Card reading (or counting the hand), in contract bridge (with playing cards), is the process of inferring which remaining cards are held by each opponent. The reading is based on information gained in bidding and the playing of cards to previous tricks. The technique is used by the declarer and defenders to determine the probable suit distribution and honor card holdings of each unseen hand.
There are two basic and fundamental facts underlying card counting that are considered to be powerful:
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- The total number of cards in each suit is thirteen.
- The total number of cards in each hand is thirteen.
Famous quotes containing the words card and/or reading:
“In the game of “Whist for two,” usually called “Correspondence,” the lady plays what card she likes: the gentleman simply follows suit. If she leads with “Queen of Diamonds,” however, he may, if he likes, offer the “Ace of Hearts”: and, if she plays “Queen of Hearts,” and he happens to have no Heart left, he usually plays “Knave of Clubs.””
—Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson] (1832–1898)
“For 350 years we have been taught that reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man and writing an exact man. Football’s place is to add a patina of character, a deference to the rules and a respect for authority.”
—Walter Wellesley (Red)