Opening Bid Options

The chart to the right contains a hierarchy table of the 19 possible opening bids (other than PASS). Each bid has a brief summary of the requirements for that bid.

The bottom row, the 1-level bids, are the most common opening bids and will be encountered most of the time. It makes sense to learn these opening bids first, along with their corresponding responses.

Opening a suit at the 2, 3, and 4-level reduces the bidding room which makes it more difficult for the opposition to communicate with each other. These are sometimes referred to as "defensive opening bids".

Using the simple guidelines of SAYC, the opening bids are relatively easy to determine. The challenge begins when determining the most appropriate response to those opening bids.