Hackett Defense Against Weak Two Bids
This defense method was devised and developed by Mr. Paul D. Hackett of England. It is a defense to Weak Two bids of preemptive nature, especially opening bids.
Haiti: Association de Bridge de Haiti
The Central American and Caribbean Bridge Federation, or CACBF, was founded in 1971 to organize and govern bridge in the respective geographical area. The organization was recognized in 1976 as Zone 5 of the World Bridge Federation. It was, and still remains, the smallest WBF Zone as far as membership is concerned.
Note Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, and formerly called Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea.
Half Astro Defense Method
This is a variation on the concept of the Astro conventional method devised by Mr. David Collier of Manchester, United Kingdom. Source is his online BlogSpot. The significance of the designation is unknown.
Half Key Suit
In the conventional method of Byzantine Blackwood Mr. John C. H. Marx, one of the main developers of the Acol bidding system, employed this designation to define a genuine suit that has been bid, but not supported. This definition was necessary in order to be able to show a side King when attempting to reach a slam contract, which was not one of the Key Suits.
Half Tables
A designation for an extra pair at a duplicate game. This arrangement and/or movement is designed for a number of players not divisible by the number four.
Half Trick
An original holding in a suit that will win a trick by virtue of being a high card about half of the time. For example, an Ace-Queen holding in the same suit or a King-small in the same suit is a half trick in the evaluation. Depending on the bidding, the position of the calls of the opponents may add or subtract to the value of a half trick.
Hall Of Fame
The commemoration of achievements of outstanding bridge personalities. Planned by Mr. Lee Hazen of New York and begun in 1964 by Mr. Alphonse Moyse. The first three members elected were Mr. Ely Culbertson, Mr. Charles Goren, and Mr. Harold Vanderbilt.
Hall of Fame (Caddy), or Caddy Hall of Fame
This is a means to introduce the many caddies, who serve at many bridge events, to assist bridge players, and to show appreciation and recognition for their many efforts. Caddies can be of any age and understand the movement. Their history has, for the most part, gone unwritten, and their deeds have, for the most part, gone unsung. This has changed with the introduction of the Caddy Hall of Fame.
Candidates for this honor must be at least 18 years of age. They must have worked at least for five North American Bridge Championships, and must exhibit leadership abilities. Following is a picture of the awarded caddies from the North American Bridge Championships of 1998 conducted in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
Halle's Two Clubs - Halle's 2 Clubs
The method was developed by Mr. Ranik Halle , born August 24, 1905, and died May 20, 1987 in Oslo, Norway. He introduced this convention in his book Bedre bridge (translation: Better Bridge), which was published in the year 1938.
Halsall Convention
The origin of this conventional method is unknown. The Halsall treatment is used as an action over preemptive opening bids, especially on the three level. To a degree, it is a defensive action when one opponent has shown a one-suited holding, which means that he is weak in high card points and has five or six side losers.
Hall System, The
This is a designation for a bidding system developed by Mr. William F. Hopkins and Mr. Charles A. Hall contained and explained in the publication titled Winning Contract: The Hall System, printed c1934, and published by Press of S. Rosenthal & Co., Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, LC: 34016867. Additional information about the Hall System is not available. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Hamilton Convention
This conventional defense method was devised by Mr. Fred Hamilton of California, United States. After the opponents open No Trump, the Hamilton convention is a defensive bid either in the direct seat or in the balancing seat. The conventional method resembles the Cappelletti defense method and the Bergen Over Weak No Trump defense method in several ways, but has added different meanings to the individual bids.
Hamilton Club Of London
One of the more famous English card clubs, founded by Col. Henry M. Beasley in 1939 in association with Mr. Carl Repelaer. The club was closed in the Seventies.
Hamman's Rule
"When 3 No Trump is one of the alternatives, choose it." A quote by Mr. Robert (Bobby) Hamman. The idea behind this rule is that fact that a contract of 3 No Trump requires fewer tricks for a game contract and even if there is a winning defence, then the defenders may indeed may lead a most favorable suit, which allows the declarer to fulfill the contract.
Hammered
A colloquialism referring to the fact that the final contract has been doubled and passed out.
Hand
1. a particular deal of 52 cards;
2. the cards held by one player;
3. one of the players as in North's hand.
Hand Hog
A player who feels that he is the best qualified to manage the hands as declarer. The usual method of operation is to pass with minimum opening bids but to respond with jumps in No Trump.
Hand Evaluation
This is a .pdf file written by Mr. Richard Cowan, who is a Visiting Professor in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Sydney, Australia. By clicking on this file, it will be automatically downloaded to your computer and opened with Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Handicap
This term designates a score adjustment based on the seeding.
Handicap Pairs
The Handicapped Pairs is conducted like an open pairs game, but the scoring method is different. The game produces two sets of winners, scratch and handicap. The scratch standings are the same as they would be in an open game. However, the handicap standings are based on the scratch score plus handicaps that are awarded to make the event more evenly contested.
Note: The handicap can be figured in either of two ways. First, it can be based on the players' ranks (a measure of expertise), with more matchpoints awarded the lower the rank. Second, it can be based on recent performance as compiled either by the director or the computer. Full awards are given for scratch scores that place overall, 50% awards are given for handicap scores that place overall. A pair that is eligible for matchpoints both scratch and handicap receives the higher of the two awards, not both.
Hand of Bridge, A
A nine minute opera composed by Mr. Samuel Osborne Barbar in 1959. See: Barbar, Samuel Osborne. This opera can be viewed on YouTube. The viewer should be patient since the curtain rises at 1 minute and 30 seconds. This version is performed by Hunter College Opera Theater, but there are other versions to be viewed on YouTube.
Hand Parity Discards
The fundamental concept with this method of discarding is that the player might be able to tell partner the entire hand shape with one card. Hand types may be divided into two classes:
Even Parity hands have three suits with an even number of cards: 4-4-4-1, 4-4-3-2, 4-2-2-5 and so on.
Odd Parity hands have three suits with an odd number of cards: 4-3-3-3, 4-1-3-5, 5-5-2-1 and so on.
When partner knows the parity of your hand, the partner should be able to deduce or infer the exact shape using information also available during the auction.
Hand Patterns
There are 39 possible hand patterns, ranging from the most balanced, 4-3-3-3, to the most unbalanced, 13-0-0-0. According to the mathematical formula, a player can hold specifically 4 Spades, 3 Hearts, 3 Diamonds, and 3 Clubs in 13C4 <-> 13C3 <-> 13C3 <-> 13C3 different ways, which result in the number 16,726,464,040, the number of possible hands one player could hold. This is 2.634% of the total possible hand patterns of 635,013,559,600. Since it is possible that the 4-card suit not be in Spades, but in Diamonds, for example, the total percentage of the total possible number of combinations for a 4-3-3-3 hand pattern is 10.536%.
Hand Records
1. diagrams set up by the players after a deal in a major match is completed;
2. the sheets on which individual computer dealt hands are printed for distribution to the players for duplication;
3. the sheets distributed to players at the conclusion of a game on which all the hands from that session are printed.
Handicap Games
ACBL clubs may offer handicap games where the contestants are given a handicap, either a minus or a plus, based on previous performance or degree of competence to create a more level competitive group.
Handicapping
A method of scoring in which each contestant is given a plus or a minus handicap based on previous performance or degree of competence.
Handling Cards
The handling of cards other than a player’s own cards is improper and illegal. Some bridge players take a hand belonging to another player out of the board after the play has been completed in order to discuss the bidding or the play. This practice is generally discouraged and is illegal if the opponents are not present. It is the cause of the most fouled boards.
Hands Not Played
A term for hands that have not been played to the last trick according to the procedure of play regulations. Sometimes the declarer concludes the hand by making a claim. It is possible to make a claim before the first trick has been completed. If a claim has been made, the declarer should make a statement of how he would have played as if he had actually played the hand. If the line of play so stated appears reasonable to the opponents is not open to any challenge, then the cards can be returned to the board and the score totaled.
Hanner Movement
1. individual movements for up to 20 tables devised by Mr. Olof Hanner of Sweden, and detailed in his book on Duplicate Organization written in association with Mr. Hans-Olof Hallén and Mr. Per Jannersten;
2. a movement for a team-of-four contest in which each match is completed in two consecutive rounds.
Hard Values
Aces and Kings, as opposed to lower honors.
Hardy Adjunct to New Minor Forcing
The designation carries the surname of the originator, namely Mr. Max Hardy. The definition of the word adjunct is something joined or added to another thing but not essentially a part of it. Mr. Max Hardy discovered that more information could be communicated by adding a feature to the traditional conventional method of New Minor Forcing.
Harrison Trophy
The Harrison Trophy is the Scottish Bridge Union's Individual Championship for Scottish, Nations, Life, and Grand Masters. The event was first contested in the year 1977.
Hawaii
A slang term for a 5-0 split, generally in the trump suit, but can designate any suit.
HCP
A common abbreviation for High Card Points.
Head-to-Head
This phrase is used to describe any match in bridge of prearranged set opposition. This means that one team of four or more is matched against another team of four or more. This phrase is used only to describe only two-team contests.
Heartbreaker
Slang: a term applied to a hand that fails in a large way to fulfill the original expectations. The term is most aptly applied to describe a defensive holding that initially appears capable of chalking up serious penalty points, but in reality does not. An illustration follows:
| West |
|
North |
|
East |
|
South |
| |
|
Pass |
|
1 |
|
2  |
| 4 |
|
4 |
|
6 |
|
6 |
| Pass |
|
Pass |
|
Double |
|
Pass |
| Pass |
|
Redouble |
|
Pass |
|
Pass |
| Pass |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The contract is 6 Spades by South, vulnerable and redoubled. East was looking forward to setting the contract and scoring big with four top winners. However, the holding of East turned into a so-called Heartbreaker when it was discovered that any lead by West will result in the declarer taking all 13 tricks for a score of 2470 points. East holds a triangle or only three points.
Hearts
The second highest ranking suit. The suit designation originated in the country of France sometime around the 16th century. It takes its name from the shape of the pips used in designating card rank. Note that there are various origins for the Heart suit cited. One is that a Heart represents the season of spring. It is also supposed to be a representation of childhood phase of human life. It is said to also signify the element of fire.
Heath System - Heath Bidding System
This is the designation for a bridge bidding system contained and explained in the publication titled Seven-Eleven: A Manual of the Heath System of Bidding at Contract Bridge, authored in 1933 by Forrest A. Heath in collaboration with Henry W. Beebe, and published by F.A. Heath, Upper Montclair, New Jersey, United States, and which carries the Library of Congress code LC: 33012249. Addition information is not available and any new information would be greatly appreciated.
Hedgehog Squeeze
A squeeze of one opponent in two or three suits and a squeeze of the other opponent in three suits, named and analyzed by Mr. Hugh Darwen in the British Bridge Magazine in March and April of 1968.
Heeman Response Method
This online write-up is in a .pdf file format presented by Jack Bridge in English and in Dutch. This conventional defense method was devised by Mr. Wim Heemskerk of Bodegraven, The Netherlands, with the help of Mr. Magnus Lindkvist, Mr. Mats Nilsland, Mr. Anders Wirgren, and Mr. Leandro Burgay of Italy. It is possible with this response method to discover whether there exists any weaknesses, which may cause a final contract of No Trump to fail. The article will be automatically opened by your browser. This information has also only been preserved and archived on this site in .pdf file format for future reference.
Hellenic Bridge Federation or the Greek Bridge Federation
The Hellenic Bridge Federation is a non-profit organization, founded in 1965, which at the beginning consisted of only 3 clubs as members and quite a few athletes. In 1975 Duplicate Bridge was recognized by law as a mind sport under the governance of General Athletic Federation. The Hellenic Bridge Federation has advanced and, as of it has since flourished and now has a total of 58 unions - members throughout Greece (23 in Attica and 35 throughout the rest of the country) and more than 4,500 active athletes. The Federation organizes many tournaments every year and represents with national teams in major competitions abroad.
Hello Convention
This conventional defense method was devised and developed by Mr. Jerry Helms of North Carolina, United States, and his bridge partner and co-contributor Mr. Bill Lohman. The designation of the defense method is derived from the surnames of Mr. Jerry Helms and his bridge partner and co-contributor Mr. Bill Lohman. This defense method was developed as an improvement of the Cappelletti conventional defense method, of which Mr. Jerry Helms was a co-developer.
Hell Raises
Hell Raises are applied after the partner has opened a Major suit and the partner is an unpassed hand. This is a .pdf file format, and, depending on your browser, will be automatically downloaded by your browser and opened with Adobe Acrobat or automatically opened by your browser.
Help
Slang: the inferred request of one partner to raise.
Help Suit
A suit in which high cards in partner's hand will be valuable.
Help Suit Game Try - Weak Suit Game Try - Long Suit Trials - Short Suit Trials - Long Suit Trial and Short Suit Trial Combined - Counter Trial
All designations refer to the same concept and conventional method, regardless of whether each explanation varies from another. As with some partnership agreements, one partner can show a hand willing to accept an invitation to game by bidding any other suit. This action is referred to as a Weak Suit Game Try. All of the above designations apply for this particular concept. This action can be used, for instance, when employing Reverse Drury or Limit Raises.
Herbert Negative
The concept that a negative response in a variety of situations can be made by making the cheapest possible suit response. It can also be a one-step bid to deny holding any values at all. Advocated by Mr. Walter Herbert when he was a member of the Austrian National Team in the Thirties. The Herbert Negative found also application in the Vienna System.
Herbert Negative by Advancer - Herbert Negatives
The original conventional method was devised and advocated by Mr. Walter Herbert, but this more precise and definitive version was developed by Mr. Daniel Auby of Vallentuna Municipality in Stockholm County, Sweden. In the continuances and as a response to a Takeout double, a bid of the next higher-ranking available suit is negative, showing weak values.
Herbert Second Negative Response
A convention to show the lower range of a weak response used by the responder on the second rebid. This conventional method was developed and devised by Mr. Walter Herbert, (born 1902 - died 1975), who was born in Germany, and who became a citizen of the United States. He lived in San Diego, California, United States, where he was also the Artistic and later General Director and Conductor of the San Diego Opera.
Herman Trophy
This trophy is awarded to the player with the best overall individual performance record at the American Contract Bridge League Fall North American Championships. Donated in 1951 by Sally Lipton, formerly Mrs. Lou Herman, of New York, in memory of her husband. renamed the Goren Trophy. (See Goren Trophy).
Hesitation
Hess Cuebids - Hess Cue Bids
The origin of this competitive defense approach is unknown. (Note: sometimes referred to as High/Lo Cuebids.) The concept is as follows: when the opponents have bid two different suits (generally on the one level), then a cue bid of the higher ranking suit (which can be on the two level) shows five cards in the higher-ranking unbid suit and four cards in the lower-ranking unbid suit. A cue bid of the lower-ranking bid suit (which can be on the two level) shows five cards in the lower bid suit and four cards in the higher unbid suit. This approach is normally employed instead of the Sandwich 2 No Trump bid to show shape and extra values of about 16 plus high card points or working points.
Hexagon Multisix Opening Bids
Hexagon Squeeze
A double guard squeeze in which each of the three menaces is protected by both opponents. See: Hedgehog Squeeze - Double Guard Hedgehog.
Hexagon Trump Squeeze
A squeeze in which both of the opponents are squeezed in the trump suit.
Hidden Entry
This is generally a low card in the dummy, which can become an entry by playing first the high honors from the hand, establishing the low card in the dummy as an entry. If the declarer holds, for example, A-Q-10-5, and the dummy holds K-J-9-6 in the same suit, then the 6 in the dummy can be established as an entry to the dummy by dropping the King on the Ace, the Jack on the Queen, and the 9 on the 10.
Hideous Hog
This is a character created by Mr. Victor Mollo and describes extreme boorishness and spectacular effectiveness at the bridge table. His series of books set at the fictional Griffins Bridge Club are classics. Among them is Bridge in the Menagerie: The Winning Ways of the Hideous Hog, 1965, and include other characters such as Rueful Rabbit and Papa the Greek.
High Card
1. a ranking card;
2. an honor card;
3. a card that wins a trick by virtue of its being higher in pip value than the other three cards in the trick;
4. a spot card which becomes the master card in the suit.
Highcard Points
A basis of valuation points being assigned to specific honor cards, which can vary according to the evaluation method employed.
High Card Point Probabilities
High Card Points
This is the basis for determining the strength of a holding and is especially true in determining the value of a No Trump opening. The most generally used point count system, and perhaps the most popular, is the 4-3-2-1 count. Ace = 4, King = 3, Queen = 2, and Jack =1 point. There are other methods of counting the values of the holding, such as the 6-4-2-1 count and the 3-2-1-º count, where º is .5 points. All point count evaluations of the honor cards plus the 10 have their advantages and disadvantages, their percentage of accuracy and their percentage of inaccuracy.
High Card Trick
This term originally was used to describe a trick won with an honor.
High Gerber
A form of Gerber whereby the bid of 5 Clubs is used to ask for the number of Aces. A part of the Super Gerber convention.
High-Low
In many partnership agreements and employing certain carding systems a high-low signal shows an even number of cards in that particular suit and a low-high signal shows an odd number of cards in that particular suit. This is agreed upon to show count. See also: Norwegian and Swedish.
High-Low Signal
Also known as an Echo or Come-On. It is perhaps the most important single weapon that the defense has. Playing high encourages and playing low discourages.
High Reverse
A non-jump bid in a third suit at the level of three in a lower ranking suit than that bid originally.
Hi IQ
See: Invisible Cuebids
Hilliard Trophy
This trophy was awarded for the Mixed Pair Championships - Mixed Pair Nationals, and which was donated by Mrs. Olga Hilliard beginning in the year 1931. The event was contested at the Fall Nationals until 1946, and was then transferred to the West Coast and played as part of Bridge Week until 1957, while retaining the status of a National Championship. Beginning with the year 1958 the event was contested at the Spring Nationals. The event, at which the Hilliard Trophy was awarded was relocated to the West Coast in 1946, and was replaced in 1946, officially, by the Rockwell Trophy, donated by Helen Rockwell in 1946 and was contested officially at the North American Mixed Pair Championships.
Hippogriffs
See also: Eagles and Green Suit. The sometime humorous name of a mythical suit. It was mainly used in a rather celebrated anecdote about a man who dreamed that he held a perfect No Trump hand with 13 certain winners against a stranger, who happened to be the Devil. The Devil was on lead and proceeded to run a 13-trick set against the declarer by cashing all the cards of a weird green suit called hippogriffs.
Hippopotamus
A colloquial term for a 5 No Trump contract. Origin unknown.
Historical Bridge-Related Articles
Note: This is a future project. This is a section and an intended project, which contains found and discovered bridge-related articles in journals, gazettes, pamphlets, magazines, newspaper, and other written publications, which we hope to preserve and archive on this site. The source will be always be provided and if any copyright laws have not been observed, then our apologies in advance and we hope that any infringement will be communicated to the Bridge Guys.
History of Bridge
A short summary of the evolution of the game of bridge as compiled by several authors, who attempt to preserve the historical records and facts about the game.
Hit
Slang: a colloquial designation for a double.
Slang: ruff.
Hitchhiker Convention Against Weak 1 No Trump Opening
After a weak 1NT opening, or rebid showing the same kind of hand, the opposite holds as after a normal 1 No Trump. The goal is to get the No Trump hand in dummy. This system achieves that in many situations This information has been presented on the Internet by Mr. Gerben Dirksen of Tübingen, Germany. The blog of Mr. Gerben Dirksen can be found on the web. This information has also only been preserved and archived on this site in .pdf file format for future reference.
Note: Mr. Gerben Dirksen includes the information that this method was published in The Bridge World under the title Condensed Transfers in the December 2007 issue, page 74.
Note: The origin of the designation employed by Mr. Gerben Dirksen is also unknown. The German word for a hitchhiker is der Anhalter, for which the Bridge Guys can establish no relation to the conventional method described.
Hit The Table
Slang: pass.also knock the table or knock one's knuckles. A custom of tapping or knocking the table still used today to indicate a final pass, even though bidding boxes are used. Although generally employed at the club level it is proper that only the last player to pass may use this method of passing. The second to last player should not hit the table as this does not constitute a legal pass since the next player in rotation may still make a bid or call such as double.
Hobson's Coup or Hobson's Choice
See: Merrimac Coup. In colloquial English, Hobson's choice is an only apparently free choice that is no choice at all. The first written reference to the source of the phrase is in Joseph Addison's* paper, The Spectator (14 October 1712). It also appears in Thomas Ward's poem England's Reformation written in 1688, but not published until after his death. Thomas Ward writes: "Where to elect there is but one, 'tis Hobson's choice -- take that or none." The phrase originates from Thomas Hobson (1544-1630), who lived in Cambridge, England. Hobson was a stable manager renting out horses to travellers; the site of his stables is now part of St. Catharine's College. After customers began requesting particular horses again and again, Hobson realized certain horses were being overworked. He decided to go in for a rotation system placing the well-rested horses near the stable door, and refused to let out any horse except in its proper turn. He insisted that customers take the horse in the stall closest to the door or take none at all.
*Joseph Addison (May 1, 1672 - June 17, 1719) was an English politician and writer. His name is usually remembered alongside that of his long-standing friend, Richard Steele, with whom he founded The Spectator magazine. The Spectator is a British conservative political magazine, established 1828, published weekly. It claims to be the oldest continually published magazine in the English language. The current editor is Boris Johnson, and it is owned by the Barclay brothers which also own the Daily Telegraph. The publisher is the American Kimberly Fortier.
HLQT
This is a method for determining whether a holding is indeed worth an opening bid. The combination of letters stands for High card Length Quick Tricks. The player adds the number of high card points to the length of the two longest suits and the quick tricks. If the total is 22 or more, then the player should open the bidding even if vulnerable.
Hoffmeister No Trump
This is a fictional convention devised, developed, and promoted by Mr. P. J. Hoffmeister, who himself is a fictional character created by Mr. Richard Powell. In his novel Tickets to the Devil. Mr. Richard Powell envisioned and created this character for his novel, who believed himself a bridge theorist, although completely self-proclaimed, and who aspires to achieving permanence in the bridge community by creating a conventional method, which would be named after him. In this manner Mr. P. J. Hoffmeister would achieve a position of celebrity status, and possibly a semblance of immortality and perpetualness.
Hog
A player who tries to become declarer as often as possible, often by bidding No Trump early in the auction,.
Hold
1. Slang: prevent declarer from making undeserved tricks;
2. to have a particular card or card combination;
3. to retain the lead;
4. to win a trick although not the master card. For example: The King held means it won the trick even though someone else still held the ace.
Holding
1. the cards one player is dealt in a particular suit;
2. a descriptive term used in evaluating the entire hand.
Hold Off
To delay the taking of a winner. The act of refusing to play a winning card.
Hold Up or Hold Up Play
Holland - Nederlandse Bridge Bond
The Dutch Bridge Federation is the national governing body for bridge in the Netherlands, based in Utrecht. Founded on 22 November 1930 by Infantry Colonel A. J. E. Lucardie, the Dutch Bridge Federation is the second largest nation member of the European Bridge League.
Home Bridge Union
In the United Kingdom this is the designation for any of the English Bridge Union, the Scottish Bridge Union, the Welsh Bridge Union, and the Northern Ireland Bridge Union.
The Home International Series
This Bridge Event comprises the Camrose Trophy (Open Teams), The Lady Milne Trophy (Women's Teams), the Junior Camrose Trophy (Under 25s) and the Peggy Bayer Trophy (Under 20s). Participating NBO's are the English Bridge Union, the Northern Ireland Bridge Union, the Contract Bridge Association of Ireland, the Scottish Bridge Union and the Welsh Bridge Union. To participate in the Home International series each NBO is required to pay an entry fee to Bridge Great Britain at the start of the competition year. Each NBO may enter one team in each event. Each country entered must play against each other such country. Entry and subsequent refusal to play shall result in disqualification. If a team withdraws from any of the Home International Series it will not be replaced. Matches will be rescheduled appropriately. Each team may have up to six playing members, plus a non-playing captain.
Home Style Game
This type of bridge game is preferable to many players for the elements of fun, enjoyment and for the social aspect. They are especially attractive to players who do not play many conventions and prefer a less serious form of competition. Such games can be sanctioned for clubs and award fractional masterpoints on the same scale as duplicate games.
Honeymoon Bridge
A form of bridge for two players. Three forms are Double Dummy with the players adjacent to one another; Semi-Exposed Dummy with the players adjacent to one another, and 7 cards of the dummy exposed; Draw Bridge with the players facing one another.
Following are several interpretations for the play of this particular game with only two players, which are only archived on this site.
By John Probst, Chyah Burghard, Jude Goodwin-Hanson, Henk Uijterwaal and Bruce McIntyre.
John Probst, London, England:
2 person bridge. One version. Deal 4 hands, one with 5 face up cards. Both players bid for that hand, each bid turns up another card. Played single dummy, defender handles both hands. Not too bad.
Another version is to turn up the 4th hand, and turn up dummy's card 1 per trick played (i.e. the revoke law is suspended for the hidden cards).
Chyah Burghard, Memphis, Tennessee, USA:
Honeymoon bridge is Spades for two. The key to the game is picking your hand and remembering what you threw away. Or another way to look at it is you play bridge between two people with Spades as trump.
Shuffle the deck, place upside down on the table.
First person looks at the first card; if s/he wants the card, s/he places the card in their hand, looks at the 2nd card, places it face down in the discard pile and then it is the next person's turn. If s/he does not want the card, s/he places the card face down in the discard pile and takes the next card no matter what it is.
Each player takes turn, two cards at a time until you go through the whole deck. Then the bidding is the same as Spades where a 1 bid means you will take 1 trick. The scoring is 10 point per trick bid and 1 point for every overtrick. Some people play sandbags. If so, every time you get 10 sandbags, you go back 100 points. 500 points is game.
Sandbags are where you make more tricks than you said you would have.
Let's say you bid 3, but took 5. You get 32 points, but you also get 2 sandbags. Every time you get 10 sandbags you go back 100 points.
If I was teaching someone new, I wouldn't play with sandbags. However, sandbags add some excitement to experienced players who must then be more precise.
Jude Goodwin-Hanson, Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada:
The game I grew up with is similar to Chyah's but less complicated. Two people, one deck face down between them. Each Game consists of 5 Hands. First hand Clubs are Trump, 2nd Diamonds, 3rd Hearts, 4th Spades and 5th hand is No Trump.
First person looks at the first card; if s/he wants the card, s/he places the card in their hand, looks at the 2nd card, places it face down in the discard pile and then it is the next person's turn. If s/he does not want the card, s/he places the card face down in the discard pile and takes the next card no matter what it is. Each player takes turn, two cards at a time until you go through the whole deck.
Now each player has 13 cards and play proceeds as in whist. At the end of each hand, a trick total is tallied. At the end of the Game, total tricks determine the winner.
I played this game a lot with my kids - its a fun way to pass time and introduces basic bridge concepts.
Henk Uijterwaal, Amsterdam, The Netherlands:
A generic name for two-player card games vaguely resembling bridge.
The variety that I've heard off goes like this: The players take the north and east seat. A deck is dealt and 6 of the west and south cards are exposed. Dealer bids first, then his opponent, then the dealer again until somebody passes. The 7 remaining cards of the south and west hands are exposed and declarer tries to make the contract. The defender plays both his own and his (absent) partner's hand. Scoring is normal.
Bruce McIntyre, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada:
I'm sure there are endless variants of Bridge for Two called Honeymoon Bridge. The scheme where you pick a card and then either keep it and look at the next or discard it and hope the next is better, then play 13 tricks, is quite playable.
Another solution to the problem of "how can we make a two-player Bridge game?" is Prince Joli Kansil's Bridgette, which adds a few weird cards to the deck but keeps the Bridge flavour by adding asking bids to the bidding where the opponent (!) can be asked about his hand in order to keep you out of a slam you can't make. The opponent must respond accurately or make a skip bid to evade giving information about his hand away.
Yet another solution was marketed many years ago as Goren's Bridge for two. Essentially the players sit as East and South and each gets a dummy hand consisting of seven face-up cards, six of which have a face-down card underneath. Bidding proceeds until both players pass; during the play each player plays his dummy hand. When a face down card is uncovered, it is turned up and can be used on subsequent tricks. You can ruff a spade in your dummy and uncover the ace of spades and promptly lead it and there is no penalty! I found that combining this mechanism with the Bridgette cuebidding allows for an interesting Bridge-like game. Not nearly the same as the four-player version, of course....
Honeymoon Moscito
The variation of the Moscito bidding system called Honeymoon Moscito was devised by Mr. Peter Buchen of Australia. This variation is based on the original Moscito System devised by Mr. Paul Marston and Mr. Stephen Burgess. This variation is different in that it combines a strong 1 Club with other openings, mainly showing Major suit holdings and complete but natural relay responses.
Hong Kong Contract Bridge Association
The Hongkong Contract Bridge Association (HKCBA) was founded in 1950 by a number of enthusiasts of the game, especially Mr. J.M. Remedios, Mr. E.M. Marchetti and Mr. Victor Zirinsky. HKCBA is the official Hong Kong representative member organization to the World Bridge Federation, under Zone 6. It is a member of the Pacific Asia Bridge Federation (PABF), which includes member National Contract Bridge Organizations (NCBOs) of Australia, China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
Honor
One of the five top cards in a suit at bridge. The Ace, King, Queen, Jack or Ten.
Honorary Member
The title of Honorary Member, awarded by the American Bridge League and the American Contract Bridge League, is bestowed for long and meritorious service to the League. In 1927 the ACBL first gave the designation to Mr. Milton C. Work. The first person to be selected after the amalgamation of the ABL and the United States Bridge Association in 1937 was Mr. Ely Culbertson.
Honor Bonus
A scoring bonus for holding four or five trump honors, or all four aces at No Trump, in one hand.
Honor Lead
The lead of an honor, normally the top one of a sequence indicating the possession of one or more lower touching honors.
Honor Score
A holding that will entitle its possessor to an honor bonus. This bonus may be claimed by either opponent or the declarer. For holding any 4 of the 5 top trump honors, the bonus is 100 points. For holding all 5 top honors in the trump suit, the bonus is 150 points. For holding all 4 Aces in a No Trump contract, the bonus is 150 points.
Honor Strength
The trick-taking value of a hand in honor tricks. This concept was considered important as a basis for calculating the power of a hand in the Culbertson System.
Honor Tricks
A hand evaluation method in which honors and honor combinations are assigned point values. Honor tricks can be determined by the partnership or by a sponsoring organization or by a bidding system developed by an individual. Mr. Ely Culbertson developed such a hand evaluation in the early 1930s and was employed in many of the famous matches of that era. This hand evaluation is shown below:
| 0.5 Honor Tricks: |
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Kx, QJx, or Qx in two different suits. |
| 1 Honor Trick: |
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A, KQx, or Kx and Qx in two different suits. |
| 1.5 Honor Tricks: |
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AQ, AJ10, KQ10 |
| 2 Honor Tricks: |
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AK |
A player was also permitted to assign plus values to scattered honors. Minimum opening values were 2.5 Honor Tricks by favorable vulnerability and 3 Honor Tricks if vulnerable, and a response in a new suit, or a simple overcall, required 1.5 Honor Tricks. Extra tricks were assigned for length in one's own suit or for support for partner's suit. In addition, the following guidelines applied. The possibility of deviating from these guidelines was available, but only when no other bid was possible:
| 1. |
Open and respond only with a biddable suit - at least KQ10x, Kxxxx or QJxxx, any six-card suit. |
| 2. |
Do not bid No Trump if there is a biddable suit. |
| 3. |
A response by partner in a new suit is not forcing; the opener requires extra values to rebid. |
| 4. |
All two level openings are game forcing. |
| 5. |
All 4 No Trump bids signify a slam invitation and promises three Aces or two Aces and a King in a bid suit. |
Hook
A colloquial term meaning to finesse one of the opponents when declaring.
Hop
Slang: play high.
Horse And Horse
Slang: a term for both sides vulnerable.
Hospitality
This is the general term and designation employed to describe the efforts by a host unit at a bridge tournament in order to make the visiting players feel comfortable and welcomed. These efforts are more endorsed and concerted generally for newer players in the Intermediate and Newcomer area. Such efforts may take the form of offering free gifts, food, the occurrence of special events to make the transition for the newer players into the more competitive area of bridge.
Hot Seat Rulings
The following is a quote from the WBF Code of Practice for appeals committees, as extended November 2001, in connection with calls made under pressure of opponents' actions. An ACBL appeals committee passed comments that fit very well with WBF thinking in relation to what were referred to or called hot seat auctions. It is desirable to exhibit extra tolerance in relation to a hesitation when a player encounters an unprecedented situation in the auction.
Thought was given to requiring a twenty second pause behind screens over a skip bid; there was also discussion of a possibility this might extend to abnormal situations encountered in the auction because of opponents' extraordinary agreements. These are questions that may arise again if we are unsuccessful in securing the desired irregularity of movement of the tray. An aspect that has special significance, when a player meets a quite unusual bidding situation and takes time to deliberate, is how clearly it is apparent to partner what is the nature of his problem. In such a situation a player may have to think from scratch what action is appropriate, and it is not altogether rare that he may have all three options - pass, double (redouble), and bid, and a choice to make. If a Director is inclined to find that the partner's subsequent bid is suggested by the breach of tempo, the first consideration is to judge whether the message from the hesitation is unclear. A sympathetic treatment of the law here should be an aim and it is an area in which regulating authorities may find it helpful to give guidance.
House Player
An employee of a rubber bridge club who often plays to complete a foursome. Several clubs had a few regular players who would play in exchange for the remission of fees for their play.
House Rules
Additions or amendments to the Laws as required to meet conditions of play in a bridge club or bridge group.
Howard Schenken's Big Club
Generally referred to simply as Big Club. Presently under construction.
Howell, Edwin Cull
Mr. Edwin Cull Howell was born in the year 1860 in Nantucket, Massachusetts, United States, and died in the year 1769 in Richmond, Virginia, United States. His career was that of a newspaper Editor and teacher. He is credited with the invention and development of the Howell Movement in the year 1897, the year it was introduced to the Whist playing community. He had learned the game of Whist while attending Harvard university and indeed became known as the best player of the game. When the game itself became organized as the American Whist League he was quite active in the politics, which formed and shaped its structure. He published several books about the game: Howell's Whist Openings: A Systematic Treatment of the Short-Suit Game in the yer 1896, published by Pinkham Press, Boston, Massachusetts, Library of Congress: 05023179, ISBN: B000874UG0, and Howell Method of Duplicate Whist for Pairs in the year 1896.
His name can be found on the Bachelors of Arts, Harvard University, Class of 1883. His degree was in mathematics. He became a professor of mathematics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.).
Howell Movement
A method of producing one winner from a field at duplicate bridge in which all pairs play each of the boards in play, with comparison in direct competition with other pairs on approximately half of the boards, and adverse comparison on the other boards. This movement has many variations depending on the number of tables occupied.
Hoyle, Edmund
An eighteenth century authority on Whist and other card games, and upon whose publications many of the rules and regulations set forth continue to be the basis for playing these games at the present time.
Hubble Convention
This concept was authored by Mr. Danny Kleinman and published in The Bridge World in the year1997, issue August, page 15. This method was devised for employment by the responder, who contends with immediate intervention by the immediate opponent with a suit overcall. The concept is not applicable when the immediate opponent doubles, only when the player intervenes with a suit bid.
Hubert Phillips Bowl - Hubert Phillips
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Mr. Hubert Phillips was for sixteen years Crossword Editor of the News Chronicle, and hundreds more of his puzzles have appeared In other periodicals. Al in all he had constructed about 5,000 crosswords during his career. most of them cryptic in character, and all informed by his distinctive brand of humor. Mr. Hubert Phillips had a national reputation in many other fields. His satirical column, Dogberry, ran in the News Chronicle for over twenty years. He was the creator of innumerable puzzles, mathematical and inferential, and had republished many of them in book form. He had captained England at contract bridge, and had written a score of books, not only on bridge, but on indoor games generally. He was the theme convener of the Lion and Unicorn Pavilion at the Festival of Britain Exhibition.And he had made many appearances on the air and television. Mr. Hubert Phillips was born in 1891, read history and economics at Oxford, and began his career, after serving throughout World War I as a University lecturer. He was also actively interested in politics, and for four years was Secretary and Adviser to the Liberal Parliamentary Party.
The Hubert Phillips Bowl is an eccentric English competition. It is a knockout Team-of-Four event with matches arranged privately. This is an ideal tournament for new players coming from the environs of rubber or chicago bridge to the game of duplicate, as well as an excellent event for all tournament players. Green Points are awarded for matches won in all rounds. But all teams must contain at least one man and one woman and it is a pivot event. Everyone must play a third of the boards (30 until the final stages) with each other team member. Most people play teams of 4, but teams of 6 are allowed, in which case the match is played in two halves with the above rules applying to each half. There must always be at least one man and at least one woman in play. At no time may an all-male or all-female team be playing. In addition to this, aggregate rather than IMP scoring is used and honors count. Scoring is by aggregate with honours counting (see below). At no time may an all male or all female team be playing. Seeding has been introduced, so that every team entering is guaranteed at least one match before meeting a seed. Matches are of 30 boards up to and including the quarter-final, except that 24- or 27-board matches may be played in Rounds 1–3 by mutual agreement. A picture of the Bowl or Trophy is shown below:
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Huddle
A longer than usual pause preceding an action in the bidding or the play of a hand. The general definition is that the action of thinking about a bid or call is in itself a legal and an inevitable part of the game of bridge. The problem of this action, called a huddle, occurs when the player takes longer than normal to make a bid or a call. In such cases the additional time used by the player may suggest to partner that the holding is flawed, and is as such indicated, if not communicated by this action. For example, the player might have a better holding than one would expect, or the player is uncomfortable with the denomination (No Trump or suit). It is possible that the conclusion during this action is that unauthorized information may have been communicated to partner.
Note: Mr. Howard W. Weinstein published an article about the intricacies of the huddle in the Friday, July 23, 1999, Daily Bulletin for the 71st Summer North American Bridge Championships conducted in San Antonio, Texas, United States. He was at that time Chairman, ACBL Conventions & Competition Committee and Mr. Rich Colker, who co-authored the article, the ACBL Recorder and Appeals Administrator. This information has also only been preserved and archived on this site in .pdf file format for future reference.
Hudson 1 No Trump Overcall - Hudson 1NT Overcall
The origin of this conventional defense method is accredited to Mr. Robert R. Hudson of Dunedin, New Zealand. Fundamentally it is a defense method devised to be employed after an opponent opens the auction with either a natural bid or an artificial bid on the one level.
HUM
Acronym for Highly Unusual Method, which are usually Strong Pass systems. In 1990, the World Bridge Federation decided to bar and ban HUM Systems from world championship play except in long matches. Such HUM methods are designated as yellow by the World Bridge Federation.
Hungary Bridge Federation - This is the Magyar Bridzs Szövetség of Hungary in its national language.
Hunter Memorial Cup
The competition for the presentation of The Hunter Memorial Cup is conducted by the East District of the Scottish Bridge Union. The competition is awarded to the East District's winner of the Swiss Teams championship. The event was first contested in the year 1966.
Hybrid Club Opening Bids
These opening bids were first described by Mr. Ronald W. Vicker in his book titled The Hybrid Club: An Action System, published in the year 1981, and which was published privately by the author, ASIN: B0006E58BQ.
Hybrid Scoring
This refers to a form of scoring, that combines the best feature of aggregate or IMP scoring and point-a-board scoring. The form of scoring is used in top-level bridge tournaments and/or competitive contests, where two teams play only short matches.
There are two major events in England that use hybrid scoring:
| 1. |
The Lederer (an invitation teams event) uses scoring like that described by Patapon, but with 12-board matches in a round robin movement. The BAM element makes up 2/5 of the available VPs. 10-point swings don't affect the BAM element. I think you should bid like at IMPs but play like at matchpoints. |
| 2. |
The Pachabo is an inter-county event, with three-board matches again in a round robin. The scoring system is arcane. You get 6 points (2 per board) for the BAM element (again, a 10-point difference is a tie), and up to four more from the following method: |
Firstly, the total aggregate points scored (regardless of whether plus or minus) at the two tables put together are calculated. Secondly, the total aggregate swing in the match is calculated. Finally, the total aggregate points are divided by the swing, and the result converted to Victory Points as per the schedule described below. Two examples of this process are described within.
| If total points divided by swing are: |
| greater than or equal to 12: 2 - 2 VPs |
| less than 12, but greater than or equal to 8: 2½ - 1½ VPs |
| less than 8, but greater than or equal to 5: 3 - 1 VP s |
| less than 5, but greater than or equal to 3: 3½ - ½ VPs |
| less than 3: 4 - 0 VPs 12: 2 - 2 VPs |
Thus the right strategy on a particular board depends upon what happens on the other boards in the same match. (Note: description was posted online by Mr. Andy Bowles on the BBO Discussion Forums.
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