♠ ♥ The book ♦ ♣
50 Conventions in 50 Days
One convention a day, with the agreement, a hand to work through and a question to try yourself. Fifty lessons in one 201-page book you can keep, print and come back to.
$25PDF download, 201 pages
50conventions, one a day
201landscape pages
50Your turn questions, answers included
50Go deeper links to a workshop replay or the replay library
♣ Try a page
Your turn, from Day 1
Each lesson ends with a question like this one, with the answer printed underneath. Pick your bid.
Partner opens 1NT. You have 9 HCP and four ♥. You bid 2♣, and partner replies 2♥. What's your next bid?
♥ Look inside
Turn the pages
These are real pages from the book. Use the arrows, or pick a page below. Tap a page to see it full size.
♥ A gift
Read Day 1 free
Before you decide, here is the whole first lesson, Stayman, exactly as it appears in the book. Three pages, yours to read now.
♦ What changes
From “what did that mean?” to “we play that”
BeforePartner alerts a bid, and you nod as if you know what it means.
AfterYou've read the lesson, worked the hand and agreed on it with your partner before the game.
BeforeYour convention card has boxes you've never ticked.
AfterYou pick the conventions that come up at your club and learn them one at a time.
BeforeLesson notes are scattered through old emails and loose printouts.
AfterFifty lessons sit in one book, with a contents page and a Go deeper link from each day to the replays.
♠ How each lesson works
Read it, work it, agree on it
- The day's graphic opens the lesson, so you see the bid before you read about it.
- The agreement. What the bid shows and what partner answers.
- A hand to work through, with the auction set out bid by bid.
- Common traps, the ones that cost players at the table, called out where they come up.
- Your turn. A question to try yourself, with the answer.
- Go deeper. A link to the workshop replay that teaches the convention, or to the replay library.
♥ What's inside
Fifty days, one convention each
Start at Day 1 or jump to the conventions that come up at your club. Each line is the problem that day's convention solves.
- Stayman. Ask partner's 1NT opening for a four-card major.
- Jacoby Transfers. Show a five-card major and let the 1NT opener name it first.
- Strong 2♣. Open a hand with game-going strength without the risk of being passed out.
- Takeout Double. Compete with a useful hand that has no comfortable overcall.
- Negative Double. Show useful shape after an overcall takes away the bid you wanted.
- Weak Two Bids. Describe a long suit and limited strength while taking room from the opponents.
- Roman Keycard Blackwood (1430). Find out whether key top cards are missing before you bid slam.
- Roman Gerber. Ask for aces over partner's 1NT, where a direct 4NT invites slam.
- Michaels Cue Bid. Show two long suits in one bid after an opponent opens.
- Unusual 2NT. Describe two long suits at once, before the auction gets too high.
- 2/1 Game Force. Keep the bidding low once you know the partnership belongs in game.
- 1NT Forcing. Describe a responding hand that is not strong enough for a two-over-one.
- Fourth Suit Forcing. Keep the auction going when three suits are named and the contract is still unclear.
- New Minor Forcing. Check for a fit after opener rebids 1NT.
- Jacoby 2NT. Show four-card support and game values, with room left to explore slam.
- Splinter Bids. Show a fit, game values and a short suit in one bid.
- Roman Keycard Follow-ups. After the keycard reply, check that trumps are safe and enough winners exist for slam.
- Support Doubles. Show three cards in partner's major after an opponent overcalls.
- Help Suit Game Tries. Ask whether partner can help in one side suit before choosing game or partscore.
- Weak Jump Overcalls. Compete on a long suit and limited strength, and crowd the opponents.
- Lebensohl. Tell weak hands from strong ones after an opponent overcalls partner's 1NT.
- DONT. Show one or two playable suits over the opponents' strong 1NT without climbing high.
- Responsive Doubles. Answer partner's takeout double when an opponent raises and you have two possible suits.
- Inverted Minor Raises. Raise partner's minor and keep room to choose between notrump and the minor.
- Reverse Drury. Show a good raise as a passed hand without carrying a light opener too high.
- Maximal Doubles. Make a game try when the opponents have taken your last bidding space.
- Jordan 2NT. Show a good raise after an opponent doubles partner's major.
- Texas Transfers. Transfer to game in your six-card major so the stronger hand declares.
- Gambling 3NT. Open on a long, solid minor with little outside it.
- Bergen Raises. Show four-card support and your strength in one bid.
- Control Bidding. Find out whether the opponents can cash two quick tricks against your slam.
- Exclusion Blackwood. Ask for keycards and leave out the suit where you hold a void.
- DOPI and ROPI. Answer the keycard question when the opponents interfere.
- Sandwich 1NT. As a passed hand, show the two unbid suits when both opponents have bid.
- Smolen. Look for a major-suit fit after Stayman draws a 2♦ reply.
- Leaping Puppet Stayman. Ask partner's 1NT for a five-card major instead of a four-card one.
- Non-Serious 3NT. Tell partner whether your control bids come with extras or with a minimum.
- Last Train. Keep the slam conversation alive when one bid is left below game.
- Woolsey. Show one-suited and two-suited hands over the opponents' 1NT.
- Meckwell. A second defense to their 1NT, and the trade it makes compared with Woolsey.
- Two-Way Checkback and XYZ. Tell partner your strength and your shape after opener's rebid at the one level.
- Good/Bad 2NT. Tell partner whether your three-level bid in competition is a good hand or a weak one.
- Spiral Raises. Ask what partner's raise of your major really holds.
- Fit Jumps. Show support and a good side suit in one jump during a competitive auction.
- Leaping Michaels. Show a strong two-suited hand over the opponents' weak 2♥ or 2♠.
- Western Cue Bid. Ask partner whether they can stop the opponents' suit for 3NT.
- Wolff Signoff. Find a safe spot in three of your suit after opener jumps to 2NT.
- Ingberman. Tell partner whether you are weak or strong after partner reverses.
- Ogust. Ask partner's weak two about strength and suit quality.
- Optional Keycard over 2NT. Show a long minor after a natural 2NT and let partner judge it before keycards.
♣ Shuffle up
Deal me a question
Forty questions from the book, face down. Deal one, try it, then turn the card over for the answer.
Answer
♥♥♦ Made for the table
A convention only works when you both play it
These lessons come from the same teaching Tracey brings to her workshops and to tournament tables. Read a day, then sit down with your partner and agree on it.
♣ Why a book
What you get
Yours to keep
One file with all fifty lessons. No login, no subscription.
Easy to find
The contents page lists each day with its page number, so the convention you need is a page turn away.
Print what you need
Print a single lesson to go over with your partner before the game.
Practice built in
A hand to work through and a Your turn question in each lesson, answers included.
Learn at your pace
One a day, one a week, or the five you need for Tuesday's game.
A next step for each one
Each day's Go deeper box points to the workshop replay that teaches it, or to the replay library.
♠ From the foreword
Bridge is a journey
“You don't need all fifty at once. Pick the ones that come up at your club, learn them well, and come back for the next.”
Tracey Bauer
Tracey teaches bridge through Bridge Unleashed, with live workshops, replays and the VIP Community. She is a Two-time WBF Women's Spring Festival Champion (2020 and 2022).
♥ Questions
Before you buy
What format is the book?
A PDF of 201 landscape pages, letter size. It reads best on a tablet or laptop, and you can print any page.
How do I get it?
After checkout you get a link to download the PDF. Save it and it's yours to keep.
I bought the 50 Conventions in 50 Days email series. Is this the same?
The lessons match the current emails, with the latest corrections. The book collects them in one place, with each day's graphic beside its lesson, a contents page, and a Go deeper link from each day to a workshop replay or the replay library.
Is it included in the VIP Community?
VIP members have the full 50 Conventions in 50 Days curriculum in their library, along with live workshops and every replay.
What level is it for?
It starts with Stayman and Jacoby Transfers and builds to slam tools and competitive gadgets. If you can count your points and open the bidding, you can start on Day 1.
Do I need a partner?
You can read the lessons and work the hands on your own. A convention only works when both players play it the same way, so share each lesson with your partner and agree on it.
Do I have to go in order?
No. Pick the conventions that come up at your club. A few later days build on earlier ones and name the day they build on.