Blackwood: Important Secrets

In my hand is an old, battered, beat-up copy of Bridge Humanics, written in 1949 by Easley Blackwood. Yes, the same Blackwood who mailed his ideas about using 4NT in a new way to Ely Culbertson about 1933. Culbertson declined to print the article; he saw no value in it. He was wrong.

The title of this book may sound like a snoozer, but the subtitle tells a different tale: How to Play PEOPLE as Well as the Cards. Blackwood reveals his professional bridge secrets and stresses human strategy (how to play the others at the table) before mechanical tactics (how to play your cards).

“You Are Better Than You Think!” is the title of the first chapter. Blackwood says, “Without adding to your present technical knowledge of bidding and play, you can win more and lose less.” How?  Learn to play the opponents … and your partner. “Be Kind To Your Partner” is the third chapter.

Blackwood’s asks: “Do you strive always to make the ‘correct’ bid? … Stop it!” (p. 9). “My advice is, let someone else make the rights bids. You make the winning bids!” (p. 55).

“Most of the principles outlined are simple and easy to learn. You may wonder why you haven’t thought of them and applied them before. Well, anyway you can start now.” (p. 13). Find me (Rod Bias) ambling around the tournament, smile, slip me a ten-spot and you will be the brand new owner of this very old book.

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The bridge term Fit is used to describe three related but different ideas: (1) a “trump fit,” (2) an “honor fit” or (3) a “shape fit” (aka “distributional fit”). Constructive bidding sequences are designed to discover the existence of one, two or all three of these FITS.

A Trump Fit is eight (or more) cards in the same major suit. Better players are aware that a 4-4 trump fit will often produce one more trick than a 5-3 trump fit. Eight cards in one suit is an “adequate fit” (if they split 4-4, that’s a better fit than 5-3). Nine cards in one suit is a “good fit.” Ten cards in one suit is an outstanding fit!

An Honor Fit is holding key cards (king or queen or ace) in your partner’s long suits. Splinter bids and trial bids were developed to discover whether partner’s honor cards are in the right suits or just “duplication of values” in the wrong suits. If the honors are in the right suits, the hands “fit well.”

A Shape Fit might be the most rewarding to detect and act on. Newcomers to bridge sometimes lament, “We couldn’t score a game bonus because we didn’t have 25 HCP.” Balderdash! Your side only needs 5 HCP to score a grand slam! It’s a fact!

High contracts can be “bid and made” with low HCP. Of course, you have to have a perfect shape fit (and know it). Many game bonuses can be scored on 19 or 18 HCP. Think Fit … think Shape … think Quick Tricks (defensive tricks) … before you think HCP.

Bridge champion Dorothy Hayden (Truscott) was famous for saying: “Points Schmoints!” Expertise is knowing when your partnership hands fit and acting on that knowledge. Dorothy continued, “Translated into English [Points Schmoints!] means, ‘Only an idiot counts points! Why don’t you learn to use your head?’”

In trump contracts Fit is often more important than HCP. Singletons or voids in one hand facing three or four low cards on the other side can generate as many tricks as three aces can.

Take an average-ish hand with one ace, one king, one queen and so on. You hold:

♠ A J 6 2    ♥ 9 7 3    ♦ 10 8 5    ♣ K Q 4

How good is your hand? It all depends on how well your hand fits with partner’s hand!

Partner has 12 HCP: two aces, a king and a jack. Can your side score a game bonus? If you say no … you don’t have enough HCP, re-read the first part. Suppose your partner has this hand:

Your fit is no fit at all. You have a combined distribution of 7766 — the worst possible. Maybe you can score 1♠, 1♦ or 1NT. On a good day, you might win an overtrick. Not likely.

Now, you can keep the same high cards and move around your partner’s spot cards to this:

Partner still has the same HCP (AAKJ) and the same spot cards. Now your hand fits partner’s like a glove. Your 10853 total distribution is powerful. Your 10 HCP are in just the right suits. Your worthless low cards are facing shortness on the other side. Your average-ish hand is worth a grand slam! And, it hasn’t changed at all. The value of your hand depends on how it fits with your partner’s hand.

Leave partner’s hand unchanged this time, and flip your pointed and rounded suits:

You still have a good-ish trump fit (nine cards) with 9854 total distribution; but, you are missing three trump honors and could lose all of them — although the odds favor you. You will also surely lose at least one club. You can probably score a game bonus on this good fitting 22 HCP. But, on the perfect fit before, you could score a grand slam with only 22 HCP.

Now your honors no longer fit your partner’s hand. At least 7 HCP are wasted. The ♥K is your only valuable card. Even your ♦A is just “duplicated value.” Your ♥K covers one of partner’s 4 LTC and a game bonus is possible, even probable … but a game bonus is not assured.

How good is your hand? It all depends on how well your hand fits with partner’s hand!

Think Fit … think Shape … think Quick Tricks (defensive tricks) … before you think HCP.