the high card point count system used in acol
As you are about to take part in an auction it is essential that you know how to value your hand.
In order to value a bridge hand, two factors need to be taken into consideration: The High Card Points, (HCP) and the distribution. I intend to cover distribution later so this section is just about evaluating your hand by counting the high cards in it.
The HCP allocates a number of points for the top four ranking cards in a hand like this:
Ace = 4 Points, King = 3 points, Queen - 2 points, Jack = ! point. (some people also allow half a point for the ten)
Looking at a typical bridge hand of thirteen cards above, right we can work out the HCP like this:
- Ace of spades and ace of diamonds, two aces at 4 points each = 8 points
- King of hearts and king of clubs, two kings at three points each = 6 points
- Queen of hearts and queen of diamonds, two queens at two points each = 4 points
- Jack of diamonds = 1 point
Total HCP in the hand shown = 19. I'm ignoring the ten of spades for the moment. Under the ACOL system all bridge hands are valued like this as far as high cards are concerned which makes it very easy to learn.
Check out the hand on the left. How many points does it have?
Four for one ace, four for two queens and three for one king = 11 HCP
As mentioned above, distribution is also very important but when you are learning the game the High Card Point count is the most important.