BriJ Conventions
Your Convention Card:
Standard American Yellow Card system(advanced, with many added conventions)
Opening bids
Balanced
Unbalanced (or balanced with too many hcp for 1NT)
- 1 of a suit: 12–19 high card points and
losing trick count (ltc) of at most
7.
- BriJ may open with 2 fewer high card points depending on vulnerability,
playing position and the aggression level you have specified (currently Medium)
Opening suit bids at the 2 level
Benji not chosen - 2♣ is strong (the strongest bid, not necessarily specifying a good club suit) (23-40 high card points )
- 2♦ is weak (5-10 high card points )
- 2♥ is weak (high card points 5-10)
- 2♠ is weak (high card points 5-10)
Opening suit bids at the 3 and 4 level
- A 3-level opening
bid in any suit is weak (5–10 high card points ) with a 7 card suit
- A 4-level opening
bid in any suit is weak (5–10 high card points ) with an 8 card suit
5-Card Majors is a selected option
- 1♥ or 1♠
opening bid promises at least 5 cards in the major
- 1♣ opening bid denies a 5 card major and also
denies a 4 card diamond suit
Response Bids
Stayman
After 1NT with potential high card points for game and a 4-card major, bid 2♣
asking for majors
- With a major, the opener then bids 2♥ or 2♠ to show their lowest-ranked
major or
- 2♦ to deny a major
Puppet Stayman after 2NT is a selected option
3♣ asks for 4 or 5 card majors with partnership strength for
game
Responses:
- 3♦ shows no 5
card major but at least one 4 card major
- 3♥
or 3♠ shows a 5 card major
- 3NT denies
a 4 card major
- After 3♦ response, 4♦
means both majors held
- Otherwise responder bids 3♥
to show 4 spades, 3♠ to show 4 hearts and 3NT to
show neither 4-card major held
'Normal' Stayman after 2NT not chosen
Baron after 2NT opener asking for 4-card suit not chosen
Transfers
After 1NT, transfer to a major is a selected option:
With 5 cards in a major,
- 2♦ asks opener to transfer to 2♥
- 2♥ asks opener to bid 2♠
- After 1NT doubled, transfer to any suit, including: redouble→
2♣ and 2♣→ 2♦
After 1NT, transfer to a minor is a selected option
- with 6 cards in a minor, 2♠ asks opener to bid 3♣ and
responder may correct to 3♦
After 2NT, direct opening or strong Benji rebid is a selected option
- 3♦ requests a transfer to 3♥
- 3♥requests a transfer to 3♠. 3♠ signifies a holding of 4 hearts and 5 spades
Truscott 2NT major suit support is a selected option
- 2NT after partner's 1-suit opener is doubled, signifies good suit support to the 3 level
Jacoby 2NT major suit support is a selected option
- A 2NT bid after partner's 1-suit opener is not overcalled or doubled signifies game-going suit support
Ogust is a selected option
A 2NT bid after partner's weak 2 opener (not overcalled or doubled) asks opener to describe the hand further.
Opener responds:
- 3♣ to show a weak hand with a poor quality suit
- 3♦ to show a weak hand with a good quality suit
- 3♥ to show a near maximum hand with a poor quality suit
- 3♠ to show a near maximum hand (8+ hcp) with a good quality suit (2 of the top 3 honours)
Splinter with a double jump showing singleton or void and suit support is a selected option
- A double jump bid after partner's 1-suit opener (not overcalled or doubled) signifies game-going suit support with a singleton or void in the suit bid
Inverted Minors is a selected option
Support partner's minor suit opener- a 2-level bid of the minor suggests 10+ hcp looking for game in NT
- a 3-level call is weak, preemptive
Roman Key-card Blackwood (RKCB) is selected (alternative to standard Blackwood)
4NT asks for key-card count (aces and the King of trumps) (used after a suit fit is found, with fewer than a combined 13 losing trick count)
- respond 5♣ = 1 or
4; 5♦ = 3 or 0; 5♥
= 2 (without the Queen of trumps); 5♠ = 2 (with the Queen of trumps).
- After 5♦ or 5♥
initial response, bid 1 rank up to ask for Q trumps – “bid slam if you
have it” (not currently implemented in BriJ)
Blackwood not chosen
Gerber is not chosen
Quantitative 4NT is selected
- 4NT asks partner to bid 6NT when holding a maximum NT opening
hand
(ensuring 33+ high card high card points for the partnership and therefore at most one ace
in opposition hands); otherwise, pass with fewer hcp
Overcalls
Normal suit overcall
- Over 1 suit opener shows 5 good cards and 8 – 15 high card points (10 hcp
or very good suit at the 2 level)
- Jump overcall if weak (5-10 high card points )
with a 6+ card suit, but beware of 3 clubs if ELH is on your Convention Card!
Unassuming Cue Bids- Bid the opponent's suit to show strong support for a suit overcall.
This asks partner to jump bid to show strength (13-15 Hcp and/or few losers)
Normal suit overcall over 1NT
- 2♥ and 2♠
similar to suit overcall at the 2 level, i.e. 10+ hcp and a 6 or
good 5- card suit
- Overcall with minors signifies ASPTRO
ELH (modified Ghestem) overcall is selected
Over 1 suit opener, ELH shows at least two 5 card suits
- Use with opening points and a losing trick count at most 7. Bid:-
- Opponents suit = Extreme
(highest and lowest ranked) suits held
- 2NT = Lowest ranked
of other suits held
- 3♣ = Highest
ranked of other suits held
ASPTRO is a selected option
Overcall over 1NT, showing 2-suited hand in at least 9 cards
- Use with opening points and at most a 7 losing trick count
- 2♣ shows ♥and
another unspecified suit
- 2♦
shows ♠ and another unspecified suit
- 2NT shows two 5-card minors
Doubles and redoubles
- Over 1NT with 15+ high card points double is for penalties. Partner
should try to take out into
a long suit with a very weak hand with fewer than 5 high card points
- Over suit openers, including weak preempts, double is for takeout. Later
in the auction, double over 3♠
or higher is for penalties
- A negative double or redouble
denies partner's opening suit and (usually) offers major(s)
(with balance of points)
- A responsive double may follow partner's
takeout double, suggesting any suit will do
Finding NT contracts
- With enough high card points in the partnership (22 for 2NT, 25 for 3NT),
BriJ bids suits to show cover. The contract
ends with the 'least bad' suit if there is no cover from either partner
in a particular suit
Showing a strong hand
- BriJ observes the usual conventions
of reverses (bidding over the barrier corresponding
to a simple raise of my last bid), jumps in the same suit
(showing 6 cards),
jump shifts (bidding over the barrier in a new
suit).
All these bids show extra strength beyond a normal opening
hand, typically an additional count of 2 - 6 high card points and a reduction of 1 or 2 in the losing trick count
Playing conventions
Defence leads (in rough order of preference)
- Top of touching honours: a sequence of 2 or more in a suit contract; a sequence
of 3 or more in a NT contract
(In BriJ, ‘touching’ takes account
of cards already played and can also take account of cards seen in dummy)
- 4th down from an honour card
- Singleton or Top of doubleton (in a suit contract)
- 3rd down from an honour
- Middle-up-down or trump lead if nothing better
Signalling
- Count: high-low = even
- Count: low-high = odd
Discards
- No special methods as yet