouble if legal (LHO bids followed two Passes); only lead penalties may apply
Offender's right hand opponent bids Offender's partner must Pass and continue to Pass throughout the  current auction

 

 

 

Duplicate

Red Ribbon Pairs - A special ACBL tournament held at the Fall North American Bridge Championship; invitees include:

1.

Those who place first or second in a regionally-rated event of at least Flight B status

2.

Neither of the qualifying pair shall hold more than 1,500 masterpoints at time of qualification

3.

Players with fewer than 2,000 masterpoints

 

 


Duplicate

Reduced Howell - When the boards to player ratio is low, the players may find the number of rounds in a session is too large; while each pair has an opportunity to compete against one another, the additional rounds often results in a longer session.  The Reduced Howell increases the number of stationary pairs -- this decreases the moving pairs, board set, and most importantly, the number of rounds.
 

Play

Reentry - A winning card in the opposite hand to provide transportation necessary to execute a trick-taking action.
 

Play

Refuse - To decline winning a trick offered by the opponent, rejecting the opportunity to overtake or ruff the trick.
 

 

Duplicate

Regional - Each of the 25 ACBL Districts offer Regional tournaments, lasting four to seven days.  Tournament formats include Pairs, Swiss, Knockouts, Intermediate-Novice, and other games.  Winners are awarded Red pigmented masterpoints.
 


Duplicate

Regional Master - A player who has 100 to 200 recorded masterpoints, at least 5 of which are red or gold and at least 15 of which are silver, is known as a Regional Master.
 


General

Reith - In the 1930's, George Reith originated the 6-4-3-2-1 point count system for A-K-Q-J-10.  He also created and documented a 1/1 bidding based on bidding a 4 card suit.  See Distribution Points
 

 

 

 

Bidding

 


Play

Reject -

1.

To decline accepting a slam or game try

2.

To decline acceptance of partner's suggested call. Example:

1N - (P) - 2D - (2S);
P
  

Normally, 1 Notrump opener would be expected to accept responder's 2D Jacoby Transfer to Hearts ; however, without 3 card support, the 1 Notrump opener rejects the transfer by passing in a freebid position

3.

To decline taking a trick or other offered play by the opponents

 

 

Bidding

 


Duplicate

Relay -

1.

An waiting bid not related to player's holding.  After the relay, partner further describes their hand.

2.

The byestand (relay table) used in a Duplicate event to hold transitory boards not in play at a given round.  Byestands are required in certain movements with an even number of pairs to ensure players do not play the same board twice.

 

 

Bidding

Relay Systems - A bidding methodology relying on a series of informational minimal bids that do not necessarily relate to the player's holding.  Relay bids typically provide generalized information about one's strength and distribution.  The Relay System was initially created by Pierre Ghestem in 1950.  Bertrand Romanet followed up with the Alpha, and Pierre Collet Relay System in the 1960's.
 

Bidding

Relays Over Weak 2 Bid - See Conventions.
 

 

Duplicate

Relay Mitchell - A Duplicate player movement to facilitate an even number of players and the Director chooses to play the same number of round as the number of tables.  A spare set of boards are shared by two adjacent tables, left on a byestand.   Using this technique, all players have the opportunity to compete against all opponents.
 


General
 

Remainders - The residual cards of a 4+ card suit that are outstanding in the remaining hands.  2 or 3 card remainders are called "balanced", while 1 or 4 card suit holdings are call Unbalanced.
 

Jargon

Rembrandt - The colloquial term referring to picture or court cards - the Kings, Queens, and Jacks.  See Card Names
 

Bidding

Remove  - To "pull" partner's double intended for penalties, attempting to produce a better result.
 

Laws

Renege - See Revoke

Bidding

Reopening - To make a call after two passes in order to keep the auction alive.  See Balancing Bids.
 

 

 


Bidding

Reopen the Bidding - Typically referring to a low-level auction at the 2 or 3 level, the player in the passout seat makes a call.  The reopening, or balancing bid may be made with the intention to:

1.

Make the contact

2.

Take a modest penalty, sacrificing less than the opponents would score based on length in their trump suit

3.

Push the opponents to an uncomfortably high level, where they may not make their contract

 

Play

Repeated Finesse - When holding tenaces or double split honor sequences, a player can often increase the likelihood of winning a finesse through successive attempts.  See Example
 

 

Play

Repeated Squeeze - A simple squeeze play invoked on one player in three suits.  Leader plays a winning trick in the fourth suit, squeezing one opponent of three winning cards -- the leader carefully watches the discards fall and continues leading in that suit knowing those holdings have now been promoted. See Example.
 

Play

Repeating Triple Squeeze - A Triple Squeeze followed by a Simple Squeeze, both being invoked on one player during the play of a hand.
 

Duplicate

Repechage - Referring to a second chance in an alternative event after losing the first round in a Knockout Duplicate event.  This format is commonly used in Compact Knockout games.
 

Bidding

Re Raise - An invitational raise over partner's raise of same suit raise, typically at the 3 level.
 

 

 

Bidding

Rescue - To "pull" or remove partner's penalty double of opponents' bid, anticipating a more desirable based on one's holdings including:

1.

The quality of the rescuer's suit and perhaps secondary suit

2.

The anticipated fit and playing strength compared to that of the opponents

3.

The level of the rescue bid, considering one's holdings

4.

Hand characteristics not disclosed to partner during bidding

 

Bidding

Rescue Bid - A bid predicated on one's suit length and a misfit with partner's suit, especially after partner's bid has been doubled for penalty.
 

Bidding

Rescue Redouble - A "SOS" Redouble asking for partner's help by bidding another suit which will result in a more desirable result.
 

 

 

Laws

Reserve Ones Rights - Should an opponent consume excessive time to make a call, that player may have provided Unauthorized Information to the offender's partner.  Many organizations dictate that the offender's opponents must immediately announce the right to summon the Duplicate Director later if, after noting the final result, believe they were damaged by the offender's "pause for thought".  Some sponsoring organizations require that the Director be summoned immediately.  In either case, the Director must be immediately called when the players do not agree that a hesitation occurred.  See Law 16
 

Jargon
 

Resock - To redouble the contract.

General

Responder - The opener's partner.  Technically, the four positions at the table are: opener - overcaller - responder - advancer.  See Example
 

Bidding

Responder's Rebid - The second bid by the responder.
 

Bidding

Responsive Double - See Conventions.

Also see Books on Doubles
 


Play

Restricted Choice - An evaluation tactic relying on the mathematical probabilities to determine an opponent's holding in a given suit.  Essentially, the Restricted Choice principle states that when a specific opponent's play indicates a choice of equal plays, the other opponent is likely to have a fewer cards in the given suit.  See Example
 

 


Jargon

Resultor, Result Player - Also known as a Second Guesser, a player or kibitzer who suggests a bid or line of play after the hand has been played, indicating they knew the failings of the player or players under scrutiny.  The inference is that a Resultor is not able to indicate a correct line before the hand is bid or played.  As Bridge professional and writer Marty Bergen aptly wrote, "Only Mom loves a Resultor"
 

General

Retain the Lead - To win the opening trick and continue leading on a successive trick or tricks.
 

Laws

Retention Of Right To Call - See Law 34
 

 

 

 

Laws

Retraction of Call -

After opponent's infraction - See Law 16
After disclosure of opponent's misinformation - See Law 16  21
Bid out of rotation as - See Law 31
Correction of inadvertent or illegal call - See Law 25
Immediate - See Law 25
Information resulting from - See Law 16
Lead penalty for - See Law 26
Pass out of rotation as - See Law 30
Penalty in auction - See Law 25  27  30  31
Remedy for opponent's infraction - See Law 16
 

 

 

 

 

Laws

Retraction Of Card Played -
 
Adjusted score - See Law 47
After correction of error in explanation of conventional call - See Law 47
After correction of revoke - See Law 62
After declarer's lead out of turn - See Law 55
After declarer's withdrawal of visible card - See Law 58
After disclosure of prior misinformation - See Law 47
After failure to play major penalty card - See Law 52
After opening lead out of turn - See Law 54
After opponent's change of play - See Law 47
After opponent's infraction - See Law 16
By defender - See Law 56
Change of inadvertent designation of card - See Law 45  47
Compliance with penalty - See Law 47
Correction of illegal play - See Law 47
Correction of simultaneous play - See Law 47
Immediate correction of inadvertent designation of card - See Law 45
Information resulting from - See Law 16
Lead out of turn induced by opponent - See Law 47
Penalty card - See Law 47  56
Penalty card not played as required - See Law 52
Remedy for infraction - See Law 16
To correct defective trick containing too many cards - See Law 67
Bidding
Retransfer - See Conventions
General

Return - In response to partner's lead, bid, or signal, to return the indicated suit when on lead.
 

General

Revaluate - To reconsider the bidding and playing attributes of a hand based on information received in the bidding process.
 

Bidding

Reverse  - While partnership agreements vary, a widely accepted meaning of the reverse bid refers to a player's rebid of a higher ranking suit than their bid at the prior bidding level.  See Details
 

Play

Reverse Count - Also known as Upside Down Count, Reverse Count refers to discarding a low-high to show an even number of cards in a suit or a high-low to indicate an odd count.
 

Bidding

Reverse Drury - See Conventions.
 

 


Play

Reverse Dummy - The typical declarer play involves ruffing declarers losers using the dummy's short suit.  However, when the dummy has features such as a long side suit worthy of promotion, the declarer may find a better strategy is to rethink the play of the hand from the dummy's perspective.  Another dummy reversal opportunity occurs when holding a large number of winning trumps; the declarer may find it advantageous to ruff the partnerships longer trump holding until the opposite hand is holding more trumps. See Example
 

Bidding

Reverse Swiss - See Conventions
 

 

 

Laws

Review the Auction - At a player's turn during the auction, the player  may require a review of all bids including alerts.  After the final pass, an opponent may require a bidding review before that opponent plays to the first trick.  See Law 20  41

During auction period - 20
During play period - 20 - 41
Partial - 20
 

 

Laws

 

Revoke (Renege) - A failure to follow to the suit lead when able to do so constitutes a revoke.  The declarer may ask a defender who has failed to follow suit whether he has a card of the suit led (but a claim of revoke does not automatically warrant inspection of quitted tricks - see Law 66C).  Dummy may ask declarer (but see Law 43B2(b)). The ACBL Board of Directors under the authority granted in the revised Law61B, has ruled that in ACBL sanctioned events, a defender may inquire of his partner whether he has a card of the suit led.  See Details
 

Bidding

Revolving Discards - See Conventions.
 

Jargon

Rewind - To redouble the opponent's contract for penalty.
 

 

General

Rex Bridge - A Swedish adoption of Contract Bridge where any player may make a "Rex" call at any time.  The Rex ranks between the Heart and the Spades.  After Rex is called, the contract becomes Notrump with another unusual twist: the Ace of each suit ranks below the Deuce (making the King the highest card).
 

General

RGB - Abbreviation for news:rec.games.bridge [newsgroup]
 

 

 

General

Rhythm - The tempo of a players bids and card play.  Ideally, players make all bids and plays in uniform rhythm.  Players should be particularly careful in positions in which variations may work to the benefit of their side. Otherwise, inadvertently to vary the tempo or manner in which a call or play is made does not in itself constitute a violation of propriety, but inferences from such variation may appropriately be drawn only by an opponent, and at his own risk. A player may not attempt to mislead an opponent by means of remark or gesture, through the haste or hesitancy of a call or play (as in hesitating before playing a singleton), or by the manner in which the call or play is made. See Law 73.
 

 


Play

Jargon

 

Ride -

1.

To play an intermediate holding, such as a finesse

2.

To allow opponent to take a trick when holding a higher card, such as a top of sequence with hopes to disturb transportation

3.

To incur a significant penalty, referring to an unsuspecting victim being "taken for a ride" by the perpetrator.

 


Laws

Riffle - To divide the pack of cards in two equal stacks and make an interleaved shuffle.  A thorough shuffle is typically about 5 riffles, according to Rubber Bridge Law 4.  Also see Computer Deals
 

General

Right Hand Opponent - Referring the opponent seated to the right of one's position, commonly abbreviated RHO.
 

General

Right Side - Referring to opponents' tenaces or other intermediate holdings being onside, providing the ability to win a finesse or similar tactic.  See Example
 

 

Laws

Rights -
Appeal - See Law 83  92  93
Failure to summon director after irregularity - See Law 9  10  11
Retention after irregularity - See Law 9  34
 

 

Laws

Forfeiture of rights -
Acceptance of insufficient bid - See Law 27
Acceptance of lead out of turn - See Law 53
After call out of rotation - See Law 29
After irregularity - See Law 9  10  11
By dummy's infraction - See Law 43
Play before assessment of penalty for infraction - See Law 60
Retention of right to call - See Law 34
Jargon

Righty - The colloquial term addressing one's Right Hand Opponent (RHO).
 

Bidding

RIPO - See Conventions.
 

Bidding

Ripstra - See Conventions.
 

Play

Rise - To play a high card from one's holdings.
 

Bidding

RKCB - See Roman Key Card Blackwood Convention.
 

General

RLB - Abbreviation for Real Life Bridge [to distinguish from Online bridge]
 

Play

Robert Coup - The tactic of ruffing a trick which might seem unnecessary in order to play a non-trump suit which places opponents in an unfavorable position.  See Example
 

General

Robertson Point Count - An alternative hand evaluation method based on 64 points in the deck.  See Distribution Points
 

Bidding

Robinson - See Conventions.
 

Jargon

Rock Crusher - A hand with an abundance of points.
 

Bidding

Rodwell Game Try - See Conventions.
 

Bidding

Rolling Blackwood - See Conventions.
 

Bidding

Rolling Gerber - See Conventions.
 

Bidding

Roman Asking Bids - See Conventions.
 

Bidding

Roman Blackwood - See Conventions.
 

Play

Roman Discards or Signals - See Odd-Even Discards.
 

Bidding

Roman Gerber - See Conventions.
 

Bidding

Roman Jump Overcall - See Conventions.
 

Bidding

Roman Key Card Blackwood - See Conventions.
 

Bidding

Roman MUD - See Conventions.
 

Bidding

Roman System - See Conventions.
 

Bidding

Roman 2 Diamonds - See Conventions.
 

Bidding

Romex System - See Conventions.
 

Bidding

RONF - The acronym Raise Only Non Forcing, referring to responses of partner's preemptive weak 2 opening bid.  Many play a new suit bid by responder is forcing one round (i.e., RONF - Raise Only Non Forcing) while others play responder's new suit in merely invitational. If an opponent interferes after opener's preemptive bid, responder's new suit bid is not forcing.  Also see Convention Card Instructions, Feature, Ogust and books on Preempts
 

Bidding
ROPI - See Conventions.
Duplicate

Rookie - An ACBL player holding fewer than 5 masterpoints is known as a Rookie.
 

Bidding

Rosenkranz Double -  See Conventions.
 

 

 

 

 

Laws

Rotation - The clockwise order in which the deal and the player's Call progresses.  Clockwise rotation is also used during the play of the hand.  A deviation from clockwise rotation is considered an irregularity.

Auction - See Law 17
Bid out of - See Law 27  31
Call considered in - See Law 28
Call out of - See Law 29  34
Dealer - See Law 2
Double out of - See Law 32
Pass out of - See Law 30
Play - See Law 44
Redouble out of - See Law 32
Simultaneous calls - See Law 33
Vulnerability - See Law 2
General

RotG - Abbreviation for Rub of the Green (a golf term meaning one takes their chances against outside agencies - leading to good or bad luck)
 

Bidding

Roth Asking Bid - See Conventions.
 

Bidding

Roth Stone Astro - See Conventions.
 


Bidding

Roth Stone System - A 5-card major system, based on the Forcing Notrump, strong 2C openers, Unusual Notrump, and Roth's Negative Double.  Additionally, Roth Stone's system was based on "slow shows, fast denies" methods including the forcing raise, Weak 2 Preempts and  Weak Jump Overcalls.
 

General

RoW - Rest of World [apart from North America]

 


General
 

Jargon

 

Duplicate

 

 

Jargon

Round -

1.

During the auction, each player makes a call

2.

During the play, each player contributes a card to a trick

3.

Referring to a flat 4-3-3-3 hand.  See Shape

4.

In a Duplicate tournament, the portion of a session between movements where players remain at one table and play multiple boards against the same opponents.  A board is typically played in 7 1/2 minutes; thus, a round of 2 boards should require 15 minutes to play (Directors often use 7 minute boards when more than 2 boards are played per round).  An open game session should be completed in 3 1/2 hours.  Some tournaments and Clubs use a Round Timer Clock

5.

Clubs and Hearts (the rounded suits)

Round, end of - See Law 8

Jargon

Rounded Suits - Referring to Hearts and Clubs, as opposed to the pointed Spade and Diamond suits. See Example
 

Rubber

Rounding Off - In Rubber Bridge, rounding off the score to the nearest 100 points.
 

 

Duplicate

Round Robin - To compete against all contestants in a rotational manner.  One common use of the Round Robin movement is in a Duplicate Team event as a Knockout where 3 teams alternately compete against each other, eliminating the lowest scoring team.  The English term for the Round Robin is a League.
 

 

Duplicate

Rover - Referring to the extra pair of players in a specialized Mitchell Movement used by a Duplicate Director as an alterative to using a Phantom pair and a Bump Mitchell.  As the name suggests, the Rovers move from table to table, usually as a North-South pair that temporarily replaces the stationary North-South for one round.
 

 


Rubber

Rubber - A bonus score associated with Rubber Bridge:

700 point bonus

Winning the first two consecutive games

500 points bonus

Winning two out of three games,
where opponents have also won one game

 

 

Rubber

Rubber Bridge -  Referring to Bridge using the Rubber scoring format, where each hand is uniquely shuffled, dealt, and played.  This exciting format allows a greater degree of risk and luck to enter the game, as compared to the Duplicate method of play.  Rubber Bridge scoring uses a game bonus format.  See Rubber Bridge Law 78.

Also see Also see Contract Bridge books
 

Bidding

 

Rubens Advances - See Conventions
 

Bidding

Rubinsohl - See Conventions.

 


Jargon

Rueful Rabbit - A whimsical character created by Victor Mollo.  The Rueful Rabbit is noted for being a worrier and having a failure to understand the complexity of the situation, yet enjoying extremely good luck.  See Bridge Books by Victor Mollo
 

Play

Ruff - To play a trump card in response to a lead of another suit.  See Details
 

Play

Ruff and Sluff - A declarer tactic when a defender leads a suit not held by either the declarer or dummy; one hand is used to ruff the led suit and the other may freely discard (sluff) a potential loser.  See Cross Ruff
 

Play

Ruff and Ruff - The unusual situation where the declarer ruffs in both the dummy and the declarer hand to gain an tactic advantage.
 

 


Play

Ruffing Finesse - A combination of a finesse and a ruff.  Typically the lead of a singleton to partner's A Q J [...x], first finessing opponent's King followed by a discard on partner's Ace.  If the opponent's King is offside (behind the Ace-Queen), the other alternative is to first cash the Ace, next playing the Queen and discarding on the trick unless opponent covers;  if the Queen is covered by opponent's King, player ruffs the trick and returns to partner's hand in another suit, allowing further discard opportunity.  See Example
 

Play

Ruffing Out a Side Suit - Often when the declarer has a long trump suit and a long side suit, extra tricks may be obtained promoting the side suit.  See Details
 

Play

Ruffing Value - Referring to a short side suit which, supported by trump, provide an opportunity to ruff partner's losers in the suit. See Distribution Points
 

Play

Rule of 1 - When opponents have only 1 remaining high trump, it's often best to ignore it and take tricks in other suits -- assuming there isn't a transportation problem accessing a long suit.  See Details
 

Play

Rule of 2 - With a double tenace, such as A Q 10 or K J 10, it is normally best to first finesse toward the lower honor.  See Details, Finesse and Suit Combinations
 

Bidding

Rule of 2-3-4 - Based on Ely Culbertson's preemptive bidding methods, hand evaluation based on the number of anticipated losers in relation to the aggregate vulnerability.  See Details
 

Bidding

Rule of 3 - In a competitive auction, often it is best to stop bidding at the 2 level unless your side has 9+ trumps or a double fit (see Law of Total Tricks).
 

Bidding

Rule of 4 - Given a choice between a 5-3 and 4-4 trump with partner, favor the 4-4 fit, planning to develop extra tricks in the 5 card fit.
 


Bidding

Rule of 5 - In a competitive auction reaching the 5 level where slam is not likely, it's often best to defend unless you have either an extra long fit or a double fit.  Of course, consider opponents' strategic bidding based on their favorable vulnerability with matchpoint scoring.  Grant Baze is attributed with this pearl of wisdom, "The 5 level belongs to the opponents" (popularized by Larry Cohen)
 

Play

Rule of 7 - When playing a Notrump contract with losers in opponents' suit and insufficient quick tricks to guarantee the contract, considering the Rule of 7 is useful to disrupt communications between opponents. See Details
 


Bidding

 

Rule of 7 versus Preempt - When an opponent opens preemptively, the Rule (guideline) of 7 suggests making a call when your holdings combined with 7 ordinary points and distribution from partner will generate enough tricks to compete.  See Details
 


Play

Rule of 8 - Holding an 8 card suit including the A K J, it's usually best to cash the Ace before finessing the Jack.  However, holding the K Q 10, it's usually better to finesse the Jack and then finesse the 10.  See Finesse and Suit Combinations
 


Play

Rule of 9 - Holding a 9 card combined suit with including A K, it's slightly better to play for opponents' Queen to drop than  attempting a finesse.  However, if an opponent drops a top honor, normally play for the finesse instead of the Queen drop - 8 ever, 9 never (play for drop)
 

Bidding

Rule of 10 - When contemplating a penalty double beneath opponents' game based on certain criteria.  See Details
 

Play

Rule of 11 - Assuming fourth-best leads, subtracting the value of the opening lead from 11 determines the number of outstanding cards above the rank of the suit led.  See Details
 

Bidding

Rule of 12 - Similar to the Rule of 10, the Rule of 12 provides a secondary criteria to consider a penalty double when holding a sufficient number of low-level holdings in opponents' trump suit.  See Details
 


Bidding

Rule of 15 - Also known as "Pearson Points" or "Cassino Points", this refers to a secondary hand evaluation methodology when a hand does not have sufficient strength to open bidding using a traditional point count.  See Details
 

Bidding

Rule of 20 - Refers to a secondary hand evaluation methodology when a hand does not have sufficient strength to open bidding using a traditional point count.  See Details
 

General

RoC - Abbreviation for Rule of Confidence
 


Play

Rule Of "N Minus 1" - In evaluating the opportunity to play a squeeze, count the number of busy cards in side suits held by one opponent (N); thus, N minus 1 winners are required as a prerequisite to consider a squeeze.
 

 


General

Rule of Anticipation - Taking a pragmatic assessment for offsetting values of other players’ strength and length to compensate for one’s own holding.  So if a player has a long suit or a strong hand, the player should initially expect that partner generally will not have length or strength.  Conversely, when a player has a very poor hand, optimistically the partner may have a good hand or length in a short suit (possibly being bid by an opponent on a good day).  See Details
 

 


Laws

Ruling - A determination in accordance to the applicable Duplicate Bridge Laws by the Director.  When playing Rubber Bridge, the determination is jointly agreed by all players.

Agreed facts - See Law 84
Disputed facts - See Law 85
Error in - See Law 82
 

Play

Run -

1.

Based on a surprising bid or play, to rapidly make a change in plans

2.

To play a series of winning tricks in a suit

 

General

Run out of Trumps - To use up or exhaust all of the trumps, either by the declarer or in the opponents' hands.
 

Bidding

Runout - See Escape
 

Play

Rusinow Leads - See Conventions

 

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