Advanced Bridge
Twelve modules for players who have finished Next Steps: a stronger Standard American system with 2/1 game force, expert declarer play and defence, scoring tactics, and everything you need for congresses.
Course summary
Two Over One Game Force
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Upgrade your Standard American to the 2/1 game force structure: the 2/1 response, the forcing 1NT, inverted minor raises, new minor forcing and fourth suit forcing.
Raises and Slam Tools
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Describe your support precisely with Jacoby 2NT, splinters, Bergen raises and Drury, then bid slams with confidence using Roman Keycard Blackwood and control bids.
Competitive Doubles and Two-Suiters
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Use negative, responsive and support doubles to find fits when the opponents interfere, show two-suited hands with Michaels and the Unusual 2NT, and handle interference over your 1NT with Lebensohl.
Total Tricks and Sacrifices
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Use the Law of Total Tricks to decide how high to compete, work out when a sacrifice pays, balance safely in the pass-out seat, and use forcing passes at the five level.
Safety Plays and Probability
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Know how suits are likely to split, combine your chances in the right order, use restricted choice, and choose safety plays that protect your contract.
Counting the Hand
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Count points, shape and tricks as declarer so that you know where the missing cards are, using the bidding, the opening lead, the Rule of 11, signals and vacant spaces.
Endplays
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Make the defenders lead for you: strip the hand and throw them in, use the ruff and discard, play loser on loser, and set up throw-ins in no trumps.
Squeezes
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Understand how a simple squeeze works, check the four conditions, rectify the count, and recognise squeeze chances at the table without complicated counting.
Expert Defence
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Build a picture of declarer's hand, choose between active and passive defence, follow signal priorities, promote trump tricks, kill dummy's entries, discard well and defend in tempo.
Matchpoints, IMPs and Teams
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Learn how matchpoint and IMP scoring change your decisions on contracts, overtricks, safety plays, doubles and sacrifices, and how to play teams and Swiss events.
Congress Readiness
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Play confidently at congresses and national events: ABF pre-alerts, announcements and alerts, asking and answering questions, unauthorised information, tempo, stop cards, screens, mobile phones and calling the Director.
Building Your System Card
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Classify your system under the ABF System Regulations, fill in every section of the ABF system card for the Standard American 2/1 methods in this program, and keep your partnership agreements in order.
Ready for your next congress?
Fill in your system card with your partner (Module 12), check the congress rules (Module 11), then find an event near you.