Matchpoint Strategy
Matchpoint bridge is a completely different game from IMPs. At IMPs, you’re playing against the cards. At matchpoints, you’re playing against the other pairs in the room. That changes everything.
The core principle: you get one matchpoint for every pair you beat, zero for every pair that beats you. If 12 pairs play the same board, a top score is 11 matchpoints (beat everyone), an average is 5.5 (beat half the field), and a bottom is 0 (lost to everyone). Your absolute score doesn’t matter. Only your result compared to everyone else.
This sounds simple, but it flips bridge strategy on its head.
How Matchpoint Scoring Works
Say you’re in 3NT and make exactly nine tricks for +400. At your table, that feels like success. You bid game, you made it, partner’s happy.
But if most pairs are making ten tricks for +430, you just got a terrible board. You beat the pairs who went down, and that’s it. The 30-point difference between +400 and +430 might cost you 7 matchpoints.
On the same hand, the pair that bid an aggressive 6NT and went down one for -50 also gets a bottom. They’re down 450 points compared to +400, but at matchpoints, you both get the same score. Zero.
This is why matchpoint strategy feels weird at first. Small differences matter enormously. Big swings often don’t matter at all.
Overtricks Are Gold
At IMPs, making an overtrick in 3NT is nice. You gain 30 points, which translates to maybe 1 IMP. Nobody cares much.
At matchpoints, that overtrick might be worth 8 matchpoints. It’s the difference between a top and a bottom.
This changes how you play the cards. When you’re in 3NT and have nine tricks locked up, you don’t just claim. You look for a tenth. You take finesses you’d never take at IMPs. You risk your contract for an extra 30 points.
Example Hand 1: The Overtrick Finesse
You’re in 4♠ with ten easy tricks. You have a two-way finesse for the queen of ♦. If you guess right, you make eleven tricks. If you guess wrong, you’re down one.
At IMPs? You never take that finesse. Making +620 is fine. Risking -50 to try for +650 is terrible odds.
At matchpoints? You think about the field. If everyone’s in 4♠, most pairs are making ten or eleven tricks. The pair who makes eleven beats everyone who makes ten. The pair who goes down gets a bottom.
But here’s the key: if you make ten tricks, you’re getting a middle-of-the-road score anyway. Half the field will guess the finesse right, half will guess wrong or not take it. You might as well try for the top. The difference between a 40% board and a 0% board is less painful than the difference between a 40% board and an 85% board.
You take the finesse.
Part-Score Battles
Most matchpoint events are won and lost on part-scores. Game and slam hands are exciting, but you only get a few per session. Part-scores? You get 15 to 20 boards where both sides can make something.
This is where matchpoint strategy gets aggressive.
If you can make 2♥ for +110 and they can make 2♠ for +110, you want to be declaring. You don’t want to defend. Even if you set them one trick for +50, you lose to every pair that played the hand.
This means competing. A lot.
You’ll bid 3♥ on hands where you might go down one. You’ll balance with sketchy values. You’ll push them to the three-level when you suspect they have an eight-card fit.
Example Hand 2: The Pushy 3♥ Bid
You hold: ♠74 ♥KJ863 ♦A95 ♣Q42
Partner opens 1♥, RHO overcalls 1♠. You bid 2♥. LHO bids 2♠, two passes back to you.
At IMPs, you pass. You have a minimum raise, they have spades, you’re not vulnerable. Defending seems fine.
At matchpoints, you bid 3♥. Why?
If you can make 2♥, the field is playing this hand. You want to declare, not defend. If they can make 2♠, you push them to 3♠ where they might go down. If both contracts fail, at least you tried to get to your making contract.
Will 3♥ always work? No. You’ll go down sometimes. But you’ll win more matchpoints by competing than by defending.
Risk vs. Safety: Reading the Field
The hardest matchpoint skill is knowing when to play safe and when to go for it.
If you’re in a normal contract that everyone will reach, play safe. Make your contract. Don’t risk going down for an overtrick when making your bid beats most of the field.
If you’re in a contract nobody else will reach, the calculation changes. You’re already getting a bad board if the contract is wrong. Playing safe for down one instead of down two doesn’t help much. You might as well try to make it.
Example Hand 3: The Aggressive Game Try
You’re in 4♥ on a 23-point combined hand. Most pairs will stop in 3♥ or 2♥. You need the ♠K to be onside and ♥ to split 3-2.
You have a choice on the opening lead. You can duck the first spade, guaranteeing eight tricks if ♥ break. Or you can win and immediately take the spade finesse for your tenth trick.
If you duck and make nine tricks, you get +170. That beats the pairs in 2♥ making three (+140), but loses to pairs in 3♥ making four (+170) who found the spade finesse.
If you take the finesse and it works, you make 4♥ for +420. Huge top.
If the finesse loses, you’re probably down one for -50. But you were getting a poor score anyway by being in 4♥ when most pairs are making nine or ten tricks in a partscore.
Go for it. Take the finesse immediately. You need good cards to make this aggressive game, so play like they’re where you need them.
Making Your Contract vs. Chasing Overtricks
This is the classic matchpoint tension. When do you risk your contract for an extra trick?
The rule: if you’re in a normal contract, making it beats going down. If you’re in a weird contract, you’re already in trouble.
In 3NT, if everyone’s there, you protect your nine tricks. But if you have nine cold and can see a reasonable line for ten, you consider it. The pairs making ten tricks will beat you. You need to join them or accept a below-average score.
In a part-score, overtricks matter more. The difference between 2♠ making two (+110) and making three (+140) is often several matchpoints. You’ll risk the contract to make that extra trick, especially if the field is in the same contract.
Example Hand 4: The Safety Play Decision
You’re in 4♠ with this trump holding:
Dummy: ♠KJ654
You: ♠AQ1032
You have ten top tricks if spades behave. The safety play is ace, then low to the jack, picking up all 4-1 breaks except when LHO has Qxxx. But that loses a trick when spades are 3-2 and you could have dropped the queen.
At IMPs, you always take the safety play. Making your game is what matters.
At matchpoints, you think about the field. If 4♠ is normal, most declarers will face this same decision. Half will safety-play, half will play for the drop. If you safety-play and lose an unnecessary trick, you get a bottom when spades are 2-2. If you play for the drop and spades are 4-1, you also get a bottom.
The percentages favor playing for the drop (it’s about 68% to make six spade tricks). Most good players will do that. So you should too.
You play ace, king. When the queen drops, you get a top. When spades are 4-1, you get a bottom along with everyone else who played this way. That’s matchpoint poker.
Vulnerability Changes Everything
At IMPs, vulnerability matters because it changes the points at stake. At matchpoints, vulnerability changes your tactics.
When you’re vulnerable and they’re not, you can’t afford to go down. -100 when they can make +110 is a disaster. -200 for down two is worse. You play tight, compete less, and protect your scores.
When you’re not vulnerable and they are, you can afford to gamble. Going down 50 when they’re cold for 110 in their contract is fine. You beat everyone who let them play it. You can sacrifice against their vulnerable games, compete freely for part-scores, and push the envelope.
The vulnerability matrix:
None vulnerable: Fight for everything. -50 vs. -50 is a tie. Whoever declares wins.
Both vulnerable: Play sound bridge. Taking a pushy sacrifice or stretching for a game has bigger consequences.
Favorable vulnerability (you non-vul vs. vul): Get aggressive. Compete freely, bid thin games, sacrifice against their games if you’re going down only one or two.
Unfavorable vulnerability (you vul vs. non-vul): Play careful. They can push you around. Don’t bid marginal games. Don’t take a sacrifice unless you’re confident.
Common Matchpoint Mistakes
Mistake 1: Playing too safe
New matchpoint players protect their contracts like it’s IMPs. They refuse finesses that could gain overtricks. They don’t compete for part-scores. They take every safety play.
Result: steady minus scores. You never get bottoms, but you never get tops. You finish in the middle of the field.
Mistake 2: Being too crazy
Some players overcorrect. They risk every contract for overtricks. They bid games on 21 high-card points. They sacrifice against everything.
Result: wild swings. Some tops, lots of bottoms. You need consistency to win at matchpoints.
Mistake 3: Ignoring the field
You make 3NT for +400. You’re happy. But you didn’t notice that ten tricks were available. You didn’t think about what everyone else was doing. You didn’t compete when the opponents bought the contract.
At matchpoints, you have to think about what’s happening at other tables. Are you in a normal contract? Is this a normal result? What will the field do?
Mistake 4: Wrong vulnerability decisions
Bidding an aggressive 3♥ when you’re vulnerable and they’re not is asking for trouble. Taking a non-vulnerable sacrifice when they’re non-vulnerable gives up the advantage. Know the vulnerability on every hand.
Mistake 5: Not counting matchpoints
Some players think in terms of plus and minus points. “We’re +620, that’s good!”
At matchpoints, absolute scores don’t matter. You need to think: “Are we beating the field?”
If everyone’s +650, your +620 is a bad score. If everyone’s +140 in a part-score, your +620 in game is a top.
Mistake 6: Defending passively
When you’re defending at matchpoints, you can’t just sit back and wait for declarer to go down. You need to beat the contract by as many tricks as possible, or hold them to as few overtricks as possible.
You’ll make aggressive leads, take risky discards, and try to beat the contract an extra trick. If declarer was always making four, you want to hold them to three. That extra undertrick could be worth 6 matchpoints.
The Matchpoint Mindset
Matchpoint bridge requires a different mental approach.
At IMPs, you want to avoid disasters. You play the percentages. You make the bid that works most often.
At matchpoints, you want to beat the field. If everyone’s making a mistake, you want to make the same mistake. If a brilliant play will match the best pairs, you want to find it even if it’s risky.
You think in terms of tops, bottoms, and averages. A 60% board is fine. Three 60% boards are better than two 80% boards and one 20% board, even though the average is the same.
You pay attention to how the session is going. If you’ve had several poor boards, you need tops. You take more chances. If you’re having a great game, you can afford to play slightly safer and protect your good score.
You accept that luck matters. Sometimes you’ll make the right play and get a bottom because the cards were wrong. Sometimes you’ll make a terrible bid and get a top because everyone else was worse. Over the course of a session, the luck evens out. What matters is consistently making the percentage matchpoint decision.
Putting It Together
Matchpoint strategy isn’t about one big principle. It’s about hundreds of small decisions that add up over a session.
Compete for part-scores. Play for overtricks when the field is in your contract. Take the normal line when everyone’s in the same spot. Take chances when you’re in a weird contract. Pay attention to vulnerability. Think about what the field is doing.
Most of all, don’t play scared. You can’t win a matchpoint event by avoiding bottoms. You win by collecting enough tops to offset the inevitable bad boards. That means taking some risks, making some aggressive bids, and trying some finesses that might backfire.
Bridge is supposed to be fun. Matchpoint bridge, with its wild swings and razor-thin decisions, is the most fun of all.