Understand the Power of the No-Trump Bid in Whist

Video Transcript

"The no trump bid in Strait Whist, I mean in any Whist game, Strait Whist and Kitty Whist rules. Why is that? Because it's double and it really makes a big difference in Kitty Whist or Kitty Bid Whist. Because you're talking starting on the four level. So if you're talking with the average bid, not the average bid, with the requirement to start on the four level and you've got a kitty and you're going to say "Six, no trump", you're getting twelve points for that. You're getting double if you happen to make it. If you make a Boston or a Slam or whatever you want to call it. You're going to get fourteen. Now, if you're playing in the standard format which is the one that's used by a group called Shark Shink. They're a very fine, fine group that runs these terrific Bid Whist Tournaments, Kitty Whist Tournaments around the country. They play four hands so you want to pile up as many points as you can in a four hand match or in an eight hand match because you have the opportunity to win that match. It's a match play thing. They'll give you three rounds and if you win two out of three and three out of three. You want to pile up the points. So you often see teams taking a chance on bidding no trump because of the power of that bid. Now what happens to jokers in no trump? Well, jokers are intended to enhance the trump suit. So these have absolutely no value in no trump. So if you pick these up in the kitty and you're bidding, you just throw them back in. They just never get in to play. If you're a defender, and let's just say this is my hand and the declarer, the dealer if you will, is running this heart suit. I have to follow three times and I have one of these things. I absolutely have to throw if off. If I don't throw if off I have reneged and that's a severe penalty. You can't use these things to extend the trump. In other words, if he had ace, king, queen, jack, five, I can't go joker, joker, and then deuce, nine, and then take the five. You follow suit and if you have a joker in your hand, you have to throw it off. So the power of the no trump bid. Jokers have no value, no trump bid is double. Now, here's a hand that even though there's a weakness here in spades, after he picked up the kitty. Chances are he wouldn't have two cards like that. He would probably have an extra heart or what have you. He may even have loser. But the point is, that he has stoppers and three suits. He's going to blow out these hearts and then what he's going to do is he's going to try and knock out the ace of diamonds and hope that his partner has the ace of diamonds. He still has the stopper in spades. So he took a little bit of a chance and he hopes that either his partner has the ace of diamonds or the king of clubs. It's not a big requirement. If the defenders have them and they get in. They just defeat him. But it's an aggressive, hyper-aggressive game and no trump is a tremendous reward factor. Particularly if you're playing match play with total points break ties. "