Guide 7Z41 Main

About the Lessons

by Richard Pavlicek

Advanced Bridge Lessons by Richard Pavlicek are arranged here in five groups — Partnership Bidding, Competitive Bidding, Declarer Play, Defensive Play, and Popular Conventions — although some overlap exists. Lesson topics may be studied in any order (each more or less stands alone) but the listed order within groups is recommended.

Bidding lessons adhere to Standard American, which includes strong notrumps (15-17), five-card majors, weak two-bids and a strong artificial 2 . Essential conventions (Stayman, Blackwood, negative doubles, etc.) are included, but emphasis is on strategy and tactics, not a raft of conventions. Most instructive advice would apply to any system if appropriate adjustments (point count, suit lengths, etc.) are made.

Play lessons are more universal, as card-play principles are independent of bidding system. The one area of conflict might be in defensive carding. These lessons adhere to the standard American practice of fourth-best leads, king from ace-king, top of other honor sequences, and right-side-up signals. Those who use different methods would require occasional adjustments.

Exercises

To the right of each lesson topic are exercises to improve your understanding. Enter your answers in the boxes provided, then click “Score Me” to see your results. This can be repeated as often as desired, showing partial results as you go. If your answer differs and you don’t understand why, rereading the lesson may help. If still perplexed and you think there may be an error, use my Error Report form to contact me.

Practice Deals

Most topics include many practice deals (up to 40) to reinforce the material. Each file of practice deals is subdivided into sets of four (dealer/vul match boards 1-4) with each player declaring once. Recommended bidding and play are shown, with key plays indicated by an exclamation point. Each deal can be played by clicking the Play button (utility courtesy of Bridge Base Online).

Proper and Improper Use

Material presented on this site is for the benefit of those who wish to improve their bridge skills. It may not be used commercially in any way, such as to teach bridge, without a license. Licensing is available to competent teachers, which includes this material and a lot more, all in pristine typeset format. See Bridge Teaching Material for details.

Guide 7Z41 Main Top About the Lessons