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Bridge Conventions
Score
A complete list of how to score points for Partscore, Game,
Overtricks, Undertricks, Slams, Doubles and Redoubles.
Score Card
A complete list of all possible contracts and the results
either doubled, redoubled, vulnerable and not vulnerable.
Splinter
A convention allowing certain distributional hands to bid
slam without necessarily having the high card points, but
rather indicating the position of certain Key Cards.
Stayman
A convention allowing the responder to a No Trump opening
to ask for a 4-card Major. Included is the technical difference
between Forcing and Non-Forcing Stayman.
- Double Barreled Stayman - A variation
of Stayman using a combination of Non-Forcing and Game-Forcing
Stayman.
- Extended Stayman - This convention
allows a partnership to find 4-4 and 5-3 Major fits, as
well as Minor suit fits. Efos/Extended Stayman may be used
to search for Major and Minor suit fits after a strong No
Trump opening.
- EFOS/Extended Stayman - A method
of Stayman used in the Efos bidding system to determine
fits in either the Major and/or Minor suits after a strong
No Trump opening.
- Minor Suit Stayman - This convention,
a variation of the Jacoby Transfer originally devised by
Mr. Oswald Jacoby, is used by the responder whose partner
has opened the bidding with 1 No Trump. The Minor Suit Stayman
convention was devised for specifically three types of holdings
held by the responder, and which will be determined during
the ensuing auction.
- Murray Two Diamonds - The Murray
Two Diamonds convention was devised by Mr. Eric R. Murray
and is similar to the Two Way Stayman concept. After one
partner opens the auction with 1 No Trump, the partner,
with a holding such as the following, must bid 2 Diamonds.
- Non-Forcing Stayman - The idea
of a non-forcing Stayman sequence is rather a misnomer,
since the 1 No Trump bidder is forced to respond. The non-forcing
sequence occurs when the Stayman inquirer rebids a different
suit after the 1 No Trump bidder has responded in another
suit.
- Puppet Stayman - A method to discover
whether the No Trump bidder has opened with a 5-card Major
suit.
- Sharples - The Sharples convention
is a method of responding to a No Trump opening when the
responder holds only one 4-card Major and one or both 4-card
Minor suits. this concept was devised by Mr. James and
Robert Sharples. The Sharples method is an extension
of the
- Stayman convention and allows the partnership
to explore first of all for a fit in a Major suit, and,
if no fit is found, then to attempt to find a fit in a Minor
suit.
- Slam-Try Stayman - A variation
of the Stayman convention which allows the responder to
bid 2 Diamonds to indicate interest in slam.
- Stayman Showing Stoppers - The
idle bid of 2 Diamonds is used as a method of discovering
whether the partnership has all of the suits stopped for
a final contract in No Trump.
- Stayman After a 2 No Trump Opening
- This partnership understanding allows the partnership
to determine whether only a partscore is possible and also
whether only game or slam is possible by the use of the
first responses in the Minor suits.
- Two Way Stayman - A version devised
by Mr. Alan Fraser Truscott.
Swiss
The Swiss convention requires a response of Four in A Minor
Suit to an opening of one in a Major Suit and shows a Standard
Forcing Raise to the Three-Level. Variations of this convention
are listed below.
Squeezes and Squeeze
Plays
These are different plays which forces an opponent, sometimes
both opponents, to discard a winner or a potential winner.
Texas Convention
The Texas convention is simply a Transfer Bid. It was developed
by Mr. David Carter of the United States, and also
independently by Mr. Olle Willner of Sweden.
Texas Transfer Convention
A Four Level bid by the responder to a No Trump opening to
transfer the intended suit back to the opener. This convention
is also an optional feature of the Acol Bidding System.
The Unusual No Trump
How to show your Partner a two-suited hand with an overcall
of one bid, and to show him which suits they are. A powerful
tool of bridge utilized by many bridge players.
Thomas Convention
The origin of this convention is unknown and is properly
designated as the Thomas Four Diamonds convention.
It can be used in several bidding systems, such as the Universal Club bidding system, but
can also be employed as a stand-alone method of asking for
Aces. The convention is used only used after an opening of
a Major suit, not after a Minor suit opening.
Weak Two Bids
A Convention or a Treatment? First practiced by Mr. Schenken
and Mr. Van Vleck, and then adopted by many bridge players
around the world because of its obstructive element. These
bids have become universal, but not every player knows what
to do afterwards. Variations on this concept follow below.
- Benjamin Convention - Mr. Albert
Benjamin from Scotland liked the Weak Two Bid so much,
that he decided to alter it somewhat. He grew up using the
Acol System, and altered the bidding auction.
- McCabe Adjunct - This is a method
whereby the Weak Two Bidder and his partner play in a new
suit on the Three Level.
- Ogust System - A System of rebidding
after a 2 No Trump response to partner's Weak Two Opening,
devised by Mr. Harold A. Ogust, with the intention
of describing the holding more completely in terms of weakness
and strength.
- Modified Ogust - A variant of
the Ogust System developed by Mr. Jeff Goldsmith.
Weak Jump Shift Response
During the evolution of the Strong Jump Shift response, signifying
15/16 high card points and a 6-card suit, it became evident
that even a normal response had the same effect, since any
response by the responder continues to be forcing for one
round. Therefore, another interpretation of the Jump Shift
response became the norm. Instead of being strong, the Jump
Shift became weak.
Weak No Trump Opening
The use of a No Trump range between 10-12 high card points,
used as a preemptive strike against the opponents. Employed
mainly by favorable vulnerability and generally in the First,
Second, and sometimes Third Seat.
Weak Opening Systems
Weak Opening Systems, or WOS, has become a bidding system
in its own right. The first such system was primarily accomplished
by Mr. Jukasz Slawinski of Poland. It was based originally
upon the concept behind a Strong Two Club bidding system. This
concept was revised, expanded, and amended.
Weissberger
Used in the Acol bidding system, this conventional variation
of the Stayman convention assists the partnership to establish
whether the No Trump bidder holds a 3-card Major suit.
Western Cuebid
Although this is not a convention, it is a useful concept
when the partnership discovers that the better contract could
be a No Trump contract rather than a suit contract. The only
requirement is that an opponent must make a suit overcall
in order that one partner can cuebid that particular suit
in order to discover whether the other partner has a stopper
in that suit. Therefore, the Western Cuebid asks for a
stopper, but does not show a stopper.
- California Cuebid - This is another designation
for the Western Cuebid.
- Eastern Cuebid - Although this is not a convention,
it is a useful concept when the partnership discovers that
the better contract could be a No Trump contract rather
than a suit contract. The only requirement is that an opponent
must make a suit overcall in order that one partner can
cuebid that particular suit in order to show the other partner
that he/she has a stopper in that suit. Therefore, the
Eastern Cuebid shows a stopper, but does not ask for a stopper.
Woodson Two-Way No Trump
This convention, named after Mr. William Woodson,
permits an opening bid of 1 No Trump with any balanced hand
and can contain 10-12 high card points or 16-18 high card
points. Mr. William Woodson reasoned that the opponents would
have a more difficult time entering the auction if confronted
by a 1 No Trump. If you select to use the Woodson Convention,
include it in your Partnership Agreement, and ascertain whether
you may play it at certain tournaments.
If you wish to include any convention listed here, or
any other convention, of the game of bridge in your partnership
agreement, then please make certain that the concept is understood
by both partners. Be aware whether or not the features or
the convention are alertable or not and whether an announcement
should or must be made. Check with the governing body and/or
the bridge district and/or the bridge unit prior to the game
to establish the guidelines applied. Please include the particular
feature on your convention card in order that your opponents
are also aware of this feature during the bidding process,
since this information must be made available to them according
to the Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge.
We do not always include the procedure regarding Alerts
and/or Announcements, since these regulations are changed
and revised during time by the governing body. It is our intention
only to present the information as concisely and as accurately
as possible.
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Bridge
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