Glossary of Contract Bridge Terms - T

T

Table

1) (Noun) A grouping of four players at a bridge tournament.

2) (Verb) To put down one's cards face up.

3) See dummy (2).

Table card

A large printed card placed on a table in a bridge tournament. The card contains instructions for the players, including players' designations and board numbers. Also, "Guide card."

Table presence

Awareness of opponents' behavior and mannerisms, leading to inferences regarding their holdings and problems on a deal. It is improper to take action on inferences made on the basis of partner's behavior. Also, "Table feel."

Table talk

1) Improper communication between partners, effected by words, gestures, or facial expressions.

2) Extraneous discussion during the play, discouraged as a distraction or possible source of unauthorized information.

Takeout double

A conventional call used in a competitive auction to indicate support for the unbid suits in a hand of opening strength, and to request that partner bid. The classic, ideal pattern is 4-4-4-1, with the shortness in the suit doubled. There are many informatory doubles that anticipate a bid from partner, but "takeout double" typically refers to the double immediately over opening bidder.

Tank

(Slang) Huddle.

Tap

(Verb and noun) Slang. To adopt a line of defense that is intended to force declarer to ruff in the long hand. Also, the line of defense itself: "To get the tap going." See Forcing defense.

Team

1) (Adjective) (also Teams or Team(s)-of-four) A form of duplicate bridge played by eight people at two tables. The North–South pair at one table and East–West pair at the other table are teammates. Every deal is played at both tables ("duplicate") and scored by comparing the two raw scores — usually on the IMP or board-a-match scale. Matches are commonly played in sets of 6 to 20 deals, with scoring required and player substitutions permitted between sets.

2) (Noun) A group of four or more players who compete together in a teams event. For each deal, four team members are active at two tables. Player substitution occurs between matches or, in many longer matches, between sets of 6 to 20 deals. Most teams events permit four to six players on a team.

Teammate

A member of the same team. Commonly said of any teammate other than one's partner.

Teams

(Adjective) See team (1)

Tempo

1) The number of tricks needed to execute a line of play. Early in the play, the way in which a player uses a tempo in his choice of lead often determines the outcome of the deal.

2) The speed at which a player executes a call or play. Some players attempt to intimidate less experienced opponents by playing their cards very quickly. A break in tempo often indicates that a player has an unexpected problem in play.

Temporizing bid

Waiting bid.

Tenace

A broken sequence of (often) honor cards, such as ♠ A Q or ♦ K J. Declarer may lead toward his or dummy's tenace, preparing to finesse for a missing card. A defender may lead through declarer's or dummy's tenace to help his partner score cards behind the tenace.

Their hand

(Slang) A hand on which the opponents have the preponderance of strength.

Thin

(Slang) 1) A bid or contract based on less strength than normally recommended.

2) (Of a hand) Lacking body.

Third-and-fifth

An opening lead convention that calls for the lead of the third-best card in a suit of up to four card length, and the fifth-best in a longer suit.

Third from even, low from odd

An opening lead convention that calls for the lead of the third-best card from a suit with an even number of cards, and the lowest card from a suit with an odd number of cards.

Third hand

The player who makes the third call, or who is the third to play to a trick.

Third hand high

A precept that advises the third hand to play a high card on partner's lead.

Threat

In squeeze play, a menace.

Three suiter

A hand with length in three suits, thus shortness in the fourth. Distributions such as 4-4-4-1, 5-4-4-0 and 5-4-3-1 are often termed "three-suiters."

Throw

To discard.

Throw-in

See Endplay.

Tight

(Slang) An honor card or honor sequence unaccompanied by low cards: "He had the ♥KQ tight."

Timing

A player's agenda for tasks in the play of the hand: for example, ruff losers and then draw trumps; or, draw trumps and then run the side suit.

Top

Playing matchpoints, the highest score achieved on a board.

Top of nothing

The lead of a high spot card from a suit that contains no honor card.

Top trick

A card that can take a trick on a given hand. See Winner.

Total tricks

The sum of the number of tricks that each partnership can take, with its longest combined suit as trump. See Law of Total tricks.

Touching

Adjacent. Both cards and suits may be touching. In the holding ♣KQ5, the king and queen are touching. In deciding whether to respond Up the line, a player notes that hearts and spades are touching suits.

Tournament

An organized duplicate bridge competition.

Trance

(Slang) Huddle.

Transfer

1) (Noun) A bid that conventionally shows length in a different suit.

2) (Noun) A bid that requests partner to make a bid in a particular suit, usually the suit immediately above that of the transfer.

3) (Verb) See transfer a control.

Transferable values

Cards, such as aces and kings, that are valuable either in declarer's hands or in defenders'.

Transfer a control

In squeeze play, to shift the responsibility of controlling, or guarding, a menace from one opponent to the other. This is usually accomplished by playing through one opponent in a way that forces him to cover the lead, leaving the other opponent with the remaining control. The purpose is to arrange that one opponent has to guard more menaces than he can successfully manage.

Transnational

1) A pair or team whose members differ in "nationality". Typically they are members of different national bridge federations, thus registered players.

2) An event (tournament) that permits transnational pairs or teams to enter. A transnational event is open in sense (c).

Trap pass

See Sandbag.

Traveler

A slip of paper that is folded into a board in a pairs contest. The traveler records the results at tables where the board has already been played.

Tray

See Board.

Treatment

A natural bid that: (1) either shows a willingness to play in the denomination named, or promises or requests values in that denomination, and (2) by partnership agreement gives or requests additional information on which action could be based. If the treatment is an unusual one, it requires announcement to the opponents even though it is natural. For example, a partnership that plays Flannery usually agrees that a 1♠ response to a 1♥ opening bid shows five spades. So the 1♠ response to 1♥, while natural, is a treatment because by agreement it shows at least a five card suit. Contrast with convention, a bid that gives or requests information not necessarily related to the denomination named.

Trial bid

See game try.

Trial

A (usually, high-level) tournament whose winners proceed to a subsequent event of even greater import.

Trick

A set of 4 cards played by each player in turn, during the play of a hand.

Trick score

The score earned by contracting for and taking tricks. Trick scores count toward making a game.

Triple squeeze

A squeeze that is so-named because it consists of three simple squeezes against the same opponent. A Progressive squeeze is regarded as a triple squeeze (because it is initiated by one), but not all triple squeezes are progressive.

Tripleton

A holding of three cards in a suit.

Trump

1) (Noun) A card in the trump suit whose trick-taking power is greater than any plain suit card.

2) (Verb) To play a trump after a plain suit has been led; see Ruff.

Trump control

The ability, from a combination of the holding in trumps with play technique, to prevent the opponents from taking too many tricks in a plain suit.

Trump echo

An echo in the trump suit, long used to alert partner to the possibility of a defensive ruff, and in the early 21st century to give partner the count.

Trump promotion

The advancement of a trump to the status of a winner by creating a position in which an opponent must suffer an uppercut, or an immediate adverse overruff, or choose to ruff with a higher trump that makes a later winner of an opponent's trump by force of cards.

Trump squeeze

A squeeze that forces an opponent to weaken his holding in one of the threat suits enough that the suit can later be ruffed out.

Trump suit

(Often, simply "trumps.") By way of the auction, declarer and declarer's partner select the trump suit on the basis of their combined length and strength in the suit: the greater length to ruff more losers in the plain suits, and the greater strength to better control the play of the trump suit itself. Information about trump suits generally in other card games can be found here.

Two-club system

A bidding system that uses an opening bid of 2♣ as an artificial game force.

Two-over-one

To an opening one-bid, any response two of a new suit that is forced to the two-level by suit rank. That is, two of a lower suit in response to the opening bid one of a higher suit. Contrast one over one.

Two suiter

A hand containing two long suits, usually each containing 4 or more cards, with at least 10 cards between the two suits.

Two-way checkback

An inquiry made after opener redbids 1NT. 2♣ is a puppet to 2♦ which says nothing about responders strain. It is just a forcing bid to show an invitational hand. On the other hand, a rebid of 2♦ after a 1NT rebid is an artificial game force.

Two-way Drury

An inquiry about the third (or sometimes fourth) position opener's strength in a major suit. 2♣ shows 3-card support, while an inquiry made with 2♦ shows four cards in opener's suit.

Two-way finesse

A Finesse that could be taken successfully against either opponent.

Two-way Stayman

Over an opening bid of 1NT, the use of 2♣ as non-forcing Stayman and 2♦ as a forcing major suit inquiry.