BriJ Conventions

Your Convention Card:
Standard English Acol (Foundation Level, e.g. for EBU student beginners) style

(In the PRO version of BriJ - see BriJ website - you can pick from different systems and choose particular conventions to suit your own bidding style)

Opening bids

Balanced

1NT (weak) shows 12–14 high card points (hcp) in a balanced hand (at most 1 doubleton , no singleton and no void)
2NT: 20-22 hcp, balanced (may have singleton ace)

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 Low)

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 strong (20-23 high card points )
2♥ is strong (high card points 20-23)
2♠ is strong (high card points 20-23)

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 not chosen

Response Bids

After strong 2s

After a very strong opener of 2 clubs, respond with a relay 2 diamonds bid asking partner to bid again to describe the hand. Responder shows a very weak hand by bidding 2NT after opener's 2nd bid.

After a strong 2 opener in diamonds, hearts or spades, a 2NT response shows a very weak hand. With a stronger hand, responder can support partner or show another long suit.

Stayman

game

2♣

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 not chosen

'Normal' Stayman after 2NT is a selected option

3♣

3♦ shows no 4 card major
3♥ or 3♠ shows a specific 4 card major
3NT also denies a 4 card major

Baron after 2NT opener asking for 4-card suit not chosen

'Transfer to a major' is not chosen

'Transfer to a minor' is not chosen

Major transfers after 2NT is not chosen

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' support for partner's 1-suit opener is not selected

'Ogust' to partner's weak 2 opener is not selected

Splinter bid support for partner's 1-suit opener is not selected

'Inverted Minors' is not selected

Roman Key-card Blackwood (RKCB) is not chosen

Blackwood is selected (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 is not chosen

Quantitative 4NT is not chosen

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 strong (12-16 high card points ) with a good 6+ card suit, but beware of 3 clubs if ELH is on your Convention Card!

Unassuming Cue Bids not used

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 as ASPTRO is not used

ELH 2-suited overcall is not chosen

ASPTRO 2-suited overcall over 1NT is not chosen

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 a bid higher than 2♠ (Acol convention chosen) 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)
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 high card 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....

BriJ

BJ Bridge for Android