BridgeHands

Google BridgeHands

 HOME  Encyclopedia  Newsletter  Laws  Products  Services  Reviews  Tournaments  Blog  Training  Practice   HELP
 You are at:


      Help
 


Encyclopedia  of Bridge Terms
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Duplicate     Bidding     General     Play     Conventions     Jargon     Rubber
 

 

Jargon

Valet - The fourth highest-ranking card (four Jacks are in the deck), occasionally referred to as the Knave. See  Example and Card Names
 

 


Duplicate

Vanderbilt Cup - The Vanderbilt Knockout Team Championship is contested annually at the Spring NABC. It ranks with the Spingold Trophy as the most highly prized trophy in the ACBL calendar. The Vanderbilt Cup was donated by Harold S. Vanderbilt, a member of the ACBL Bridge Hall of Fame, and individual replicas of the trophy are given to the winners of the team championship
 

 

 

Laws

Variation Of Manner Or Tempo - The interval of time during bidding or play, as compared to other intervals by the same player.  Tempo should not be confused with hesitations; for instance, a player who normally bids or plays in 5-10 seconds but makes a bid or play after only 1 second has broken tempo.  Changes in tempo may be both fast or slow.

Accidentally received information - See Law 16
Action by partner - See Law 16
Inadvertent variation in manner or tempo - See Law 73
Intentional variation in manner or tempo - See Law 73

 


Bidding

Variable Notrump - An partnership agreement to play more than one bidding range to open 1 Notrump.  For instance, a pair may agree to open with a weak (10-12 HCP, 12-14 HCP, etc) 1 Notrump bid when Vulnerable and strong (15-17 HCP) when Vulnerable.  Some players employ variable Notrump range bids based on seat position at the table, such as opening a weaker 1 Notrump in first and third seat (for the preemptive effect).  Also called Chicken Notrump, Three Quarter Notrump, and Split Notrump
 

Duplicate

Venice Cup - The Women's championship world team event.
 

General

Verify - To validate and reach an agreement of tricks won-lost or score for a deal, session, or match.
 

Bidding

Versus Opening Preempt Doubles - See Conventions
 

Play

Vice - A variation of the "squeeze without count" where the opponent's guard card is less apparent. See Example
 

 


Duplicate

Victory Points - Victory points is the scoring method favored by many experts in contests where there are many teams and each team plays a relatively small number of deals against each of the other teams. When using victory point scoring, the IMP score on each board is calculated. The total IMP score on the boards of the match are then converted to victory points in accordance with a predetermined scale.  Victory Point scales vary from country to country; here are the two common scales used in North America for multi-Board per Match Swiss Team games. See Details
 

 

Play

Vienna Coup/Backwash Squeeze -  This variation of the squeeze play is based on a trump squeeze where both menace cards are in the same hand, with the opponent seated behind the menaces holding two guards leads a trump. Aptly named, the opponent is squeezed in the backwash since the declarer squeeze takes a ruff with the hand holding the menaces.  A variation is the Seres Squeeze, where one of the squeezed suits is trump.  See Example  Also see Coups, Crocodile Coup, Morton Fork Coup, and books on Coups and Squeezes
 

General

View - A perspective of the correct action based on prior actions, including the bidding, opening lead, and dummy cards.
 

Bidding

Virtual Cuebid - Also known as an invisible cuebid, a bid in the opponent's implied, but not bid, suit.  See Details
 

Play

Vise Squeeze - A variation of the "squeeze without count" where the opponent's guard card is less apparent.  See Example
 

 

Laws

Visibility Of Card -

Position of play - See Law 45

Simultaneous play of more than one card - See Law 58

General

Void - Describing a player's suit with zero cards held by a player.
 

Bidding

Voidwood - See Conventions

Duplicate

VP - Abbreviation for Victory Points
 

 

 

Duplicate

Vu-Graph - An overhead graphical representation of the player's cards and bids utilized by Bridge commentator's in popular tournaments.  The vugraph offers a method of presenting bridge play to an audience larger than can be accommodated around a bridge table. The audience watches the matches played simultaneously by the opposing teams. The presentation is complemented by commentary designed to make the audience both understand and enjoy the bidding and play of the experts competing in the event. Vugraphs now are available online as well.
 

 


General

 

Vulnerable - A Vulnerable condition may occur on one, both, or neither side of the table, depending on the circumstance.  In Rubber Bridge, the state where the side has won a singular game.  In Duplicate Bridge, the condition where the side is enjoys a higher game or slam score but incurs additional penalties. Sometimes referred to as the color "red".  Thus, "Red versus red" means both sides are Vulnerable. See Example
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

General

Vulnerability By Board -

North 1
None
5
N-S
9
E-W
13
All
17
None
21
N-S
25
E-W
29
All
33
None
East 2
N-S
6
E-W
10
All
14
None
18
N-S
22
E-W
26
All
30
None
34
N-S
South 3
E-W
7
All
11
None
15
N-S
19
E-W
23
All
27
None
31
N-S
35
E-W
West 4
All
8
None
12
N-S
16
E-W
20
All
24
None
28
N-S
32
E-W
36
All

For those so inclined, here is a memory aid to determine who is vulnerable on a given board - notice how the acronym letters rotate left for each four board round (the left most letter rotates to the right):

Boards Acronym Board
1 2 3 4
1 - 4 O N E B O = Zero North E/W Both
5 - 8 N E B O North E/W Both O = Zero
9 - 12 E B O N E/W Both O = Zero North
13 - 16 B O N E Both O = Zero North E/W

 

 

 

General

Vulnerable Conditions -

Our Side Their Side General Slang U.S. Term. U.K. Term
Non-Vulnerable Non-Vulnerable Neither White vs White White
Vulnerable Non-Vulnerable Unfavorable Red vs White Red
Non-Vulnerable Vulnerable Favorable White vs Red Green
Vulnerable Vulnerable Horse and Horse Red vs Red Amber

 

Go to top of page
 

HOME  Encyclopedia  Newsletter  Laws  Products  Services  Reviews  Tournaments  Blog  Training Practice Links HELP
Contacts: Sales  Support  Reviews  Q&A    Disclaimer    Privacy    © 2005 BridgeHands   Updated 01/22/11