Rule 1

Play only with partners you like and enjoy playing with. 

Of course, this is very simple advice, but if you look around your club or tournament, there are many people who ignore this at their peril. Who needs the aggravation who you play with someone who isn't compatible with you? I realize we all want to win as much as possible, but choose someone to sit across from you who allows you to be yourself.

Rule 2

Consent to play only conventions you are totally comfortable with. 

Stayman and Blackwood are the only conventions that are absolutely necessary for most players (I'll add in Jacoby Transfers and Negative Doubles as close behind). The important point is that if you place a new convention on your card, make sure you understand it and have discussed it at length with your partner. Many players think it makes them look "cool" or experienced to have all the new bids as part of their arsenal. Sure, many of the top players use a complex bidding system, but they study and practice constantly. If you don't play often or have various partners, KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid).

Rule 3

Use specific opening preemptive bids. 

When you open the bidding on the 2 or 3 level, make sure you and your partner have discussed the quality of your suit and the limits to your outside cards. For example, I play that I don't open on the 3 level with an outside ace. This makes it much easier for my partner to evaluate their hand and decide whether to bid or defend. Occasionally, the opponents will know more about your hand than you would like, but it's a small price to pay for accuracy and partnership cooperation.

Rule 4

Do not underlead an ace on opening lead against a suit contract. 

There aren't many rules that are ironclad, those you should follow 100% of the time. I think this is one of them. You have seen hands in the newspaper or magazine when an expert underfeeds and ace on opening lead and it leads to a brilliant result. But if you make this play, there are many negative possibilities, especially your partner having no idea what to play on the first trick. It can destroy partnership trust and ruin the defense on the hand. A good plan: If you are defending against a suit contract, with a suit headed by an ace, in most cases it makes sense to lead another suit on opening lead (of course, there are exceptions such as when your partner has bid the suit you decide to make an aggressive lead such as Ax).

Rule 5

Play structured takeout doubles. 

Here is another rule I never violate, as long as I have about 12-17 high card points when I make a takeout double. This means that I have tolerance for all three unbid suits. If you have 18 or more HCP, you don't need to have tolerance for all three unbid  suits, because you can double and then bid again to show a huge hand. If you decide to violate this rule, it's a great way to get into trouble on the hand since frequently your partner will bid the suit you don't have support for. You usually cannot resolve the problem, because when you have a normal takeout double (12-17 HCP), you shouldn't bid again.

Click here to read Five More Rules to Make You a Better Player.

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