Learning Programs - Masterclass Sessions

A Masterclass package containing everything that you need for a single session on a selected topic, enabling you to run a class of about 2 - 2½ hours with a practical session of play included. When I run these sessions, I duplicate boards so that each table plays hand number one at the same time (we can then look at it together, on the screen if you like) before moving on to hand number two, etc. This way, a set of six hands gives a playing session of about 1 - 1½ hours.

A complete “Masterclass” package comprises:

• PowerPoint presentation on the topic (approximately 45-60 minutes long, can be split up into smaller portions)

• Set of notes as a handout for students

• Set of six hands (with commentary on bidding and play) for the group to play which can also be copied and given out as an additional handout.

Bidding

• “Two-suited Overcalls (Michaels Cue Bids and the Unusual NT)”

• “Raising partner’s opening bid – Splinter Bids and the Jacoby 2NT”

• “Re-opening and balancing”

Constructive Bidding

• Better Slam Bidding: Italian style control bids and the correct way to use Blackwood, plus 5NT “Pick a Slam”

• Five card majors: a series of four seminars looking at a method increasingly popular with top players

• Fourth Suit Forcing: developing the auction without taking up too much bidding space

• Inverted Minor Suit Raises:  solve the problem of those awkward hands with support for partner’s minor suit

• The “multi” 2♦ and Dutch 2-bids: revolutionise your opening 2-bids with these modern methods

• No trump rebids and Checkback: avoid missing the best fit and bid to the right level

• Pre-emptive opening bids: opening bids at the 3-level and higher

• Raising partner’s major suit: pre-emptive raises, Splinter Bids and the Jacoby 2NT response

• Roman KeyCard Blackwood: everything you need to know about the expert’s choice of ace-asking convention

• The 2♣ opening bid: using 2♣ as the only strong opening bid (other than 2NT) and how to respond to it

• Trial bids: exploring for game after partner raises your one of a major to the 2-level

Competitive Bidding

• Defence to weak opening bids: how to compete after a weak two-bid or three-bid (or the dreaded “multi”)

• Lebensohl: how to counter interference over partner’s 1NT opening bid

• Negative Doubles: countering interference bidding by the opponents when partner has opened the bidding

• Protective Bidding: bidding in the fourth seat after an opening bid is passed round to you

• Sacrifices: learn when you should sacrifice (the six principles of sacrificing)

• Supporting partner’s overcall: all about direct raises, the unassuming cue-bid and more

Other bidding topics

• Duplicate Pairs Tactics - how Duplicate Pairs scoring affects the way you bid

• Fits and Misfits: Methods for showing when hands fit well and what to do when they don’t

• Hand Evaluation: Become a better bidder by learning how to recognise the true value of your hand

• Losing Trick Count: More accurate hand evaluation of shapely hands when a fit is found

 

Declarer Play

• Avoiding finesses: how to avoid the risk of taking a finesse by finding safer lines of play

• Clever trump tricks: special ruffing techniques and ways to avoid seemingly inevitable trump losers

• Danger hand and avoidance: keeping the dangerous opponent off lead

• Declarer play at duplicate pairs: why the way you play a hand should often be different at pairs scoring

• Entries: methods of creating and preserving entries so that you can be in the right hand at the right time

• Hold up: when to resist winning a trick to destroy the defenders’ communications

• Planning a suit contract: drawing trumps - when should you delay playing trumps?

• Planning a suit contract: establishing a suit - building extra tricks from a long side suit

• Planning a suit contract: trump control - how to maintain control and survive bad breaks

• Simple endplays: an introduction to elimination play and throw-ins

• Suit Combinations – including the finesse and safety plays in a single suit

Detective work by declarer - a series of seminars getting inside the mind of a player and examining how he reads the clues available to determine the way to play the hand

• 1. Clues from the lead: often the choice of lead tells us more about the hand than you may think

• 2. Counting the hand: counting the points in the opponents’ hands or the shape of their hands

• 3. Clues from the bidding: what the opponents bid (or don’t bid) is often the key to how to play the hand

Defence

• Avoiding the common mistakes: four common defensive mistakes and how to avoid them

• Deceptive defence: making life difficult for declarer and the “obligatory false card”

• Hold up in defence: destroying declarer’s communications by withholding your winner

• Opening leads at no trumps: choosing the right card and the right suit to lead

• Opening leads at suit contracts: the right card to lead against a suit contract, leading trumps and short suit leads

• Planning the defence: a series of hands where the correct defence can be worked out

• Switching: when it is right to switch to a new suit when the defence regain the lead

• Trump Promotions: how to generate surprise winners in the trump suit for the defenders

Detective work in defence - seminars examining how a player should think when defending and how he takes advantage of the clues available to find the winning defence

• 1. Counting in defence: forming a picture of the unseen hands and planning how to beat the contract

• 2. Clues from the bidding and play: using the information available to find the killing defence

The presentations will run on most PCs or Laptop computers. The lessons will run on all versions of PowerPoint, although best results will be achieved if PowerPoint 2003 or later is used. If you do not already have the software, a free PowerPoint viewer is available < here for download > from Microsoft.com