EHAA (Every Hand An Adventure) is a highly natural bidding system in contract bridge characterized by four-card majors, sound opening bids, undisciplined weak two-bids in all four suits and a mini notrump, usually of 10–12 high card points. [1]
An EHAA two-bid shows six to twelve high card points, and a five card or longer suit. There are no restrictions on suit quality (xxxxx and AKQJxxxx both qualify). EHAA bidders use a "get in quick, get out quick" style, which permits interference or an opening bid in nearly every auction, protected by fairly strict requirements on further bids by the partnership. EHAA two-bids are made in all four suits; there is no forcing opening bid in EHAA.
Responses to the EHAA two bid fall into three categories. All jump bids are forcing to game and slam invitational, because any hand which could force to game opposite a minimum EHAA two-bid must be interested in slam opposite a maximum. (However, a direct jump to game is a two-way bid, and opener is expected to pass.) A nonjump bid in a new suit is a nonforcing and nonconstructive attempt to improve the contract. Finally, 2NT or a raise of the opening bid shows 14 to 17 high card points, and is invitational to game; a raise shows three card support or better, and 2NT denies three card support. (If responder has an invitational hand without support, but cannot abide opener's possible pass of 2NT, he must guess whether to bid game or not.)
After an EHAA two-bid, delicate game bidding is not possible; this is one of the disadvantages of the system. If responder holds 12 or 13 points, he cannot raise, though game might be possible if opener has a maximum. Lowering the point range for a raise could solve this difficulty, at the considerably greater expense of risk when opener has a bad minimum.
Notice that responder cannot further the preempt, in accord with the "get in quick, get out quick" strategy of the EHAA two-bid. Responder can escape from opener's suit, however, by correcting to a new suit. This shows that responder has at least four cards more in his suit than he does in opener's suit. Opener can correct to a third suit or back to his original, with a similar meaning. Both partners must be aware that the combined assets of the partnership may be extremely weak, and should be ready to stop at the earliest opportunity. Neither partner may raise a suit bid by the other; the partnership is already known to be limited.
Systemically, any hand meeting the requirements for an EHAA two-bid must be opened as such. EHAA two-bids are also used as overcalls, but of course are not obligatory. Considerations of safety and vulnerability must then come into play.
If the opponents bid over the two-bid, responder need not have the ability to take out opener's bid to his own suit, and so all new suit bids in such a context become constructive and show values, though still nonforcing.
If the opponents have shown opening bid values (either with a takeout double or because they opened the bidding), jump raises of 2♣ and 2♦ show game invitational hands stronger than a simple raise would. (Because a takeout double could be passed for penalties, however, it is still necessary for responder's new suit response to be nonconstructive after a double.)
EHAA uses a ten to twelve notrump range; the distribution must be 4-3-3-3 or 4-4-3-2. On occasion, a 5-3-3-2 hand with a long minor can be opened 1NT if the values are concentrated in the short suits.
Opposite the mini notrump, there is no reason to use transfers or many of the other accoutrements of standard notrump systems. Accordingly, 2♦, 2♥, 2♠, and 3♣ are nonconstructive improvements of the contract. Holding minimal values and a five card suit, responder should take out 1NT almost automatically. Responder passes with no five card suit, or with enough values to make 1NT a likely possibility.
With five-five or better in the minors, responder bids 2NT, and opener rebids his better minor. Responder passes with a minimum, and raises for a game try.
Responder can also raise to 3NT, 4NT, 5NT, 6NT, and 7NT, with their standard meanings.
For game invitational hands, whether they have a four card major or not, responder bids 2♣ Stayman. Opener's rebids are standard, except with two four card majors opener rebids 2NT with a minimum and 3♣ with a maximum. (For this reason, responder cannot use "garbage Stayman".) After opener's rebids, a new suit by responder shows a five card suit; bids at the two level are invitational and bids at the three level are forcing to game.
All suit bids of 3♦ or higher are preemptive. It is this ability of responder to preempt with a six card suit and no values which makes the EHAA mini notrump itself a splendid preemptive bid.
If 1NT is doubled, some sort of escape system may be used. It is suggested that all two bids (even 2♣) are to be intended to play; redouble by responder is SOS. Some play that with a good hand, responder passes and opener must redouble, which responder will pass for penalties or take out showing invitational values or better (although this is not common).
EHAA users normally play four card majors. Opening one bids show a full thirteen high card points (opening lighter is not necessary because the EHAA two-bid is available). All the usual sorts of conventions after opening bids in a suit are available. The ranges on NT rebids are 13-15 (cheapest NT), 16-18 (jump in NT), 19-20 (rebid 3NT).
Because 2♣ is not available as a forcing opening, 2NT and 3NT must have wider ranges. Appropriate is for 2NT to show 21–24, reserving 3NT for 25+ points. Typical responses are used over 2NT (transfers, stayman, etc.). Because there is no forcing opening bid in EHAA, openers may tend to stretch to open 2NT on somewhat offshape hands. This makes the use of Puppet Stayman particularly important.
The only hand with ten points or more which is passed in EHAA is a 4-4-4-1 distribution. Accordingly, by a passed hand a jump shift shows a mini-splinter, and a limit raise shows specifically a 4-4-3-2 with a weak doubleton and good trumps and nine points.
EHAA defensive bidding does not distinguish between jump and non-jump overcalls, and instead focuses on the level of the overcall. All one-level overcalls show five card suits and thirteen high card points; all two-level overcalls show EHAA two bids.
In a suit where a one-level overcall is not available, a three-level overcall shows a good six-card suit, six or seven losers, and thirteen points. Some hands may not qualify for such an intermediate jump overcall, and must be overcalled with an overheavy two-bid.
Takeout doubles are played normally, but because of the greater strength of overcalls, a takeout double need not be made to show a very strong one-suited hand. System users therefore normally play that to double and bid again does not show extra values, but instead shows 6-4 distribution.
Overcalls of 1NT are played as in standard bidding, showing a strong notrump range of perhaps 15 to 17 HCP. Those who like Stayman and Jacoby transfers after notrump overcalls can use them here as well.
Two-suited takeouts (unusual notrump or Michaels cuebids, for example) are used in standard bidding with either weak or strong hands. Standard bidding counsels to overcall and rebid in the second suit with an intermediate two-suited hand. In EHAA, the weak hands are overcalled with a two-bid, and so two-suited takeouts should be used only with strong five loser / 15 HCP hands.
EHAA bidders open three and four level preempts extremely light, and with tightly defined strength. As a rule, any hand which qualifies for a two-bid should not be opened with a preempt below the game level.
At the three level, nonvulnerable preempts show six card suits or longer, and seven if vulnerable. With unfavorable vulnerability, the preemptor should have five or six losers; six or seven with both vulnerable; seven or eight with neither vulnerable; and eight or nine with favorable vulnerability.
Preempts at the four level promise at least one card more in length and one fewer loser.
Stayman is a bidding convention in the card game contract bridge. It is used by a partnership to find a 4-4 or 5-3 trump fit in a major suit after making a one notrump (1NT) opening bid and it has been adapted for use after a 2NT opening, a 1NT overcall, and many other natural notrump bids.
Standard American is a bidding system for the game of bridge widely used in North America and elsewhere. Owing to the popularization of the game by Charles Goren in the 1940s and 1950s, its early versions were sometimes referred to simply as 'Goren'. With the addition and evolution of various treatments and conventions, it is now more generally referred to as Standard American. It is a bidding system based on five-card majors and a strong notrump; players may add conventions and refine the meanings of bids through partnership agreements summarized in their convention card. One standardised version, SAYC, is widely used by casual partnerships and in online bridge.
Acol is the bridge bidding system that, according to The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge, is "standard in British tournament play and widely used in other parts of the world". It is a natural system using four-card majors and, most commonly, a weak no trump.
Polish Club is a bridge bidding system which was developed in Poland, where it is the most popular bidding system, and which is also used by players of other countries. It is a type of small club system.
A game try in the card game of bridge is a bid that shows interest in bidding a game and asks partner to help in making the decision.
The forcing notrump is a bidding convention in the card game of bridge.
The Jacoby transfer, or simply transfers, in the card game contract bridge, is a convention in most bridge bidding systems initiated by responder following partner's notrump opening bid that forces opener to rebid in the suit ranked just above that bid by responder. For example, a response in diamonds forces a rebid in hearts and a response in hearts forces a rebid in spades. Transfers are used to show a long suit, usually a major, and to ensure that opener declare the hand if the final contract is in the suit transferred to, preventing the opponents from seeing the cards of the stronger hand.
Zar Points (ZP) is a statistically derived method for evaluating contract bridge hands developed by Zar Petkov. The statistical research Petkov conducted in the areas of hand evaluation and bidding is useful to bridge players, regardless of their bidding or hand evaluation system. The research showed that the Milton Work point count method, even when adjusted for distribution, is not sufficiently accurate in evaluating all hands. As a result, players often make incorrect or sub-optimal bids. Zar Points are designed to take many additional factors into consideration by assigning points to each factor based on statistical weight. While most of these factors are already implicitly taken into account by experienced players, Zar Points provides a quantitative method that allows them to be incorporated into bidding.
In the card game contract bridge, a takeout double is a low-level conventional call of "Double" over an opponent's bid as a request for partner to bid his best of the unbid suits. The most common takeout double is after an opponent's opening bid of one of a suit where the double shows a hand with opening values, support for all three unbid suits and shortness in the suit doubled. Normally, the partner of the doubler must bid his best suit but may pass if (a) his right hand opponent intervenes or (b) on the more rare occasions when his hand is such that he wishes to convert the takeout double to a penalty double.
In the card game contract bridge, DONT is a conventional overcall used to interfere with an opponent's one notrump (1NT) opening bid. DONT, an acronym for Disturb Opponents' Notrump, was designed by Marty Bergen, and is therefore also referred to as "Bergen over Notrump". Although the method is often criticized for being too nebulous, it remains fairly popular. The convention was first published in the September/October 1989 issue of Bridge Today.
Bridge bidding systems that incorporate a strong 2 clubs opening bid include modern Standard American, standard Acol, 2/1 game forcing and many others.
In contract bridge, an overcall is a bid made after an opening bid has been made by an opponent; the term refers only to the first such bid. A direct overcall is such a bid made by the player seated immediately to the left of the opener, i.e. next in the bidding rotation; an overcall in the 'last seat', i.e. by the player to the right of opener, which is made after two intervening passes, is referred to as a balancing or protective overcall.
The Kaplan–Sheinwold bidding system was developed and popularized by Edgar Kaplan and Alfred Sheinwold during their partnership, which flourished during the 1950s and 1960s. K-S is one of many natural systems. The system was definitively described in their 1958 book How to Play Winning Bridge and later revised and retitled to The Kaplan-Sheinwold System of Winning Bridge in 1963.
A reverse, in the card game contract bridge, is a bidding sequence designed to show additional strength without the need to make a jump bid; specifically two suits are bid in the reverse order to that expected by the basic bidding system. Precise methods and definitions vary with country, bidding system and partnership agreements.
New Minor Forcing (NMF), is a contract bridge bidding convention used to find a 5-3 or 4-4 major suit fit after a specific sequence of bids in which opener has rebid one notrump. The convention is triggered by responder at his second turn by an artificial bid of two in an unbid minor; it requires that he hold five cards in the major he has previously bid and an unlimited hand ranging in value from at least game invitational strength to that sufficient to have interest in slam; he may also hold four cards in the other major. Accordingly, there are six bidding sequences in which the New Minor Forcing bid may be applied:
The Baron bidding system in contract bridge was developed in England in the 1940s as a variant of Acol and incorporates several conventions including the Baron Three Clubs, the Baron Notrump Overcall, the Baron Two Notrump Response and the Baron Two Spades and Three Spades.
Bridge base basic, also known as BBO basic, is a bidding system for the game of bridge based on the Standard American Yellow Card (SAYC). It is simplified, suitable for beginners, and widely used in internet bridge, particularly on Bridge Base Online. It is taught in Fred Gitelman's educational software called Learn to Play Bridge that is available as a free download from the American Contract Bridge League's website.
The Carrot 1NT is a contract bridge convention, in which a 1NT opening bid shows a balanced hand 13–17 HCP. With 13–14 HCP, the opener may not have a 4-card major. With 15–17 HCP, all balanced hands may be opened 1NT.
Astro is a contract bridge bidding convention used to intervene over an opponent's one notrump (1NT) opening bid. The name is derived from the initials of the surnames of its inventors - Paul Allinger, Roger Stern and Lawrence Rosler.
XYZ is a bidding convention in contract bridge.