Points, Schmoints!

As you probably know, I can’t claim to be the originator of the above expression. Marty Bergen (pictured above), one of the world’s finest bridge players and teachers, wrote a wonderful book entitled “Points, Schmoints.” It’s filled with tips and entertaining stories, and I highly recommend it for intermediate and beyond players.

Yes, points are extremely important when it comes to hand evaluation. But in order to accurately assess the combined strength of your and your partner’s hand requires looking beyond a simple calculation of high card points.

In “Points, Schmoints”, Marty Bergen discusses the Rule of 20, which he uses to decide whether or not to open the bidding. This rule takes into account distributional assets as well as high card points. According to the Rule of 20, if the sum of your HCP and the number of cards in your two longest suits is 20 or more, open with your normal 1-level bid; else pass. However, we would modify that rule to ensure that your high card points are concentrated in your two longest suits, and that you have at least two quick tricks.

Consider the following two hands, which, albeit extreme, illustrate the value of distribution:


AKQJ1098765432
void
void
void



A432
A32
A32
A32



The hand on the left has only ten high card points, but its distributional assets are invaluable. A 7 bid is in order! Compare that the with the hand on the right, which has 16 high card
Although the second hand has more high card points, it may only take four tricks.

We will go into more depth about the “points, schmoints” issue in future articles.