Joan Butts Bridge

All Courses, Live Online Lessons

Declarer Play Course

In the course, I show you how to play a bridge hand once the bidding is over. Learn to make a plan to take enough tricks for your contract. I focus on where to find these tricks and how to turn cards into winners.

All Courses, Help and Resources

How To Play Lesson Hands

All Courses, Live Online Lessons

Introduction to Conventions Course

For newer players! A Convention is an artificial bid assigned a special meaning and used to help your partnership gain extra information about how high and where to go in the bidding.

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The Positive Power of the Preempt Course

At the end of this course, you'll be able to recognise when to open the bidding at a high level, show partner how much you love their preempt and manage when the opponents preempt against you.

All Courses, Live Online Lessons

Back to Basics

This course explores bidding at the earliest level of the game to make sure you have the fundamentals clearly set in your mind.

All Courses, Live Online Lessons

The Refresher Series

This course is ideal for a player returning to bridge after an absence to revise the fundamentals of the game. Opener’s and responder’s bids are covered, as well as defensive considerations, and the times the auction becomes competitive.

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More Techniques to Improve Your Declarer Play

Following on from the techniques taught in Play 1, this course focuses on mastering the techniques of card play to become a better player.

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Fundamentals of Defence

This is the third course in my Foundations series where I help you communicate with your partner in the defence to take as many tricks as possible to try to defeat the contract.

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Defensive Signals

Working well with partner in the defence requires delicate understanding of what’s in each other’s hands: how to signal to partner whether you liked their lead or would like them to switch? Nothing is quite as satisfying as good defence!

All Courses, Live Online Lessons

More Modern Conventions

Expand your knowledge with more advanced conventions after mastering Conventions 1. In this course, you’ll learn a more advanced way to ask for aces and kings, and how to use a game-forcing bid with strong hands in the majors and the minors.

All Courses, Live Online Lessons

Modern Bidding: The New Rage

I’ll show you in this modern course where the flaws are in a system like Standard American, and how the Two Over One game force approach to bidding will instantly fix these problems. There’s no need to change most of your system, just two areas.

All Courses, Live Online Lessons

Improve Your Judgement: Hand Evaluation

This course is vital for all bridge players. Developing good judgement about whether you have a good hand, and what’s good about it will lead to making winning decisions. I’ll show you what factors are important apart from high card points.

All Courses, Live Online Lessons

The Secrets of a Good Declarer

In this course I will show you how to play a bridge hand once the bidding is over. Learn to make a plan to take enough tricks for your contract. I focus on where to find these tricks and how to turn cards into winners.

All Courses, Live Online Lessons

Advanced Declarer Play Techniques

This course is ideal for a player returning to bridge after an absence, and who wants to brush up on the fundamentals of the game. Opener’s and responder’s bids, defensive considerations, and the times the auction becomes competitive are covered.

All Courses, Live Online Lessons

Overcall Power Plays

You as the “overcaller", and partner, as the “advancer”, are able to make a big difference to the auction. By bidding your suit after opener has started, you’ve made the bidding “competitive’ by definition. Now you and partner need to work together!

All Courses, Live Online Lessons

Demystifying Doubles

This course will start with the clearest definition of a classic take out double, and we’ll work from there. Partner absolutely must cooperate after you’ve entered the auction with “double”, because finding the best strain might not be straighforward

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More Doubles for Even More Success

So many different aspects to doubles…each of these lessons unleashes another way to look at doubles, which may be made by each person sitting at the table in their turn. In this course you will learn how to interpret and use these doubles more!

All Courses, Intermediate

Acol vs Standard American

Confidently learn and play Acol and American Standard bridge bidding systems by understanding the differences and similarities between the two.

Live Online Lessons

Beginners Course

Bridge is a wonderful card game, the most popular in the world actually, and is all about taking tricks. Bridge is easy to learn when you take only small steps at a time, which is what we’ll do in the lessons.

All Courses, Experienced

Partnerships

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How To Navigate The OSOB

All Courses, Live Online Lessons

Improve Your Declarer Play

In this course I will show you how to play a bridge hand once the bidding is over. Learn to make a plan to take enough tricks for your contract. I focus on where to find these tricks and how to turn cards into winners.

All Courses, Live Online Lessons

Kick Off To Conventions

This course is a must-do for anyone who has completed the Foundations. Mastering essential conventional bids will give you extra information about partner’s hand. Conventional bids are artificial, as they do not show the suit that’s bid.

All Courses, Live Online Lessons

Elevating Your Overcalls

Two suited overcalls are even more effective than one suiters. Whether you’re calling over a suit opening, or 1NT, getting two suits off your chest in one bid is a plus. These hands play really well, with the second suit like a second trump suit.

All Courses, Live Online Lessons

The Bridge Refresher Series 2025

For a player who has not played bridge in a while and wants to review and brush up on the basics. The bids of the responder and the opener are discussed, along with defensive tactics and when the auction starts to get competitive.

All Courses, Live Online Lessons

Weak Hands - Long Suits

In this course, you will learn how to use weak hands with long suits effectively. The focus will be on preemptive bidding strategies that disrupt the opponents while giving partner the information to make informed decisions.

All Courses, Live Online Lessons

Improve Your Declarer Play: Tips for Taking Extra Tricks

Sometimes the difference between a good and great score is just one more trick. In this course, I show you how to spot extra tricks and make the most of every hand. Whether you’re aiming to make your contract or take valuable extra tricks, this cours

All Courses, Live Online Lessons

Turning Opponents' Interference Into Winning Strategy

In this live course, you’ll learn how to make the right bids after the opponents enter the auction, and how you can enter the auction too when the other side has opened. Its a very exciting area of bidding when both sides are vying for the contract.

All Courses, Live Online Lessons

Simple Switch, Big Results: Two Over One Game Force for Modern Bridge

I’ll show you in this modern course where the flaws are in a system like Standard American, and how the Two Over One game force approach to bidding will instantly fix these problems. There’s no need to change most of your system, just two areas.

All Courses, Help and Resources

Bridge Resources

Beginner

Bidding 1

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Conventions 1

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Teach Competitive Bidding 1

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How To Teach Bridge

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Teach Play 1

All Courses, Random Hands

How To Play Random Hands

All Courses, Experienced

Hand Evaluation

All Courses, Experienced

About No Trumps

Intermediate

Play 2

All Courses, Experienced

Weak Hands

Beginner

Play 1

Intermediate

Bidding 2

Intermediate

Defence 2

All Courses, Experienced

Strong Hands

All Courses, Intermediate

Refresher

All Courses

Resources

All Courses, Experienced

Inferences

Beginner

Defence 1

All Courses, Teacher Portal

Teach Defence 1

All Courses, Teacher Portal

Teach Bidding 1

All Courses, Beginner

Help With Play (Defender)

All Courses, Teacher Portal

Teach Help With Play (Declarer)

All Courses, Intermediate

Conventions 2

All Courses, Experienced

Master Two Over One Game Force

Strengthen your mastery of Two Over One Game Force in this focused course. Learn common pitfalls players face when applying the system and how to avoid them. Perfect for experienced 2/1 players ready to sharpen their skills.

All Courses, Beginner

Competitive Bidding 1

Random Hands

Play Random Hands

All Courses, Intermediate

Transition To Two Over One Game Force

Learn the flaws of the Standard American system and how the Two Over One Game Force approach to bidding fixes these problems. Make the transition to this modern bidding system smoothly, as you only need to change two areas of your current system.