The Modern Losing Trick Count

[Draft as at 10 November 2009]

Overview

The Losing Trick Count is a way of measuring the trick-taking potential of a trump contract without the need to count points. By calculating the playing-strength of one's own hand and combining this with the estimated useful tricks in partner's hand, we have the trick-taking capacity of the two hands working together. Used correctly, where a trump fit has been established, the LTC is an excellent evaluation technique for accurate bidding of trump contracts

Opening Bids

For opening pre-empts and other bids based on playing tricks, the LTC is a useful guide, but it is not used for standard opening bids of one of a suit. Nor is it used for opening or responding in NT. It comes into play where a trump fit has been established.

As we're playing that 2NT is game-forcing, opener rebids four of his/her major to show that his/her hand is minimal [< 15 HCP, > 6 losers].

All other bids show a non-minimum opening hand, and are descriptive of the hand shape:

4♣/♦ are always splinter bids, as is 4♥ if spades is the trump suit. This approach is in line with other splinter situations, where an unnecessary-to-be-forcing jump shows shortage.
3-original-major shows extra length compared to that already promised by the opening bid, and is usually a 6-card suit
3-new-suit is a trial bid, promising a respectable 4-card suit [could be a 5-card suit, but that would imply there's a singleton somewhere that opener might have chosen to bid by preference].
3NT shows a fairly balanced hand, no extra length in the trump suit, no singleton, no suitable suit to trial-bid