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Glossary of contract bridge terms | G | Golden fit A combined partnership holding of at least eight cards in a suit. In the UK, simply known as a fit.
See also Moysian fit Good Said of a card or cards that have been established.
Goren system, or Goren A bidding system dominant in the United States from the 1940s through the 1960s, based on the Culbertson sys... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | G | Grand slam force (GSF) A method of determining whether the partnership holds the top trump honors when the bid of a grand slam is a possibility. In its original form, the GSF was initiated with a bid of 5NT, asking partner to bid a grand slam with two of the top three honors in the trump suit. Depending on the prior bi... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | G | See also Forcing bid, Game force and One round force. |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | G | Grosvenor gambit A play that creates no direct advantage and might lose. Its principal features are that an opponent will not suspect that such an inept play has been made, and that once the opponent realizes what has occurred, he will be frustrated and angry (and therefore less effective) during subsequent hands. The ... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | G | Guard A holding that prevents an opponent from taking a trick or tricks. See stopper, guard squeeze. |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | H | HandThe 13 cards held by one player on a deal.
A deal or board.
Ordinally, a player counting in rotation from dealer or first hand. For example, "Third hand bid 1♠."Hand pattern See distribution.
Hand record A document that lists the cards in each hand of every board played in a duplicate bridge session. Often, hand re... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | H | Help suit game try The bid of a side suit after a single raise, used to help partner evaluate game prospects when opener's hand is roughly a trick stronger than a minimum opening. For example, after 1♥ – 2♥, opener might rebid 3♣ with a side club suit or a strong club fragment. The bid tells partner where high cards wi... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | H | Herbert negative Use of the cheapest bid (sometimes only the cheapest suit bid) as an artificial negative response to (for example) forcing 2-bids, strong artificial 2♣, or takeout doubles. It was advocated by Walter Herbert.
Hesitation A brief pause before a bid or play, considered somewhat shorter than a Huddle.
High... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | H | The highest-ranking card in a suit at any point during the play.High card points (HCP) A measure or estimate of the strength of cards in the play of a deal. Routinely the high card points of all 13 cards in one player's hand are counted in sum, as a measure of playing strength of the entire hand, or one component of su... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | H | HoldTo keep declarer to a particular number of tricks, usually the number required to make the contract.
To have in one's hand a particular card or set of cards. |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | H | (Of a card) To win a trick although a higher card is outstanding.Hold up(Verb) To defer taking a winning card until an advantageous point in the hand, usually in reference to tricks that the opponents have led to. There are various purposes for holding up a winner, but it is frequently done to force the opponents to us... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | H | (Noun) The act of holding up a winner.HoldingThe cards in a player's hand at a particular point in the play (often, at the start of the play).
The cards in a specific suit in a player's hand.Honor/honour, or honor/honour card An ace, king, queen, jack or ten.
Honors/honours, or honor/honour bonus At rubber bridge and C... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | I | Idle (Said of a card) Available as a discard; not required for purposes such as guarding the opponents' suit or interfering with their communications.
IMP Acronym for International Match Point.
Impropriety A breach of ethical conduct or etiquette; an action that violates the proprieties.
IMPs The form of duplicate brid... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | I | In back of A card or holding that is to the left of, or behind, or over another. To say that the ♠A is in back of the ♠K is to say that the ace is to the left of the king, or behind it, or over it; so, the ♠A is in a position to directly capture the ♠K. |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | I | Individual A form of duplicate bridge, scored at matchpoints, in which each player is paired with a different partner on each round.
Informatory double A double that is intended to convey information rather than to exact a penalty from the opponents. Such doubles include the takeout double, the negative double, the sup... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | I | 2) A jump overcall that by agreement may be made with a hand of opening bid strength and a long suit is termed an "intermediate jump overcall." 3) An opening two-bid that by agreement may be made with values just short of those required for a game-forcing opening bid is termed an "intermediate two-bid." International M... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | I | 2) (Verb) To perform the IMP score conversion.
Intervenor The first player on the other side to make a call other than pass when one side has opened the bidding.
Intra-finesse A technique that involves successive finesses against both opponents.
Inverted minors An agreement that treats the single raise of a minor suit ... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | J | Jacoby transfer, or Jacoby, or "transfers" A bidding convention initiated by responder following partner's notrump opening bid that requests opener rebid in the suit ranked just above that bid by responder, i.e. a response in diamonds requests a rebid in hearts and a response in hearts requests a rebid in spades; other... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | J | Jacoby 2NT By agreement, a forcing raise of a major suit opening bid, used in conjunction with limit jump raises. Opener is requested to rebid in a suit where he holds a singleton so that responder can better evaluate the fit.
Jam the bidding (Slang) To preempt.
Jettison The discard of an honor, often by a defender, an... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | J | Jump preference A preference to partner's first-bid suit, made at a level higher than the minimally legal level. In the following sequence, 3♥ is a jump preference: 1♥ – 1♠; 2♦ – 3♥. For many years, the jump preference was treated as invitational except in support of opener's minor, when it was treated as forcing. As o... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | J | Jump shift A jump bid of a new suit. |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | J | 1) As a rebid by opener (e.g. 1♥ – 1♠; 3♣) or responder (e.g. 1♥ – 1♠; 1NT – 3♣), it indicates extra strength 2) As direct response (e.g. 1♥ – 2♠): usually, a very strong hand. However, another treatment (weak jump shifts, requiring prior partnership agreement) uses the bid preemptively to show a weak hand and a long s... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | J | Junior A player under the age of 26. Various national, regional, and world competitions use this designation. |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | K | Kaplan–Sheinwold (K–S) A bidding system that uses five card majors and the weak notrump.
Keycard Blackwood, or Key Card Blackwood (KCB) A variant of the Blackwood convention in which five keycards are counted, four aces plus the king of the apparent trump suit, rather than four aces alone. Commonly there is a follow-up... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | K | Kiss of death At pairs, plus or minus 200. A score of minus 200, down two undoubled and vulnerable, or down one doubled and vulnerable, is a likely bottom against a part score by the opponents. A score of plus 200 from making five-odd of a major after stopping in a partial, is a likely bottom against the game contracts... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | K | Knockout (KO), or Knockout Teams A single-elimination tournament for teams-of-four. Routinely each round pairs all of the competing teams in head-to-head matches—win or lose; no draw or tie. Winners advance to the next round and losers are eliminated. The size of the field, or initial number of competing teams, must be... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | K | Minor variants of great practical importance handle fields of any size by incorporating byes (definition 1) or matches with more than two teams (stipulated to have more than one winner, more than one winner, or both).
Two major variants are double knockout, in which teams are eliminated after losing two matches, and re... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | K | Knockout squeeze A type of squeeze that operates in part against the defender's trump holding, when the defender threatens to win a plain suit trick and then lead a trump, thus reducing declarer's ruffing tricks. It is usual to call this play a knockout squeeze when the squeezed defender is second to play to the trick,... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | K | Kock–Werner Redouble A rescue mechanism employed when partner's bid is doubled for penalties. Invented by Rudolf Kock and Einar Werner of Sweden. See also SOS Redouble. |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | L | Last Train A conventional bid that is one step above the current bid and one step below game in a trump suit. It is a mild slam try and conveys no information about the suit bid. After 1♥ – 3♥; 4♣, 4♦ is Last Train, invites slam, and does not necessarily show a diamond control.
Late play A board that is played after th... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | L | Laws of Contract Bridge and Laws of Duplicate Bridge The definitions, procedures and remedies that define how rubber bridge and duplicate bridge are played. The Laws include the Proprieties, which discuss the game's customs and etiquette — often far more important than procedural matters. The Laws apply worldwide. Indi... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | L | One important difference between the laws of rubber bridge (contract) and duplicate bridge is that rubber players are expected to deal with irregularities themselves while duplicate players are expected to call the director.
Laydown A contract that can be made on any rational line of play.
Lead 1) The first card played... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | L | Leaping Michaels A conventional overcall in 4♣ or 4♦ made in defense to opposing 2-level or 3-level preemptive openings. Leaping Michaels shows a strong two-suited hand (5–5 or longer) that is less suitable for a takeout double and is game forcing. Described as an overcall by some of a weak two-bid of a major, others e... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | L | Leave in To pass, often used of passing when partner's double was followed by a pass.
Lebensohl (Leb) Responder's bid of 2NT as a puppet to 3♣ in preparation for a sign-off. Normally used after an overcall of partner's 1NT opening, or after a double of partner's weak two bid. Also used after opponents weak two bid and ... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | L | Limit Bid A bid which establishes narrow limits on both the high card strength and distribution of the bidder's hand. In many bidding systems the following bid types are limit bids: (1) Natural notrump bids indicating balanced hands within a narrow high card strength range; (2) raises of partner's suit indicating a min... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | L | Limit jump raise An invitational jump raise of a major suit, such as 1♥ – 3♥. Limit jump raises usually guarantee at least an 8-card fit in partner's major suit and around 10–11 HCP or the distributional equivalent.
Limit raise Any call which invites partner to bid game in a suit partner has bid, previously. A limit ra... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | M | MacGuffin A defensive card that, if retained, is a liability on one line of play, but that, if played, will be missed on another line of play. The term may be derived from the filmic plot device of the same name.
Major penalty card A card that is exposed by a defender prematurely and through intentional play; or, an ho... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | M | Major suit The heart suit and the spade suit are major suits, often referred to simply as the majors. Declarer scores 30 points for each trick taken in an undoubled contract with a major suit as trump. Because game requires at least 100 points for tricks bid and made, both 4♥ and 4♠ (or 2♥ doubled and 2♠ doubled) const... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | M | Major tenace The highest and the third highest remaining cards in a suit, held in the same hand. For example, the ♠AQ before spades have been played. Tenaces define the structure of finesses. See minor tenace.
Make (Verb) To take at least as many tricks as a contract calls for. Frequently used in the past tense of the ... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | M | Marionette Bid (Noun) A type of relay bid in which the cheapest response is expected nearly all the time, thus similar but not identical to a puppet bid. Name derives from "a puppet with strings." Marked To be known to hold a particular card: "He was marked with the ♥Q." Marked finesse A finesse for a card that evident... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | M | Master The highest card of a suit that is yet to be played.
Masterpoints Units awarded, usually by national organisations, for successful performance in a bridge tournament.
Match A series of hands played by two teams in knockout events. One pair from each team sits North-South at one table and the other pair sits East... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | M | Maximal overcall double By prior agreement, a game-invitational double of an overcall that leaves no room for a bid, when a bid would invite game. For example, after 1♠ – (2♥) – 2♠ – (3♥) there is no room below 3♠ for a game invitation (and a bid of 3♠ itself would be taken as merely competitive), so a double is used a... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | M | McKenney See Suit preference signal.
Menace A card that requires an opponent to retain a higher card in the same suit, as a guard. The term is typically used of squeeze play.
Merrimac coup The deliberate sacrifice of a high card to remove a vital entry to an opponent's hand, usually the dummy. Named for a ship sunk dur... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | M | Michaels cue bid By prior agreement, an immediate cue bid in the suit of an opponent's opening bid, such as 1♦ – (2♦), for two-suited takeout. The cue bid of a minor suit shows length in both major suits. The cue bid of a major suit typically shows length in the other major suit and in an unspecified minor suit. |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | M | MiniBridge A simplified form of contract bridge designed to expose newcomers to declarer and defensive playing techniques without the burden of learning a detailed bridge bidding system. |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | M | Minor penalty card A card below the rank of an honor card that is exposed by a defender prematurely but accidentally, via mishap. A minor penalty card remains face up on the table until played. The minor penalty card must be played before any other card below honor rank in the same suit; however, an honor in the same s... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | M | Minor suit The club suit and the diamond suit are minor suits. Declarer scores 20 points for each trick taken in an undoubled contract with a minor suit as trump. Because game requires at least 100 points for tricks bid and made, both 5♣ and 5♦ (or 3♣ doubled and 3♦ doubled) constitute game contracts. Contrast Major su... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | M | Mitchell movement A pairs tournament movement in which the pairs sitting in one direction (usually North-South) stay in the same seats throughout, but after each round the pairs sitting in the other direction (usually East-West) move to the next higher numbered table, and the boards are moved to the next lower numbered... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | M | Mixed 1) Of an event: contested by pairs or teams in which every pair comprises one male and one female player.
2) In the auction: A mixed raise is, by agreement, a jump cue bid of opener's suit in support of partner's overcall. It tends to show four card support for partner's suit and the strength of a good single rai... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | N | Natural A call which indicates either: (1) a willingness to play the contract named, (2) a suit bid suggesting length or strength in that suit, (3) a notrump bid that suggests a balanced hand, (4) a double that suggests the ability to defeat the opponent's contract, (5) a redouble to suggest that the contract can be ma... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | N | NBB Nederlandse Bridge Bond (Dutch Bridge League).
Negative double A conventional call used by responder in a competitive auction to denote possession of at least one unbid suit.
Negative free bid Responder's suit bid following an opening bid and an overcall. Nonforcing by prior agreement.
Negative inference An inferen... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | N | Not vulnerable The state of vulnerability in which both bonuses and penalties are smaller. Therefore, less is at stake for a non-vulnerable pair investigating game or slam, or that is contesting the part score, than for a vulnerable pair. Also, "non-vulnerable." Notrump, or no trump (NT) A contract, or a bid that names... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | N | Notrump distribution, no trump distribution, or NT distribution Balanced distribution. WikiProject Contract bridge deprecates the two-word "No Trump".
NPC, or npc Non-playing captain.
Nuisance bid An interference bid whose principal aim is not to preempt or to compete for the contract, but nevertheless to upset the smo... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | O | Obligatory 1) Of a finesse: A duck, made in the hope that a high card will fall. For example, declarer holds ♥K432 opposite dummy's ♥Q765. The ♥2 is led to the ♥Q, which wins. Declarer now leads dummy's ♥5 and RHO follows with the ♥J. Declarer ducks, hoping that LHO must now play the ♥A. The play is obligatory because ... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | O | 2) Of a falsecard: A falsecard that, like an obligatory finesse, cannot lose and might gain. An example is the play of the card that one is known to hold (for example, the play of a queen after it has been successfully finessed).
Odd Specifying a level. To make 4♥ is to make four-odd.
Odd–even discards A defensive card... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | O | Off the top Said of some number of tricks that can be lost or won without gaining or losing the lead. "There were eleven tricks off the top in spades", to mean that declarer could take eleven tricks without interruption; or, "We're down off the top", to mean that the defenders, having the opening lead, can immediately ... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | O | Offside Unfavorably located, from the point of view of the player taking a finesse. If East holds the ♣K and North the ♣AQ, from South's point of view the ♣K is offside. Contrast Onside.
Olympiad A world bridge championship held every four years under the auspices of the World Bridge Federation.
On 1) Makeable. A contr... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | O | 3) Of an event: not restricting entries in some way that is implicit. So participation in an open event is unrestricted in at least one respect: a) not by invitation only (invitational event) b) not by qualification in a preceding event or qualifier c) not by representation of geographic zones, nations, cities, clubs, ... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | O | Open is generally ambiguous but it does have the last sense (d) in the names of WBF world championship events, where the relevant Categories are Youth (with subcategories), Seniors, Women, and Open. For the WBF, transnational means open in sense (c).
Opener The player who makes the opening bid.
Opener's rebid Opener's ... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | P | Pack Deck of cards.
Pair Two players playing bridge together as partners. Partnership.
Pairs A form of duplicate bridge in which each pair competes separately, as distinct from team and individual events. Pairs events are normally scored by matchpoints.
Palooka (Slang) Someone who plays bridge worse than others in thei... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | P | 2) A remedy assigned by a director to redress damage done by an infraction. The penalty for a minor, procedural infraction might be some number of tricks, matchpoints or IMPs, or disallowing a particular bid or play. A more serious violation of the game's Proprieties may be imposed by barring the offender from an event... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | P | Penalty card A card, incorrectly exposed by the defense, whose subsequent proper play is governed by certain rules. See major penalty card and minor penalty card.
Penalty double See double Penalty pass The pass of an informatory double, to convert it to a penalty double.
Percentage In matchpoint scoring, refers to the ... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | P | 3a) (Verb) In duplicate bridge, to play one round in a given direction, and the next round in the opposite direction at the same table 3b) (Noun) In duplicate bridge, a pivot table is a table where each pair will perform a pivot. This can only happen in a Howell movement, or another similar movement, where players move... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | P | Plafond A French, whist-like card game whose scoring foreshadowed that used in contract bridge.
Plain suit A suit that is not trump; a side suit.
Play 1) (Noun) The stage of a deal when players attempt to take tricks. The declarer tries to take at least as many tricks as the contract calls for, and the defenders try to... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | P | Prealert An alert which must be made at the beginning of the round before play begins on the first board. Different national governing organizations may establish different requirements for prealerts. Examples of methods for which the ACBL requires a prealert include the following:An agreement to lead the small card fr... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | P | Preempt, preemptive bid, or preemptive raise 1) A bid (or raise) predicated on length of a suit rather than overall strength, primary function of which is to interfere with the opponents' bidding by taking away bidding space they need to exchange information.
2) (Noun) A bid that has a preemptive effect, regardless of ... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | P | Present count A carding agreement under which a count signal shows the number of cards currently held. In a count-giving situation, a defender might first play the ♥3 from ♥753, and the ♥7 as his second play. Also, "current count." Principle of restricted choice A guideline to the play of the hand, concerning the proba... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | P | Progression The movement of players and deals between rounds in an event.
Progressive squeeze A squeeze in three suits that, when it matures, results in a new squeezed position in two suits.
Promote 1) In the play, to cause a card to become a winner.
2) In the bidding, to assign a higher value to a card, or to the hand... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | P | Protect See balance. (In the UK, protect is the more usual term.) Protest See appeal. (In the UK, appeal is the more usual term.) Pseudo squeeze A position that, to a defender, appears to be a true squeezed position, but is not. Declarer hopes that the defender will misplay as a result. The literature often gives as an... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | P | Psych, psyche, psychic, or psychic bid A call that grossly misstates high card strength or distribution, made so as to deceive the opponents. The Laws specify that psychic bids themselves are legal. It is, however, a violation to infer and fail to disclose that partner has psyched, when the inference is based on partne... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | P | Psychic control A bid that, by partnership agreement, announces that the player's previous bid was a psychic.
Pull 1) To remove the opponents' trumps.
2) To remove partner's double.
Pump (slang) To force out an opponent's trump, usually by means of a forcing defense.
Puppet An artificial bid that simply requests partne... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | Q | Quack A portmanteau of queen and jack. Used in situations where it does not matter whether the queen or the jack is held or played, as well as to emphasize that it does not matter. See Principle of restricted choice.
Qualifying (Adjective) A session or sessions preliminary to the final of an event.
Quantitative 1) Of a... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | Q | Quitted trick A trick whose cards have all been turned face down (duplicate bridge) or gathered in front of the trick's winner (rubber bridge). In rubber bridge, a player may inspect a quitted trick if his side has not yet led to the next trick. In duplicate bridge, a player may inspect a quitted trick only if told to ... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | Q | Quotient Points won divided by the sum of points won and points lost, occasionally used to break a tie. |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | R | Rainbow A movement used in individual events.
Rainbow trick A trick consisting of all four suits, typically involving low cards.
Raise A bid of partner's suit at a higher level. A raise shows a fit for partner's suit. 1?–2? is a single raise; 1?–3? is a double raise.
Rank The position of an individual card relative to ... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | R | Red (Slang) Vulnerable. From the color of the paint on a duplicate board. Also: "Red vs. red" to mean both sides vulnerable, and "red vs. white" to mean vulnerable vs. not. (In British slang, those last two expressions are rarely used. The more usual ones are: "(at) game all", "both red" or "(at) red all"; and "at unfa... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | R | Redouble A call that doubles the penalties and bonuses that apply to a previous double. Used conventionally, a redouble may also convey additional information.
Re-entry A card that enables a hand to gain the lead on a later trick, after that hand has already gained the lead with a different entry card.
Refuse (Verb). O... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | R | Reverse A bidding sequence in which a single player, on consecutive calls, bids two different suits, and bids the two suits in the reverse order to that expected by the basic bidding system. The specific definition of a reverse therefore depends on the bidding system (see main article). The reverse is designed to show ... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | R | Revoke Failure to follow suit as required when a player is able to do so.
Rewind (Slang) To redouble.
RHO Right-hand opponent.
Rise, as "rise with" To play a high card in the hope of taking a trick: "Rise with the ace." Also, "go up with" RKCB Roman Key Card Blackwood, a slam bidding convention.
Robert coup A rare end ... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | R | Devised by David Burn from experience of playing with and of captaining teams of junior players. (1) Subtract the number of aces held by opponents from eight. (2) Don't play at that level.Rule of Eighteen Regulation by the World Bridge Federation stipulating that an opening bid is acceptable if the sum of the number of... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | R | Rule of Eleven A calculation that can be used when it is assumed that opening leader has led the fourth highest card in a suit. By subtracting the pips on the card led from 11, the result is the number of cards in the other three hands that are higher than the one led. Third hand, for example, can then make inferences ... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | R | Rule of Five When the bidding has reached the 5-level in a competitive auction, tend to defend rather than bid on. In other words, in competitive auctions, 5-level contracts belong to the enemy. See also Law of Total Tricks Rule of Four Avoid giving support for partner's 5-card suit if a superior 4–4 fit might be avail... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | R | Rule of Three On a competitive part score deal, with the points roughly equal between your side and theirs, once the bidding has reached the 3-level, tend to defend rather than bid on (unless your side has 9 trumps). See also Law of Total Tricks Rule of Twenty A widely used guideline of the Standard American Yellow Car... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | R | Rule of Two When missing two non-touching honors, it is normally superior to finesse first for their lower honor. In the following two example hands, three tricks or the maximum possible are needed. In the first hand, finesse the ♠10, not the ♠Q. Similarly in the second, lead the ♥2 and when West follows with the ♥9, i... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | R | Rule of Two and Three A bidding guide suggested by Ely Culbertson, which counsels preemptors to be within two tricks of their contract if vulnerable, and within three if not. Few players now follow the Rule of Two and Three.
Ruling A finding and decision by a tournament director or appeals committee.
Run To play the wi... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | S | Sac (Slang) Sacrifice. Also, "sack." Sacrifice (Noun) A contract that was deliberately bid in the expectation of going down, in the hope of a penalty smaller than the opponents' expected score from making a contract they had bid. |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | S | (Verb) To bid to such a contract.Safety level A level at which the partnership can normally assume, on the basis of the previous bidding, that its contract will succeed. It is the point below which the partnership prefers to explore even higher contracts. Also, "security level." Safety play A play that maximizes the ch... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | S | Sandbag (Slang) To bid weakly or pass with good values, in the hope that the opponents will get overboard.
Sandwich An overcall made after an opening bid and response by the opponents. The overcall is "sandwiched" between two hands that have each shown strength.
Save (Slang) Sacrifice.
SAYC Standard American Yellow Car... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | S | Short club The natural opening bid of 1♣ when the suit contains three cards or less. Usually employed by players using the five-card majors treatment for opening bids when holding a hand with opening values but lacking a five-card major. When the hand contains two clubs and three diamonds, an opening diamond bid is pre... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | S | Short suit 1) In a 13-card hand, a singleton or void suit.
2) In a hand, that suit with the fewest cards. |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | S | Short suit game try By agreement, a bid of a short side suit after a single raise, hoping to reach game. For example, after 1♥ – 2♥, opener might rebid 3♣ with a singleton or void in clubs. The bid tells partner where high cards will be least useful, indicating duplication of values. It requests partner to take positiv... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | S | Short-suit points In hand evaluation, points counted for singletons and voids.
Show out Fail to follow suit.
Shuffle To mix the cards. Shuffling seldom results in random distributions: in the long run, the cards so mixed rarely match the mathematical expectancies.
Side Partnership.
Side game A secondary event played si... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | S | Skip bid warning, or skip-bid warning A warning to LHO that one is about to make a jump bid that could cause a revealing hesitation or huddle; used only when bidding screens are not in place. The warning is made in one of two ways: 1) When bidding boxes are in use, the red Stop card is placed on the table followed by a... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | S | Slam 1) small slam (or simply, slam): a contract to win at least twelve tricks.
2) grand slam: a contract to win all thirteen tricks.
Bidding and making a slam or grand slam scores significant bonus points.
Slam try A bid that invites partner to bid a slam.
Slot (Slang) The location of a card that is onside. "In the sl... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | S | Splinter A singleton or void in a suit other than the trump suit. A hand with both good support for partner's trumps and a splinter can be very powerful offensively—offering control of the splinter suit (by ruffing the first or second trick) and extra trump winners (by ruffing subsequent rounds). When declarer holds ei... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | S | Splinter bid An unusual jump bid that by agreement shows a fit for partner's last-bid suit and a singleton or void in the bid suit. For example, a partnership could treat 4♣ in response to an opening bid of 1♠ as a splinter bid, showing a good hand with spade support and a singleton or void club. Compare with Fragment ... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | S | Split 1) (Noun) The distribution in the opponents' hands of the cards in a suit.
2) (Verb) To play one of two touching honors when the lead comes through them.
Split menace A menace in squeeze play which depends on values in both declarer's hand and dummy.
Split tenace A position where the high cards of a tenace are in... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | S | Swinging An aggressive playing style, usually adopted by a pair or team who is behind with some chance to catch the leaders "with a little luck." Swinging players will make plays slightly against the odds that will offer large gains if they succeed. For example, a swinging pair might bid a 60% grand slam on a hand wher... |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | S | Swish (Slang) Three consecutive passes, ending the auction. "3♠ – swish" means 3♠ passed out. |
Glossary of contract bridge terms | S | Swiss, or Swiss Teams A Swiss-system tournament for teams-of-four. Every team plays a series of matches with a series of opponents whose records or standings are as similar as possible when they face each other, without scheduling repeat matches. Typically these are relatively numerous, relatively short matches. For ex... |
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