BriJ Conventions

In BJ Bridge PRO, there is a choice of bidding systems

Beginner (a simplified Acol system)
Acol
Benjaminised Standard English Acol
Standard American Yellow Card System (SAYC)

The PRO version has a Define Bidding Conventions Wizard that lets you pick an overall style of bidding and allows you to choose which particular conventions you want to adopt or reject, from the list below. For example, you can add 5-card majors to standard Acol if you wish.

You can also specify high card point ranges for opening bids like 1NT, 2NT and specify weak or strong 2-suit openers.

Aother PRO feature offers a choice of settings for an Aggression Level. This controls the bidding style in a contested auction. High 'aggression' effectively inflates points and reduces losing trick count (after a suit fit has been found) when it's advantageous. The reasons might be either to stay in the auction or to get in the way of opponents bidding. Set the level LOW for minimum adjustment to points and losing trick count, probably sensible if you're a beginner. HIGH makes the bidding more interesting, MEDIUM somewhere in between.

Note: Benjaminised Standard English Acol is the bidding system used in the free version of BJ Bridge. It offers a limited set of bidding facilities that you cannot alter. For example you cannot turn off the two-suited overcall conventions or turn on the 5-card majors or Gerber bidding conventions in the free version.

You can adjust the point ranges in the PRO version of BriJ. For example where 1NT is given as 12-14 high card points, the range BriJ uses will depend on the overall convention you chose and any subsequent changes you have made to particular ranges. You can also turn off many of the conventions to suit your own bidding style.

Opening bids

Balanced

1NT shows 12–14 high card points (hcp) in a balanced hand (at most 1 doubleton , no singleton and no void)
2NT: 19-20 hcp, balanced (may have singleton ace)

Unbalanced (or balanced with too many hcp for 1NT)

1 of a suit: 12–19 points and losing trick count of at most 7. BriJ may open with 2 fewer points depending on vulnerability, playing position and the aggression level you specify

Weak two (optional) or weak three opening bids

2♥ or 2♠ (5–10 points and 6 cards) if Benji is used
You can specify the opener of 2 of any specific suits as weak if Benji is not used
A 3-level opening bid in any suit is weak (5–10 points) with a 7 card suit

5 Card Majors (optional)

A 1♥ or 1♠ opening bid promises at least 5 cards in the major
A 1♣ opening bid denies a 5 card major and also denies a 4 card diamond suit

Strong Benji (optional)

2♣ with 21,22 or 25,26 points balanced, or 8 playing tricks (relay response 2♦)
2♦ with 23,24 or 27,28 points balanced ,or 10 playing tricks (relay response 2♣)

Strong Twos (non-Benji, optional)

BriJ lets you specify whether a 2-level opener is strong (typically 20+ hcp) or weak (typically 5-10 hcp)
2♣ is the strongest opening bid, typically promising 23+ hcp and not specifying any particular suit
You can nominate that a 2-level opener of another suit is either strong (hcp between the 1-level opener and a strong 2-club opener) with 5+ cards in the suit opened or weak (typically 5-10 hcp)
SAYC usually adopts a weak diamond, weak heart and weak spade, but a strong club

Response Bids

Stayman

After 1NT with potential 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

Asking for 4 or 5 card majors with potential partnership hcp for game.
Responses: 3♦ shows no 5 card major but at least one 4 card major; 3♥ or 3♠ shows 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

Transfers

After 1NT:

2♦ asks opener to transfer to 2♥, 2♥ asks opener to transfer to 2♠
2♠ asks opener to transfer to 3♣ and responder corrects to 3♦ if that is the long minor rather than clubs
After 1NT doubled, transfer to any suit, including: redouble→ 2♣ and 2♣→ 2♦

After 2NT, direct opening or strong Benji rebid

3♦ or 3♥ transfers to hearts and spades

Roman Key-card Blackwood (RKCB) (optional, alternative to standard Blackwood)

4NT asks for key-card count: respond 5♣ = 1 or 4, 5♦ = 3 or 0, 5♥ = 2 (no Q of trumps), 5♠ = 2 (with Q).
(Used after a suit fit is found, counting aces and the king of trumps as key-cards)
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 (optional, alternative to RKCB)

4NT asks for aces count: respond 5♣ = 0, 5♦ = 1, 5♥ = 2, 5♠ = 3, 5NT = 4 .
(Used after a suit fit is found)
Asking for Kings is not currently implemented in BriJ

Gerber (optional)

4♣ asks for aces count: respond 4♦ = 0 or 4, 4♥ = 1, 4♠ = 2, 4NT = 3 .
Asking for Kings is not currently implemented in BriJ

Quantitative 4NT (optional)

4NT asks partner to bid 6NT when holding a maximum NT opening hand (ensuring 33+ hcp for the partnership and therefore at most one ace in opposition hands); otherwise, pass with fewer hcp

Overcalls

ELH overcall over 1 suit opener showing at least two 5 card suits (optional)

Use with opening points and a losing trick count at most 7
Bid opponents suit = Extreme (highest and lowest ranked) of other suits held
2NT = Lowest ranked of other suits held
3♣ = Highest ranked of other suits held

Normal suit overcall

Over 1 suit opener shows 5 good cards and 8 – 15 points (10 points or very good suit at the 2 level)
Jump overcall if weak (5-10 points) with a 6+ card suit, but beware of 3 clubs if ELH is used!

Asptro overcall over 1NT, showing 2-suited hand in at least 9 cards (optional)

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

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
Similarly in the minors if ASPTRO is not used

Doubles and redoubles

Over 1NT with 15+ points double is for penalties. Partner should take out into a long suit with fewer than 5 hcp
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 the 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 hcp

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)
4^th down from an honour card
Singleton or Top of doubleton (in a suit contract)
3^rd 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

Some jargon you need to understand when you feel ready

Points, strictly "high card points" (hcp), are one measure of how strong your hand is. Count 4 for each ace, 3 for each king, 2 for each queen and 1 for each jack. A hand with 10 points is average because the whole pack has 40 points. An opening hand usually has 12 points.
In BriJ the point count is automatically adjusted to allow for your playing position, e.g. to "add a king" in the take out seat and "get in the way" of opposition bids under some circumstances

A doubleton is a suit from your hand with just 2 cards

A singleton is a suit from your hand with just 1 card

A void is a suit from your hand with no cards present

A balanced hand is one with no voids, no singletons, at most one doubleton and (usually) no 5 card major

The losing trick count (ltc) assesses hand strength in a suit contract, created by its shape.
BriJ uses a standard technique to estimate how many tricks a particular hand will lose:

Look at ace, king, queen and jack in each suit and count losers up to a maximum of 3 per suit.
For example count 1 loser for Ax (x is just a non-picture card). After 2 rounds are played, you can ruff (trump) the 3^rd round so we assume just the 1 loser. In a bit more detail, count:

* A void = 0 losing tricks.
* A singleton other than an ace = 1 losing trick.
* A doubleton AK = 0; Ax or Kx = 1 losing trick; xx = 2 losing tricks.
* A three card suit AKQ = 0 losing tricks; AKx, AQx or KQx = 1 losing trick.
* A three card suit Axx, Kxx or Qxx = 2 losing tricks; xxx = 3 losing tricks

The total count for all the suits in your hand is used to help in bidding. Typically a suit opening hand will have 7 losing tricks and a NT hand will have 8 losing tricks. Think in terms of game if you and your partner have a combined losing trick count less than 15.

No trumps (NT) describes a contract where no trump suit has been selected

A jump bid is one where a lower bid in the suit would have been legal. A jump by opener signals strength whereas in an overcall, it often signals weakness in combination with a long suit

Aggression level determines whether BriJ exaggerates the strength of a hand it is bidding. The effect can be an assumption of increased high card points (e.g. add a King in the take-out seat) and / or a reduction in the losing trick count (e.g. when the opposition has doubled your partner's opening bid and we have a fit). The extent of the effect depends on vulnerability and the hand's position in the bidding round as well as the aggression level you set. Level 1 makes few adjustments. level 3 uses maximum aggression

A game in bridge is an auction that reaches the 4 level in a major suit contract, the 5 level in a minor suit contract or the 3 level in NT. Typically the partnership needs 25 hcp for a NT game, but game in a suit contract often depends more on shape than points. After a limit NT bid such as a 1NT or 2NT opener, partner can assess there is potential for game by making use af partner's maximum possible hcp

More to come....

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