Late 2024 - Coming Soon!

When partner opens the bidding with 1-Major then we normally go slow and make a low level response. But we can also use some immediate jumps to high bids to describe some interesting and difficult hands. Let’s look at the meaning of this high-level jump responses.

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Late 2024 - Coming Soon!

Here we look at some other complex auctions and special responses to 1-level opening bids. We focus on some jump shift responses to 1-Major and 1-minor and then turn out focus to NT responses to minor suit openings.

Webinar Notes

Late 2024 - Coming Soon!

When Responder makes a jump shift, either a weak jump shift or a 3/1 invitational jump shift, then Opener is left to figure out what to do next. Here we look at what types of hands Opener should bid with (like) and when they should be conservative and Pass.

Webinar Notes

Late 2024 - Coming Soon!

There are some classic auctions that lead to confusion between partnerships. Ones that you should make sure you and partner agree upon.

Webinar Notes

9/2024 (62 min)

Here we review some fundamentals of opening bids and look more deeply into your thought process before we open the bidding. Then we pivot to the responder’s actions and make sure that we are prepared to construct a good auction with some problem situations.

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10/23/23 (61 min)

After we open the bidding, if our LHO makes an Overcall this makes Responder's bidding more difficult.  Here we look at Responder's freebid options and what they new to hold in order to freely bid a new suit. 

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10/29/23 (63 min)

When we think we are going to win the contract, but suddenly one of the opponents balances back into the auction this can lead to some strange bidding situations.  Here we look at the meaning of our subsequent bids in these auctions. 

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11/6/23 (61 min)

A double eary in the bidding is usual has a meaning that we have discuss with partner.  But later doubles can be a bit confusing.  And this is even more true with they are our second double of the auction.  Here we look at the meaning of these second doubles.

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11/13/23 (62 min)

Early in our bridge career we learn that new suits are forcing.  But later we learn that this is not always true, especially in competition.  Here we look at a veracity of auctions where new suits are forcing and where new suits are non-forcing.  This is an important topic to discuss with partner -- when is a new suit forcing in competition. 

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7/3/23 (56 min)

A takeout double is one of the ways that we can compete in the bidding.  But in many situations, we have choices — a takeout double or another call.  Here we look at these situations and discuss what to think about when making our decisions. 

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7/10/23 (58 min)

Negative Doubles are more complicated than you think.  Here we look at some of the more interesting shapes that you can have for making a Negative Double — and the important followup bidding that lets us survive the auction. 

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7/24/23 (62 min)

As the 4th player to bid the auction often gets high before we can get a work in edgewise.  Double is going to be favorite bid in many auctions.  We look at how we might need to use a double here in some unusual ways.

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7/30/23 (63 min)

Opener does not want to be left out of the double game.  We look at times when the Opener should make a double and some modern agreements about what these doubles show.. 

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8/6/23 (62 min)

The further the auction goes on the less clear we are on what a double means.  Here we look at doubles later in the bidding and make sure we know if they are takeout, penalty, card showing, or something else. 

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5/22/23 (62 min)

Whener Opener starts the auction with a suit, Responder often bids their own suit to look for a fit (or a better fit).  When they do, it is with the hope that Opener will have a fit and be able to raise Responder's suit.  Here we look at the many ways that Opener can raise Responder's suit.

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5/29/23 (62 min)

When Opener does not have a fit for Responder's suit then they strive to describe their hand the best they can.  We review some fundamentals and look at the complexities that occur when our Opponents compete in the bidding. 

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6/6/23 (61 min)

As Opener we are excited when we have a fit for Responder's suit.  Sometimes, just as we are about to find a way to show that fit, our RHO finds a way to make our life more difficult by coming into the auction.  Here we look at how Opener's options for raising Responder' suit change in competitive auctions. 

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6/12/23 (61 min)

When we reach the second round of the bidding things get more complicated.  When Opener rebids NT and Responder uses New Minor Forcing to ask for more information then Opener needs to describe their hand.   Here we look at Opener's options in detail!

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6/19/23 (62 min)

When Opener bids two different suits then with a strong hand Responder frequently uses 4th Suit Forcing to continue the bidding and get more information about Opener's hand.  Here we look at how Opener rebids in these auctions.  

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6/26/23 (62 min)

​When Opener rebids the suit they started the auction with, then Responder's tool for continuing the bidding ​is called Extended New Minor Forcing.  This is a less commonly used gadget than NMF or 4th Suit Forcing, but is still a valuable one.  Here we look at how Opener rebids in these auctions.  

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3/6/23 (62 min)

There is an artform to open the bidding 2NT, just as there is for 1NT Openings.  Here we look at "normal" 2NT opening bids as well as some of the more difficult hands where we may choose to make a slightly flawed opening of 2NT to avoid a rebid problem.  

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3/20/23 (65 min)

When our balanced hand is too strong to open the bidding 2NT we start with a 2C bid and later rebid NT.  Here we look at how to show different strength balanced hands after a 2C opening bid.  We also look at how we respond to a 2C opening bid -- what our options are for our partnership agreements. 

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3/27/23 (50 min)

Any time partner opens the bidding with NT then Responder's primary goal is to search for Major suit fits.  Responder has many tools for searching for these Major suit fits - Stayman, Puppet, Smolen, Transfers, Texas Transfers, etc.  We look at these auctions and the follow-up bidding. 

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4/3/23 (60 min)

A 2NT opening bid is often called a "slam killer" because it eats up a lot of bidding space without locating a fit. Finding a fit and exploring slam, while trying to keep the auction from getting too high (not going beyond 3NT) is often one of the most difficult decisions. Here we look at our options for how to do so, including the valuable 3S responder to search for minor suit slams.

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4/9/23 (60 min)

Extremely powerful distributional hands are hard to describe (after we open the bidding 2C).  Here we look at how to describe these hands and what difficult decisions we are likely to face in these types of auctions. 

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4/16/23 (60 min)

When we have a strong 2-suited hand that is not quite strong enough to open 2C we bid them naturally. Reverses and Jump Shifts can make for difficult auctions. Here we look at some of our important agreements and Responder's tools for continuing the bidding -- like Lebensohl over Reverses!

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1/30/23 (62 min)

When we are considering making a bid in the balancing seat we must determining if we should bid and if we do, how well our hand is likely to play.  We evaluate our hand differently in this balancing seat because we often know where most of the opponent’s values are located.  Here we discuss how to decide when to bid in these balancing situations! 

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2/5/23 (60 min)

In the balancing seat we usually “borrow a king” from our partner.  Since NT bids are precisely defined this point change to our hand dramatically affects our bidding.  Here we look at our balancing NT bids and the followup bidding that partner makes. 

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2/13/23 (62 min)

When we come back into the bidding, in the balancing seat, our most common actions are an overcall or takeout double.   Here we look at how to use these bidding tools and most importantly, how these change in the balancing seat. 

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2/27/23 (63 min)

n the balancing seat we do not make weak bids — if we have a weak hand we just pass the hand out.  Given this, we can use jump overcalls differently in the balancing seat. Here we look at how we vary our bidding in the balancing seat.  We also take a look at how Advancer uses their followup bidding tools. 

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12/5/22 (65 min)

The modern system for bidding when we have a fit for partner's minor, called inverted minors, works on improving our ability to look for game or slam in a minor suit -- which is the most common time we want to support a minor suit. Make sure you and partner have a good grasp of these methods, both for playing them and playing against them.

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12/12/22 (66 min)

One of the most powerful tools we have in competitive bidding is the preemptive raise. When we have a minor suit fit the opponents will often have a major suit fit. We want to make it as difficult as possible for them to find that fit and using preemptive raises is one the best ways to make their life difficult.

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12/19/22 (69 min)

There are certain minor suit hands that can play extremely well in NT contracts. If evaluated correctly these hands can be bid in a way that makes the auction relatively simple. Let's make sure that you do not torture your partner with these hands when you could keep it simple and get to the right contract.

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12/27/22 (63 min)

When we have a good hand and a minor suit fit then we may want to explore a minor suit slam. Part of the art form of minor suit slam bidding is using tools to explore slam while keeping a NT contract in the picture. Here we look at how to use these tools and better judge our minor suit slam.

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11/20/23 (61 min)

When we win the contract in a part-score and do not have an 8-card fit it is usually because we either have more HCP than the opponents or there was an auction that kept the opponents from getting into the bidding. Let's make sure that we know how to play these hands.

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12/4/23 (61 min)

When we play a part-score deal and we have a trump fit it usually means that we have more trump the opponent's do. Making use of our trump suit is a key part of good declarer play, especially in a part-score deal.

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12/11/23 (61 min)

When we have enough points to bid game and we are playing in a trump suit then we need to make sure that we make use of our trump in the best ways we possibly can. Here we look at some examples and see how we can then best play the hand.

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12/18/23 (61 min)

When we have enough points to bid game and we are playing in a trump suit then we need to make sure that we make use of our trump in the best ways we possibly can. Here we look at some examples and see how we can then best play the hand.

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8/14/23 (58 min)

When we are playing in a suit contract it usually makes us excited to see a long suit in the dummy -- especially a long, strong one. We can often use it to help us discard our losers in other suits. Here we look at establishing this suit and how to balance timing and transportation.

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8/20/23 (60 min)

When dummy has shortness in a suit outside the trump suit, we normally make use of it by trumping our losers in that suit. But there is an art form to when you do this -- before or after we draw trump.  Here we look at the timing of ruffing our losers and how we combine some of our techniques. 

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8/28/23 (56 min)

When dummy has a side suit that is equal length to one in our hand then we can try to create some shortness by discarding some of them.  But if we can not do this then we are going to be stuck tackling the suit based on the card combinations.  That means finesse, double finesses, end-plays, and more.  

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9/5/23 (58 min)

All of these play situations require us to manage our transferportation carefully.  Entries to each hand are important to spend carefully.  Here we look at how to use of this, especially in the trump suit. 

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4/24/23 (61 min)

1NT is my favorite contract to declare! When we play the hand in 1NT there is space and time for creativity. We will look at how you play this contract to give you technical chances but, more importantly, we look at how to give your opponents chances to help you make 1NT.

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4/30/23 (62 min)

2NT is one of the worst contracts in all of bridge. When the hand is over we will often wish we were in 1NT or 3NT (depending on how many tricks we take). We look at how to navigate this contract and look at some examples of the kind of decisions you are faced with in this annoying contract.

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5/7/23 (61 min)

In 3NT you must determine if the hand is a race or a grind. When it is a race you must go get your tricks ASAP. When it is a grind, you want to give yourself every little extra chance to make the contract -- play as carefully as possible.

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5/15/23 (62 min)

In a Notrump slam you cannot give up the lead often. Here we look at how we give ourselves as many chances as possible to make 6NT and see how “combining your chances” and “giving the opponents opportunities to make mistakes” lead to great results.

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1/2/23 (65 min)

When we win the contract in a part-score and do not have an 8-card fit it is usually because we either have more HCP than the opponents or there was an auction that kept the opponents from getting into the bidding. Let's make sure that we know how to play these hands.

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1/9/23 (62 min)

When we play a part-score deal and we have a trump fit it usually means that we have more trump the opponent's do. Making use of our trump suit is a key part of good declarer play, especially in a part-score deal.

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1/16/23 (61 min)

When we have enough points to bid game and we are playing in a trump suit then we need to make sure that we make use of our trump in the best ways we possibly can. Here we look at some examples and see how we play then hand best.

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1/23/23 (61 min)

Slam contract in suit contracts are more common than in notrump. Let's look at how we can best play then hand to take all the tricks that we are entitled to. It's extremely important to make your contracts when you bid to a slam!

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9/12/22 (62 min)

When we follow to a trick with an honor card, either as a Declarer or Defender, we communicate information to the opponents. This information is not only in the card we played, but we also give them information about cards we have not played — both explicitly and implicitly. Here we look at which cards we should play in a variety of different situations and how we can draw information from partner and opponent's cards.

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9/19/22 (61 min)

When the opponent's lead a suit you know a good amount about their holding in that particular suit. You can infer things about their length based on the spot card they lead as well as their honor holds. But you can infer a lot of information about their hand from what they don't lead. Like we didn't they lead the suit they bid? Why didn't they lead their partner's suit? Here we look at how to make use of all of this information.

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10/3/22 (65 min)

In a trump contract, ruffing your losers in one of the post power declarer play tools. Here we look at times when we ruff in partner's hand -- normally the short trump side. We also look at other times when we may choose to ruff in our hand, setting up the dummy. Finally, we look at the all out ruffing effort of the crossruff!

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10/10/22 (62 min)

Getting stuck in one hand when you have winners in your partner's hand is extremely frustrating. Whether we are the Declarer or a Defender learning to unblock a suit is an important skill. But when it comes to blocking and unblocking a suit there is also a skill / art form to getting the opponent's to block the suit. Here we look at how to work on both of these situations.

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10/17/22 (65 min)

We make a lot of decisions on each hand of bridge. Judgement is most often talked about in the bidding, but you also need to judge wisely how to proceed in the card play -- both as Declarer or as a Defender. Here we look at how to use your experience and judgment to make better choices about which suit and/or card to play.

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4/26/22 (66 min)

1NT is my favorite contract to declare! When we play the hand in 1NT there is space and time for creativity. We will look at how you play this contract to give you technical chances but, more importantly, we look at how to give your opponents chances to help you make 1NT.

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5/2/22 (65 min)

2NT is one of the worst contracts in all of bridge. When the hand is over we will often wish we were in 1NT or 3NT (depending on how many tricks we take). We look at how to navigate this contract and look at some examples of the kind of decisions you are faced with in this annoying contract.

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5/9/22 (65 min)

In 3NT you must determine if the hand is a race or a grind. When it is a race you must go get your tricks ASAP. When it is a grind, you want to give yourself every little extra chance to make the contract -- play as carefully as possible.

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5/16/22 (66 min)

In a Notrump slam you cannot give up the lead often. Here we look at how we give ourselves as many chances as possible to make 6NT and see how “combining your chances” and “giving the opponents opportunities to make mistakes” lead to great results.

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11/16/21 (67 min)

As a defender you can "duck" a trick to try and help your side keep communication. You can also do so to create complexity and a guess for the Declarer.

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11/23/21 (62 min)

Here we look at the technique where the Declarer refuses to take a winner to try to cut communication and see when they should use it and when they should not.

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11/29/21 (61 min)

There are a variety of situations where, as Declarer, we are comfortable having one Defender gain the lead and not the other. Here we look at how to recognize and make use of this situation.

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12/7/21 (72 min)

One of the most important things you can do as Declarer is to make a plan at Trick 1. Here we look at how to do breakdown and effectively analyze what the dummy has to offer.

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12/27/21 (70 min)

Interpreting the cards that are led on opening lead, and in the middle of the hand, is one of the art forms of bridge. Here we work on placing and visualizing the location of the opponent's cards.

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9/11/23 (61 min)

Robert is back with a variation on his popular Play These Hands with Me series, but this time he focuses on defense. In this new series, Defend These Hands with Me, Robert analyzes actual hands he has defended and shares his thinking at critical points throughout the hand. A great way to learn how to think on Defense…the most difficult part of the game!

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9/17/23 (60 min)

Robert is back with a variation on his popular Play These Hands with Me series, but this time he focuses on defense. In this new series, Defend These Hands with Me, Robert analyzes actual hands he has defended and shares his thinking at critical points throughout the hand. A great way to learn how to think on Defense…the most difficult part of the game!

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9/25/23 (60 min)

Robert is back with a variation on his popular Play These Hands with Me series, but this time he focuses on defense. In this new series, Defend These Hands with Me, Robert analyzes actual hands he has defended and shares his thinking at critical points throughout the hand. A great way to learn how to think on Defense…the most difficult part of the game!

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10/8/23 (61 min)

Robert is back with a variation on his popular Play These Hands with Me series, but this time he focuses on defense. In this new series, Defend These Hands with Me, Robert analyzes actual hands he has defended and shares his thinking at critical points throughout the hand. A great way to learn how to think on Defense…the most difficult part of the game!

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8/15/22 (68 min)

Signaling your partner is an important part of defense. Letting them know if we like a suit or not is called giving an attitude signal. Here we look at how to do this and even more importantly when you are giving an attitude signal. We will also discuss the skill of card reading and what you need to work on in order to better understand what your partner is trying to tell you.

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8/22/22 (53 min)

Another kind of signal that we use with partner are count signals. These signals are valuable for letting partner know the distribution of a suit and/or hands. Even more important than the mechanics of given the signal is making sure you and partner are on the same page about when a signal is attitude, count, or something else — we will focus on this here as well.

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8/29/22 (63 min)

There are more than just Attitude and Count Signals. Here we look at some of these other useful kinds of signals. We will then continue on to discuss discards, their meaning and how to use them to work together with partner!

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9/6/22 (62 min)

The modern expert standard for carding is to use Upside-Down signals. Here we will look at how to switch to this type of carding and look at some of the challenges (things you need to discuss with your partner). Even if you do not play these signals, it is a good thing to understand as many of players you play against may be using them.

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2/7/22 (66 min)

When partner leads a suit, whether on opening lead or in the middle of the play, we become the 3rd player to the trick. There is a tip "3rd hand high", but that is not always right. Here we look at which card we should play and how partner makes use of this information.

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2/14/22 (65 min)

When we win a trick in the middle of defending a hand we must lead to the next trick. It is important, whether we are playing the same suit or shifting to a new suit, that we have good agreements with partner about what the card we lead means.

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2/21/22 (65 min)

When our RHO leads a suit and we have to play 2nd to a trick, then we have some decision to make. We have a classic guideline of 2nd hand low! We will look at when this is good advice and when it is not.

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3/1/22 (67 min)

When we are the final players to play to a trick life is much easier for us. In this case, we want to play the card that will most help partner while making life difficult on the opponent's. We look at a variety of situations where you want to make sure to help partner and others where "fooling declarer" is more important.

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3/7/22 (70 min)

A large part of trying to defense a hand well is making a plan on defense. Doing this is similar to what you do as Declarer. You take a look at the dummy, combine that information with your hand and the auction, and try to understand what is going on. You then make a plan for how to start Declarer from accomplishing their goals.

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5/4/21 (68 min)

Here we look at opening lead options vs. suit contracts. It's important that you get your card combinations correct as well as your agreements. Know which holdings are risky to attack from.

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5/11/21 (70+ min)

In notrump contracts we often lead 4th from our longest and strongest. Here we will look at card combinations and other holdings where we may choose not to do so.

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5/18/21, (70+m)

Leading partner's suit is something you are going to do often. It is important to have good agreements about the meaning of your leads, both in suit contracts and NT. We will also discuss when not to lead partner's suit!

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5/25/21 (70+ min)

Your hand is overrated in helping you make a good opening lead. The auction contains so much information that can help you. Here we look at how to make use of the auction to help you make better opening leads!

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