[Sandy10842]

Can someone explain counting"Total Tricks" concept to me? I am new and trying to learn systems..I have used "point count"~ and a lil confused Also, I just found out about this "forum" yesterday and not even sure if my question will get posted! yeek! Appreciate any help~ Thank you

[Free]

Hi, welcome to the forum!

About that "total trick" concept: in short, it's the sum of tricks both pairs can make in their own best contract. Most of the time, it's equal to the sum of all trumps. Suppose NS have 8 ♠s and EW have 9 ♥s, then the total trumps are 17 (8+9), and the "total tricks" are most of the time around 17. This means if NS can make 8 tricks in ♠, then EW can make 9 tricks in ♥. If NS can only make 6 tricks in ♠, EW will be able to make 11 tricks in ♥s,...

This concept can help you a lot in competitive bidding, when to double for penalty or when to sacrifice.

A very nice book about this subject is "To bid or not to bid" from Larry Cohen.

[inquiry]

Hi Sandy,

Also welcome to the Bridge Base Online Forums...

For a review of the law of total tricks, see the following "free" online article from the well respected bridge magazine, "bridge world" (just click the following link to open a new browser window).

http://www.bridgewor...r&f=samltt.html

ben

[Chamaco]

inquiry, on Oct 28 2004, 01:30 PM, said:

Hi Sandy,

Also welcome to the Bridge Base Online Forums...

For a review of the law of total tricks, see the following "free" online article from the well respected bridge magazine, "bridge world" (just click the following link to open a new browser window).

http://www.bridgewor...r&f=samltt.html

ben

Hello Sandy,
welcome to this lunatic Forum !!

The "Law" of Total Trick ("LOTT") is a tools used to evaluate hands where we have a fit with partner.

When we have a fit with partner, many times opponents have a fit too, and they will start bidding their suit, while you and pard instead are bidding your suit.

In this situation the goal, for both sides will be one of the following:

1) Bid and make game or slam, if it is on
2) Bid and make a partscore, if it is on
3) Push the opponents one step higher, when they will go down;
4) Bid a partscore or a game/slam, not with the hope it makes, but in the hope that even opponent double us, our penalty will be less than their partscore/game or slam bonus.

So, some times, we "sacrifice", for example bidding, say, 5 clubs not vuln and going down 1 doubled = 100, whereas opponents have a good game contract of 4 spades vuylnerable = 620 points; in this basic example, even if we did not make the contract, we saved 520 points !

But, if bidding 5 clubs not vuln is defeated by 4 tricks, doubled, non vuln, our penalty will be 800, and we'll lose 180 compared to the alternative score (620).

There are lots of such situations, and the real problem is to evaluate how high you can bid when you have a fit for partner and you do not know whether sacrifice or not (or in other cases, you do not know whether you'l collect more doubloing opponents or bidding your suit one step higher).


The "Law" of Total Tricks, is not a real "Law", but is rather a principle deducted empirically by the French Jean Renè Vernes, who studied a lot of deals, and came to the conclusion that the optimal contract depends from the combined length (you + pard) in the trump suit.
THE MORE TRUMPS YOU HAVE, THE HIGHER YOU CAN BID SAFELY, EITHER FOR SACRIFICE, OR TO MAKE, REGARDLESS OF HIGH CARD POINTS.

The details and examples for this theory are given in the article whose link was posted by Inquiry.

[jtfanclub]

Chamaco, on Oct 28 2004, 01:14 PM, said:

THE MORE TRUMPS YOU HAVE, THE HIGHER YOU CAN BID SAFELY, EITHER FOR SACRIFICE, OR TO MAKE, REGARDLESS OF HIGH CARD POINTS.

Actually, I would have phrased it as "THE LONGER FIT EITHER SIDE HAS, THE HIGHER YOU CAN BID SAFELY".

The Law of Total Tricks has two important rules that aren't obvious to a beginner:

1. If they have a fit, you have a fit*. Therefore, if they've shown a great fit, you can afford to bid higher safely.

2. The fit doesn't need to be trump. If you have a 4-4 fit in a major and a 6-3 fit in a minor, you can afford to bid higher in the major.


*If they have an 8 card fit, your side is something like 95% likely to have an 8 card fit. If they have a 9 card fit, you are 100% likely to have a 8 card fit, and you're something like 95% to have either two 8 card fits or a nine card fit.

[Sandy10842]

Thank you all for responding!! Your help was so appreciated! Now..could someone PLEASE tell me how to "UNPOST" my question!

[inquiry]

Sandy10842, on Oct 28 2004, 02:56 PM, said:

Thank you all for responding!! Your help was so appreciated! Now..could someone PLEASE tell me how to "UNPOST" my question!

Sandy, we don't unpost questions... whatever question you can think of, a dozen other people might have an be too timid to ask. We LOVE questions...

Now that you found us, come back... and help answer questions of others, or ask more enlightening questions.

Ben