Bridge gives you 13 cards and a bidding box full of choices. For a first bid, ignore most of that box. Count your high-card points, check the shape, and look for five Hearts or five Spades.
The short version is this: open 1NT with 15-17 HCP and a balanced hand. With ordinary opening strength and a five-card major, bid the major. If neither applies, bid the longer minor. Pass the weak hands.
That will not settle every close auction, but it is enough to stop guessing. The hands below use the basic SAYC-style rules at our Contract Bridge table, so you can try the same decisions in a game.
Count high-card points before choosing a bid
High-card points, shortened to HCP, count only four honors:
| Honor | High-card points |
|---|---|
| Ace | 4 |
| King | 3 |
| Queen | 2 |
| Jack | 1 |
There are 40 HCP in the deck. An Ace and Queen of Spades, King of Hearts, and Jack of Clubs add up to 10 HCP: 4 + 2 + 3 + 1. Tens and nines may be useful cards, but they do not add HCP.
Points do not tell the whole story. A six-card suit can become a string of winners; a bare Queen may never win a trick. Our game adds one length point for each card after the fourth in a suit, so a six-card suit adds two.
What is a balanced Bridge hand?
A balanced hand has no void, no singleton, and at most one doubleton. The usual balanced shapes are:
- 4-3-3-3
- 4-4-3-2
- 5-3-3-2
Shape matters in No Trump because there is no trump suit to rescue you. If the opponents find your singleton, they may cash that suit before you get control. A balanced hand is less likely to have such an obvious hole.
On our table, 15-17 HCP and one of these balanced shapes means 1NT, even when the five-card suit is a major. Some partnerships prefer to open that major. Both approaches are playable; partners simply need to agree before the deal.
Bridge opening bids: a beginner’s quick chart
For an auction where nobody has bid yet, start here:
| Hand type | Likely opening bid |
|---|---|
| Fewer than about 12 points | Pass |
| 12-21 points with 5+ Spades | 1♠ |
| 12-21 points with 5+ Hearts and no longer Spade suit | 1♥ |
| 12-21 points without a five-card major | 1♦ or 1♣, usually the longer minor |
| 15-17 HCP, balanced | 1NT |
| 20-21 HCP, balanced | 2NT |
| 22+ HCP | 2♣, the strong artificial opening |
| 6-10 HCP with exactly six Diamonds, Hearts, or Spades | A weak 2♦, 2♥, or 2♠ |
Some rows overlap. Check the narrow No Trump ranges before using the wider 12-21 point suit range.
Equal minor suits are handled differently from one bidding system to another. In our game, open 1♦ with four or more Diamonds, or when both minors are three cards. Otherwise open 1♣.
What do the level and strain mean?
Every bid has a level and a strain. Add six to the level to get the number of tricks promised. The strain names the trump suit, unless the bid is No Trump.
- 1♠ promises 7 tricks with Spades as trump.
- 3NT promises 9 tricks with no trump suit.
- 4♥ promises 10 tricks with Hearts as trump.
- 6♣ promises 12 tricks with Clubs as trump.
Bids rise in this order: Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, Spades, No Trump. After 1♠, the next available bids are 1NT and then 2♣. You cannot bid 1♥ because it ranks below 1♠ at the same level.
Five opening-hand examples
1. Open 1NT with 15 balanced points
Hand: ♠ A Q 7, ♥ K J 4, ♦ K 9 6, ♣ Q 8 4 2
Fifteen points and a 4-3-3-3 shape make this a clean 1NT opening. Clubs may be the longest suit, but 1♣ would hide the most useful facts about the hand: its narrow point range and balanced shape.
2. Open a five-card major with 12 points
Hand: ♠ A K 10 8 5, ♥ Q 7 4, ♦ K 9 3, ♣ 8 2
Open 1♠. The hand has 12 HCP and five Spades, and an eight-card major-suit fit is often safer than No Trump.
The Club doubleton helps too. Once those two Clubs are gone, a later Club may be ruffed if Spades become trump.
3. Open the longer minor when there is no five-card major
Hand: ♠ A Q 8, ♥ K 9 4, ♦ K J 7 4, ♣ 10 6 2
Open 1♦. There are 13 HCP, four Diamonds, and no five-card major. The bid does not claim that Diamonds are wonderful. It simply starts low and leaves room to find a major or No Trump with partner.
4. Use a weak two bid for a long suit
Hand: ♠ K Q J 9 6 3, ♥ 8 4, ♦ A 7 3, ♣ 9 2
Open 2♠. Ten HCP is below a normal opening, but the six-card Spade suit tells a much clearer story. The higher opening also leaves the opponents less room to talk.
A weak two is not right for every six-card suit. This one has King-Queen-Jack, so it is very different from six small Spades. Seat and vulnerability matter too, especially against experienced opponents.
5. Pass a balanced hand that lacks strength
Hand: ♠ Q 8 6 2, ♥ K 9 5, ♦ J 7 4, ♣ Q 10 3
Pass. The hand has only 8 HCP, no long suit, and no useful preempt. Balanced does not mean strong; it only describes how the cards are divided.
How many combined points does a partnership need?
Partner’s first bid changes the arithmetic. Add the bottom of partner’s promised range to your own points. That tells you whether to stop low, invite game, bid game, or investigate a slam.
| Partnership goal | Common combined strength |
|---|---|
| Part-score | Below game range |
| 3NT or 4♥/4♠ game | About 25-26 points |
| 5♣/5♦ game | About 28-29 points |
| Small slam at the 6-level | About 33 points |
| Grand slam at the 7-level | About 37 points |
The totals are estimates, not laws. A strong fit and a long running suit can outperform the numbers. Two hands with no fit can be awkward even when the point count looks healthy.
For example, partner opens 1NT and you hold 10 HCP. Even if partner has the minimum 15, the partnership has 25. Without a five-card major, bid 3NT rather than stopping at 2NT.
Simple responses used on this table
Bridge clubs add conventions such as Stayman, transfers, forcing raises, and cue bids. Our game keeps the response system short enough to follow while you learn what the basic bids mean.
After partner opens a major and you have at least three-card support:
- With 6-9 points, raise to the 2-level.
- With 10-12 points, raise to the 3-level.
- With 13+ points, our game raises directly to 4♥ or 4♠.
After partner opens 1NT:
- With 0-7 HCP, pass.
- With 8-9 HCP, invite with 2NT.
- With 10-15 HCP, bid 3NT, or choose 4♥/4♠ with a five-card major.
This is not a complete SAYC convention card. At a club or tournament, ask your partner which conventions are in use before the first board.
Common beginner bidding mistakes
Counting distribution before counting honors
Count HCP first and length second. Mixing the two halfway through is an easy way to count the same card twice.
Opening 1NT with an unbalanced hand
Sixteen points alone do not make a 1NT opening. A singleton or void means the hand is not balanced.
Bidding the strongest-looking four-card suit over a five-card major
In a five-card-major system, five Spades usually come before four attractive Diamonds. Do not let a few pretty honors pull you away from the longer major.
Raising the level without a reason
A higher bid commits the partnership to more tricks. Before jumping to game, count the likely combined points and check that the hands fit.
Treating every convention as universal
Two good Bridge players can assign different meanings to the same bid. Learn one small system first. Add a convention only when both partners know what it means.
Bridge bidding FAQ
How many points do you need to open in Bridge?
A normal one-level opening usually starts around 12 points. Balanced hands in the 1NT or 2NT ranges use those bids instead. A good six-card suit may qualify for a weak two with fewer points.
What does a 1NT opening mean?
In the system used on Trick Card Games, 1NT shows 15-17 HCP and a balanced 4-3-3-3, 4-4-3-2, or 5-3-3-2 distribution.
Should I open a major or a minor suit first?
With normal opening strength, show a five-card major first. Without one, open the longer minor unless your hand fits a specific No Trump range.
What is the difference between HCP and total points?
HCP count Aces, Kings, Queens, and Jacks. Total points add distributional value, such as length beyond four cards, to that honor count.
Do I need to memorize every Bridge bid before playing?
No. Learn HCP, balanced shapes, five-card majors, and the 1NT range first. Six bids you understand are more useful than twenty conventions you only half remember.
Before the bidding box appears, take ten seconds and choose your opening. Then watch the auction and see whether your count held up. You can also review the complete Contract Bridge rules before playing.