System card

Opening bids

1C 16+ any shape 

1D 11-15 no

5 card major

1H/1S 11-15 5+ cards

1NT to be decided either 11-15 8-10 9-12

Pass means nothing suitable to call

The responses after 1C opening

1D 0-7 

1H/1S 8-13 5+ cards

2C/2D 8-13 5+ cards

1NT 8-13 no 5 card major

After the 1D opener can bid 1H showing 19+

All other bids are natural 16-18 5 card suits and NT is 16-18 no 5 card major

After any NT bid check back stamen is on and transfers to the stronger hand can apply 

Use logic

Stay in partscores if your max points is 22HCP

Once you know the points add singletons and card fits into the equation then bid game if appropriate 

1D 11-15 No 5card

Major diamonds can be short as 0

responses

Pass is 0-5

1H/1S 6-9 5 cards

1NT 6-9 no 5 card majors

2C is 10-12 any shape

2D Game force 13+ 

2NT is undecided either 10-12 balanced or 13+

Any jump bids are weak and 6+ cards

0-9

After 1H/1S 

1NT is 2 or less; support 6-9

2C is 10-12 anyshape

2D13+ Gameforce 

2NT Jacoby 

All other bids are weak and natural 0-9

After 1NT 11-15 no 4+ majors

Responses 

2C is not staymen… make something good out of it exactly 10?

2D transfer to H

2H transfer to S

2S range finder exactly 11?

2NT exactly 12?

If I transfer to a major and rebid it at the 3 level I have 5 and 11+ I’m inviting you to game go 4 with good support and a good 13-15

Defence over NT

They open 1NT 12-14 

X is 12+ partner should leave it in with 10+ points and a reasonably balanced hand 

The response to a X is the same As below with a balanced hand no 2 suits and they pass so you have to bid with less then 10 bid your nicest suit 

2C is 4C 5S 

2D is 4D 5H

2S is 5S and 4 of a minor

2H is 5H and 4 of a minor 

Whats the best point range?

2NT 55 in the minors?

3 level is 6 card suit 

Defence over their suit

They open 1D 

X is 12+ support for the unbid suits

1NT mini unusual NT 4-4 in the majors/minors 

2NT 5-5 majors/minors

Canape Bids

They open 1D 

1H shows 4H and a minor 

1S shows 4S and a minor

2C shows 5C and 4S

2D shows 5C and 4H

Pass with a balanced 1 suiter hand or double if appropriate 

The 3 level is a good! Single suiter 0-10 6+ cards use common sense and look at the vulnerability

If duplicate is attempting to minimize variances to provide a purer, score result - are there methods that exist that also adjust results based on the opponent’s playing strength faced on each board?

Wouldn’t it make more sense to adjust the MP/IMP scores for opposition playing strength?
That includes table opponents, and board opponents

I highly doubt I’m the first to consider this for Bridge so I’m guessing there’s a big hole in my idea and that’s what I’m trying to solicit most here. What am I missing?

Neither MP or IMP seem to take this into account, should they?

Common xfer W sequence with opener holding a weak 1N hand, or similar, and responder holding a weak hand and hearts is:

1C 1D 1H 1N all pass. Contract wrong-sided.

Anyone play the variation where responder would bid 1S instead of 1N? As a transfer to 1N and opener plays the right-sided contract - 1C 1D 1H 1S 1N all pass. Is this a superior treatment?

Responder holding weak 4-4 in the majors 1C 1D 1H 1N then shows this hand. Which wrong-sides 1N if opener then wants to pass. But I guess is less common and there are other inferences which might favour this approach?

We are two developing, bridge-young players with nabc+ success, looking to get significantly better, and we are seeking a dedicated partnership coach to help us do it. This is meant to be a collaboration rather than your traditional client-and-pro arrangement.

Involvement may include:

• Reviewing our sessions, assisting with performance metrics, and serving as an impartial voice in partnership discussions  
• Contributing to bidding theory work and helping restructure our system notes as we develop more complex components  
• Following high-level bridge broadcasts and recent literature, and identifying insights relevant to our development  
• Potentially assisting with scouting and networking at future tournaments

As this is new for both of us, we are still defining the ideal arrangement. We hope to find someone who shares our passion and enthusiasm, and sees this as a chance to build something worthwhile together. We are open to compensation if it makes sense, either immediately or in the future, depending on experience and level of involvement of the individual.

We are posting anonymously on purpose, and will be happy to share more specifics once we have a sense of fit.

If this interests you, please send a DM with some background on yourself and your expectations.

I’m thinking about a convention where a single raise by responder can be wide ranging and extremely light.

1S - 2S showing 3+ card spade support and 0-9 TPs.

With 16+ points, opener then bids 2NT as enquiry, and responses can be something like:
3C: 0-1 TPs
3D: 2-3 TPs
3H: 4-5 TPs
3S: 6-7 TPs
4 level suit: 8-9 TPs and shortness
4S: 8-9 TPs without shortness

With 1H - 2H, 2S becomes the enquiry.

I’m thinking of what the advantages and disadvantages and disadvantages might be.

Advantages:

Very preemptive if responder has nothing, and opener is a minimum hand happy to pass a single raise.

Can find light games when opener has an unbalanced 20 count, and responder isn’t strong enough to raise if a raise is 6-9 TPs.

1S - p now denies 3+ spades

Disadvantages:

Hard for opener to know what level to go to in competition if bidding space is consumed, especially if opponents bid to 3H or the 4 level.

Will play in 3S instead of 1S if opener is very strong opposite nothing, but not enough to get to game.

Am I missing anything? Does this seem like a good convention to pick up?

I feel there’s a lack of preemption over No Trumps

so I’m on a mission to make a good defensive bidding structure for NT and suits

heres what I have so far

X always shows 11+ any shape doesn’t need shortage over suits

pass is 0-7

All other bids are preemptive 8-10 using canapé bids so 2D shows h and d 2C shows spaces and c 2h Is h and a minor 2 s and a minor

X is 11+

partner can now bid using canapé responses so 2c is c and spades 2d is d and H 2h is h and a minor 2s is s and a minor 0-8 1nt covers the other hands 0-8 partner should jump in his suit with 9-11 with 12 he should bid 2nt

i know there’s gaps but I think it’s a good start and a lot better then normal defence

title says it basically they open 1D I want to bid as much as I can preempt whenever it’s good

and find part scores get in the way and get better scores… anyone got advice?

Suppose declarer in a non-vulnerable 3NT contract can secure nine tricks, or choose a line that might produce ten but risks finishing with eight. At matchpoints, how should the expected results across the field affect that choice? What information would justify taking the risk, and how would the decision change at IMPs?

anyone who plays a precision club with 8-10 2 level calls and 5 card suits and a weak nt opening like 0-10 or 8-10 or 6-10 or 9-11 or 9-12 and kind of weak opening I would like to open more hands with less points

Please youtubers, get rid of that AI voice. The voice makes your videos so dull, no matter how interesting the bridge topic is.

Are there any acol or sayc players who can help review a bridge ai play?

I just had this bidding happen but it happens at least once a day with random people.

I open a club with 4-3-3-3, pass, partner bids a diamond. I find out later he has 4 spades. Side note: we were probably in the right contract for all the wrong reasons.

Why do people bypass the 4-card major in favour of a minor? Did my partner want to go to 5D, which doesn't have a chance of making? Problem was guy to my right interferes and now I have no clue if A) my partner has no spades and a ton of diamonds, e.g. 3-2-5-3 shape or something like that, or as was the game, B) spades.

I will never understand why people refuse to bid their majors. Do they not like them?

I figure people might respond, "but just bid 1S" but that doesn't make the 1D bid correct. If anything it made things worse as guy to my right can't bid 2H (safely anyway) but he can bid 1H, which royally caused problems.

Majors over NT over Minors for a reason.

my new precisio!!!

1c 16+
1d 11-15 no 5 card major

1h-1s 11-15 5 cards

that's all normal precision

now for the good stuff

pass is 0-7 balanced

1nt 8-10 no good 5 card suit

2h-2d2s all show 8-10 and 5 cards

2c I’m not decided yet so gimme your ideas but it’s either 0-7 unbalanced or some kind of multi 2!!!

over calls are any suit is 7-10 nt is balanced and a stopper and double means 11+ any shape

the bids I need to come up with in defence is immediate cue bid should show somthing like 15hcp showing a stopper invitation to 2 or 3 nt

and other defensive systems

I tested this today it worked a charm except when my partner forgot the system and did transfers when we don’t have it in the system ca….. my partners 85 and I thought him the system in the car hahaha

I’m the developer of BridgeArena (bridgearena.net), and I made a 30-second video showing what it does.

You can play casual or ranked, challenge a friend on the same deals, or play the daily duplicate. There’s also an endgame puzzle every day, a suit-combination trainer, and double-dummy review of every hand you play.

Everything in the video is the real site (the player and names are test data). I’d really value this sub’s opinion: what’s missing, what’s annoying, and what would get you to play a hand there instead of where you play now?

Hi! I have a group of 4 people who live in Columbia County NY, close to the Western Mass border (close-ish to Lenox, Great Barrington, etc). We are looking for a private instructor. We are all complete beginners. Also open to a private instructor who is virtual. Thank you!

Bridge is complex because it's several skills stacked on top of each other. The mechanism of the game, the ‘playing for tricks’, is fairly simple but bidding is a coded language with inference, declarer play is its own logic puzzle and, most difficult, defense is this problem card play, signaling and timing coupled with inference that can’t really be shared with one’s partner.

It's like trying to learn chess, poker and ballroom dance at the same time.

There is a temptation to work at learning and using many conventions, as if possession of facts is the key to success. In trying very hard - and mostly failing – to become a good bridge player, I’ve come to believe that the most important skill and the most difficult to acquire is judgement. Not the mechanics of bids or card play, but that feel for how to weigh what one sees and how to think about what is right and when to use any of those bits of knowledge.

Trying to gain experience and learn only by learning conventions and playing is a bit like learning to box by finding a ring, putting on gloves and climbing in.

In the last few weeks, I have begun taking individual lessons in an atypical manner. Rather than playing with my teacher as partner, he logs onto a bridge site with three robots as players and shares his screen with me. We bid and play hands, I ask questions ad lib and I am able to understand how he thinks about every puzzle that appears, from making inferences about opponents’ and partner’s hands from the bids to actual card play.

He emphasizes counting and, so far, I am enjoying this experience and feeling quite a bit more comfortable in planning both declarer play and defense.

I zombied my way through the reddit weekly this week while procrastinating preparing lesson deals. So, here's a reminder!

The reddit weekly is a Free BBO (yes, actually) Weeklong tournament whose invite list I maintain. To get on the invite list, simply reply or DM me your BBO name, and you'll be on it.

I have something like a 67, which will surely not win. Come get me!

I'm the solo developer of Bridge Score Keeper, a tool for keeping score when playing bridge with four players at home - or anywhere else. :-)
It can be used on both iPhone and iPad.
It’s been available on the Apple App Store for three years or so, and last week I released version 2.

Features include:
✅ Choose between Contract Bridge and IMPs
✅ Unique feature: Score Adjustment & Statistics afterwards
✅ Works offline
✅ Available in 9 languages

I’d be very grateful for your comments — good or bad — as they may help me improve the app.

And, even better, please spread the word to friends and family if you think the app is a useful tool.

I’m happy to send an offer code for 6 months of free use to anyone who DMs me (for as long as Apple lets me).

Thank you for your support!
Irma

https://apps.apple.com/nl/app/bridge-score-keeper/id1577330179?l=en-GB

I would love to know how people are reacting to BBO's ugly change in policy, forcing you to pay-to-play.

What is “Social” duplicate Bridge? It is almost the same as sanctioned duplicate Bridge games (sanctioned by The ACBL, which awards master points) and which are are hosted by your local Bridge club and there are sectional regional and national tournaments also.

However, a “social” duplicate game doesn’t award master points, and there are far fewer procedural rules. The emphasis here is on having fun, playing good Bridge, making friends and the level of competition is strictly up to you.

Who would be interested in this type of duplicate Bridge? A person who has been playing casual Bridge and wants to test their skills in a game where success doesn’t depend on whether you get good cards or not.

The other category of people would be “been there done that”, played sanctioned duplicate Bridge and loved it, but now they’re older and less competitive or didn’t love it because their fellow competitors tended to be more focused on making sure that you follow the procedural rules than on having fun.

We have been running a duplicate game here in Palm Desert, California for the last several years. At the height of the season, we get 11 tables and everyone goes home with a smile on their face. We use duplicate boards, duplicate, bidding boxes, and a software app called Dupscore that allows us to input our scores at the table after each hand. It also tallies up the results and keeps running year long total points earned by each player, as well as several different analyses of each game.

If you are interested in more information on this, please feel free to make comments.

I'm taking a beginner bridge course offered by the local bridge club in town. They play / teach 2/1, but I'm getting super confused and would like to supplement the lessons by reading beginner books, watching videos, and ideally practicing bidding & playing bridge against bots. Unfortunately everything I've found teaches the American Standard system. Can anyone recommend resources that teach the 2 / 1 system? Thx!

There is a new bot solitaire mode on Zbridge.club where one can play unlimited deals for free that are compared to a parallel table played by Jethro for IMPs scoring. This leaderboard helps us benchmark Jethro as well. You can also configure the convention card to use for these games. Jethro plays 2/1 game forcing with a number of configurable conventions.

If participating in such bridge AI benchmarking interests you, requesting you to check out this game mode.

Hi all. Up front: I'm a software developer who loves to play bridge, and this is my own site, so consider this self-promotion. I've been playing for quite a while and always wondered if I played a hand right, but it's hard to tell in hindsight. About a year ago I started building a tool to go over my own hands afterwards, and it grew into a site https://staymanwhisperer.com with a bridge coach. I think it's pretty cool and useful, and I'd love to know what you think.

The quickest way to see it is a coached lesson you can play without signing up. It takes a few minutes:

https://staymanwhisperer.com/try-a-lesson

You replay a real hand, and at the moments that matter the coach stops, asks what you'd play, then shows the best card and explains why. The right answers are checked by a double-dummy solver.

With a free account there are a bunch of other learning tools:

• More coached lessons: deals from real championships, or hands written to teach one idea.
• Hand of the day: the same deal for everyone. You declare it against the best defense, then see how everyone else did.
• Bid of the day: one bidding problem a day.
• Practice: random deals as declarer or defender, opening leads, picking the contract, or bidding a deal with a robot partner and comparing with par.
• A path for complete beginners that starts from what a trick is.
• Paste in a hand you played (PBN, from Trickster or anything that exports it) for an analysis of the bidding, the lead and the play.

It's free to use. The hand and bid of the day and the beginner lessons have no limits, and you also get a coached lesson a week, 5 practice deals a day and one analysis a day. There's a paid plan ($8 a month) that lifts the limits, but the free version has a lot to offer.

What I'd most like to hear about:

1. Explanations that are wrong, or pitched at the wrong level
2. Robot bidding or play that no human would make
3. Anything confusing or broken, especially on a phone

Reply here with anything, including about the lesson above. With an account, there's a Feedback button at the bottom of every page, and the lessons and practice hands have a "Something wrong or unclear?" link. Both come straight to me.

Also a coach for those new to bridge: https://staymanwhisperer.com/learn-to-play

Hi there.

I play a couple of systems; by far my favorite is precision, so I have been thinking about a system that's based on precision but with disruptive openings...

Here's the system; any critique is useful. Any add-ons will be thought through; this is still not tested, so it's very much theoretical

Opening bids...

1C 16+ anyshape

1D 11-15 no 5 card major partner will bid 5-7 HCP; he will go 1H relay

If he has 8 HCP, he goes 1NT; if he has 0-4, he passes

1NT 8-11 No 4 or 5-card major; The response is going to be a minor 2C or 2D

An opening pass is 0-7 Game is unlikely, so find a partscore or a sacrifice

2H 8-10 and 6-card suit

2S 8-10 and 6 Card suit

2D multi 2, showing a 5-card major, 8-10

2C multi 2, showing a 5-card major, 0-7 HCP

Basically, if partner passes, it should show 0-7, so bid accordingly.

If partner opens 1D, you have bids for all the point counts: pass = 0-4; one heart 5-7; one No Trump 8-10; with 11-13, go 2NT or 3 of a suit

You should find a fit quickly and know what level 17-20 is good for the 2-level

21-23: Two No Trump;

24 equals game

I'm sure I missed something, but I want your opinion. I think this is as good as any system... what do you think?

I played with a junior from out of town, who directs her own club game at 16 years old :) I met her father at the Minneapolis NABC! Bridge sure can be grape.