Beginning Bridge -- Hand Evaluation

Hand Evaluation

Distribution Points (for trump contracts only)

Add 1 pt. for a doubleton (2-card suit).
Add 2 pts. for a singleton (1-card suit).
Add 3 pts. for a void (no cards in a suit).
Add 1 pt. for each "extra" trump (see "Suit Length & Strength" below).

Count only high-card pts. for short suits with "unprotected" honors (K, Qx).
Count full distribution points for short suits with quick tricks (A, Ax, Kx, AK).
DON'T add in your distribution points until you know you have a trump fit.

Suit Length & Strength

Your hand goes "up" in value if you have:

One or two long suits (5+ cards) instead of two or three 4-card suits.
High "spot" cards (tens & nines) in your long suits. These intermediate cards solidify your suit and often win the second or third tricks in a suit.
Extra trumps. If you have greater length than promised in your agreed trump suit, you'll often take one more trick for each extra trump your side holds. Add in 1 distribution point if you hold enough trumps to guarantee a 9-card fit (for example, if partner opens 1H and you have a 4-card raise). Add in 2 distribution points if you know you have a 10-card fit.

Honor Combinations and Positions

The ultimate value of your honors will depend on the "fillers" partner has. In general, though, you'll win more tricks with hands that have:

Touching honor combinations. A hand like KJ32 AJ54 AQ Q107 is 17 pts., but it's impossible to determine the real value of your king, queens and jacks. The same 17 pts. would be much stronger if the honors were more concentrated -- AKQJ AQJ10 54 765 offers 7 "sure" tricks because the honors are working together.

Honors in your long suits. High honors in your long suits help turn the suit's small cards into tricks. A holding of KQJ is only two tricks, but KQJxx will often be four tricks. AK is two tricks, but AKxxxx will usually bring in five or six tricks (assuming partner holds xx or xxx in the suit).

Honors in suits partner has bid. Even if partner opens a "short" 1C or 1D, any honor you have (even a jack or ten) may be a valuable filler.

Honors with positional strength. Use the bidding to pick up clues about whether or not your honors are located in a good position. If your right-hand opponent opens 1S, your KJx of spades (over his presumed AQxxx) is likely to be one or two tricks. But if your left-hand opponent bids spades, your KJx may not take any tricks.

When evaluating your hand for a suit contract, don't give full value to your lower honors (queens & jacks) if they're in the opponent's bid suit. Holdings like Qxx, Jxxx and QJx aren't likely to help partner and may take tricks only if you're defending the opponents' contract.

AT THE TABLE

You open 1D and partner responds 1H. What is your rebid?

AK54 Q862 AQJ103 Void: 4H. A "normal" 16-pt. hand would be worth only a raise to 3H, but you have a strong side suit and good distributional values here. Adding in 3 pts. for the void, your hand is worth 19 pts. in support of hearts, so be sure you raise partner to game in his suit immediately.

AQJ 4 AJ7652 KJ3: 2D. Your choice is between 2D, showing 13-15 pts., and 3D, showing 16-18 pts. With your poor suit and a singleton in partner's suit, your best choice is probably the underbid of 2D. If partner invites game, you can accept -- and be happy to contribute more than promised instead of less.

Void J106 AK1074 AKQ93: 3C. Your good suits and 3-card support for partner make this hand worth a jump-shift to force to game. You may be able to raise hearts later if partner shows more than 4. If he had instead bid 1S, you should rebid only 2C to keep the bidding low until you find a fit.

You open 1S and partner responds 2S. What is your rebid?

KJ10943 6 AJ92 A4: 3D. This hand has minimum point-count, but once you find the spade fit, it's worth 17 pts. -- 13 pts. in high cards, plus 2 pts. for the singleton, 1 pt. for the doubleton and 1 pt. for the extra trump (partner promised at least 3-card support, so you know you have at least 9 trumps). Your 3D bid is a game-try bid that shows your second suit and invites partner to bid 4S if he has help in diamonds.

KJ1094 K6 KQ4 AJ9: 2NT. You need general high-card strength from partner to make 4S, so show your balanced hand with a game-try of 2NT. Partner will return to 3S with a minimum response or bid 4S with a maximum 8-9 pts.

Partner opens 1C, you respond 1H and partner raises to 2H. What is your rebid?

KJ5 Q642 KJ3 J54: Pass. With most 11-point hands, you would want to invite game, but this one has such poor trick-taking potential that your best choice is pass. The weak trumps, no aces and flat distribution all make your hand drop in value.

7 KQ1054 1092 A975: 4H. You could invite game by bidding only 3H (or making a game-try bid of 3C), but partner will pass with many minimum hands that could easily take 10 tricks. Your extra trump and the singleton make this hand worth at least 12 pts., and the fit in partner's club suit makes it even more powerful.