Bridge Bidding Basics: Points, Opening Bids and Your First Responses

In bridge, the auction is where partners tell each other what they hold so they can land in the right contract. Every bid is a coded message with a meaning the partnership has agreed. Beginners are taught a standard system first, usually Standard American with five-card majors, and the outline below follows that system. If you are new to the game as a whole, read How to Play Bridge first.

Step one: count your points#

The most common hand evaluation method is high card points, or HCP. Count 4 for each ace, 3 for each king, 2 for each queen and 1 for each jack. The deck holds 40 points, so an average hand has 10. Length matters too: many players add one point for each card beyond four in a long suit. A fuller method, including shape and the losing trick count, is in How to Evaluate a Bridge Hand.

Three numbers are worth memorising. A partnership with about 25 points combined can usually make a game contract. About 33 points are needed for a small slam (12 tricks) and about 37 for a grand slam (all 13). Bidding is largely the process of finding out whether you have reached one of those thresholds and which suit, if any, should be trumps.

Step two: the opening bid#

With 12 or more HCP (many teachers accept a good 11 with shape) you open the bidding. The choice of bid describes your hand:

• 1 heart or 1 spade shows at least five cards in that suit. With two five-card suits, bid the higher one first.
• 1 club or 1 diamond is the opening with no five-card major. Bid your longer minor; with three of each, bid 1 club; with four of each, bid 1 diamond.
• 1 notrump shows a balanced hand with 15 to 17 HCP. Balanced means no singleton, no void and at most one doubleton.
• 2 clubs is the strong opening, about 22 HCP or more, or a hand that can nearly make game on its own. It says nothing about clubs.
• 2 diamonds, 2 hearts or 2 spades are weak two bids: a six-card suit with roughly 5 to 11 HCP. They describe the hand and take bidding space from the opponents.

Step three: responding to partner#

Once partner opens, you need about 6 points to respond at all. With fewer, pass. With 6 or more, your response should either support partner's suit, show a new suit of your own, or bid notrump to say you have a balanced hand with no better bid.

• Raise partner's major with three or more cards in it. A simple raise (1 heart to 2 hearts) shows 6 to 9 points. A jump to game (1 heart to 4 hearts) with a weak hand and five trumps is a common agreement. With 10 to 12 points and support, most systems use a bid of a new suit first, then a raise.
• Bid a new suit at the one level with 6 or more points and four or more cards in it. This is forcing: partner must bid again.
• Bid a new suit at the two level with 10 or more points. For example, 1 spade then 2 clubs promises a better hand than a one-level response.
• Respond 1 notrump with 6 to 9 points and no suit you can show at the one level. It is a catch-all, not a promise of a balanced hand.
• After a 1 notrump opening, use the conventions. Stayman and Jacoby transfers, explained in Bridge Conventions Explained, are how responder finds a major-suit fit.

Step four: the opener's rebid#

After the response, the opener's second bid completes the picture. A minimum opener (12 to 15 points) rebids as cheaply as possible: a simple raise, a rebid of the first suit, or the cheapest notrump. A medium hand (16 to 18) jumps or reverses. A maximum hand (19 or more) jumps to game or makes a strong forcing bid. From there the partnership either stops in a part score, bids a game, or explores a slam.

Practise the sequences, not the theory#

Bidding sticks when you bid a lot of hands and see the outcome. Shark Bridge Game deals unlimited hands, and the robots bid the standard system with a published convention card, so you can check what a bid meant after the hand. Teachers can set up bidding practice for a whole class in Teacher's Console, including polls on what everyone would bid with the same hand. For a structured class, the Recommended Teachers directory lists instructors who teach online.