50 Conventions in 50 Days
Fifty emails, one a morning, each on a single bridge convention: what it is, when to use it, a real hand, and a summary you can keep by your elbow at the table. Five phases, from the Survival Kit to the Master Class, taught the way tournament players play it today.
How the fifty days work
- 1♠
One email a morning
Each morning's email covers one convention: a plain-English explanation, when to use it, a real hand, and a quick summary you can reference at the table.
- 2♥
A real hand, every time
The rule is the easy part. Every lesson bids a hand with the convention in it, so you recognize it when it shows up across the table on a Tuesday night.
- 3♣
Yours to keep
Every email stays in your inbox. Reopen Day 7 the night before a sectional, or Day 21 the first time someone overcalls your 1NT.
The Survival Kit
The ten you cannot play a modern duplicate game without. They come up in almost every session.
Stayman
The most famous convention in history. Used to find a 4-4 Major fit after a 1NT opening. Responder bids 2♣ to ask opener about 4-card Majors.
Jacoby Transfers
Transfers the play to Responder's long Major suit so the strong 1NT opener becomes Declarer. 2♦ transfers to hearts, 2♥ to spades.
Strong 2 Clubs
The artificial opening bid for any hand with 22+ points or huge playing strength. 2♣ is completely forcing, so partner cannot pass.
Takeout Double
Used when you have opening points but no 5-card suit to overcall. Asks partner to bid their best suit. The foundation of all competitive bidding.
Negative Double
Used by Responder to show 4 cards in an unbid Major after opponents overcall. The modern standard, and it replaced the penalty double at low levels.
Weak Two Bids
Opening 2♦, 2♥, or 2♠ to show a 6-card suit and a weak hand (5 to 10 points). A pressure bid designed to obstruct the opponents' auction.
Roman Keycard Blackwood
The upgrade to standard Blackwood, counting the King of trumps as a fifth keycard. The house agreement is 1430, so 5♣ shows 1 or 4 and 5♦ shows 0 or 3.
Roman Gerber
4♣ to ask for Aces after a 1NT or 2NT opening. The fast slam tool when you want an Ace count without committing to the 5-level first.
Michaels Cue Bid
A direct overcall in the opponent's suit to show a two-suited hand, typically both Majors, or a Major plus a Minor. Maximum information in one bid.
Unusual 2 No Trump
A jump to 2NT over an opponent's opening shows the two lowest unbid suits. Works hand-in-hand with Michaels to describe two-suited hands at the 2-level.
The Club Regular
The 2/1 framework. With these ten you can sit down at any club game, SAYC or 2/1, and hold your own.
2/1 Game Force
Responding 2♣ or 2♦ to a Major opening guarantees the partnership reaches game. It removes the stress of being dropped in a low partial score.
1NT Forcing
The "catch-all" response in the 2/1 system for hands not strong enough to force to game. Opener must bid again. It is 100% forcing for one round.
Fourth Suit Forcing
Bidding the only unbid suit artificially to ask partner for more information, usually a stopper for no trump or clarification of suit length.
New Minor Forcing
Also called Checkback Stayman. Used after Opener rebids 1NT to uncover a 3-card Major support or a 5-3 fit that standard Stayman alone would miss.
Jacoby 2NT
A game-forcing raise of partner's Major suit opening, showing 4+ card support. Asks Opener to describe their hand type so both partners can aim for slam.
Splinter Bids
A double-jump shift showing game support and a singleton or void in the bid suit. One of the most powerful slam-investigation tools available.
Queen Ask and Beyond
The keycard answer is only the start. The cheapest bid that is not the trump suit asks for the trump queen, and 5NT asks for kings. Skip the queen ask holding ten or more trumps, because the queen usually falls.
Support Doubles
Opener doubles an opponent's overcall to show exactly 3-card support for Responder's suit. Precise tool for finding 5-3 Major fits at the 2-level.
Help Suit Game Tries
Bidding a new suit after a single raise to ask partner for help in that specific suit. Points the way to the right game contract.
Weak Jump Overcalls
Jumping in a suit over an opponent's opening to obstruct their bidding. Shows a 6-card suit and a weak hand. Pure competitive pressure.
The Competitive Warrior
Where matches are won. These ten are for the fight at the 3-level, when both sides want the partscore.
Lebensohl
A complex but essential convention used after an opponent interferes over your 1NT. Distinguishes between weak, competitive, and strong hands with pinpoint accuracy.
Cappelletti (or DONT)
A defense system against the opponents' 1NT opening. 2♣ shows a single suit, 2♦ shows both Majors. A fighting chance against strong no trump openers.
Responsive Doubles
When partner Takeout Doubles and RHO raises, your double asks partner to pick a suit. Keeps the competition alive without overstating your strength.
Inverted Minors
Over 1♦, a raise to 2♦ is strong (forcing) and a jump to 3♦ is weak (preemptive). Reverses standard logic to create maximum obstruction with weak hands and precision with strong ones.
Drury (Reverse Drury)
Used by a Passed Hand to show a fit and invite game after partner opens a Major in 3rd or 4th seat. Prevents game-going hands from stalling at a low contract.
Maximal Doubles
A "game try" double used when the opponents' bidding leaves no room for a normal trial bid. Compact and precise. It tells partner you want to be in game.
Jordan 2NT (Truscott)
Used after a Takeout Double to show a limit raise or better in partner's suit. Describes a strong, distributional hand while pre-empting the opponents' space.
Texas Transfers
Jumps to 4♦ or 4♥ over 1NT to transfer directly to 4♥ or 4♠. Keeps the strong hand concealed and allows a subsequent 4NT to investigate slam.
Gambling 3NT
Opening 3NT to show a solid 7+ card minor suit with no outside Ace or King. A tactical pre-empt that can be devastating when partner holds the right values.
Bergen Raises
Uses 3♣ and 3♦ responses to a Major opening to show constructive and limit raises with 4-card support. Frees 3 of the Major as a purely preemptive raise.
The Slam Specialist
Tools for seeing partner's hand before you bid the slam, so you reach the thin ones and stay out of the ones that sink a matchpoint score.
Control Bidding (Cue Bids)
Bidding a suit in which you hold a control (Ace, King, or void) on the way to slam. Allows both partners to confirm controls without overcommitting.
Exclusion Blackwood
A jump to the 5-level to ask for Aces excluding the suit bid (which you hold as a void). Perfect when a void makes standard Blackwood responses meaningless.
DOPI / ROPI
Defense against interference over Blackwood: Double = 0 keycards, Pass = 1. Keeps your slam investigation alive when opponents try to disrupt your auction.
Sandwich 1NT
An overcall of 1NT after both opponents have bid, showing a weak two-suiter in the unbid suits. An underused but tricky competitive weapon at the right moment.
Smolen
Used after Stayman when partner denies a 4-card Major. Shows 5-4 in the Majors while keeping the 1NT opener (the strong hand) in the Declarer seat.
Leaping Puppet Stayman
A game-forcing 3♣ over 1NT that hunts for a 5-3 Major fit. Opener bids 3♦ with no five-card Major, and responder falls back on the Smolen principle.
Non-Serious 3NT
In a Major-suit game-forcing auction, 3NT says you hold full values with only mild slam interest. Because 3NT carries the polite hands, a cue bid instead of 3NT is a genuine slam move, and partner stops guessing which one you meant.
Last Train
A slam try in the cheapest available suit meaning "I have slam interest but can't cue bid." Keeps the dialog open when you need one more piece of information.
Woolsey
A defense to the opponents' 1NT opening. Every call shows your shape, so nothing is left vague. Double shows a 4-card Major plus a longer minor.
Meckwell
The sister defense to Woolsey over their 1NT. Double shows one long minor or both Majors, and advancer relays 2♣ to find out which.
The Master Class
The last ten, the ones partnerships add on purpose. For players who like tuning a precise machine and want the last word in the auction.
XYZ (Two-Way New Minor Forcing)
A checkback system after three bids at the one level. 2♣ is a puppet to 2♦ and 2♦ is game forcing, so you buy information cheaply.
Good/Bad 2NT
In competition, when your side would otherwise have to bid at the three level, 2NT becomes artificial: a relay to 3♣. It separates competing from inviting.
Fit Jumps
In competition, a jump in a new suit shows 4+ card support for partner plus a strong 5-card side suit. Invitational or better, with the side suit as a source of tricks.
Jacoby 2NT, Limit Plus
The upgrade to the Jacoby 2NT you met at Convention 15, tuned so partner's strong Major-suit raises stop being a guess. The full structure and the partnership agreements come with the lesson.
Leaping Michaels
A strong two-suited jump over the opponents' weak two bid. 4♣ or 4♦ shows that minor plus the other Major, 5-5, with real playing strength.
Western Cue Bid
Bidding the opponents' suit to ask partner for a stopper for 3NT. It is an ask, not a show, which is exactly what separates it from a control bid.
Wolff Signoff
An escape after opener's jump 2NT rebid, so a weak responder can stop in partscore instead of being carried to game.
Ingberman
An artificial 2NT over partner's reverse, separating a weak hand from a game-forcing one before the auction climbs too high.
Ogust
A 2NT inquiry over partner's weak two bid, asking about suit quality and hand strength so you can judge game instead of guessing.
Optional Keycard over 2NT
A minor-suit slam tool used over a 2NT opening. It names the minor and starts the keycard conversation, so minor-suit slams stop being guesswork.
All fifty, one payment.
$15, one time. All 50 emails, yours to keep.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most important bridge convention to learn first?
Stayman is the single most important convention for new players. Used after a 1NT opening, it allows you to find a 4-4 Major fit by asking opener about 4-card Majors with 2♣. It appears in virtually every duplicate session and gives you an immediate advantage over players who don't use it.
How long does it take to learn 50 bridge conventions?
Our series is structured as one convention per day over 50 days, about 7 weeks. However, you don't need to master all 50 before improving. The Phase 1 conventions alone (Stayman, Jacoby Transfers, Strong 2 Clubs, Takeout Double, Negative Double) will dramatically improve your game within the first week.
What is the difference between Stayman and Jacoby Transfers?
Both are used after partner opens 1NT, but they serve different purposes. Stayman (2♣) asks opener to name a 4-card Major when you also hold one, hoping to find a 4-4 fit. Jacoby Transfers (2♦ or 2♥) tell opener to bid your long Major suit so the strong 1NT hand becomes Declarer and hides their high cards from the opening lead.
Do I need to know all 50 conventions to play competitive bridge?
Not at all. Phases 1 and 2 (Conventions 1 to 20) cover everything you need to play competently in most club games and tournaments. Phases 3 to 5 are for players who want to compete at a higher level or play in regional and national events. Start with the fundamentals and add conventions as your partnership grows.
How does the 50 Conventions in 50 Days email series work?
After purchase, you receive one email per day for 50 days. Each email covers a single convention with a clear explanation, when to use it, a real hand example, and a quick summary you can reference at the table. Every email is yours to keep, so you can reopen any of them whenever you want.
Is this series right for beginners?
Yes. The series is specifically designed to take you from the basics to expert-level conventions in a logical progression. Phase 1 starts with the non-negotiables every duplicate player must know. Each phase builds on the previous, so you're never jumping ahead before you're ready.
By Day 50, the auction stops being a guess.
Fifty conventions, one email a morning, each with a real hand and a summary for the table. Stayman on Day 1, keycard over 2NT on Day 50, and all fifty emails stay in your inbox.
Secure checkout · Short emails · No spam · Unsubscribe anytime