| ▲ | thaumasiotes 5 hours ago | |
You can see an edge effect in bidding-based card games when someone is close to victory. Say you're in a game to 500 points and you're losing 460 to 480. There are 13 tricks and a trick is worth 10 points if you bid it. The other team bids 5 tricks. Assuming they can make this (very safe) bid, they will have 530 points. You are collectively good for about 6 tricks. What should you bid? If you bid reflecting your hand, you'll score 60 points and lose the game 520 to 530. You could go higher; you can take 8 tricks without even needing to set the other team. That would convert your loss into a win. But it's extremely unlikely that you'll be able to make those 8 tricks. If you're playing duplicates and getting scored based on how good your result was compared to other teams playing the same hand, you should bid 6. If you're playing this as a one-off and getting scored based on whether you win or lose, you should bid 8 despite the fact that you can't make 8. This becomes a manners issue in some games where your bid is an important input into later players' bids. | ||
| ▲ | aidenn0 2 hours ago | parent [-] | |
> This becomes a manners issue in some games where your bid is an important input into later players' bids. Yes, I learned bridge playing duplicate where preemptive bids[1] are totally fine, but at some rubber bridge tables you won't get invited back if you have a habit of bidding them. | ||