Glossary of Contract Bridge Terms - S

S

Sac

(Slang) Sacrifice. Also, "sack."

Sacrifice

To deliberately bid over an opponent's bid, hoping that the cost of a penalty will be smaller than the value of opponent's presumed successful contract.

Safety level

A level at which the partnership can normally assume, on the basis of the previous bidding, that its contract will succeed. It is the point below which the partnership prefers to explore even higher contracts. Also, "security level."

Safety play

A play that maximizes the chances for fulfilling the contract (or for achieving a certain score) by avoiding a play which might result in a higher score. Contrast with percentage play: the latter is the best play in a suit, while a safety play is the best line for the contract.

Sandbag

(Slang) To bid weakly or pass with good values, in the hope that the opponents will get overboard.

Sandwich

An overcall made after an opening bid and response by the opponents. The overcall is "sandwiched" between two hands that have each shown strength.

Save

(Slang) Sacrifice.

SAYC

Standard American Yellow Card, a particular bidding system or the completed ACBL convention card that represents it.

Scientific

A style of bidding that attempts to narrowly limit the strength of a partnership's hands, so as to make its bidding more accurate.

Scissors coup

A loser-on-loser play meant to break the opponents' communications. Formerly known as 'Coup without a name'.

Score

1) The numeric result of a deal, session or event.

2) (Verb) Of a card, to win a trick: "The ♠Q scored."

Score slip

A pick-up slip or traveller.

Scramble

1) To bid to a safer contract.

2) To score small trumps by ruffing, rather than as long cards. Often used of the play of a contract based on a Moysian fit.

Screen

A device which divides the table diagonally, visually separating partners from each other. Used in higher-level competition to reduce the possibility of unauthorized information.

Screenmates

Opponents who sit on the same side of the screen.

Seat

Position relative to the dealer: for example, dealer's LHO is said to be in second seat.

Second guesser

See result merchant.

Second hand

The player to the left of the player who has led to a trick.

Second hand low

A precept that advises second hand to play a low card on RHO's lead.

Section

A group of contestants in an event.

Seed

A ranking assigned to a contestant of relatively high rank.

See-saw squeeze

See Entry-shifting squeeze.

Semi-balanced hand

A hand with 5-4-2-2 or 6-3-2-2 distribution.

Semi-forcing bid

A bid which is conditionally forcing: one which requests partner to rebid unless his hand is minimal or sub-minimal for his previous bidding. Compare invitation.

Sequence

1) The auction, or calls made in the auction.

2) Two or more cards adjacent in rank.

Session

A period of play during which those entered in an event play designated boards against designated opponents.

Set

1) To defeat a contract.

2) The number of tricks by which a contract is defeated ("a two-trick set").

Set game

In rubber bridge, an agreement that partners will not change at the end of each rubber.

Set up

Establish.

Shaded

(Of a call) A call that is not quite warranted by the strength of the hand making it.

Shape

The distribution of suits in a hand.

Shift

1) (Verb) To lead a suit other than the one already played.

2) (Noun) In the bidding, a change of suit, usually said of a jump bid (see jump shift).

Shoot

To try for an unusually good result by adopting an abnormal line of play, typically at matchpoint scoring. Declarer hopes that the cards are distributed in such a way that a superior line of play will fail.

Short club

The natural opening bid of 1♣ when the suit contains only three cards. Usually employed by players using the five-card majors treatment for openings bids when holding a hand with opening values but lacking a 5-card major. When the hand contains two clubs and three diamonds, an opening diamond bid is preferred. Also, "short diamond."

Short-suit game try

By agreement, a bid of a short side suit after a single raise, hoping to reach game. For example, after 1♥ - 2♥, opener might rebid 3♣ with a singleton or void in clubs. The bid tells partner where high cards will be least useful, indicating duplication of values. It requests partner to take positive action with high-card strength outside that suit. Otherwise, the bid requests partner to sign off (in this example, by bidding 3♥). See help-suit game try and game try.

Short-suit points

In hand evaluation, points counted for singletons and voids.

Show out

Fail to follow suit.

Shuffle

To mix the cards. Shuffling seldom results in random distributions: in the long run, the cards so mixed rarely match the mathematical expectancies.

Side

Partnership.

Side game

A secondary event played simultaneously with the main event.

Side suit

A suit that is not trump; plain suit. A side suit may nevertheless have significant length: see Two-suiter.

Signals

The conventional meanings assigned to plays made by the defenders in order to exchange information. Also, carding.

Signoff bid

1) A bid that requests that partner pass.

2) A call that denies extra values, one that normally results in a pass by partner. Compare non-forcing bid, forcing bid.

Sign off

To make a signoff bid.

Simple squeeze

A squeeze against one opponent, in two suits, with the count (meaning 3).

Single dummy

The normal manner of play, with certain knowledge only of one's own cards and dummy's, and without verbal communication between partners. Compare with double dummy.

Singleton

A holding of exactly one card in a suit.

Sit-out

A round in a movement during which a pair is idle.

Skip

An irregular feature of a Mitchell movement: typically a move by the East-West pairs of 2 tables up instead of the usual 1, to avoid them playing the same boards twice.

Skip-bid warning

A warning to LHO that one is about to make a jump bid that could cause a revealing hesitation or huddle; used only when bidding screens are not in place. The warning is made in one of two ways: (1) When bidding boxes are in use, the red Stop card is placed on the table followed by a bid card; LHO is expected to wait 10 seconds before taking action; (2) When bidding boxes are not in use, the jump bidder announces "I am about to make a skip bid, please wait." and then bids. LHO waits 10 seconds.

Slam

A bid of six-odd (a small slam) or seven-odd (a grand slam).

Slam try

A bid that invites partner to bid a slam.

Slot

(Slang) The location of a card that is onside. "In the slot" means "Finessable."

Slough

See discard. Pronounced, and often spelled, "sluff."

Slow

Cards that require establishment before they can be cashed.

Slow arrival

A style of bidding that uses a jump to a contract (to which the previous bidding has already forced the partnership) to show a specific holding. Compare with Fast arrival.

Slow rubber

A rubber completed in three games. See fast rubber.

Sluff

See discard. Neo-orthography for slough, as used in ruff and sluff.

Small slam

A contract for six odd tricks.

Smolen

After opener has denied a four-card major in a Stayman sequence, responder's jump to 3M to show four cards in the bid major and five cards in the other major.

Smother play

An endplay that captures an opponent's guarded trump by means of an overruff, when that card cannot be finessed in the normal fashion.

Soft values

Lower honors, as distinct from aces and kings.

Solid

A suit strong enough to run without interruption, or (in the bidding) that requires no fit with partner.

Sort

To arrange one's cards by suit, and by rank within suit.

SOS redouble

A conventional redouble that asks partner for rescue from a doubled contract. Its name comes from the Morse code distress signal, SOS.

Sound

A hand that is relatively strong for a call that is contemplated or that has been made.

Splinter bid

An unusual jump bid that by agreement shows a fit for partner's last-bid suit and a singleton or void in the bid suit. For example, a partnership could treat 4♣ in response to an opening bid of 1♠ as a splinter bid, showing a good hand with spade support and a singleton or void club. Compare with Fragment bid.

Split

1) (Noun) The distribution in the opponents' hands of the cards in a suit.

2) (Verb) To play one of two touching honors when the lead comes through them.

Split menace

A menace in squeeze play which depends on values in both declarer's hand and dummy.

Sponsor

1) The organization that puts on a tournament.

2) One who hires partners or teammates to compete in an event.

Spot card

A card that ranks below the 10.

Spread

(Slang) Laydown.

SPS

An acronym for Suit Preference Signal, a card played by a defender to show interest or an entry in a side suit.

Squeeze

A playing technique that forces the defender(s) to discard a vital card, usually an apparent stopper.

Squeeze card

A card whose lead forces one or both defenders to discard their guard in a suit.

Stack

A distribution of cards in defenders' hands that might make the play difficult for declarer. The defenders' trumps, for example, could be said to be stacked if they divide 5-0.

Standard American or Standard American Yellow Card (SAYC)

A bidding system thought to conform to agreements that an unfamiliar partnership in America would use.

Stationary

Not called to change seats during the movement being used.

Stayman convention

A conventional bid of 2♣ that calls for a 1NT opening bidder to bid a four-card major, if one is held, and (usually) 2♦ otherwise. Many continuations have been devised.

Steal

To gain an advantage, usually through deception. The theft may be material (e.g., a trick or a contract) or non-material (e.g., a tempo). Despite the term steal, deception is entirely legal if it does not involve unauthorized information or concealment of information to which the opponents are entitled.

Step

In the bidding, the space between one bid and the next highest. See Useful Space Principle.

Step bid

A bid that conveys information on the basis of the number of steps it uses.

Stepping-stone squeeze

A squeeze that forces a defender either to be thrown in to act as a stepping-stone to a stranded dummy, or to allow declarer to establish a suit.

Stiff

(Adjective and noun) A singleton.

Stop

An instruction given to opponents when you make a jump (also known as skip) bid. The opponent is expected to wait around 10 seconds before calling, so as to avoid communicating information to partner as to how easy his call is to make. See skip-bid warning.

Stopper

A high card (normally, an honor) whose primary function is to prevent the opponents from running a suit in a notrump contract. (See also control).

Strain

See denomination.

Strip

1) To remove safe cards of exit from an opponent's hand.

2) To prepare for a ruff-and-sluff by removing all cards of a suit (or suits) in a partnership's hands.

Strip-squeeze

A squeeze without the count in which one threat is against a safe exit card.

Striped-tail ape double

A double of a laydown contract made in hope of dissuading the opponents from successfully bidding to a higher, more rewarding contract. The doubler must be prepared to run (like the cowardly ape) to an escape suit if the opponents redouble.

Strong club system

A set of conventions that uses an opening bid of 1♣ as an artificial, forcing opening that promises a strong hand.

Strong notrump

An opening notrump that shows a balanced hand and 15-17 or 16-18 HCP. Compare with weak notrump. A partnership's choice between the use of a strong notrump or a weak notrump has extensive implications for its entire bidding system.

Strong pass system

A bidding system that mandates a pass by first (or second) hand to show what other systems would regard as an opening bid. A corollary is that if the next hand also passes, third (or fourth) hand must bid to keep the deal from being passed out.

Strong two-bid

An agreement to use an opening bid of two of a suit so as to indicate a strong hand and a strong holding in the bid suit.

Stub

(Slang) Part-score.

Sucker double

(Slang) An ill-advised penalty double, such as one based on HCP when the bidding warns of freak distributions.

Suit

A ranked division of the deck of cards into (in descending rank order) spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs. The suit ranking has a profound effect on the bidding and scoring, but none at all on the play. (See also denomination, major suit, and minor suit).

Suit preference signal

A defensive carding method that signals a preference, or the lack thereof, for a suit other than the suit used for the signal.

Superaccept

A strongly encouraging response to a transfer, such as a jump completion (e.g., 1NT - 2♥; 3♠). Many partnerships use a conventional superacceptance such as 1NT - 2♦; 2♠, one step above responder's major, to save room for game or slam exploration, and in conformance with the Useful Space Principle.

Support

A fit with partner's suit.

Support double

A double of an overcall that shows a fit for partner's suit, usually distinguished from a direct raise by the length of the suit in responder's hand.

Sure trick

A trick that in the absence of some irregularity a player must win, such as the ace of trumps. Extended by George Coffin to refer to guaranteed lines of play.

Surrogate signals

A count or preference signal made in a different suit, usually the suit which declarer is running, to inform partner in beforehand about a critical decision he will have to make later during the play of the hand.

Swindle

A deceptive bid or play.

SWINE

Acronym for Sebesfi Woods 1NT Escape.

Swing

A difference in scores between two tables on a board in a team match.

Swish

(Slang) Three consecutive passes, ending the auction. "3♠ - swish" means 3♠ passed out.

Swiss teams

A team event in which teams play other teams with a similar record of wins and losses. It typically consists of a series of relatively short (6 to 8 board) matches.

Switch

To lead a different suit.

System

see bidding system.