Standard American is a bidding system for the game of

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

widely used in North America and elsewhere. Owing to the popularization of the game by

Charles Goren Charles Henry Goren (March 4, 1901 – April 3, 1991) was an American bridge player and writer who significantly developed and popularized the game. He was the leading American bridge personality in the 1950s and 1960s – or 1940s and 1950s, as " ...

in the 1940s and 1950s, its early versions were sometimes referred to simply as 'Goren'. With the addition and evolution of various and , it is now more generally referred to as Standard American. It is a bidding system based on

five-card majors Five-card majors is a contract bridge bidding treatment common to many modern bidding systems. Its basic tenet is that an opening bid of one-of-a-major in first and second position guarantees at least five cards in that major. This method has beco ...

and a strong notrump; players may add conventions and refine the meanings of bids through partnership agreements summarized in their . One standardised version, SAYC (Standard American Yellow Card), is widely used by casual partnerships and in online bridge.

Role of bidding systems

The purpose of bidding during the auction phase of each deal is to disclose information which one's partner may employ in order to arrive at an optimal contract while concurrently contending with the opponents' attempts to do likewise. A bidding system is a set of agreements about the meanings of the different bids that the players use. Each bid provides information about the hand's high-card strength and suit distribution based on

hand evaluation In contract bridge, various bidding systems have been devised to enable partners to describe their hands to each other so that they may reach the optimum contract. Key to this process is that players evaluate and re-evaluate the trick-taking pote ...

techniques.

History

"Standard American" was the label given to the bridge bidding system developed by

and his contemporaries in the 1940s. This system employed the 1915 point-count method to evaluate the strength of a bridge hand. Most bids had fairly specific requirements regarding hand strength and suit distribution. This point-count system became so popular that most bridge players, social and tournament players alike, used it. American bridge teams in the late 1930s and 1940s won world championships using Standard American. Modifications began to appear from the 1950s forward. Before the year 2000, new bidding systems evolved, including " 2/1 Game Forcing" which are otherwise substantial departures from early Standard American methods. Most tournament pairs now assemble their own system from a variety of new treatments and conventions that have evolved. The nearest thing to a common system in tournament play is the "Standard American Yellow Card" (SAYC) promulgated by the

American Contract Bridge League The American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) is a governing body for contract bridge in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda. It is the largest such organization in North America having the stated mission ''"to promote, grow and sustain th ...

. SAYC is widely used in internet bridge play, but only rarely in on-site tournament play.

Most common elements

The essential common elements of modern Standard American systems are: *

Hand evaluation In contract bridge, various bidding systems have been devised to enable partners to describe their hands to each other so that they may reach the optimum contract. Key to this process is that players evaluate and re-evaluate the trick-taking pote ...

based on the 4-3-2-1 point count system (Ace = 4, King = 3, Queen = 2 and Jack = 1) with adjustments for the location of honors and suit distribution. * A hand-strength requirement of at least 12-13 points to open 1-of-a-suit. *

Five-card majors Five-card majors is a contract bridge bidding treatment common to many modern bidding systems. Its basic tenet is that an opening bid of one-of-a-major in first and second position guarantees at least five cards in that major. This method has beco ...

: opening a major suit promises at least a five-card holding in that suit. *

Weak two bid The weak two bid is a common used in the game of contract bridge, where an opening bid of two diamonds, hearts or spades signifies a weak hand, typically containing a long suit. It may be deployed within any system structure that offers a forcing ...

s: Two diamond, heart or spade openers are made with a sound six-card suit in a hand without enough overall strength to open 1 of the suit. *

Strong two clubs 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 most natural bridge bidding systems, the opening bid of 2 is used exclusively for hands to ...

: All unbalanced hands too strong to open at the one-level are opened with an artificial 2 call, as well as balanced hands stronger than 21 HCP. * Pre-emptive opening bids: Suit openings above the two level are pre-emptive, promising a long and strong suit. * Limit Raises: A jump-raise of the opener's suit by responder, in the absence of opponent interference, is invitational to game. In Goren's system, this was a strong game-forcing raise. * Notrump openers show a balanced hand, with the following common high card point (HCP) ranges: ** 1NT = 15-17 HCP ** 2NT = 20-21 HCP ** 3NT = 25-27 HCP * Common notrump follow-up conventions include Stayman,

Jacoby transfers 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 just above that bid by r ...

and Gerber.

SAYC

The Standard American Yellow Card (SAYC) is a set of partnership agreements summarized in a convention card created by the

(ACBL) to be used as the required bidding system in specified events or as a base for a casual or online partnerships. Some of the specific agreements in Standard American Yellow Card (SAYC) that elaborate on or depart from more current Standard American bidding are: * A 2 response to a 1NT opening is specified as the "non-forcing" version of the

Stayman convention 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 suit after making a one (1NT) opening bid and it has been adapted for use after a 2NT opening, a 1NT overcall, ...

. * A 2 response to a 1NT is a relay to the minors when responder holds a long (at least six card length) minor suit and a weak hand; opener bids 3 and responder either passes or corrects to 3 which opener is expected to pass. * Straight Blackwood is used and not the Roman Key Card Blackwood or other variation. * In response to a 2 opening, the 2 response is the "waiting" version of that response. * In response to a weak-two opening, RONF ("Raise Only Non-Force") is used. * The

Jacoby 2NT Jacoby 2NT (Swedish: ''Stenberg 2NT'') is a bridge convention in which a bid of 2NT over partner's opening bid of one heart (1) or one spade (1) shows a hand with both * opening strength or better - normally at least 12 HCP or a hand meeting the " ...

is used to show a game-forcing raise of a major suit with four-card support. *

Negative double The negative double is a form of takeout double in bridge. It is made by the responder after their right-hand opponent overcalls on the first round of bidding, and is used to show shortness in overcall's suit, support for the unbid suits with emphas ...

s are used through the level of 2. * Fourth suit forcing is used. *

Michaels cuebid The Michaels cuebid is a conventional bid used in the card game contract bridge. First devised by Michael Michaels of Miami Beach, FL, it is an 's cuebid in opponent's opening suit and is normally used to show a two-suited hand with at least five ...

and

Unusual notrump In the card game of bridge, the unusual notrump is a conventional showing a two-suited hand. It was originally devised by Al Roth in 1948 with Tobias Stone, to show the minor suits after the opponents opened in a major. The convention concept ...

are used. * Conventions are specified as being "off" in response to a 1NT overcall, except that 2 is still Stayman.

References

*''Standard American 21'' by John Sheridan Thomas, *''Standard Bidding with SAYC'' by Ned Downey & Ellen Pomer,
eBook version

External links

Standard American Yellow Card
by the American Contract Bridge League {{WPCBIndex Bridge systems