3 Point Step Response

SAYC

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Preface

  SAYC (Standard American Yellow Card)
  1. Introduction
  2. Bidding Hierarchy
  3. Determine Opening Bid
  4. Opening Bid Options
  5. Scoring Structure
  6. Bidding Strategy

  Statistics

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Open 1 Level

Open 1 Level
   Open 1 ♠
   Open 1 ♥
       Open 1 NT
           Open Better Minor
               Open 1 ♦
               Open 1 ♣

Opening Bid & Table Position

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Respond to 1 Suit Openings

   Guidelines for Responses
         Support Suit (Distribution Points)
         Propose Suit (1-over-1 Restriction)
  • Respond to 1 ♠
  • Respond to 1 ♥
  • Respond to 1 ♦
  • Respond to 1 ♣
Opener's Next Bid (Bid 3)
   Responder Supports the Bid Suit
   Responder Proposes a New Suit

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Respond to 1 NT

Respond to 1 NT
    Transfers (1NT)
       Stayman (1NT)
          No 4-card Major (1NT)
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Transfer Convention
Stayman Convention

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Weak Bids

Weak Opening Bids
• 6-card suit           2 ♦ 2 ♥ 2 ♠
• 7-card suit 3 ♣ 3 ♦ 3 ♥ 3 ♠
• 8-card suit                   4 ♥ 4 ♠
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Respond to Weak Openings
  • Respond to         2 ♦ 2 ♥ 2 ♠
  • Respond to 3 ♣ 3 ♦ 3 ♥ 3 ♠
  • Respond to                  4 ♥ 4 ♠

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Strong 2 ♣

Open 2 ♣
Respond to 2 ♣
  • 2-Diamond Waiting (SAYC)
  • 3-Point Step (Social Bridge)
  • 2-Diamond Bust (Social Bridge)

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Strong NT Bids

Open 2 NT or 3 NT

Responses

Respond to 2 NT
    Transfers (2NT)
       Stayman (2NT)
          4-card Major (2NT)
Respond to 3 NT
    Transfers (3NT)
       Stayman (3NT)
          No 4-card Major (3NT)

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Other Bids

• Jacoby 2 NT
• Slam (Blackwood & Gerber)
• Overcalls
• Doubles
• Balancing

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Taking Tricks

• Leads on Defense
• Leads on Offense
• Finessing a Tenace

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Practice

• Open 1 Level
• Responses to 1 Suit Openings
• Open 1 NT (14 Examples)
• Open 1 NT (16 Examples)
• Responses to 2 ♣ Opening
• Overcalls

Practice Websites

   • SAYC Bidding Practice
   • Trickster
   • Bridge Base On Line

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Duplicate

Duplicate Protocol
Duplicate Scoring
1. Contract Points Scoring
2. Match Points Scoring

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Downloads

• SAYC Summary
• Open 1-Level Bids
• Respond 1-Suit Opening
• 1 NT Openings & Responses
• Responses to Weak Openings
• Responses to 2 Club Openings
• Handout Duplicate Bridge Contract Points

3-Point Step Convention

The 3-Point Step Convention is a series of artificial bids used when responding to the a 2♣ opening. It is NOT a part of SAYC, but is commonly used by social bridge players. It is a single-bid response system that is quick and easy.
The responder's bid tells the opener how many points the responder holds. Each bid corresponds to a range of points in 3-point increments. The bids have no bearing on the responder's suits or suit lengths. Even with zero points, the resonder must respond - the responder cannot pass. It is possible that the responder will mention the contract suit first thereby placing the stronger opening hand in the dummy.


Response to 2♣ Opening (3-Point Step Convention)	Responder's HCPs and Bid
Response to 2♣ Opening (3-Point Step Convention)	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18

Responder's ARTIFICIAL bid:	2 ♦				2 ♥			2 ♠			2 NT			3 ♣

1/10/2024	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40
1/10/2024	Minimum PARTNERSHIP points (assume opener holds 22 points)

The responder's bid, a sub-game level bid, indicates the point range of the responder as well as the combined partnership point range. The pressure is on the opener to detemine the suit to be played and the contract level to play.

3/12/2025

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