How Bidding Systems Work Jack Uppal February 1, 2017

Bidding systems are designed to get a partnership to the best contract- in level and suit. This is done through a sequence of bids that describe at least one of the hands in strength and distribution. The objective is to get to the contract that scores the most points, or gives up the least number of points. Note that ALL major bidding systems have strengths and weaknesses, and preference for a system is often a matter of style. All main systems also have "holes" or "flaws" in the system which require the use of conventions to fix. This means, though, that the usefulness of a convention is dependent on the system played.

To accomplish this, ALL bidding systems need to be able to describe the following types of hands: 1. Balanced hands with point count ranges at least between 12 to 25 HCP, with each sequence having a range of no more than 4, and usually 2 or 3 HCP. 2. opening hands when one hand has a 4 or 5 card major suit- again with strength ranging from about 11-12 HCP up to at least 25 HCP. 3. Unbalanced hands- not suitable for NT bids, which contain at least a 5-card minor suit. Strength again from 11 up to at least 25 HCP. 4. All the systems I know require at least 1 strong which is forcing on the responder.

First, let's look at balanced hands, and we'll use as our example : In all these cases opener describes a very limited hand with a narrow point count range and narrowly defined shape. Responder is the captain and responder determines the final contract. 12-14 HCP: open 1 of your better minor, then rebid 1NT if possible. 15-17: open 1NT 18-19: open 1 of your better minor and rebid 2NT, if possible 20-21: open 2NT 22-23: open 2C, and rebid 2NT if possible. 24-26: open 2C, and rebid 3NT if possible. 27+: not part of the main system, but it is possible to invent these- with 27-29, open 2C and rebid 4NT. 30-32 open 2C and rebid 5NT, etc.

Strengths of this: The full range is covered. Weaknesses: Sometimes you will get passed out in 1 of a minor when you hold a 3-card minor suit with 18 or 19 points- almost always a bad match point result. Also, a 2NT opening with 20-21 HCP might already be too high to make if partner has a bust. Needed conventions: to uncover a major fit when partner describes a , there are several conventions that are part of standard american: a) Stayman where responder asks if opener has a 4-card major b) Transfer bids where responder shows a 5-card major (or mnor) c) where responder checks back on whether opener suppressed 3-card major support, or has 4 cards in the other major. These three are very important in standard american, and all have been covered in lessons here.

Major suit structure: In standard american, opener opens 5+ card majors. Responder has several ways to raise opener's major suit with 3+ card support: a) single raise: 6-10 points (HCP+distribution points), and 3+ card support. b) double raise: 11-12 points, usually 4+ card support, invitational to game. c) Jacoby 2NT forcing raise, usually with 4+ card support and 13+ points. This convention is needed because ALL systems need some kind of forcing raise in a major suit. Jacoby 2NT has been covered in these lessons. d) Jump to 4 of the major to show 5+ card support, and a weak hand. Primarily preemptive.

Weaknesses: how do you show a hand with 4 card support and < 7 points? How about < 5 points? How do you show a 11-12 point raise with just 3-card support (make a new suit bid,at the 2-level followed by support of opener's major). How do you show a good side suit along with 4+ card support for opener? These are all reasons why people use conventions such as , splinter bids, fit jumps, and more. In 2/1 system, it is possible to bid a forcing NT followed by a simple rebid or jump rebid of opener's major to show 2 more type of raises.

Minor suit openings: In standard american and 2/1, minor suit openings are the most complex and difficult. This is because a 1C or 1D opening bid can be as little as 3 cards and as many as 10! The point count range is also huge- 11 to 21. I often say that a minor suit opening is best described by what it DOESN'T show rather than what it DOES show. A minor suit opening: a) denies a 5-card major unless opener has a 6+ card minor. b) denies the strength and shape of a 1NT or 2NT opening bid c) denies 22+ HCP. When opener starts with 1C or 1D with a balanced hand (in Std American), opener has either 12-14 HCP or 18-19 HCP. Let's look at bidding sequences after 1m-1M: a) 1C-1H-1NT: 12-14 balanced, denies 4-card H support. Might have 4-card spades, might not. b) 1C-1H-2C: 11-16 HCP, usually 6+ clubs. c) 1C-1H-2H: 11-15 HCP, usually 4-card support. d) 1C-1H-1S: 11-16 HCP, 4-card spades, denies 4 hearts. e) 1C-1H-2D or 2S: : 17-21 points, 5+ cards in clubs, and 4+ cards in second suit. Clubs is the longest suit. f) 1C-1H-2NT: 18-19 balanced, denies 4-card H suit. g) 1C-1H-3H: 17-18 points, 4-card support, invitational h) 1C-1H-4H 19-21 points, 4-card support. i) 1C-1H-3C 17-18 or poor 19 points, 6+ card club suit; denies 4 card second suit

"Must do" conventions in standard american bidding without competition: Stayman, transfers, new minor forcing, jacoby 2NT, blackwood, Gerber

With competition, add in negative doubles as a "must do" convention.

Sometimes conventions don't work well together. Be careful when constructing your agreements because use of conventions can cause a "hole" to appear. Example: in 2/1 system, it is common to use a forcing 1NT response to 1 of a major. This is used in a sequence such as 1H-1NT-2C-3H. The 3H bid shows 11-12 points with 3-card H support.. A direct raise of 1H-3H might be used to show 11-12 points with 4-card H support. But, now if you decide to use "semi-forcing 1NT", this doesn't work anymore because opener can pass the 1NT response. So now, all 11-12 point hands with 3+ card support must be shown with a direct raise to the 3 level.

Reverses: After an opening bid of 1m or 1M, opener "reverses" to show a stronger hand (usually 17+ HCP). A reverse is when opener bids a 2nd suit at the 2 level where the 2nd suit is higher than the first. For example, 1C-1H-2D is a reverse showing 17+ points, clubs longer than diamonds (usually 5-4 or better). I know some of you play reverses as not showing extra values, but then what do you do when you DO have extra values? In standard american and in 2/1, a reverse always shows extra values. A jump rebid by opener at the 3-level is usually treated as game forcing, and shows 19+ points. For example, 1H-1S-3C or 3D is a jump rebid, and this is usually played as forcing, showing 19+ points, and the first suit is at least as long as the second suit.

Weaknesses in Standard American: What do you do when bidding your second suit would constitute a reverse, but you don't have the values for a reverse? The answer is that you don't bid that second suit! For example, holding 5 clubs, 4 diamonds, and 2 cards in each major, and about 13 HCP, you open 1C. After your partner bids a major (either 1H or 1S), what do you rebid? The answer is you rebid ANYTHING reasonable except 2D! 1NT is reasonable if you have a strong doubleton in the other major, 2C is reasonable although it usually shows a 6+ card suit. This is a problem hand in standard american and in 2/1 systems. Another example is you are again 5-4-2-2, but with 5 hearts and 4 spades, and 13 HCP. You open 1H. If your partner bids 1NT, DO NOT REBID 2S. That is again a reverse. In std american, you can pass 1NT. In 2/1, you either have to bid a 2-card minor, or rebid 2H with 5 cards. Again, you should NOT rebid 2S. For this reason, when your partner opens 1H, you should strain to bid 1S with a 4-card suit even when you have a longer suit elsewhere, unless you are strong enough to make a 2/1 response.

Every bidding system has at least 1 strong artificial forcing opening bid. In SA and in 2/1, that bid is 2C. It is vital to know under which situations the partnership can stop short of game when your side opens 2C! Many players are dazzled by their own hand, and push to game even opposite a bust in their partner's hand.

That is the guts of nearly all bidding systems. In SA, the remaining 2-level bids are natural and weak. If you just think about the basic structure of the bidding system, you will be able to figure out when bids by your partner are forcing, and when they are not. You will be able to figure out your partner's hand much better in the bidding if you categorize it as balanced/unbalanced, weak/strong, one-suited/2-suited/3-suited. You will also be better able to figure out opponents hands based on their bidding, and thus play better defense. Finally, you'll have a better idea of what to do when your opponents play a bidding system you are less familiar with. Who knows, you might even get inspired to learn a different bidding system, and might even start playing it because it fits your style better. Here's a basic summary of major systems:

SAYC: common, with 5-card majors. Every player should understand this system whether they play it or not. It is the basis of almost all the others.

2/1: Basically the same as SAYC with the exceptions of: a) 1M-1NT is forcing for 1 round. This changes the structure of major suit auctions significantly. b) a 2/1 response is forcing to game. Some play that a rebid of responder's suit may be passed, but many play a 2/1 response is unconditionally forcing to game. c) inverted minor suit raises are almost required in 2/1.

Precision: very different, but simplifies a lot of problems: a) A 1C bid is the strong artificial opening: shows 16+ HCP, says nothing about clubs. This leaves the most bidding room for the partnership when we have a strong hand. Responder shows a bust right away with a 1D bid which shows <8 HCP, any shape. After that, bidding is mostly natural. Any other bid by responder other than 1D shows 8+ points, and is forcing to game. b) Big advantage- all other opening suit bids, 1D, 1H, 1S, and 2C are limited to 11-15 HCP. That simplifies a lot of the bidding because responder knows opener does not have a big hand. The meaning of opener's reverses now changes- cannot be a big hand, and is often used to show a shapely hand (like a 6-5 hand). The limiting of these 4 opening bids is the strongest feature of precision.

SAYC-weak NT (this is basically the old Kaplan-Sheinwold system): This can be played entirely as SAYC, but you interchange the meanings of the opening 1NT bid and the 1m- 1M-1NT bids. The opening 1NT bid becomes 12-14, and the 1m-1M-1NT bid now shows 15-17 HCP. Opening 1NT with 12-14 has great preemptive value.

Polish Club- very different. The 1C opening bid is forcing, but can have multiple meanings. The entire system is not allowed as part of the general chart, but it is possible to play a simplified version under the general convention chart.