Introduction

Welcome to Bluepill Club! This bidding system is largely based on Blue Club and Meckwell Lite. Changes are made with my improvisation.

We use the distribution syntax and abbreviations provided by WBF.

http://www.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Guidetocompletion.pdf

The ACBL convention card of this system is at

https://bridgewinners.com/convention-card/print/bluepill-club/99274

References

• Jan Eric Larsson. Good, Better, Best: A comparison of bridge bidding systems and conventions by computer simulation. ISBN 978-1771402415
• Daniel Neill. Standard Modern Precision: Getting from Here to There. ISBN 978-1771401791
• Jan Eric Larsson, Anu Uus, and George Wang. [Kaninklöver / Cottontail Club: A Cheatsheet (2022)](https://github.com/Egroegw/Kaninklover)
• Arturo Franco, Marco Pancotti, and Daniel J. Neill. [Blue Team Club](https://bridgewithdan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/BTC2000_gmeier.pdf)

Hand evaluation

• High card points : the well-known Milton Work's 4321 count
• Total points : HCP + distribution points (void = 3, singleton = 2, doubleton = 1, subtract 1 for each short suit with HCP)
• Fifths : 4.0–2.8–1.8–1.0–0.4, adjusted HCP for notrump contracts, especially 3NT
• BUM-RAP : 4.5–3–1.5–0.75–0.25, adjusted HCP for suit contracts
• NLTC : Count 1.5–1.0–0.5 losers for each missing AKQ

NLTC is a good single hand evaluator but not very additive. It suits preemptive initial actions but not for showing supports. I have a blog article on that topic.

https://jdh8.org/nltc-a-good-single-hand-evaluator/

Stopper

We evaluate stopper quality as GIB does.

• Partial stop : length + HCP = 4
• Likely stop : length + HCP = 5
• Stop : A, QJx, or length + HCP at least 7
• Two stops : length + HCP at least 8

References

• Thomas Andrews. [Thomas's Bridge Fantasia](https://bridge.thomasoandrews.com/valuations/)
• Bridge Base. [GIB Bid Descriptions](https://www.bridgebase.com/doc/gib_descriptions.php)

Opening bids

Choice of suit openings

Contrary to popular belief, a modern Blue Club is pretty natural.

• Bid the longest suit
• Bid the higher-ranking suit but choose 1 ♥ for 44 in majors

Canapé

Sometimes we open the secondary suit on purpose. We canapé for maximum non-club two suiters, planning to reverse in the primary suit later.

• 14–15 HCP
• At least (54) in two of ♠ ♥ ♦

The notrump ladder

• 11–13 : 1 ♦ ♥ ♠ or 2 ♣
• 14–16 : 1NT
• 17–19 : 1 ♣ -1 ♦ -1NT
• 20–21 : 1 ♣ -1 ♦ -2NT
• 22–23 : 1 ♣ -1 ♦ -1 ♥ -1 ♠ -2NT

Strong 1 ♣ opening

We bid like Meckwell Lite by default. We use the transfer system from Cottontail Club over 1 ♣ -1 ♦ .

The feature of Meckwell Lite is 1 ♣ -1 ♥ as the minimum game-forcing step. This treatment also let opener declare often. The rest of the system is mostly natural.

The (mixed) preempts beyond 2NT are optional. We bid the negative 1 ♦ if we want to cede declarership.

Positive responses by passed hand

Negative 1 ♦ response

The negative 1 ♦ is the same in all seats. We follow the philosophy of Cottontail Club here. The philosophy of Cottontail Club is:

• Opener bids naturally.
• Responder's transfer cycle: ♥ → ♠ → NT → ♥
• Responder's minors are natural.

The second response depends on opener's rebid.

• Opener bid notrump : respond as if it were a notrump opening
• Opener bid a major : the cycle degenerates to mutual transfers (oM ↔ NT)
• Opener bid a minor : the cycle remains intact ( ♥ → ♠ → NT → ♥ )

The responses to 1 ♣ -1 ♦ -1 ♥ resembles Kaplan interchange. Responder with a weak hand is forced to choose between 1 ♠ and 1NT. Opener with a game-forcing hand improvises a natural bid out of the table.

The 1 ♦ opening

Major suit openings

Unlike most strong club systems, we play 2/1 FG here. Since the 2NT response is conventional, the wide-range 1NT must include invitational hands. Most of the time, 1NT is a decent contract for a minimum opener. F2NT would miss the chance to stop at 1NT.

Natural invitational 2/1 by passed hand

Strong notrump opening

We use the French-style 4-way transfers to preserve the natural invitation. We invite naturally rather than via Stayman because 2NT hides information of the declarer.

The responder tries to show a major first always (MAFIA). The only exception is not to bid Stayman with (4333), a hand so flat that playing notrump is a better idea.

Stayman

Excluding opener's 5-card majors, the Stayman has its traditional meaning or a Garbage Stayman.

• INV+, unspecified 4+M
• WK, 4 ♠ , 4 ♥ , 4–5 ♦ , 0–1 ♣

The Garbage Stayman takes advantage of that opener will eventually rebid within 2 ♠ ♥ ♦ , so we can bid 2 ♣ as a weak takeout of clubs and pass in the next round.

We only employ Smolen transfers at the 3-level. The 2-level invitations are natrual so that we have a chance to stop at 2 ♥ .

The step of 1NT-2 ♣ -2 ♥ -2 ♠ allows us to always choose the better major fit. This is why the opener rebids 2 ♥ with 44 majors.

Jacoby transfer

The opener always accepts Jacoby transfers. We super-accept with maximum and 4 trumps. We hide the doubleton just below the trump to avoid retransferring problems like 1NT-2 ♦ -3 ♦ !-3 ♥ ?.

Seeking a major fit

There are apparent overlaps between major fit seeking conventions, especially Jacoby transfers with Stayman or Texas transfers. This section describes how to pick the best response.

Major two suiter, (54)+

To find the better fit, we consider the length difference between majors in our partnership. The opener's difference is at most 2, so our basic strategy is

• Same lengths : let partner decide
• Difference = 1 : proactive negotiation
• Difference > 1 : ignore the shorter suit

However, with a weak hand, it is more important to keep the bidding low. We transfer to our longer major and then pass.

Same lengths, 55+

We choose the hearts from a weak two suiter for a chance to run out to 2 ♠ .

• Weak = 2 ♦ (→ ♥ ); then pass
• Invitational = 2 ♦ (→ ♥ ); then 2 ♠
• Forcing to game = 2 ♥ (→ ♠ ); then 3 ♥

Difference = 1, (54)+

• Weak = transfer to the longer major
• Invitational+ = Stayman

Major single suiter, 6+

• Weak = Jacoby; then pass
• Invitational = Jacoby; then 3M
• Game but no slam = Texas; then pass
• Mild slam interest = Jacoby; then 4M
• Strong slam try = Texas; keep bidding

Minor transfer

We only show minor suits with a singleton or void. We play minor contracts 2 levels above notrump contracts (3m vs 1NT and 5m vs 3NT), so we need a pretty unbalanced hand.

We use fragment bids instead of Splinters here to avoid lead-directing doubles.

We move the minor Stayman to the unallocated 4 ♠ . Since the opener must have a 3+ card minor, 55 minors would ensure a minor fit. The opener rebids based on suit preference.

Competitive bidding

Competition does not affect auctions at 3NT and above.

We keep things simple over 1NT-(Dbl). Everything is natural.

We play systems on over 1NT-(2 ♣ ). Most bids keep the same meaning.

We play Transfer Lebensohl against overcalls 2 ♦ ♥ ♠ .

We have a special unusual vs. unusual structure over 1NT-(2NT) because we have not yet shown a suit.

Multi 2 ♦

Our Multi 2 ♦ shows a 6-card weak two of either major.

Exactly 5-card weak twos

Weak twos in this bidding system show exactly 5 cards in the bid major. Multi 2 ♦ already takes care of 6+ cards. Our weak twos include balanced hands to annoy our opponents frequently.

Non-jump new suits are non-forcing because sometimes we need to escape from a certain misfit. With a strong misfit and a lower-ranking suit, we tend to buy 3NT with a minor suit. Otherwise, we go through 2NT and try to introduce hearts in the next round.

Unusual 2NT opening

The unusual 2NT opening is a preempt with 55+ in minors.

We advise against opening 2NT for (30)55 in the first two seats.