{"id":472,"date":"2020-11-04T12:54:32","date_gmt":"2020-11-04T12:54:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pontybridge.co.uk\/blog\/?page_id=472"},"modified":"2022-01-15T12:17:35","modified_gmt":"2022-01-15T12:17:35","slug":"fit-points","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pontybridge.co.uk\/blog\/learning-resources-root\/fit-points\/","title":{"rendered":"Fit Points"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
\r\n \t\t\t\r\n\t
\r\n\t \t\t\t
\r\n\t\t
\r\n
\r\n \r\n
\r\n
\r\n\tFit Points <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n \t <\/div>\r\n\t \r\n\t<\/div>\r\n\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n\t
\r\n\t \t\t\t
\r\n\t\t
\r\n
\r\n \r\n
\r\n
\r\n

When you play a hand of bridge in a trump contract the shape of your hand can make a huge difference to its strength. Fit points are a way of evaluating the strength of your hand in light of its shape and they are added to the high card points in your hand.<\/p>\n

You can add fit points to the value of your hand as soon as, but only when, you know you have an 8 card fit in a suit with partner. Say partner opens 1\u2660 and you have a four card spade suit. You know straight away that you have a fit and so can add fit points immediately. Make sure to show the full value of your hand in your response.<\/p>\n

Once you are sure you have an 8 card fit you can add the following values to your hand-<\/p>\n

    \n
  • 4 points for a void<\/li>\n
  • 3 points for a singleton<\/li>\n
  • 1 point for a doubleton<\/li>\n
  • 1 point for each trump above the 8 card fit<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Let\u2019s have a quick look why shortages are worth these values.<\/p>\n

    An Ace is worth 4 points because it provides 1st round control; the first time the suit is played you will win the trick. A void is worth 4 points in a trump contract because it also provides 1st round control; the first time the suit is played you can trump it and will win the trick.<\/p>\n

    The same applies for Kings and Singletons; they provide second round control<\/p>\n

    Doubletons are not worth as much as Queens because by the 3rd round of playing the suit you run the risk of opposition trumping<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    The south hand here becomes much more valuable once they know partner has some spade support. South has 10HCP. However, in a spade contract they can add 4 points for the club void, 3 for the singleton diamond and 2 for extra trumps. That means that in spades the actual value of the south hand is 19 points. This means that north\/south can make 4 spades here despite only having 19HCP between them.<\/p>\n

    Don\u2019t Double Count Points!<\/strong><\/p>\n

    If you have a shortage which contains an honour then you can only count the points for one, whichever is highest.<\/p>\n

    So if you have a singleton J you can count 3 points for a singleton but must subtract 1 for the now useless Jack.<\/p>\n

    A singleton King is worth 3 points no matter how you count it.<\/p>\n

    As usual there is an exception. If you have a singleton A you can count 7 points for it. This is because you have 1st round control with the A (4 pts) and 2nd round control due to the singleton (3 pts).<\/p> <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n \t <\/div>\r\n\t \r\n\t<\/div>\r\n\t\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    When you play a hand of bridge in a trump contract the shape of your hand can make a huge difference to its strength. Fit points are a way of evaluating the strength of your hand in light of its shape and they are added to the high card points in your hand. You canContinue reading →<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":361,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"builder_content":"Fit Points\n

    When you play a hand of bridge in a trump contract the shape of your hand can make a huge difference to its strength. Fit points are a way of evaluating the strength of your hand in light of its shape and they are added to the high card points in your hand.<\/p>

    You can add fit points to the value of your hand as soon as, but only when, you know you have an 8 card fit in a suit with partner. Say partner opens 1\u2660 and you have a four card spade suit. You know straight away that you have a fit and so can add fit points immediately. Make sure to show the full value of your hand in your response.<\/p>

    Once you are sure you have an 8 card fit you can add the following values to your hand-<\/p>

    • 4 points for a void<\/li>
    • 3 points for a singleton<\/li>
    • 1 point for a doubleton<\/li>
    • 1 point for each trump above the 8 card fit<\/li> <\/ul>

      Let\u2019s have a quick look why shortages are worth these values.<\/p>

      An Ace is worth 4 points because it provides 1st round control; the first time the suit is played you will win the trick. A void is worth 4 points in a trump contract because it also provides 1st round control; the first time the suit is played you can trump it and will win the trick.<\/p>

      The same applies for Kings and Singletons; they provide second round control<\/p>

      Doubletons are not worth as much as Queens because by the 3rd round of playing the suit you run the risk of opposition trumping<\/p>

      \"\"<\/p>

      The south hand here becomes much more valuable once they know partner has some spade support. South has 10HCP. However, in a spade contract they can add 4 points for the club void, 3 for the singleton diamond and 2 for extra trumps. That means that in spades the actual value of the south hand is 19 points. This means that north\/south can make 4 spades here despite only having 19HCP between them.<\/p>

      Don\u2019t Double Count Points!<\/strong><\/p>

      If you have a shortage which contains an honour then you can only count the points for one, whichever is highest.<\/p>

      So if you have a singleton J you can count 3 points for a singleton but must subtract 1 for the now useless Jack.<\/p>

      A singleton King is worth 3 points no matter how you count it.<\/p>

      As usual there is an exception. If you have a singleton A you can count 7 points for it. This is because you have 1st round control with the A (4 pts) and 2nd round control due to the singleton (3 pts).<\/p>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pontybridge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/472"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pontybridge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pontybridge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pontybridge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pontybridge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=472"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/pontybridge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/472\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1914,"href":"https:\/\/pontybridge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/472\/revisions\/1914"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pontybridge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pontybridge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}