Yellow Card Bidding System Mantra ● First, determine which suit to play - then determine the contract level to play. ● Try to play a contract in the following priority:
1) Play a MAJOR suit contract.
2) Play a NO TRUMP contract.
3) Play a MINOR suit contract as a last resort.
The 1 ♦ opening bid has four requirments:
1) Points: 12-21 HCPs (no distribution points). The suit location of the HCPs is NOT important.
2) Cannot contain a 5+card major.
3) Cannot qualify for a 1 NT opening.
4) Suit length: 3+diamonds where diamonds is the Better Minor. (Go to the Better Minor web page for more information.)
Opening Bids in Diamonds
Length of Diamond Suit
Opener's HCPs and Bid
0 to 7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22+
Pass
Weak Hand (Weak Openings)
Minimum Hand
Medium Hand
Strong Hand
Max
3+ Diamonds
PASS
PASS
1 ♦
1 ♦ or 2 ♣ Equivalent
2 ♣
exactly 6 Diamonds *
2 ♦ * (Weak 2's)
exactly 7 Diamonds *
3 ♦ * (Preempt 3)
8+ Diamonds
PASS
* Special Condition - must have at least 5 HCPs in the diamond suit
The opener's hand will be in one of the following four HCP ranges:
● 0-7 HCPs - Bid PASS. There are not enough points to open this hand.
● 8-11 HCPs (Weak Opening) - With less than 12 HCPs and a long diamond suit (6 or more cards long), it might be possible to open with diamonds at the 2, or 3-levels. See the Weak Opening Web Page for more details.
● 12-21 HCPs - Bid 1 ♦ . The location of the HCPs does not matter. This is the most common opening bid in diamonds ● 22+ HCPs - Bid 2 ♣ . See the 2 ♣ Opening Web Page for more details.