Improve Your Bridge Game with Marty Bergen is a Marty Bergen’s Facebook page, where he publishes almost every day a very short and very useful intermediate bridge tips. Today we are publishing a few of them, you can find them all if you Click Here
1) Always think about how many trumps the opponents have and how they are likely to divide.
2) When to lead a trump: RHO opens a major, his partner never supports him, opener bids a second suit, which becomes trump. Dummy is probably short in declarer’s first suit so you should be eager to lead a trump.
3) Two of the most important principles of The Law of Total Tricks are: With 10 trumps, be eager to compete to the four level. When in doubt, bid 4 spades over 4 hearts.
4) Consider whether to draw trumps first. Unless you’re 100 percent sure, don’t do it.
5) If the Rule of 11 contradicts the cards in view, you can be sure partner has led top of nothing rather than 4th best.
6) If the defenders are not likely to ruff anything, postponing the drawing of trumps is not a problem.
7) When partner opens 1NT, do not get carried away when you have a flat 16 HCP. A raise to 4NT is enough.
8) Every player has heard, “When in doubt, lead trump.” Obviously, if your other suits are “unleadable,” you would lead a trump but the above statement is not very helpful. I much prefer the following guideline: The best time to lead a trump is when you are NOT in doubt.”
9) Even when you’re not taking a finesse, it often matters which hand leads the suit.
10) After partner overcalls at the one level, a new suit should not be forcing.
11) Play the honor from the short side first applies to the declarer AND the defenders.
12) If the opponents have the balance of power and a fit , your only hope may be to lead a short suit.
13) If partner doubles their slam, assume he has a void and try to “find” it.
14) If RHO bids or doubles after partner’s Jacoby transfer, you don’t have to bid.
15) Two things to try to memorize: The opening lead and dummy’s distribution and honor cards.