partner dutifully bids 2 . By opener (16-18 pts. 12-14 point balanced hands look for a major suit fit at the one level, then make a minimum rebid in NT. Bid: Meaning: Passed Hand Bidding (P) - P - (P) - 2S: Not preemptive, some play this sequence shows 6-7 Losing Trick Count - not forcing but seriously invitational with a strong major suit: P - 1H; 2S: Responder's jump after a passed hand shows a near opening hand with good trump support, one round forcing if playing fit showing jump bids Although drawing the defenders' trumps is usually a priority, there are several reasons why declarer may delay drawing trumps. Sometimes used to refer to the full deal of all four hands. A reverse shows an invitational hand or better, and is forcing for one round. The responses are: 5=0 or 4; 5=1; 5=2; 5=3. After this, responder can pass to play there, or make an invitational bid (such as 2, which would promise at least 5 hearts). Invitation to Bid: What is an Invitation to Bid? After you learn the Bridge Bears system, you will be able to play with almost any partner, even one who has never visited the Bridge Bears web site. With a four-card or five-card major suit, opener bids 2 or 2. However, East is going to make some decision, so he has to make some assumptions (e.g. In team events, it's important to bid and make your games and slams, and defeat the opponent's contracts. One of the top four cards in a suit: ace, king, queen, or jack. Bridge bidding can be an intricate dialogue between partners, trying to find ways to show Minimum, Maximum and Invitational values, yet Keep It Simple, Sweetheart: KISS. When your hand is so strong that any response from Partner, even on only 6 points, tells you there is enough total strength in the partnership to make a game (based on 24+ points), you make a bid to tell Partner the good news. Opener's rebid of his own suit is NF (a jump rebid such as 1 -1 -3 is only invitational). For example, if opener bids 1 and responder bids 1, a rebid of 3 by opener would be a jump shift because it is only necessary to rebid 2. Notrump ranks higher than spades. A word or phrase telling the opponents the meaning of partner's call. An undertaking to win at least a specified number of tricks in a specified denomination. With only 23 points, you don't want to bid to the four level. A suit with lots of 'holes'where the cards are mostly not touching. Bridge, golf, wine (red), cooking, reading eclectically but insatiably, travelling, making bad posts. A deal on which both sides can make a partscore contract. Typically used after a natural notrump opening bid or rebid. Bid game in NT with the unbid suit(s) well stopped. Two cards adjacent in rank and thus equivalent in trick-taking potential. When taking sure tricks or promoting winners in suits that are unevenly divided between the hands, it's usually a good idea to start by playing the high cards from the hand with the fewer cards. Similarly, a raise of 1NT to 4NT would invite opener to bid slam with a maximum. With extra length, bid your suit an extra time. The process of determining the contract through a series of bids. A popular guideline when playing third to a trick is to play as high as necessary to win the trick for the partnership. A device with the bids displayed on cards to allow the auction to be conducted silently. KJ9 High cards that are favorably placed. Summary for after Partner raises to 2 or 2 (4-point range) Before looking at these hands you may want to review how to count points. A way to get from one hand to the opposite hand. with 9 combined trumps, compete to the 3 level9 tricks). AJ2 Playing a trump on a trick when void in the suit led. A3 show answer. After 1 - 1N your rebid is? Opener must bid 2. The highest card played in the suit led wins the trick. Do something other than pass after the previous call has been followed by two passes. A forcing In rubber bridge, a partnership that has won a game. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z. Passing with a strong hand and/or a good holding in the opponent's suit in the hope partner will reopen with a takeout double which can then be converted into a penalty double by passing. AKQ4 A method of estimating the value of a hand during the auction, usually a combination of values for high cards and length. 1 NT = 15-17 HCP 2 = Stayman; if followed by: 2 or 2 = invitational 3 or 3 = game forcing Jacoby transfer (off with any interference) 2 = minor-suit Stayman (at least invitational) 3 or 3 = weak Texas transfer (also in comp. After 1 - 1N your rebid is? KQ52 A bridge event in which every partnership is composed of one player of each sex. K8 Whether a bid is forcing, invitational or signoff. AJ3 You can decide whether you want to show your major and guess how good partner's hand is, or make an invitational 2NT bid and hide your 5-card major. I order you to pass if 0-5 balanced (1NT), Pass with a minimum, go ahead with a maximum (3. If the player in the balancing position passes, the auction is over. The player to the left of the dealer, who is the second player to have the chance to bid or pass. show answer, AKQT82 High cards and long suits that are likely to take tricks if your side loses the auction. I've heard other players talk about reverses. There are not enough bids in Bridge to describe solid suits. A bid that shows a controlace, king, singleton, or voidwhen the partnership is interested in slam. Bid suit at appropriate level - 3H is stronger than 4H If SI, control bid, splinter . The main examples used in Acol are the opening bids 1NT and 2NT, which show 12 - 14 HCP and 20 - 22 HCP respectively. So it would be a reverse for Opener to rebid hearts. After 1 - 1N your rebid is? A defensive signal made when following suit that indicates preference for another suit. Every bid fits into one category or the other. A hand that might be suitable for a notrump contract even though it has more than one doubleton: 5422 or 6322 distribution. Support - GI+ if 3H is preemptive 1st chance to bid after partner opens 1. An invitational bid is like a yellow light slow down or proceed with caution. Three or more consecutive cards in a suit. KQ863 J52 With Hand A, of course, you plan to pass partner's Three Club response. Since the one spade bidder may hold no HCPs and two spades would confirm no interest the three spade bid must be invitational (about 6-8) and can be passed. To ruff with a higher trump after another player has already trumped. A jump response in a new suit used as a preemptive bid. The opponent is not in a position to immediately make a damaging lead that could defeat the contract. Often presented as a problem on how to make, or defeat, a contract. Responder's 2 relay is used to either place the contract in 2, or to be followed by an invitational bid. The EB interpretation applies to certain jumps that name an excluded suit, and also when a player makes a slam-try, indicates a short suit, receives no encouragement, and then bids four notrump (in which case the indicated short suit is an excluded suit). The call of 3 spades also contains 5 spades and 5 hearts, but this time responder insists that game be bid. Because you didn't go through 2, this makes the 2 a non-invitational bid. The partner who is in the best position to decide How High and Where the partnership belongs. I must admit I'm quite surprised by the general standpoint expressed by all these posts. A response in a lower-ranking suit than opener's suit, which must be made at the two level. Play a trump to a trick when holding no cards in the suit led. show answer. Q9743 A8632 8 42 2. The player in a position to make the final call when the opponents are winning the auction. A call which has both constructive and preemptive aspects, better than a preemptive raise but less than a limit raise. A method of displaying the bidding and play on a screen for viewing by an audience. The cuebid of a suit inferrentially shown by the opponents. The hand playing the second card to a trick. For example, in a holding of the Q-J, the Q and J are equals. show answer. KQJ63 Forcing declarer to repeatedly ruff so that declarer eventually runs out of trumps and loses control of the play. AJ6 After 1 - 1 your rebid is? A high card is an encouraging signal; a low card is a discouraging signal. We wouldn't want to bid to 2NT or three of a suit when both partners have minimum hands. For those who play Range Check, where 1NT-2S shows either clubs or a balanced invite, the use of 2C requires at least one 4 card major. AJ3 (18 + Partner's 6-9 = 24-27), And we pass with 12-15 because the total cannot exceed 24. Remember you are always trying to push your opponents to the highest level contract. you have enough points to bid game, so you should make an invitational bid, like 2NT, to ask whether partner has a good hand. Q5 A defensive suit combination where a defender has to lead the second-highest card from a broken holding in order to trap declarer's high cards in the suit. A double that shows values, and leaves the decision to partner whether to pass for penalty or bid further. For example, if partner holds the KJ2, the Q in your hand would be a valuable asset. In a position in which pass will end the auction. Standard bidding in North America, based on five-card major openings and a strong 1NT opening. This treatment has been steadily gaining in popularity since the turn of the millennium. The distribution of the cards to the four players. Potential winners in one hand that cannot be reached from the other hand. This is not a popular agreement among most experienced players. The lead of a the top card from a holding of three or more cards with no honor in the suit. Succeed in taking enough tricks to fulfill a contract. The responses are: 4, 0 or 4; 4, 1; 4, 2; 4NT, 3. Declarer should not be afraid to lose such tricks early, while keeping sure tricks in other suits to regain the lead and then take the established winners. K9 In standard Drury, a rebid of 2 by opener shows a light opening bid; in reverse Drury, a rebid of the major suit shows a light opening bid. This rebid is called a "jump-shift". QJT7 The older literature makes it clear that once a bid is defined within a narrow range a simple raise is an invitation but modern bidding theory (negative doubles, fit jumps, etc.) AK932 AK2 AK97 and 5 hearts and values to invite partner to bid game. These hands have easy rebids. A bid that invites partner to bid to a game contract. Opener's raise of responder's suit (such a 1 -1 -3) is NF (the . A holder, usually of metal or plastic, used to preserve the cards as originally dealt. Bidding box - a device containing all possible bridge bids which all duplicate bridge players must use to communicate their calls during the auction; the use of bidding boxes reduces the possibility of cheating, which can occur if players are allowed to make verbal calls and make their bids using certain intonations. KQJ982 When each member of the partnership has poor support for the long suits shown by partner and there is no eight-card or longer combined trump suit. The four groups of cards in the deck, each having a characteristic symbol: spades (), hearts (), diamonds (), and clubs (). To find the best contract in any bridge auction, one partner must confirm a trump suit (or the lack of one) and limit his hand (show his point-count range). For example, a raise of an opening bid of 1NT to 2NT asks opener to bid game with a maximum for the 1NT opening. 4 Don't you just love bridge? Even this rotten suit is a 2 rebid J87542 open until game is reached, where such a bid is available the partnership clearly has plenty of space to discuss the final contract. K8 The dealer is the player who starts the bidding even if its a pass. See also 'balancing position'. In response to a major suit opening bid, 3NT shows 12-15 HCP with no fit. Used as a guideline for whether to open in fourth position. KQ7 Cards that are likely to be useful in developing tricks. A combined partnership holding of (ideally) eight or more cards in a suit. Making the wrong hand the declarer. KQ743 A8632 8 42 With hand 1, bid 3 hearts, inviting game. After 1 - 1 your rebid is? K64 Q2 A direct cuebid over an opponent's opening bid to show a distributional takeout. Players take their turn at bidding in turn and in order following a clockwise. *From an article in the ACBL bulletin by Marty Bergen and supported by Steve Robinson in Washington Standard the 2S bid shows 15-16 support points. A suit that is lower on the Bidding Ladder than another suit. When you have other invitational bids available, a cuebid is a game force. Q3 The dealer has the first opportunity to open the bidding or to pass. Go down in a doubled contract and suffer a large penalty. Points used in place of length points when valuing a hand in support of partner's suit: void, 5 points; singleton, 3 points; doubleton, 1 point. . An artificial response of 2 to an opening bid of 1NT, asking if opener has a four-card major suit. Q2 RAISING AN INVITATIONAL BID An area that seems to be changing in competitive bidding is that of raising an invitational bid. A similar convention to Jacoby transfers. Vulnerable, the guideline is to overbid by two tricks since the penalty for being doubled and down two is 500; Non vulnerable, the guideline is to overbid by three tricks since the penalty for being doubled down three is 500. In both cases, of course, the 2-of-a-minor bid is completely artificial. The play of a specific suit combination to cope with a potentially unfavorable break. This hand is from Judgment at bridge by Lawrence. We still bid game when the partnership total is 24+. East can anticipate making a game if west has the maximum of his 16 to 18 point range. With 25+ you don't want to miss the chance for a 4 or 4 game bonus. The dealer, who is the first player to have the chance to bid or pass. When we open one-of-a-suit, our possible point range is quite wide (12-21). In Standard American bidding, the response of 1NT to an opening bid of 1 or 1 shows 6 to 9 high card points (HCP) and is non-forcing. Q9 With eight or fewer combined cards, the guideline is to finesse; with nine or more, the guideline is to play the ace and king. A bid that is less than that warranted by the strength of the hand. A temporizing bid, such as the 2 response to a strong 2 opening bid. 24 points gives about a 50-50 chance of making game. seem to have clouded this issue and many, at least of those playing online tournaments, consider some of these bids forcing. Otherwise, the only forcing bid is a new suit. show answer, AJ73 954 show answer, AJ3 Opener's 2 rebid is a reverse. This bid is a "puppet" and in this situation partner has to bid Three Clubs. Four numbers separated by hyphens (-) denotes any of the distribution matching that general pattern. A conventional double jump in a new suit to show support for partner's suit and a singleton or void in the bid suit. After 1 - 1N your rebid is? The undertaking by declarer's side to win at least a specific number of tricks in a specific denomination as determined by the final bid in the auction. A conventional agreement to play a jump response in a new suit as showing only an invitational hand with a good six-card or longer suit. A call that increases the bonus for making or defeating a contract. Spades are ranked highest; hearts are second; diamonds are third; clubs are the lowest-ranking suit. With show answer, K9 When defending against a suit contract, it is usually a poor idea to lead away from an ace in a side suit, since you may never get a trick with your ace if declarer has a singleton. 53 So playing standard methods we have: - Hand 7 Hand 8 With Hand 7 partner has opened 2 . A total trick score of 100 or more points. We add Partner's points to our own and we get a two-point range for the total points in the partnership. A slang term for an extremely strong hand in the context of the auction. show answer. A double made by a player in the pass out position. For example, if West has bid hearts and South holds A-Q and North holds 4-3, the contract is better played by South than North. AQ87 A consensus bidding system based on the preferences of North American experts. The denomination in which the contract should be played. The cards in each suit are ranked in order during the play: the ace is the highest, then the king, queen, jack, ten, down to the two. It represents seven tricks. We then clarify both the strength of our hand and the length of our suits through specific sequences of rebids. A defensive signal, typically used in a ruffing situation. If South becomes declarer, West will be on lead and can lead a heart through dummy's (North's) K, trapping it when East holds the AQ. seem to have clouded this issue and many, at least of those playing online tournaments . The responder can also show a two-suited 5-5 hand by switching on the re-bid to the other Major and at the same time differentiate between invitational strength and game forcing strength by choosing which suit to bid first: 1NT-2-2-2 is invitational (11-12 points), while 1NT-2-2-3 is game-forcing. show answer, QJ7 Spot cardsany card from two through nine. AKJ532 An artificial 2 response to an opening bid of 1 or 1 in third or fourth position asking whether opener has a light opening bid. XYZ is a convention whereby the first 3 bids of a partnership's auction are on the 1-level (but not 1NT- over 1NT you can play some version of New Minor Forcing). The original pass limits the 2H call and therefore the Morehead rule would apply making the 3H call invitational but it seems few ever pass. The event is the first day (of 2 days) of the District 6 Open North American Pairs to see who wins the trips to represent the district, so the field is pretty good. Every bid fits into one category or the other. Partner raises you to 4 . Whichever side lets the opponents play in their partscore contract will suffer a small loss, letting the opponents bid and make a partscore when they could have bid and made a partscore. W: 1NT E: 4NT 19 -20 points. To make a forcing bid, we can jump to the three level in a new suit, 3 . It is most akin to what is called Yellow Card. For example, dummy has the K-Q and declarer is void. Set up sure tricks by driving out winning cards in the opponents' hands. A raise of partner's suit to the minimum available level. Copyright 2010-2023 by Ralph Welton. AK3 In each online deal, a player is the nominated as the dealer -this title rotates each new game. Promises at least one 4-card major and an invitational hand. In an auction with two cuebids available, the higher cuebid corresponds to the partnership's higher-ranking suit, the lower cuebid corresponds to the partnership's lower-ranking suit. A2 v. - Any bid made by bridge player with which partner disagrees. 15-17 point balanced hands are opened with 1NT, not one-of-a-suit. The number of cards held in a suit. JT7 For example: 5=4=3=1 denotes five spades, four hearts, three diamonds, and one club. When there is no major suit fit, we turn our attention to notrump before choosing to play in a minor suit. When you have 6+ cards in a major, Partner's failure to raise does not rule out the possibility of a major suit fit. A play technique for winning a trick with a low trump when an opponent has a favorably located higher trump. A bid in a situation where it is unnecessary to bid to give partner another chance to make a call. The conventional use of a jump to 2NT by responder after opener's suit has been doubled for takeout to show a limit raise or better in opener's suit. through 3 ) After a double: all suit bids are natural to play After an overcall: all doubles are . It can also be used to ask partner to bid a suit. An ace or void is a 'first-round' control; a king or a singleton is a 'second-round' control. When developing and taking tricks, the order in which tricks are played can be important. KJ2 Responder can also bid 2 to set up a Game Force. While not forcing, these rebids do have a fairly wide range (up to about 17 or even 18). The card led to the first trick. After a major suit fit has been found Responder's 2 relay is used to either place the contract in 2, or to be followed by an invitational bid. A printed card placed on the table that indicates the player directions and instructions for the movement in duplicate games. 3) Extra Tricks Needed. Each trick by which declarer's side fails to fulfill the contract. When one partner makes a forcing bid, the other partner must keep the bidding open regardless of how rotten he thinks his hand is. You have enough strength to force to game, and you have a four-card suit you haven't mentioned yet, so you bid it: 3 . We've already looked at jumping in NT with a balanced hand of 18-19 points. When planning on trumping losers in dummy, declarer may have to delay drawing trumps to be sure to keep enough trumps in the dummy. The number of tricks required to make the contract. 1NT 2NT is invitational to 3NT; partner will raise if at the high end of her . Letting the opponents win a trick that you could win. After 1 - 1 your rebid is? A guideline for deciding whether to finesse for a missing queen. AJ763 show answer, Q9 When trumping losers, declarer should generally trump as high as can be afforded to avoid being overruffed (overtrumped) by the next player. The bonuses and penalties are less when a partnership is non vulnerable than when it is vulnerable. . Playing the trump suit until the opponents have none left. So why would Opener bid a suit where there can be no fit? The responder can bid 2 to force opener to bid 2. A bonus score awarded in rubber bridge for holding four or more honors in the trump suit, or all four aces in a notrump contract. A contract that has a trick score value of 100 or more points. A play technique for winning a trick with a low trump when an opponent has a higher trump. An artificial opening bid of 2 to show a strong hand of about 22 or more points if balanced or 9 or more tricks if unbalanced. After Opener's diamond bid, Responder passed over hearts to respond in spades. It is usually for requirements over $100,000. A result in a team match where a game contract is made by one team but no by the other team. After 1 - 1 your rebid is? After 1 - 1N your rebid is? It is a forcing bid, hoping to get help from partner in choosing the best contract. KT52 After 1 - 1 your rebid is? A holding in a suit that will make it difficult for the other side to take all the tricks in the suit, such as Q-J-9-7 in the opponents' trump suit. K87 Example 1: Opener bids 1C/1D and partner responses 1H (or 1S) promising 4+ cards: With 4 card support for partner's major: Bidding 2H shows a minimum hand (12-15 points); Bidding 3H shows an invitational hand (16 - 18); Responder should bid game with 8-9 + points and should pass with only 6-7 points. For example, if you hold the K, it would be unfavorable to have the A located on your left. A87 It would be better for North to become declarer so that East cannot lead a heart without giving North a trick with the K. Typically, the defenders need to work together to develop tricks. A jump raise of opener's suit typically shows invitational values (10-12 points). Bid a new suit even with only three cards in it, when you don't know what game to play in. The four cards contributed during each round of the play. A raise of partner's suit from the one level to the three level that invites partner to continue to game. A game-invitational action that shows a singleton or void in a side suit. An artificial response of 2NT to an opening bid of 1 or 1 that shows support for opener's suit and at least enough strength for the partnership to get to game. J54 A combined holding in a suit between the partnership hands. For example, using the same conventions when advancing a 1NT overcall that you use when responding to a 1NT opening bid. After 1 - 1N your rebid is? Expert and long term partnerships may make exceptions but these will be rare and therefore a memory strain - beware. A format of the game in which one team sits a pair North-South at one table and East-West at a second table to play against another team that sits its pairs in the opposing directions. A hand with high honors but few lower honors and intermediate cards. "One analogy that helps you remember the message given by a particular bid is the traffic light. In response to a 1NT opening, a bid of 2 asks opener to bid 2 and 2 asks opener to bid 2. Major suit fits are our first priority. Then the above sequences can be used for more difficult hand types instead. Now this all works, but it is nowhere near as efficient as the SARS sequences defined in the No Trump bidding book. A defensive play which promotes a trump card into a winning trick. A common form of scoring in duplicate bridge in which a pair receives 1 point for every score they beat and 1/2 point for every score they tie. If she has 6-7 she passes because the total cannot exceed 24. Jacoby transfers can also be used after notrump overcalls or higher-level notrump opening bids. You can subsequently shift to a major to show a 5-card suit and invite game. Except when you can rebid your own suit, a two-over-one response promises game-going values. An initial 2NT bid is not needed as a natural invitation (the response to 2tells responder if opener is maximum or not) and so may be used for what you wish, usually a puppet to 3. KJ752 A raise of partner's suit to more than the minimum level available. In a auction where you could have raised partner directly with an invitational jump, of course a cuebid is a game force when you support partner. "up the line bidding" refers to auctions where the person choosing a suit to respond is fairly confident that there will be more bidding by partner. KT5 A play that forces an opponent to discard an essential card. His three spade bid says if you have a maximum, in terms of what you have already shown, then bid four spades. The conventional use of a double by opener to show three-card support for responder's suit after an opponent's overcall. The value of high cards in a hand: ace, 4; king, 3; queen, 2; jack, 1. The level at which the contract should be played. Partner couldn't bid hearts at the two level without five of them. A consensus bidding system based on the preferences of North American experts. Predictably a sign-off bid often follows a limit bid . Overtricks are relatively unimportant. AT7 KQ4 Conventional plays made by the defenders to give each other information. "Gentlemen, when the barrage lifts." 9th battalion, King's own Yorkshire light infantry, 2000 years earlier: "morituri te salutant". For example: AJ109, Q1098. It is used when a direct double would be for takeout, not for penalty. Conversely, bidding slowly toward the contract shows interest in bidding more. In borderline cases in first or second position, the high-card points are added to the number of cards in the two longest suits. The partnership agreement that an opening bid of 1 or 1 promises five or more cards in the suit. For example, leading the 2 when holding A-9-6-2. It can also be used whenever a forcing call is needed. Instead, we raise to 2NT, showing 11-12 points. They don't they may never understand that point count is just a guide, and not a very good one at that.