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 (11 or more points) 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:
| Opener | Responder |
|---|---|
| 1♣ | 1♥ |
| 1NT | 2♦! |
| Opener | Responder |
|---|---|
| 1♣ | 1♠ |
| 1NT | 2♦! |
| Opener | Responder |
|---|---|
| 1♦ | 1♥ |
| 1NT | 2♣! |
| Opener | Responder |
|---|---|
| 1♦ | 1♠ |
| 1NT | 2♣! |
| Opener | Responder |
|---|---|
| 1♥ | 1♠ |
| 1NT | 2♣! |
| Opener | Responder |
|---|---|
| 1♥ | 1♠ |
| 1NT | 2♦! |
Auction notes:
1. The opponents are silent throughout.
2. The ! indicates that the bid is alertable.
The New Minor Forcing bid by responder is forcing for one round and asks partner for further information on his shape and strength with the primary objectives of determining if opener has three-card support for responder's five-card major and/or if there is a 4-4 fit in hearts; other major suit fits are also investigated.
In sequences 5 and 6, the NMF bid is made in the stronger minor suit. A jump by responder in an unbid minor after a 1NT rebid by opener is weak and to play.
The bid of the new minor must be alerted by opener.
Methods differ on the priority and meaning of opener's response to the NMF asking bid.
According to Seagram and Smith, [1] the priority for responses by opener are:
Others suggest that the first priority is to show three-card support for responder's major. Partnership agreement on this and other continuations is required.
Typical hands suitable for use of the New Minor Forcing convention include the following:
Given the auction: 1♦– 1♥; 1NT – 2♣ (NMF)
Given the auction: 1♣– 1♠; 1NT – 2♦ (NMF)
When playing this convention, jump rebids by responder are typically played as invitational, as NMF can be used with hands wishing to force to game. For example, on the auction above, a 3♥ bid would be used with a hand such as ♠ Kxx ♥ AQ10xxx♦ xx ♣ xx, to show an interest in game, but only in hearts.
If you're playing New Minor Forcing, the auction: 1♦– 1♠; 1NT – 3♥ shows a 5 card heart suit and at least 5 spades with a game-going hand. Without New Minor Forcing you may bid 3♥ on something like ♠ AKxxx ♥ KQxx♦ x ♣ Axx
Also the auction: 1♦– 1♠; 1NT – 2♥ can show a hand with 5 spades and 4 or 5 hearts with no interest in game
Opener's rebid shows both shape and strength. Although there is variation among partnerships regarding the priority of suits to show, a common agreement is that first priority is to show secondary support for responder's suit, then four cards in the other major, then additional length in a minor, with a jump to show a maximum.
Given the auction:
Opener's third bids and their meanings would be:
Bids at the three level show similar hands, but with a maximum. The meanings of the strength ranges are dependent on a partnership's opening-bid style, as well as its notrump range. Assuming a Standard American 15-17 1NT, a minimum would typically be 12-13 HCP and a maximum would be 14 HCP or some very good 13 HCP hands.
A similar scheme can be applied after opener's 2NT rebid, which typically shows 18-19 HCP: bid of a new minor is forcing by responder (although lesser values are required), and the opener shows the distribution in the same manner. The opener should not jump-rebid at the four level in this case, so as to not skip 3NT (responder's NMF doesn't generally guarantee 5-card major or 4–4 in majors).
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.
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.
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The Drury convention is a bridge convention, used to show a game-invitational major suit raise by a passed hand while guarding against a light opening by partner in third or fourth seat. It is initiated by an artificial and forcing 2♣ response by the passed hand to a 1♥ or 1♠ opening by partner. The 2♣ bid shows at least three-card support for opener's suit with 10-12 support points and asks opener to clarify the strength of their opening hand. The convention is also known in Europe as "Toronto".
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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.
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Fourth suit forcing is a contract bridge convention that allows responder to create, at his second turn to bid, a forcing auction. A bid by responder in the fourth suit, the only remaining unbid suit, is artificial indicating that responder has no appropriate alternate bid, remains interested in the potential for a game contract and asks opener to bid again to show additional features.
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XY Notrump is a bidding convention in contract bridge.
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XYZ is a bidding convention in contract bridge.