Practice Standard American 5-card major bidding with AI opponents
North (Partner)
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HCP: --
West (Opp)
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HCP: --
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East (Opp)
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HCP: --
South (You)
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HCP: --
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🎯 Double Dummy Analysis
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🎴 Standard American Bidding System
Opening Bids
1NT: 15-17 HCP, balanced
2NT: 20-21 HCP, balanced
2♣: 22+ HCP (Strong, artificial, game-forcing)
2♦/♥/♠: 6-11 HCP, 6-card suit (Weak twos)
1♠/♥: 12+ HCP, 5+ card suit (5-card majors)
1♦/♣: 12+ HCP, 3+ cards (better minor)
Responses to 1NT
2♣: Stayman (asks for 4-card major)
2♦: Jacoby Transfer to hearts (shows 5+ hearts)
2♥: Jacoby Transfer to spades (shows 5+ spades)
2NT: Invitational (10-15 HCP)
3NT: Game (16+ HCP)
Responses to Major Suit Openings (1♠/♥)
Simple raise (2♠/♥): 6-9 HCP, 3+ card support
Limit raise (3♠/♥): 10-12 HCP, 3+ card support
Game raise (4♠/♥): 13+ HCP, 3+ card support
1NT: Forcing (6-12 HCP, no fit)
New suit at 1-level: 6+ HCP, 4+ cards
New suit at 2-level: 10+ HCP, 4+ cards
2NT: Invitational (11-12 HCP, balanced)
3NT: Game (13-15 HCP, balanced, no fit)
Responses to Minor Suit Openings (1♦/♣)
1-over-1 in major: 6+ HCP, 4+ card major
1NT: 6-10 HCP, no major
Simple raise (2♦/♣): 6-9 HCP, 4+ support
Inverted minor (3♦/♣): 10+ HCP, 4+ support (game forcing)
2NT: Invitational (11-12 HCP)
3NT: Game (13+ HCP)
Opener's Rebids
After 1NT response: Rebid 6-card suit, bid second suit, or pass with minimum
After simple raise: Pass (12-15), invite (16-17), or bid game (18+)
After limit raise: Bid game with 14+ HCP
After Stayman: Show 4-card major or deny with 2♦
After Jacoby: Accept transfer automatically
Competitive Bidding
Overcall: 10-17 HCP, good 5+ card suit
1NT overcall: 15-18 HCP, balanced, stopper
Jump overcall: 6-11 HCP, 6-card suit (weak)
Key Features
✅ 5-card major system ✅ Forcing 1NT response to major openings ✅ Stayman convention ✅ Jacoby transfers ✅ Inverted minor raises ✅ Limit raises ✅ Weak two bids ✅ Strong 2♣ opening ✅ Simple overcalls
About Bidding Practice
🎯 What is Bidding Practice?
The Bidding Practice tool is an interactive training application designed to help bridge players improve their bidding skills in a realistic, risk-free environment. You'll be dealt a hand and compete in a full auction alongside three AI opponents who bid using Standard American conventions.
This tool is perfect for players at all levels who want to:
Practice opening bids and responses without the pressure of live play
Learn Standard American bidding conventions in context
Develop bidding judgment and hand evaluation skills
Understand competitive bidding and partnership communication
See how hands develop through a complete auction
🃏 What is Double Dummy Analysis?
"Double Dummy" is a fundamental concept in bridge analysis. It refers to analyzing a deal where all four hands are visible to everyone — essentially playing with all cards face-up on the table. The term comes from bridge terminology where "dummy" refers to declarer's partner's hand that is exposed during play.
In double dummy analysis:
• All 52 cards are known to all players
• Perfect information eliminates guessing about card locations
• Calculations show the maximum tricks available with optimal play
• Both declarer AND defenders play with perfect knowledge
When you see "Double Dummy: NS can make 9 tricks in 3NT" — this means that if North-South were to play in 3 No Trump with both sides playing perfectly and seeing all hands, they would take exactly 9 tricks.
🎓 Why Use Double Dummy for Practice?
Double dummy analysis is an invaluable educational tool for several reasons:
1. Objective Performance Measurement
Double dummy provides a definitive benchmark. After you complete your bidding, you can see exactly how many tricks each contract can make with perfect play. This removes ambiguity and shows whether your bidding was accurate, optimistic, or conservative.
2. Learning Optimal Contracts
By comparing your final contract to the double dummy analysis, you learn which contracts are theoretically best for each hand. Over time, this trains your bidding judgment to aim for these optimal contracts.
3. Understanding Bidding Accuracy
Bridge is a game of imperfect information — you can't see your partner's or opponents' cards during bidding. Double dummy results show you what was theoretically possible, helping you evaluate whether your bids accurately described your hand's potential.
4. Identifying Missed Games and Slams
One of the most valuable lessons from double dummy analysis is discovering when you've missed a makeable game or slam. If double dummy shows your partnership could make 4♠ but you stopped in 2♠, you learn to bid more aggressively with similar hands in the future.
5. Risk-Free Experimentation
Practice bidding without worrying about actual card play results. You can try aggressive bids, test new conventions, or explore different approaches — then immediately see the theoretical outcome.
Important Note: Double dummy assumes perfect play from all four players. In real bridge, players make mistakes, miss opportunities, and lack complete information. So making a double dummy contract at the table is often harder than the analysis suggests. However, it remains the gold standard for evaluating bidding accuracy.
📈 How to Use This Tool Effectively
1. Focus on your bidding logic: Don't worry about whether you'll actually make the contract in play — focus on whether your bids accurately described your hand.
2. Compare to double dummy: After each auction, check if you reached the optimal contract. If not, think about what bids might have gotten you there.
3. Learn from differences: When your contract differs from the double dummy optimum, analyze why. Did you overbid? Underbid? Miss a fit?
4. Practice regularly: Consistent practice builds pattern recognition and bidding judgment faster than occasional use.
5. Use the hints: The built-in Standard American convention hints can help you understand what bids mean and when to use them.
🌟 Start Practicing!
Each hand is an opportunity to improve your bidding judgment and work toward consistently reaching optimal contracts. Happy bidding!