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Bridge can be as bad as NASA for confusing acronyms and lingo! Welcome to the Jargon Jungle - a glossary of bridge terms designed to help you hack your way through to a better understanding of the game of bridge. Just click on the first letter of the word you wish to find!  Each letter of the alphabet reloads the page.

Also, if you would like to suggest a term not presently included on the list, or see a correction that needs to be made, please drop us a note.

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

Marked Finesse: A finesse which it is known will succeed, typically because the player who will play fourth to the trick has previously shown out of the suit now being led.

Matchpoints: The more common scoring system in duplicate bridge. You receive 1 point for every pair which played your cards whose score you beat, and 1/2 point for ever pair whose score you tied. (European clubs sometimes use 2 and 1 instead of 1 and 1/2.)

Michaels: Michaels is a bidding convention designed to show two suited hands after your opponent has opened the bidding. These hands should be 5/5 in most circumstances, similar to the Unusual No Trump bid. Some players loosen some of the restrictions.
Over:
1C-2C shows hearts and spades
1D-2D shows hearts and spades
1H-2H shows spades and a minor (2NT asks minor)
1S-2S shows hearts and a minor (2NT asks minor).

The strength of the hand depends on the vulnerability. At unfavorable vulnerability it should be a very good hand. At favorable vulnerability it can be very preemptive. Over (1C-2C-P) 2H or 2S can be bid on almost nothing so it should not be viewed as even moderately constructive.

Mitchell: The most common movement of players in a pairs game. Either your pair sits north-south and remains in one position for a whole session, or your pair sits east-west and changes to a new table with each round. Slight variations in this movement may apply, depending on the number of pairs entered. The north-south and east-west scores are tabulated separately, producing two winners unless an overall ranking of both sets of teams is done.

Mixed Raise: A jump cuebid in the opponents' suit (eg 1C-1H-1S-3C) showing enough shape to want to preempt but too much strength for a direct preempt. It's roughly a four card constructive raise, with the exact strength depending on the style of play.
 

Copyright © 2008 Fifth Chair Foundation, Inc.