The LAW of Total Tricks ( LOTT ) is a bidding guideline developed by Jean-Rene Vernes. It helps you to decide how high to compete, using this approximation: With 8 partnership trumps, bid to the 2-level. With 9 trumps--3 level. With 10 trumps--4 level.
Law of Total Tricks - A bidding methodology predicated on suit length, emphasizing both constructive opportunities as well as preemptive properties. Also see book Law of Total Tricks, The: To Bid Or Not To Bid and Following the Law of the Total Tricks. In it's most simple form, "The Law" suggests a partnership bid to equal the number of combined suit length, with adjustments …
the law which is stated along the lines of: A partnership can win the same number of tricks as the number of Trump in both (e.g. Dummy+Declarer) hands. The actual Law states that the total number of tricks available on any hand is equivalent to …
In contract bridge, the Law of total tricks (abbreviated here as LoTT) is a guideline used to help determine how high to bid in a competitive auction. It is not really a law (because counterexamples are easy to find) but a method of hand evaluation which describes a relationship that seems to exist somewhat regularly. Written by Jean-René Vernes for French players in the …
The law states that “when the points between the two sides are balanced OR your side holds the minority of the points, you are safe to compete to the same number of tricks as your side holds trumps in your longest suit. So if you believe that you and your partner hold nine spades, you will be safe to compete to 3S.
In bridge, the Law of Total Tricks (or simply "The Law") is a hand evaluation method for competitive auctions. Technically stated, the total number of cards in each partnership's longest suit is equal to the number of "total tricks" that either side can win in a suit contract.
In contract bridge, the Rule of 10-12 is applied when the opening lead is the third or the fifth best from the defender's suit. By subtracting the rank of the card led from 10 or 12 respectively, a defender can determine how many cards are higher than the card partner has led.
The Rule of 9 may help one decide whether to pass for penalty or bid. To use the rule, add the level of the contract, the number of the trump, and the number of trump honors held including the ten. If this sum is nine or more, pass the takeout double for penalty.
A measure of stock valuations called the Rule of 20 states that the stock market is fairly valued when the sum of the average price-earnings ratio and the rate of inflation is equal to 20.May 1, 2014
The Rule of 18 is a rule employed by the World Bridge Federation to define the boundary between light opening bids and Highly Unusual Methods, known as HUM, in which bad hands are regularly opened.
The opening requirements are determined when the sum of the number of high card points and the number of cards in the two longest suits and the number of Quick Tricks was more than 21. If the total equals less than twenty, then the player should not open.
Rule of 17: If your partner opens with a preempt bid, add the number of your own high card points plus the number of your partners bid suit that you hold. If the sum is 17 or more, bid game in partner's suit.
Use the Rule of 20 – which states that you can open the bidding when your high-card point-count added to the number of cards in your two longest suits gets to 20.
A hand meets the Rule of 25 if the total of the high card points (HCPs) plus the number of cards in the two longest suits is 25 or more. Clear Cut Tricks: Clear cut tricks' are defined as tricks expected to make opposite a void in partner's hand and the second best suit break.
Rule of 22 Add together the number of HCP in the hand, and the number of cards in the two longest suits, and the number of quick tricks in the hand. If the resultant number is 22 or higher, then an opening bid is suggested [the choice of which bid depends on partnership agreement].
Rule of seven The rule assumes play in a 3NT contract and is as follows: Subtract from seven the total number of cards that declarer and dummy hold in the defenders' suit and duck their lead of the suit that many times.
What those 'most' people know is only half the law which is stated along the lines of: A partnership can win the same number of tricks as thenumber of Trump in both (e.g. Dummy+Declarer) hands. The actual Law states that the total number of tricks available on any hand is equivalent to the total number of Trump held by both sides. In this form the Law is seen to only be operative in a competitive1 bidding situation where
The Normal response to a partner’s Jacoby Transfer is a 2-level bid; holding 2 or 3-cards in the transfer suit you normally do as you are told, however if you happen to be holding 4-cards in the suit the Law says you should be at the 3-level. Normally jumping to the 3-level indicates 3 and 17HCP, and it is called super-accepting. Whats the difference? Isn’t holding an extra Trump equivalent to holding 2 additional HCPs. Using the Jump response to show 4 trump says Yes it is, I'm using LOTT to justify it!.
The law of total tricks states that the total number of available tricks is equal to the sum of the number of trumps held by the two sides in their best suits respectively.
A major suit game needs 10 tricks to make. If a pair is known to have an 8 card fit from the bidding and the other pair has n cards total in another suit, the law states that there are (8+n) tricks available. As 10 tricks are taken from the pair intending to make the game, the defending pair has (n-2) tricks available. Therefore, if they sacrifice to the total number of trumps they have, it will be a profitable sacrifice (down 2), unless they are at unfavourable vulnerability. If the fit of the side intending to make the game is larger, the total number of tricks available by the law is also larger, hence the sacrifice will be more profitable or even become a making contract.
Therefore, the law is a guideline to preemptive bids and sacrifices .
In contract bridge, the Law of total tricks (abbreviated here as LoTT) is a guideline used to help determine how high to bid in a competitive auction. It is not really a law (because counterexamples are easy to find) but a method of hand evaluation which describes a relationship that seems to exist somewhat regularly. Written by Jean-René Vernes for French players in the 1950s as a rule of thumb, it was first described in English in 1966 International Bridge Academy Annals. It received more notice from appearing in The Bridge World in June 1969. In 1981 Dick Payne and Joe Amsbury, using their abbreviation TNT (Total Number of Tricks), wrote at length about it for British readers. Later, in the US, Marty Bergen and Larry Cohen popularized the approach, using their preferred abbreviation: 'the LAW' (all capitals).
If the opponents can take eight tricks, LoTT says you can take nine. If the opponents can take nine tricks, LoTT says you can take only eight. But down one (even doubled, if not vulnerable) is a smaller negative score for you than letting the opponents make three.
For example, suppose that North-South have an eight-card heart fit and East-West have an eight-card spade fit. The total number of trumps is 16 so the "law" says the total number of tricks is also 16. That is, if North-South can take eight tricks playing in hearts, then East-West can take 16 - 8 = 8 tricks playing in spades;
In the diagram, N-S have 9 spades and E-W 8 hearts combined. N-S can make 4 spades (conceding two clubs and heart ace) while E-W can make only 1 heart on a good defense (which takes a trump from QJ, two spades, diamond ace and two diamond ruffs)—the law holds, as the total tricks available is 10+7=17.
LoTT is said to be most accurate when the HCP are fairly evenly divided between the two sides and the bidding is competitive. Experts apply adjustment factors to improve accuracy.
LoTT can be stated as follows: The total number of tricks available on a deal is equal to the total number of trump cards both sides hold in their respective best suits, where the total number of tricks is defined as the sum of the number of tricks available to each side if they could choose trumps.
For example, if the opponents have bid to two spades, and you have a nine-card heart fit, the "law" says you should bid three hearts. Assuming the opponents have an eight-card spade fit, there are 17 total tricks. If the opponents can take eight tricks, LoTT says you can take nine. If the opponents can take nine tricks, ...
By combining LoTT with the scoring table, it is argued that the following Total trumps principle is quite often a winning strategy:
For example, suppose that North-South have an eight-card heart fit and East-West have an eight-card spade fit. The total number of trumps is 16 so the “law” says the total number of tricks is also 16.