The Auction: Opening Bids
📋 What it is
The auction is a coded conversation; an opening bid of one-of-a-suit usually shows about 12+ points and length.
🗣️ Coach says
Bidding is a language. Your bid tells partner about your hand: an opening "1♠", for example, promises roughly 12 or more points and at least five spades. You are not just naming a contract — you are DESCRIBING your cards in code.
🧠 Memory hook
A bid is a sentence about your hand. Open at the one-level with ~12+ points.
😂 Giggle
Why did the ace feel so valuable?
Because it's worth 4 high-card points — the most of any single card!
😲 Whoa!
A whole auction can pass a startling amount of information — expert partnerships describe both 26-card hands so precisely that they often know exactly which contract will make.
✅ Quick check: Roughly how many high-card points do you usually need to make an opening bid at the one-level?
Say your answer out loud first — then reveal.
About 12 or more — an opening one-of-a-suit typically shows around 12+ points and a decent suit.
The common threshold to open the bidding is roughly 12 HCP.
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
Count three sample hands and decide which are strong enough to open (about 12+) and which should pass.