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Comparative Bridge |
Glossary
A.C.B.L. : American Contract Bridge League
Ace : Highest Ranking Card
Acol : A Bridge Bidding System, (See Bidding Systems)
Albarran, Pierre : (1894 – 1960) A French Bridge Master who created Albarran Convention.
Alert : A declaration card used by the tournament players to indicate a conventional bid.
Artificial : Conventional bid which does not indicate intention to play.
Aspro : (See Conventions)
Astro : (See Conventions)
Auction Bridge : The third step in the evolution of the game Bridge where the Whist and Bridge Whist are the first two steps. Developed on 1890’s and all the players has started to declare their suits. The scoring has been changed, the scores of all the tricks gained were written below the horizontal line and only penalties and bonus were written above the line. The score of each trick was 10 for NoTrump contracts, 9 for Spade contracts, 8 for Hearts, 7 for Diamonds and 6 for Clubs. 30 points were needed in order to complete a game.
Balanced Distribution : Any distribution of the 13 cards which does not include any void, any singleton or two doubletons.
Baron : (See Conventions)
Benjamin, Albert : (1909 – 2006) Famous English Bridge Master. He invented Benjamin Convention. (See Conventions)
Bergen, Marty : (1948 - ) A Famous Bridge Master from United States who invented many conventions.
Bid : Declaration. A bet to take a specified number of tricks in the specified suit or NoTrump.
Bidding Box : In order to keep silence in the tournaments, all declarations are made by showing declaration cards. Bidding Box contains these declaration cards.
Blackwood, R.Easley : (1903 – 1992) Bridge master from USA who developed Blackwood Conventions. (See Conventions)
Board : Card holder used in tournaments with four section to hold the 4 players' predealt cards. Vulnerability is shown on the boards with red and green colours, red for vulnerable, green for nonvulnerables.
Chicago : (See Scoring Systems)
Club : One of the suits in a pack of cards.
Constructive : Prospective but not forcing.
Contract : The last bid before the three subsequent passes.
Contract Bridge : The last step in the evolution of Bridge game. Developed by Harold Vanderbilt on 1926. Only the score of the tricks, bid for and made, is written below the horizontal line and overtricks are written above the line. Scoring system has been changed to 10 based number system.
Control Showing Cue-Bids : (See Conventions)
Convention : Artificial bidding.
Cue-Bid : (See Conventions)
Culbertson, Ely : (1891 – 1955) Bridge master from USA who developed 5 NT Josephine Convention. (See Conventions)
Deal : To distribute the cards; a complete game in one disribution.
Dealer : The player dealing the cards and who will call first.
Declarer : The player who first bid the final contract strain.
Diamond : One of the suits in a pack of cards.
Discard : To play a different suit over the lead of any suit.
Distribution Points : Points counted for long and short suits in valuating a hand. It differs according to the bidding systems.
D.O.N.T. : (See Berger Conventions)
DOPI : Double for Zero, Pas for One. During the application of Gerber and Blackwood conventions if the opponent player overcall with a different suit, double means the responder has no ace, pass means 1 ace. The first step over the overcalling suit shows 2 aces and the second step shows 3 aces.
Double : A call which may mean different things but surely increases the scores which will be written after the deal is completed.
Doubleton : Just two cards in a suit on one hand.
Dummy : The hand of the partner of the declarer which is exposed on the table after the openning lead.
Duplicate Bridge : (See Scoring Systems)
Finessing : The attemp to make a trick with a lower ranking card using the advantage of the position of a higher ranking card.
Five Cards Major : (See Bidding Systems)
Forcing Bid: A call which forces the partner to make a call.
Forth Suit Forcing : (See Conventions)
Fragment Bid : (See Conventions)
Gambling 3 NT : (See Conventions)
Game : Score of 100 or more points in one or more deals according to the scoring system.
Gerber Convention : (See Conventions)
Gerber, John : (1906 – 1981) Bridge master from USA who invented Gerber Convention.
Goren, Charles : (1901 – 1991) Famous Bridge Player who developed the Goren Bidding System. (See Bidding Systems)
Grand Slam : To bid seven or to gain all the tricks in a deal. You will get a bonus if you bid and make it.
Heart : One of the suits in a pack of cards.
High Card Points : 4 points for Ace, 3 Points for King, 2 Points for Queen, 1 Point for Jack and 0 Point for "10"
IMP : International Matchpoint. The points given to the players according to their scores in each deal.
Interference Bid: A defensive overcall aiming to disturb the opponents' bidding sequence.
Intervene : To make a declaration such as double, overcall or cuebid over the opponents' openning bid.
Invitation : To invite the partner to bid game or slam with maximum values.
Jack : Fourth Highest Ranking Card
Jacoby, Oswald : (1902 – 1984) A Bridge Master who invented Jacoby Transfer and Jacoby 2 NT conventions.
Josephine 5 NT : (See Conventions)
Jump : To bid a higher level than required.
King : Second Highest Ranking Card
Lebel, Michel : (1944 - ) French Bridge Player who developed Super Fifth Major.
Major Suits: Spades and Hearts in bridge game.
Minor Suits: Diamonds and Clubs in bridge game.
Negative Doubles : Sputnik (See Conventions)
NonVulnerable : The situaition of a partnership which does not have a game before.
NoTrump : The declaration which does not choose any suit as trump.
Opener : The player who makes the first bid.
Openning Bid : The first bid of the opener.
Openning Lead : The first card played by the player to the left of the declarer before the dummy cards are opened.
Opponents : The other partnership.
Overcall : Any call of the partnership over the opposing openning bid.
Overtricks : Each trick made more than the required to fulfill the contract.
Partial Score : Any score below the game.
Partner : Members of a partnership
Pass : It's a call indicating to have nothing to say in that turn.
Penalty Double : Double by the opponent which claims that the contract could not be fulfilled.
Plafond : A French Card Playing game which is attributed to a step in evolution of bridge between Auction and Contract Bridges.
Precision Club : (See Bidding Systems)
Preemptive Bids : An openning bid showing a long suit and limited high card strength.
Queen : Third Highest Ranking Card
Raise : Level increase in partners bidding.
Ranking : The position of the players or partnership according to their scores.
Rebid : Second bid of the same player.
ReDouble : A call over an opposing double which doubles all the scores again.
Reese, Terence : (1993 – 1996) Famous English Bridge Master who participated in the developement of Acol Bidding System and invented Aspro convention.
Relay Bid : The minimum possible bid unrelated with the hand which keeps the auction open for partner to explain his hand.
Responder : The partner of the Opener.
Responsive Double : It's a kind of Sputnik. A takeout double over a raising bid of the opponent after the partner's takeout double.
Reverse Bid : A forcing rebid in a higher ranking suit than the first bid.
Roman Asking Bids : (See Conventions)
ROPI : Redouble for zero, Pas for One. During the application of Gerber and Blackwood conventions if the opponent player doubles, redouble means the responder has no ace, pass means 1 ace. The first step shows 2 aces and the second step shows 3 aces.
Rubber : A unit of a bridge party. See Scoring Systems for details.
Ruff : To play a trump over the lead of an another suit.
S.A.Y.C. : Standard American Yellow Card. (See Bidding Systems)
Shifting Suit : To bid a different suit than your partners'.
Signaling : To give information to the partner by playing an unusual card in defense position.
Singleton : Just one card in a suit on a hand.
Slam : To bid six or to gain 12 tricks in a deal. You will get a bonus if you bid and make it.
Solid Suit: A suit on a hand which will win all the tricks on that suit without the help of partner.
Spade : One of the suits in a pack of cards.
Splinter Bid : (See Conventions)
Sputnik : (Negative Doubles) (See Conventions)
Squeeze : A play forcing the opponent to discard a card which could be a winner.
Stayman : (See Conventions)
Stop : A declaration card used in tournaments which warns the opponents on a skip bidding. When the stop card has been shown, the opponent waits a while then continue the auction. It prevents signalling by hesitating over an unexpected bid.
Stopper : A card which is expected to make a trick and prevent the opponent to win all the tricks from a suit.
Suit : Each one of the four divisions in a pack of cards.
Super Five Card Major : (See Bidding Systems)
Supportive Points : Points counted for more than 8 cards in a trump suit on the hands of partnership.
Takeout Double : A double which forces partner to call an unbid suit.
Team : Four to six players competing as a unit in a bridge tournament.
Texas : (See Conventions)
Trefl Drury : (See Conventions)
Trefl Landy : (See Conventions)
Tricks : A Collection of four cards played by four players on a table.
Trump : A suit chosen as ranking above all the other suits in a deal.
Two Over One : (See Bidding Systems)
Undertricks : Tricks which the declarer fails to make to fulfill the contract.
Unbalanced Distribution : Any distribution of the 13 cards which includes any void, any singleton or two doubletons.
Unusual Notrump : (See Conventions, Cue-Bid)
Void : No card in a suit on a hand.
Vulnerable : The situaition of a partnership which has a game before.
W.B.F. : World Bridge Federation
Whist : The first step in the evolution of Bridge game. Developed on the beginning of the 17th century, Whist is a card playing game based on winning tricks on a trump basis. There is no overbidding, trump is assigned by the dealer. Played by four player as two partnerships.
Wie, C.C. : (1914 – 1987) A bridge master from Taiwan who developed Precision Club Bidding System. (See Bidding Systems)