The Hand That Changed Bridge Scoring Forever

[@BridgeWithPete]

Again thanks to Paul for helping me find out details to this deal. If you want Bridge Materials be sure to visit his bridge store at www.BridgeGear.com.au

[@brandusapopa2363]

Pete, you're a great storyteller. More vids like this, please!

[@BridgeWithPete]

Thanks

[@ChrisHasney]

Heartily concur

[@robinhillyard6187]

Back in about 1981 I was playing a Swiss event at the Ann Arbor sectional. I was very new to bridge and probably had not played a Swiss before. In the last round, We faced the top team with the great Zeke Jabbour in my seat (of course I knew nothing at the time). My partner and I had just learned the unusual notrump. The opponents sailed into 6H and we were at favorable vulnerability. With 5-5 in the minors, I bid 6NT and partner bid 7C, doubled down 6 for -1100. We won the board (and the match) by 8 Imps. It was an appalling bid and in later years I always wanted to apologise to Zeke for getting so lucky. But it worked!

[@ReneGrothmann]

Funny enough I did not know this, because I stopped playing 45 years ago, and took it up only 3 years ago. Getting old.

[@richardfarrer5616]

I started playing bridge in the mid 80s and I remember the rule change (back in the day when we had to work out the score on a hand for ourselves). I never knew the hand that caused it though. Nice find!

[@BridgeWithPete]

Thanks!

[@prasannadhopate8513]

Same with me! We were playing a local tournament in Mumbai and before the play commenced, director announced this rule! NV- Doubled, the penalties will be 100-300-500 for first 3 tricks set thereafter it will follow the Vulnerable Doubled pattern.

[@StevenBLevy]

Great video. Thank you. (I played a bit in the late 60s/early 70s in college, then moved on to other things. When I returned to the game a few years back, it took me a while to figure out why my mental scoring on NV sacs and failures was so off. So thanks, too, for clearing this up - my memory of the old days wasn't wrong!)

[@rosemarygowans6825]

Great storytelling Pete. Fascinating.

[@mandarmulekar3528]

Loved the vid! Please keep them coming

[@stefanskorchev]

Enjoyed this. Thanks, Pete!

[@BridgeWithPete]

Thanks Stefan, nice hat.

[@cerievans4099]

Thanks Peter. In the Spring Fours in the mid 1970's David Price and I reached a contract of 7H against Sheehan and Flint (their team-mates were Priday / Rodrigue) holding: S:A,K,9, H:A,K,Q,4,3, D:A,K,Q,2, C:A and S:J,6,4, H:J,10, D:10,5, C:J,10,8,5,4,3. Rob Sheehan led a trump. I successfully ran the J of Spades at trick 2, then ruffed a diamond, entered my hand with the Club A, drew trumps and claimed. As we were heading off to score, Warwick Pitch sidled up to me, with this hand on a piece of paper, saying: "Let me show you what a little old lady just did to Flint!"

[@grahamlucy6627]

Same happened to me many years ago in a county pairs tournament. The most annoying part was when oppo said, “I wouldn’t have dared against anyone else, but I was confident that you had bid it perfectly”. Sigh :(

[@BridgeWithPete]

At least you got a compliment.

[@endthisnonsense7202]

I knew the story, it's great you share it. Seven spades in this old scoring was one of the best bids ever. I don't understand not leading a high spade (probably the K to show AK doubleton) and cashing the second having seen dummy though.

[@sigmaoctantis5083]

I learned bridge in the early 90s, so I know the old rule only because our teacher told us about it. He explained the rationale for the change, but he did not mention that particular hand. Imo it is amazing that this rather obvious flaw in the original scoring system went unnoticed for decades. Shouldn't a similar bold sacrifice have happened already in the Culbertson era? Anyway, a great video, Pete! Perhaps the first issue of a new series "Famous Bridge Hands"? I would love it!

[@veradux5580]

Cool vid Pete

[@d95mback]

I bid 7 hearts against 6 spades once. Pushing them to 7 spades making :)

[@ahmetgrcn2663]

So they thought they couldn't make grand at first, but your sacrifice allowed them to infer enough to think they can? Otherwise it's just faulty bidding from opps (unless they thought you'd make 7H lol)

[@d95mback]

@@ahmetgrcn2663 yes, something like that, 7 hearts was going down two I think

[@ahmetgrcn2663]

@@d95mback interesting!

[@endthisnonsense7202]

@@ahmetgrcn2663 Realize that after assessing the opponents are at a good sacrifice the required odds for bidding higher change at imps. They might have done the odds on right thing stopping in 6 AND bidding 7.

[@BridgeWithPete]

Funny how the sacrifice can change the odds and punish you.

[@alainlaine4854]

In 1987 they also changed the score for contract redoubled and made to punish double anti-slam in minor

[@David.M.]

Excellent history, thanks

[@glendaandstephenvincent5470]

Very interesting.

[@michaelconlen4642]

Does anyone know who that is in the photo with Bobby Levin?

[@jasonweber753]

Boldest bid- i had six clubs, headed by a queen and no other points, opposition landed at 4 hearts. My partner had bid three times and i passed each time. With only 2hc points i bid and made 5c

[@manudude02]

I bid a 7S making in a Junior Europeans in 2011 on a 4-3 fit, though that was more by accident rather than design, and required quite a lot to be right. Otherwise my boldest bid was holding xx Txx J9xxx Txx and seeing partner open 1D in 1st seat at all green and pass on my right, I found a 4D bid. This managed to stymie LHO with his 4234 22 count.

[@manudude02]

Just adding a couple of gutsy 3NT calls I had. During a Camrose trials, I once held Ax Kx xx AQJTxxx and had a 3D opening on my left and passed around to me. I didn't want to bid 4C at imps and double seemed out with 2-2 in the majors, so I decided to puck up my courage and bid 3NT despite having no diamond stop, nor a solid suit. I also literally just had a board where I had J x Txxx AKQJxxx and the auction had gone 2H-P-3H to me, figuring that they'd have bid 4H if it was a good contract placed partner with a reasonable hand and guessed to bid 3NT.

[@chrishasney2468]

Added to playlists CB-3 (Contract Bridge Basics and Scoring) and CB-7 (Contract Bridge Humor and Lore)

[@ChristopherTolhurst-Cleaver]

When the opposition bid confidently to 6S and my partner was silent over my early D bid, I bid 7D. I had 6 or 7 and only went 3 or 4 down. The weird thing was that the partner asked why I did it!

[@MariaNordgren-wg4ez]

Very interesting!

[@letsmakeit110]

why isn't the scoring +1 for every trick bid and made -1 for every trick set?

[@almightyhydra]

Not me but RHO tried something similar at a pairs tournament (far cry from the Bermuda Bowl!). 1 something from me, 1S from LHO, we then bid uncontested to 7H. RHO suddenly came to life with 7S on about 1 HCP flat with four spades, no doubt reasoning she was getting a bad board anyway. Not to be outdone, I passed confirming the SA and partner bid 7NT which came in. Indeed RHO's instincts about it being a bad situation for them were right, as only one other table found a grand.

[@stevebaptista7938]

My boldest bid: my partner and I determined we had a spade fit. My RHO overcalled in clubs at some point. I held the ace and Queen, and I assumed RHO had the king for her overcall, so I boldly bid my partner into six spades. Every other table stopped at 4 RHO had the King of clubs, as I expected, which gave us an extra trick and dummy entry. However, my partner did not make the slam. She was upset at me from bidding the slam afterwards. Ironically, after checking double dummy analysis, I found that the slam was makeable. We got a bottom board because partner did not make it, and everyone else bid and made game, but we should have had a top board, because we were the only ones who bid the slam 🙄

[@paytv80]

👍

[@stevefeak5696]

I imagine Pakistan waiting for Meckstroth to double or not, and being absolutely blindsided by 7S. I wonder if they considered 7n at all.

[@BridgeWithPete]

There was a pass over the 7S bid which would have been forcing so offering the possibility of 7NT but correctly turned down.

[@paulmaier6305]

GIANT BALLS.....and giant brain.

[@benthomas3395]

That’s fascinating. I am not sure that the scoring change was justified. The 7S bid by W was inspired but high risk for high reward. It required faith that his teammates would reach the same contract and then belief that 7H would make. The sacrifice could have been a disaster. Possibly the scoring should have been left to encourage such inspired bidding.

[@lightbearer313]

But there was no risk for him. He was basically guaranteed two tricks, which would still at worst mean a loss of 11 tricks which was still an upside for him. The amazing thing about this is that this situation didn't occur years before (or maybe it did but wasn't acted on at the time).

[@benthomas3395]

@@lightbearer313 There was huge risk. His team mates may not have bid the slam or the slam was unmakeable. Either way could have been a disaster.

[@lightbearer313]

@@benthomas3395 That is all hypotheticals. If his teammates didn't bid the slam, then the overall team would have an even lower comparative score. If the slam was unmakeable, it wouldn't have created this situation depicted in the video, where his team ended up with a better combined score because the contract was makeable. Indeed, the 7H is an easily made contract.

[@chesshead]

It's a shame they changed the rules in order to discourage exciting bids like this one.

[@almightyhydra]

It was just too cheap. Sacrifices against slams are still very viable these days.

[@chesshead]

@@almightyhydra The other pair didn't notice it, and I presume they were very excellent players.

[@benchapple1583]

The boldest bid I ever made? 3C pass 6C (me) with XX XXX XXX QXXXXX. LHO tanked and doubled, RHO said 6S and that was that. The rest of the room found 7S. Later I wondered if I should have bid Blackwood.

[@BridgeWithPete]

Faking blackwood is always an interesting idea.

[@manudude02]

Reminds me once of psyching Grand Slam Force after 3H-(X) with xxxx AKxx xxxxx void, they overcalled 6D which I was quite happy with. That went 1 off with 6C and 6S both making.

[@alainlaine4854]

yoou should have call TD after the 6S

[@benchapple2117]

@@alainlaine4854 That did occur to me but it was a club night and such unethical behaviour was very common at that time- before bidding boxes!