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Social Lesson 20, Counting Opps length & strength

March 26, 2020 By Leave a Comment

Welcome Bridge Friends!

At long last we had our first online, real time, live-streaming webinar! What makes this format come to life is the opportunity for us to interactively “chat” as the lesson progresses as your typed questions are asked.  And to be sure, we also ask students for their views on what to do next…

On our March 24, 2020 first call we had several hundred live folks attend on YouTube and Facebook.  Thank you all for your support and attending our kickoff episode!

So counting our HCP/points and long suits is easy enough.  That said, in this lesson we are on the hunt to begin evaluating their points and length.  So let’s start paying attention to the bidding, final contract, opening lead and play of the hand.  

Part 1 – Introduction, two-way communication using chat and etiquette (38 minutes)
Part 2 – Talking about the strategy and tactics to use a personalized approach (27 minutes)
Part 3 – Going to the Virtual Bridge Table and practice our counting skills during bidding and play (42 minutes)

BridgeHands Members, here are our links to peruse through our hundreds of videos:  
Hands Of The Week, 
Social, 
Advanced and 
Polling You.

Here at BridgeHands all of our Bridge hands are full of commentary (regardless of who is the declarer and defender) and analysis on hand evaluation, bidding and animated card play.   As always, our hand discussion offers a refreshingly rare glimpse of Bridge inside the minds of all four players at the table as play progresses, bid by bid, card by card. 

Normally Visitors are welcome to view the Part 1 series of our video lesson with nuances that will lead to quick and sound bidding without guesswork.  Those with the BridgeHands Free membership may also watch Part 2 where we play more hands with provocative play tips and strategies, as well as way to improve skills by critiquing student players. As a Premium and ULTRA member, you are welcome to enjoy the entire five-part lesson segments with lots of hands, plus an opportunity to view future shows during your membership subscription period.   And as always, be sure to check out the hundreds of hours of videos in our archive that is growing by leaps and bounds, by clicking “Index to Videos” on the navigation above or simply click this link.

Bridge Teachers – you may download your personal copy of our copyrighted video lesson here:

Social Lesson 20 – Part 1

Social Lesson 20 – Part 2

Social Lesson 20 – Part 3


Happy Trails,

BridgeHands

Filed Under: .Social, Social Bidding, Social Play

Advanced Lesson 15_, Slams, Penalty Doubles and Excitement

April 11, 2017 By Leave a Comment

Here we go again with eight more exciting hands taken “from the table” with red-blooded Bridge players!

We start off pondering the bids to scope out slam (or grand slam) contracts.  But what if you’re running a tad short to make a 6 Notrump contract – now what do we do.  Are you into counting the shape of the opponents suit when you are winning sure tricks?  Well, if you want to make the contract, now is a good time to see how it’s done by making and endplay instead of trying a fateful, feeble finesse attempt.   And while making a slam contact in a suit contract seems simple enough, are you up to cuebidding controls to find the almighty grandslam contract?  So far so good – now ponder how as responder with a 6-6-1-0 shape, should we shoot for slam after partner opens 1 Notrump.

Then we shift to playing doubled game suit contracts – do we enjoy extra points for the insult or go down the tubes?  Of course whether you are declarer or defender, as always the play is the thing!

All audiences – Part 1 – count, Count, COUNT to make slam – 16 minutes
Free, Premium an ULTRA audiences – Part 2, Dare try another slam and grandslam?
Premium and ULTRA Members – Part 3, Bid and make 5 game contracts – 46 minutes

Here at BridgeHands all of our Bridge hands are full of commentary (regardless of who is the declarer and defender) and analysis on hand evaluation, bidding and animated card play.   As always, our hand discussion offers a refreshingly rare glimpse of Bridge inside the minds of all four players at the table as play progresses, bid by bid, card by card.  Visitors are welcome to view the Part 1 series of our video lesson with nuances that will lead to quick and sound bidding without guesswork.  Those with the Free BridgeHands  membership may also watch Part 2 where we play more hands with provocative play tips and strategies, as well as way to improve skills by critiquing student players. As a Premium and ULTRA member, you are welcome to enjoy the entire five-part lesson segments with lots of hands, plus an opportunity to view future shows during your membership subscription period.   And as always, be sure to check out the hundreds of hours of videos in our archive that is growing by leaps and bounds, by clicking “Index to Videos” on the navigation above or simply click this link.

Bridge Teachers – you may download your personal copy of our copyrighted video lesson here:

Advanced Lesson 15 – Part 1

Advanced Lesson 15 – Part 2

Advanced Lesson 15 – Part 3

Filed Under: Advanced, Advanced Bidding, Advanced Play, Polling You

Social Lesson 19, Part 5, Takeout Doubles and Overcall Competitive Bridge Bidding

July 12, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Welcome Bridge Friends!

In this whopping 2.5 hour show, we will look at new approaches to mastering the fundamentals of Bridge Overcalls and Takeout Double Bridge bidding including bids with a very good hand (18+ High Card Points) regardless of suit distribution.  After all, Bridge is a competitive game so when our Left Hand Opponent makes an opening bid with 12+ points, now may be our only chance to shoot in a call to either fight for a part score contract or perhaps find a game bid with your beloved partner!

So how many points do you need to make an overcall, anyway?
Does it matter if your opponent opened at the 1 level, or perhaps preemptively at the 2 or 3 level?
Does it matter if your honors are concentrated or distributed among the suits?

And what about Takeout Doubles – how many points do you need now?
Over to partner after our Takeout call, when do they make the cheapest bid, jump bid or go for game?
And finally, how many points do you need to first Double and then bid a new suit?  But why do that?

Upon completion of this lesson you will be ready to win more successful auctions, or perhaps push your opponents to bid into uncomfortable level and perhaps miss their contract – touche!

General Audience – Basics of Overcalls & competive bidding 19:30 minutes of video
Free, Premium, ULTRA, Part 2 Stepping it up with overcalls – 30:03 minutes of video
Premium & ULTRA Members click here to view Part 3 – Perfecting Overcalls – 26:26
Premium and Ultra Part 3b – Wrapping up Overcall bidding – 27:05 minutes of video
Premium and Ultra Part 4 – Our friend the Takeout Double – 48:23 minutes of video

Here at BridgeHands all of our Bridge hands are full of commentary (regardless of who is the declarer and defender) and analysis on hand evaluation, bidding and animated card play.   As always, our hand discussion offers a refreshingly rare glimpse of Bridge inside the minds of all four players at the table as play progresses, bid by bid, card by card.  Visitors are welcome to view the Part 1 series of our video lesson with nuances that will lead to quick and sound bidding without guesswork.  Those with the Free BridgeHands  membership may also watch Part 2 where we play more hands with provocative play tips and strategies, as well as way to improve skills by critiquing student players. As a Premium and ULTRA member, you are welcome to enjoy the entire five-part lesson segments with lots of hands, plus an opportunity to view future shows during your membership subscription period.   And as always, be sure to check out the hundreds of hours of videos in our archive that is growing by leaps and bounds, by clicking “Index to Videos” on the navigation above or simply click this link.

Bridge Teachers – you may download your personal copy of our copyrighted video lesson here:

Social Lesson 19 – Day 5, Part 1

Social Lesson 19 – Day 5, Part 2

Social Lesson 19 – Day 5, Part 3

Social Lesson 19 – Day 5, Part 3b

Social Lesson 19 – Day 5, Part 4

Happy Trails,

BridgeHands

Filed Under: .Social, Social Bidding Tagged With: , ,

Social Lesson 19, Part 6, Street Smart Bridge, CIA, Awareness, Environment, Deadly Sins, Laws, Partnership

April 7, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Congratulation, advancing Street Smart Bridge thrill seekers –  in our 6th installment here we wrap-up by considering the ins and outs of C.I.A. – Counting, Inferences, Algorithms, being aware (of ourselves and others), the ecosystem and its environmental factors, the Seven Deadly Sins as enumerated by the Dallas Aces international Bridge team winning the Bermuda Bowl, the Bridge Proprieties (including etiquette and ethics), as well as how to be and evaluate sound partnerships.

Counting goes far beyond the High Card Points held in our 13 cards.  What did the opponents bid, what inferences can we make about their calls/plays/tempo/mannerisms/gestures?  What does the lead tell us? And how about the 2nd and 3rd hand play?  And how is the trick-by-trick Bridge story unfolding, including the attendant attitude, count and suit direction plays by the defenders?

But wait, there’s far, far more to Bridge than this!  After all, we all have egos, different communication styles, give occasional “tells” and more.  Yes, sometimes we all are at at a loss to concentrate, fall victim of fatigue and/or become fixated elsewhere (redirection, as a magician would proclaim).  Hopefully you “live in the now” and appreciate the joy of experiencing the current moment and avoid the temptation to be seduced by the past or future.  Better yet, strive to achieve your partnership’s best result, not some lofty (and repeatedly unattainable) best result possible.

And since fabric of Bridge partnerships are interwoven with our emotional side, it pays to consider attitude swings, positive and negative swings, the psyche of assertive and passive players, empathy/intimidation/conciliatory relationships, confidence/confusion/fear, the “X Factor,” partners biased in either substance or form.

Speaking about Bridge environmental factors, we identify the “top 10” attributes for Street Smart Bridge Players and how they affect and lead to our success.  Of course, no Bridge discussion is complete without discussing competition, vulnerability and attendant risk/reward relationships.

Finally, addressing ACBL laws 72-75, we summarize some of the highlights of the dos and don’ts, including etiquette, ethics – what’s kosher, according to Hoyle… or not!

In total, this 128 minute lesson is chalk full of pithy discussions and scenarios along with lots of bidding and animated card play with stimulating commentary.

Ready, Aim, FIRE – on with the show…

Part 1 – Introduction to being Street Smart, playing two defender hands – 32:32 minutes of video
Free, Premium, ULTRA, Part 2 The Emotional side to Bridge – 27:39 minutes of video
Premium and ULTRA Members click here to view Part 3 on Bridge Environmental Factors, Risk/Reward strategies and tactics as well as being an effective competitor – 38:27 minutes of video
Premium and ULTRA Members click here to view Part 4 on the Laws: Proprieties, Ethics, Etiquette, find and evaluating sound partnerships – 18:16 minutes of video

And best yet, here at BridgeHands all of our Bridge hands are full of commentary (regardless of who is the declarer and defender) and analysis on hand evaluation, bidding and animated card play.   As always, our hand discussion offers a refreshingly rare glimpse of Bridge inside the minds of all four players at the table as play progresses, bid by bid, card by card.  Visitors are welcome to view the Part 1 series of our video lesson with nuances that will lead to quick and sound bidding without guesswork.  Those with the Free BridgeHands  membership may also watch Part 2 where we play more hands with provocative play tips and strategies, as well as way to improve skills by critiquing student players. As a Premium and ULTRA member, you are welcome to enjoy the entire four-part lesson segments with lots of hands, plus an opportunity to view future shows during your membership subscription period.   And as always, be sure to check out the hundreds of hours of videos in our archive that is growing by leaps and bounds, by clicking “Index to Videos” on the navigation above or simply click this link.

Bridge Teachers – you may download your personal copy of our copyrighted video lesson here:

Social Lesson 19 – Day 6, Part 1

Social Lesson 19 – Day 6, Part 2

Social Lesson 19 – Day 6, Part 3

Social Lesson 19 – Day 6, Part 4

Happy Trails,

BridgeHands

 

Filed Under: Polling You

Social Lesson 19, Part 4, Preemptive Bids, Relative Seat, RONF, Rule of 2-3-4

March 28, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Aha, at last it’s time for some fun making sporty preemptive bids. That’s the good news, yet with great power come great responsibility. After all, Bridge *IS* a partnership game, right?

So having respectable values that properly convey our preemptive values, both hand shape and strength concentration becomes the prime directive to ensure you’re being a good partner. Okay – check (that’s a fine start).

But what about when one, two or three players are passed hands? When are the stars in the ideal position… or not so favorable, and why? And how about relative vulnerability, yours and your opponents? We’ll take a look at the “Rule of 2-3-4” (actually more of a GUIDE, not a hard and fast Rule).

In this lesson we will also cover treatments when our partner raises our preempt, bids a new suit or makes a 2 Notrump call as well as our possible rebids. And finally, we will explore how and when to counteract the opponents preemptive bid and raise scenario.

In total, this 100+ minute lesson is chalk full of pithy discussions and scenarios along with lots of bidding and animated card play with stimulating commentary.

Ready, Aim, FIRE – on with the show…

Part 1 – Beginning with preemptive bidding basics & discipline – 35:42 minutes of video
Free, Premium, ULTRA, Part 2 on hand shape, honor placement & relative seat – 21:43 minutes of video
Premium and ULTRA Members click here to view Part 3 on Raise Only Non Forcing & Rule of 2-3-4 – 27:49 minutes of video
Premium and ULTRA Members click here to view Part 4 on upping preempts and how to counteractive opponents bid and raise – 18:16 minutes of video

And best yet, here at BridgeHands all of our Bridge hands are full of commentary (regardless of who is the declarer and defender) and analysis on hand evaluation, bidding and animated card play.   As always, our hand discussion offers a refreshingly rare glimpse of Bridge inside the minds of all four players at the table as play progresses, bid by bid, card by card.  Visitors are welcome to view the Part 1 series of our video lesson with nuances that will lead to quick and sound bidding without guesswork.  Those with the Free BridgeHands  membership may also watch Part 2 where we play more hands with provocative play tips and strategies, as well as way to improve skills by critiquing student players. As a Premium and ULTRA member, you are welcome to enjoy the entire four-part lesson segments with lots of hands, plus an opportunity to view future shows during your membership subscription period.   And as always, be sure to check out the hundreds of hours of videos in our archive that is growing by leaps and bounds, by clicking “Index to Videos” on the navigation above or simply click this link.

Bridge Teachers – you may download your personal copy of our copyrighted video lesson here:

Social Lesson 19 – Day 4, Part 1

Social Lesson 19 – Day 4, Part 2

Social Lesson 19 – Day 4, Part 3

Social Lesson 19 – Day 4, Part 4

Happy Trails,

BridgeHands

 

Filed Under: .Social, Social Bidding

Social Lesson 19, Part 3, Opening Leads – Count, Inferences, Algorithms

March 21, 2016 By Leave a Comment

With our lesson #19, Day 1 on Bridge hand evaluation (High Card Points, distribution for length and shortness) beyond us, probably the next most important factor to improve our game is… YOU!  On Day 2 we learned all about…YOU!  Self-awareness, situational awareness, focus, awareness and more.  And while everyone loves to bid, first let’s take a look at opening leads.

On average we defend half of all Bridge hands, so we make the opening lead 25 percent of the time.  That’s a lot – enough that it’s worth our time to make our best lead before the play of the hand is given to the declarer on a silver platter.

In this lesson we introduce the C.I.A.!  No not that CIA – we are referring to the opening leaders ability to consider:
Count,   Inferences,    Algorithms

When the opponents merrily bid back and forth, perhaps stopping in a partscore contract, game, or even up to a glorious slam contract, they are giving their best assessment of their strength and suit length to their partner.  So as a good “counter-intelligence” agent, it is incumbent on us to Look and Listen to each of their bids rather than pout about why we didn’t get cards with chunky honors.  After all, it doesn’t cost anything and we are happy that they are sharing lots of juicy details that will help us defend against their contract.

In this lesson, we will count, Count, COUNT – making an assessment of their likely honors as well as their hand shape, suit by suit.  And capitalizing on our prior lesson 2, it may pay handsome dividends to glance for the opponents gestures, mannerisms, body language, pauses, hesitations, utterances and whatever to possibly give us more “secrets” about their hand assessment and impressions of the auction!

But wait, there’s more!  Once you or partner makes the opening lead, now is a great time to turn your head 45 degrees and admire the dummy.  Do we agree with the dummy’s bidding?  Does it match our assessment prior to the opening lead.  Now how do we feel about the lead?  And the card the declarer chose from the dummy?  Was it a fast decision or slow after considerable consternation?   Okay, enough talk – its time to tune in to this two hour, 4 part lesson with a few dozen slides, punctuated by 15 hand of animated bidding and play.    Okay, let’s do it…

Part 1 – Beginning with lead basics and counting the opponents points – 17:03 minutes of video
Free, Premium, ULTRA, click here to view Part 2 on how to count the inferences – 31:32 minutes of video
Premium and ULTRA Members click here to view Part 3 on lead algorithms and more – 30:38 minutes of video
Premium and ULTRA Members click here to view Part 4 playing lots more hands – 29:23 minutes of video

And best yet, here at BridgeHands all of our Bridge hands are full of commentary (regardless of who is the declarer and defender) and analysis on hand evaluation, bidding and animated card play.   As always, our hand discussion offers a refreshingly rare glimpse of Bridge inside the minds of all four players at the table as play progresses, bid by bid, card by card.  Visitors are welcome to view the Part 1 series of our video lesson with nuances that will lead to quick and sound bidding without guesswork.  Those with the Free BridgeHands  membership may also watch Part 2 where we play more hands with provocative play tips and strategies, as well as way to improve skills by critiquing student players. As a Premium and ULTRA member, you are welcome to enjoy the entire four-part lesson segments with lots of hands, plus an opportunity to view future shows during your membership subscription period.   And as always, be sure to check out the hundreds of hours of videos in our archive that is growing by leaps and bounds, by clicking “Index to Videos” on the navigation above or simply click this link.

Happy Trails,

BridgeHands

Filed Under: .Social, Social Play

Social Lesson 19, Part 2, Look/Listen @ Auction/Play, Focus, Awareness, Countermeasures

March 14, 2016 By Leave a Comment

With our lesson #19, Day 1 on Bridge hand evaluation (High Card Points, distribution for length and shortness) beyond us, probably the next most important factor to improve our game is… YOU!  But what does that mean and what can I do about it?  Read on…

Bridge is far more than just a logical game with fixed algorithms, cold statistical odds and players who all follow pre-programmed “If This – Than That” drone rules.  On the contrary, part of the secret sauce to winning Bridge is exuding a modicum of flair, full of the “X Factor” and as the French would say, “je ne sais quoi” (extraordinary indescribable quality).

To start, it helps if we are at least self-aware, “Knowing Thyself” as Socrates would say.  Yet going beyond our own SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threat) and our ego is imperative since Bridge is much more than just ourselves.   Enter situational awareness  – being aware of our environment, perception/interactions./reputation (to and from others).

And just playing one hand involves over 100 factors and attendant decisions – whew!  So over 3+ hours of Bridge, we’ve made thousands of decisions and that can be taxing as well as stressful in the face of competition.  Add to that our self awareness, distractions, focusing on the wrong thing or fixated elsewhere… well, you get the idea.

In this lesson, we will focus on learning to focus at the table, providing clear signals (to partner at least), learning countermeasures when we become fatigued, stressed or face distractions including an occasional devious opponent.  And that including dealing with emotions around the table (theirs and yours), awareness of basic Bridge odds associated with suit splits, awareness of game forcing/1 round forcing/freebids/signoff bids, etc.

But wait, there’s more!  Whether you and your partner play various defensive signals or not, your better opponents probably do.  So doesn’t it at least make sense to be aware of the basic types of signals used by those competing against you?  Okay, enough talk – its time to tune in to this 100 minute, 4 part lesson with a few dozen slides, punctuated by animated bidding and play.  And oh, by the way, in this lesson we will overlook student bidding and play on these actual hands!  Okay, let’s do it…

Part 1 – Entering into the mind of the Bridge player – 20:35 minutes of video
Free, Premium, ULTRA, click here to view Part 2 on focus and awareness – 10:43 minutes of video
Premium and ULTRA Members click here to view Part 3 on countermeasures – 37:41 minutes of video
Premium and ULTRA Members click here to view Part 4 playing several hands – 31:53 minutes of video

And best yet, here at BridgeHands all of our Bridge hands are full of commentary (regardless of who is the declarer and defender) and analysis on hand evaluation, bidding and animated card play.   As always, our hand discussion offers a refreshingly rare glimpse of Bridge inside the minds of all four players at the table as play progresses, bid by bid, card by card.  Visitors are welcome to view the Part 1 series of our video lesson with nuances that will lead to quick and sound bidding without guesswork.  Those with the Free BridgeHands  membership may also watch Part 2 where we play more hands with provocative play tips and strategies, as well as way to improve skills by critiquing student players. As a Premium and ULTRA member, you are welcome to enjoy the entire four-part lesson segments with lots of hands, plus an opportunity to view future shows during your membership subscription period.   And as always, be sure to check out the hundreds of hours of videos in our archive that is growing by leaps and bounds, by clicking “Index to Videos” on the navigation above or simply click this link.

Happy Trails,

BridgeHands

Filed Under: .Social Tagged With: , , ,

Social Lesson 19 – Bridge hand evaluation, HCP, Losing Trick Count, Cover Cards

March 6, 2016 By 3 Comments

Bridge hand evaluation is where it all starts.  Counting High Card Points is a good start, Ace=4, King=3, Queen=2, and Jack=1 (maybe).  But wait, don’t forget to count extra distribution points when you have a “nice” 5+ card suit, assuming the suit is promotable with a few (2) good working honors in the suit.   And when responder has a good trump fit as well as shortness in a side suit, that’s also work extra points since the responder’s hand provide ruffing opportunities for the opener’s side suit losers.

And until Ron Klinger promoted the notion of Losing Trick Count, that was pretty much the state of the art for hand evaluation for the next 60 years.  Fortunately, better players came to realize the advantage of using LTC and began tweaking fine points to both leverage its benefits, simplifying responder’s methodology (Cover Cards) as well as refinements to more accurately bid games and slam.

Additionally, Bridge players came up with other guides to find opportunities to open the bidding including opening an 11 HCP hand with a 5-4-3-1 shape (or other singleton/void distributional hands), opening in the 4th (and possibly 3rd seat) with a “Rule of 15” hand calculated by adding the number of Spades combined with the player’s HCP, and even the “Rule of 20” figured by adding the players HCP and the combined length of the two longest suit.

This is the first of a 6 part lesson series where advancing Bridge players learn the ins and outs of hand evaluation.

 

In this 2 hour video lesson, in Part 1 we will start with the fundamentals of the who, what, when, where and why of hand evaluation by opener and responder.  If you are already up to speed in the basics of HCP (High Card Points and distribution/shape) and signoff/invitational bids, feel free to start with Part 2 where we get into the nitty gritty details of LTC and CC.  In Part 3 and Part 3b, we will bid and play a wide variety of hand, validating when we should be bidding game… as well as knowing when we should be satisfied in a part score contract.

Part 1 – Review of classic hand evaluation methods – 36:12 minutes of video
Free, Premium and ULTRA Members click here to view Part 2 on Losing Trick Count – 21:51 minutes of video
Premium and ULTRA Members click here to view Part 2b on Cover Cards – 18:36 minutes of video
Premium and ULTRA Members click here to view Part 3 playing hands – 18:37 minutes of video
Premium and ULTRA Members click here to view Part 3b playing more hands – 21:14 minutes of video

And best yet, here at BridgeHands all of our Bridge hands are full of commentary (regardless of who is the declarer and defender) and analysis on hand evaluation, bidding and play with over 2 hours of animated card play.   As always, our hand discussion offers a refreshingly rare glimpse of Bridge inside the minds of all four players at the table as play progresses, bid by bid, card by card.  Visitors are welcome to view the Part 1 series of our video lesson with nuances that will lead to quick and sound bidding without guesswork.  Those with the Free BridgeHands  membership may also watch Part 2 where we review another three hands with provocative play tips and strategies to ensure you bring home the contract. As a Premium and ULTRA member, you are welcome to enjoy the entire five-part lesson segments with lots of hands, plus an opportunity to view future shows during your membership subscription period.   And as always, be sure to check out the hundreds of hours of videos in our archive that is growing by leaps and bounds, by clicking “Index to Videos” on the navigation above or simply click this link.

Happy Trails,

BridgeHands

Filed Under: .Social Tagged With: , , ,

Social Lesson 18 – Forth Suit Forcing Bids, BridgeHands

October 3, 2015 By 2 Comments

Conventions – love them or hate them, there is a time, place and season for every Bridge bid.  So what about when you and partner do not seem to be able to find a suit fit?  Or when you as responder have game-going values and are stuck to find a rebid? Enter the world of the Fourth Suit Forcing rebid by our beloved responder.

So as unpassed hands, the auction typically begins with opener bidding a minor suit and responder following with 1 of a major suit.  Next opener either rebids a major or 2 of a lower ranking suit then their first bid:

1C – 1H;
1S – ?

1D – 1H;
2C – ?

1H – 1S;
2C – ?

1C – 1D;
1H – ?

In this 2 hour video lesson, in Part 1 we will start with the fundamentals of the who, what, when, where and why of Fourth Suit Forcing bids.  If you are already up to speed with with the need and basics of FSF (Fourth Suit Forcing) bids, why they are alertable by partner, etc, then feel free to start with Part 2 where we review various opener and responder hands and bidding scenarios.  And in Part 3 and Part 3b, the second hour of videos covers actual hands, situations when we should and should not use FSF calls.  But wait – there’s more as we play through a dozen hand variations covering common situations when we are playing in 3 Notrump, 4 of a major suit or even some slam hand!

Part 1 – Introduction to Fourth Suit Forcing bids – 27:30 minutes of video
Free, Premium and ULTRA Members click here to view Part 2 – 19:30 minutes of video
Premium and ULTRA Members click here to view Part 3 – 31:07 minutes of video
Premium and ULTRA Members click here to view Part 3b – 36:01 minutes of video

And best yet, here at BridgeHands all of our Bridge hands are full of commentary (regardless of who is the declarer and defender) and analysis on hand evaluation, bidding and play with over 2 hours of animated card play.   As always, our hand discussion offers a refreshingly rare glimpse of Bridge inside the minds of all four players at the table as play progresses, bid by bid, card by card.  Visitors are welcome to view the Part 1 series of our video lesson with several hands including critical decisions that will influence our card play.  Those with the Free BridgeHands  membership may also watch Part 2 where we review another three hands with provocative play tips and strategies to ensure you bring home the contract. As a Premium and ULTRA member, you are welcome to enjoy the entire five-part lesson segments with dozens of hands, plus an opportunity to view future shows during your membership subscription period.   And as always, be sure to check out the hundreds of hours of videos in our archive that is growing by leaps and bounds, by clicking “Index to Videos” on the navigation above or simply click this link.

Happy Trails,

BridgeHands

Filed Under: .Social, Social Bidding

For more videos, also see Hands Of The Week

March 11, 2015 By Leave a Comment

Our BridgeHands HOT-W (Hands Of The Week) videos offer extemporaneous, fast-paced videos lessons watching a variety of real people play real hands at the table.  For most hands we will compare and contract competitive bidding and play at various tables to highlight Bridge at its best and … well, you know the rest!
So in addition to the full classroom lessons below, be sure to check out our snappy HOT-W sessions.  Those with our BridgeHands Free or Premium membership can view a glimpse of each lesson – ULTRA members can view the entire shows as well as hundreds of hours of our Polling You, Social and Advanced lessons.  Click here or INDEX OF VIDEOS – HOT-W (above, upper right).

Filed Under: Polling You
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