Q&A for How to Bid in Bridge

You shouldn't open the bid unless you have 13 or more HCP, or high-card points. Any less than that and you should pass. Before you make your decision, count up your high-card points. An ace is worth 4 points, a king is worth 3, a queen is worth 2, and a jack is worth 1. Count them all up to get your total points. If you have a balanced hand with 15 to 17 high-card points, it's a good idea to announce a no-trump bid, which means you will take a hand without placing an Ace. If you have 22 points or more, you can make a 2-suit bid. Whenever you do open your bid, choose a card from your high-card suit.

You can make a preemptive overcall, which has suit requirements similar to a preemptive opening. A preempt is a bid on contract bridge where the primary objective is stop an opponent's ability to bid their best contract and to show your hand to your partner in a single bid. A preemptive bid usually has the goal of a "save" which is where your partner bids a contract that they know can't be made, but assumes that the penalty will be smaller than the value of your opponent's bid and contract. It can be a risky gamble, but if it works, you and your partner can take a serious advantage over your opponents. It also requires a lot of trust and ability to work well with your partner.

They don't. You get 13 cards because otherwise you could not finish the game because someone has cards left.

A weak two bid is a preemptive opening bid in contract bridge that indicates a weak hand with a long suit. It's made by bidding two diamonds, two hearts, or two spades, typically showing 6–10 high-card points (HCP) and exactly six cards in the bid suit. This bid can be used in any system structure that allows for forcing artificial openings.

In Standard American, a 2 diamond opening is usually weak, showing a long, strong diamond suit (6 cards) and 5-10 (possibly 11) high card points. This bid is preemptive, designed to limit the opponents' bidding space. Alternatively, it could be strong, showing at least 5 cards and a strong hand (usually 17+ HCP with good diamonds), but strong two bids are less popular now, especially in duplicate bridge. Check with your partner to be sure.

If your partner opens with 1NT (15-17 points) and you hold: 0-7 points, you should either pass or bid 2 of your long suit (5+ cards). With 8-9 points, invite to game in notrump or your suit. With 10-17 points, bid a game in notrump or a suit.

In bridge, opening with 13 or more points is a widely accepted guideline but not an absolute rule. Most players follow this practice to communicate hand strength, but deviations occur based on strategy or card distribution.

You are always permitted to look at your last trick, assuming you have not led or played to the next trick.

A jump shift occurs when you bid one level higher than necessary. You could have bid at a lower level in the same suit but chose not to. Jump shifts can be made by either the opener or the responder, but the points required differ for each position.

In the card game bridge, bids convey information about a player's hand and what should be trump. The bidding system aims to find the most economical game contracts. Bids also indicate how many tricks a player is contracting to win. For example, a bid of one heart means the player is contracting to win seven tricks with hearts as trumps, while the highest bid of seven means contracting to win all 13 tricks.

With 11 points and 3 small hearts, you should consider bidding 2H to support your partner's heart suit. If you have another 4-card suit, you might also consider bidding that suit first to explore the best fit.