https://esther-bridge.com/DL_bidding.html
LAST Updated: 2/5/26 07:00

Drawing of Esther YOUR HOST: Esther Klinktoast-Houstonhousen, a hypothetical Quintuple Emerald Gold Life Master (20+ million ACBL Masterpoints), who vacillates between insisting on being called "Ms. Klinktoast-Houstonhousen," and "Esther, because I am so warm and caring," and who in her downloadable lesson dialogs torments (usually, but not always) her earnest bridge student, Bruce.

Return to the "Esther Bridge Lessons" website.
Go to the "Esther Bridge 'Pop' Quizzes" website.
        You may particularly be interested in Section #2 of the "Esther Bridge 'Pop' Quizzes": "Bridge Bidding 'Pop' Quizzes".
Go to the "Bridge Bruce's Way ('BBW') Introductory (but Sophisticated) Lessons" website.

Drawing of Esther "Esther Bridge Dialogue Lessons:
Bridge Bidding"
Bruce Thompson

As advertised in the December, 2023 ACBL Bridge Bulletin.
Also see the article about Esther in the Winter, 2024 issue of the
the American Bridge Teachers' Association (ABTA) Journal, or the
article about Esther in the Summer, 2024 issue of the ABTA Journal.
And Esther's 2025 3rd ABTA Journal article deals with bridge bidding.

Esther's Bridge Lessons Dialogs...

Note: You can download a PDF version of any lesson by clicking on the blue title any of the following Lessons. The Lessons are numbered in order of their creation by Esther.

B. Bridge Bidding
                  Esther says, "It is critically important that both Partners in a Partnership accurately and as fully as possible describe their Hands when bidding. A misleading bid, once made, can usually not be corrected later in the auction. An initial PASS when a bid was possible, or an initial bid of 1 Diamond when a 1NT bid was possible, will confuse Partner, and later making a bid that is incongruent with an original bid may not right the bidding ship!"

        170. Esther discusses "Some of Rhoda Walsh's 'Rhoda's Rules' for Bridge Bidding". ["RR_bid.pdf" ++]
        151. Esther discusses "Some Klinger-Schogger Principles to Guide Making What May Be the 'Most Important' Bid in Bridge". ["Pass_K-S.pdf" =]
        160. Esther discusses "Empirical 'Double Dummy Analyses' Exploring the Behavior of the 'Rule of 5' as a Guide for Bidding When Partner Gives You a 'Constructive Raise' When You Open 1 of a Major". ["Rule_5Emp.pdf" +]
        127. Esther discusses "The 'Gambling' 3NT Opening Bid". ["gambling3NT.pdf" ++]
        136. Esther discusses "3 of Ron Klinger's 'Tips' for Bidding from His Book, '100 WINNING BRIDGE TIPS for the Improving Player'". ["bid_tips.pdf" ++]
        168. Esther discusses "A Very Brief Note on Rhoda Walsh's 'Rule of 7-9-11' for Making Overcall Bids Showing a 2-Suited Hand: Overcalls Such as 'Unusual 2NT', 'Michaels Cuebid', 'DONT', and 'Cappelletti'". ["rule7-9-11.pdf" -]
        132. Esther discusses "Some 'Rules' for Making Either 'Low-Level' or 'High-Level' 'DOUBLEs for Penalty'". ["penDOUBLE.pdf" +]
        125. Esther discusses "Bidding 3NT with Your Partnership Holding as Few as 17 to 21 HCPs/Points!" ["low_NT.pdf" +]
        166. Esther discusses "'The 5 Level Belongs to the Opponents' Except When..., and Playing a 5 Level Contract in a Major When One Opponent Made a 'Michaels Cuebid' Overcall". ["5Lev_Opps.pdf" +]
        123. Esther discusses "Correctly Bidding in Competitive Auctions in Which Both Pairs Bid Game: Is the 5 Level Really 'Always for the Opponents'?" ["5_over_5.pdf" -] Included is discussion of an actual bridge Board that occurs less than 0.000000003% of the time!
        118. Esther discusses "3 Bridge Computer Simulation Studies: PASS 1NT or Bid Transfer, PASS 1NT or Bid Stayman, and Raise 1NT to 3NT or Bid 5D?" ["3_simul.pdf" =]
        116. Esther discusses "To 'Jacoby Transfer' or Not to 'Transfer', That is the Question--An 'Esther Bridge Lesson' for Beginners, Along With Some Bridge History and Recent Developments". ["Jacoby.pdf" ++]
        111. Esther discusses "'8 Never, 9 Ever': A 'Rule' to Guide Suit Bidding in Competitive Part-Score Auctions". ["8_Never.pdf" -] From 1974 to 1994 the world's oldest distillery, Bols Distillery, sponsored an annual competition to identify a given year's best annual Bridge Tip. One year Larry Cohen submitted the "tip" summarized in this "Esther Bridge Lesson".
          95. Esther discusses "Responding to Partner's Opening Preempt 'Weak 2' 2S Bid". ["Pre_Resp.pdf" -]
          94. Esther discusses "Disturbing Opponent's Unusual No Trump' ('DO-UNT')". ["DO_UNT.pdf" =]
          88. Esther discusses "Opening a Non-Preempt Suit Bid 'Light' When Sitting 3rd or 4th Within the Bridge Auction". ["light_o.pdf" -]
          85. Esther discusses "The Basics of 'Hand Evaluation' and 'Hand Re-Evaluation' During the Auction: Dynamic Hand Evaluation". ["H_re_eval.pdf" -] In this lesson Esther also presents 2 Overarching Considerations for bridge bidding and play.
          81. Esther discusses "What Does Empirical Bridge Research Say About Bidding 3NT vs 4H/4S When Opener Bids 1NT and Responder Can Support Both 4H/4S and 3NT Contracts?" ["NTvsMajor.pdf" =]
          79. Esther presents "Bridge Bidding: When to (1) Open the Bidding, (2) Overcall or DOUBLE, Make (3) a 'Weaponized PASS', or (4) a 'Plain-Vanilla PASS'". ["PASS.pdf" =] Included is discussion of the "Aggressive PASS" and the "Trap PASS". Esther Lesson #79 is an excellent lesson, and was named "The Most Outstanding 2024 Bridge Lesson on the Entire Web Anywhere in the Galaxy" by both the Bridge Official GrandMasters of the United States ("BOGUS") and the Joint Office of Kibitzing Experts ("JOKE").
          22. Esther discusses the very important bridge principle of Points Schmoints!. ["points.pdf" -]
      The "points schmoints!" principle can be illustrated by the bridge hand in the ACBL documentary bridge film, Moonraker, in which ACBL LifeMaster, James Bond 007, makes a 7C Doubled, Re-Doubled, Vulnerable bid, holding only 8 HCPs within his Partnership! ["moonraker.pdf"] Unhappily, the evil villian, bridge player Hugo Drax, was too lazy to consult any of the extraordinary bridge books, blogs, videos, and instructional websites available on the Web, many of which you can see by going to Esther's list near the top of this web page. Esther says, "Do not make the same mistake Hugo made by being so lazy. Hugo did not meet a happy end!"
          6. Bidding the "Law of Total Tricks" versus HCPs ["LawTTvHCPs.pdf" -]
          11. Esther discusses another Board involving the "Law of Total Tricks". ["dam_it.pdf" =]
          19. Bruce (not Esther) discusses the "Law of Total Tricks", and Some Bridge Probabilities. ["tot_trick.pdf" =]
          51. Esther discusses "Bidding a Long Major Holding When Sitting in Different Seats". ["9_trump.pdf" ++]
          7. Esther explains the "Rule of 5", which is very useful for determining whether to stop at 2H or 2S, or instead go on to bid a game contract. ["rule_5.pdf" +]
          43. Esther discusses: "Are the 'Rule of 20' and the 'Law of Total Tricks' Both Broken?" ["count(s).pdf" -]
          45. Esther discusses: "Opening the Bidding Using the 'Rule of 22' versus the 'Rule of 20' in Any Position in the Auction, and Using the 'Rule of 15' When Sitting 4th in the 'Balancing' Position (PASS, PASS, PASS, You)". ["Ru_20_22_15.pdf" -]
          24. Esther, in 2022, previously discussed 2-Level Preempt Opens and Responses Thereto. ["preempt0.pdf" -] In an expanded, more comprehensive (but also somewhat more complicated) 2024 exposition, Esther revisits 2-Level Preempt Opens and Responses Thereto. ["preempt.pdf" -]
      In a "lagniappe" treatment, Esther also discusses "an interesting Board in which Responder holds a void in Partner's opening preempt bid suit". ["lagniappe.pdf" ++] Finally, in September, 2023, Esther discusses "Beware of the 'Rule of 17' When Responding to Partner's 'Weak 2' Preemptive Opening Bid". ["Rule_17.pdf" -]
          14. Esther discusses "Correctly Bidding Stayman" and explains that "Conventional Stayman" requires Responder to hold (1) 8-10 (preferably 9-10) HCPs, and (2) at least 1 Major with 4 or 5 cards, and (3) not a "flat" hand (e.g., 4-3-3-3 or 3-4-3-3), such that the Responder's hand is less able to ruff some short suit. ["staym_2.pdf" -] As Esther explains in her "Happy 100th Birthday, Duplicate Bridge!" posting, the "Stayman Convention" was actually independently created by George Rapée in the U.S. and Jack Marx in the UK, and not by Sam Stayman.
      Now, in a newer posting, Esther discusses "A Variation on Conventional Stayman: Garbage Stayman". ["StayGarb.pdf" +]
          13. Esther discusses various ways to show Partner your strong holdings. ["strong.pdf" -]
          10. Esther discusses hand evaluation methods to guide opening bid decisions. ["hand_eval.pdf" +]
          31. Esther's discusses an interesting Board involving a 1NT opening, and the possibility of setting the final contract at either 3NT, or 3D. ["interest_3.pdf"]
          4. Esther discusses Possibly Bidding Slam ["interest_6.pdf" -]
          44. Esther discussess: "The First Subset of Boards from the ACBL 2023 Summer Instant Matchpoint Game". ["i_m_pt1.pdf" +] Esther's review of 8 of the 9 first Boards in the IMP Game incorporates discussion of important bridge principles and conventions, which are in this treatment explicitly linked to specific prior "Esther Bridge Lessons".
          18. When it is 2 Passes to you, you are sitting in the "Balancing" position. Here Bruce (not Esther) discusses "Making 'Balancing' Decisions". ["balancing.pdf"]
          29. Esther discusses "Opening with Game Suit Bids" . ["Ga_open.pdf" -]

          39. Esther (quite heatedly) discusses: "Do NOT let Opponents play a 2H or 2S contract when RHO opens a 1-level Major, you Pass, LHO makes a 'Constructive' 2-level bid of the opened Major, Partner Passes, and your RHO Passes!!!" ["2H2S_bal.pdf" -] Included is discussion of Ron Klinger's "3 Over 2 Rule". Revised/Expanded 01/15/26. Also, Esther's 2025 3rd ABTA Journal article deals with these bridge bidding concepts.
          21. Esther discusses an interesting Board involving a possible preempt bid and whether to open with a Game bid. This Lesson teaches, as usual, that bridge is not about only counting cards and points, or learning conventions. Instead, duplicate bridge is about learning a way of thinking. ["game_open.pdf" -]
          28. Esther discusses "When to Double for Penalty, and When Not to Double for Penalty". Esther absolutely insists that you can score good Boards on Defense, and not only on Offense. But Penalty Doubles must be used with caution! ["pen_dbl.pdf" -] Revised 7/25/23.
          50. Esther discusses "Various Bidding Scenarios When You Hold a Ginormous, 2-Suited Hand: Anything Can (and Does) Happen in Bridge!". ["anything.pdf" -]
          59. Esther discusses "4th Suit Bid as Game Forcing, and Why to Use the 4th Suit Game Forcing Bid". ["4GForce.pdf" +]
          48. Esther discusses "Aggressive, Offensive Bidding When (1) You Sit Third with 2 Passes to You, and (2) Using the 'Rule of 24' You Know Your LHO Holds a Giant or a Big Hand". ["rule_24.pdf" +]
          53. Esther discusses "A Bad Day at the Office: Learning Cardinal Bidding Principles from a Mistake-Prone Bridge Session". ["mistakes.pdf" +] Even "Ferris Beuller's Bad Day at the Bridge Table" can lead to important bridge insights!
          57. Esther discusses "Showing Partner Specific Aces via 'Cue Bidding' Aces 'Up the Line', and Asking Partner for 'Key Cards'". ["aces_cue.pdf" ++]
          62. Esther discusses, "Only 10 HCPs, But a 2-Suited Hand: What's a Dealer to Do?". ["10_HCPs.pdf" -]
          71. Esther discusses "6 Cases in Which Even 'Low-Level' DOUBLEs are 'DOUBLEs for Penalty'". ["low_DBL.pdf" =] You may also be interested in Esther Convention Lesson #14: 6 "Not-for-Penalty" DOUBLEs and/or Esther Convention Lesson #26: "Another Flavor of a 'Not-for-Penalty DOUBLE': The 'Do Something Intelligenet ('DSI') DOUBLE'".
          76. Esther discusses "Are 'Drop Dead' Bids Really Always 'Drop Dead'?" ["drop_dead.pdf" +]
          73. Esther discusses "Making and Responding to 'Weak' 2-Level Preempt Openings: The 'Law of Total Tricks', the 'Rule of 17', 'Limiting' Bids, and Various Other Bidding Aids and Pitfalls". ["2_Weak.pdf" -] Once again, Beware the "Rule of 17".
          Also now available, Esther discusses "(1) Does the 'Law of Total Tricks' Really Work, and (2) Is the 'LOTT' Magic?" ["LOTT_bad.pdf" =]
          78. Now available: "Esther 'Pounds the Table' About Correct Hand Evaluation During an Auction Involving Suit Contract Bids!" ["11_Trump.pdf" -] Esther insists, "If you know your Partnership holds 11 cards in a Major, but that your Opponents hold (1) the preponderance of the HCPs, and (2) two, two 8+ card fits in other Suits, 'jump' bid to Game level in your Major Suit, EVERY, SINGLE, EVERY time!!!"
          83. Esther discusses "3 Bidding Conundrums in Suit Contract Auctions Involving Unusual Distributions". ["3_conund.pdf" -]
          90. Esther discusses "'Picture Bids' versus 'Fast Arrival' versus '2 Over 1' versus 'Jacoby 2NT': What's It All About, Alphie? ["picture.pdf" -] Esther's WARNING: This Esther Bridge Dialog Lesson is for Advanced Intermediate Players, and not for Beginners (although Beginners may benefit from a quick peak into their bridge future).