Conventions

Conventions: OBAR BIDS

OBAR BIDS - Acronym for Opponents Bid And Raise - Balance In Direct Seat. Popularized by Larry Cohen in ...

Conventions: Bourke Relay

Jumping to 3NT may be your first instinct, but this is a bit premature. Imagine if partner has these type of hands:

Ask Jerry: Surely there is more about redouble…

Dear Jerry, As a result of a recent disaster it is clear to me that I do not understand what responder should do after...

Conventions: The Thrump Double By Marty Bergen

Instead of describing the thrump double, the decision was made to quote the author. The following description is by Mr. Marty Bergen, (website), who invented and devised the thrump double and ...

Third & Fourth Seat Openings By Paul Lavings

Most partnerships haven’t defined their strategy for third and fourth seat openings. Sort yourselves out with this quiz on third seat openings, nil vulnerable:

An unknown Drury trick By Mike Lawrence

Many players use Drury, an excellent convention. This article will discuss an aspect of Drury that doesn't get discussed much. It occurs when your opponents use Drury.

Can The Michaels Cuebid be Improved? By Marilyn Hemenway

Most of you are probably familiar with the convention known as a Michaels cuebid. It was invented by Mike Michaels many years ago and...

Jump Shifts – Strong or Weak?

Originally all jump shifts were strong – promising at least game going values, usually slam interest. Then came the era of....

A valuable convention

South dealer; North-South vulnerable. * Artificial and forcing Opening lead — 3 When a player not on lead doubles a slam voluntarily...

Flip-Flop Flannery Convention by Neil H. Timm

When partner opens 2NT or after the bid of 2C, many partnerships employ the Puppet (3C) Stayman Convention to try to find...

Recurring headaches – part 2 By August Boehm

Standard systems, where the opening bid of one of a suit has a wide range — anywhere from 12 to 21 points — contain a built-in headache. The problem comes with...

“So they doubled Stayman: What do I do?” By Billy Miller

When you open the bidding with 1NT, you usually feel confident that your side is going to be in control of the auction. It is true that the opponents have learned to....

Splinter Bids By Marty Bergen

Using Standard methods, many players would bid exactly as you and your partner did. However, there is a better way.

Splimit Bids By Billy Miller

Splinter bids come in all shapes and sizes, but the vast majority of players are familiar with only the most common examples. An especially cool type of splinter bid is one referred to as a "splimit" bid.