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47-473: The central feature of the Precision system is that an opening bid of one club is used for any hand with 16 or more high card points (HCP), regardless of distribution. An opening bid of one of a major suit signifies a five-card suit and 11–15 HCP. A one notrump opening bid signifies a balanced hand (no five-card major suit) and 13–15 HCP. After the success of Taiwan teams in 1969 and 1970 Bermuda Bowls with

94-452: A 6+ club suit and expanding the possible hand patterns for the 2 ♦ bid to include the usual 4–4–1–4 and 4–4–0–5 as well as 4–3–1–5 and 3–4–1–5,1 ♦ bid promises at least 2 diamonds. RM Precision is a bidding system played by Eric Rodwell and Jeff Meckstroth (which we will call Meckwell ) – one of the most successful bridge partnerships of all time. Meckwell bidding is highly sophisticated variation of Precision system. Most of RM Precision

141-407: A bid in a suit and there is no agreed upon trump suit, add high card points and length points to get the total point value of one's hand. When intending to raise an agreed trump suit, add high card points and shortness points. When making a bid in notrump with intent to play, value high-card points only. The basic point-count system does not solve all evaluation problems and in certain circumstances

188-435: A different line in earlier bidding. At Chicago or IMP scoring it is generally worth bidding game even with a slightly less than 50% chance of success due to the relatively high value of the bonuses (especially when vulnerable). In duplicate pairs scoring, the subtle difference between a major suit game, a NT game and a minor suit game make the declaration an important decision. Each side has its own optimum contract and, for

235-412: A group and add one HCP if the hand contains three or more aces and tens; Richard Pavlicek advocates adding one HCP if holding four or more aces and tens. Goren and others recommend deducting one HCP for a singleton king, queen, or jack. Marty Bergen claims that with the help of computers, bridge theorists have devised a more accurate valuation of the honors as follows: Note that this scale keeps

282-530: A high percentage of hands are opened with one diamond, including in some cases hands with only a doubleton diamond. This is so absurd that I wish to go on record in stating that the Big Club cannot be played with any hope of success if you attempt to use it by bidding only 5-card majors. My opinion on Precision is that combining five-card majors with a forcing club is like trying to mix oil and water, and it has serious structural defects…" The main disadvantage of

329-407: A partial fit has been uncovered, it is argued by many that ruffing potential as represented by short suits becomes more significant than long suits. Accordingly, in a method devised by William Anderson of Toronto and popularized by Charles Goren, distribution points are added for shortage rather than length. When the supporting hand holds three trumps, shortness is valued as follows: When

376-448: A quarter point. So for example, a hand with one of each honor (A, K, Q, J, 10) would be counted as 10 HCP. Since the hard and soft values are equal (the ace and queen cancel out, and the jack and ten cancel out), there is no adjustment. On the other hand, to take an extreme example, a hand with four aces and four tens (no kings, queens, or jacks) would be counted at 16 HCP at first, but since it holds eight hard values and no soft values, it

423-429: A side with poor hands, "pass" may be the optimum call. Where there is competitive bidding (i.e. both sides are bidding) the extra dimension of sacrificial bidding is added, and the theoretical optimum contract can be overtaken by the par contract . The par contract on a deal is that contract that results from optimal bidding by both sides and that neither side could improve by further bidding. It will either be equal to

470-435: A simplified version of RM Precision popular among students and widely played in many bridge clubs. There are many versions of Meckwell Lite (some are listed in external links ). The common goal is to keep the active features of RM Precision and simplify the auction variations. High card point In contract bridge, various bidding systems have been devised to enable partners to describe their hands so that they may reach

517-446: A small slam (12 tricks) contract. Yet, the left layout produces 13 tricks in notrump, whilst the right layout on a diamond lead would fail to produce more than 10 tricks in notrump. In this case, the difference in trick-taking potential is due to duplication in the high card values: in the bottom layout the combined 20 HCP in spades and diamonds results in only five tricks. Because such duplication can often not be detected during bidding,

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564-427: A table similar to the consolidation shown on the left; having more controls is deemed 'control-rich' and having less is 'control-weak'. The table can be used as tie-breaker for estimating the slam-going potential of hands like the above two East hands. Whilst the top East hand counts 16 HCP, in terms of controls (6) it is equivalent to a hand typically 1–2 HCP stronger, whereas the bottom East hand, also counting 16 HCP,

611-403: Is added for each card in a suit beyond four. An alternative approach is to create a distributional point count of a hand to be added to HCP simply by adding the combined length of the two longest suits, subtracting the length of the shortest suit, and subtracting a further five . On this basis 4333 hands score -1 and all other shapes score a positive distributional count. When intending to make

658-468: Is adjusted to 19 HCP. Bergen's “computer” scale appears to be identical to the “high card value of the Four Aces System” found on the front inside cover and on page 5 of the 1935 book, The Four Aces System of Contract Bridge by (alphabetically) David Burnstine , Michael T. Gottlieb , Oswald Jacoby and Howard Schenken . The Four Aces' book (Jacoby may have written most or all of it) gives

705-455: Is available on the internet. Eric Kokish nicely outlines the Meckwell system: Their trademark is their tendency to open and overcall very light and consistently play routine partscore deals in game, making a far higher percentage of these games than the odds would suggest. Some intermediate jump overcalls (unfavorable vulnerability) and a no-fear two-suited overcall style. Meckwell Lite is

752-448: Is considered that long suits have a value beyond the HCP held: this can be turned into numbers on the following scale: A hand comprising a 5-card suit and a 6-card suit gains points for both, i.e., 1 + 2 making 3 points in total. Other combinations are dealt with in a similar way. These distribution points (sometimes called length points) are added to the HCP to give the total point value of

799-473: Is generally considered to be a good indication, all else being equal, of the number of tricks likely to be made by the partnership. The rule of thumb for games and slams in notrump is as follows: A simple justification for 37 HCP being suitable for a grand slam is that it is the lowest number that guarantees the partnership holding all the aces. Similarly 33 HCP is the lowest number that guarantees at least three aces. Although mostly effective for evaluating

846-499: Is in terms of controls (4) more equivalent to 12–13 HCP. If West opens the bidding with 1 ♠ , both East hands should aim for at least game (4 ♠ ), the partnership having the minimum 26 total points typically required for a game contract in the majors. Despite the spade suit fit, both East hands have marginal slam potential based on their 16 HCP count alone. On the top layout the control-rich East (an upgraded 17–18 HCP) should explore slam and be willing to bypass 4 ♠ in doing so, whilst on

893-413: Is no longer a 4–4–4–1 ( impossible negative ), and the unusual positive is used instead. When 1 ♣ – 1 ♦ is no longer a 4–4–4–1, Also, modern Precision often uses relay bids or transfer responses to 1 ♣ to both try to make the strong hand declarer and saving space in the auction. Other popular Precision variations on opening bids are using a strong 1NT (14–16 is most common), using 2 ♣ to show only

940-521: Is no precise numerical statement of the ODR. Optimum contract Optimum contract and par contract are two closely related (and sometimes confused) bridge scoring terms in the card game contract bridge . The optimum contract is the one that offers the best chance of gaining the most scoring points whilst minimising the risk of failure. It is that contract that cannot be improved upon by further bidding nor could it have been improved upon by taking

987-512: Is particularly useful in making difficult decisions on marginal hands, especially for overcalling and in competitive bidding situations. In lieu of arithmetic addition or subtraction of HCP or distributional points, 'plus' or 'minus' valuations may be applied to influence the decision. Negative features worth less than the HCP suggest: Positive features worth more than the HCP suggest: Certain combinations of cards are better in defence and others are more valuable in attack (i.e. as declarer). There

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1034-412: Is some overlap with the concept of negative and positive points. Defensive values that suggest a hand should defend: Attacking values that suggest a hand should play a contract as declarer or dummy: This concept is sometimes stated as the "Offence-Defence Ratio" (ODR) of a hand. For example, a suit KQJ10987 will take 6 tricks with this as the trump suit but maybe none in defence; it has a high ODR. If

1081-464: Is supplemented by refinements to the HCP count or by additional methods. The control count is a supplementary method that is mainly used in combination with HCP count to determine the trick-taking potential of fitting hands, in particular to investigate slam potential. The use of control count addresses the fact that for suit contracts, aces and kings tend to be undervalued in the standard 4–3–2–1 HCP scale; aces and kings allow declarer better control over

1128-645: The Milton Work Point Count when popularized by him in the early Thirties and then the Goren Point Count when re-popularized by Work's disciple Charles Goren in the Fifties, and now known simply as the high-card point (HCP) count, this basic evaluation method assigns numeric values to the top four honour cards as follows: Evaluating a hand on this basis takes due account of the fact that there are 10 HCP in each suit and therefore 40 in

1175-760: The Norman four notrump convention, the Roman Key Card Blackwood convention and cuebids. In his book "The Modern Losing Trick Count", Ron Klinger advocates the use of the control count to make adjustments to the LTC hand evaluation method (see below). Certain combinations of cards have higher or lower trick taking potential than the simple point count methods would suggest. Proponents of this idea suggest that HCP should be deducted from hands where negative combinations occur. Similarly, additional points might be added where positive combinations occur. This method

1222-430: The optimum contract . Key to this process is that players evaluate and re-evaluate the trick-taking potential of their hands as the auction proceeds and additional information about partner's hand and the opponent's hands becomes available. Hand evaluation methods assess various features of a hand, including: its high card strength, shape or suit distribution , controls , fit with partner, quality of suits and quality of

1269-471: The 4-3-2-1 count for honours was not established by computer analysis (as is sometimes rumoured) but was derived from the game Auction Pitch . Although 'Robertson's Rule' for bidding (the 7-5-3 count) had been in use for more than a dozen years, McCampbell sought a more "simple scale of relative values. The Pitch Scale is the easiest to remember. (Those ... who have played Auction Pitch will have no difficulty in recognizing and remembering these values.)" Called

1316-413: The 40 high card point system intact. The scale may seem cumbersome, but if one considers the ace and ten honors "hard" and the queen and jack honors "soft" it is much easier to accurately count high card points by using the familiar 4-3-2-1 system and then adjusting. One can see that the ace and queen have something in common in that they are both "off" by a half point. The jack and ten are also both "off" by

1363-617: The East hands becomes apparent when conducting a control count: in the top layout East has two aces and two kings for a total of six controls, whilst in the bottom layout has one ace and two kings for a total of four controls. The interpretation of the significance of the control count is based upon a publication by George Rosenkranz in the December 1974 issue of The Bridge World . Rosenkranz defined "the expected number of controls in balanced hands" at specific HCP counts as 'control-neutral' in

1410-469: The bottom layout the control-weak East (a downgraded 12–13 HCP) should be more cautious and be prepared to stop in 4 ♠ should further bidding reveal West lacking a control in diamonds. Having determined the degree of interest in exploring slam possibilities, the methods and conventions to determine which controls (aces, kings and even queens) are held by the partnership include: the Blackwood convention ,

1457-461: The club level. Advocates of Precision say that it is generally more efficient (and precise, as the name would suggest) than systems such as Standard American. Because all opening bids except 1 ♣ are limited, the responder almost immediately knows the hand potential and the chances for a part score, game or slam. Critics of Precision question the wisdom of combining a strong club with 5-card majors. This causes certain hand shapes to bid awkwardly, and

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1504-422: The combined holdings of a partnership. The 4-3-2-1 high card point evaluation has been found to statistically undervalue aces and tens and alternatives have been devised to increase a hand's HCP value. To adjust for aces, Goren recommended deducting one HCP for a hand without any aces and adding one for holding four aces. Some adjust for tens by adding 1/2 HCP for each. Alternatively, some treat aces and tens as

1551-419: The combined trick-taking potential of two balanced hands played in notrump, even in this area of applicability the HCP is not infallible. Jeff Rubens gives the following example: W             E W             E Both East hands are exactly the same, and both West hands have

1598-420: The complete deck of cards. An average hand contains one quarter of the total, i.e. 10 HCP. The method has the dual benefits of simplicity and practicality, especially in notrump contracts. Most bidding systems are based upon the premise that a better than average hand is required to open the bidding; 12 HCP is generally considered the minimum for most opening bids. The combined HCP count between two balanced hands

1645-447: The control count. W             E W             E In the above examples, both West hands are the same, and both East hands have the same shape and HCP (16). Yet, the layout above represents a solid slam (12 tricks) in spades, whilst the layout below will fail to produce 12 tricks. The difference between

1692-452: The hand. Confusion can arise because the term "points" can be used to mean either HCP, or HCP plus length points. This method, of valuing both honour cards and long suits, is suitable for use at the opening bid stage before a trump suit has been agreed. In the USA this method of combining HCP and long-card points is known as the point-count system. Once a trump suit has been agreed, or at least

1739-412: The hands and can prevent the opponents from retaining or gaining the lead. The control count is the sum of the controls where aces are valued as two controls, kings as one control and queens and jacks as zero. This control count can be used as "tie-breakers" for hands evaluated as marginal by their HCP count. Hands with the same shape and the same HCP can have markedly different slam potential depending on

1786-423: The high card point method of hand evaluation, when used alone, provides only a preliminary estimate of the trick-taking potential of the combined hands and must be supplemented by other means for improved accuracy, particularly for unbalanced hands. Accordingly, expert players use HCP as a starting point in the evaluation of their hands, and make adjustments based on: Collectively, these more effectively evaluate

1833-399: The optimum contract of one side or it will exceed the optimum contract of both sides. If the latter, it is only considered par if the doubled penalty is less than the value of the opposing optimum contract. The par result is that score that arises from the par contract and on which neither side could reasonably improve by changing their line of play. Game theoreticians would refer to such

1880-470: The same cards are randomly scattered through different suits, they are about equally likely to take tricks in attack or defence. Point count or the Losing Trick Count indicate how many tricks a hand is likely to make in offence; a hand with high ODR will tend to be more distributional, with lower HCP, and take less tricks in defence than a hand with the same number of losers but a low ODR. There

1927-462: The same shape, the same HCP count, and the same high cards. The only difference between the West hands is that two low red cards and one low black card have been swapped (between the heart suit and the diamond suit, and between the spade suit and the club suit, respectively). With a total of 34 HCP in the combined hands, based on the above-mentioned HCP-requirement for slam, most partnerships would end in

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1974-564: The simpler 3-2-1- ⁠ 1 / 2 ⁠ version of the progression. Dividing Bergen's numbers by 1.5 produces exactly the same numbers published by the Four Aces seven decades earlier: — Q.E.D. In order to improve the accuracy of the bidding process, the high card point count is supplemented by the evaluation of unbalanced or shapely hands using additional simple arithmetic methods. Two approaches are common – evaluation of suit length and evaluation of suit shortness. At its simplest it

2021-405: The strong-club system is its vulnerability to preemptive bids. Knowing that they rarely can make game against a strong-club opening, experienced opponents will compete in the bidding with distributional hands, regardless of strength, and rob bidding space from the opening side. Precision has seen several variations since 1969. 3NT is played as gambling (where it used to show 24–27 HCP), 1 ♣ – 1 ♦

2068-429: The supporting hand holds four or more trumps, thereby having more spare trumps for ruffing, shortness is valued as follows: Shortage points (also known as support points or dummy points) are added to HCP to give total points. This method uses both lengths and shortages in all situations. The hand scores two shortage points for a void and one for a singleton, and this total is added to the usual length count: one point

2115-453: The system, the entire Italian Blue team switched to Precision Club and won yet another World Team Olympiad in 1972. The modifications to the system were made chiefly by Benito Garozzo and he titled it Super Precision. Today, multiple world champions Jeff Meckstroth and Eric Rodwell play their own variant known as RM Precision. In North America, Precision is less commonly played than Standard American or 2/1 game forcing , especially at

2162-471: The whole hand. The methods range from basic to complex, requiring partners to have the same understandings and agreements about their application in their bidding system. Most bidding systems use a basic point-count system for hand evaluation using a combination of high card points and distributional points, as follows. First published in 1915 by Bryant McCampbell in Auction Tactics (page 26),

2209-435: Was developed subsequently in the early '80s with adaptations following more slowly thereafter. Meckwell notes are a guarded secret. Though many conventions has been openly described and used: support double , conventional transfers in many situations, the pass-double inversion, Meckwell Defense ... They trade long and verbose Alpha, Beta and Gamma Asking Bids for the shorter and concise descriptive sequences. The convention card

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