Fundamental conventions?

[Lesh18]

Hi

 

As I beginner I have learnt a couple of bidding conventions and implemented them into my play:

 

Strong 2♣

Stayman

Jacoby transfers (after 1NT)

Blackwood

Gerber (after NT opening)

Takeout doubles

 

Are there any more important conventions a beginner could add and use alongside with these? Some that are both useful and frequent to use?

 

And I have also noticed that opening a preempt (2♥ for instance with 6 hearts, strong suit and weak hand) never worked, me and my partner always ended up with this contract and never managed to do it. Are there any more useful alternatives to opening on a second level?

 

Thank you

[sfi]

Gerber is only of very occasional use and does not need to be on the list of fundamental conventions. I would add some sort of checkback over a 1NT rebid by opener (i.e. 1D - 1S; 1NT) to show invitational hands and check for 3 card support. There are several, including Checkback Stayman and New Minor Forcing, and adding something like that will help a lot in a common set of auctions.

[paulg]

My wife, competent, occasional player who does not like lots of system, plays quite happily in national tournaments with little more than you are already playing. Indeed we only added Jacoby transfers to the system last year. So I really would not advise adding more than you can handle (which probably means less than you wish) and focus on developing judgement, understanding which calls are forcing and which are non-forcing, and playing a lot.

 

That said, we have three conventions in the current system that may be of interest.

 

1) Landy defence to 1NT

 

If the opponents open 1NT, we use 2♣ to show at least 5/4 in the majors. Advancer can bid 2♦ to ask for better major or invite.

 

2) Michaels Cue Bid

 

A cue bid of the opponent's opening bid shows a 5-5 hand, either both majors (over a minor) or the other major and undefined minor (over one heart and one spade opener). A 2NT bid then asks for strength.

 

3) Unusual Notrump

 

A jump to 2NT over an opponent's one-level opening bid shows 5-5 in the two lowest unbid suits.

 

We survive these conventions with a page of notes.

[daveharty]

The only thing I would add would be negative doubles. Maybe you already include these in "takeout doubles", but if not, it's really important to extend the "takeout" part to auctions where your partner has opened the bidding, rather than just the opponents.

 

As an aside, Phil Leon played a system no more complicated than the one you are describing here; it could be learned in about five minutes. It was known as "Phil Standard" by his many partners. At the time of his death a couple of years ago, he was the top masterpoint holder in the state of Michigan (over 18,000), and still one of the best players in town, regularly contending in regional events. So it is actually possible to play an extremely simple system and still be competitive in expert circles.

[campboy]

Are there any more important conventions a beginner could add and use alongside with these? Some that are both useful and frequent to use?

I would add fourth suit forcing. If the auction starts 1♥ - 1♠ - 2♣, say, it is very unlikely that you will want to play in diamonds, so being able to bid 2♦ conventionally to say "we have enough strength for game, but I don't know which game to bid; please tell me more" is very useful.

 

And I have also noticed that opening a preempt (2♥ for instance with 6 hearts, strong suit and weak hand) never worked, me and my partner always ended up with this contract and never managed to do it. Are there any more useful alternatives to opening on a second level?

Just because you didn't make 2♥ doesn't mean the bid didn't work! It is quite likely that your opponents could have scored better by playing in their own contract rather than letting you go off in 2♥.

[S2000magic]

Hi

Howdy, again!

 

As I beginner I have learnt a couple of bidding conventions and implemented them into my play:

Let's look at these one by one.

 

Strong 2♣

Make sure that you understand (i.e., agree with partner) fully:

 

What sorts of hands are appropriate for a 2♣ opening, and

 

What your responses to and rebids after a 2♣ opening mean.

Stayman

 

Make sure that you and partner agree on which bids are forcing and which bids are nonforcing after Stayman.

 

Jacoby transfers (after 1NT)

 

You might consider using Jacoby transfers over 2NT as well (if, for no other reason, to avoid the possibility of a costly lapse of memory).

 

Blackwood

 

Make sure that you understand when Blackwood is appropriate (remember: its primary purpose is to keep you out of a slam when you have two losers off the top, not to get you to a slam when you don't) and when other methods (e.g., cuebidding) are more appropriate.

 

Gerber (after NT opening)

 

Even more so than Blackwood, make sure that you and partner agree (explicitly) on the situations in which 4♣ is Gerber and when it is something else (natural or a cuebid, say). I'd suggest that you start with a simple scheme; e.g., 4♣ is Gerber in only these auctions:

 

1NT – 4♣

 

2NT – 4♣

 

2♣ – 2♦ (or 2♥ or 2♠)

2NT – 4♣

 

Takeout doubles

 

Make sure that you agree on what your responses to a takeout double mean (e.g., what are the point limits for a non-jump suit response, a jump suit response, a 1NT response, a 2NT response, and so on).

 

Are there any more important conventions a beginner could add and use alongside with these? Some that are both useful and frequent to use?

At this stage, I'd say not. You should start slowly and learn these conventions thoroughly – the bids, the responses, the rebids – until you are sure that you will not have costly lapses in memory. Only then would I suggest that you consider other conventions. I agree with some advice you were given in another thread: play for at least a year with nothing more than these and start to develop judgment in your bidding. After that, you'll likely have found some vexing bidding situations that recur, and you can start to investigate conventions to handle those situations.

 

After a year, come back to this thread and reread it. Some of the ideas suggested by previous posters have considerable merit, but I think that you're better off waiting until you have gained some more experience and developed your bidding judgment.

 

And I have also noticed that opening a preempt (2♥ for instance with 6 hearts, strong suit and weak hand) never worked, me and my partner always ended up with this contract and never managed to do it. Are there any more useful alternatives to opening on a second level?

Weak two-bids have proven their worth over the years. Sometimes you'll get bad results. (Just last week I was on the border between a 1♠ opening and a 2♠ opening; I opened 2♠, partner raised to 3♠, and I made 4♠ easily. I later thought that I should have opened 1♠, but partner (an expert) said that he preferred 2♠, and that we were just unlucky.) If you're consistently getting bad results, I'd humbly suggest that you need to evaluate your responses and rebids: you're probably doing something wrong. (I'd also suggest trying to find a copy of Robert Ewen's Preemptive Bidding; it's a small book packed with a ton of useful information on handling preempts and, because it's written by Bob Ewen, a fun book to read.)

 

Thank you

As always, my pleasure.

[daveharty]

Just because you didn't make 2♥ doesn't mean the bid didn't work!

This is really important to remember. The "success" of a preempt can't be accurately measured by how often you make the contract. You must also factor in all of the times you prevent the opponents from finding a better-scoring game or partscore of their own, or get partner off to the right lead on defense, or find a profitable sacrifice, etc. If you and your partner are buying the contract undoubled every time you open with a preempt, then either your opponents are not nearly aggressive enough (in which case you are probably doing quite well by obstructing their auctions), or YOU aren't nearly aggressive enough (not preempting enough, or your partner isn't raising with strong hands, whatever). The fact that you are frequently going down leads me to believe it's the former, and if you look more closely at the hands where you've been preempting, you might be pleasantly surprised by the actual results.

[Vampyr]

If you play all of the conventions suggested in this thread you will be playing way too many, so I hate to suggest another one, but it is important and basic enough that it is allowed at rubber bridge. This convention is called Jordan, Truscott and various other names. The way it works is when partner opens the bidding and the opponents make a takout double, you use 2NT to show a good raise in partner's suit, and a raise to the 3-level as weak.

[MickyB]

If you play all of the conventions suggested in this thread you will be playing way too many, so I hate to suggest another one, but it is important and basic enough that it is allowed at rubber bridge. This convention is called Jordan, Truscott and various other names. The way it works is when partner opens the bidding and the opponents make a takout double, you use 2NT to show a good raise in partner's suit, and a raise to the 3-level as weak.

 

If you are playing this, you may as well play a cue of an overcall as a good raise. It's the same principle.

[S2000magic]

Too many conventions for a beginner.

[hrothgar]

Too many conventions for a beginner.

 

I for one don't believe that it is any easier to learn so-called "natural" bidding than learning conventions.

 

Especially in this day and age where one might open a "natural" 1♣ with a hand like the following

 

♠ KJT

♥ QJT9

♦ AKT

♣ 432

 

I think that you're MUCH better off learning a well designed system than fixating on whether or not individual bids are deemed to be natural or conventional.

[Cthulhu D]

The most important stuff is discussing competitive auctions. The toughest decisions and the biggest swings are always on competitive auctions. It's fine knowing what 1H-(Opponent 1 Passes)-3H means. How does it change when pass is instead a double or a 1S or a 2S bid?

 

So pretty sure you don't need Gerber, but it's worth looking at competitive tools like agreeing a defence to 1NT with partner (Landy above is easy and fine), and negative doubles - e.g. after an auction like 1D-(Opponent 1 bids 2S) - ??? Partner's double should probably show hearts.

 

Obviously NAE, IMHO etc.

[P_Marlowe]

Hi

 

As I beginner I have learnt a couple of bidding conventions and implemented them into my play:

 

Strong 2♣

Stayman

Jacoby transfers (after 1NT)

Blackwood

Gerber (after NT opening)

Takeout doubles

 

Are there any more important conventions a beginner could add and use alongside with these? Some that are both useful and frequent to use?

 

And I have also noticed that opening a preempt (2♥ for instance with 6 hearts, strong suit and weak hand) never worked, me and my partner always ended up with this contract and never managed to do it. Are there any more useful alternatives to opening on a second level?

 

Thank you

 

Your post raises two questions

 

Regrading your list of conventions

 

Your list is ok, I would get rid of Gerber, add Fourth Suit Forcing (easily the most complicate one, but

very important / a bit underrated).

I would also agree on carding conventions, what card to lead from a suit, attidute signal, suit preference.

 

And thats it, for the beginning - which can easily go for several years, or for the rest of your life.

 

Your 2nd point touches the reason, why one opens with a preempt, and would require an add. thread.

The main point is not to reach makeable contracts, this is not unimportant, but not the main reason.

 

With kind regards

Marlowe

[paua]

Hi

 

As I beginner I have learnt a couple of bidding conventions and implemented them into my play:

 

Strong 2♣

Stayman

Jacoby transfers (after 1NT)

Blackwood

Gerber (after NT opening)

Takeout doubles

 

Are there any more important conventions a beginner could add and use alongside with these? Some that are both useful and frequent to use?

 

And I have also noticed that opening a preempt (2♥ for instance with 6 hearts, strong suit and weak hand) never worked, me and my partner always ended up with this contract and never managed to do it. Are there any more useful alternatives to opening on a second level?

 

Thank you

 

I also would do away with Gerber.

What are you currently doing with 1NT - 2S ? Use it as a size-ask and you won't need Gerber.

Partner responds 2NT if minimum, or bids a 4-card suit if maximum ...

Wish I'd learned this (and transfers) as a beginner. Also over a 2NT opening.

 

I agree with Negative doubles and Fourth-Suit-Forcing. I'd add Balancing if you aren't already doing that, and upgrading / downgrading for various features. Michaels and UNT are easy to remember the mechanics, but can be abused.

Checkback Stayman and Unassuming Cue Bids maybe next, but depends how comfortable you are with everything so far.

 

When I started learning conventions I thought I'd learn one each year until I mastered it, then move on. Actually, your brain can somehow usually cope with a few at a time. Maybe not similar conventions at the same time. I'm having confusion with various 2NT sequences at the moment, after Ogust / Lebensohl / Multi-Landy / Multi-2D.

[Quantumcat]

There's a simple reason why Gerber is not useful.

 

It is because when you are playing a NT game or slam, the essential thing is having enough points. When you and your partner are 4333, to have a decent shot at making you really need 26 points for game, 33 points for a small slam, and 37 for a grand slam. When you have a five card suit you might need a little less - but not much. Holding one stopper in a suit and needing to knock out an ace to make tricks with your five card suit will mean you go down in 6NT. If you have enough points, it becomes very unlikely that the opponents hold two aces, or an Ace-King in the same suit. Even when you are not missing an ace, or missing only one, you may not have enough strength to take twelve tricks. Knowing partner's ace count will not really help you.

 

Conversely, in a suit, you usually don't need so many points to take 12 tricks. Holding a void, you don't need to worry about knocking out an ace - you have control of the suit without needing any points in it. With fewer and fewer high card points, it becomes more and more likely that the opponents can hold two aces. Therefore it is a very good idea to check. Even when you hold enpough power to take 12 tricks, even the best players can't do it when the opponents cash the first two tricks.

 

Therefore, Gerber is quite useless. And it is no good using it in suit auctions either - it just means natural, normal bidding gets confused and you can't make cuebids or splinters anymore. This hilarious auction happened once at my club: 1♠ (me) - pass - pass - 2♣; 2♠ - pass - pass - 3♣; 3♠ pass - pass - pass. Her words: "Sorry partner, I couldn't compete to 4♣ because that would be Gerber!" lol

[Fluffy]

I became WBF's world master in 2008 and I haven't ever used not even agreed to play Gerber. Its not fundamental at all, many people think ace asking conventions are counterproductive for beginners. Read what S2000magic says about blackwood because he is right.

 

The most imporant conventions you need to learn are artifical doubles, some of them are a must, some of them are extremelly useful. I'd recomend support doubles for you to learn soon, although they are not really necesary they are handy and they come up a lot. Negative doubles are a must, but for me they are the same as take out doubles.

[S2000magic]

There's a simple reason why Gerber is not useful.

 

It is because when you are playing a NT game or slam, the essential thing is having enough points. . . . you really need . . . 33 points for a small slam . . . .

If your opponents' 7 HCP include an ace and a king, your small slam is 50% at best; less if they're in the same suit.

 

Therefore, Gerber is quite useless.

Gerber's usefulness is the same as Blackwood's: to keep you out of a slam that's likely fail, not to get you into a slam that's likely to succeed. Before using either you need to determine whether you have enough strength to take 12 or 13 tricks; only then might you employ either to try to avoid a slam that's down off the top.

[dcrc2]

One fundamental convention that seems to have been missed so far is the cue-bid of an opponent's suit as an artificial forcing bid, e.g. when holding a hand suitable for 3NT but without a good enough stop in the opponents' suit. Unfortunately it's a little complex as the exact meaning of a cue-bid can vary depending on the auction, and not all of the various popular meanings are necessary for a beginner to learn; but the important thing is that a bid of the opponents' suit does not show length there - it shows a good hand and asks partner to bid again.

[han]

If your opponents' 7 HCP include an ace and a king, your small slam is 50% at best

 

Not true.

[gwnn]

1/1 forcing is the best convention in the history of bridge and will never be surpassed.

[ggwhiz]

I would echo P_Marlowe in that you should invest more time on defensive agreements than bidding at this point.

 

I see most opponents up to advance level on BBO that have a laundry list of conventions in their profile with nothing on defence and they usually blow many tricks.

 

Lot of good advice here, especially FORGET GERBER!!!

[Zelandakh]

I am not a fan of Gerber and do not have it included anywhere in my favoured methods. However, I would like to say one thing for it that seems to be misinformation in this thread. The idea of the convention is to use it on suit-oriented hands after a NT opening where you only need to know about partner's aces/kings to be able to place the level of the contract (in your long suit). Using it on balanced hands is as much a misuse of the convention as making a 2♥ transfer with 3 spades. This also shows why the convention is unnecessary - in any decent NT response structure there should be a way of setting a long suit as trumps at the 3 level. That means you can bid the "Gerber" hands by setting your suit and asking for aces on the next round. Gerber was used in an era where NT structures often could not set a suit as trumps at the 3 level.

[mgoetze]

I see most opponents up to "advanced" level on BBO

FYP.

 

(Let's try not to give anyone the false impression that self-rating on BBO is meaningful.)

[han]

.

[mikestar13]

1/1 forcing is the best convention in the history of bridge and will never be surpassed.

 

Two thumbs (and a big toe) up for this :D!

 

I can remember reading Culbertson's Blue Book and one of Sydney Lenz's books (can't recall the title) where the authors rejected this idea. Back then it was actually controversial. But at the time of Culbertson's Gold Book (six years after the BB, IIRC) 1/1 was so much expert standard that Ely C. taught that it was forcing, just like everybody else did.