There is n.o.body who cares to be told that he plays cards unfairly; but, if you permit your manner to give your partner or the opponents the slightest intimation of the cards you hold, you lay yourself open to such criticism. Cards do not carry with them a license to be unfair or rude, yet, at the Bridge table, many socially correct people are both.

Try always to pause the same length of time before making the trump or pa.s.sing. Do not allow your manner to express approval or disapproval of your partner's make or of the cards he plays, and select each of your own cards with equal deliberation. When you hold good cards be content to win tricks with them, without manifesting glee at your adversaries'

defeat. When your cards are poor, do not complain of them; you imply that the opponents profit by your weak hands and not by their own skill, and, as a rule, the more you rail at your luck the worse it becomes. Be generous with your praise of a well-played hand, and be sure your partner will play a better game if he does not fear your adverse criticism. Do not permit yourself to take advantage of, or be deceived by, any mannerisms of your partner or of the opponents, and let your own manner be uniformly such that n.o.body can tell from it whether you are winning or losing.

MEMORY

It is not necessary to have a fine memory in order to play Bridge well; but it _does_ require the ability to count thirteen. If you know _how many_ cards of a suit have been played, you soon will be able to tell _what_ cards have been played.

Begin with one suit, preferably your own, and count each card of that suit as it is played; you will be surprised to find that you will soon notice not only where the cards of that suit are, but just what cards have been played. A little practice will enable you to do the same with all of the suits.

No matter what may be your position at the table, you may cultivate your memory by observing carefully the cards laid down by the dummy. The number of cards remaining in a suit at any stage of the play will a.s.sist you in recalling how many rounds of that suit have been played, and this will help you in recollecting what high cards were played in those rounds.

When you are dummy, and have nothing to do with the play, occupy your time and attention with a determined effort to remember each card played by your partner, the dealer. At the end of the hand see if you can recall how many of each suit he held. With a little practice you will be able to recall what his high cards were as well as the number in each suit. Memory is simply a matter of observation and practice.

INFERENCES

The play of each card conveys some information; and the secret of playing Bridge well lies in being able to draw inferences rapidly and correctly and in utilising the knowledge thus gained. If you simply look, in a mechanical way, at the cards as they fall without inferring what was meant by the play, you are apt to find yourself in the lead and at a complete loss as to what to do next.

THE FOLLOWING ARE SUGGESTIONS FOR INFERENCES TO BE DRAWN BY THE DEALER.

What will the make probably be if you pa.s.s? Your partner is apt to make it the suit in which you are weakest.

Does the opening lead show a long or a short suit? If short, be on the alert to get the lead and exhaust trumps. If long, how many cards does the leader hold, and what high cards does his lead show?

Ask yourself why does the adversary discard one suit and save another?

This will aid in locating honours and in making successful finesses.

If the left-hand adversary leads through the Ace Queen suit in dummy, he probably does not hold the King and is tempting you to finesse. If he refuses to lead through the Ace Queen suit he is very likely waiting for you to up to his King.

If the make has been doubled try to infer what trump honours are in the doubling hand; this will enable you to judge as to the advisability of the trump lead.

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE NON-DEALER

From what combination of cards is your partner leading? Remember the high cards that he holds.

The lead of a King, for instance, shows you that partner has the Ace, the Queen, or both.

The lead of a Jack indicates the top of a suit.

The lead of a seven, eight, or nine probably means the highest card of a short suit.

Don't draw rigid inferences from the dealer's play; he will endeavour to deceive you by playing false cards.

If it is an original make, your own and the dummy hand will help you to infer what trumps or high cards the dealer holds.

If the dealer seems backward in leading trump he is probably aiming to ruff with the weak hand and a trump lead from you may prevent this.

Endeavour to understand your partner's discards. You can then protect the suit in which he is weak, and, if necessary, unguard honours in the suit in which he has shown strength.

When partner returns your lead in No-trump, notice carefully the card that he plays. It will help you to place the suit and prevent your leading to a possible tenace in the dealer's hand.

COMBINING THE HANDS OF DEALER AND DUMMY

The following table gives the different combinations of cards and shows how they should be played to get the best results when the dealer holds one combination and the dummy holds the other. An "x" means one or more small cards.

The following combinations may be led from either hand:

+----------------+-----------------+

_In One Hand._

_In the Other._

+----------------+-----------------+

A K x

Q x x

A Q x

K x x

K Q x

J x x

K J x

Q x x

K x x

Q J x

Q J x

10 x x

Q 10 x

J x x

Q x x

J 10 x

+----------------+-----------------+

If forced to lead from any of the following combinations, lead from the weaker of the two hands. In these, lead the highest card of the three in the weak hand:

+---------+---------+

_In One

_In the

Hand._

Other._

+---------+---------+

x x x

K Q x

First trick, play queen.

x x x

K J x

First trick, play jack.

x x x

K x x

First trick, play king.

J x x

K x x

First trick, play low.

In the following, lead from the weaker hand, but begin by playing the lowest card:

+---------+---------+

_In One

_In the

Hand._

Other._

+---------+---------+

Q x x

A x x

First trick, play ace.

J x x

A x x

First trick, play ace.

Q x x

K x x

First trick, play king.

J x x

Q x x

First trick, play queen.

These rules are based on the supposition that the second hand has not played a higher card than any in the hand to which you lead.

There is a difference of one or two tricks in all these combinations, depending on whether you or your adversaries open the suit. Try to get the adversaries to open such suits for you, as you do so yourself to a disadvantage. Throw the lead into their hands and make them lead to you.

FINESSING

COMBINING THE HANDS OF DEALER AND DUMMY.

With any of the following combinations divided between the two hands, the lead should always be from the weaker hand, in the left-hand column, and the _highest_ card should be led, always playing the _smallest_ card from the stronger combination. For instance, in the first one given, you should lead the jack from J 10 x and play the small card from A K x. An "x" means any small card, or more than one small.

+----------------+-----------------+

_In One Hand._

_In the Other._

+----------------+-----------------+

J 10 x

A K x

x x x

A K J

x x x

A Q J

J x x

A Q x

Q x x

A J x

Q J x

A x x

x x x

K J 10

10 x x

K J x

J x x

K 10 x

J x x

K x x

x x x

Q 10 x

10 x x

Q x x

+----------------+-----------------+

In the following combinations, the lead should be the best card in the weaker hand, and the smallest card in the stronger hand should be played to the first round, allowing the adversary to win the first trick. The weak hand must then get into the lead again, so as to take the second finesse, hoping both honours are not on the wrong side:

+----------------+-----------------+

_In One Hand._

_In the Other._

+----------------+-----------------+

x x x

A J 10

10 x x

A J x

x x x

A J x

J x x

A 10 x

J 10 x

A x x

x x x

A J 9

+----------------+-----------------+

SECOND-HAND PLAYS