Learning how to score at bridge makes it easier to understand the bridge bidding system. Once you know how to score you will understand why it is better to play in hearts/spades/NT than diamonds or clubs and why players will continue bidding to the 4, 5, 6 or even 7 level instead of stopping at the 3 or 4 level.
Let’s start with the absolute basics.
- No points are scored for the first 6 tricks. A contract for 1 of a suit (or 1NT) means you think you will make 7 tricks (6 + 1 bid). A contract for 4 of a suit means you think you will make 10 tricks (6 + 4 bid).
- High Card Points = points score for cards held. Four for each ace, three for each king, two or each queen and one for each jack.
- A “game” contract is one that would score 100 points if achieved. If you achieve (or exceed) the contract you score a 300 point bonus.
- A part score contract is one that would score less than 100 points if achieved. If you achieve the contract you score a 50 point bonus.
- If you bid a part score but actually make enough tricks for game you will ONLY get the part score bonus as that is what you bid for.
Points scored per trick (above 6) = 20 per club/diamond, 30 per heart/spade. In a No Trumps contract score 40 for the FIRST trick and 30 for subsequent tricks
No of tricks needed to make “game” = 11 in clubs/diamonds, 10 in hearts/spades and 9 in No trumps
Minimum contract needed to score game = 5 clubs or diamonds, 4 hearts or spades and 3 No trumps
Silver has always been expensive. Since ancient times it has been used to fashion objects of status and desire. Status is the word. Until quite recently silver had little practical use. It is too soft to make a tool or weapon from. While it can be polished a very sharp edge it dulls quickly, and the sharp edge is so thin as to be extremely fragile. Certainly, it was a metal which was easy to work, and so could be hammered up in to complicated functional objects. But there are other metals just as easy, or easier to work, which would do the same job. Silver has been and still is coveted mainly for one simple fact. It is extremely beautiful. Highly reflective, heavy and soft to the touch, silver has the gentle glow of moonlight, seeming at times to emanate a light of its own. Also, it is scarce. The demand has always been greater than the supply, meaning that this valuable commodity has always been the preserve of the wealthy.
Status though is desired by many not only those who can afford it, so there has always been a market for convincing alternatives. However, applying a thin veneer of silver to an object of another metal is difficult, attaining a convincing finish even more so, and creating a durable surface that could withstand any sort of use an ever-present problem. The best method pre-Old Sheffield was mercurial plating, where a mixture of precious metal powder (silver in our case, but more famously, gold) and mercury was applied to the surface of an object. The object was then heated until the mercury evaporated, leaving a thin but solid layer of the precious metal. This method was dangerous and expensive. The former consideration probably not so important for our ancestors, while the latter was highly important!
The very first thing you should do to frame a cross-stitch is to think about the art itself and then select a frame and mat design that will go with it. The proper frame can turn a cross-stitched piece into a treasured heirloom. Does it need a simple picture frame, or might a jeweled ornate picture frame be better? Personal taste definitely comes into play, as well as the design of the room in which it will be hung.
When you’ve selected your mat or mats, you’ll need to cut out a backing the same size as your mats. Backing can be made out of matboard or maybe foam-core. You’ll want to cut a square window in the backing you have chosen, making it about a quarter inch bigger on every side of the mat window. Place double sided stitchery tape all around the edges of the cutout piece; this will eventually be the back side.
Connect the backing that has the hole cut out of it to the chosen mat using the double sided tape.
Center the cross-stitch in the opening, then press the cutout into the window (the side which doesn’t have the stitchery should be facing the back of the cross-stitched piece.) It might take a few attempts to get the piece centered properly in the very center.
Pick a corner that appears just about how you want your completed piece to look, and then start to pull the material through the back and stick it to the stitchery tape which is on the back. Begin at that very first corner and make your way all the way around. It is likely that you will have to keep shifting certain parts of the piece, pulling on each place multiple times until it is just the way you want it. Whenever you are finished you can use framing tape to adhere the backing to the window. Cut out a piece of scrap mat that you can fit across the whole back of the piece.
There are two types of slam in bridge – a small and grand.
Winning a small slam means that you bid for and win 12 out of the 13 available tricks in a round.
Winning a grand slam means that you bid for and win all of the 13 tricks.
Why Bid For One?
When I first started learning to play bridge I wondered why anyone would take the risk of bidding for a slam. It seemed easier to bid up to the four or five level and be certain that I could make ten or eleven tricks. I found it hard to understand why I would want to take the risk of bidding to the six or seven level and possibly failing to achieve the contract.
The answer is points. If you are playing in a club or competition then you will be playing competitively. Even if you say you don’t mind where you finish, we all secretly like to finish as high up in the results as possible! If you find your partnership in the fortunate position of holding most of the points, it’s hard to resist bidding to the maximum level possible.
If you bid for and win a small or grand slam you will win a greater number of points. Of course, if fail to achieve it your opponents will gain a greater number of points.
Points Scored
A small slam will score an extra 500 point bonus (or 750 if vulnerable)
A grand slam will score an extra 1000 point bonus (or 1500 if vulnerable)
These bonuses are in addition to the regular game bonus. I’m sure you can see the points advantage of bidding to the six or seven level if you feel that you have the card and point strength to win enough tricks.