TresBoof -------- P: 14+, any shape. 1C: 8-13, 4+ hearts, h>=s, possibly longer minor, possibly 4-4 majors. 1D: 8-13, 4+ spades, s>h, could contain 4+ hearts, possibly longer minor. 1H: 0-8, any shape. Usually no 5-card suit except possibly clubs. 1S: 9-13, balanced, no 4cM unless 4-3-3-3. 1N: 9-13, 5+ diamonds, no 4cM. (Implies 6+ diamonds and/or 4 clubs). 2C: 9-13, 5+ clubs, no 4cM. (Implies 6+ clubs and/or 4 diamonds). 2D: 4-8 weak 2 in major, MULTI 2H: H+minor 2S: S+minor Bids in "()" indicate an opponents intervening bid. Keep in mind for 5-4-4-0 hands that one of the suits that you show before the S2 scheme has to be the 5 carder. P: 14+, any shape. (1C): P: Forces X X: Forced P: penalty 1D: shows 11+ with "something extra", denies 4+ spades. 1H: 11+, see P-1H 1S: 11+, see P-1S 1N: 11+, see P-1N 2C: 11+, see P-2C 2H+: shows 6-9 and a good 6 card suit X: 8-10 1D: 5-7, natural. 1H: 5-7, natural. 1S: 5-7, natural. 1N: 0-4, any shape. P: minimal balanced hand. 2C: please pick a suit pd 2D: signoff 2H: signoff 2S: signoff 2N: invite Cue bid of enemy suit is the only forcing bid. 3C: invitational 3D: invitational 3H: invitational 3S: invitational 2C: 5-7, natural. 2D: shows < 6 and a good 6 card suit (1D): P: Forces X X: Forced P: penalty 1H: 11+, see P-1H 1S: 11+, see P-1S 1N: 11+, see P-1N 2C: 11+, see P-2C 2H+: shows 6-9 and a good 6 card suit X: 8-10, denies 4+ spades. 1H: 8-10, 4+ spades. 1S: 5-7, natural. 1N: 0-4, any shape. See P-(1C)-1N. 2C: 5-7, natural. 2D: 5-7, natrual. 2H: 5-7, natural. 2S+: shows < 6 and a good 6 card suit (1H): P: 8+, denies 4+ hearts, X relay, Moscito switching H & S. X: 8+, 4+ hearts, 1S relay, Moscito switching H & S. 1S: 5-7, natural. 1N: 0-4 any shape. See P-(1C)-1N. 2C: 5-7, natural. 2D: 5-7, natural. 2H: 5-7, natural. (1S): P: 8+, denies 4+ spades. X: Relay 1N: 4+ hearts, denies S or D. 2C: HD 2-suiter. 2D: C or D one suiter (relays off) 2H+: shows CD 2 suiter X: 8+, usually 4 spades. Natural responses. 1N: 0-4 any shape. See P-(1C)-1N. 2C: 5-7, natural. 2D: 5-7, natural. 2H: 5-7, natural. 2S: 5-7, natural. (1N): X: 8+ Others: 5-7, natural. (2C): X: Optional, 8+, 3+ decent cards in their suit. 2D: Takeout -- leaning towards majors. New suits by responder are forcing. 2H: 8-10 points, good suit, non-forcing 2S: 8-10 points, good suit, non-forcing 2N: Diamonds, 8+, good suit Jump bids are natural, GF. (2D): (2H): (2S): X: Optional, 8+, 3+ decent cards in their suit. 2 suit: 8-10 points, 4+ card suit. 2N - 3S: Transfers. Transfers to a lower suit than the opps bid is 8+. Transfer into their suit is 11+, 3-suiter. Transfer above their suit shows a game force and an excellent suit. (Others): X: Penalty Others: GF 1C: 8-10 pts, 2+ controls, any shape. (X): P: GF relay. XX: 14-16 take out. 1D: 14-16, natural. 1H: 14-16, natural. 1S: 14-16, natural. 1N: 14-16, balanced. 2C: 14-16, natural. (1D): (1H): (1S): P: GF relay. X: 14-16 takeout. Suits: 14-16, natural. 2Z: Michaels, 14-16. (1N): Are they insane? P: Forces X then any bid is GF. X: 14-16. Suits: natural. 2N: Unusual. (2C): P: Forces X. X: Forced P: Penalty 2D: takeout 3C: stronger takeout X: Optional. 2D: 14-16 takeout. 2N: Invitational. others: 14-16, natural. (2D+): P: 14-16 X: Optional. Others: GF, natural. 1D: 17+ GF relay Responder bids the first-round response structure below, 1H-2C. others: 14-16 followed by natural bidding 1D: 0-7 pts, any shape. (Anything): Pretend he opened the bidding. Use normal defensive methods except our point count is known. 1H: 17+ any shape 1S: 0-4 any shape 1N: 17-19 2N: 2C: 5-7, GF 1S: 14-16 w/ spades 1N: 14-16 bal 2C: 14-16 w/ clubs 2D: 14-16 w/ diamonds 2H: 14-16 w/ hearts 2S: 17+ w/ spades (to prevent wrong-siding if responder bids 1S after 1H) 2N: 22-24 bal others: GF 1H: 11+ pts, 4+ spades. 1S: Relay 1N: 4+ hearts. Opener relays 2C: 2D: 3-suited, both majors. Opener relays 2H: 2S: Low (club) shortage. 4441, 5440, 4540, 4450. 2N+: High (diamond) shortage. 4441, 5404, 4504, 4405. 2H+: S2 scheme. 2C: 4+ diamonds. Opener relays 2D, then 2H+ is S2 scheme. 2D: Spade 1-suiter or 4144, S1 scheme. 2H+: 4+ clubs, S2 scheme. 2C: 14-16, 4+ hearts, denies 4+ spades, 4+ diamonds. Responder relays then 2H+ is the S2 scheme. 2D: 14-16, 5+ hearts, denies 4+ spades. Responder relays then 2S+ is the S1 scheme. 2H+: 14-16, 4+ hearts, denies 4+ spades, 4+ clubs as in the S2 scheme. 1S: 11+ pts, 4+ diamonds, denies 4+ spades. 1N: Relay 2C: 4+ hearts. Opener relays 2D, then 2H+ is S2 scheme. 2D: Diamond 1-suiter or 1444, S1 scheme. 2H+: 4+ clubs, S2 scheme. 2C: 14-16, 4+ spades, denies 4+ hearts, 4+ diamonds. Responder relays then 2H+ is the S2 scheme. 2D: 14-16, 5+ spades. Responder relay then 2S+ is the S1 scheme. 2H+: 14-16, 4+ spades, 4+ clubs as in the S2 scheme. 1N: 11+ pts, 4+ hearts, denies spades or diamonds. 2D: Heart 1-suiter, S1 scheme. 2H+: 4+ clubs, S2 scheme. 2C: 11-13 pts, balanced (4-3-3-3, 4-4-3-2, or 5-3-3-2 with no 5-card major). If responder doesn't respond 2C but later shows balanced he promises 14+ pts. 2D: 11+ pts, club 1-suiter, S1 scheme. Others: 6-9 pts, good 6-card suit (7 if 3-level, 8 if 4-level). Everything natural afterwards (raise is invitational, everything else GF). 1C: 8-13, 4+ hearts, h>=s, possibly longer minor, possibly 4-4 majors. (X): XX shows 3 card heart support (1D): X is stolen bid, others are normal, see 1C-1H+. (1H-2D): Negative doubles, like a normal 1D response. New suits forcing. Cheapest heart bid is signoff. Cue bid of opp's suit shows invite+ strength and 4 hearts. (2H+): Penalty X's. New suits forcing. Cheapest heart bid is signoff. Cue bid of opp's suit shows invite+ strength and 4 hearts. P: Any really weak hand, with or without clubs. 1D: No other bid available. Starts a totally natural sequence. Could be a nondescript hand barely worth a response, could be a mediocre hand looking for a fit, could be almost worth an invitation but wants to find out more about partner's hand before evaluating. Opener bids (in order of priority): 1H with 5+ hearts, 1S with 4 spades, 1N with balanced, 2m with a longer minor suit, and something else with a really nice *distributional* max. (Rebid 1H usually with 4-5 majors, since partner can bid 1S to find a spade fit.) Most bids after 1D response are nonforcing, but many raises and jumps are invitational. 1H: Either an invitation or a game-force. 1S: minimum, denies 4+ spades 1N: GF relay, Moscito 2C: 4+ diamonds. Opener relays 2D, then 2H+ is S2 scheme. 2D: heart 1-suiter or 4144, S1 scheme. 2H+: 4+ clubs, S2 scheme. others: natural, invitational 1N: 4+ spades 2C: GF relay, Moscito 2D: 3-suited, both majors. Responder relays 2H: 2S: Low shortage. 4441, 5440, 4540, 4450. 2N+: High shortage. 4414, 5404, 4504, 4405. 2H+: S2 scheme. others: natural, invitational 2C: maximum, 4+ diamonds, Opener relays 2D, then 2H+ is S2 scheme. 2D: maximum, heart 1-suiter or 4144, S1 scheme. 2H+: maximum, 4+ clubs, S2 scheme. 1N: 4-card support and 10-12 points in support. 1S: 5-card suit, usually weak, but game might be possible if partner has a fit. 2C, 2D: Weak hand, good suit. Others: Signoff, preemptive. 1D: 8-13, 4+ spades, s>h, could contain 4+ hearts, possibly longer minor. (X): XX shows 3 card spade support (1H): X is stolen bid, others are normal, see 1D-1S+. (1S-2H): Negative doubles, like a normal 1H response. New suits forcing. Cheapest spade bid is signoff. Cue bid of opp's suit shows invite+ strength and 4 spades. (2S+): Penalty X's. New suits forcing. Cheapest spade bid is signoff. Cue bid of opp's suit shows invite+ strength and 4 spades. P: Any really weak hand, with or without diamonds. 1H: No other bid available. Starts a totally natural sequence. Could be a nondescript hand barely worth a response, could be a mediocre hand looking for a fit, could be almost worth an invitation but wants to find out more about partner's hand before evaluating. Opener bids (in order of priority): 1S with 5+ spades, 1N with balanced, 2m with a longer minor suit, and something else with a really nice *distributional* max. 1S: GF relay. Opener rebids as in Moscito. 1N: 4+ hearts. Normal relays. 2C: 4+ diamonds. Opener relays 2D, then 2H+ is S2 scheme. 2D: Spade 1-suiter or 4144, S1 scheme. 2H+: 4+ clubs, S2 scheme. 1N: 4-card support and 10-12 points in support. Basically a raise which won't go anywhere unless partner really likes his hand. 2C, 2D: Weak hand, good suit. Others: Signoff, preemptive. 1H: 0-8, any shape. Usually no 5-card suit except possibly clubs. (X): XX: SOS. Usually no 4-card heart suit and no convenient 5-card suit. Could be a strong hand with a good suit and will jump next. 1S: Weak runouts. Decent 5-card suit. 1N: Normal. See 1H-1N. 2C: Weak runouts. Decent 5-card suit. 2D: Weak runouts. Decent 5-card suit. Jumps: Weak. 2N: Unusual. After the first round actions, 1N tends to show the most awkward suit that the bidder could hold. For example, 1H-X-1S-X-1N shows diamonds (opener can't have good enough hearts to override partner's decision, since he didn't open 2H). 1H-X-P-P-1S-X-1N shows hearts, since responder could have something like 6 hearts. XX, of course, is always SOS. P: Almost any 0-10 hand, and decent hands with hearts as well. 1N: ~18+, artificial, forcing. 2C: 0-4 any shape, auction reverts to natural (responder must jump to force). 2D: 5-6, no 4cM 2H: 5-6, 4+ hearts 2S: 5-6, 4+ spades 2N: 7-8, GF 2N: 21-23, natural. 2M,3*: Preemptive. 1S,2m: General runout, probably decent hand (since most really lame hands pass). Up to 17 pts. 1S shows 4+, 2m shows 5+. Opener should raise with a max and a good fit. 1S: 9-13, balanced, no 4cM unless 4-3-3-3. (X): XX is SOS and everything else normal. (Suit): X is penalty, 2N is artificial GF, jumps are invitation, bids are signoff. P: Bad hand, 4 or (weak 5) spades. With good spades, respond 2S (also a signoff, but more preemptive) 1N: To play. 2C: Puppet to 2D. Either a diamond signoff, or any invitational hand. With an invite, responder next bids his suit. 2D: Artificial game force. Opener bids (in order of priority): 2H: doubleton heart. 3244, 3235, 3253. 2S: doubleton spade. 2344, 2335, 2353. 2N: 4-3-3-3. 3343, 3433, 4333, 3334. 3C: 3325 3D: 3352 2N: Light invitation to 3N. With a strong invitation, bid 2C then 2N. Others: Signoff. 1N: 9-13, 5+ diamonds, no 4cM. (Implies 6+ diamonds and/or 4 clubs). (X): XX is SOS, raise is competitive, new suits are invitational. (Suit): X is penalty, raise is competitive, new suits are invitational. Cue bid asks for a stopper. 2C: Puppet to 2D, either a signoff or an invitational hand. Responder bids his suit next with an invitation. 2D: Game-forcing relay. Then 2H shows 4 clubs (S2) and 2S+ is 1-suiter (S1). Normally, 2H in the S2 scheme would show longer clubs than diamonds but we know this is impossible here. Responder will frequently break out of relays to find out about stoppers. 2N: Invitational. 2H, 2S: Good suit, nonforcing. 3*, 4*: Signoff. 3C tends to imply a mild diamond fit. 2C: 9-13, 5+ clubs, no 4cM. (Implies 6+ clubs and/or 4 diamonds). 2D: Game-forcing relay. Opener bids 2H with secondary diamonds (S2 scheme), or 2S or higher with a 1-suiter (S1 scheme). 2H, 2S, 2N, 3C, 3D: Invitational, natural. Others: Preempts. 2D: 4-8 weak 2 in major or 20-21 balanced, MULTI 2H: Pass or correct. 2S: Invite in hearts. 2N: General inquiry. 3C: Top of range. 3D: Name your suit. 3H: Hearts. 3S: Spades. 4C: Transfer responder into your major. 4D: Weak 2 in hearts. 4H: Weak 2 in spades. 3D: Bottom of range, weak 2 in hearts. 3H: Bottom of range, weak 2 in spades. 3S: 20-21 balanced (yeah right!). 3C: Natural, forcing. 3D: Natural, forcing. 3H: Pass or correct but more preemptive. 4C: Transfer responder into your major. 4D: Weak 2 in hearts. 4H: Weak 2 in spades. 4H: To play. 4S: To play. 2H: 4-8 hearts + minor 2S: To play. 2N: General inquiry. 3C: Weak hand with secondary clubs. 3D: Weak hand with secondary diamonds. 3H: Good hand with secondary clubs. 3S: Good hand with secondary diamonds. 3C: Pass or correct. 2S: 4-8 spades + another suit 2N: General inquiry. 3C: Weak hand with secondary clubs. 3D: Weak hand with secondary diamonds. 3H: Weak hand with secondary hearts. 3S: < What do we do here with the good hands? > 3C: Pass or correct. 2N: 8-12, 5-5 or more in minors. In response to 2N, 3m is a signoff, 4m is invitational to game, 4N is invitational to slam in a minor (opener bids 5C to reject, 5N or something else high to accept), and 5m, 6m, 7m are signoffs. 3M is forcing. 3N and 4M are signoffs, and opener should *not* pull. 3N: 8-13, solid 7-card or 8-card minor. In response to 3N, pass is to play and should only be done with a couple of outside tricks and a couple of outside stoppers. Any club bid is a signoff in opener's minor. 4D asks for an outside second-round control (4H=H, 4S=S, 4N = other minor, 5m = none). In general, the cheapest N is natural, but a N raise or jump is forcing and invitational to slam in opener's minor if opener has undisclosed extras. Others (?): Preempts of various sorts. Wild, both because of our general style, and because often the only alternative is a 1H opening. 2.3 S1 scheme -------------- A good memory device is that the "1" in S1 stands for one-suited hands but it will also handle the hands with 3 equal suits. The S1 scheme always starts with responder bidding 2D and opener relaying 2H, then: 2S: Either low shortage or 6-3-2-2. Opener relays 2N: 3C: 6-3-2-2. 3H: Low 3-card suit. 3S: Mid 3-card suit. 3N: High 3-card suit. 3D+: 5-3-3-2, 6-3-3-1, 7-3-2-1, 7-3-3-0 2N: Mid shortage. 5-3-3-2, 6-3-3-1, 7-3-2-1, 7-3-3-0. 3C: Three equal suits. 4-3-3-3, 4-4-4-1 (one major), 7-2-2-2. 3D+: High shortage. 5-3-3-2, 6-3-3-1, 7-3-2-1, 7-3-3-0. 2.4 S2 scheme -------------- A similar memory device for this scheme is that the "2" in S2 corresponds to two-suited hands but this scheme also handles the rare unequal 3 suiters (5-4-4-0). The S2 scheme always starts with responder bidding 2H and higher: 2H: Lower suit longer. Opener relays 2S: 2N: Lower suit longer, low shortage. 5-4-3-1, 6-4-2-1, 6-4-3-0, 6-5-2-0, 7-4-2-0. 3C: Lower suit longer, 3-suiter (both minors) or equal shortage. 5-4-2-2, 5-4-4-0, 6-5-1-1, 7-4-1-1. 3D+: Lower suit longer, high shortage. 5-4-3-1, 6-4-2-1, 6-4-3-0, 6-5-2-0, 7-4-2-0. 2S: Equal-length suits. Opener relays 2N: 3C: Low shortage. 4-4-3-2, 5-5-2-1, 5-5-3-0, 6-6-1-0. 3D+: High shortage. 4-4-3-2, 5-5-2-1, 5-5-3-0, 6-6-1-0. 2N: Higher suit longer, low shortage. 5-4-3-1, 6-4-2-1, 6-4-3-0, 6-5-2-0, 7-4-2-0. 3C: Higher suit longer, 3-suiter (both minors) or equal shortage. 5-4-2-2, 5-4-4-0, 6-5-1-1, 7-4-1-1. 3D+: Higher suit longer, high shortage. 5-4-3-1, 6-4-2-1, 6-4-3-0, 6-5-2-0, 7-4-2-0. 2.5 Balanced scheme -------------------- Responder responded 2C, opener relayed 2D, then: 2H: 4 spades. 2N: 4 hearts. 4432, 4423. 3C: 4 diamonds. 4342, 4243. 3D: 4333. 3H+: 4 clubs. 4324, 4234. 2S: 4 diamonds. 3C: 4 hearts. 3442, 2443. 3D: 3343. 3H+: 4 clubs. 3244, 2344. 2N: 4 hearts. 3D: 3433. 3H+: 4 clubs. 3424, 2434. 3C: 5 diamonds. 3352, 3253, 2353. 3D: 3334. 3H+: 5 clubs. 3325, 3235, 2335. 2.6 Control relays ------------------- 1) 3N is NEVER a relay. When relayer bids 3N, it is to play. So, if responder bids 3S, 4C is the relay. 2) Relayer can always sign off by making a non-relay minimum game bid. If relayer has determined that 3N or 4M is impossible, and is unsure that partnership values are sufficient for 5m, he can bid a non-relay 4m as strongly invitational, but not forcing. If relayer is interested in slam but does not think further relays will help him, he can make a natural, invitational jump in a new suit. 3) The first relay after shape has been determined asks for controls. An ace is two controls, a non-singleton king is one control. Responder must have 3 controls for a bid promising 11+ points, so he skips no steps to show only 3, skips 1 step to show 4, skips 2 to show 5, etc. Responder must have 2 controls for a bid promising 8+ points, so he skips no steps to show only 2, skips 1 step to show 3, skips 2 to show 4, etc. 4) After that, responder orders his suits by length, ignoring singletons and voids, breaking ties by rank. For example, for 3532 the order is H-S-D-C, while for 1453 the order is D-H-C. 5) Responder then makes a list like: A xor K of first suit (not both, opener can always distinguish A xor K of second suit between 0 and AK) * A xor K of third suit * ** A xor K of fourth suit (if applicable) Q of first suit Q of second suit Q of third suit ** Q of fourth suit (if applicable) *** "something extra" *** "something extra" *** "something extra" * if this suit is a doubleton, the check is reversed, and this should read "0 or AK of nth suit" ** if the fourth suit is a singleton or void, it is completely ignored, so this item does not exist. *** this is pure judgement. if nothing else is left on the list, responder can skip an extra step or two to show that he still has extra values that he hasn't shown yet. this could be the jack of a long suit, a singleton honor, etc. 6) Responder looks at the current list, and skips n steps to show that his hand meets the first n conditions on the list but not the (n+1)th. He then crosses off the n+1 conditions, to get a new, shorter list, starting with the (n+2)th condition. 3.4 Intervention after a game-forcing relay has been established ------------------------------------------------------------------ Double of responder: Relayer may redouble to play, or pass as the usual relay. Then redouble by responder shows extra values (14+ or compensating strength) (1-step relays), and a 1-step bid shows control in the doubled suit, no extras, and denies the cheapest response (2-step relays). Other bids by responder are as normal. Double of relayer: Responder may pass to show extras (double relays), redouble to show a high card in that suit and deny the 1-step response (1-step relays) or make his normal response with neither of the above. 1-step interference over responder: Double by relayer is penalty. Pass relays, after which responder may either make his normal bid or double to show values in the doubled suit and deny the cheapest response (opener may pass for penalties or 2-step to relay). 1-step interference over relayer: Pass and double both show a 1-step response, but double shows a high card (for defense or N) in the opponent's suit while pass denies it. Opener may penalize the boofa or 2-step to relay. Other bids are as normal. 2-step interference, then we conduct our relay auction as normal, with pass substituting for the 1-step bid and double substituting for the 2-step bid. 3+ step interference over responder: Relayer may double for penalty. Pass resumes relays n-2 steps higher. Responder by use X as a step if they have denied 4+ of the opponents suit. 3+ step inteference over relayer: Drop relays, bid naturally. Responder should either double with undisclosed defense or pass without, should not get in the way if relayer wants to double. Afterwards cheapest suit by relayer may be artificial (depending on how deep we are in relays) to give responder more room to say something. Intervention in control relays over responder: Relayer may double for penalty, or pass to continue relays (X by responder subs for first step). Intervention in control relays over relayer: Responder doubles to show an undisclosed control in that suit, or passes to deny such. Relayer may then bid the cheapest step to relay, the intervention suit being skipped over since we have the info already. Notes ----- If relayer attempts to signoff in game without asking controls, responder may continue on and show controls starting with 4.