Bidding basics

Count your points

Value your hand with high-card points: Ace 4, King 3, Queen 2, Jack 1. The deck holds 40 points, so an average hand has 10. Long suits add value: count one extra point for a fifth card in a suit and one more for every card after that.

When to open

• 12 or more points: open the bidding.
• With a 5-card or longer major (♠ or ♥), open it: 1♠ or 1♥.
• With no 5-card major, open your longer minor: 1♦ or 1♣ (with 3–3 or 4–4 in the minors, most players open 1♣ / 1♦ by agreement).
• 15–17 points and a balanced hand (no void, no singleton, at most one doubleton): open 1NT.
• 20–21 balanced: open 2NT. 22 or more: open 2♣, the strongest opening.

Responding to partner

Partner has opened and promised 12+ points. Your job is to describe your hand so the partnership lands in the right contract.

• 0–5 points: pass.
• 6–9 points: raise partner’s major with 3+ cards (1♥ → 2♥), bid a new suit at the one level, or bid 1NT.
• 10–12 points: invite game — jump raise (1♥ → 3♥) or bid 2NT.
• 13 or more: make sure the partnership reaches game — bid a new suit (forcing), or jump to game with support.

Where you are heading

The golden rule: find a fit

Eight cards in a suit between the two hands is a fit. With a fit in a major, play in that major. With no fit, no trumps is usually best. Most of the auction is a conversation to discover whether a fit exists and how strong the partnership is.

Conventions you will meet first

• Stayman (2♣ over 1NT): "Do you have a four-card major?"
• Jacoby transfers (2♦ / 2♥ over 1NT): "Please bid the next suit up; I have five of them."
• Takeout double: a double of an opponent’s opening bid that asks partner to bid their best suit, not to defend.
• Blackwood (4NT): "How many aces do you have?" — used when a slam is in sight.

Agree a simple system with your partner and stick to it. BFI’s Laws and the convention card forms are under Compliance → National Policies.