During my mentoring sessions, I play with 3 of my students, commenting on whatever hands happen to come up. One of my students, Kia (bbo nickname nome), produces a BBO bridge movie consisting of the hands annotated with my comments. This involves a great deal of effort, and Kia has generously agreed to share his work by allowing me to post the movies on my web site.

This page displays the BBO movies for mentoring sessions from more than 3 months ago. To see my recent mentoring sessions, click here

January 2024
January 2024 Movie D View    Two good rules when bidding close major suit games New Minor Forcing vs Checkback Stayman Discarding when declarer runs a long suit is very difficult You can overcall with 10+ points or so Strain to open or overcall 1N whenever you can	January 2024 Movie C View    It is important to have disciplined preempts in 2nd seat Aces and Spaces Flat hands are not nearly as good as they look Preempts make it harder for the opponents to bid accurately Preempt the Bridge Villain	January 2024 Movie B View    Preempt forces opponents to make uncomfortable bids When to open 2C A limit raise shows four card support Unusual over Unusual You bid Stayman if you have at least invitational values When to make a two level overcall	January 2024 Movie A View    A good job counting out the suit When you preempt you take up bidding room from the opponents When the opponents find the best defense A hand you hate to pass When a double dummy analyzer is very misleading Counting your winners

December 2023
December 2023 Movie E View    Leading from doubletons is often not a good lead Bergen "OBAR" Coded Jacks and Coded Tens What you need to open 2C You always show a major when partner opens one of a minor	December 2023 Movie D View    You should not bid 3 over 3 unless you have a 9-card fit When to preempt the opponents An unlucky lead ruins the party A good but unlucky slam contract The 5 level belongs to the opponents Always count your winners and plan the hand out	December 2023 Movie C View    In the middle of the hand you lead K from AK Super Accepts SUPPORT DOUBLE and SUPPORT REDOUBLE Rule of 20 vs Rule of 15 The Law of Total Tricks is most accurate for 10 card fits and below Almost always bid 4S over 4H when you have a 9+ card spade fit	December 2023 Movie B View    With 6-4 distribution you try hard to declare Counting out declarer's hand is an important skill to develop 4-3-3-3 hands only occur around 4% of the time Cheating DONT 6-4-3 distribution is really great Default Rebid	December 2023 Movie A View    Declarer Points You should bid 4S over 4H with a 9-card fit at any vulnerability Howard loves DONT Aggressive bidding doesn't always work Bergen Hand Evaluation and LEBENSOHL
November 2023
November 2023 Movie D View    5 of a minor vs 3N You lead top of an honor sequence Regular Bergen or Reverse Bergen A grand slam that is hard to bid Intermediates can often be very important cards Opening 1N with 5-card major	November 2023 Movie C View    Crawling Stayman and Garbage Stayman When to try for an overtrick New suit by responder is game or slam try 4-3-3-3 is an ugly distribution DONT still is a very nice convention Good declaring makes its own luck	November 2023 Movie B View    You normally don't open 1N with six-card minors. When Quacks are paired with Aces, kings, and tens they are worth full value With highly distributional hands counting HCP is a poor guide for evaluating your hand Flat distribution, particularly when partner is also flat, is a big downgrade Finesse or play for drop	November 2023 Movie A View    Just a simple board To preempt in 2nd seat you need to be more disciplined Almost always play 2nd hand low smoothly All about doubles Control bidding in action 8 ever 9 never
October 2023
October 2023 Movie D View    Flat hands (meaning no singletons or voids) are never as good as their HCP indicate A well defended board You make the cheapest control bid you can With a proper hand strain to overcall 2C over 1D Opening 1N with 15-17 and 5-4-2-2	October 2023 Movie C View    These days many players open 1N even with 5-4-2-2 distribution When to raise with 3-card support How to disrupt the bidding and makes it hard for opponent to bid. LTC is easy but is very inaccurate You should preempt as often as you can Reverse Bergen Raises	October 2023 Movie B View    A difficult board to bid When counting Rule of 20 points, you don't add length points Many players incorrectly bid 5 over 5 when they shouldn't When in doubt on defense play 2nd hand low smoothly When you should strain to preempt Keep track of the cards played	October 2023 Movie A View    Count out declarer's points and distribution It is not right to let the opponents play at the 1 level Kia (aka nome) makes cool interactive bridge "movies" of all these sessions With 10+ cards in your 2 longest suits, strain to play the hand Picture Bidding Law of Total Tricks
September 2023
September 2023 Movie D View    Shortening declarer's trump is often good defense Playing in IMPs or Match Points is a big factor in your bidding Open 1NT when you are 15-17 balanced even with a 5-card major Card Showing Double Perfect discarding is always difficult How to rebid a 6-4 in the majors after a 2-1 game forcing response	September 2023 Movie C View    One of the most awkward auctions is 1D-P-1N The 5 level belongs to the opponent Count out suits both as declarer and defender How to bid whenever there is interference over partner's 2C In third seat, after two passes you want to aggressively preempt The only reasonable bid	September 2023 Movie B View    Do you know what to do after a takeout double We still love you Hondo Preempts make the opponents guess that sometimes is wrong Voids are extremely powerful Never be reluctant to make declarer ruff You should open and/or overcall 1N with any suitable hand	September 2023 Movie A View    The Darling DONT Stop bidding ASAP If you suspect a misfit Defense Against Two-Suited Overcalls Attention to the bidding is extremely critical You make the cheapest control bid you can
August 2023
August 2023 Movie D View    Missed bidding As defender you always play lowest of equals Fine print on bidding Michaels When to open 1C vs opening 1D Do Something Intelligent double 1D vs 2D opener	August 2023 Movie C View    Doing Due Diligence in choosing the best bid Rule of 11 Being aggressive will usually pay off When a bid is a stopper ask You never preempt in 4th seat Artificial Intelligence capable BOTs at BBO	August 2023 Movie B View    The value of preempts in 3rd seat The value of preempting A Wonderful GAME Pre-empt in first seat Puppet Stayman vs Stayman Leading a singleton trump particularly when a 4-4 fit is likely is not good	August 2023 Movie A View    A good principle is to avoid bidding marginal slams Keep parity with dummy This is a great teaching board--Job well done MM Lopsided hands Howard and Losing Trick Count OBAR (Opponents Bid And Raise)
July 2023
July 2023 Movie E View    When not to bid DONT Card Showing Doubles 1N with 6-3-2-2 and 6-card minor The Rule of 24 Support with Support The power of voids	July 2023 Movie D View    Stopper Asking and Stopper Telling When you are vulnerable, in IMPs only, you stretch and bid close games When to choose the least imperfect bid If every game you bid makes, you are underbidding At favorable vulnerability you strain to preempt	July 2023 Movie C View    It is hard to know what is right When you have support, you should be reluctant to pass an opener even with a marginal 6 points Support Doubles and Redoubles A 9th trump is usually worth close to an extra trick Is bridge interesting and exasperating? This board will convince you bridge is interesting and exasperating	July 2023 Movie B View    You should strain to preempt when you can You should not let them play at the 2-level in a known 8 card fit Discarding is very hard and often the defenders mis discard Quick Tricks Points The expert lead from AKQ Adjusted Points with Rule of 20	July 2023 Movie A View    A well played hand You should strain to bid 2C over 1D What is a sandwich NT When all roads lead to 3N A rare hand where 5 of a minor is superior to 3N A special case of the Law of Total Tricks
June 2023
June 2023 Movie D View    "The 5 level belongs to the opponents" is a good Rule Important principle of control bidding. Length normally takes precedence over strength The principle of Fast Arrival You play 2nd hand low almost always The magic of voids	June 2023 Movie C View    DONT over any 1NT bids by the opponent Inverted Minor Raises Convention 5-4-3-1 hands give your side 3 places to play With 6-5 hands it is usually right to declare rather than defend When you can break the "TIE" in bridge Root Canal and Bridge	June 2023 Movie B View    In response to Inverted Minors the partnership starts bidding stoppers in the other three suits The Law of Total Tricks A good lead against a slam is to lead away from a K or Q to set up a trick The bid shows no game interest OBAR	June 2023 Movie A View    Generally when you overcall 1N you should play a 4 point range Counting out your winners and coming up with a plan is always important As a general rule, if you have a "freak hand" you want to declare Once there is a preempt, make the bid most likely to give you a good result Hand with Long Suit Evaluation Whenever partner opens a weak-2 and you have 3 card support you should raise to 3
May 2023
May 2023 Movie D View    Don't be seduced by special conventions You need to plan the hand based on the bidding and try to count enough tricks to make your contract Do not duck the first trick if you are afraid of a shift Michaels Cuebid 8 Ever 9 Never Puppet Stayman	May 2023 Movie C View    If you have a nice 7 card suit you could preempt even after a 1NT opener It is ok to give declarer a ruff to which he is entitled anyway Reverse Bergen raises vs Regular Bergen Raises You must lead count in partner's suit if you have not supported partner A tough hand to declare Another tough hand to declare	May 2023 Movie B View    Howard prefers not to open light at the 1 level in 3rd seat Howard plays DONT over any 1N bid by the opponents Whenever you are short in the opponent's suit, you should strain to bid Opening leads are often a guess New suits by responder are always forcing Double dummy analyzers are misleading because their results often do not reflect the best line of play	May 2023 Movie A View    A good bid which is down one | A problem hand that is solved by FLANNERY A trump lead is usually neutral at worst In general, when you have a void in their suit you want to declare not defend Never criticize partner for leading your suit The worst suit you can have when opening 2C is diamonds
April 2023
April 2023 Movie D View    If you wait for the ideal hand you will never preempt Fine points of Rule of 20 Bergen hand evaluation is the best thing to improve your bidding Often, the lead of the unprotected ace gives declarer an extra trick In general you should make a lead directing double over an artificial bid when appropriate	April 2023 Movie C View    Use DONT aggressively for competing over 1N Third hand always plays lowest of equivalent cards By preempting you force the opponents to guess what to do. Delayed DONT With enough points bid to force to game When even Howard would not preempt	April 2023 Movie B View    In modern bidding with correct distribution you do not need opening hand to overcall In the middle of the hand you lead King from Ace-King Some play that 2N right away in balancing seat shows 19-21 Good bidding and good play Zar hand evaluation Use Bergen Starting Points to decide if your hand meets the Rule of 20	April 2023 Movie A View    Occasionally leading an unprotected ace seems to be right Why 4N should be quantitative You should avoid marginal preempts in 2nd seat. You bid 2C when have at least 4 Quick Tricks and 9 winners in your hand What really Negative Doubles shows Fine point in Rule of 20
March 2023
March 2023 Movie C View    You cannot preempt over a preempt Do you open 4-3-3-3 with 12 HCP? Michaels Forcing 1N response An ambiguous bid	March 2023 Movie B View    Whenever you can overcall or open 1N you should Don't try to rescue your partner Kickback RKCB It is almost never wrong to lead partner's suit Overcalling 4-card suits at the 1 level with 3 honors You need to be especially aggressive against a strong pair	March 2023 Movie A View    You can raise with 3-card support when appropriate Checkback Stayman vs New Minor Forcing In 2/1, 1N is forcing or at least semi-forcing Caught between a rock and a hard place How to bid 5-5 major suit hands Bidding in IMPs vs Match Points scoring
February 2023
February 2023 Movie D View    Rule of 20 is really a goode guideline Bergen hand evaluation is a very accurate way to count your points Reasonable choices of bids Howard highly recommends Bergen Raises Be aggressive with a 9-card fit	February 2023 Movie C View    The place of 1N in the bidding Law of Total Tricks loses a little bit of accuracy after the 4 level It is all about vulnerability When not sure what to do, make the bid that has the most upside Fourth Suit Forcing - (4SF)	February 2023 Movie B View    Leading a doubleton queen is not good 6-4 distribution is really nice and upgrades the hand Opening flat 11 counts is generally not a good idea Your opening lead may differ whether you play IMP or Match Points Howard and LEBENSOHL How most experts play when there is interference over 2C opener	Februaruy 2023 Movie A View    When in doubt make the bid with the most upside You always cover the last honor in dummy Adjusted Bergen Points A very nice opening lead Quick Tricks Points
January 2023
January 2023 Movie E View    You never lead away from aces in suit contracts Do not let them play at the 2 level when they have an 8+ card fit When making a marginal call, be more cautious when vulnerable than not Bergen Adjusted Points Leading Ace or King from Ace/King is the question Super Accepts	January 2023 Movie D View    You should strain to bid 2C over 1D when you can A clear-cut 3N bid Whenever you have imperfect choices, choose the one with the most upside DONT double Lead attitude when you have supported partner	January 2023 Movie C View    The Law of Restricted Choice Do Something Intelligent A strict Rule Of 20 believer The rationale for Bergen Raises A tricky hand to play Nice play with good cross ruff	January 2023 Movie B View    Quick trick point method Most often a control bid shows an ace or king Forcing Pass Default Bid Equal Level Conversion 4-3-3-3 hands should be downgraded	January 2023 Movie A View    Normally you lead partner's suit You only lead an honor in NT from a 3-card sequence Negative Inference Expert defenders count out distribution and high cards when they can Preempting is nice and at favorable vulnerability you should strain to preempt Ogust

December 2022
December 2022 Movie D View    The people who don't plan entries correctly would misplay the hand Leading King from King/Queen often gives away a trick In IMPs you want to bid close games in Match Points you don't Negative double is a legal way to bid 1H over 1S Normally, bidding 5 over 5 is not correct	December 2022 Movie C View    Howard is a big believer in opening 1N with balanced 15-17 hands. The power of distribution In this board 3N makes no matter what the lead is Howard always considers preempting when possible A taste of 4-way transfers	December 2022 Movie B View    Using LOTT you will be correct most of the time An expert signal At favorable vulnerability you often preempt one higher If you make every game that you bid, you are not bidding enough Leading unprotected aces is normally not a good idea Rule of Adjust 3	December 2022 Movie A View    Where are the high cards Bergen Hand Evaluation lets you accurately evaluate distributional hands The huge power of distributional hands It is better if the points are concentrated than spread out Jacoby 2N You should always plan the hand at trick 1
November 2022
November 2022 Movie D View    When there is a 1C opener Crawling Stayman Rule of 24 DONT vs MECKWELL As declarer you should always develop a plan at trick one	November 2022 Movie C View    Responder "Came to the Fork in the Road and Took It" A hand with a void and 6-4 is wonderful Many open Weak-Twos with a 5-card suit with a singleton or a void A great auction for the declaring side Squeeze	November 2022 Movie B View    You should not violate the Law of Total Tricks With a 9-card fit in spades, 4S is usually right over 4H 3N or 4S Missing a Grand Slam You should strain to balance	November 2022 Movie A View    Card Showing Double You should open 1NT whenever you hold 15-17 balanced When evaluating your hand, you not only count HCP but look at where they are located Unbalanced hands are much better than balanced hands You should strain to open and overcall 1N whenever you can DONT
October 2022
October 2022 Movie D View    Over a double you are no longer obligated to bid A tough hand to play A very important opening lead principle to keep in mind 2nd negative When to be super aggressive	October 2022 Movie C View    A simple board Value Showing Double Bad board theory You can overcall with 8 HCP at the 1 level Preempts do have some risk In IMPs it pays to be aggressive bidding game	October 2022 Movie B View    Super Accepts Inverted Minors What is a "crap suit" Negative Double We love our teacher no matter what The downside of preempts	October 2022 Movie A View    What about slightly more nuanced bid Open 1N with a 5-card major and a balanced hand Maximal Doubles Quick Trick Points Student outperforms the teacher
September 2022
September 2022 Movie C View    Spiral When partner opens 2@C and there is interference Flat 4-3-3-3, 11 counts are horrible and worse than they look 2 way checkback Stayman If it goes 1N-P-P, you should strain to balance	September 2022 Movie B View    So you should only bid Stayman with an invitational hand Having a void is just as good as having the ace in your void suit When it is okay to stretch Crawling Stayman Use the Law of Total Tricks on all competitive hands	September 2022 Movie A View    How to play YOUR HEART! In Match Points, where over-tricks matter, you might decide to take a finesse and risk the contract Suit combinations are important Anytime you can overcall 2C over 1D you should Sometimes you open 3C with only a 6-card suit The responses to Puppet Stayman
August 2022
August 2022 Movie D View    Equal Level Conversion--ELC There are many times when you delay drawing trump It is better to bid it right away than delay Bidding RKCB with a void is tricky A hard hand to play and to defend	August 2022 Movie C View    You shall pay the price not following the Law of Total Tricks Perfect defense is very difficult to accomplish on many hands You should strain to preempt in 3rd seat A tough hand to play Delayed DONT The problem with stretching the distributions for opening 1NT	August 2022 Movie B View    Play the lowest of touching honors in 3rd seat A very lucky hand Whenever you bid RKCB, you should bid 6 if . . Expert declarers are often lucky, but they make their own luck Play the lowest of touching honors Hands with long suits and voids are wonderful	August 2022 Movie A View    5 level decisions are the most difficult in bridge A horrible trump break doomed the declarer You should strain to open or overcall 1N whenever you can You should strain to preempt and not look for excuses not to Preempts make it very uncomfortable for the opponents A well bid hand
July 2022
July 2022 Movie E View    Responding to a Takeout Double A possible misfit Fast Arrival When a trump lead is often right You should strain to open a Weak-2 An unlucky fit	July 2022 Movie D View    The point of preempting is to keep the opponents guessing How to show a hand with 6-card spade when playing DONT A lucky slam Forcing Defense A weak hand with a 6-card minor and a 5-card major How to show a Weak Game Forcing hand	July 2022 Movie C View    Leading an Ace in a Suit Contract In 3rd seat you often want to preempt Favorable vulnerability and 6-5 is wonderful distribution Slams with perfect fitting hands, are hard to bid You should only bid 7 if you can count 13 tricks A hard hand to plan	July 2022 Movie B View    Opening a weak-2 bid with a 4-card major You should not bid Stayman unless you have at least invitational values Leading Ace in NT contract In competition you use a cue bid to show a limit raise. Puppet Stayman Texas Transfer	July 2022 Movie A View    Leading a trump to cut down on ruffs Coded 9s and 10s Only bid Stayman when you have an invitational hand even if you are 4-4 in the majors DONT allows you to compete when you have a 6 card suit or a 2 suited 5-4 or 5-5 hand You lead top of a 3 card honor sequence or broken sequence in 3N
June 2022
June 2022 Movie D View    It is more desirable for the stronger hand to play NT Careful attention to the bidding is a must The teacher could have done better Support Double A jump to 3 in competition is always preemptive Jacks unless they are in suits partner has bid are not really worth 1 point	June 2022 Movie C View    It is never wrong to take the setting tricks when you can You will love the Kickback Tutorial Whenever you have a choice of bids, make the cheaper bid A Support Double in action Aggressive bidding usually pays off A wrong play cost Declarer two tricks	June 2022 Movie B View    With a proper hand overcall 1NT if at all possible Teacher was a little pushy Have fun with board Many players focus on the bad result Flat hands are bad You should strain to preempt in 3rd seat	June 2022 Movie A View    Bergen Hand Evaluation is an objective way of evaluating your hand A 6-card suit is a great asset even if weak Sometimes, if you want to preempt in clubs you open 3C with a 6-card suit Coded 9s and Coded 10s opening leads DO NOT revert to playing strong 2 bids
May 2022
May 2022 Movie D View    After a takeout double responder has additional options Picture Bidding Even Bridge Demigods have OOOPS moments Analysis you must go through to place cards Superb Discarding Partner may get excited	May 2022 Movie C View    The legal way of bidding 1H over 1S The 5 level belongs to the opponents Use Bergen Adjusted HCP for Rule of 20 calculations Only bid 6 if you have all the key cards or if you have 4 key cards and the trump queen Hands with 4-5 or 5-4 in majors Agressive bidding	May 2022 Movie B View    Losing Trick Count The Law of Total Tricks is the most important principle in competitive auctions Opening 1D with 4 diamonds and 5 clubs A minor change in the play Texas Transfer	May 2022 Movie A View    In 3rd seat, preempts are much more undisciplined Leading a suit the opponents have bid is always an issue NS gets a slightly below average result A board hard to bid You should not lead a suit the opponents have bid Why some players avoid bidding Weak-2s
April 2022
April 2022 Movie B View    How responder bids after a takeout double Whenever partner preempts, you almost always use the Law of Total Tricks The information is there if you care to use it Whenever you bid Roman Key Card you should bid at least 6 if you have all the key cards or if you have 4 Key Cards and the trump queen Aggressive bidding works most of the time When the slam would not make	April 2022 Movie A View    With 4 hearts and 4 spades you bid 1H over 1C or 1D Negative Doubles What to lead from 3 small All about DONT A hand well played A hand with difficult bidding
March 2022
March 2022 Movie D View    Surround Play Checkback Stayman vs New Minor Forcing It is better to bid aggressively than not Hands with a 6-card suit and a higher ranking 5-card suit are a challenge to open These days players are making lighter takeout doubles Whenever you can make a lead directing double you should do so	March 2022 Movie C View    When partner preempts, you use the Law of Total Tricks to determine how high to bid How to open with 4 diamonds and 4 clubs and no five-card Majors You need 9 tricks in your hand and 4 Quick Tricks to open 2C. Be aggressive in bidding games, but don't bid speculative slams You should only bid "3 over 3" if you have a 9 card fit or a singleton This expert loves to play DONT over 1NT and interfere	March 2022 Movie B View    Against NT leading 4th best from longest and strongest is best In general you should use the Law of Total Tricks when competing In 3rd seat preempting is often a good idea As 3rd hand you always play the lowest of touching honors Some tend to open 1NT with less precise distributions	March 2022 Movie A View    In general opening a flat 11 count hand is a bad idea You should strain to raise when you can Michaels Cue bid When partner opens a major and you have 4-card support, you must show it right away In competitive auctions always use the Law of Total Tricks Bergen Declarer Points
February 2022
February 2022 Movie D View    You lead back your Remaining Count Strain to preempt in 3rd seat especially when you are not vul and they are Weak-Two in third seat Bergen Hand Evaluation, occasionally, may cause you to get too high New suits by responder are forcing	February 2022 Movie C View    In 2nd seat there is more chance you are preempting partner After a preempt you often don't have the perfect bid How to show a two-suited hand after opening 2C For a void your dummy points is the number of trump you have An acceptable bid	February 2022 Movie B View    Texas Transfer A tricky hand to play Suit preference signal A boring board Bergen Raises DONT	February 2022 Movie A View    Some players believe you should open light at the 1-level in 3rd seat A Board for Bridge Gods Declarer did his best The DARLING Rule of 20 All about opening 2C
January 2022
January 2022 Movie E View    A very sophisticated defensive maneuver Whenever you get a chance to make a lead directing bid, you should An expert defender's reasoning When it is enough to force to game When a trump lead is often good In general you don't want to lead a suit the opponents have bid	January 2022 Movie D View    After a 1NT opener, you need to be more cautious when you are vul Normally you should not ruff with a natural trump trick Bidding on hands when partner reverses can be difficult Many people would like to compete with the 12 HCP hand A special case of a Negative Double	January 2022 Movie C View    Generally speaking it is not a good idea to lead a suit the opponents have bid You don't preempt over a preempt The best thing you can do to improve your bidding is to learn Bergen Hand Evaluation Bergen Hand Evaluation and Rule of 20 The case when you can and should violate the Law of Total Tricks Thrump Double	January 2022 Movie B View    Does 2C over 1D establish a game force when playing 2/1 Some experts will open 2N with off shape distribution A hard to bid 7NT LOTT does work almost all of the time Puppet Stayman allows you to find both 4-4 and 5-3 major suit fits If there is a preempt the odds of a 4-1 break go up a lot	January 2022 Movie A View    Generally, it is hard to keep track of the spots lower than the 10 Whenever your partner opens 1 of a minor and then rebids a major Some experts do not like the Flannery convention The Law of Restricted Choice 3C as a preempt opener On occasion aggressive bids do not turn out well

December 2021
December 2021 Movie D View    You should take every opportunity to make lead directing doubles of artificial bids LEBENSOHL is what experts play over interference of 1NT openers Lead directing double, every once in a while helps declarer You should strain to open 1NT and overcall 1NT whenever you can Many these days will open a Weak-2 with a 5-card suit and at favorable vul Unlike a direct 1N overcall a 1N in the pass out seat shows 11-14	December 2021 Movie C View    Normally leading K from Kx is not a good idea You should look for reasons to preempt, and avoid reasons not to preempt An exception to 3rd hand high It is very difficult to defend 1NT Distributional hands are worth a lot more than their HCP indicate The power of distributional hands	December 2021 Movie B View    One of the principles of 2/1 is Fast Arrival Preempts often force you to make a flawed choice Why it is important to lead count in partner's unsupported suit When you need to do something intelligent You should draw trump ASAP unless there is a good reason not to Leading away from a king is aggressive	December 2021 Movie A View    The upside of aggressive preempting is much higher than the downside You should really train yourself to play 2nd hand low smoothly A preempt that did not work out as well as it might A case for Puppet Stayman Aggressive competing is very effective It is much more desirable to have your high cards in your long suits
November 2021
November 2021 Movie C View    New suits by responder are usually played as forcing if responder is an unpassed hand. 4-Way Transfers Min-Max 2N bid Whether or not to make a marginal preempt The problem with preempting in 2nd seat When partner leads the King against NT, that asks for attitude	November 2021 Movie B View    Any time as defender you can clarify a suit for partner, you should. Any time you can open or overcall 1NT, you should. Support Doubles are a good convention 4S over 4H is just about automatic if you have a 9+ card spade fit 4N overcall over 4S Consider making it hard for opponents to find their fit.	November 2021 Movie A View    Fine print of Inverted Minor Raises The principle of Fast Arrival Partner sometimes has to pass with a hand that wants to make a penalty double An interesting hand A very lucky hand When playing against strong players, you need to be very aggressive
October 2021
October 2021 Movie D View    You should always open 1NT with any balanced 15-17 It is usually better to compete than not when you can The most important thing you can learn on defense is to card properly The Negative Double only promises the unbid major Some people open 1D with 4 diamonds and 5 clubs Freak Hands do not evaluate well using standard evaluation	October 2021 Movie C View    Another good way to play 2/1 If they have a fit we have a fit 3rd and 5th best Bidding 3N with a singleton is risky A difficult hand to play In IMPs it is not worth worrying about overtricks	October 2021 Movie B View    With 5-5 in the majors you open 1S not 1H 4th from longest and strongest works out best against NT most of the time Rule of 15 When you are in a game forcing auction the principle of Fast Arrival applies In general leading count in partner's suit is usually best These days you always open 1NT with 5-3-3-2 and 15-17 even with a 5-card major	October 2021 Movie A View    Practice finesse Kickback RKCB Howard strongly recommends you learn Bergen Hand Evaluation 1NT opening bids tend to be very accurate because opener's hand is well defined Knowing you have a 9-card fit is very important Against NT contract 4th. best usually is the correct lead
September 2021
September 2021 Movie D View    Minor suit slams are often hard to bid Delayed DONT Being aggressive usually works Support Doubles When it is not a good sacrifice As a rule you bid the cheapest control you can	September 2021 Movie C View    Be aggressive with a 9-card fit and conservative with an 8-card fit You should always compete over 1NT with an appropriate hand You cannot bid Stayman unless you have at least invitational values When not to sacrifice New Minor Forcing vs Checkback Stayman	September 2021 Movie B View    Deals where one hand is very much stronger than the other are more difficult to declare 2NT-Show Feature and 2NT-Ogust Make sure you plan the hand before you play A rare "Double and Correct" hand Bidding Michaels A Self Sufficient Suit	September 2021 Movie A View    You should open 1N with any 5-3-3-2 hand even with a 5-card major A difficult hand to bid In the middle of the hand, you always lead K from AK Why Kickback In IMPs you do not want to endanger the contract If you sense a misfit pass ASAP
August 2021
August 2021 Movie E View    You are not supposed to lead away from an ace in a suit contract. In general you should follow the Law of Total Tricks when competing It is not most desirable to have the weak hand as declarer Learning to count out suits is critical to good defense Play the Ace followed by King to show AK doubleton In general you want to make a neutral lead against 6N	August 2021 Movie D View    In 3rd seat you should be especially aggressive in preempting Difficult hand to bid Inverted Minors Overcalls at the 1 level can be done with as few as 8 HCP Leading from Qxx often gives away a trick These days, virtually every good player will open 1NT with a 5 card major	August 2021 Movie C View    In general it is a good idea to preempt whenever you have a suitable hand Value showing double Negative inference You need to be aggressive in competition Sometimes you should open 3C with a 6-card club suit You preempt to make it uncomfortable for the opponents	August 2021 Movie B View    Puppet Stayman Suit preference signal 4th best You should only overcall at the 2 level with either a 6-card suit or a nice 5-card suit or a strong hand. Do open a weak 2 with an outside 4 card major The 5 level belongs to the opponents	August 2021 Movie A View    Fast Arrival is an important principle of 2/1 GF bidding Planning the hand is important Queens and Jacks are overrated honors unless paired with other honors Negative Doubles only promise unbid majors By preempting you cause the opponents to guess 2C over 1D is somewhat preemptive and makes it harder for the opponents to find their major suit bid
July 2021
July 2021 Movie C View    Responsive Double You do not preempt over a preempt Leading singletons when you have trump control is often a good idea You should strain to Support with Support You lead count in partner's unsupported suit When you have a misfit you want to stop bidding ASAP	July 2021 Movie B View    In general it pays to compete over 1NT Quick Trick Points You should be very aggressive preempting when not vulnerable You can overcall with as little as 8 points at the 1 level A hand with no clearcut lead 1NT response in 2/1	July 2021 Movie A View    It is much easier to take 9 tricks than 11 tricks 5 level decisions are the hardest in bridge When you lead a king against NT it asks partner to signal attitude In general when running a suit, play the honors from the short side first 1NT bid in the balancing seat (e.g. after 2 passes) shows 11-14 These days many open 1N with singleton aces or kings
June 2021
June 2021 Movie C View    Leading away from an ace in a suit contract is incorrect Gambling 3NT Lose your losers early In general, you shouldn't worry about missing close slams A preempt always involves some risk Opening 1D with 4 diamonds and 5 clubs is a very bad idea	June 2021 Movie B View    Leading away from a KJ is not normally a good idea Equal Level Conversion Doubles Systems on/Stolen bid Doubles Always good to make a lead directing double when you can "New GEN" 1NT The power of distribution	June 2021 Movie A View    Honors grouped together are much better than if in separate suits Howard prefers to open better minor when either 3-3 or 4-4 With a 15-17 balanced hand, you should open 1NT even with a 5 card major Honors in short suits are not great In 3rd seat you should aggressively preempt Misfits are difficult to play
May 2021
May 2021 Movie E View    You should strain to compete over 1NT with DONT You need the proper distribution to compete over 1N A flawed plan is better than no plan A void in partner's suit is usually a downgrade Good players, particularly responders, plan the auction out An interesting hand to play	May 2021 Movie D View    Bergen Hand Evaluation is critical for your correct bidding Preempt with any 6-card suit or longer even with a weak suit Double and Correct You should not bid Stayman unless you have an invitational hand The best thing you can do to improve your bidding is to learn Bergen Hand Evaluation With a potential misfit the rule is to stop bidding ASAP	May 2021 Movie C View    You should strain to open and overcall 1N whenever you can You need to be disciplined Reverse 2-way Drury is probably the best way to play Drury A Splinter shows a game force with 4 card support and a singleton or occasionally a void An interesting hand to bid and play "Ask for Feature" or Ogust	May 2021 Movie B View    Howard likes to use the Rule of 20 to open in all seats. It is very annoying when an opponent steals your bid The Law Of Total Tricks is paramount "MUD" stands for Middle Up Down Normally you don't ruff in the long hand A well played hand	May 2021 Movie A View    Always play the cheapest of equals From 3 small you MUST lead count in partner's suit Maximal Double In modern bridge you lead A from AK A good board Another good board
April 2021
April 2021 Movie D View    Proper carding is crucial on defense How you handle 5-4 hands over a 1NT opener A tough hand to play Preempts in 2nd seat are often the least successful Getting into the auction as early as possible is usually best A very well bid and played hand	April 2021 Movie C View    Whenever you open 1N or 2N, responder is in charge of placing the contract A preempt is meant to be a destructive bid against the opponents When to make a limit raise Declarer Points are counted by the hand with longer trump 6-4 is a wonderful distribution Establishing the game force is 1st priority	April 2021 Movie B View    A suit preference New suits by opener are not forcing unless they are a reverse or jump shift 2NT is not unusual over a weak-2 Drury While bidding, you should also anticipate the auction Rule of 15	April 2021 Movie A View    You prefer to rebid 1N whenever feasible A Negative Double only promises the unbid major You only need 8 points to overcall at the 1 level 5-6 hands are very powerful When the auction calls for a trump lead A preempt is NOT a constructive bid
March 2021
March 2021 Movie D View    You should be aggressive, but you should also be thoughtful The correct lead from an interior sequence Against game contracts leading away from an honor is usually not a good idea You can open a weak 2 with a 4-card major Negative Doubles How to Respond to 1NT Opener	March 2021 Movie C View    It usually pays to bid 4S over 4H MUD is worth "mud" as far as Howard is concerned Quick Trick points With a good suit you should overcall at 1 level even with as few as 8 points In general you should not bid 4 over 3 Just a board to keep you away from the pandemic	March 2021 Movie B View    Usually a control bid shows an ace or a king You would not lead away from an ace in a suit contract Rule of 11 In theory a takeout double shows an opening hand or close to it Puppet Stayman A difficult defense	March 2021 Movie A View    Responses to Jacoby 2N These days you always open 1NT with a balanced 15-17 even with a 5-card major Now, many people open weak 2 bids with a 5 card suit and good distribution. Preempts often force the opponents to make imperfect choices Checkback Stayman A difficult board to bid
February 2021
February 2021 Movie C View    The way you make a limit raise in competition is to cue bid Leads to cut down on dummy ruffs Normally, to overcall over a preempt, you need an opener Many players are reluctant to bid 3N with a void With 4 hearts and 4 spades you respond 1H over a 1C or 1D opener A perfect hand with good bidding, nice declarer play, and nice defense	February 2021 Movie B View    On occasion you do preempt your partner. Being conservative, sometimes, works out As 3rd hand you play the lowest card in a sequence You only need 8 HCP to overcall at the 1 level The Law works great with 7-10 card fits You should strain to preempt at favorable vulnerability	February 2021 Movie A View    In 2/1, if partner bids a forcing NT and then corrects to a suit that bid is to play You need to count 9 tricks and have 4 Quick Tricks to open 2C Anytime you have 3 cards in an opponent's suit, that is a downgrade A bad split dooms the contract The teacher violates The Law of Total Tricks A void in the opponent's suit is wonderful
January 2021
January 2021 Movie E View    SUPPORT DOUBLES Responding to Jacoby 2N Aggressive preempting usually pays off A 2nd seat preempt more than in any other seat, is more likely to preempt partner It is usually wrong to lead a suit the opponents have bid If partner opens 1S and you have 5 hearts with a game force hand you should bid 2H	January 2021 Movie D View    Cross ruff Learning Bergen's hand evaluation is the single best way to improve your bidding Rule Of 20 DONT Specific kings is better than number of kings Another hand where you should delay drawing trump	January 2021 Movie C View    You never know, EW could discard incorrectly A jump shift rebid shows an unbalanced hand The ACBL does allow you to open 1NT with a singleton A, K, or Q It is not true that a 4-4 fit is better than 5-3 or 6-2 fit Opening a flat 11-count hand that does not meet the Rule Of 20 is a bad idea Preempts are a risk vs. reward bid	January 2021 Movie B View    Inverted Minors are off in competition. Partners always like it when you follow their directions Bergen Raises in competition Freak hands are hands where you have at least 11 cards in 2 suits If partner opens a weak-2 and you have 3 card support you should always raise All about doubles	January 2021 Movie A View    Leading unprotected aces is not a good idea You should strain to open or overcall 1N With 6-4 hands you prefer to declare rather than defend What is called a "positional" advantage Normally a singleton is a good lead but not with natural trump tricks To bid after a preempt you have to make an educated guess.

December 2020
December 2020 Movie D View    What is a FREE BID You should strain to overcall 1N when it makes sense In general the length of your suit determines how high to preempt These days some open 1NT with singleton aces and kings Use the Law of Total Tricks as your guide when competing A good bid in 3rd seat	December 2020 Movie C View    You need to look at the entirety of the points you and your partner have In Match Points you should not bid marginal games | Lose your losers early Once you distort your distribution you destroy bidding accuracy With a 1NT opener and 5 spades you should still open 1NT It is always good to compete when you can	December 2020 Movie B View    Fine print of Splinter bids The modern overcall Case of Passive Defense On potential slam hands you want to keep the bidding as low as possible Managing entries can be tricky Preempt one level higher when preempting with a freak hand	December 2020 Movie A View    Sequences must start with an honor A Hand that you should dislike Ogust vs Feature When bidding Michaels is not advised Bidding the 6 then the 4 followed by the 6 with a 6-4-2-1 distribution is not correct These days, it is okay to make slightly light takeout doubles with nice distribution.
November 2020
November 2020 Movie E View    What is a Splinter bid Not everyone shuffles the cards well Be careful with the lead directing double Howard is not a big fan of opening flat 11 counts How to make a contract When someone preempts, you have to improvise sometimes	November 2020 Movie D View    Some players do not know the best way to handle 5-4 hands responding to 1N Once a game force is established, you try to keep the bidding lower The new theory is it is okay to open 1NT with a singleton ace or king The 9th trump is often worth an extra trick In 3rd seat you often preempt with a wide range of hands With 5-4 it is usually better to overcall	November 2020 Movie C View    Furthering the preempt You do not preempt over a preempt Support Doubles A game try not accepted A flawed double An expert defense	November 2020 Movie B View    A very straightforward hand Whenever partner opens 1 of a major and you have 4 card support, you MUST raise When all your HCP are in your 2 longest suits, you need to upgrade your hand Free bid It is always much easier to declare than defend 2nd seat is the worst seat to preempt	November 2020 Movie A View    A fine principle you should remember You should play bids over invitational bids (in particular a 2N invite) as forcing In general if it goes 1N-P-P, you should definitely try to balance Exclusion Blackwood Law of Total Tricks Playing DONT when you have spades, you have 2 choices
October 2020
October 2020 Movie C View    What is a Limit Raise Transfers are only over 1NT opener and do not work over 1N rebid Downgrade for overrated queens and jacks 2-way Checkback When you make the opponents guess, and they often guess wrong Thrump double	October 2020 Movie B View    Howard recommends opening 1NT with a balanced 15-17 even with a 5-card major Delayed DONT Responder's options over a double 3rd seat is the most effective seat in which to preempt Fourth Suit Forcing - (4SF)	October 2020 Movie A View    Splinter bids Fit and distribution are more important than HCP You should open at the 4 level with an 8-card suit Defending Against Unusual Notrump A hand which you should upgrade Jacoby 2NT
September 2020
September 2020 Movie D View    Lead count in partner's unsupported suit You should always do proper carding Many experts, falsely, think their judgement is superior to the Law of Total Tricks Sometimes a good contrct goes down. Get used to it You should always plan the hand out before playing from dummy Planning involves both counting tricks and handling entries	September 2020 Movie C View    You should play DONT so you can effectively compete with many hands over 1N You should strain to overcall 1NT You must plan the hand out at trick ONE How to show an 18-19 balanced hands You need strain to open in 3rd seat particularly when preempting Hands with voids are wonderful	September 2020 Movie B View    You really should use Law of Total Tricks in competition Note that after trick one, you lead K from AK, not A from AK You should always make the cheapest reasonable bid You should always compete over 1NT if you can Do not play scared bridge Always open 1N if you can	September 2020 Movie A View    With 5-4 in the majors you never open 1NT You should only bid Stayman with at least an invitational hand Keep parity with dummy. Splinter bids Downgrade 4-3-3-3 hands On a good day, on a bad day, and on most days
August 2020
August 2020 Movie D View    With DONT you can show both one suited and two suited hands Hands with voids in the opponents suit are powerful Normally you lead back remaining count MIN/MAX Make it harder for the opponents to find a major suit fit. Thrump Double	August 2020 Movie C View    Do you do Quick Trick Points? You must lead count in partner's unsupported suit Tens are often very good cards to hold You should strain to preempt in 3rd seat even with a reasonably strong hand. In a competitive auction, Law Of Total Trick determines your bidding Puppet Stayman	August 2020 Movie B View    Some experts like to play 1NT overcall is 14-17 if not vul When it goes 1D-1S-2D-P-to you, with 18 HCP you should not pass. Howard prefers Ogust over Show Feature You should be very reluctant to pass a 2N invitation Bergen Raises 4th Suit Forcing and Kickback RKCB	August 2020 Movie A View    Defense is hard and defenders often make a mistake You should always win the trick on defense as cheaply as possible When to bid 3 over 3 Howard prefers to play Michaels Cuebid with any number of points Coded 9s The least favorite bids for Howard is a 1NT response to 1D opener
July 2020
July 2020 Movie D View    Unprotected ace leads are dangerous Howard advocates leading 4th from longest and strongest against NT You must learn to count out suits on defense With 5-6 you almost always open in your 6-card suit particularly when your 5 card suit is spades A 6-4 is a wonderful distribution It is critical that you value good distribution	July 2020 Movie C View    Count the side suits before the trumps are out Losing Trick Count (LTC) is easy but is not very accurate Doubling VS Overcalling With equal length in 2 suits, open the higher suit Many players pass the 2N rebid way too often	July 2020 Movie B View    You need to compete over 1NT Checkback is similar to New Minor Forcing except . . . Correct carding is very important You need to signal encouragement with the highest spot card you can afford You may lead an unprotected Ace if there is no alternative You lead count and top of a sequence if you have supported	July 2020 Movie A View    Experts often lead Queen from AKQ With good vulnerability (you are not, they are) you should be very aggressive with preempts Leading a long suit with no honors is normally a very safe lead. Whenever you have a misfit, you want to stop bidding ASAP It is hard for the defense to double a part sore The 5 level belongs to the opponents
June 2020
June 2020 Movie C View    When a trump lead is called for Responding to Reverses is a topic you and your partner need to discuss Jacoby 2NT does not apply to overcalls You should balance whenever a 1NT opener is passed out to you Leading unprotected aces is a bad idea if there is another alternative If the opponents bid a suit that has not been raised, having 3 cards in their suit is often a bad thing	June 2020 Movie B View    A "self sufficient" suit It is unusual that you set the opponents four tricks at the 1-level You should be aggressive even when vul but you need to be more cautious A hand where you have to picture what might happen 3N is one of the least favorite responses over 1 of a minor DONT is a wonderful convention and you should use it when you can	June 2020 Movie A View    Losing the timing race Systems on and Stolen bid doubles Whenever you have a chance to open 1NT or overcall 1NT you should strain to do so A misfit hand Hard to bid slam Correct carding is very important on defense
May 2020
May 2020 Movie E View    Don't cash aces on defense unless that is the setting trick You should avoid leading away from a suit headed by a Jack Voids are "magic" particularly when they are in the opponents suit. 2D is just about automatic over 2C opener Quantitative Bids explained Bergen hand evaluation was the key in reaching a good contract	May 2020 Movie D View    In balancing seat 1N shows 11-14 and not 15-17 A control is most often an ace or king, but it can be a void or singleton Normally new suits by responder are forcing A perfect takeout double Well done by everyone Good declarers make their own luck	May 2020 Movie C View    When leading a trump often is the best The advantages of preempting far outweigh the disadvantages When to consider a splinter bid Leading a long weak suit is usually safe Whenever you lead back a suit for partner to ruff you try to lead back suit preference DONT is a wonderful convention for competing over 1NT	May 2020 Movie B View    You must be aggressive in your raises when you find a fit. Good bidding by everyone 5-5 with a void is a great hand distribution With a 9-card fit you should bid close games Mirror distributions makes the hand a bad fit Leading a long weak suit usually is safe	May 2020 Movie A View    A Bid with Specific Meaning Analyzing the defense for every hand Many players are getting more aggressive with Weak-Twos these days Try to bid NT whenever you can Picture Bidding Super Accept
April 2020
April 2020 Movie C View    Opening 1NT is descriptive and can be preemptive as well In NT if you choose to lead a weak suit, you lead top of nothing When you have a choice of 2 bids, you should choose the lower bid unless the higher bid is a lot better Be Alert Lose your losers first	April 2020 Movie B View    You should only control bid aces or kings in the suit partner has bid, not shortness Bidding aggressive games vul is not a bad tactic in IMPs A very difficult hand to play In balancing seat you can be more flexible Overcalling with a 4-card suit Defending as an expert	April 2020 Movie A View    2-level overcall normally requires a good suit or at least a 6-card suit. Active defense You should always consider doubling when you have trump length and strength When you do not open an opener The 5 level belongs to the opponents The modern theory of opening 1NT with non-classic distributions
March 2020
March 2020 Movie E View    The power of Preempt Many have relaxed the NT distribution to 5-4-2-2 If you have a choice between 5 of a minor and 3NT you should always choose 3NT unless Proper carding on defense is crucial It is possible to improve your defense if you play "defense detective" A self-sufficient suit is defined as a suit with at most one loser opposite a small singleton.	March 2020 Movie D View    A difficult board to bid A difficult board to bid and play Leading away from honors is not great You should be eager to bid whenever you have a 9 card fit Inverted raises are off in competition. Bergen Raises in competition	March 2020 Movie C View    When there is a preempt, most of the time you don't have a slam If it goes 1N-P-P, you should strain to balance When you compete in a minor at the 4-level you are begging your opponents to bid game in their major You should always raise partner's weak 2 with 3-card support You should strain to compete over 1N I strongly recommend you play Checkback rather than New Minor Forcing	March 2020 Movie B View    The defensive miscue Bid Grand Slam if you can count 13 tricks Virtually all of the time, you should lead partner's suit 1S after 1H bid promises 5-card spades Bergen Raises When a preempt makes bidding difficult for the opponents	March 2020 Movie A View    Trump promotion play You should strain to interfere over 1NT openers Equal Level Conversion Doubles There is no gap between a preempt and an opener Bergen Hand Evaluation helps show the power of highly distributional hands Plan and count your winners
February 2020
February 2020 Movie D View    How experts card in the middle of the hand 5 level decisions in competitive auctions are among the most difficult bidding decisions in bridge Just because you have Michaels distribution does not mean you have to bid Michaels. Plan the hand out at trick-one A weak 7 card suit is often worth more than a strong 4 card suit Your least disciplined preempts are in 3rd seat	February 2020 Movie C View    Self Sufficient Suit When the hand is a misfit, stop bidding ASAP Make sure you bid game and don't worry about slam once the opponents compete. New suits by responder are always forcing In general you lead count in partner's suit Law Of Total Tricks	February 2020 Movie B View    A pre-competing bid You don't lead away from aces in suit contracts Kickback - RKCB Leading a singleton is often a good lead Over artificial bids, if partner will be on lead you should make lead directing doubles The bad break did declarer in	February 2020 Movie A View    An unlucky hand It is always better to make economical bids when your side has game forcing Strength Fine print of transfer Picture bidding Inverted Raises You may have a Squeeze if ...
January 2020
January 2020 Movie D View    Do you know how to squeeze Flat hands, especially 4-3-3-3 are much worse than they look Expert defenders play attittude leads in the middle of the hand Rule of 20 is supreme Fine print on Superaccept Non-forcing, or semi-forcing, or Forcing 1NT	January 2020 Movie C View    Against suit contracts you never lead away from aces Fast arrival showing a weak game forcing hand with little slam interest DONT Runouts In the middle of the hand you lead King from Ace-King Nothing to write home about this board Do not make a redundant bid	January 2020 Movie B View    Bergen Raises after interference You should always open 1N if your hand qualifies, even with a 5-card Use the Law of Total Tricks in competition Most of the time you bid 2D waiting over 2C The Law of Restricted Choice You should be less inclined to make marginal preempts in 2nd seat	January 2020 Movie A View    4-3-3-3 hands are the worst distribution. Many people like leading attitude (high) from 3 or 4 small. But most experts prefer count Experts define a splinter as an unnecessary jump Aggressive preempting pays off more often than not Unusual over unusual Howard highly recommends playing DONT over 1NT openers.

December 2019
December 2019 Movie C View    Gambling 3NT You need to plan the hand out at trick one Voids are magic You should strain to make lead directing doubles of artificial bids Double after 1C-1H promises 4-card spades Do you play 1NT by a passed hand forcing	December 2019 Movie B View    Relying only on Losing Trick Count is not a good way to evaluate your hand Checkback Stayman Most people don't count out declarer's hand Over 1C-1D, 1H only promises 4 hearts. And 1S only promises 4 spades Super Accept Sometimes you have to know when to pass	December 2019 Movie A View    The power of great distribution The faster you get to game after a 2/1 GF, the weaker you are 2 way Reverse Drury Whenever someone spllinters a trump lead is often a resonable lead Think of "Declarer Points" as "Player with Long Trump Points." The expert opening lead from AKQ
November 2019
November 2019 Movie D View    How to deal with interference over 1NT Often a trump lead is a good lead when the opponents splinter Fourth Suit Forcing - (4SF) You would not play 2nd hand high without having a sequence In partner's suit, you don't show shortness as a control DONT	November 2019 Movie C View    New suits by responder are forcing Always use LOTT to decide when to raise a preempt Bergen Raises If the first 2 players pass, they usually average a combined 16 HCP or so You do not want to be in a 30% slam Bidding over a forcing NT	November 2019 Movie B View    It is always good to remember that overcalls can be lead directing If the opponents are in an 8-card fit at the 2-level you will often not get a good result DONT is one of Howard's favorite convention Howard tend to prefer leading 4th from longest and strongest in NT Leading away from a jack is a bit risky Many players erroneously dislike hands with "Aces and Spaces"	November 2019 Movie A View    Once partner preempts, you virtually never pull their suit 2/1 GF allows you to look for slam while staying below game When leading a suit back for parther to ruff, you lead back suit preference Plan the best way to get the needed trick, making the contract Howard normally dislikes leading unprotected aces Plan the play
October 2019
October 2019 Movie C View    A difficult hand to defend properly In Matchpoints, Howard bids close games with a 9-card fit, and pass with an 8-card fit. Coded 10s and 9s Agressive bidding pays off Howard highly recommends everyone learn and play 2/1 In competitive auction the objective is to make it as hard for the opponents to bid as possible	October 2019 Movie B View    Preempts are usually disruptive Agressive bidding works Reopen with a double if A 1N overcall shows 15-18 When to lead count and when to lead attitude The finesse is marked	October 2019 Movie A View    Rule of 24 in 3rd seat You should stretch to bid vul games in IMPs Don't be a misguided player The Law of Total Tricks works best with 8, 9, and 10 card fits Avoid opening marginal 2C bids Puppet Stayman
September 2019
September 2019 Movie E View    Sometimes missing slam is not bad As is often the case, 4S over 4H is the correct bid You should normally support with support Kickback RKCB The 9th trump is worth almost an extra trick Rule of 24	September 2019 Movie D View    Singletons and voids are huge assets on offense Remaining Count In the good old days Plan the hand out Super Accept The Law of Restricted Choice	September 2019 Movie C View    As a general rule, the length of your suit should guide how high you preempt Difficult bidding A hand hard to count tricks It is rare that you would lead declarer's known suit in NT Hands with singletons are much better on offense than those without	September 2019 Movie B View    You should strain to preempt in 3rd seat The expert lead from AKQ Unlucky hand Once you preempt it is up to partner to decide how high to bid With an 11 card fit missing the K, you play for the drop A lot of players these days lead unbid majors	September 2019 Movie A View    The auctions that start 1D/2C really need discussion by good partnerships Support Doubles shows exactly 3-card support By counting your tricks you get a better idea of how to play the hand From AKQ experts often lead the Queen "What an ugly fit?", said the declarer DONT
August 2019
August 2019 Movie D View    Value showing double An old student of Howard rocks When a Negative Double shows 4 cards in both major Is it always a good thing to get the trump out early? A difficult board to bid slam Lead count in partner's unsupported suit	August 2019 Movie C View    A dangerous play Oh man, He is Good Pass or no Pass If you can make a lead directing double you should do so Defense can help too Often the opening lead is a guess and we often guess wrong with no help	August 2019 Movie B View    Weak NT When to discount a Jx Lead count when you did not support partner Don't take unnecessary risks It does happen Splinter bid	August 2019 Movie A View    A 4-3-3-3 distribution is dreadful New suits by RESPONDER are forcing Howard DISLIKEs LEVEL hands Sometimes, leading unprotected ace is okay when partner has bid the suit Count your tricks as declarer and come up with a plan to make your contract Many nights you end up as dummy or defender and never play a hand
July 2019 Movie D View    The Rule Of 20 is your guide. These days many people are opening offshape 1NT bids Aggressive preempting is crucial to good bridge Quick Trick points hand evaluation Bergen count is a very accurate predicter Jamming the opponents is often a good idea	July 2019 Movie C View    3rd seat is the best time to preempt Once you establish a game force going slow means slam interest Usually, you cover the last honor led from dummy In a suit contract, leading a long suit with no honors is probably the safest lead Bergen Hand Evaluation is extremely useful.	July 2019 Movie B View    Double and correct to NT shows a stronger hand than an immediate NT overcall Bergen Raises in action Leading unprotected aces particularly in an opponent's suit is almost always a bad idea Even if you are a fairly timid preempter you must be aggressive in 3rd seat Heart Break What you need to open 2C	July 2019 Movie A View    When you do not play second hand low Discarding is very hard When you have a self sufficient suit, bid strongly Counting out suits is crucial on defense. You need to have an agreement as to how to bid over a Reverse If you have an opener you can bid a game force
June 2019
June 2019 Movie C View    You should always use the Law of Total Tricks to figure out how high to bid Advantages of Reverse Bergen Raises There is a style of bidding called Walsh Always signal positive attitude with the highest card you can afford Unintentionally, pushing the opponents into a non making contract A "Negative Double" and correct.	June 2019 Movie B View    In a suit contract a singleton is often a good lead DONT Runouts Usually "5 over 5" decisions are very difficult It is a good idea to overcall in NT with a suitable hand. Good bidding and good play Defending partials is very difficult	June 2019 Movie A View    The 5 level belongs to the opponents The merits of Bergen Hand Evaluation Lots of "IFs" A good contract which does not make Holding 3 cards in an opponents' suit is your worst holding Luck has something to do with it
May 2019
May 2019 Movie D View    Rule of 20 is still your best guide A good advertisement for Bergen hand evaluation Unless you have an explicit agreement 1NT in 3rd seat is still 15-17 Leading unprotected aces is a very bad idea Bergen Raises Good declarers make their own luck by careful planning	May 2019 Movie C View    When leading partner's unsupported suit, you always lead count In the middle of the hand you lead K from AK Preempting much more often than not works out well 3N is almost always a better contract than 5 of a minor MM dislikes those recap sheets Once again proving that preempts do usually work out well	May 2019 Movie B View    Sometimes it is difficult to find the correct opening lead Leading unprotected aces is dangerous 7-card suits are pretty rare so you need to take advantage of them Pass is not a dirty word Howard prefers using the Rule of 20 in all 4 seats This board is like a kiss from your sister-in-law	May 2019 Movie A View    Support Doubles 5 over 5 decisions are very difficult Playing Walsh requires a very experienced partnership which understands all the implications Carefully plan your play Leading the King and then the Ace shows a doubleton in the suit Howard highly recommends you play Bergen Raises
April 2019
April 2019 Movie D View    When it is reasonable to lead an unprotected ACE Use the "Negative Inferences" as well as "Positive Inferences" Quick Trick Points Picture Bidding Tough to bid game Opening 1NT with a 5-card major	April 2019 Movie C View    Howard recommends 4S as Kickback when hearts are trump Defense is by far the hardest part of the game The disruppting power of Weak-Two bids Entry management can be tricky The expert treatment of a cue bid of 3H over 2H and 3S over 2S A Ho-hum board	April 2019 Movie B View    "Kickback" RCKB is Howard's new favorite A takeout double followed by a correct to NT shows a stronger hand than overcalling 2NT In suits you can lead top of 2 card sequence The great play Use the Law Of Total Tricks when competing	April 2019 Movie A View    Hands with good distribution are always under valued When you bid aggressively, the opponents often overbid You should avoid opening marginal 2C bids when your suit is a minor Why Howard hates his hand Responding to Gerber Howard throws the kitchen sink at the Movie Maker
March 2019
March 2019 Movie E View    Defense is so hard because it is very hard for most players to visualize With 5-5 you never open your lower ranking suit A very tricky hand In 3rd seat,you should like to preempt with appropriate hands even if you are slightly too strong Despite what you may hear, a 5-3 fit is usually better and safer than a 4-4 fit Declarer Play - Suit Combinations - A Review	March 2019 Movie D View    You should open a weak 2 even with an outside 4-card major assuming you can't open at the 1-level Opening 1N with a singleton Ace With a balanced 15-17 you always open 1N even with a 5-card major With missing 2 key cards, you don't want to be in slam The 5 level belongs to the opponents Is the player too wimpy to pass	March 2019 Movie C View    Most players under value distribution and over value HCP Often in a splinter auction, a trump is a good lead Some count winners and some like to count losers Support Doubles One deal with two outcomes A rare hand where a negative double promised both unbid suits	March 2019 Movie B View    Rule of 16 and 24 after 2 passes Picture bidding The 5 level belongs to the opponents People often misdefend allowing you to make un-makable contracts Good bidding and good play	March 2019 Movie A View    "Pass" is a bid too Kickback A freakish hand With 3-card support you raise to 3 even if weak You never lose the post mortem by leading partner's suit
February 2019
February 2019 Movie D View    It is often a good idea to make declarer trump and shorten their trump Bidding 2C over 1D is a very good competitive bid You should only double part scores when you have a lot of trump Over 1NT new suits are not forcing You do need to think at bridge The 1NT rebid is more of a description rather than showing stoppers in all unbid suits	February 2019 Movie C View    Praise the mighty Bergen Raises Aggressive bidding pays off more often than not You lead high from an honor sequence Bid 1N with 15-17 balanced hand and 5-card major You can't make a Bergen Raise with 3 card support Terry is a star	February 2019 Movie B View    A double and correct to NT shows 19-21 In general, against 6NT you try and make a safe lead You almost always preempt at the 3-level with a 7-card suit In general you should rarely lead a suit the opponents have bid Rule of 15 If you have nice 3-card support and no better bid, it is Okay to raise to 2 with 3-card support	February 2019 Movie A View    Suit Combinations SHE who knows goes Aggressive bidding pays. Defense is always hard In a competitive auction, The Law of Total Tricks is your best guide The magic of voids
January 2019
January 2019 Movie D View    You never need to ruff in the hand with long trump UNLESS Why Qxx opposite Jxx is a dangerous combination Draw trump ASAP unless there is a reason not to Against a small slam in a suit, you want to make an aggressive lead Don't bid your hand twice Use Bergen Starting Points in NT to figure out how high to bid	January 2019 Movie C View    Flannery a useless convention! Preempt is a higher reward/lower risk action You should use the Law of Total Tricks when competing In general you should use the law of total tricks when raising partner's preempt Checkback Stayman 101 Good declarers make their own luck	January 2019 Movie B View    Do you know "unusual over unusual" Never violate the system Leading unprotected aces often gives away a trick Marty Bergen/Larry Cohen: We love Cappelletti; we recommend it to all our opponents. Normally you don't want to bid RKCB with a void Good bidding by all	January 2019 Movie A View    You must lead count in partner's suit if you have not supported them What card an expert would lead from A K Q Leading K from KQx often does not work out so well It is never wrong to lead partner's sui The good old days You don't lead 4th best when you have an honor sequence

December 2018
December 2018 Movie E View    With 3 to an honor with a singleton or void, you should seriously consider a raise Don't just look at 1 or 2 suits. Look at all 4 suits Good players make their own luck The 5 level belongs to the opponents Do you know Ogust? Good defensive carding is discussed	December 2018 Movie D View    Preempt whenever possible Once partner is a passed hand, you are no longer preempting them If you don't have enough points to bid, just pass You MUST learn to love good distribution One Million Porcupines March at BBO A pretty normal result	December 2018 Movie C View    It's a matter of giving yourself two 50% chances instead of one Opening 1D with 4 diamonds and 5 clubs A short explanation of Puppet Stayman You should be reluctant to open 2C when your suit is diamonds Active defense In general you should not try and rescue partner after a preempt	December 2018 Movie B View    Generally, new suits by RESPONDER (partner of opener) are always forcing When 4N is quantitative In slams, suits are almost always easier than NT The law of total tricks is a good guideline Leading K from KQx does not always workout well Make a plan at trick one	December 2018 Movie A View    Equal Level Conversion A Dummy Reversal Never forget that distribution is very important to hand evaluation Do you know the MIN-MAX Convention? Texas Transfer Not a walk in the park
November 2018
November 2018 Movie D View    You MUST count distribution and not just HCP. Playing "2 against 1" is fun Smolen convention is okay, so long as partner remembers Once partner preempts, you almost always want to play in partner's suit The least favorite bid--2N	November 2018 Movie C View    A couple of declarer play techniques employed by Howard If you lead partner's suit, you will be right more often than not Do not let them play at 1-level except if it is a 1-level minor A raise of partner's suit in a competitive auction is not invitational Whenever the auction starts 1C-1D-dbl, the doubler is showing exactly 4 hearts and 4 spades Normally you should lead partner's suit	November 2018 Movie B View    6-4 hands are very powerful on offense Remember and take advantage of the auction The power of distribution You should always make a lead directing doubles over artificial bids When you know where you want to play, just play there Rebidding an unsupported weakish 5-card suit at the 2-level is dangerous	November 2018 Movie A View    The victim of a teaching moment HCP are not what causes a double. Its trump length and strength You need to be an expert to find this line of play Totally awesome play Don't have a good lead? Ask the teacher.
October 2018
October 2018 Movie C View    Make a disruptive bid immediately Garbage Stayman Fine prints in responding to 2C opening Trump promotion White Against Red Isn't Bridge (WARIB)	October 2018 Movie B View    West got very lucky Waiting to see what develops as some people might have merit With intermediate cards bid more aggressively Howard tends to open 1N whenever he has any excuse A touch of New Minor Forcing Be cautious when you compete to the 4-level in a minor	October 2018 Movie A View    Always help out your partner on defense when you can Do you know what a "fix" is? In 3rd seat, especially at favorable vul you should strain to preempt With a minor, you want to avoid making marginal 2C opening bid You should wish for 6-5 hands on every deal Howard almost never leads from Qx unless partner bid the suit where he leads Q from Qx
September 2018
BIL 15th Anniversary Exhibition View    Leading an eight from 10 8 6 There's a theory that when you're fixed you stay fixed, settle for game Forcing PASS (not the one you are thinking!) Weak NT 101 I can make it if I pull trump initially DONT and Lebensohl vs Weak NT How to show a strong NT hand when you play Weak NT Opening 1C when holding ?-?-4C-4D is solved	September 2018 Movie B View    Once partner is a passed hand, it is less likely you have game A good rule is that it is right to bid 4S over 4H when you have a 9+ card fit You need to learn to "support with support" as soon as you can Suits with jacks and no other honors or the 10 are not worth that much unless partner has bid the suit Use "Bergen adjusted HCP" for the rule of 20 Balanced hands are bad on offense and good on defense	September 2018 Movie A View    On highly distributional hands you have to engage in what I call "Picture" bidding What is the important tenet of control bidding Do you know the way to Points, Schmoints (Movie Make is OLDDDD) You take distribution to Points Schmoints, you know! With 5-4 in the majors I almost always overcall rather than double unless When you have a marginal call you value long suits and shortness in their suit
August 2018
August 2018 Movie D View    Do you know how to make an expert lead A quality suit has 3 honors (the 10 is an honor) Any time you have a chance to double an artificial bid as lead directing you should In general bidding is better than passing Replay Board 4	August 2018 Movie C View    In general you should try and unblock suits ASAP Pass is a good bid With 6-5 in general, you open your 6 card suit--BUT Responding to Michaels Fine print in Negative Doubles A so so board	August 2018 Movie B View    A rare opening lead What should you do with a 9-card suit Double whenever you have a lot of trump and you don't think the opponents can escape anywhere A limit raise over a cuebid When someone preempts, the odds of a bad break are greatly increased	August 2018 Movie A View    A quick lesson Over an Inverted raise, you are looking for NT bid with stoppers In general you want your honors in your long suits With Jxx vs Qxx, get the opponents to lead the suit for you Good defense is extremely difficult. When to overcall with a 4-card majors
July 2018
July 2018 Movie D View    Best you could do What to do when partner has bid 2 suits Leading against NT Be careful with all the blocked suits Checkback Stayman An expert lead	July 2018 Movie C View    Most players are too cautious. Some players (Not Howard of course) open 1N with 14 and a 5-card suit Rule of 11 (Probably the only one Howard cares for) Your pre-empt is attached to your SEAT Always open 1NT when you can Passing and awaiting developments always causes problems	July 2018 Movie B View    1NT over a takeout double normally shows a slightly stronger hand usually 8-10 or at least a good 7 It is pretty much established that you should open 1NT with a 5-card major Don't pass the redouble unless you have no preference The Law of Total Tricks As defender it is much harder to visualize how to play than it is as declarer A word or two about the Conventional wisdom	July 2018 Movie A View    Not a good contract You should have a better suit to overcall The Law Of Total Tricks You should love your 8 card suit even though it is weak 5 over 5 decisions are very difficult in Match Points A judicious pass
June 2018
June 2018 Movie C View    Support Doubles and Maximal doubles You want your HCP to be in your long suit It is now permissible to do 1N with a singleton Ace or King If partner is a passed hand after you open and you rebid 1N that shows better than a strong NT It is not possible to have a hand with 6 spades that is too weak to open 1S and too strong to open 2S Jump shifts and Reverses	June 2018 Movie B View    The best way to play K 6 3 opposite of J 10 7 5 2 Whenever you find a fit, you MUST reevaluate your hand Balanced 11 counts are not as good as you might think In general you should play the honors from the shorter hand first to prevent blocking the suit Hear all about MOYSIAN FIT Tough hand to play with the 4-1 break	June 2018 Movie A View    A good decision which didn't work out Best to use LOTT in competitive auctions In the middle of the hand the correct carding is to lead K from AK You should get in the habit of counting out declarer's hand Splinter bid Declarer should plan the hand out at trick one
May 2018
May 2018 Movie D View    A good balance bid Once again the Law Of Total Tricks works out Howard prefers to only open 1NT with at most 1 doubleton Do you do "equal level conversion" Ducking the diamond saved the day for declarer Hands with 4 hearts and a 5 card minor are always potential problem hands	May 2018 Movie C View    Do not overcall with mediocre holdings 6-5 is wonderful distribution which you rarely get A tad aggressive bid You should always open or overcall 1N when it is appropriate Whenever someone splinters, you devalue shortness and honors other than the ace in the splinter suit These days the distributions where some open 1NT are more flexible	May 2018 Movie B View    You should virtually always prefer 3NT to 5 of a minor More good things than bad things happen when you preempt With 5-5 in the majors you open 1S not 1H A great teaching board When leading back partner's suit, you lead back remaining count What if	May 2018 Movie A View    It should not be opened 1N, if the hand is 15-17 but 5-4-2-2 or 4-5-2-2 Why a 1NT rebid shows 18-19? Some experts are wary of over-calling a mediocre 5-card suit at the 2 levele specially at unfavorable vulnerability. You want to preempt when you can Opening 1N with 5-4 in the majors rule Defense is very hard and you need your partner
April 2018
April 2018 Movie C View    Crawling Stayman Small print on Takeout Double Delayed DONT convention The Rule of 20 is Supreme The defenders sometimes mis-discard The player did his best	April 2018 Movie B View    Advanced Super Accept To stay out of trouble, carefully listen to the bidding A board with a few teaching points A 7-card suit, even if very weak, will often take at least 5 tricks on offense In misfits, you want to stop the bidding ASAP You should be very cautious over-calling at the 2-level with a weak 5-card suit	April 2018 Movie A View    Inverted minors are off in competition (including over takeout doubles Flat hands are not as good as they look With a 9-card fit and no information from the bidding you play for the drop of the queen In general, playing in a suit is easier than playing in NT Anytime you can open or overcall 1NT you should do so Aggressive bidding wins the day more often than not
March 2018
March 2018 Movie D View    In opening lead for NT contracts Howard is a "4th from longest" advocate All, almost all, overcalls promise 5+. Adjust-3 Bergen Starting Point Rule Some bids are too aggressive even for Howard 5-0 break is a mere 4% probability For opening lead, avoid unprotected aces	March 2018 Movie C View    When as opener you raise partner's major 6-5 hands are pretty rare A good preempt If you don't have a raise, you don't have a raise A nicely done squeeze You should always open 1NT with 15-17 balanced even with 2 suits unstopped	March 2018 Movie B View    Lose your losers early A wrong discard cost the contract Whether to open 1C or 1D You should always open 1NT whenever you have 15-17 balanced even with a 5-card major Bridge is a game of percentages Responding to partner's 1C opener, don't bid with less than 6 even with a club void	March 2018 Movie A View    Puppet Stayman Lose your losers early Kickback is a good alternative to 4NT RKCB You should always open 1NT with 15-17 balanced even with a 5-card major Once again proving 4S over 4H is a good bid A negative double over 1D shows both majors
February 2018
February 2018 Movie D View    Managing your entries is very important Partner's balancing double (where partner could be relatively weak Are you familiar with the "8 ever 9 never You need to be a little more cautious when making 2 level overcalls Have not supported you must lead count, not attitude|	February 2018 Movie C View    The best defense is hard to find The importance of the opening lead Kickback Keycards Ask A student gets a hubba-hubba from an unusual source Aggressive bidding usually works out fine An illusive killer opening lead	February 2018 Movie B View    Aggressive bidding often pays You should draw trump ASAP unless you have a reason not to. Not all preempts affect the auction Support doubles should be alerted With Bergen hand evaluation, you count declarer points for whoever is longer in trump Experts train themselves to count all suits and watch the spot cards	February 2018 Movie A View    When dummy leads an honor always cover the last honor In Match Points, letting them play in 2-level auction won't be a good result What is required to make a 2-level overcall When possible, make the most descriptive bid you can Flat distribution is really bad and 4-3-3-3 is the worst 6-4 distribution is wonderful
January 2018
January 2018 Movie D View    The Power of a Fit | Checkback Stayman A good pass East played the hand he was dealt Using rule of 20 in all 4 seats is best Sometimes you can induce a mis-defense	January 2018 Movie C View    Exclusion Key Card Blackwood Pre-empts work Self Sufficient Suit Some experts wouldn't pre-empt with a 5 card suit vulnerable 2nd hand low almost always works better nome played a hand well--almost	January 2018 Movie B View    Unusual over Unusual You should play lowest of the touching sequence as 3rd hand With forcing 1NT auctions you often end up in 5-2 major suit contracts Defense is very hard. But good defense is very rewarding It is rarely right to trump with the master trump A Ho-Hum board	January 2018 Movie A View    Simple Law of Total Tricks Plan to deal with unexpected "5 over 5" bids The modern style is to open 1C with 3-3 in the minors 9 trumps are usually worth an extra trick You don't preempt over a preempt

December 2017
December 2017 Movie E View    Garozzo's Rule With a 15-18 balanced hand, with a stopper in opener's suit, it is ok to overcall 1NT From K1098 A1098 of Q1098, the 10 is the correct standard lead in NT contract. With KJ on the board, you duck your ace always Any hand with 12+ HCP and 5-6 distribution is worth a reverse How a 7 HCP hand can be valued at 13 points	December 2017 Movie D View    A 1S bid (after a 1H overcall specifically) promises 5+ spades Some people play suit preference when there is a singleton on the board. It is pretty well established at this point that you open 1NT with any 15-17 even with a nice 5-card major A double could backfire A weak 2 in 4th seat shows around 11-14 with a nice 6-card suit In the middle of the hand you lead King from Ace-King 'Tis but thy name that is my enemy	December 2017 Movie C View    In general you should win the honors in the hand with the shorter suit first In NT, lead your longest and strongest suit that was not bid by the opponents. Good distribution is often worth more than HCP Many players are (incorrectly) reluctant to raise with 3-card support. Blackwood - Queen Ask Any time you can preempt you should.	December 2017 Movie B View    One of the things good defenders have to do is visualize how they can beat the contract Good players make their own luck You only lead top of a sequence in NT when you have a 3-card sequence A lovely and well bid Grand Slam A hard board to bid slam or even game An interesting auction	December 2017 Movie A View    Howard doesn't like to let the opponents play at the 2-level when the points are evenly spread, BUT Regular or Reverse Bergen It is okay to open weak 2 with a void? The Declarer needs all the help he can get Good defense, especially against a 2-level contract is very difficult Garozzo's rule In the middle of the hand, you lead King from Ace-King
November 2017
November 2017 Movie D View    The art of giving yourself undertricks You should not jump shift with less than a good 19 Bergen count. A common mistake that many players make is to forget to count trump when there is a ruff A good declaring The jury must disregard what you just heard What is passive defense in a nut shell	November 2017 Movie C View    It is much harder to play a contract when one hand has all of the HCP Please don't mess with the Law Of Total Tricks Sometimes the cards are not nice to you Good distribution is very powerful You should almost never overruff with a natural trump winner Responses to a takeout doubles	November 2017 Movie B View    The worst holding in an opponent's suit is 3 small Whenever there is only 1 high trump out, it is usually best to not draw it Discarding is very hard You should always count your winners 4th Suit Forcing Squeezes	November 2017 Movie A View    Can you tell a singleton opening lead from the bidding. 2nd negative approach Go for the gusto and bid 3N You should strain to bid 1N any time you can't raise and have NT distribution When to overruff Words of Wisdom which We Usually Ignore
October 2017
October 2017 Movie D View    When you bid over a weak 2, you should have opening values You always need to count winners whenever you are declarer WARIB - White Against Red Isn't Bridge You are defending a 7N contract^ A board from Teams Cayne/Stars match Gambling 3N	October 2017 Movie C View    Maximal Double A killer opening lead In Matchpoints be on the look out for extra tricks Gambling 3NT "Coded" 10s and 9s Nome disrupts Gambling 3NT	October 2017 Movie B View    Responding to 1N--It is a long one Trolling Kia The "book" bid Think about not only what WAS bid, but also what WAS NOT bid Balanced hands are not nearly as good as they look Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	October 2017 Movie A View    Aces and spaces revisited 5-5 hands are very powerful on offense The Law of Total Tricks works After 1N-P-P, you want to strain to bid All about Ogust Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge
September 2017
September 2017 Movie D View    Sometimes you have to do what you have to do I think you should play new suits as forcing by an unpassed hand even after an overcall Lead K from AK = "Old school"; A from AK = "New school" It's really a LOTT consideration. Opening 1C and/or 1D Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	September 2017 Movie C View    Lead against suits contracts When there is a preempt you have to take some risks and play the odds Inverted Minor Raises are off in competition With 19 HCP and all suits controlled 4N right away is fine The 5 level belongs to the opponents Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	September 2017 Movie B View    "Self-sufficient" suit MUD is a really a bad idea Aces and spaces Over an Inverted raise, all suit bids are now stopper bid Unusual over Unusual Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	September 2017 Movie A View    Describe your hand Accepting the invitation With only 3-card support, particularly 3 small I try and find an alternative bid if possible Count your starting points, and, once you find a fit, your dummy or declarer points A Hard hand to play and to defend Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge
August 2017
August 2017 Movie D View    Bidding hands with 9 card suits is difficult Discount balanced hands, especially 4-3-3-3 Sometimes the opponents make a friendly discard Lebensohl is a slightly better to handle interference, but it is very complicated Phantom sacrifice Sacrifice suggestion Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	August 2017 Movie C View    The importance of intermediate cards (10s, 9s, 8s) East and West conspired to let Howard make the hand The Reverse can be done on as little as 16 To make a great call, a player wished he could see the four hands Support Double Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	August 2017 Movie B View    You need to keep re-evaluating your hand based on the auction. Counting Declarer's hand. 3NT is normally a better game than 5C or 5D. Don't ruff in the long hand unless you have a good reason. Declarer had limited entries. Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	August 2017 Movie A View    It is usually not a good idea, particularly in first and second seat to preempt when you have an opening bid What do you call an 8-card suit In IMPs, Howard rarely pass an invitational 2NT Declarer was saved by a transfer bid Quick Trick points Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge Movie Maker's Corner - What A Lovely Story
July 2017
July 2017 Movie D View    You should strain to balance when it goes 1N-P-P and you have a hand with appropriate DONT distribution Vul game bonus is worth a lot of IMPs When there is preemtive bidding you have to go with the odds If your hand meets the rule of 20, treat it as a game force when responding Porcupines know best Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge Movie Maker's Corner - Rise of Spiritualism	July 2017 Movie C View    For the 2 level overcall you prefer at least 10 HCP and a 6-card suit or a quality 5-card suit A doomed correct 1N auction New Minor Forcing by Erick Rodwell - an Excerpt Plodding through BBO You may bid differently whether playing in IMPs or Matchpoints A 7-card fit Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge Movie Maker's Corner - Origin Of US National Parks	July 2017 Movie B View    A unique hand When you have the majority of strength, lead trump to avoid letting declarer get ruffs Even experts are not immune to bad suit breaks. Correct defensive carding is crucial if you want to defend well You should strain to overcall (or open) 1NT whenever you have the appropriate hand Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge Movie Maker's Corner - Stairway To Heaven	July 2017 Movie A View    Draw trumps ASAP unless you have a good reason not to It is okay to bid 2N with two doubletons to get 20+ points across to pard May it be His Will that the Divine Presence should rest on the work of your hands It is very difficult to play 2N with all the points in 1 hand What is "negative double and correct." The most common reason to delay drawing trump is when you want to ruff in the hand with short trump Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge Movie Maker's Corner - Fiddler On The Roof
June 2017
June 2017 Movie C View    You must lead count in partner's suit when you have not supported The art of knowing when to compete Opening 2@C mini-lesson You have to play the percentages When to play 4N quantitative Gambling 3NT Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge Movie Maker's Corner - How Washington Helped Started The Revolutionary War	June 2017 Movie B View    Note the importance of the tens in the hand New suits by responder are ALWAYS forcing DONT is vastly superior to Cappeletti The power of distribution Have you studied Howard's IMP and MP Scoring tutorial Generally speaking you should err on the side of bidding more rather than less Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge Movie Maker's Corner - Hillary and Tenzing reach Everest summit	June 2017 Movie A View    If you want to make a neutral lead you should lead the longest unbid suit in which you have no honor An update on Super Acccept Aggressive bidding works more often than not Bergen Rule of 20 opener Howard does not open balanced 11 counts--it is losing bridge in the long run You almost never raise partner's DONT bid Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge Movie Maker's Corner - The Accidental Super Power
May 2017
May 2017 Movie C View    Howard at his best Good attitude Where declarer shows 2 suits and dummy shows a preference, a trump lead is often agood idea Howard recommends you play all jumps to 3 over 1NT, as slam tries Tough bidding situation Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge Movie Maker's Corner - Charlie Chaplin	May 2017 Movie B View    You want to declare when you have a void, especially in a known fit for the opponents You can only make a cue bid as a raise a) as you first bid and b) if you are responder or advancer If partner opens one of a major and you have 4-card support you MUST show it immediately Flannery 101 In NT you only lead the top of an honor sequence when you have a 3-card sequence or broken sequence Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge Movie Maker's Corner - The Press : The Colonial Period	May 2017 Movie A View    Learning is easy. Remembering is the hard part. Bidding can give you clues A rare hand where 5 of a minor is better than 3NT Always best to "support with support. A New Minor Forcing bid Selecting the opening lead by elimination process Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge Movie Maker's Corner - The Raiding Of Ireland
April 2017
April 2017 Movie D View    Discarding error Never give up on trying to make a hand if there is any possiblity of making it 1NT by "advancer" should show 8-11 or so Call it an unlucky hand Once someone opens, even a preempt the likelihood of slam making is not that high Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge Movie Maker's Corner - The First Oval Office	April 2017 Movie C View    Get in the habit of trying to determine declarer's HCP when on defense Whenever you have all the tricks but one you have a potential squeeze Make your plan at trick 1 and then execute In NT you can lead away from an ace and often do because it is not going to be trumped When you could open a 6-3-2-2 distribution hand 1NT You should stretch to bid vul games in IMPs Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge Movie Maker's Corner - The First Oval Office	April 2017 Movie B View    It is hard to show a 16 point hand Give attitude or count Once you establish a game force the principle of "fast arrival" applies DONT under microscope A wimpy Pass Even experienced bidders can make reasonable decisions that do not work out Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	April 2017 Movie A View    Good choice of lead--declarer bids 2 suits and responder shows shortness in one Finding a killer opening lead is not easy You are allowed to bid 1D over 1C with four diamonds 5-5 is always a wonderful distribution Aggressive bidding wins again, as it often does By planning the hand out you give yourself a shot and the shot may come in Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge
March 2017
March 2017 Movie D View    4th from longest and strongest unbid suit against NT works out better more often than not With 5-6 hands, you should open your 6-card suit unless you really are going to have a rebid problem The opponents don't always make optimal bidding decisions Did you know "Satchmo" is Yiddish for "Big Cheeks"? Howard prefers playing in a 5-3 fit to a 4-4 fit It is generally a good idea to stretch when you have a 9-card fit Whenever you bid forcing 1NT and then bid a new suit that shows a weak hand Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	March 2017 Movie C View    In Notrump contract 4th best is usually the best lead With 5-5 in the majors always open 1S. A deadly double The King is a special lead against NT. It asks partner to encourage holding the Ace or the Jack It Is hard, but you should always try and plan every hand. Plan out the hand at trick one Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	March 2017 Movie B View    One of Howard's students SHINES What if Howard is not a big fan of light openers in 3rd or 4th seat When bidding don't think what can go wrong--think what can go right Howard recommends opening a Weak-2 even with an outside 4-card major Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	March 2017 Movie A View    Suit Preference Howard going WILD--teaching wise 1N forcing with 3-card support Leading unprotected Ace Most play you open 1D with 4 diamonds and 4 clubs regardless of strength. Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge
February 2017
February 2017 Movie D View    You should do the "Percentage" play unless you can see the four hands Sometimes it is hard to bid a nice contract Don't bid a 25% game Use the Law of Total Tricks in competitive auctions What is a defect in a pre-empt hand Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	February 2017 Movie C View    Opening 5-6 hands where the 5-card suit is higher ranking than the 6-card suit The Mother of all the Teaching Boards There is no crying in bridge 9 trick rule in 2C opener A hopeless contract Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	February 2017 Movie B View    Reverse Bergen Raises Responder's bid after partner's 2C is ovecalled Movie Maker at his best--three auctions in one board! Bidding 4 of a minor when you suspect the opponents may have a major fit It is never wrong to take the setting trick Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	February 2017 Movie A View    What is good lead Leading singletons against suit contracts is often correct You should be more conservative when you have an 8 card fit. Don't let the opponents play at the 2 level when you know they have an 8+ card fit Opening Lead from AKQJ Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge
January 2017
January 2017 Movie E View    Super Accepts On every hand figure out a way to come to the number of winners you need | Defend as experts do Use the law of total tricks to figure out if and how much to raise partner Cohen - Fixing A Slump Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	January 2017 Movie D View    An interesting board Always make a plan before playing the first trick Upside Down Count and Attitude The best time to preempt is 3rd seat, so you should be very frisky I think opening balanced 11 counts is losing bridge in the long run Be more conservative with an 8 card fit Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	January 2017 Movie C View    In NT, you should always count your tricks in all 4 suits and come up with a plan With 15-17 balanced you should open 1NT even with a 5-card major If you lead partner's suit you are never wrong even if it turns out not to be the best lead on the hand Overcalling 1NT when you can is also a good bid A grand slam should not be bid unless it is almost a sure thing Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	January 2017 Movie B View    On defense proper carding is crucial on many hands You should strain to bid and overcall 1NT with a suitable hand A cue bid is only a raise if it is made by responder Normally it is a bad idea to lead the opponent's 5 card suit When lead directing doubles are not helping Leading unprotected aces is usually not a good idea Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	January 2017 Movie A View    Do you know what "Quacks" are Choosing 1D vs 1H or 1S after partner opens 1C Don't forget Rule of 11 Whenever you can reasonably make a lead directing double you should You can only make a help suit game try if you can stop below game Always mind the power of distribution Bidding Quizzes by Eddie Kantar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge

December 2016
December 2016 Movie D View    Puppet Stayman Weak-Two bids Howard's style When you have all the tricks but one you have a potential squeeze If my partner does not lead your suit, he better either be void in your suit, or be leading a singleton Keep parity with the dummy Defending Against Michaels Cuebids Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	December 2016 Movie C View    A simple squeeze Many experts prefer DONT over Cappelletti Howard is a rule of 20 person Roman Keycard Blackwood - Kickback Opener's options after 1N-P-2H-P-2S-P-2N-P If you never lead an opps' suit you will be right virtually all the time Defending Against Unusual Notrump Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	December 2016 Movie B View    Keep parity with dummy You can splinter WITH 4-card support, shortness, and enough points for a game force Do you know the Expert Lead from A K Q? Don't Ruff on Air please The modern theory is to lead unbid majors against NT When You have a "License to Steal" Responding to Unusual Notrump Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	December 2016 Movie A View    Unusual Notrump fine print Do something intelligent double. 2nd negative after a 2D by responder Any time you can make a lead directing overcall you should Whenever partners preempt and you are short in their suit that is very bad for offense Bergen hand evaluation is a great tool UNUSUAL NOTRUMP 101 Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge
November 2016
November 2016 Movie D View    With 5-4 in the majors overcalling the 5-card suit works out better more often When leading back partner's suit you should lead back remaining count. Unless you know you are missing a stopper in a suit, you should always prefer 3N to 5 of a minor Too much chatting will get you in trouble even if you are an expert Proper cardplay Bidding a small slam will usually get you a good board Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	November 2016 Movie C View    When you bypass 1D and when you don't "Once you are fixed, stay fixed" 4-Suit transfers Simply follow the Law of Total tricks You should always lead count in partner's suit if you have not supported them The pot calling the kettle black--Marty Bergen thinks Howard preempt too much! Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	November 2016 Movie B View    A bidding dilemma with a strong hand and a long diamond suit Deciding whether or not to double a preempt Experts prefer showing "specific" kings A perfectly good bid Showing a 3-card limit raise in 2/1 DONT Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	November 2016 Movie A View    Doubleton leads should be avoided in general What is a free bid? Having the A or K in a preempt suit is not as good as you might think Consider a 5-2 split If you can don't let the queen get a free trick It is hard to know when to be "passive" and when to be aggressive when defending Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge
October 2016
October 2016 Movie D View    Distributional hands are worth much more than their HCP indicate A 1NT rebid simply denies 4-card support and shows a 12-14 balanced hand You always raise when you can Ignore "hand records" given out in the local bridge clubs Always cash the honors in the short hand first to avoid blocking the suit Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge|	October 2016 Movie C View    Practice finesse Gambling 3N Bidding 1NT with a 5-card major is perfectly okay Pass when you do not have a good bid You never preempt over a preempt Bidding with Larry Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	October 2016 Movie B View    DONT 3rd seat light openers With 5-4 in the majors, overcall your 5-card suit instead of a double Opening lead from Jx A 20% slam Open 1S with hands with 5 spades and 5 clubs Responsive double Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	October 2016 Movie A View    You don't get many 5-5 hands and you should not waste them An easier way to keep track of trumps is to remember how many are out Bidding slam once there is an opening bid by an opponent is rare Doubles of artificial bids are always lead directing A difficult hand to play Do you play 1D-P-2C forcing--2/1 Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge
September 2016
September 2016 Movie D View    Another nice feature of Bergen Raises Playing in a 5-2 fit is much better than playing in a 4-3 fit. Howard favors aggressive bidding over not aggressive Have your cake and eat it Lose your losers early These days with good shape, your takeout doubles are allowed to be a little lighter Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	September 2016 Movie C View    Bergen Raises after the double by the opponents Choice of Roman Key Cards when minors are trump Game Tries In bridge it is often wrong to procrastinate The whole secret is to count your winners ASAP Hands with "aces and spaces" are not BAD Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	September 2016 Movie B View    Quick Trick points Discarding fine prints The Negative Double only promises the unbid major A coached Play Distribution is often more important than HCP Some "good" contracts are not makeable Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge - From July 02, 2016 What card to lead against suit contracts - by Mike Lawrence	September 2016 Movie A View    You always play the lowest of equal cards as 3rd hand Proper defensive carding is crucial if you want to defend as best as you can Even if you play 1430, you must play 0314 when clubs are trump Don't make a redundant bid A tough bidding situation In IMPs, the game bonus is worth the risk Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge
August 2016
August 2016 Movie C View    Defending when balanced and bidding when unbalanced, will improve your odds High cards in your long suits are much more valuable than high cards in your short suits Rule of 17 - Much Ado About Nothing BROMAD is an acronym for "Bergen Raises of a Major After a Double A Chicken Bridge Player Is Born Howard's Competitive Guideline	August 2016 Movie B View    It is usually right to bid 3 over 2 when both sides have an 8 card fit Furthering the Pre-empt With 9-card suits don't be timid If you have good technique on defense it will matter a lot. Howard is a 4th from longest and strongest advocate A dream board for East/West Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	August 2016 Movie A View    A suit preference signal When you know you have a misfit, stop ASAP Defending is hard and requires a lot of visualization Re-evaluate your hand after each bid Fine prints in leading unsupported Ace A good rule is to not ruff with a natural trump trick Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge
July 2016
July 2016 Movie E View    Double and correct" to NT when too strong to overcall 1N Leading unprotected aces (ace with no king) is often a bad idea Leading King from King-Queen without the Jack (or at least the 10) often works out badly Perfect defense is often hard to find 2/1 does not apply with interference Criss Cross Style Hands (four boards) of the Week from Vu-Bridge	July 2016 Movie D View    Forcing out 2 honors with 1 honor is always good It is always better to make your bids earlier rather than later "I would not hate being in slam, but I don't hate not being in slam", says Howard Leading unprotected aces (unless partner has bid the suit) are generally not a good idea The correct lead from Q 10 9 x x is the 10 An extremely well played hand Hands (four) of the Week from Vu-Bridge	July 2016 Movie C View    The Law of Total Tricks Top-Bottom and Top-Top, not the lingeries of course A suit preference situation Ask the Movie Maker when you need help making a contract--he is awesome Always support partner if you can Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge--four boards	July 2016 Movie B View    The Mea Culpa by the teacher A strange little hand The problem with these double dummy solvers Advanced sacrifice When to raise with 3-card support Ogust is much better than feature, Says Howard A Trump Coup A fancy way to show the KQJ	July 2016 Movie A View    Don't burn your entry to the board The reward for making 3N outweighs the risk of going down a trick Lead of Ace in NT asks to drop the Queen or give count if you don't How experts count the hands The problem with a splinter is it takes up a lot of bidding room All about 2C open and responding to it Larry Cohen Bridge Quizzes Responding to a Takeout Double (Part 3) Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge-four boards
June 2016
June 2016 Movie C View    Whether or not to bid 4 of your minor | Do you do 20 +2? DONT Runouts Whenever you are playing a contract and have all winners but one, just play out your winners If you know where you want to go then go there Cue bid when you have a limit raise or better A revived board Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge Larry Cohen Bridge Quizzes Responding to a Takeout Double (Part 2)	June 2016 Movie B View    Very lucky hand for the teacher Estimating the HCP around the table 2nd hand low is right more often than not Teacher gets a qualified pass An expert play Experts often make their own luck Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge Larry Cohen Bridge Quizzes - Responding to a Takeout Double (Part 1)	June 2016 Movie A View    A good contract which does not make A simple squeeze Before making a bid in a competitive auction think about the most likely bid by partner Howard is a big believer in 4th from longest and strongest if the suit has not been bid Think not what can go wrong. Think what can go right, says Howard They tried blocking publication of this board Did You See it? by Larry Cohen Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge
May 2016
May 2016 Movie E View    As usual, 2nd hand low is correct HCP are only one component of how good your hand is Psychologically people find it easier to set up their hand than dummy A great bidding to reach a Grand Slam 4-3-3-3 is terrible distribution, especially when both partners have it 1NT by partner over 1C preferably should show 8-10 Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge Card Play 101 - BY PHILLIP ALDER	May 2016 Movie D View    Open 2C if you have 4 Quick Tricks and 9 tricks Aggressive bidding often works out well in practice even when in theory it does not When in doubt lead partner's suit Support with support Howard strongly recommend 2/1 rather than SAYC Draw all the trumps before claiming Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	May 2016 Movie C View    An immediate double and correct to 1NT shows a stronger hand, around 19-21 Howard's least favorite bid Proper defensive carding is important 5-0 is 3.91% if anyone is wondering A board where timid bidders prevail A reasonable bid Larry Cohen and his humiliating deal Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	May 2016 Movie B View    Balancing is done based on partnership assets When you have the choice of two cuebids to show a limit raise plus A double and correct You cannot "result" a hand (meaning decide what the right bid is based on the results) Options over a takeout double An easy board for Declarer Three Invaluable Lessons by Marti Ronemus from Vu-Bridge	May 2016 Movie A View    Negative Double and Correct Double and Correct by a passed hand Do not only think about your first bid as responder, but plan out the auction Avoid "redundant" bidding Michaels Cuebid A risky double you need to avoid Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge
April 2016
April 2016 Movie D View    Squeezes Bidding will help making your finesse Let us get tactical New Minor Forcing A defensive pearl Bidding over pre-empt Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	April 2016 Movie C View    Leading the opps suit usually is not a good idea On occasion, a loser on loser play can gain you a trick You should keep "parity with dummy" in terms of dummy's suits New suits by responder are always forcing For lead against NT stick with the tried and true 4th from longest and strongest of the unbid suits Michaels Cuebid Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	April 2016 Movie B View    Voids are magic on offense and a detriment on defense "Heads I win, tails we tie" situation. Quick Trick Points You should not pre-empt a pre-empt Good bridge is all about risk/reward When all new suits are control bids? Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	April 2016 Movie A View    "Two against one declaring As the auction proceeds you need to keep reevaluating your hand Being aggressive bidder is not always right, just more fun You should not splinter with more than 16 dummy points Inverted raises are off in competition Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge
March 2016
March 2016 Movie C View    Distribution is often as important as HCP With 5 spades and 5 hearts bid spades first and hearts twice As defender, it is important that you card correctly, signal correctly, and take advantage of both Many less experienced players do not think of cue bids, but they can be very powerful tools Good bidding^ Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	March 2016 Movie B View    All about weak openers On defense proper carding is very important Why you should be in 6 even though it goes down 3H bid with only 6 hearts 4th from longest and strongest" (in unbid suits) works the best IS THE COMPETITIVE BRIDGE WORLD RIFE WITH CHEATERS? Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	March 2016 Movie A View    If leading partner's unsupported suit, you lead count not attitude In general a good defensive principle is to "keep parity" with dummy Trials and tribulations of picking an opening lead Don't refuse to take a finesse unless you are 100% sure it is losing or ... You should always play to give yourself the maximum chances Don't let the opponents find a fit Hand of the Week from Vu-Bridge
February 2016
February 2016 Movie C View    The issues when your right hand opponent opens your suit You should strain to overcall at the 1 level especially when you have spades A case for Weak Jump Shift Leading away from a king often gives away a trick You lead count in partner's "unsupported" suit Normally responder is "captain" of the hand Hand of the Week from Vu-Bridge	February 2016 Movie B View    4-3-3-3 is terrible distribution It is confirmed. Discount flat hands Planning the hand at trick 1 is crucial I really urge you to study and use Bergen hand evaluation, sayz Howard A rare hand where 2nd hand low was wrong Teacher being mean to the student Hand of the Week from Vu-Bridge	February 2016 Movie A View    Count "declarer" points when you are the hand with the longer number of trumps Carefully observe what your partner is leading If you have 4 card support you must show it right away Can't stand passing a hand with such nice distribution Counting and visualizing are important tools for the defenders You have to decide what your agreements are over a takeout double Marty Bergen's SPINS FRIDAY FIREWORKS BY MARTI RONEMUS from Vu-Bridge
January 2016
January 2016 Movie E View    Marty Bergen - How to Make Your Slams Larry Cohen - Walsh Style Eddie Kantar - What Could Go Wrong? Marti Ronemus - Too Good to be True Marti Ronemus - Heart Ache and Tears	January 2016 Movie D View    Checkback Stayman and a whole lot more Equal level conversion. It sure is a mouthful In responding to partner's preempts the single most important factor is trump length Whenever you make a bid, you should try and plan out the whole auction He who knows goes Hand of the Week from Vu-Bridge	January 2016 Movie C View    Puppet Stayman Against NT lead 4th from longest and strongest unbid suit unless you have a strong sequence OBAR - Over Opponents Bid And Raise Just bid your hand Unusual over Unusual Convention Hand of the Week from Vu-Bridge	January 2016 Movie B View    To overcall at the 2 level you need a 6 card suit or a nice 5 card suit Howard suggests using just HCP when making NT opening decisions When possible, use your aces to capture the opponents' honors Once you preempt, you almost always pass A bid at the 2-level over a takeout double denies 10 points Hand of the Week from Vu-Bridge	January 2016 Movie A View    Entry management is difficult but necessary on many hands Stayman only applies over 1NT openers Whenever it goes 1x-p-2x, you should try and compete When you have a choice of flawed bids, don't pass unless it is significantly less flawed When you may not deduct 1 point for a doubleton You can play 2nd hand high if you can set the hand Hand of the Week from Vu-Bridge

December 2015
December 2015 Movie D View    It is hard for many players to visualize that dummy is the Master Hand Responding to 1 of minors opening - the fine prints Pre-empts - the pros and cons More on pre-empting An elegant play Would you be happy when you can legitimately bid with 0 points? Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	December 2015 Movie C View    When giving a ruff/sluff to declarer works out 5H over 4S goes bad Making 10 tricks is almost always easier to make than 11 - amazing stuff! Do you play 2C over 1D as game force? Howard is not a fan of leading from KQ Reverse in a game force auction Hand of the Week from Vu-Bridge	December 2015 Movie B View    When there is one high trump out, there is no need to draw it unless it is a nuisance You do not preempt a preempt 4S is almost always right over 4H when you have a 9+ card spade fit What if they double partner's 2@C opner? That would be fine if you deduct 1 point any time you hold 4-3-3-3 distribution 5-5 with a singleton is wonderful distribution Hand of the Week from Vu-Bridge - 2 Boards	December 2015 Movie A View    Do not underbid your hand | Defense is always harder than declaring A few kibs questioned my opening weak 2D - the NERVE Flat distribution could be a menace What is a suit meeting the "singleton" test 2NT over a double is known as "Jordan 2N" and it shows a limit raise or bette Hand of the Week from Vu-Bridge - 2 Boards
November 2015
November 2015 Movie D View    Puppet Stayman Are BBO hands truly random? Vul vs not vul, 4 over 3 is rarely right No hurry to cash the Ace When you get a chance to make a relatively safe lead directing bid, DO SO You should only bid 3 over 3 with a 9-card fit or a singleton in their suit Hand of the Week from Vu-Bridge	November 2015 Movie C View    Many players routinely open 1D with 4 diamonds and 5 clubs which Howard very much disagrees with A small subtlety in the play that gives experts additional edge When, in competition bidding, you should pass with a strong hand instead of bidding If partner bids a forcing 1N and then bids a new suit at the 2 level that shows a weakish weak 2 type of hand The most common forcing NT auction, where responder puts opener back into their 5-2 fit Bergen hand evaluation is supreme Hand of the Week from Vu-Bridge	November 2015 Movie B View    Howard gone wild The best way to keep track of the opponents' trump is to keep track of how many are out Light 3rd seat openers If you want to succeed at bridge you have to be an aggressive bidder^*N| How you show a 3-card limit raise playing 2 over 1 You need to weigh why pard did not lead back an expected card Hand of the Week from Vu-Bridge - 3 Boards Notrump Play Quiz Hands - Source Unknown	November 2015 Movie A View    Inverted Minors are off in competition A weak 2 in 3rd seat is not a bad tactic A few good contracts are difficult to bid How to respond to partner's reverse bid DONT and Squeeze Plays Hand of the Week from Vu-Bridge Leading Against NT Contract: Five tricky questions by Linda J. Green (Vu-Bridge)
October 2015
October 2015 Movie D View    Count is more important than attitude when leading partner's unsupported suit DONT along with aggressive bidding Keeping the dangerous hand off lead When a reverse is a reverse. Not when driving of course Movie Maker is Toast An interesting board from Teams CAYNE Tournament	October 2015 Movie C View    Minorwood A jump to 4 of the major over partner's bid, is not a "close out" per se There are few hands where 5 of the minor is better than 3N Howard highly recommends what is known as the "Italian" style of control bids A simple 3N contract Hand of the Week from Vu-Bridge	October 2015 Movie B View    An Iffy Overcall A 5-6 hand A note on Negative Doubles Playing Short Club Pay attention to the auction Hand of the Week from Vu-Bridge	October 2015 Movie A View    1NT overcall shows almost the same thing as a 1NT opener Jumping to 3 in a suit over 1NT to try for slam Opening leads are very difficult Overcall with an iffy suit if you really want partner to lead that suit Hand of the Week from Vu-Bridge
September 2015
September 2015 Movie D View    Over preempts bidding is much less scientific Frisky preempts in 3rd seat are great With 9-card fit, many experts say 4S is "automatic" over 4H It is Movie Maker's moment Hands of the Week from THE BRIDGE WORLD	September 2015 Movie C View    Most players overrate HCP and underrate distribution What is a takeout double Inverted Raises are off in competition In NT auction it would be best not to lead a suit they bid Some experts say 4@S is "automatic" over 4@H when you have a 9+ card fit Almost always 2nd hand low Hand of the Week from Vu-Bridge	September 2015 Movie B View    An interesting hand On all hands you should count your winners before playing to trick 1 You should draw trump ASAP unless you have a good reason not to Coded 9s Anytime you can help out partner in choosing the lead you should Loving the Quin Pluto Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	September 2015 Movie A View    Having a "crush" on a hand could be harmful to your game Perfect defense is hard Partners always like it when you return their suits Responding with 5 spades and 4 hearts fine print All doubles of artifical bids are lead directing Pluto is the Queen of the Kuiper Belt Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge
August 2015
August 2015 Movie D View    A slam difficult to bid Fine prints in Negative Double When deciding whether to compete, length in the opps suit is very important Support doubles Clyde W. Tombaugh discovered Pluto Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	August 2015 Movie C View    Don't rescue partner when there is a misfit On BBO, Howard recommends you alert everything you think is mildly alertable You can play cautious bridge (not Howard's style) if you wish When not to invite Movie Maker is in love with Pluto Part I Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	August 2015 Movie B View    Support with Support" when the system allows it Bid 3 over 3 with either a 9 card fit or a singleton in their suit Should "double dummy" analyzers be banned? Try to open 1N when you have a 15-17 HCP balanced hand Try to avoid leading suits that the opponents bid (other than trump when it is called for) HOW OLD IS THE UNIVERSE - Part III (Plate) Tectonics Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	August 2015 Movie A View    Ogust Make sure your claim is correct A more sophisticated slam bidding sequence You lead K from AK in the middle of the hand Two suited overcalls HOW OLD IS THE UNIVERSE - Part II Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge
July 2015
July 2015 Movie D View    2N rebid by opener shows 18-19 Control bidding in slam try Distribution is really the key to the competitive bidding Which one is the Dangerous Hand Learn proper discarding if you not wish to be squeezed- does not apply to the Movie Maker When you should bid DONT Non-Bridge Stuff (What’s the Origin of the Dog Days? Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge^	July 2015 Movie C View    Splinter 101 Opening 1N with a 5-card major is the topic here Responding to 1N with 5/4 and 5/5 in majors Coded 9s Howard prefers DONT for interfering after opponent's 1N opener Proper hand evaluation will give you better board July 14 and The Reign of Terror Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	July 2015 Movie B View    The best declarer plan Howard has seen since he began teaching on BBO On every hand, try and come up with a plan. Even a flawed plan is better than no plan When it is safe to bid 3N opposite partner's weak 2 With 31 or 32 HCP 6N is difficult to make unless you have a long suit How to show a limit raise after RHO interferes Ogust is Howard's first choice over asking for feature HOW OLD IS THE UNIVERSE - Part I Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	July 2015 Movie A View    In general you strain to bid your major over a takeout double Basically you only want to be in a grand slam that is about 70% A gem for the defense Cover the Queen or not is the question When in a misfit, stop as soon as you realize it is a misfit Use the LAW when you are in competitive bidding Python Eats Porcupine Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge
June 2015
June 2015 Movie C View    Play the high cards from the hand with the shorter suit right away to avoid blocking the suit Generally speaking you should not ruff when you have the high trump When and Why you should not hi-low with a doubleton Rely on the LAW when pard makes an unusual NT or Michaels bid in a competitive auction If you are not in a game forcing auction, your first control bid has to be above 3 of your major 9 Dinosaur Names Explained Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	June 2015 Movie B View    2nd Hand Low Almost Always Even Experts Missaw their hands All About New Minor Forcing It is impossible IMO to have a hand that is too good to open a weak 2, says Howard It is rarely right to lead a suit bid by the opponents All very good bridge players are optimists Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	June 2015 Movie A View    There is no upper limit to how many points you have when you make a Negative Double If you are at the 3 level and 3N is a reasonable bid, bid it When choosing between 5 of a minor and 3NT, 3NT is overwhelmingly the best choice The correct lead from Ace-King doubleton specifically is the King Some may downgrade 4=3=3=3 and bid it 1N Lead count when leading partner's unsupported suit An Easy but sure way to lose weight Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge
May 2015
May 2015 Movie E View    Support with Support ASAP NT opening with Bergen Hand evaluation How to make a hand by looking at the dummy Leading through the weakness or through the strength At least, try to keep track of 2 suits Exclusion Blackwood Weighing the Earth Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	May 2015 Movie D View    In the auction 1D-1H-2C-3H, 3H is not forcing 4S over 4H is almost always right if you have a 9+ card spade fit "Support with support" is always a good bidding principle to follow Stop bidding as soon as you can when you don't have the points for game You should never rebid 2N with a singleton in responder's suit Mason Dixon Line Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	May 2015 Movie C View    It is okay to lead unprotected ace when you have no better choice You should be able to train yourself to keep track of 2 suits Take "double dummy" analyzers with a grain of salt | These days virtually all experts open 1N with 15-17 balanced even with a 5-card major | 1N Overcall or Takeout Double Learn when and how to unblock Six words that can ruin your sentence Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	May 2015 Movie B View    A natural bid in a suit that the opponents have bid first does not come up often 1-2-3-stop In the middle of the hand you lead King from Ace-King It happens even to the experts You be the expert After a takeout double, choose the Style you wish to play Happy Mother's Day to all Mothers | Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	May 2015 Movie A View    A rare case of 2nd hand high being correct Ducking is right more often than not but you should not do so by rote Normally, leading an unprotected ace, especially from AQ is not a good lead Play the honors from the hand with the shorter suit first You need to plan out a hand - any plan is better than no plan The minor suit transfers are very overused Top 10 Most Influential US Presidents Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge
April 2015
April 2015 Movie D View    Any hand with 2 quick trick and 13 HCP is an opener Practice finesse A negative double would show 4-4 in the majors Save your entry Howard summarizes how he plays responses to reverses In general it is not a good idea to transfer to 3 of a minor Should you avoid buying in bulk Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	April 2015 Movie C View    A case of takeout double and follow up Finesse 101 A heart warming event for the mentor When bidding, don't make partner's life miserable With 5-4 in the majors and having a choice of doubling or overcalling, you should overcall your 5-card suit Howard's default bid in 2/1 April 13 was Thomas Jefferson's Birthday - Declaration of Independence Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	April 2015 Movie B View    Do you know the 2 styles of 2 over 1? It is better to declare than defend, says Howard A 9 card fit is often worth an extra trick with the same number of HCP The opening lead illustrates a key play for both declarer and defense If you know where you want to go, just bid it Howard prefers to play Bergen raises over takeout doubles (as well as over a 1S and 2C overcalls) Diction of the Dollar Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	April 2015 Movie A View    Bergen Hand evaluation helps bidding game on close calls A tough hand to play Over a takeout double you prefer your major. And if no major then your best suit Special lead in NT I prefer to overcall a 5-card major to making a takeout double USS Missouri on April 11, 1945 - William McCombe Callaghan Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge
March 2015
March 2015 Movie E View    If it goes 1D-P-2N, it is 11-12 Opening lead from 3 small You may not bid correctly if you do it quickly even if you are an expert teacher Howard's simple way to keep track of how trump card are outstanding Breaking News. Mary has begun playing Bergen hand evaluation Death & Taxes: All We Can Do Is Prepare Hands of the Week from Vu-Bridge	March 2015 Movie D View    The bidding and the play helped our mentor to make his contract Would drinking wine cause FIBBING in bridge? You are not allowed to distort your distribution to bid a reverse It is critical that you use Bergen hand evaluation to bid your hand A dueling between the mentor and the mentee Leading away from a king is less bad than leading away for a queen and Word Facts from Dictionary.com Hands of the week from Vu-Bridge	March 2015 Movie C View    Learn and apply Bergen hand evaluation to improve your bidding The quicker you bid game, the weaker your hand is 2nd hand low is often right for declarer also Please believe in Bergen Hand Evaluation Responder is captain of the auction and in charge of figuring out how high to go Yiddish "loanwords" to make you a maven Hands of the week from Vu-Bridge	March 2015 Movie B View    On hands where partner has a distributional hand you should do what some call "picture" bidding You should open 1N even with a 5-card major with 15-17 and 5-3-3-2 distribution Frisky preempts have good risk/return An "Iffy" double A grand slam that depends on a finesse is losing bridge in the long run Strange Names of These Baby Animals Hands of the week from Vu-Bridge	March 2015 Movie A View    Negative double the modern style A good technique is to play the honors from the short hand first so you don't block the suit Remember LOTT is your friend. Disobey it at your peril A perfect 2C opener 1N after an overcall shows 8-10 or so Dog Idioms with Real Bite Bidding Challenges from Vu-Bridge
February 2015
February 2015 Movie C View    You really should not bid 6N unless you are pretty sure you have 33 points. A jump shift is either very weak (which most people play these days) or very strong (18+) In general, you should be aggressive with a 9-card fit and conservative with an 8-card fit The first trick should give you a great clue Defense is hard but it is easier if you count out the hand So as is often the case, aggressive bidding wins the day Howard is so Bae Albert Michelson the first American who was awarded a Nobel Prize in physics	February 2015 Movie B View    Many students duck aces too often, says Howard Playing for drop She who knows, goes" is good bidding advice The lead of an ace in NT contract has a very specific meaning Opening 1D vs. 1C with 4-5 in minors is the topic here What's the difference between LET'S and LETS? Movie Maker Gone French	February 2015 Movie A View    We Had a Roast Now We Have a Toast The shorter you are in the opponent's suit, the more you should want to play the hand Aggressive bidding wins the day The idea behind DONT is to find a good 2-level contract I generally overcall my 5-card major rather than making a takeout double Do you play 1D - P - 2C as Game Force? Larry Cohen at large Letter 7 - Fatme to Usbek, in Erzeron

January 2015
January 2015 Movie D View    If you use Bergen hand evaluation you will bid many games that other pairs won't bid Hondowood Puppet Stayman With shortness in partner's suit and length in declarer's suit behind declarer, you should want to defend Howard plays Bergen Raises over a double by opponents On every deal you should try and count your defensive tricks and declarer's tricks Atomes and Molecules Do You Know Your Jazz	January 2015 Movie C View    We have a Roast If you have not supported, you must lead count In general, you don't want to be in a slam that is less than 50% Delayed DONT With 5S/5H you should bid spades first Daily Bidding Questions by Frank Stewart - Vu-Bridge	January 2015 Movie B View    With weaker hands, you want to tell partner immediately you have support for him In NT, count your sure winners first With nice 6+-card suit, you should bid your suit Time Out - Widdie astronomy Successful bidders are aggressive bidders 2C over 1D is great disruptive bid. Do it if you can Open the hand if you not hate it even in 1st seat How do I show my strong hand? What Is the Difference Between i.e. and e.g.?	January 2015 Movie A View    If partner preempts and you have a singleton, don't try to rescue them. Just pass unless. "Systems on" plus "Stolen bid doubles" again If you can think of a way to make a contract, however, how remote do it In IMPs, you strain to bid games especially when vul An interesting bidding sequence What is X in Xmas?

December 2014
December 2014 Movie C View    When partner invites and you are on the strong side your range, you should accept the invitation If you can, you keep the same number of cards as dummy in dummy's long suit Experts are often lucky, but they also make their own luck 2C is a good disruptive bid over 1D Trump Leads Quiz by Larry Cohen	December 2014 Movie B View    4-way transfer New Minor Forcing 8 ever 9 never In 4th seat strain to balance	December 2014 Movie A View    1N response, by a passed hand, to one after a major opening On defense, think of yourself as a Bridge Detective To avoid awkward rebid problems, open 1NT with any balanced 15-17 | Show the limit raise in minors Strain to bid 2@C over 1@D if you can What’s The Origin of Pizza?
November 2014
November 2014 Movie E View    4-way transfer New Minor Forcing 8 ever 9 never In 4th seat strain to balance	November 2014 Movie D View    Negative Doubles and the fine prints 4NT bid in competitive bidding The least favorite bid for Howard and why Even MM has to keep "parity" with dummy A pass after a redirecting double shows 2-card support and a bid at the 2-level shows a 3-card support You should show your 4-card support right away	November 2014 Movie C View    Second hand low always but use judgement Do you play 1D-P-2C game force? Be alert for Negative Inferences Howard blames it on bad distribution Good old Rule of 11 can rescue you	November 2014 Movie B View    Leading away from Jx Jxx or even Qx or Qxx often gives away a trick Strain to overcall 1NT whenever you have 15-17 balanced and a stopper in the bid suit Fine print in playing 4-4 fit or 5-3 fit 4-way transfer	November 2014 Movie A View    Do you know all the fine prints of playing DONTs? Leading away from a KJ normally is very dangerous and will often give away a trick In opening and rebidding NT I tend to be more of a HCP counter than a pure Bergen hand evaluator Anytime you have 15-18 balanced and a stopper in opener's suit, you should overcall Bonus Board - Counting the hands
October 2014
October 2014 Movie B View    How to cut your losses and hope to make the contract Do you know your takeout doubles All about Runouts - not water Runouts in California of course Too often players do "practice ducks" A board you need to open	October 2014 Movie A View    Pre-empt makes opponent miss game Playing 2/1. Is 1N by a passed hand forcing? What is a free bid 1NT after partner opens a minor denies a 4 card major
September 2014
September 2014 Movie D View    It is never wrong to lead partner's suit Play of the lowest of equals The trend in opening 1NT Faulty 2C and its perils	September 2014 Movie C View    It is rare that you lead a suit the opponents have bid With a balanced 15-17 HCP and 5 of a major, when to bid 1N and when to bid the major You need to watch the defenders carding when declaring The Old man and the bridge	September 2014 Movie B View    There are principles you should follow that make it more likely your opening lead will work out Flannery: It is one of the dumbest conventions ever invented Always card correctly. It really helps partner Use your trumps as entry	September 2014 Movie A View    When to cover an honor with an honor Always play the lowest card in your sequence as 3rd hand You should never be in a hurry to ruff your losers once you have drawn trump Any time you can hide your cards from the defenders at no cost, you should | Do something intelligent doubles
August 2014
August 2014 Movie E View    Suit Preference Signals Suit combination missing the Queen Bergen Raises Opening 2N or 1D When bidding over a preempt, you should consider how many trumps you have	August 2014 Movie D View    When to show and when to ask, STOPPER that is Leading unprotected aces will cost you more tricks than it will gain you Bergen hand evaluation, makes your bidding decisions on many hands very clear As defender you always play the lowest of a sequence as 3rd hand Responding to partner's takeout double When you have all the tricks, why duck	August 2014 Movie C View    Could you open 1N with a flat 18 HCP hand? When you make a takeout double, partner will strain to bid a major Do you know the Bergen's "OBAR" way?|CP||AT| (MM is showing his age)^ Even in Bridge you need to listen to your wife. In 3rd seat, you should strain to preempt Playing two against one	August 2014 Movie B View    A simple description of 4th Suit Forcing Although there are opening lead principles, there are no guarantees Whenever you have 15-17 balanced, it works out best if you open 1N Quite often if there is only 1 high trump out, no need to draw it In 3rd seat, you strain to preempt Preempts make the opponents guess, and they often guess wrong	August 2014 Movie A View    A void is worth its weight in gold "9 Winners Rule" to open 2C Support Doubles I generally bypass diamonds when my hand is weak, says Howard Whenever you have 15-17 balanced your best bid is 1N
July 2014
July 2014 Movie DC View    Plan the whole hand out and look at all 4 suits, not just 1 suit Be very aggressive with your preempts in 3rd seat When 4S is automatic A good example of control bidding and Kickback RKCB Rule of 15 The most compelling reason to bid 5 over 4 is shortness in the opponents suit	July 2014 Movie C View    When leading partner's unsupported suit, you always lead count Proper opening lead against NT contracts The general rule is to cover the last honor from dummy As a general rule, you play the high cards in the shorter hand first The mentees are giving the mentor loads of TROUBLES	July 2014 Movie B View    Deciding when to bid "3 over 3" A bidding technique known as "picture" bidding Letting the opps play 1NT without interfering will not get you a good result A self sufficient suit Responding to Michaels after interference	July 2014 Movie A View    Counting out the hand is one of the most important defensive skills you can develop The Law of Total Tricks is a very good guide on competitive hands Many play "Systems On-Stolen Bid Doubles" instead of Lebensohl Whenever you have the opportunity to open or overcall a natural NT you should do so Auction often gives you clues about how to defend A perfect hand for Mini-Roman 2D Mini-Roman 2D: A Mini-Roman 2D tutorial
June 2014
June 2014 Movie E View    Bergen OBAR system (a system used when "Opponents Bid And Raise") You should worry a little bit about vulnerability when preempting, but not too much Always make him guess if you can even if you know a finesse is working The only time you would bid 5N is when you have all the key cards and are looking for 7 With 2 successive encouraging signs, obey the first-almost all the time A nice case of New Minor Forcing	June 2014 Movie D View    1N in 4th seat shows 11-14 and a stopper in opener's suit Laying claim to spades is often a good idea in competition Give defenders discarding problems Be a big believer in 4th from longest and strongest against NT Always "Support with Support"	June 2014 Movie C View    In bidding, in general length is before strength (as Beauty before Brain I guess - MM) Leading a suit with Qxx is often a bad lead You only bid NMF with a 5-card suit to check if partner has 3 With 6 nice spades, on most hands, a spade contract will probably be best Bidding a difficult hand	June 2014 Movie B View    There are 2 methods for deciding which minor to open when you are short Play second hand low smoothly--almost all the time A support cue bid can only be made by responder to an opener or an overcaller On marginal hands whether or not to bid 1 more, the tie breaker is length in the opponent's suit New suits by responder are always forcing	June 2014 Movie A View    Download When you have a blocked suit, it is a good idea to unblock ASAP You should always try and support partner when you can You never lose the post mortem by leading partners suit Howard usually stretches in bidding games with 9-card fits When bidding consider your other assets
May 2014
May 2014 Movie D View    Download Pre-empts by Opponents and how to handle them Pick the least egregious lie if you have to lie | It is never wrong to take the setting trick "Bridge is not always fair", Says Howard "Don't be a result player", Says Howard	May 2014 Movie C View    Download The 2-level shows a good 5-card suit at least A Balancing NT" shows 11-14, a stopper if opener bid a major, and at least sort of a stopper if a minor The worst thing you can do is try to rescue partner on a misfit hand Movie Maker had the Bad the Ugly, and the Good Winter is coming	May 2014 Movie B View    Download When defending try counting out the hand, both distribution and HCP When declarer is running his tricks try to coordinate your discards with partner When your partner preempts and you have a singleton or void, don't try to "rescue" him Play those conventions that help you with the common hands When the hand screams misfit pass is the correct bid	May 2014 Movie A View    Download Cue bids can be useful in some situations and are often overlooked When to double vs when to overcall It is rarely right to play 5C rather than 4S From all bad choose for the opening lead, choose the least BAD one You never lose the post mortem leading partner's suit
April 2014
April 2014 Movie C View    Download You should almost always lead 4th best of an unbid suit against a NT contract You should strain to bid DONT especially at favorable vulnerability Do you know how to survive an opponent's preempt Movie Maker landed in hot water again Responding to Michaels cuebid Howard's guidelines says it is ok to bid 3 over 3 with an 8-card fit	April 2014 Movie B View    Download The general rule is, the double relieves responder of having to bid even with 6 or 7 points Howard really thinks you have to play 1N forcing by passed hand Bergen hand evaluation and opening 1N There is little upside to a 2N contract. If you use Bergen hand evaluation, usually your bidding decisions are pretty easy	April 2014 Movie A View    Download Leading away from honors is high risk high reward A difficult board to respond to a reverse A difficult board for 4th Suit Forcing Howard often bid 3N with any excuse. Just one of those boards made it though our cutting room
March 2014
March 2014 Movie E View    Download Kneel You All Humble Subjects. I am the King of All Teaching Boards In the Middle of the play lead King from Ace-King combination OBAR is explained In 2/1 some expert pay 1N by a passed hand responder forcing for one round In 2/1 PASS if partner bids 1N and then bids their own suit unless Very rare case where "4 over 3" might be right Puppet Stayman	March 2014 Movie D View    Download LOTT is your friend. Use it often Fast arrival applies once you have established a fit Whenever you are at "favorable" vulnerability you should preempt aggressively Bergen's OBAR If you always bid 4S with 3-card support you will often be right--see the detail Howard explains why he plays 1NT forcing even with the a passed hand	March 2014 Movie C View    Download When has nothing better to lead, Howard leads a suit with only small cards Whenever it goes 1N-P-P-? you should want to compete Some hands are hard to bid If partner overcalls at the 2 level it is usually right to raise with 3-card support When responder knows they have 25+ points, he should bid game With an appropriate hand you should strain to overcall 1N BUT	March 2014 Movie B View    Download When to force to game After Stayman, if you have both hearts and spades, bid hearts first Rare as it could be, Howard bids 7D If your partner makes a takeout double that is redoubled, you are no longer obligated to make a bid Giving yourself some chance is better than giving yourself no chance Occasionally you need to make an aggressive and imaginative bid	March 2014 Movie A View    Download New Minor Forcing Do not expect to perfectly bid all hands Aggressive bidding may not be that bad In the middle of the hand, you lead King from Ace-King Plan the hand by counting the winners and find out how to set up extra tricks Movie Maker is saved by the BELL
February 2014
February 2014 Movie D View    Download How do you handle a reverse bid in 2/1 game force? In general you should "support with support" when you can With 3-card support and 10-12, you delay "support with support" for 1 round Partner splinters -- when should you explore for slam? Teacher takes the blame!	February 2014 Movie C View    Download When could you go to 4 in minors Do not consider 4H as shut out It is ok to lead from a suit with no honors Keeping count gives the experts the ability to know your hand without looking at it How to bid the 6-5 hands	February 2014 Movie B View    Download With a strong hand you may bid your minor over the 4- card major Howard prefers DONT over CAPP Anytime you have a good excuse to overcall 1N you should It is not a "shutout" when the auction goes 1D-P-1H-P-4H Movie Maker gets in trouble? Probably not How to respond to Reverses 2/1 and its 2 different styles	February 2014 Movie A View    Download Opening 2C with 2 suiters with limited HCP takes away a lot of bidding room. Whenever you make a high risk bid, make sure the reward is worth it DONT is one of the best conventions around, sayz Howard Lead count if you did not support partner If you never bid 5 over 5 you will come out ahead in the long run Open 1NT with a 5 card major if you have 5-3-3-2 and 15-17 HCP
January 2014
January 2014 Movie D View    Download A short course on Drury A fine print in Inverted Minor Raises Over a lead directing double of a transfer, you only accept the transfer with 3-card support Instruction in how to bid after your partner opens a weak-2 Once you preempt, you are not supposed to bid again even if you are the Movie Maker The Movie Maker survived all his errors	January 2014 Movie C View    Download Give count if you cannot beat it You return the remaining count Try not to go by 3NT if that is a possible contract A short lesson on Quantitative 4N Pre-empts give the opponents BIG bidding problem	January 2014 Movie B View    Download A short course on Drury A fine print in Inverted Minor Raises Over a lead directing double of a transfer, you only accept the transfer with 3-card support Instruction in how to bid after your partner opens a weak-2 Once you preempt, you are not supposed to bid again even if you are the Movie Maker The Movie Maker survived all his errors	January 2014 Movie A View    Download When to draw and when not to, Trump that is What is the specific meaning of leading a King in NT contract Do you cuebids show 3 or 4 card support Be aggressive doubling vulnerable part scores in Match Points, but be very careful doubling part scores in IMPs You could assume the person with the long suit is more likely to be short in trumps Slam bidding in action Competitive bidding at its best A good defense at its best How to respond after your RHO has doubled

December 2013
December 2013 Movie C View    Download Responder is "captain" and must take charge You should strain to bid or overcall 1N when you have the right hand Fine print in DONT A simple case of squeeze A point you need to know about 2/1 bidding Card Showing Double aka DSI Exclusion Keycard Blackwood	December 2013 Movie B View    Download Kickback Convention overcall with 4-card suit, not recommended, requires 2 out of 3 op honors With appropriate hand you should strain to open and overcall NT You have to decide whether 1N by a passed hand in 2/1 is forcing or not In competitive bidding, HCP are only a small part of how good your hand is Responding to 1N with 5-5 in Majors	December 2013 Movie A View    Download Draw trump ASAP UNLESS you have a good reason not to Drawing Trumps Immediately-An Idea Worth Some Thought - by Eddie Kantar She who knows goes OR He who knows goes Unusual 2N applies if 2 suits are remaining How to show a "bust" hand as responder over 2C Over a takeout double, any bid other than redouble or Jordan 2N shows less than 10 points
December 2013
December 2013 Movie C View    Download Responder is "captain" and must take charge You should strain to bid or overcall 1N when you have the right hand Fine print in DONT A simple case of squeeze A point you need to know about 2/1 bidding Card Showing Double aka DSI Exclusion Keycard Blackwood	December 2013 Movie B View    Download Kickback Convention overcall with 4-card suit, not recommended, requires 2 out of 3 op honors With appropriate hand you should strain to open and overcall NT You have to decide whether 1N by a passed hand in 2/1 is forcing or not In competitive bidding, HCP are only a small part of how good your hand is Responding to 1N with 5-5 in Majors	December 2013 Movie A View    Download Draw trump ASAP UNLESS you have a good reason not to Drawing Trumps Immediately-An Idea Worth Some Thought - by Eddie Kantar She who knows goes OR He who knows goes Unusual 2N applies if 2 suits are remaining How to show a "bust" hand as responder over 2C Over a takeout double, any bid other than redouble or Jordan 2N shows less than 10 points
November 2013
November 2013 Movie D View    Download All about OPENERs, RESPONDERs, OVERCALLERs, and ADVANCERs Merits of openng in third seat Eddy Haskel Rule A simple caes of Jacoby 2N response You want to hide your holding as declarer and not hide your holding from partner as defender	November 2013 Movie C View    Download 3-2 splits are 68% Hamman's Rule OBAR Exlained "I tend to avoid leading suits the opponents have bid." sayz Howard "Against 6N you should make a neutral lead." again says Howard Find out who said, "You should strain to overcall 1N with 15-18 balanced hand."	November 2013 Movie B View    Download Unless you have a very good reason, you should obey the LOTT virtually all the time How to respond to partner's reverse bid Bergen hand evaluation can help opening NT when it is a close call Whenever you have a 5-card major and partner shows 15-17 NT, you should transfer? Lead trump, whenever declarer bids 2 suits and partner takes a preference, especially to the 2nd suit When in a questionable contract, always make sure partner plays it	November 2013 Movie A View    Download Inverted Minor Raises You don't get rich by passing takeout doubles at the 1-level Do you play 1D-P-2C game force? Howard does not Are you a Walsher? When to respond Jacoby 2N Bergen Raises in Competition
October 2013
October 2013 Movie D View    Download A fine point to know after a 1C-1D You should attempt to count out the hand A case of splinter by opener Second hand low (always) You can play Bergen Raises after opponents' double	October 2013 Movie C View    Download What is the best seat for pre-empt How to bid after 1N overcall When to lead a trump Kib wanted to play it Double Dummy Lead your partner's suit You need appropriate shape for a takeout double	October 2013 Movie B View    Download What is the "no accident" theory of bidding As declarer you want to hide your high cards Live Checkback Stayman Counting your winners is priority number one Learn how to bid a grand slam Checkback Stayman Two Way New Minor Forcing and Two Way Checkback	October 2013 Movie A View    Download There is no harm in giving declarer a ruff that he is entitled Why one of Howard's favorite bids is 2C over 1D Declarer has a lot of advantages over the defense Misfit hands should be passed ASAP At times, based on the bidding you sort of know the good splits
September 2013
September 2013 Movie D View    Download Remember to use the LOTT on all competitive hands Fine points with 6-4 hand Howard opens a weak 2 pretty much with any 6-card suit and 5-10 points A small sample on Inverted Minor Raises Can you "picture" partner's hand? Standard Count Signals	September 2013 Movie C View    Download A 50% game is perfectly reasonable to bid Leading the Ace in the middle of the hand, tends to deny the king You cannot "pre-empt over a preempt An easy hand to play Howard has a good teacher	September 2013 Movie B View    Download Tailor your play to what is going on in the suit led Odd/Even on first discard Rule of Shinola (a new rule being immortalized by MM) It is virtually never right to bid 5 over 5 As a general rule, when leading top of nothing, the longer the suit, the better the lead Pass is reasonable with only 5 points	September 2013 Movie A View    Download Don't be afraid to be aggressive and rely on the LOTT when you have a 9+ card fit In NT, responder is "captain" of the hand A case of dummy reversal You should not hide what you have just for the sake of hiding it, says Howard. Cards of course. | A nice board to practice
August 2013
August 2013 Movie D View    Download A self sufficient suit Practice Finesse In 3N establish your longest suit ASAP Are you a "sissy" weak 2 bidder? Rule of Frank Sinatra	August 2013 Movie C View    Download Counting on defense is one of the biggest differences between experts and non-experts Failure to show immediate support denies 4-card support Leading partner's suit is usually right, rarely wrong Listen to the bidding Choose your discard wisely Rule of 7	August 2013 Movie B View    Download DONT Runouts and more Responding to 2N with 5-4 2/1 bidding on spot Remaining count spotlighted Rule of 11	August 2013 Movie A View    Download With a GF and a 5-card minor and 4 spades, it is standard to bid 2 of the minor An important defensive principle is to "keep parity" with the dummy Can you upgrade a AKQJ10 suit to six? Some do and some don't What do you know when partner opens with 10 Partners always appreciate when you lead their suit Puppet Stayman
July 2013
July 2013 Movie D View    Download Odd suits break evenly, even suits break oddly IMPs vs MP a short overview You do not get rich taking vulnerable sacrifices against non vulnerable opponents What is playing "Front of the Card?" You don't have to bid Michaels cuebid just because you have a two-suited hand Puppet Stayman by a Decree^ WHEN TO LEAD TRUMPS by Easley Blakwood - a short outline^	July 2013 Movie C View    Download A short lesson on Puppet Stayman Forcing defense in action In competitive bidding the law is your friend Open 1NT with 15-17 balanced even with a 5-card major, says Howard In third place always play the lowest of your sequence A synopsis on Puppet Stayman	July 2013 Movie B View    Download Responding to a takeout double ALWAYS open 1NT with 15-17 HCP balanced, even with a 5-card major Open all 12 HCP hands unless they are 4-3-3-3 or adjust down to 10 Bergen adjusted HCP Don't help declarer Play lowest of touching sequence third seat You should lead your partner's suit almost always	July 2013 Movie A View    Download Re-evaluate your hand before each bid Slam bidding the hard way You should open 1N with any 15-17 balanced hand, says Howard Overcall vs Michaels Cuebids You should keep "parity" with dummy's long suit 2/1 or not: The rest of the story - Part 1 By Karen Walker
June 2013
June 2013 Movie E View    Download In 2/1 "fast arrival", means no interest in slam Carefully consider risk/rewards when you can overcall Rule 20 is visited You don't have to bid Michaels Cuebid just because you have 5-5 distribution Why Howard does not play 1D-P-2C as game force Try count out not only trump but your 2nd longest suit	June 2013 Movie D View    Download Generally, you should avoid playing your aces (even 3rd hand) unless they capture an honor. When you run a long suit, watch what the defense discards Upgrade your hand after a fit Partners always appreciate when you notice their signals. Opening 1N with 2 doubletons	June 2013 Movie C View    Download You can lead unprotected Ace if partner has bid that suit How to respond to 1N with a 5/5 and 5/4 in majors 1N bid over 1D is not a favorite of Howard Being aggressive usually pays off A long suit headed with AKQ is very powerful A reminder on Raises in competition	June 2013 Movie B View    Download If you rebid 1N after partner has passed, you must have 18+ LOTT always applies when your partner pre-empts Bid early bid often If opener jump shifts that establishes a game force You must always re-evaluate your hand as the auction proceeds	June 2013 Movie A View    Download In NT contract keep track of your stoppers 10 as a lead is not exactly "something" but it is not exactly "nothing." Plan your play at first trick Think twice before returning partner's suit Remember, in competitive bidding, the LOTT is a good guide Bidding Stayman guarantees at least an invitational hand
May 2013
May 2013 Movie C View    Download Walsh revisited Using Bergen's hand evaluation will vastly improve your bidding. Making declarer ruff rarely gives away a trick and often shortens trump A case of suit preference A good source for opening lead in Suit contract	May 2013 Movie B View    Download Support Double Bidding 5 over 5 is usually not a good idea, especially when we are vul and they are not A case of Fourth Suit Forcing Whenever you have a 3 card honor sequence, that is a strong lead Bidding after a Michaels overcall You should try and count out the critical suits on defense	May 2013 Movie A View    Download Kickback in place of Blackwood Bergen Hand Evaluation revisited Pay attention to the bidding and gain good information Again the bidding can give you great information
April 2013
April 2013 Movie D View    Download Sandy's exuberance is forgiven If you don't show support immediately, you can't have 4-card support The teacher is toast The teacher is supreme	April 2013 Movie C View    Download A difficult takeout double Don't bid your hand twice Intuition sometimes is better than science On misfit hands, stay as low as you can A good board for bidding DONT	April 2013 Movie B View    Download Treating overcall of partner's 2C opener How to make a small slam the sure way Do you know who the Queen is sleeping with? Learning how to respond to Partner's Weak-2 bids Help Partner in defense	April 2013 Movie A View    Download Short note on Michaels Unblocking is an important declarer play technique With a weak hand, it is usually better to play in the weak hand's long suit When making declarer ruff might help the defense It is almost always preferable to bid 3N than 5 of a minor
March 2013
March 2013 Movie E View    Download Bidding over 1N overcall It is rarely right to bid 5 over 5 when you are vulnerable, unless you are pretty sure you are making it The guidelines for bidding over a weak-2 - quick and to the point When you have < 6 points and no fit, pass like a shot You do not need finesse when opponents give you gift A new suit after 1N rebid is not forcing - that is an exception	March 2013 Movie D View    Download Michaels Cuebid Consider your holding in opponent's suit before reopening double After 1C-P-1N-P-P stretch to compete Leading a high spot card denies an honor IMPs vs MPs	March 2013 Movie C View    Download In NT, you are trying to set up the low cards in your long suit. Rule of 20 has been the King in 2013. Good bidding, good declaring, and good defense. You almost never bid 5 over 5 when you have a doubleton or higher. A weak jump shift by responder is not forcing. Components of Starting Points	March 2013 Movie B View    Download If you think 3N has plays, bid it rather than 5 of a minor. Lots of Does and Don'ts You should be reluctant to bid 5 unless you have shortness in the opponents suit A good way to count out your long suits is to keep track of how many the opponents have left For opening lead against NT, I am a big believer in 4th from longest and strongest unbid suit When to Sacrifice	March 2013 Movie A View    Download "The pre-empt makes it very difficult for the opponents to make proper bid." He is mortal after all. Read all about it here. If you are short in pard's suit, pass ASAP. When deciding whether or not to stretch, decide based on risk/reward. Signal correctly and let your partner in on your secrets :)-not ALL of course! Doubles of 4 level bids are "card showing." Rule of 9
February 2013
February 2013 Movie D View    Download Make sure you know whether your bid forcing or not When balancing you are bidding based on the partnership assets If they have a fit then we have a fit "Fast Arrival" means, the faster you bid game the weaker your hand 4H is not a shutout-it says you have great hearts and 19 TO 20 points Avoid a reverse when you do not have 16+ points	February 2013 Movie C View    Download Rule of 20 - Standard and Bergen's OBAR and balancing It is never wrong to take the setting trick A brief look at Inverted Minor Raises A case of Super Accept You should raise partner whenever you can Howard strongly recommends Bergen's hand evacuation	February 2013 Movie B View    Download New suits by responder are forcing regardless of being a reverse or not. In general, you get more accurate bidding when you open 1N. When responding, generally use the law of total tricks after a pre-empt. Inverted Minors only apply with no competition. You don't show void in pard's suit, not "useful."	February 2013 Movie A View    Download Once there is an intervening bid after a transfer the NT bidder is no longer obligated to accept the transfer. When someone preempts, it is usually right to play their partner for the missing Aces outside the preempt suit. With a flat hand you sometimes are better off bidding 1 less than LOTT. Once you describe your hand, you don't and should not repeat yourself. Always guarantee your contract if you can. A glimpse at Super accept and lead directing double
January 2013
January 2013 Movie D View    Download When it goes 1x-overcall-P-P-?, opener with shortness in the overcalled suit, should strain to reopen with a double But partners scream if I leave them in one club says a Texan. When 4NT is quantitative Do you play that 1D-P-2C is a game force? Some like Rule 15 and some don't A case of double and correct 4-suit Jacoby transfer The Movie Maker squeaked through!	January 2013 Movie C View    Download Bidding after 1C-1H and when it is not a Reverse Leading the opponents' suit is rarely a good lead even though the suit is headed by AK. Coming up with a plan is the most important declarer play technique you can learn. A double and correct to NT shows a stronger hand than a 1N overcall-15-18 Nice to have a friendly defense Even the teacher can get pushy!	January 2013 Movie B View    Download You almost never get a good result by letting the opponents play at the 1-level. A good example for Unusual 2N On auctions where one opponent has shown a 5+-card suit, even with a 9-card fit, you should finesse the other opponent for the trump Queen Any bid by responder, after a takeout double, other than redouble and 2N denies 10 points Ruffing in the hand with shorter trumps gives no extra tricks A short note on suit preference When to open 2C	January 2013 Movie A View    Download What is a "Perfect preemptive holding" It is only right to play 2N when you make exactly 2N Support Double After a preempt, use the LOTT to decide how high to bid Hamman's Rule and the Wicked Haman A few pearls on defense and more on DONT

December 2012
December 2012 Movie E View    Download Howard strongly suggests bidding DONT over strong 1N opener particularly in the direct seat NT vs Suit Overcall You can bid 3-card suit after a forcing 1N Regular transfer vs Texas transfer Pre-empt as often as you can In response to a take/out double emphasize the majors over the minors A good tip on how to make a difficult 3N Should you play 2/1 after 1D opening	December 2012 Movie D View    Download 1m (by you)-1H-Double and you know the # of spades holding by partner There is a difference between Regular and Texas Transfer It helps when one of the opponents is broke :-) Support with support unless you have a better choice The Rule of 7 When you have a 5-card side suit, you can often set up your fifth card in the suit Rule 7 vs Rule of Thinking - From Larry Cohen	December 2012 Movie C View    Download Don't describe your hand twice Why you should DONT In doubles, the devil is in the details When it is a REVERSE Bergen's hand evaluation is very accurate, says Howard Partners appreciate when you notice their signals Review of DONT	December 2012 Movie B View    Download When it is a REVERSE TOP OF AN HONOR SEQUENCE 2N with a SINGLETON ACE Are NEW SUITS after overcalls forcing? Think WALSH 2-card support in 2/1 When it is not a REVERSE Do you know your Walsh?	December 2012 Movie A View    Download What is nuanced approach responding to 1C opener? It is fine to give declarer ruffs. A short critique of transfer to minors Howard highly recommends DONT over strong 1NT opening 4-Suit Jacoby Transfers - Transfer to Minors
November 2012
November 2012 Movie C View    Download Major Suit Raises in 2/1 With 4-card support for partner show it immediately A "favorable" vulnerability is the most effective time to preempt Open 1N over 1 of a majors Mind the differences between opening 2N and overcalling 2N after a preempt Lead count when you have not supported partner's suit	November 2012 Movie B View    Download What is Front of Card Re-opening Double One level contract at Howard's table :) Negative Doubles	November 2012 Movie A View    Download 4H opening bid often shows 8, but sometimes you do it with a very nice 7-card suit. If pard splinters, you must discount all high cards in the splinter suit other than the ace. Try and keep "parity" with dummy's long suits Plan your finesse based on the bidding. Thrump Doubles
October 2012
October 2012 Movie C View    Download When you think there is a misfit, best to quit ASAP Stretch your concentration and keep track of trump and your next best suit If your partner preempts and you have a void, pass very quickly, even with a good hand The most common reason not to draw trump is when you want to ruff something before dummy is out American History - Why Did They Come to America?	October 2012 Movie B View    Download It is also usually not right to lead a suit the opponents have bid Coded 10s and 9s only apply when leading against NT contracts To Michaels Cuebid or not to Michaels Cuebid The Law of Total Tricks In general, it is better to overcall a 5 card suit than double Unusual Over Unusual	October 2012 Movie A View    Download Both offense and defense should count out the suits If you have shown your hand, and have no additional important feature, you can pass The 1C opener has 4 clubs 85% of time Double and correct is not forcing to game When not to bid 2C with a good hand Some opening lead theory More on opening leads Veal Osso Bucco with Gremolata
September 2012
September 2012 Movie C View    Download How to make the ninth trick Always support with support Lose your losers early Bergen raises in competition is not standard Re-opening double Never make a redundant bid Two Suited Overcalls - Michaels	September 2012 Movie B View    Download The "self sufficient" suit An example of suit preference Rule of 15 Go easy when you are forcing the partner to bid Fast arrival vs slow arrival How to protect against 5-0 distribution Opening lead can give declarer important information Two Suited Overcalls Part III - Responding to Unusual Notrump	September 2012 Movie A View    Download Overcalls (especially 2 level) are not just for competing, but are often lead directing 1N over 1C denies 4 diamonds Downgrade 4x3 hands Cue bids of the opponent's suit can be confusing Unusual cuebid as a limit raise Two Suited Overcalls - Continued
August 2012
August 2012 Movie D View    Download I play new suits by responder, be it to an opening bid or overcall, are forcing, SEZ Howard Use judgement raising partner's bid A cue bid only promises limit raise or better How to play your club holding You do not preempt over a preempt Two Suited Overcalls Part I	August 2012 Movie C View    Download 3N is almost always a better contract than 5 of a minor 8-card trump fits play nicely at 1-level too Ducking the Ace for no reason is generally not recommended The 6-2 fit is better than the 4-4 fit Bergen Raises in Competition - Marty Bergen	August 2012 Movie B View    Download After a 1NT overcall people play what is commonly referred to as "front of card" The conventional "8 ever 9 never" is misleading, Sez Howard Sometimes in NT you must not duck if you fear a shift to a different suit Bergen Raises after interference Tips in Marty Sez book	August 2012 Movie A View    Download Declarer - if it does not hurt- should hide what he has from the defense The person with longer trumps should use "Declarer Points" count Are there REVERSES in 2/1? You need to agree A very important bidding principle is "support with support" Bergen Raises in competition
July 2012
July 2012 Movie E View    Download You should preempt whenever you can Why most experts play 2/1 It is hard to defend against an End play Generally you should not open flat 4-3-3-3/12 counts hands unless In 2/1 how many points do you need for a game force bid When you have a game force	July 2012 Movie D View    Download How to bid after partner transfers to a major In competitive bidding you have the cuebid as a forcing bid Rule 20 using Bergen's hand evaluation "Loser on Loser" in action Use the LAW (The Law of Total Tricks) to determine how high to bid The so-called experts publicly criticize your bridge, "Ignore them." sez Howard	July 2012 Movie C View    Download With a game forcing hand bid game or a forcing bid Doubletons are usually not good opening leads But sometimes you have to lead a doubleton Expert virtually always play 2nd hand low smoothly Bid More With Less, sez Marty Bergen	July 2012 Movie B View    Download Opener's forcing bids are REVERSES and JUMP SHIFTS Lead back your "remaining count" when partner leads a suit, you win, and lead it back After a takeout double any bid other than redouble shows less than 10 points The purpose of DONT is to either get to play a partial or force the opponents out of 1NT An interesting hand to bid Test your 2/1 bidding How to compete after interference over 1N	July 2012 Movie A View    Download Usually attitude is the signal you give on pard's opening lead unless the attitude is obvious Stretch to bid game with a 9-card fit, be more cautious with an 8-card fit Balancing is about bidding the shared resources of you and your partner. Almost never pass an 18-19 2N in IMPs. To play 0314 or 1430 - Howard is getting off his chest!
June 2012
June 2012 Movie D View    Download You should preempt, because you make it harder for the opponents to make the right bid Don't duck it if you cannot find a good reason to duck the Ace As declarer you should hide your cards as much as possible When 4N is quantitative and when is it a Blackwood More quotes from Yogi Berra	June 2012 Movie C View    Download New Minor Forcing vs Checkback Stayman Is new suit by opener forcing? Again, remember that the Law is your friend When you play 2/1, does a reverse shows extra value Tips from Marty Sez Book I	June 2012 Movie B View    Download How to raise a minor suit opening after an overcall How to raise after take out double As responder, you are almost always "captain" of the hand Love your 9-card fits, but be cautious with your 8-card fits General Approach after an Overcall - Minor Suit Opening	June 2012 Movie A View    Download How to play Axx opposite Qxx You should try to declare with distributional hands Always SUPPORT with SUPPORT When to bid Weak Two in fourth seat Do you know your "Effective Raises in Competition?" Responding to partner's splinter bid by Marty Bergen
May 2012
May 2012 Movie C View    Download In competitive bidding rely on the Law of Total Tricks How to defend against a Two-Suited overcall Once they find a fit, you should be reluctant to let them play there What is a "hand hog" she asked Unusual Over Unusual	May 2012 Movie B View    Download How to treat strong balanced hands after RHO opens How to respond to partner after RHO doubles Bid 7 when you really are certain to make The Law of Total Tricks is your friend Ogust convention after a Weak Two Bid Partner opens, RHO doubles. What bid do you make?	May 2012 Movie A View    Download You have the trick to make the contract go for it Pass when partner preempts and your are void in the suit 2C opening revisited Howard says do not open light in 3rd seat Counting is the biggest thing that less experienced players should learn Don't squeeze the 1NT bid please
April 2012
April 2012 Movie B View    Download A short Guideline on Hold Up More on Opening Lead You should only bid grand slams that are 80% or more Delayed DONT Inverted Minor Raises - all you need to know Lebensohl or not to Lebensohl Count Signals	April 2012 Movie A View    Download All about Gerber and Quantitative 4NT When a void or singleton is not helpful | Opening lead when you have supported the partner's bid A rare case when you can lead unsupported Ace
March 2012
March 2012 Movie D View    Download Do you know your super accept 1N forcing or semi-forcing. That is the question Counting your tricks for all contracts You can only play DONT when the bid is 1N	March 2012 Movie C View    Download To Major or to Minor First When to bid 3 over 3 You need to plan the hand out Keep track of all your winners Always show "Support with Support" Penalty double and its perils	March 2012 Movie B View    Download Bergen Raise are off after competition 1D-P-2C does not deny a 4-card major Rule 20 tells you when you are strong enough to open even when flat--the hand Draw trumps ASAP unless you have a good reason not to	March 2012 Movie A View    Download How to bid after a Take-Out Double Open all 12 point hands except if they are 4-3-3-3 You need to do second hand low smoothly | Never forget the "support with support" principle 1NT forcing in action 1NT forcing by Paul Thurston
February 2012
February 2012 Movie D View    Download Do you know when not to bid Grand Slam? To bid 1NT or not to bid 1NT Where is the Queen Do you know your way in DONT? The Queen Sleeps Around	February 2012 Movie C View    Download Double and Correct is not forcing to game Opening lead - General Guideline 4th Suit Forcing and the Quantitative 4N Weak Two Bids and 3-card limit raise (mixed Raises) Paul Thurston meets the Movie Maker	February 2012 Movie B View    Download Both offense and defense should count out the suits. Inverted Minors is off after intervention. It is important to know when to pass Do you know how to select your opening lead? A convention with no name	February 2012 Movie A View    Download A Touch of Negative Double Howard does not like Quantitative 4N A Double and Correct shows a strong hand Bid 4 of a major with 5 card support no matter how few points you have Born Again Movie Maker Does not Like the Radio Lessons!

November 2011
The Kia Finale! View    Musical Movie Important Announcement by nome Could You Open Weak-2 with a 4-card Major? Keep the Bidding Low When Possible See 9 Tricks in 3N Take Them, BUT Second Hand Low Virtually Always Works Avoiding Mental Lapses	November 2011 Movie A View    Download A Case of Trump Promotion You can open a suit bid by opponents and not get scolded by Howard On close contracts, be conservative with an 8-card fit, more aggressive with a 9-card fit Do not ruff cards in the long hand Opening Leads Bidding 6-4 hands Michaels
October 2011
October 2011 Movie B View    Download A Case of Trump Promotion You can open a suit bid by opponents and not get scolded by Howard On close contracts, be conservative with an 8-card fit, more aggressive with a 9-card fit Do not ruff cards in the long hand Opening Leads Bidding with 6/4 Distribution Michaels Cue Bids	October 2011 Movie A View    Download 1NT bid in the balancing seat shows 11-14 with a stopper in opener's suit In Bergen's hand evaluation use "adjusted HCP" to calculate the Rule of 20 Could New Minor Forcing save the day? "If you set them every time you double, you are not doubling enough" "Little Known Facts"
July 2011
July 2011 Movie B View    Download It is rarely right to let the opponents play at the 2 level "3 over 3" is not a good idea with an 8 card fit Use DONT with any excuse Who is the "captain" of the auction Opener's Choice of Rebid by Eric Rodwell	July 2011 Movie A View    Download Your plans will get better as time goes on, once you start making a plan Rule 11 Marty Bergen says, "The Law is more accurate than even an expert's judgement." Is Bergen Raises okay with a passed hand? Rule 11 from Watson book
June 2011
June 2011 Movie E View    Download It is usually not right to lead a suit the opponents have bid King from King-Queen as a strong lead against suits--Y/N? If you know you have game, bid it When to bid 2C Holding up with King-Queen and with Queen-Jack in No-Trump	June 2011 Movie D View    Download A Negative Double Followed By a Suit Shows a Weakish Hand With a Long Suit How to show limit raise in competition An exception to opening 1N with 15-17 balanced even with a 5 card major Lead King from Ace-King in the middle of the hand How to show support after a Natural overcall	June 2011 Movie C View    Download Don't push them into makable game by bidding 4 of a minor in a competitive auction Trump Coup Do you play short club? Jump Shift and Reverse are explained Duplicate Strategy	June 2011 Movie B View    Download Don't Let the Opponents Play at the 2 Level When Second Hand High is Correct When Not to Accept a Splinter Slam Try Opening 1C vs 1D All About the Double Dummy Problems	June 2011 Movie A View    Download When Partner Opens your Void Suit with a Weak 2 Usually Pass Draw Trumps ASAP Unless There is a Reason Not To Making It Harder for the Opponents to Find a Fit RKCB Queen Ask Watson on When To Draw Trumps
May 2011
May 2011 Movie C View    Download Always play the lowest of the touching honors In the middle of the hand lead King from Ace-King A "negative double and correct", shows a long suit and weak hand Despite the conventional wisdom, a 4-4 fit is not always better than a 5-3 fit Bergen Hand evaluation comes to the rescue	May 2011 Movie B View    Download Ducking an Ace The OGUST Convention Second Hand High for the Setting Trick" Rule New Suit Rebid by Opener is Not Forcing The STAYMAN Convention	May 2011 Movie A View    Download Bidding Over Reverses Doubling Without 4 Cards in the Other Major Support Doubles RKCB Queen Ask Superaccepts after Major Suit Transfers & A Nice End Play Defending NT - Stick to the Defense Unless There is a Good Reason to Change Hold-Up from Watson's Book
April 2011
April 2011 Movie D View    Download Competing Over a Michaels Cue Bid Locating a Missing Honor Keeping Control of Trumps Attitude vs. Suit Preference Signaling RKCB Queen Ask Blackwood vs. Control Bids	April 2011 Movie C View    Download Straining to Bid The Law of Total Tricks Asking for a Stopper Asking vs. Showing a Stopper Free Bids, A Sample	April 2011 Movie B View    Download Picture the Hand to Bid a Slam An Adjustment to The Law of Total Tricks Puppet Stayman Knowing the Opponents Don't Have a Fit Responding to 1 of a Major in 2/1	April 2011 Movie A View    Download Bidding Thin Games What Do You Call an 8 Card Suit? --Trumps 2/1 3 Card Limit Raise Unusual Over Unusual Lead Directing Doubles Bidding Shapely Hands Bidding a Blockbuster When Partner Opens Weak-2 Ducking to Keep Control
March 2011
March 2011 Movie D View    Download Reevaluate a Passed Hand to Force to Game The Ogust Convention in Detail Competitive Bidding and the OBAR Convention Passing with 20 HCP & Garbage Stayman Splinter Bids	March 2011 Movie C View    Download Rethinking as the Bidding Progresses Leading from 3 Small When and How to Overcall Texas Transfers Combining Your Chances Help Suit Game Tries	March 2011 Movie B View    Download Bids after Opponent Overcalls 1NT Don't let the Opponents Play at the 2 Level with a Fit Don't Bid Your Values Twice Splinter Bid Opening 1N with 5 card major Coded 10s and 9s	March 2011 Movie A View    Download DONT Furthering the Preempt How to Read Your Opponents Cards OBAR & Strain to Balance DONT Practice Quizzes
February 2011
February 2011 Movie C View    Download Playing Safe Leading Partner's Supported Suit Competitive Bidding Quantitative 4NT and Gerber	February 2011 Movie B View    Download A rare hand where 5 of a minor is a better contract than 3N^ Requirements for Advancer to Bid^ Requirements for 2C opening^ Italian Slam Cue Bidding^ A rare hand where 2nd hand high is right	February 2011 Movie A View    Download When is appropriate to sacrifice A new suit by responder to an overcall promises 5 cards in the suit Game in one of minors is rarely right when 3N is wrong A fine point in Inverted Minor Raises Inverted Raises Review
January 2011
January 2011 Movie B View    Download Better to go down fighting Count declarer's hand when possible Responder's new suits are always forcing 50% is better than 0% A hard hand to bid correctly The auction 1N-P-2N-P-P-P Avoid leading unprotected Aces Play in the preempter's suit if you can Partner do something intelligent Always evaluate the opening lead Open 1NT with any 15-17 balanced hand Decide on a defense, and stick to it		January 2011 Movie A View    Download Checkback Stayman Support Double Crawling Stayman Play the honors from the shorter hand High Reverse Bergen Raises is off in competition Don't push your luck Third seat is the best seat to preempt When 4NT bid is quantitative? Re-opening Double Bid "3 over 3" if you have a 9-card fit

November 2010
November 11, 2010 Thrump Double The Law of Restricted Choice The Mixed Raises A Transfer to Minor Teaser Do you do Better Minors? Finding a 4-4 Major Fit 4-Suit Jacoby Transfers	November 4, 2010 Finding Slam After Splinter by Responder DONT in action Control Bidding Sequence The Five Level belongs to the Opponents Opening a Hand 1NT with Two Doubleton An excellen Defense in 1NT Contract Bergen Raises Tutorial
October 2010
October 21, 2010 Putting Declarer to the Guess Drawing Trumps Weak Jump Shifts Overcalling 1NT Without the Minor Stopped Advancers Response to a Double and Raise When to Draw Trumps Revisited Garbage Stayman	October 7, 2010 How to Bid With a Balanced Hand And 4-4 in Minors Select Your First Bid Carefully To Open or Not to Open Light in The Third Seat A Cardinal Rule in The Balancing Seat Do You Know What Is OBAR? A Bridge Chocolate Store
September 2010
September 23, 2010 Coded 10s and 9s In the middle of the hand lead King from Ace-King A difficult hand to bid Pre-empt give opponents problems With a rule of 20 hand opposite an opener, try to bid game Hands with voids play wonderfully Roman Key Card King ask	September 16, 2010 When to Michaels Watch Every Card Played The Ninth Trump The Inverted Minor Rises in a Nutshell Simply a Nice Board to Bid and Play Don't Bid Just to Make Noise	September 9, 2010 When To Lead Trumps Honor Leads Against NT Leading Away from an Honor IN A Suit Contract Could Be Costly Planning The Play Balancing After The Opponents Have Found An 8 Card Fit Listen To The Bidding When to Bid Slam after RKCB Response	September 2, 2010 NT Honor Leads Leading When You Didn't Support Partner Cooperative Doubles Passive Leads A Rare Case of Second Hand High Bidding Slam with 33 Bergen Points
August 2010
August 19, 2010 A Gambling 3NT Hand Cardinal Rule of Defense - 2nd Hand Low Limit Raise Cue Bids Look at Options Whan Planning the Play Puppet Stayman & Managing Entries A Hand Which Roared Gambling 3NT Responses	August 12, 2010 Overcalling with Both 5 Card Majors Avoid Missing a Slam Knowing the Odds Opening Hands Using the Rule of 20 Be Reluctant to Open NT with 2 Doubletons Overcalling with a Powerful Distributional Hand Bergen's Hand Evaluation Summary	August 5, 2010 Be Cautious When It Appears The Cards Are Not Sitting Well Inviting Game When Playing 4 Suit Transfers The Law Of Total Tricks Works Again Jordan 2NT Support Doubles And Redoubles Sandwich NT
July 2010
July 29, 2010 Always Take the Setting Trick Gambling 3NT Modified DONT Squeeze Rare Time When an Unprotected Ace is a Good Lead Don't Just Randomly Play Suits	July 22, 2010 Figuring Out the Opening Lead Don't Draw Trumps if You Want to Ruff Losers Opening with 4 Diamonds and 5 Clubs Prefer to Overcall with a 5 Card Major Instead Of Doubling 4-4 Fits vs. 9 Card Fits Guidance for Penalty Doubles	July 15, 2010 Count out your tricks at trick one When they bid two suits, and dummy takes a preference, a trump lead is often right Come up with several alternatives on each hand and hope one of them works Should you bypass diamonds when you have a four card major You may not pass over a takeout double with 10 or more points When you preempt, decide how high you are willing to go, and do it right away	July 8, 2010 A Tactical Preempt It is Usually Wrong to Ruff from Long Trumps The Secret of Doubling Preempts Often Make the Opponents Guess Inverted Minors in Competition Bidding Over a Preempt
June 2010
June 24, 2010 Don't worry about sneak attacks Unusual No-Trump Rule 20 -Revisited It is only right to pass if 2N makes exactly and 3N is down 1 The key to the play is to preserve dummy entries Revised DONT Losing an extra trick to create 2 A short quiz on negative doubles	June 17, 2010 Inverted Minor Raises Hand Improvement During the Auction Double and Correct Passing when RHO Opens the Bidding Bidding NT with a 5 Card Major New Minor Force Responding to Partner's Major Opener with 5 Card Support	June 3, 2010 Overcall With a 5 Card Suit Third Hand Play Defensive Carding & Surrounding Plays Responding to a Takeout Double Accurate Hand Evaluation With Bergen Splinter Bids By Opener Restricted Choice Splinter Bids Review
May 2010
May 27, 2010 Jacoby 2N Splinters Control Bids Responses to RKCB King Ask	May 20, 2010 Over Opponents' Bid and Raise -OBAR Bidding Over a Michaels Cue Bid The Forcing Pass The Power of Voids Proper Defensive Card Play The Next Bid Clarifies a 4th Suit Forcing Bid The Proper Way To Play a Difficult Trump Suit Fourth Suit Forcing	May 13, 2010 "Mixed Raises" Looking for 3NT After an Opponent Has Shown 2 Suits You Should Almost Always Contract for 3NT Rather then 5 of a Minor With 5 Trump Support - Raise to 4 with Less Than a Limit Raise Ducking to Setup a Suit Locating Cards by Watching the Play Third Hand High New Minor Forcing	May 6, 2010 Always make the clearest bid when you have a choice Raise Only Non-Force and Mel's Rule 17 Support Redouble Responsive Double You Never Lose the Post Mortem by Leading Partner's Suit You can bid New Minor Suit Forcing after 2NT When to Bid Game
April 2010
April 29, 2010 Over a Preempt - Try Not to Bid Past 3NT Light Openers A Guaranteed Endplay is Superior to Finessing When it is Ok Not to Keep "Parity" With Dummy Respond to an Opener With a 5 Card Major Rather then a Minor Bergen Raises A Good Read	April 22, 2010 4 Suit Transfers Playing Weak NT The Play in a 9 Card Fit Missing the Q Don't Lead Short Suits When You Don't Want to Trump Only Draw Trumps if the Hand Has No Problems Evaluating Your Hand When Partner Splinters Opening 1NT With a 5 Card Major is Usually Preferable to 1 of a Major Rabbi's Rule	April 15, 2010 Counting the Hand Reopening With a Strong Hand Reopening Doubles New Suits by Responder are Forcing Responder is Captain of the Hand Shortening Declarer's Trumps Two Quizzes	April 8, 2010 3NT Instead of 4 Of a Major The Law Of Total Tricks Is Smarter Than Any Bridge Player Going For Game After a 2NT Opener The Strip Endplay Running Declarer Out Of Trumps Covering The Last Honor Instead Of The First When to Lead Trumps	April 1, 2010 Guidelines For 2C Openings Responding to a Takeout Double 2/1 Fast Arrival Dummy Reversals Cue Bids Showing Limit Raise or Better Jump Bids in the Passout Seat Bad Opening Leads
March 2010
March 25, 2010 Showing A Strong NT After Interference Puppet Stayman Garbage Stayman Guidelines For Competitive Bidding Correct Play For An Extra Trick Dummy Reversals ^*N	March 18, 2010 Opener's Reverse After A 2/1 Response Preempts In First and Second Seat Opening Leads From Honor Sequences Tactical Preempts IN 3rd Seat Biddding Over A Weak NT Responding to Blackwood With A Void Quick Tricks	March 11, 2010 Figuring Out Partner's Opening Lead Avoid Ruffing With Natural Trump Tricks Maximize Your Chances Opening Leads Responding To Partner's Overcall Hands With Poor Trumps Are Difficult To Play Honor Leads Against No Trump Contracts	March 4, 2010 Lead Directing Bids Two Level Overcalls Upper Cut Trump Plays Gambling 3NT Stolen Bid Doubles Preempt with a 4-card Major && Balancing Super Accepts Losing Trick Count
February 2010
February 25, 2010 Open 1NT Even With a 5 Card Major Is 2C a Game Force Bid Over 1D? Bidding When Your Partner's Opener Is Preempted Should You Bypass Diamonds? Weak Jump Shifts Responding To Partners 2C Opener 4-Way Transfer Re-visited Thrump Doubles	February 11, 2010 Lead Directing Doubles Marty Bergen Hand Evaluation When You Bid Blackwood, Have a Planned Action to Partner's Response 4 Suit Transfers It Is Often Easier to Make 3NT Rather Then 4 - Over Opponents's Preempt Preempts Work 4-Way transfer revisited	February 4, 2010 Ruff Losers Before Drawing Trumps Proper Bidding Allows Slam to be Reached Jumps Rebids Are Not Forcing 1 NT Balancing 3rd and 4th Seat Openers Requirements for a 2 Club Opener Bergen's Hand Evaluation
January 2010
January 28, 2010 "Resposive Doubles" "Minorwood" & Responses to Blackwood with a Void "The Law of Restricted Choice" Jump Rebids show 16-18 Points and are not Forcing "The Law of Total Tricks" & Furthering the Preempt "Second Hand Low" Writing on the sand by Kia - A Difficult Board to Bid	January 21, 2010 6NT is the Hardest Slam to Make Lead Partner's Suit Passing a Double of an Opponents Preempt Systems On" After a Rebid of 2NT After a 2C Opener Bidding Over Preempts - "Equal Level Conversion Doubles" "Italian Control Bids" & K Asking Bids Writing on the sand by Kia - Blackwood King asking	January 14, 2010 Balancing Bids with a NT Opener The Importance of Giving Count Preempts Bidding with Self Sufficient Suits Responding to a 1C Opener with a Weak Hand Leading from 3 Small Splinter Bids, Jacoby 2NT, or Blackwood	January 7, 2010 Serious 3NT Continue the Defense your Partner has Chosen 4 Way Xfers to a Minor - How to Bid When to Super Accept a 4 Way Xfer to a Major Look for 3NT Rather then 5 of a Minor Negative Doubles Responding 2NT over a Minor Opening Takes Up Room The Use of Artificial Bids in Competitive Auctions

December 2009
December 24, 2009 Slams are Rare When the Opponents Open the Bidding Preference of DONT over CAPP Picturing Partners Hand when a Weak 2 is Opened A Reverse Bid is Forcing to at Least 2NT Bergen's "Sneak Attack" Opening the Bidding with 2 4 Card Minors A Squeeze Play in Action	December 17, 2009 An Alternative Bid in DONT 1 NT Forcing by a Passed Hand or Drury Maximizing Your Chances for an Overtrick Lead Back Remaining Count Competitive Bidding A Choice Between a 5 Level Bid or a Penalty Double The Importance of Choosing an Overcall Suit Requirements for a 2C Opener	December 10, 2009 Leading from a Suit headed by the Ten Dummy Reversal Running a Long Suit First in NT Defensive Planning Inverted Minors Discarding Instead of Ruffing Postpone Drawing Trumps in Order to Not Lose Control Italian Control Bids	December 3, 2009 An Interesting Study in Hand Evaluation The Law of Total Tricks Opening 1NT with 5 of a Major Third Hand Plays Lowest Card in a Sequence Open 1D with 4144 Distribution When You Open - Plan for Your Rebid First Picture Your Partner's Hand The Power of Good Fits
November 2009
November 17, 2009 2nd Hand Low Leading Trumps Passive Defense Inverted Raise vs. 1N Counting Your Winners Definition of a Reverse Bidding after DONT Double Keeping Parity with Dummy	November 5, 2009 Weak Jump Shifts An Advantage of 2/1 over SAYC Listen to the Bidding Unblock to Avoid Entry Issues Blasting to Slam vs. Scientific Bidding Michaels Convention Responding to 5NT RKC Blackwood Bids Balancing & Competitive Bidding
October 2009
October 29, 2009 "Value" Showning 4 Level Doubles The Correct Way to Finesse Lead Remaining Count A 2 Level Cue Bid "Limit Raise" Strain to Make a Reopening Double When Short in Opponents Suit Signaling after Partner Leads the K in a NT Contract Preempts Keep the Opponents Guessing Bypassing Diamonds	October 22, 2009 Low Level Doubles are for Takeout not Penalty Penalty Doubles The Value of Preempts It is Rarely Wrong to Force Declarer to Ruff It is Good to be Aggresive - But Think First Planning at Play of the Hand Signaling Count Counting by Declarer and Defenders	October 8, 2009 Reopening Doubles Maximizing Declarer's Chances 2N Invitational Over a Minor Showing 5/5 and 5/6 Distributions Immediate Support of Partner's Major How to Tell When a Bid is a Splinter Doubles Over 4 Level Preempts Upside Down Count and Attitude
September 2009
Marty Bergen Mentoring Marty Bergen Mentoring with Music	September 17, 2009 Preempts Make Bidding Harder for the Opponents When Dummy Prefers Declarers Second Suit It is Often Correct to Lead a Trump hortening Declarers Trumps is often a Good Defense The Importance of Planning at Trick 1 he Correct Card when Leading Partners Suit "Surrounding an Honor" How to Respond with a Strong and Long Suit when Partner Opens Playing the Odds Lebensohl Slam Bidding Correct Opening Lead of Partner's Suit	September 10, 2009 Responder's bid when Opener's bid is overcalled by 1NT Playing WK NT Usually You Can Tell a Minor Opener is a "Real Suit" Extra Chances with Careful Planning Dummy Reversal It is Always Correct to Take the Setting Trick Planning the Hand for the Best Percentage Play ont Endplay Yourself "The Magic of Voids"
August 2009
August 27, 2009 Responding to Partners 2C Opener with No Controls A Game Forcing Bid by Overcaller Using Bergen Points to Arrive at Slam If You know the Correct Contract Just Bid It Devalue Hands with Quacks 2nd Negative After 2C Opener Getting into the Auction Early is a Big Advantage Sacrificing Against an Unmakeable Partial	August 20, 2009 Aggressive Preempting Deciding to Declare or Defend The Ogust Convention Counting the Hand Counting Winners and Losers Lead the Longest and Strongest Against NT A Good Reason Not to Draw Trump Look for 3 NT Instead of 5 of a Minor A 2C Response to 1D in 2/1	August 13, 2009 How Can You Tell a Club Opener is Not From a Short Suit Weak Jump Shifts Gambling 3NT A Well Planned Hand Suit Combination Play Competitive Bidding Principles Surrounding Dummy Getting in the Auction Early
July 2009
July 30, 2009 Finessing Rather then Going up with the Ace When is it a Good Idea to Lead a Singleton? You Must be an Optimist to be a Good Declarer Cue Bid is a Limit Raise or Better Competitive Bidding Draw Trumps Bidding after an Inverted Raise & Surrounding Dummies Honor Bidding after Partner's 1NT is Overcalled	July 23, 2009 Finesse or Play for the Drop When to Lead a Suit that was Bid by Declarer Pass rather then Bid a Forcing NT The Importance of Making the Most Descriptive Bid Falsecarding Bidding Over a Michaels Cue Bid Play of the Hand with Correct Planning Double and Correct	July 16, 2009 Revised DONT Responder's Rebid after a Reverse "Systems On" after 1NT is Overcalled DONT vs. Cappelletti Jump Rebid by Responder is Invitational Signaling During Play to help Partner Lead Managing Entries Setting Up an "End Play" "Cue Bid" to Show a Limit Raise	July 2, 2009 Signaling for Count and Suit Preference "Discovery Plays" before a Squeeze Reverses by Opener after a 2/1 Response Is a 2C Response to a 1D Opener Forcing to Game? DONT Bids and Responders Bids Over Interference Leading an Ace Against NT Contracts When not to Balance Accepting an Invitation to Game after Opening 1NT Negative Doubles Bergen Hand Evaluation after Jacoby 2NT Response
June 2009
June 25, 2009 Balancing Declarer Planning Example Advantage of Preemptive Raises Double of Unusual NT Why Light Openers Not Needed Support Double Reverses in Competition Power of Double Fits Scoring Vis a Vis Sacrificing Cuebids over Michaels/Unusual NT	June 18, 2009 Bidding 6/5 Hands Declarer Planning Example Opening 2 In 4th Seat Suit Preference Avoid Unnecessary Ruffs When Not to Bypass 1D 3C Opener with 6 Card Suit Hand Evaluation in Competition	June 11, 2009 Negative Double and Correct Preserving your Entries Premptive Raise in Competition Stopper Asking Bid Defensive Honor Leads lam Try Auction esponding with weak 5/5 in the majors Planning on Defense	June 4, 2009 When to Lead Trump Tradeoffs Opening Weak 2 vs. 1 Competitive Bidding Tactics Splinter in Competition Planning a Part Score More Tips on Planning Raise After 1N Forcing Shows Exactly 2 Showing Strong NT in Balancing Seat
May 2009
May 27, 2009 Unblocking Technique Bergen Raises by a Passed Hand Showing 4 card support immediately Cue bid over Unusual NT Surround play when dummy has an honor 3N vs. 5 of a minor Raising 4 card suit with 3 card support Disadvantages of Quantitative 4N Double and Correct to 1N Hand Evaluation over Michaels When to Bid Over a Sacrifice	May 20, 2009 9 Card Fit Missing K and Q Tip for Counting Suits Delay in drawing trumps Correct Sequencing of Play Counting Trump Tricks 2C over 1D in 2 Over 1 When Not To Balance Slam Bidding Odds Overcalling vs. Doubling with 5/4 Majors	May 13, 2009 Fireside Chat - Unusual NT Unusual NT after Passing 2nd Highest From 4 as Count Checkback Stayman Ruffing on Air 4th Suit as NT Ask 2nd Hand Low Playing in NT with 8 Card Fit Defensive Planning Bergen Raises in Competition and by Passed Hand	May 6, 2009 Checkback Stayman vs. NMF Slam Bid using Bergen Points Doubling vs. Bidding On New Suit Forcing after Overcall How to Count Trumps Overcall vs. Double and Correct Declarer Planning Example Opening Lead Guidelines Disadvantages of MUD QJx opposite 3 small suit combination
April 2009
April 30, 2009 Blackwood Tutorial Slam Bidding Example 4th Suit as Stopper Ask Factors Against Sacrificing Forcing Pass Signalling with 2nd Highest Blackwood Specific Kings Inverted minor with a 4 card major Responses after interference over 2C Deducing distribution from the bidding	April 23, 2009 Fireside Chat on Inverted Raises Planning Your Entries Using the Bidding to Determine Declarer's Hand Bidding with less than 6 points Judgement in Sacrificing Counting Tricks as Declarer Raising Responder with 3 Card Support Followups to Inverted Raises	April 16, 2009 2C over 1D - game force or not? Opening 1N with 5 card major Western cue bid Planning the Play Slam bidding auction Passive vs. aggressive defense Aggressive defense with long suit in dummy	April 9, 2009 Bidding 5 over 5 Pushing Opponents into Game 4 Card Suit Overcall Negative Double over 1H Ducking on Defense Competing over Michaels Squeeze technique Trump Promotion Responding after a Reverse Reverses in Competition	April 2, 2009 Fourth Suit Forcing Tutorial Bergen Raises Tutorial Declarer Planning Negative double and correct Opener jump shift is game force Counting your losers Cue bid stopper ask When to bid 3 card suits Overcalling vs. takeout double 1S vs.2S as 4th suit forcing
March 2009
March 26, 2009 Overcall vs. Takeout Double When to compete to the 3 level Aggressive vs. passive defense Consequences of stretching a bid Showing 5 card suit vs. Takeout Double Slam Bidding Exercise Responder's bids over a takeout double Devaluing Queens and Jacks How to Respond to Blackwood with Void	March 19, 2009 Disadvantage of delayed weak 2 Why to lead your long suit in NT Ogust Avoid losing control Reopening double Honor sequence opening leads NMF vs. new suit Clues from auction on defense Raising major response with 3 card support Grand slam auction	March 12, 2009 Interesting Slam Hand Played By Howard Cooperative Doubles "Accident-Free" bidding Defensive Carding When to Show a Doubleton Leading Trumps Purpose of Signals Reopening Doubles Doubleton Leads DONT Single Suit Bids	March 5, 2009 Bergen Hand Evaluation and Rule of 20 Short Club Mini-Roman and Flannery Minor suit 2 level rebids Handling Interference over 4N 2C Opening with strong minor Opening with 4D and 5C Overcalls over a weak 2 Law of Restricted Choice Technique for Avoiding Blocking Suits Playing Safe in Imps
February 2009
February 26, 2009 Bergen raises tutorial doubles in competitive auctions penalty doubles over preempts 4th suit forcing and fast arrival defensive planning preemptive raise with very weak hand leading partner's unsupported suit furthering the prempt suit preference when partner ruffs bidding so as to limit opponents' knowledge
January 2009
January 22, 2009 Michaels/Unusual NT Tutorial 4th Best Against NT Contracts Advantage of Weak Raises When 1S By Responder Promises 5 Clues from the Auction Opening 1N with 5 Card Major Tactical Preempts Law of Restricted Choice When Partner Fails to Lead Your Suit Planning the Play from the Auction Michaels Over Preempts	January 15, 2009 Guidelines for Weak 2s Doubles of Artificial Bids Opening with 4/4 minors Rule of 15 Light Openers New Suits Forcing in Competition Takeout Double vs. NT Overcall Takeout vs. Penalty Doubles DONT Runouts Bergen Dummy Points New Suits By Opener Not Forcing	January 8, 2009 Simple Squeeze Transfers vs. Stayman Imps vs.Match Points Furthering the Preempt Early vs. Delayed Overcalls Trump Promotion Cheapest Minor over 2C Showing support vs. bidding 1N Checkback Stayman Caution with Misfits	January 1, 2009 Double of artificial bids Bergen hand evaluation Fourth suit forcing 4th best vs. unbid major lead in NT Lead in NT with 2 card honor sequence Opener rebids with 18+ Takeout double vs. 1N overcall Double and correct with super strong hand Diamonds followed by clubs shows diamonds Leading partner's suit

December 2008
December 18, 2008 3N vs. 5 of a minor DONT Suit Bid Control Bid Slam Auction DONT Double Splinters By Opener When Not to Duck Redouble Denies 4 Card Support 1N Rebid with 6 Card Suit	December 11, 2008 Bergen Raises Tutorial Bergen Jump to 3 of a major Bid what you can make Careful play with distributional hands Negative Double vs.Bidding 1S Sandwich 1NT Cooperative Doubles 2nd hand low	December 4, 2008 When to Ruff on Defense Opening with 4 diamonds and 5 clubs Consistency on Defense Signalling with 2nd Highest Overcall vs. Takeout Double Remaining Count Passing Takeout Doubles at the 1 Level Attitude vs. Count
November 2008
November 27, 2008 NT Holdup Play Responses to Parnter's Balancing Bid When A Cue Bid is not a Raise How to Avoid Blocking a Suit When to Raise a Preempt Lead Directing Doubles "Flat" Hand Definition Major Suit Garbage Stayman Captain of the Hand Loser on Loser Double and Correct	November 20, 2008 Disadvantages of Defensive Deceptive Plays Strip and End Play Tactical Bidding Considerations Power of 2 Suited Hands Counting Declarer's Hand Lead Back Remaining Count Declarer Hiding Honors Lebensohl 3 Level Slam Tries Over 1N Control Bids	November 13, 2008 Play Clues from the Auction Upgrading Honors in Partner's Suit Keeping Same Length as Dummy 1N Opener with 5 Card Major Takeout Double Responses Brozel Lebensohl Competitive Doubles DONT Runouts with Weak NT Patience on Defense	November 6, 2008 2H Response to 2C Making Declarer Lose Control Showing Limit Raise with 3 Trumps When 4N is Quantitative and 4C is Gerber When to Underlead an Ace Lebensohl Basics 4th Suit Forcing Exclusion Blackwood
October 2008
October 30, 2008 Bidding After Interference Over 1N DONT Penalty Doubles Playing 9 Card Fits Missing The Q Bidding Over Takeout Double Weak 2 With Outside Major Raises in Competitive Auctions Bidding After Passing Odd/Even Discards Responses Over 2C Declarer Deceptive Plays	October 23, 2008 Cue Bids In Lieu of Inverted Minors Hand Evaluation From Bidding 4th Suit Forcing Blackwood with a Void Fast Arrival Rasing a Major with 3 Card Support Negative Inferences Planning at Trick 1	October 16, 2008 Lead of Partner's Suit Stick with Partner's Defense Opening Lead Guidelines Negative and Cooperative Doubles Bath Coup Responses to 2C Suit Preference Signal NT Overcall vs.Takeout Double	October 9, 2008 New Minor Forcing Tutorial Balancing at the 1 level Support double Power of Double Fits Why You Stretch For Games Counting Trumps After a Ruff When to Cover an Honor Bath Coup Preemptive Raises of Overcalls	October 2, 2008 One Level Negative Doubles/Quiz Visualizing With Powerful Distributional Hands Probablilities For Mutliple Finesses Avoid NT When Short in Partner's Preempt Accurate Major Suit Raises in Competition Balancing Over 1N DONT Guidelines Ruffing Losers Before Pulling Trump
September 2008
September 25, 2008 Double and correct Unusual 2NT Doubling Sacrifices vs. Bidding On Competitng to the 3 Level Bergen raises Balancing over a weak 2 Trump counting guidelines OBAR 2N Counting declarer's hand Competive Bidding Tactics	September 18, 2008 Cashing aces on defense Major suit holding with takeout doubles Patience on defense Leading aces against NT Planning at trick 1 Stretching for game based on vulnerability Opening bids with 2 long suits Third hand plays from A10 and K10 Evaluating hands with void in pard's suit Keeping parity with dummy Playing for overticks	September 11, 2008 Showing suit length in competitive auctions NT overcall over a weak 2 Finesse techniques Why aggresive bidding works Leading partner's unsupported suit Maximizing your chances Protecting King in opponent's suit Playing a suit missing just the K and J Balancing over a one level bid Raising a weak 2 Using alternative lines of play	September 4, 2008 Bidding Hands with 6/5 Distribution Competing to 4 of a minor 3N vs. 5 of a minor Defensive signalling to guide partner Favoring raises in competition DONT Systems on, stolen bid doubles Auctions where 2C opener rebids 2N 1430 vs. 0314 Penalizing sacrifices Double and correct 9 card fits missing the Q
August 2008
August 28, 2008 Overcall vs. takeout double 1N After Overcall Responding to 1C/D with 5/5 in the majors When not to make a takeout double Preferring NT with 4-3-3-3 Differences in NT vs. suit opening leads Mild slam tries with transfers Raising to 3 in competition Keeping track of side suits Reopening takeout doubles	August 21, 2008 New Suit Forcing By Overcaller's Partner Self sufficient suits Opening lead in partner's suit Lead partner's suit Slam tries over 1N Coded 10s Game try vs. competitive raises Avoid leading unprotected aces Show 4 card support immediately Value of weak 2s Competitive bidding principles overview	August 7, 2008 Misfits Basic transfer bidding Informational signals 4th Best vs.unbid major NT lead Hand Re-evaluation based on auction Rasing a weak 2 Rarely lead opponents' suit Attitude vs. count OBAR bids Bergen vs. Reverse Bergen raises Reponses over a takeout double
July 2008
July 31, 2008 Planning the Play DONT Criteria for Takeout Double Prefer Raise to New Suit When Not To Further the Preempt When Not To Reverse Maximize Your Chances Responses to Takeout Doubles New Minor Forcing Sacrifices Stolen Bid Doubles Over Cue Bids	July 24, 2008 Prime Values Using the Bidding To Declare Michaels at the 5 Level Prempting with a Strong Hand Using the Bidding to Defend Bids After a Takeout Double Restricted Choice Using Rule of 20 For Game Force When Not To Bypass Diamonds Defensive Planning Weak Jump Overcalls When to Pass With a 9 Card Fit Rule of 11 Value of Singletons in Opponents' Suit Double and Correct	July 17, 2008 Visualizing Partner's Hand 2nd Hand Low Forcing Declarer to Trump Takeout Double vs. Overcall 1NT after Takeout Double Cue Bid as Limit Raise Bidding Tactics Simple Squeeze Technique 2N Ask Over Michaels Passing a Takeout Double Playing Short Suit Honors First	July 10, 2008 Overcall vs. Takeout Double Responding to Takeout Double Jump Shift vs.Jump Rebid Gambling 3N Fast Arrival Bidding to the 5 Level in Competition Unusual 2NT 4th Suit Forcing When to Lead Trumps Partnership defense Reverses Evaluating Honors in Short Suits Upgrading Hands Based on the Auction Responder as Captain of the Auction	July 3, 2008 Captain of the Bidding Opener's rebids Passing one of a minor Bidding over Michaels When not to draw trumps Weak 1 level overcalls 1N after overcall Furthering the preempt 2nd hand high if setting trick Requirements for takeout double Deductions from the bidding
June 2008
Listen to the Experts 6/29/2008 DONT Rabbi's Rule Pushing the Opponents Losing Trick Count Garbage Stayman 2nd Hand Low Preempts	June 26, 2008 Playing a nine card fit, missing the K and J Inviting vs. forcing to game by opener Guidelines to making and responding to takeout doubles Rule of 20 New suit forcing by responder to overcaller Competing in "live" auctions When to sacrifice Definition of a reverse Raising responder's major with 3 card support When to compete to the 3 level Ogust over weak 2s Honor sequence leads against suits Cue bid as stopper ask	June 19, 2008 Balancing Showing Remaining Count Looking For Major Suit Fits Over 1NT Openings Preemptive Raises of Overcalls Competing Over Unusual NT Opening in 3rd and 4th Seat Rule of 15 Suppport Doubles Definition of a Reverse Power of Double Fits Scoring Cuebids Over Artificial Bids	June 12, 2008 Simple squeeze technique Followup after a transfer When a double is takeout Responses to takeout doubles Carding in partner's suit Defensive ducking Honor leads in NT New Minor Forcing	June 5, 2008 Balancing Cue Bid with 3 card support Rule of 11 Leading Dummy's Weakness Opening 1N with 5 card major Quick Tricks DONT
May 2008
May 29, 2008 Leading Remaining Count Deceptive Declarer Play Uppercut IMP vs Match Point Scoring DONT Short Club Determining Key Card Suit	May 15, 2008 1N Forcing by Passed Hand Ogust Bidding Close Games Cue Bid as Stopper Ask Inverted Raises 3rd Seat Light Openers Setting Up Side Suits	May 8, 2008 Guidelines for Competing Responses to 2C Interference over 2C NT Overcalls over Weak 2s When to use Jacoby vs. Texas Opening lead guidelines Coded 10s and 9s	May 1, 2008 When Not To Signal Unusual 4NT Exceptions to 8 Ever 9 Never Opening Lead Guidelines Weak Jump Shifts Rule of 15
April 2008
April 24, 2008 Lead Directing Doubles Italian Cue Bids Bids after intervening T/O Double Responding with both majors Bidding "Up the Line" Leads from Suits with a 10	April 17, 2008 Reverses after 2 over 1 response When to lead a singleton Help Suit Game Tries Honor Leads Against NT Leading Partner's Unsupported Suit 1N over 1D Implies Clubs Bidding after 1N Overcall
March 2008
March 27, 2008 Preemptive raises in competition Ducking on defense Splinters Importance of proper defensive carding Using the bidding on defense Fourth suit forcing	March 20, 2008 Planning Over Blackwood Advantage of Reverse Bergen Responding 1D with a 4 Card Major Negative Double Tutorial Cue Bid as Limit Raise Opener Rebids with Strong Hand Cue Asking for NT Stopper	March 13, 2008 When To Raise A Weak 2 Double and Correct Jacoby 2N DONT Supporting Partner In Competition Weak Hands with Long Suits	March 6, 2008 Competitive Bidding Judgement Blackwood K and Q ask When to Lead Declarer's Suit at NT Suit Preference Signals New Minor Forcing Cue Bid as Limit Raise
February 2008
February 28, 2008 Losing Trick Count Goren Shortness Points Bidding with 3 Card Support Tactical Preempts 9 Trumps Missing Q Play Responder New Suit Forcing	February 21, 2008 Showing 5 Card Support Forcing Declarer to Ruff Interference over Blackwood Showing 5/4 Majors over 1NT How to Count Trumps	February 14, 2008 Bidding Controls vs. Suits over 2C Fourth Suit Forcing Responding with New Suit over Overcall Major Suit Raises (2 Over 1)	February 7, 2008 Showing voids with Blackwood Bidding over a 1N overcall Suit preference signals 3rd hand play holding KJ Puppet Stayman Disadvantages of Quantitative 4N When 4C is Gerber
January 2008
January 31, 2008 Leading K from AK Negative Double vs.Overcall New Suit Always Forcing Negative Doubles Through 3S Reopening Doubles Handling Bad Trump Break	January 24, 2008 New Minor Forcing Stolen Bid Doubles Fourth Suit Forcing Responding with 5/5 in the Majors Opening Lead Against NT Avoiding Misfits	January 17, 2008 Tactical Underbidding Competitive Bidding Guidelines Forcing Declarer to Ruff Opening with 5/5 in the Black Suits Weak 2s with Outside 4 Card Major Game Force by Opener End Play	January 10, 2008 Honor Sequence Leads Counting Declarer's Distribution When to Open 1N Raising a Weak 2 Double and Correct to NT Super Accepts of Transfers DONT	January 3, 2008 Aces as Opening Lead Balancing Takeout Doubles New Minor Forcing Over 2N Rebid J Lead Against NT Bidding over an Inverted Raise Bidding New Suit after a Negative Double

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December 2007
December 26, 2007 Competitive Bidding at High Levels Leading an Ace Against NT Opening 1 of a major or NT with 15-17 Super accepts of Transfers Bidding over 1N Overcall Jordadn 2N Over Minors	December 19, 2007 Standard and UDCA Signals Odd/Evan and Lavinthal Discards 2 Over 1 Fast Arrival Disadvantages of Quantitative 4N Jacoby Transfer Slam Tries Cue Bid as Stopper Asking Ogust	December 12, 2007 Planning the Play Bergen Raises Intro to 4th Suit Forcing Intro to 2/1 System New Minor Forcing When to Sacrifice	December 5, 2007 Rule of 20 Hand Evaluation Based on the Auction Bidding Over a Takout Double When a Bid is a Reverse Ogust Passive vs. Aggressive Defense
November 2007
November 28, 2007 Trump Length as Guide in Competition Weak 2 with Outside Major How and When to Signal High Trump Promotion Counting Winners vs. Losers For Opening 2C Loser on Loser When To Lead Trumps	November 21, 2007 Balancing When to Open 2C Leading Back Remaining Count Negative Doubles over 1 Heart Signaling with an Honor Sequence NT vs. Major Suit Games	November 14, 2007 Competitive Bidding Tactics Maximizing Your Chances Suit Preference Signals Double and Correct Michaels over Preempts Hand Evaluation Balancing Tactics Dummy Reversal	November 4, 2007 Gerber Sytems on/Stolen Bid Doubles over NT Interference Coded 10s and 9s Balancing Signalling Count Rule of 15 Leading Trump
October 2007
October 28, 2007 Bergen Raises Fourth Suit Forcing Sytems on/Stolen Bid Doubles over NT Interference Gambling 3N Responses after an intervening takeout double Signalling Count	October 21, 2007 New Minor Forcing Competitive Bidding Guidelines Prempting Strategy 4NT as Minor Suit Takeout	October 1, 2007 Help Suit Game Tries Leading Trump Forcing Declarer to Ruff Bidding with 10 card fits Raising responder's major with 3 card support Balancing Doubles/Penalty Passes Bonus! - robzim's osso bucco recipe
September 2007
September 24, 2007 Planning the Play Planning the Defense Opening Lead Carding PIG Western Cues Interference over 1N openers	September 17, 2007 3rd Hand Defense with Honor Sequences Bidding with Misfits Planning the Play Help Suit Game Tries Ogust over Weak 2 Bids Opening Leads	September 14, 2007 Forcing Bids by Opener Cue Bids in Competition Doubling Slams Fourth Suit Forcing Squeezing the Defenders DONT	September 10, 2007 Competitive Bidding Lesson	September 3, 2007 Hand Evaluation Planning The Play Bidding When Partner Opens 2C Negative Inferences
August 2007
August 27, 2007 Defensive Carding with Honors How Suits Divide Coded 10 and 9 Double and Correct, Deceptive Declarer Play Suit Preference Signals Leading Back Remaining Count Interfering Over 1NT Using DONT Handling Interference Over 1NT	August 20, 2007 Defensive Signals Balancing Reverses Counting Your Winners Cue Bid as Limit Raise	August 13, 2007 Defensive Techniques Attitude vs. Count 3rd Hand Play with Honor Sequences Leading Back Remaining Count Developing a Plan on Defense Suit Preference Signals Checkback Stayman