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In contract bridge, the Law of total tricks (abbreviated here as LoTT) is a guideline used to help determine how high to bid in a competitive auction. It is not really a law (because counterexamples are easy to find) but a method of hand evaluation which describes a relationship that seems to exist somewhat regularly. Written by Jean-René Vernes for French players in the 1950s as a rule of thumb, it was first described in English in 1966 International Bridge Academy Annals. It received more notice from appearing in The Bridge World in June 1969.[citation needed] In 1981 Dick Payne and Joe Amsbury, using their abbreviation TNT (Total Number of Tricks), wrote at length about it for British readers.[1] Later, in the US, Marty Bergen and Larry Cohen popularized the approach, using their preferred abbreviation: 'the LAW' (all capitals).[2]
It was prefigured in S. J. "Skid" Simon's 1945 book Why You Lose at Bridge in his aphorism "When in doubt, bid one more".[3]
- ^ Payne, Dick; Amsbury, Joe (1981). Bridge: TNT and Competitive Bidding. B.T. Batsford (London, England). ISBN 0-7134-2543-1.
- ^ Cohen, Larry (1992). To Bid or Not to Bid: The Law of Total Tricks. Natco Press. ISBN 978-0963471505.
- ^ Simon, S. J. (1945). Why You Lose at Bridge. London: Nicholson & Watson. p. 65. OCLC 18352804.