Lesson 5 of 17
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012 – The Minor Suits

012

The Minor Suits

In Bridge, the diamond suit and the club suit are the minor suits and are often referred to as ‘the minors’.
Of these two suits Diamonds ranks higher than Clubs . With an opening hand, you should if possible open 1 of a major or 1NT, only opening 1 in a minor suit if those bids are not available to you.
Beginners Bridge Lessons – Minor Suits

The Minors – Diamonds  & Clubs

The ultimate goal in contract bridge is to gain the highest possible Bridge score in the lowest possible contract If you finish up in a Minor contract you need to win more tricks in order to gain the same points as contracts in No Trump or a major suit. The minor suits in Bridge are diamonds and clubs, diamonds rank higher than clubs . They are referred to as ‘minor’ suits because contracts played in those suits score less per trick than contracts made in the major suits, and they are also lower in the suit rank. To make the bonus points associated with bidding to ‘game’level in a minor suit players need to bid to a higher level therefore having to win more tricks than game in a major suit.

Biddable and Re-biddable Suits:

The difference between biddable and re-biddable suits  is about the number of cards you have in each suit in your hand. If you have a suit with four cards in your hand it is is called a ‘biddable’ suit, this is because you must have four cards in a suit to bid (as with everything in Bridge there are exceptions but we will learn about these later). 
If you hold five cards in a suit it is called a ‘re-biddable’ suit, with this number of cards and the correct number of points you are free to bid and then rebid this suit, telling your partner you have at least 5 or more cards in that suit.

Another word, this time about tricks:

A trick in Bridge is when all four players have played a card



For 1 or 1 Opening bids:
1a. In Standard American Bidding You need 13-21 TP and 3+ cards in the suit you are bidding
1b. Bidding Acol you need 12-19 TP and 4+ cards in the suit you are bidding
2. Bid your better (longer is better) minor suit
3. Open the bidding with your  longest suit, regardless of honor card quality
4. Without a longer suit (you have two or three 4-card suits) open the lowest ranked suit





Instant Progress Quiz – Check the correct answer



  Minor suit Games score 20 points for each trick won plus the bonus points if you have bid up to game level

  In a minor suit you need to win at least 10 tricks to make your game bonus points

   Diamonds and Clubs are the minor suits

   There are no extra points for being in 5D making 11 tricks rather than being in 3D making 11 tricks

   You don’t need a to bid to game level


Minor Suits – Practice Game

Experienced players recognise Minor Suits instantly but for beginners it takes more time and adds to that ‘cognitive overload’ that many beginners experience. Use our Minor Suits practice game to boost your Minor Suit recognition skills.





Exercise: What should be your Opening Bid with this hand?

Your Hand

  • A K Q J
  • 3
  • A 8 6 3
  • A Q 3 2


Answer: The correct opening bid here is 1. With two 4-card minors open the lower. You can bid your spade suit later

Responses

  1. Very confusing why did opener not open 1 NT. Opening 3 clubs is unsatisfactory and makes it difficult to respond 3NT based apron hoping that your partner has some form of cover

The Acol Bidding System

*If you live in the UK, Ireland, Australia or New Zealand Acol is the most widespread system Acol has the following characteristics:
  • It is a natural system: most opening bids, responses and rebids are made with at least 4 cards in the suit bid, and most no trump bids are made with balanced hands.
  • It is a four-card major system: only four-card suits are required to open 1 or 1, unlike Standard American and many other systems where five-card suits are typically required.
  • It makes extensive use of limit bids: limit bids describe the hand so closely, in terms of high card points (HCP) and shape, that the one who makes the limit bid is expected to pass on the next round, unless partner makes a forcing bid.
  • Understanding and correct use of limit bids and forcing bids is fundamental to applying the system: all no trump bids below the level of 4NT are limit bids, as are all suit bids that merely repeat a suit already bid by the partnership; changes of suit may be forcing or not depending on the approach bids.
  • The level of the 1NT opening bid influences other bids: the normal choice is between a “weak no trump” (12–14 HCP) and a “strong no trump” (15–17 HCP).
  • All 1 of a suit opening bids then promise at least 4 cards in the bid suit
  • Notrump follow-up conventions include Stayman, Jacoby transfers Blackwood and Gerber Convention.