How to Use Arch in Bridge: Play of the Hand

The ARCH method helps a bridge player start visualizing tricks in his head.

The ARCH method was created and named by father and son Oswald and Jim Jacoby for Contract Bridge. Oswald Jacoby wrote a long-running daily bridge column for the Newspaper Enterprise Association. The ARCH method is a way for defenders and declarers to make a trick on the first play of the game. ARCH stands for Analyze the lead, Review the bidding, Count tricks and How to make the hand.

Instructions

1. Analyze the lead or opening hand. Look at the card played by the player to the left. Ask yourself: Is it a suite with only one card (singleton)? Is it a possible honor card sequence? Is it possible the card could be a neutral lead or a lead from a long suite of cards? Is it possibly the fourth best? Visualize the possibilities in your head, making guesses as to what the other players have based on the process of elimination.

2. Review the bidding. Follow clues based on the bids of the other players. Ask yourself: Did an opponent overcall? Did an opponent open? Assume that the opponent who opened must have a 13 or higher. Follow high card strength and try to form a mental picture of players' hands.

3. Count tricks. Review hand and dummy cards. Count how many tricks you have on top, then estimate the number you need to make the trick. Pay attention to high cards played by defenders and use this information to revise your own estimate.

4. Force opponents to play high cards from their holdings. Use ruffing in the shorthand (playing a trump or a higher trump) and establish long cards.

References

• How to Play Bridge
• Oswald Jacoby