The beer card or the 7 of diamonds is a card in the card game of bridge which is given a special importance in popular bridge sub-culture. The “beer card rule” is not an official part of the rules of bridge but it is played commonly in universities and some schools in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.

The basic rule is that, if a player wins the last trick of the hand with the 7 of diamonds, his partner must buy them a pint of beer. The additional requirements vary depending whether the beer card trick winner is the declarer or one of the defenders. For the declarer, the requirements are generally that:

• Must make contract,
• Must win last trick with the 7,
• Diamonds must not be trumps (though some people play that only diamond part scores are excluded),
• Must take a justifiable line on the contract to win as many tricks as possible (i.e. not lose tricks to set up the beer or in order to keep the 7 until the last trick),

For a defender, the requirements are generally that:

• Contract must be defeated
• Must win last trick with the beer card
• Diamonds must not be trumps
• Must try to win as many tricks as possible (i.e. not lose tricks to set up the beer or in order to keep the 7 until the last trick)

If the contract is doubled then two beers are earned. If the contract is redoubled then four beers are earned.

Examples

South plays in the inferior contract of three notrump, against which the opponents cash the first four spade tricks. To maximize the chance of getting a beer, declarer must discard two top diamond honors and a small heart from dummy. If the diamonds do not break 4-0, it’s straightforward to cash nine winners, ending with the beer card. If the diamonds don’t break, there’s a chance that a defender will be pseudosqueezed and choose to discard a diamond. For declarer to discard three diamond honors risks losing the contract unnecessarily, and so forfeits the beer, even if diamonds turn out to break normally.

Alternately, if North-South only exclude diamond partials from beer card enforcement, then the declarer in six diamonds can easily beer assuming trumps break. Declarer wins the (say) heart lead in the South hand and cashes one high trump in the North hand. When they break, declarer cashes two more high trumps, exits a spade, uses the rounded-suit entries to ruff two spades in the North hand, and finally trump the losing heart with the beer card. When they do not break, the simplest line (ruff a heart in the South hand, requires hearts 5-2 or better) forces declarer to use the beer card while drawing trumps.

Beginning with the dealer North, the auction proceeds 1D (Pass) 1S (2H); 3H (Pass) 4C (Pass); 4NT (Pass) 5C (Pass); 7C (Dbl) All Pass. Note that the four notrump bid is the modern Roman Keycard Blackwood with 1430 responses and clubs as trumps. South won the HK lead in dummy, drew trumps in three rounds, and played a diamond to the ace. When both minors broke, South ruffed the remaining heart in hand and claimed his doubled grand slam along with the beers. Plus 2330, two beers, and 14 IMPs.

In theory, South should have interpreted the final double as a Lightner double and removed to seven diamonds. However, given that his priorities placed the probable doubled beer ahead of trusting the opponents, he should still NOT redouble. Since the opponents were non-vulnerable, it just may have occurred to them to remove to seven hearts. While the sacrifice rates to go down two thousand, there is certainly no hope for even North to score the beer.

External links

• NSW Bridge Association

References

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