Sacrifice (bridge)

A sacrifice is a (usually deliberate) bid of an unmakeable contract in contract bridge in the hope that the penalty will be smaller than the value of an opponents' contract. In rubber bridge, a sacrifice can be also made in an attempt to prevent the opponents scoring a game, hoping that the cards in subsequent deals will turn the side and provide compensation.

In bridge scoring, making a "game" yields approximately 620 points vulnerable and 420 points non-vulnerable. As the opponents will often double the sacrificial bid, it will turn out profitable if it costs fewer points than that; 3 and 2 doubled undertricks when the sacrificing side is non-vulnerable cost 500 and 300 points respectively, and 2 vulnerable doubled undertricks cost 500 points. Similar reasoning can be drawn for slams and partscores.

A sacrifice most often occurs when both sides have found a fit during bidding (8 cards or more in a suit), but the bidding indicates that the opponents can make a game or slam contract. Also, it is possible to perform an "advance" sacrifice, when it is more or less clear that the opponents have a fit somewhere and greater strength. For example, after the partner opens 1♦ and RHO doubles, the following hand is suitable for a bid of 5♦, outbidding opponents' major suit game in advance:

Vulnerability significantly affects the sacrifice: success is most likely if the opponents are vulnerable but the sacrificing side is not. At equal vulnerabilities, sacrifices are less frequent, and vulnerable sacrifices against non-vulnerable opponents are very rare (and often not bid deliberately, but in an attempt to make the contract). Also, the scoring method affects the tactics of sacrifice – at matchpoint scoring, −500 or −800 (down 3 or 4) against −620 is a 50/50 bet on a top or a bottom, but at IMPs it can gain 3 IMPs (120 difference) but lose 5 (180 difference), making it less attractive.

However, if it turns out that the sacrificing side misjudged, and that the opponents' contract was unmakeable (or unlikely to make), the sacrifice is referred to as "false" or "phantom" one. A false sacrifice can cost heavily, as the sacrificing side has in effect turned a small plus into a (potentially huge) minus score.

Law of total tricks can be a guideline as to whether the sacrifice can be profitable or not.

Sacrifices are practically always made in a suit contract; sacrifices in notrump are extremely rare, but can occur, as in the following deal:BridgeHand
A6|K874|J974|QJ5
Q10853|AQJ63|-|K84
KJ972|10|52|109632
4|952|AKQ10863|A7The bidding starts:^{1 Michaels cuebid, indicating both majors}South can see that East-West have a huge spade fit and that it's quite possible that they can make 4♠. However, the best bet seems to be 4NT rather than 5Diams, since it requires a trick less, while there's not much indication that 5Diams would provide more tricks than 4NT. Indeed, 4NT is down one and 5Diams down two.

ee also

* Preempt