Baby
1. Slang: meaning low as in two baby Spades, which means holding two cards in the Spade suit having no value whatsoever.
2. An adjective describing an instance, which is one level of bidding lower than commonly used or employed, as in Baby Blackwood.

Baby Blackwood
Following an immediate limit and game-forcing raise of the suit of partner, the partnership initiates a slam bidding auction, which is one level lower than with the generally employed Blackwood convention.

Extended Baby Blackwood
If the responder holds additional values above a normal limit and game-forcing raise, then the responder can initiate a slam bidding auction on the two level with an immediate response of 2 No Trump.

Baby Cub
A colloquial term, that refers to a (32)-4-4 hand pattern.

Back
The side of a card that shows only the pack design.

Back Door Stayman
This concept allows the partnership not only to find a 4-4 fit in a Major suit, but also a possible 4-3 fit in a Major suit.

Back In
A bid or double after having previously passed.

Back Preference
This term designates a delayed preference and support for a suit first shown by the partner after the partner has indicated support for a different suit. An example would be: 1 - 1 - 2 - 3.

Back Score
This is a designation for the Summary Sheet on which the results of each rubber are credited to the winner and debited against the losers, in rubber bridge and Chicago. The results are entered in hundreds of points, with 50 points ignored in England but counted as 100 in the United States. This designation can also be referred to as: 1. flogger in England, or 2. Washing List, or 3. and also ledger, among other designations.

Backward Finesse
A finesse taken in a manner opposite to what would ordinarily be standard procedure. For example: Dummy has Ace-Jack-Nine, declarer has King-Three-Two. Standard procedure would be to finesse the Jack, hoping to find the Queen onside; it would be a backward finesse to lead the Jack, hoping to find the Queen over the Jack and then the Ten onside.

Backwash Squeeze
A squeeze in which underruffing is one of the victim's fatal options. It is a unique type of Trump Squeeze in which both menaces are in the same hand and the player sitting behind the hand with the menaces holds both guards plus a losing trump, and is caught in the backwash of a squeeze by means of a ruff taken in the hand holding the menaces.

X-bagger
A term indicative of the length held, as in five-bagger or a five-card suit.

Bad Hands
Holdings containing little or no honor strength.

Bahamas Bridge League
P.O. Box SS-19207, Nassau, Bahamas
Telephone Numbers: (246) 356-6740 and (242) 323-8879

Bailey Weak Two Bids
This is a .pdf file and will be automatically opened in any browser. The original website of Mr. Evan Bailey has been deleted. This treatment was originated by Mr. Evan Bailey of San Diego, California, United States, and Mr. Edward Barlow of Sacramento, California, United States. The concept is that one partner opens a Weak Two bid in any suit except Clubs, and this opening shows specific distributional attributes. The requirements for Bailey Weak Two bids allow only five distributions: 5-3-3-2, 6-3-2-2, 6-3-3-1, 5-4-2-2, and 5-4-3-1. This concept has only been archived and preserved and archived on this site in a .pdf file format for future reference.

Bait and Switch
An action, which can be applied in the game of bridge, especially when defending against a declarer, who knows that only the overtrick will assure the best possible score. By baiting the declarer, the defenders can then switch to eliminate the almost guaranteed overtrick or even defeat the contract.

Balance - Balancing Action
1. to take a balancing action.
2. a balancing action.

Essentially the action means to (re)enter the auction with a bid or double when the opposing bidding has ceased at a low level.

Balanced-Unbalanced Openings System: With Supporting Information - Version 1.4. Updated: September 27, 2007.
This is a .pdf file and will automatically be opened by your browser. This is the designation for the Opening System devised and developed by Mr. J.R. Dwyer. The purpose of the Balanced-Unbalanced Openings System is to expand these cases to the entire set of balanced holdings. This is accomplished by expanding and enhancing the standard balanced openings.

Balanced-Unbalanced Openings System: With Supporting Information And Tools - Version 1.3. Updated April 27, 2007.
This is a .pdf file and will automatically be opened by your browser. This is the designation for the Opening System devised and developed by Mr. J.R. Dwyer. The rationale for such informative material is that there are proven, standard responses to No Trump openings that permit a partnership to arrive at proper contracts. The purpose of the Balanced-Unbalanced Openings System is to expand these cases to the entire set of balanced holdings. This is accomplished by expanding and enhancing the standard balanced openings.

Balance of Power
A concept first put forth by Mr. S. Garton Churchill involving the calculation of the safety of entering the auction based on actions taken by the opponents.

Balance of Strength
The simple concept of calculating which side holds the majority of the high card points. During the auction, if one player adds his point count to that of his partner, then he realizes that his side has the balance of strength, if the total is more than twenty.

Balanced Distribution
Any 4-3-3-3, 4-4-3-2, or 5-3-3-2 suit distribution is considered to be balanced.

Balanced Hand
A hand with a relatively even suit distribution. Traditionally a hand with no void or singleton, thus a 4-3-3-3, 4-4-3-2, or 5-3-3-2 suit distribution. Borderline balanced hand distribution can also be a 5-4-2-2 or even a 6-3-2-2 distribution. These distributions can justify the opening of No Trump instead of a suit, whatever the range may be.

Balancing Fishbein Convention
After reviewing the original Fishbein convention, the concept of the unique Takeout Double is for the player immediately following the preemptive opening to bid the cheapest, next available suit. An immediate double is a penalty double. As with almost all conventions, methods and treatments, the Fishbein convention has been changed and altered to meet the needs of the bridge player. This is how the Balancing Fishbein Convention evolved. Bridge players took the initial concept, discovered its flaws, and set about to change the concept. The concept of Mr. Harry Fishbein has been changed dramatically and really does not have very much in common with the result of its evolution.

Balancing Seat
This is a designation common in the bridge community to describe the player, who has the option of either bidding the Third Pass, which would end the auction, or to take some additional action in order to increase the level of play either by the opponents and/or to compete for his/her side. This designation is not related to the Immediate Seat and/or the Direct Seat designations to describe the next player in rotation after the right hand opponent has opened the auction. The designation of Balancing Seat Bids have been coined by the bridge community and certain requirements have been established for such bids, but the same requirements are listed under Balancing.

Baltic Congress - Baltic Bowl
This is the designation for an international bridge festival held annually in Gdánsk, Poland, and which was first conducted in the year 1961. The main bridge event was named the Intercity Teams, and was completely restricted to selected and qualifying city teams, which compete for the Baltic Bowl. There were, however, also events for Open Teams, Open Pairs, Mixed Pairs, and Individuals. The Baltic Bowl contest was first conducted in the year 1963. The popularity of this particular event increased with the years and drew participants and city teams from other countries such as Begium, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Russia, and Sweden.

Note: The event is presently designated as the International Bridge Baltic Congress. The event for the year 2009 will be conducted in the city of Sopot, Poland, and will be designated as the XLIX International Bridge Balic Congress. The city of Sopot, Poland, is a seaside town in Eastern Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland.

Note: For much of its history the majority of the city's inhabitants spoke some form of German, who called it Danzig. This name was also used in English until the end of World War II, and is still used in historical contexts. Other former English spellings of the name include Dantzig, Dantsic and Dantzic.

BAM Raises or Bergen and Mini-Splinters
This file has been compiled by Mr. Kerry Kappell and was found on one of his authored web pages, which is no longer online. This information has also only been preserved and archived on this site in .pdf file format for future reference.

Bamberger Point Count
Used in the Vienna System devised by Dr. Paul Stern as a point count method.

Ace:	7 points.
King:	5 points.
Queen:	3 points.
Jack:	1 point

Bamberger Überruf
This is a variant of the Michaels Cuebid played in southern Germany. Instead of a cuebid of the opener's Minor suit showing a two-suited holding in both Major suits, the cuebid shows a two-suited hand with Spades and another Red Suit. If the opening was a Red Suit followed by a cuebid, then the principle is that the cuebidder holds a two-suited hand with Spades and the second Red Suit, Hearts. The distribution is 5-5 when vulnerable and may be 5-4 if not vulnerable. Strength and values in the two suits follow the principle of Michaels Cuebid.

BAM Score Sheet
See: Board-a-Match Score Sheet

Bangkok Club Bidding System
When one of the bridge players at the bridge table opens 1 Club, then that bridge player could be using the Bangkok Club System devised by Mr. Somboon Nandhabiwat. This Club System was used with some success in several world championship tournaments.

Bar or Barred
An action that, by partnership agreement, demands that partner passes.

Barbados Bridge League (CACBF) - WBF Reference
Bridge has a long tradition on Barbados. The major bridge clubs on the Island joined together to form the Barbados Bridge League. The Barbados Bridge League has been able to employ the joint resources of the member bridge clubs to provide a dedicated bridge club building and modern computer dealing and scoring technology. It attracts the best players on the Island and yet retains the air of laid-back friendliness for which Barbados is famous. Mr. Jimmy Cozier was a club member, who had the vision of such a league and the bridge club building is named after him, namely The Jimmy Cozier Bridge Centre

Barbar, Samuel Osborne
A musical and operatic composer, who composed A Hand of Bridge. A Hand of Bridge, a nine minute opera composed in 1959 with libretto by Gian-Carlo Menotti, is one of the shortest operas that is regularly performed. It consists of two couples playing a hand of bridge. During the opera each character has a short arietta in which he or she sings a monologue. The soprano laments not loving her now dying mother while she was still well. The contralto recalls a hat she saw in a shop window earlier in the day. The tenor recalls an ex-lover and wonders where she is now. Finally, the baritone fantasizes about what he would do if he were as rich as his boss Mr. Pritchett. Born 1910 and died 1981.

Excerpts from different sites on the Internet have been compiled in a .pdf file format only as a means to archive and preserve this information for future reference. All sources have been provided and credited.

Barclay Trophy
The Master Mixed Teams, later renamed the Mixed Board-A-Match Teams, is a bridge event contested for the Lebhar Trophy, beginning in the year 1946, but which was played for the Barclay Trophy until the year 1945. The bridge event is a four-session Board-A-Match event with two qualifying rounds and two final rounds. It is restricted to players, who have won at least 100 masterpoints. In 1969 this bridge event was played in three session.

Barco Squeeze
A triple-double squeeze, exerting pressure on both opponents in three suits, made famous by Mr. Edward T. Barco and first described in The Bridge World in 1935.

Bare
Unprotected; not accompanied by small cards. For example: bare King is a singleton King; Queen-Jack bare is a doubleton Queen-Jack.

Barometer
A method originated in Sweden in which all groups of boards are played simultaneously. Running scores are posted on the Barometer shortly after the conclusion of each round.

The Barometer Pairs game is differentiated from other pair games by the method of distributing the boards and by the scoring. In the usual type of pair event, all or most of the boards are in play every round. The boards are moved from table to table on a predetermined schedule so that eventually all pairs play most of the boards at some time during the session.

In a barometer game the boards don't move from table to table after each round. All pairs play the same boards at the same time throughout the event. The director and his staff will have pre-duplicated many sets of boards prior to the game. Quite often each table will have its own set of boards; equally often two or three tables will share one set of boards. Each set of boards goes out of play after one round. As a result, all scores for a given set of boards are available as soon as the round is over. The director retrieves the score tickets and enters them immediately. Quite often the scores will be posted for inspection by the players after each round, so each pair knows where it stands at all times. Any given pair's fortunes will rise and fall as the game goes on, hence the name Barometer.

Baron Conventional Method - Baron Three Clubs
Within the Baron system a particular response method was developed by Mr. Leo Baron for the opening bid of 2 No Trump. The Stayman conventional method is not employed.

Baron Slam Try
A bidding feature in the Baron System, which is an invitation to a slam contract if partner holds good trump support.

Baron System
The Baron system was developed in the 1940s by Mr. Leo Baron and Mr. Adam Meredith, who was nicknamed Plum, and who was born in the year 1913 and died in the year 1976. Mr. Adam Meredith was a leading bridge personality of Britain, who was originally of County Down, Ireland.

Baron System
1. an early scientific British system
2. a Club response to a No Trump opening that institutes up-the-line bidding of four-card suits by both partners
3. a bid one step below five (or six) of the agreed suit, asking partner to bid six (or seven) with strong trumps
4. a response of 2 No Trump to an opening suit one-bid to show a balanced hand with (originally) 16-18 points, or (more modernly) 16-17 points; sometimes played as 16-plus points with no upper limit.

Baron Response Of 2 No Trump
A game-forcing response in the Baron System.

Baron System of Contract Bridge, The
The designation given to a bidding system devised and developed by Mr. Leo Baron and Mr. Adam Meredith, and published in the book titled The Baron System of Contract Bridge, published in the year 1948, First Edition, by Contract Bridge Equipment Ltd.,London, England. These two bridge players were winners of national and international bridge events during the years following 1945/6.

Barrage
The French term for preemptive bid. The translated word actually means a dam in the English language. The term is sometimes used by English writers to describe a series of obstructive bids.

Barricade
This term was first coined by Mr. Phillip Hal Sims, born November 8, 1886 and died February 26, 1949, for referring to an obstructive bid either on the two level or higher, which is commonly referred to as a preemptive bid. The relationship to the French equivalent of barrage is rather obvious.

Barricade Coup
This term describes a play technique devised and published by Dr. Bertrand Romanet of Paris, France. This barricade coup allows the declarer to obstruct the defenders from establishing a long suit.

Note: Other English colloquial terms for a preemptive bid is roadblock, barrier, block(ade).

Barry Crane Top 500
The name of a trophy awarded to the ACBL member who has accumulated the most masterpoints during the calendar year. The trophy was originally know as the McKenny Trophy, which was donated by Mr. William E. McKenny, an ACBL Executive Secretary, and was presented during the years consecutively between 1937 and 1981. When the list was revised to include the leading 500 bridge players with the most masterpoints, the trophy was renamed the Top 500 between the years 1982 and 1985. The trophy was renamed the Barry Crane Top 500 in 1985 as a remembrance of an extraordinary bridge player, as acknowledged by his peers, and who was murdered in 1985.

Bart Convention
Devised and developed by Mr. Leslie C. Bart. An artificial Two-Diamond rebid in the partnership bidding sequence 1 Spade, 1 No Trump (forcing), 2 Clubs, 2 Diamonds, either by the opener and partner or by the two opponents without any interfering bids.

Basic Lisa - The Lisa Convention - Extended Lisa - Fourth Suit Forcing Lisa
This concept is a variation / extension of the Bart conventional method and was conceived and developed by Mr. Jamie Radcliffe and Mr. Pete Whipple. Their write-up was published in The Bridge World in October 2007, Volume 79, Number 1. The source for the information is a write-up and summary of Mr. Neil H. Timm and posted in Bridge News, to which a registration is required. This information is in a .pdf file format and will automatically be opened by your browser in a new window. This information is also only archived and preserved on this site for future reference.

See: Anti-Bart Convention
An online article published by Mr. Josh Sher of Washington, D.C., United States, and Mr. Marc Umeno of Cleveland, Ohio, United States, as a variation of the Bart conventional method. This online article has been removed by the authors and there is presently no web link. This information is in a .pdf file format and is only archived and preserved on this site for future reference.

Barton System, The - The Barton Club
An early outline of a bidding system designed and devised by Mr. Frederick Page Barton in his publication: The Barton System, published 1934. Details unknown. This conventional system is also known as The Barton Club.

Bash
To name a contract without conducting a full investigation during the bidding.

Bath
A colloquialism used to designate the achieved result of a large penalty for whatever reason, as in the phrase: "He took a large bath."

Bathtub or Bathtub Bridge Theory or Bathtub Axiom
This is a term used by bridge players of Rubber Bridge, who generally play in private homes. It is a colloquialism or postulate of unknown origin meaning that the player, who sits closest to the room of the house, in which the bathtub is located, will actually more times than not have better cards or better cards dealt to him/her, thereby increasing the percentages of winning the competition. Whether or not this superstitious postulate has actually been proven or disproven by any scientific study is unknown. However, superstitions abound even among bridge players and cannot be totally disregarded.

Bath Coup - Anti-Bath Coup
The Bath Coup is as old as the game of Whist, which was very popular in England, and the name may be derived from city of Bath, which was once a favorite meeting place of the aristocracy.

Bastille Movement - An alternative to the Butler
As described by Mr. Herman De Wael, Contributing Editor to The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge.

Bayes Theorem
Also known and designated as Bayes Rule, Bayes Law, Bayes Reasoning. This is a mathematical principle, which was first discovered and published in 1761 by the Englishman Mr. Thomas Bayes, and for whom it became designated. This mathematical principle was updated and brought into its modern form shortly thereafter by the great French mathematician Mr. Pierre Simon de Laplace.

Pertaining to the game of bridge mathematicians have to make certain mathematical assumptions regarding the calculations of odds or probabilities. For example a condition, which is more or less taken for granted, is that a pack of 52 cards has been sufficiently shuffled so that all possible deals are equally probable. The students of such mathematical assumptions end their conclusions sometimes in confusion and controversy since such students tend to forget that such conclusions are based on assumptions. Once new evidence has been achieved, then the Bayes Theorem is updated a posteri, and all earlier conclusions based on earlier assumptions become flawed.

In the game of bridge, many odds, probabilities, and percentages are the result of calculations made via Bayes Theorem. The student of such mathematically calculated odds, probabilities, and percentages should be aware that the foundation of such conclusions is an assumption. See: The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge, any Edition, under Mathematical Assumptions.

There are many sites on the Internet, which deal with many and different arguments and argumentations regarding the validity of their, perhaps personal definition of the Bayes Theorem as applied to their personal field of expertise, such as medicine, hospital procedures, etc. The casual reader should be beware of assuming that one definition fits all situations.

The theorem is the fundamental mathematical law governing the process of logical inference, determining what degree of confidence we may have in various possible conclusions, based on the body of evidence available. This is exactly the process of predictive reasoning; therefore, to arrive at a logically defensible prediction one must use Bayes theorem.

Another, less exact since a short version, states that Bayes Theorem is a result in probability theory, which relates the conditional and marginal probability distributions of random variables. In some interpretations of probability, Bayes Theorem tells how to update or revise beliefs in light of new evidence a posteriori.

The probability of an event A conditional on another event B is generally different from the probability of B conditional on A. However, there is a definite relationship between the two, and Bayes Theorem is the statement of that relationship. As a formal theorem, Bayes Theorem is valid in all interpretations of probability. However, frequentist and Bayesian interpretations disagree about the kinds of things to which probabilities should be assigned in applications: frequentists assign probabilities to random events according to their frequencies of occurrence or to subsets of populations as proportions of the whole; Bayesians assign probabilities to propositions that are uncertain. A consequence is that Bayesians have more frequent occasion to use Bayes Theorem.

Baze Conventional Response Method
The origin of this method is unknown. The principle behind the concept is show interest in a slam following a No Trump opening bid by partner. The range becomes irrelevant as the Baze conventional response method can be employed with any No Trump range. The partnership must make adjustments. For the purpose of this presentation the No Trump range is 15-17 points and balanced distribution.

Beasley Contract Bridge System
A bidding system outlined in the publication The Beasley Contract Bridge System, published by Lt. Col. Henry Mountifort Beasley in 1933. Details unknown.

Beat
To set or defeat a contract.

Beaver
A slang term meaning to redouble. The term is generally applied in the game of backgammon and it means to give the opponent the doubling cube back after the opponent doubles you. There are several forms that a beaver can assume:

1.	Doubt Beaver: when the side bids a questionable contract, as in 3 Notrump doubled. A redouble asks partner to consider bidding an alternative suit, such as a Minor suit, unless partner is confident of making contract.
2.	Bluff Beaver: playing matchpoints, a redouble of the opponent's contract for penalty, with anticipation of doubling the opponent who shifts back to their suit.
3.	In-Turn Beaver: a penalty redouble invoked where the side has a high degree of confidence in making the contract.
4.	Out-Turn Beaver: a mixture of the In-Turn and Bluff Redouble. The Out-Turn Redouble is a gamble used when the side is not certain of making the contract with hopes the opponents' will run to a poor contract.

Bechgaard Signals
This method of discarding or signaling partner at the bridge table was devised by Mr. Kai Bechgaard of South Africa. These signals include a delayed signal to show suit length, a continued signal to show suit length, and a double signal to show suit length.

Becker Convention
The Becker convention is a conventional defense method employed after one opponent opens 1 No Trump. The range of the opening No Trump bid is regarded in the original version as being between 16-18 high card points. Over time partnerships have adapted the Becker convention for other No Trump ranges between 10 and 18 high card points. This is an individual partnership agreement. This defense method shows a certain two-suited holding with varying strength, and which is generally restricted to two suits. Note: this conventional method is referred to as Modified Landy in The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge, 7th Edition, page 269, Copyright 2011.

Becker Conventional Defense Method
This method has been attributed to Dr. Steven (Steve) Becker. The concept is a conventional defense method employed after the opposing side opens 1 No Trump.

Bed
A phrase used in the expression: Go to bed with ... meaning that a certain card could have possibly been established as a winning trick.

Beer Card
The Beer Card is the Seven of Diamonds. It is not part of the official Rules of Bridge, but there is a tradition among some players that if the declarer succeeds in making the contract and wins the last trick with the Seven of Diamonds, dummy must buy the declarer a beer of the declarer's choice. In the same way, if the opponents defeat the contract and one of them wins the last trick with the Seven of Diamonds, the opponent who wins the last trick is bought a beer by the other opponent.

The Beer Card tradition originated in Copenhagen in the 1950's or 1960's. It was probably inspired by:

1.

the large reward for winning the last trick with a King or the Pagat (lowest trump) in the game of Danish Tarok, commonly referred to as Boma-Loma. Tarok (Danish style) is a game for three persons played with a tarot deck of 78 cards. It is a trick taking game, where the primary emphasis is on winning the last trick with one of five designated cards (known as winning Ultimo), and there is secondary emphasis on winning many tricks and winning counting cards in the tricks. To play well, players need to form alliances during the play, to keep track of the cards that have been played, and to be able to play according to a well chosen plan. Together, this makes the game difficult to learn to play well. It thus embodies much of the intellectual challenge otherwise associated with games like contract bridge. See: http://www.pagat.com/tarot/dantarok.html

2.

the fact that the diamond seven is a valuable card in the system of bommelommer points - a way of evaluating a Bridge hand which has little or no connection with its usefulness in the game of Bridge, but was used in some Danish clubs as the basis of a side-bet between partners. Bommerlommer is a slightly old-fashioned Danish slang word for money.

Belated Support
The act of showing support for the opener's original suit on the second round after opener has rebid 2 No Trump.

Bell
An echo; encouraging signal.

Bell 1 Spade Response to a 1 Club Opening Bid
The origin of this response is unknown. As a 1 Spade first response to an opening bid of 1 Club by partner, this response may show either of the following.

1.	A holding with no 4-card Major suit and any defined values.
2.	Any agreed meaning. Game-forcing.

Bell Pass or Correct Responses to 1 Club or 1 Diamond Opening Bid
The origin of this response is unknown. Where a 1 Club or 1 Diamond opening is played as a natural opening bid in either Minor suit, a 2 Clubs or 2 Diamonds response respectively may be to play in the Minor suit of the opener, i.e. either Pass or Correct.

Belladonna Coup
Technically, the Belladonna coup may be ified as a type of avoidance play. That is, a tactical maneuver by declarer in a given suit, designed to keep a particular defender from gaining the lead and possibly making a fatal return, either in terms of tricks, or tempo, or both. In the pure form - by definition - the Belladonna coup contains both elements, with the special feature that the dangerous defender may not, perhaps, be kept off lead - hence, the 'type of' - but only in exchange for a vital trick or tempo for declarer. In this respect the Belladonna coup differs from the standard avoidance plays. This coup is illustrated and clarified is presented in a .pdf file format, which will be automatically opened by any browser. The author of the IMP article is Mr. Lex De Groot. This article has also only been preserved and archived in .pdf file format on this site for future reference.

Belladonna Strip Squeeze
A strip squeeze is defined as a play technique by the declarer, whereby the declarer has two or more losers remaining, which would result in the defeat of the contract. By cashing first the winning tricks the declarer forces a defender to discard winners and/or exit cards, which as a result, as soon as the defender is thrown in or wins the last trick discovers that any lead will be unable to defeat the contract.

Giorgio Belladonna Trophy
A trophy presented by the family of the Maestro and bridge player Mr. Giorgio Belladonna of Italy.

Belong
An expression to indicate which side can legitimately expect to buy the contract.

Below the Line
Points that count towards game; points scored for tricks bid and made, especially in rubber bridge.

Belote Bridgée
This is a 32 Card Bridge game and is the english version of the Belote Bridgée, named after the supposed author Belot. This game is a very popular card game played in France. The game is highly appealing because it requires many skills such as reasoning, memory, and planning. Besides, an exciting element of luck is provided by the random distribution of cards to each player as well as the ensuing card combinations.

Benjamin Convention
A scheme for opening Two-Bids or bids on the two level: Majors: weak; Diamonds: artificial (near) game-force; Clubs: artificial, an Acol two-bid with long suit(s) as yet unspecified.

Benjamin Two Bids or Benjamin 2 Bids
This bridge concept was originated by Mr. Albert Benjamin of Scotland. Also known as: French Two Bids and Unnamed Strong Two Bid Openings. As a feature of the Acol bidding system, the Benjamin Two Bids are employed to indicate an opening, which almost guarantees a game holding.

Bennett Murder
A historic tragedy which took place in Kansas City, Kansas, in 1931 in which John S. Bennett met his death as a result of a game of contract which he played with his wife. His wife became so infuriated with her husband’s play that she shot him following a bitter quarrel. She was tried for murder later the same year, and was acquitted.

Bergen and Mini-Splinters or >BAM Raises
This file has been compiled by Mr. Kerry Kappell. This file is only preserved and archived here for future reference. This is a .pdf file format and will, depending on your browser, be automatically downloaded to your computer and opened with Adobe Acrobat or automatically be opened by your browser.

Bergen Bidding Methods
This is a compilation of the conventional bidding methods of Mr. Marty A. Bergen, bridge personality, bridge author, bridge columnist, and who has pioneered the way bridge information is presented via cyberspace with Twitter and Facebook.

Bergen Drury
Mr. Marty Bergen concluded that a 2 Club response by his partner, who is already a passed hand, could show a 3-card support for the opening Major suit with 10-12 points, and that a 2 Diamond response by his partner, who is already a passed hand, could show a 4-card support for the opening Major suit with 10-12 points.

Impossible 3 No TrumpMr. Marty Bergen has suggested using a bid of 3 No Trump during the auction in order to perform a sacrifice against the opponents, when it appears that the opponents have a game contract in a suit. The concept is the expectation of not making a contract of 3 No Trump, and therefore the name of this convention or method.

Bergen Jump Cuebids As Transfers
Mr. Marty Bergen developed this conventional method to cover a certain situation which arises after an intervening overcall on the One Level, which is an important element to consider before implementing the jump cuebid as a transfer to 3 No Trump. The concept behind the conventional method is that the overcalling opponent will find himself on lead, leaving him at a distinguished disadvantage.

Bergen Major Suit Raises - Bergen Raises
This conventional method was originally called Bergen Major Suit Raises, because they were only used after one partner opened a Major suit. This is a conventional method devised by Mr. Marty Bergen, and was first published in the ACBL Bridge Bulletin in April 1982. Using the responses of this method, the partner could show his overall strength and his actual trump length with one bid.

Bergen Over Doubles of 1 No Trump
Mr. Marty Bergen developed a method of dealing with an opponent's overcall of a double after a 1 No Trump opening. This method, when applied, allows the partnership to reach the correct contract even after the opponents have decided to enter the auction. This method also allows the partnership to finalize the contract even after a penalty double.x

Bergen Over No Trump - DONT - D.O.N.T.
This conventional method was devised and developed by Mr. Marty Bergen. This conventional method is more commonly designated as DONT (Disturbing Opponent's No Trump), and is sometimes written as: D.O.N.T. It is a defense method against 1 No Trump openings: double shows one minor or both Majors; two of a Minor shows that Minor suit and a higher-ranking suit.

Bergen Over Weak No Trump
Mr. Marty Bergen, an experienced and expert bridge player and bridge author, devised this method to interfere with and enter the bidding auction after opponents opened a Weak No Trump, consisting of a range between 10 to 13 high card points, otherwise known as a mini-Notrump.

Variant of Bergen Over Weak No Trump
The origin of this variation is unknown. The reasoning behind the development of such a variant is the fact that the original version was unable to show the Club suit and a second suit.

Bernier Big Club Bidding System
This bidding system was devised by Mr. Jerry Bernier and Mr. Mike Schmenk in the 1960s, and is also known as the Bernier Big Club. Although relatively unknown in Standard American, the system may have its benefits for certain partnership agreements. Only the opening bids are presented.

Bessant 2 No Trump Response to One of a Suit Opening Bid
The origin of this response is unknown. This first response shows at least game try values with at least a 5-5 distribution in any two of the unbid suits. Source: Orange Book EBU, Section 13.

Beta Opening Bids
In the early stages of developing the game of bridge, a need arose for opening a weak Club as opposed to a strong, artificial 1 Club, which was employed mainly to obstruct the bidding of the opponents. Beta opening bids were devised around the year 1958 and then compiled, organized and published by Mr. Pierre Collet of Belgium in his original publication Introduction au bridge scientifique, published 1958 in Bruxelles, V.S.G., Belgium.

Beta Asking Bids
1. asking bids in the Roman and Super Precision Systems concerned with responder’s support for the suit bid by the 1 Club opener;
2. asking bids in the Super Precision System concerned with the quality of a side suit after responder has made a positive response in No Trump. This difference in the schedule of responses has led these bids to be designated Delta Asking Bids in the version used by Mr. Giorgio Belladonna and Mr. Benito Garozzo.

Better Bridge Magazine
This is the designation or name of the bridge-related magazine offered by ACBL in 1997 and which was renamed Play Bridge in 2001. The original intent was to address the interest of players, who were beginning to learn the game of bridge and its intricacies such as play at local bridge clubs and also introducing such players to the features of duplicate bridge. The magazine was edited by Audrey Grant. In 2003, the magazine became a monthly insert of The Bridge Bulletin, also published by the ACBL. In September 2004, the publication will be newly formatted as an independent magazine and will retain the designation Better Bridge Magazine. The publication will be offered on a subscription base according to the arrangement between Audrey Grant, David Lindop and Baron Barclay and will appear bi-monthly and is committed to bringing readers the stories behind clubs, tournaments, teaching programs, bridge in schools as well as stories about bridge organizers.

Better Minor
An agreement to open the stronger Minor with 4-3-3-3 or 3-4-3-3 exact distribution.

X-best
Having the indicated rank, as fourth-best, fourth highest in rank among the cards held.

BFAME - Bridge Federation of Asia and the Middle East
An organization founded in 1979 as Bridge Federation of Asia & the Middle East to administer bridge in the respective geographical area. From 5 original NBOs, the zone grew rapidly to the present 22 member countries. Soon, its area of jurisdiction was enlarged to accommodate Africa, and its name changed accordingly. In 1996, the Bridge Federation of Africa, Asia & the Middle East (BFAAME) was divided into (the obvious) 3 subzones, to be able to govern bridge better in its vast territory. In 2000, the African NBO's formed Zone 8 of the WBF and Zone 4 was once again renamed to its original Bridge Federation of Asia & the Middle East (BFAME).

Bid
A bet to take the specified number of tricks above six, in the specified strain; a number of tricks from one to seven combined with a strain (No Trump, Spades, Hearts, Diamonds or Clubs.

Biddable
This English word has several definitions, but only one should be applied to the game of bridge. Included are the various definitions, with examples, and other possible nouns and adverbs.

The word biddable is from bid, which partly comes from Middle English bidden, "to ask, to command," from Old English biddan; and partly from Middle English beden, "to offer, to proclaim," from Old English beodan.

bid·da·ble - adjective

1.	Cards: adequate to bid upon: a biddable suit.
2.	willing to do what is asked; obedient; tractable; docile: a biddable child.
3.	that may be acquired by bidding: biddable merchandise.

Origin: 1820–30

Related forms:

Noun: bid·da·bil·i·ty, bid·da·ble·ness

Adverb: bid·da·bly

Biddable Suit
A suit long or strong enough to be indicated in a given bidding situation.

Bidder
1. player who makes a bid;
2. someone who is usually aggressive during the auction.

Bidding
Auction; the phase of bridge in which the players bid for the right to name the final contract.

Bidding Boxes and Regulations
Physical devices that enable silent auctions. These devises were originally invented in Sweden and were first used at a World Bridge Championship game in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1970.

Bidding Box Regulations - short version
The following is an outline by the ACBL on the use of the bidding box to make a call.

I.	Bidding Boxes - ACBL 2002
	1.	A player is obligated to choose a call before touching any card in the box. Deliberation while touching the bidding box cards, removing bidding cards prior to the call being considered "made," etc., may subject the offending side to the adjustment provisions of Law 16. A call is considered made when a bidding card is removed from the bidding box and held touching or nearly touching the table or maintained in such a position to indicate that the call has been made. Until a call is considered made, the director will treat the situation as unauthorized information and apply Law 16. After a call is considered made, the director will apply Law 25.
	2.	A call, once made, may be changed without penalty under the provisions of Law 25 only if a player has inadvertently taken out the wrong bidding card, and the player corrects, or attempts to correct without pause for thought, and Partner has not taken action (picking up the bidding cards after the auction is over constitutes taking action).
	3.	The skip-bid warning is given using bidding boxes by displaying the stop card, making a call and then replacing the stop card in the bidding box. LHO is obligated to wait 10 seconds (while giving the appearance of studying his hand) before making a call.

Bidding Space
The number of steps available in an auction. The amount of room used in terms of bids, which have been skipped. A response of 1 Spade over 1 Heart consumes no actual bidding space. A response of 2 Clubs to 1 Diamond consumes all the bidding space on the one level. The general theory is that the length of a suit tends to increase as the bidding space is consumed in bidding increases.

Bidding System
Ever since the game of bridge has become popular, bridge players from around the world have been trying to define 52 cards. They have devised many conventions, treatments, methods, formulas, techniques and approaches to describe 13 hidden cards to their partner who is also holding 13 hidden cards. With all of these arrangements, bridge players have been hoping to also convey a certain mathematical strength and card length.

As soon as these arrangements have been devised, developed, refined and altered, these bridge players have given them names, called Systems. Out of these different Systems, the bridge player may choose the conventions and treatments he will wish to include in his or her repertoire. Out of these Systems come very many conventions and treatments which the individual bridge player still uses today.

Bid Out Of Rotation
A call by a player, not in turn. This action is governed by Law 31.

Biedermeijer
This web page presentation has ben translated by Mr. Anton van Uitert and we owe him a debt of gratitude for taking the time and effort to supply us with the English translation and thank him for his contribution.

Biedermeijer Blauw
Presented only in the language of The Netherlands.

Biedermeijer Blue
In English. This web page has been translated by Mr. Gerben Dirksen and we owe him a debt of gratitude for taking the time and effort to supply us with the translation and thank him for his contribution.

Biedermeijer Groen
Presented only in the language of The Netherlands.

Biedermeijer Green
In English. This web page has been translated by Mr. Mike Deloof, who lives in Belgium. We owe him a debt of gratitude for taking the time and effort to supply us with the translation and thank him for his contribution.

Biedermeijer Rood
Presented only in the language of The Netherlands.

Biedermeijer, Dutch Acol and Dutch Doubleton compared to SAYC
The author is Helene Thygesen, to whom we owe a debt of gratitude for this major contribution. This is a study of the different Dutch Bidding Systems and how they compare to the SAYC conventional methods (aka Standard American Yellow Card) and a description of the more popular bidding systems as they are played in The Netherlands, such as the Niemeijer, Oranje Klaver, Saaie Klaver, and Lorenzo conventions.

Biff
Slang: colloquial for trumping the led suit, particularly a winning card on an early lead.

Big Casino or Big Cassino
A term or colloquial designation given to the Ten of Diamonds. The game Cassino, also known as Casino, is an Italian fishing card game for two, three, four players in two partnerships, or even theoretically five players. It is the only one to have penetrated the English-speaking world, via Italian immigrants to America. First recorded in the year 1797 it seems to have been heavily elaborated in 19th-century American practice. It is mostly played by two with a standard deck of playing cards, being the object of the game to score 21 points by fishing up cards displayed on the table.

Note: The 10 of Spades is also known as the big ten or good ten. Since there is a big cassino, there must also be a little cassino, which is the 2 of Spades, also known as little deuce, or good two, or spy two.

Big Diamond Opening Bids and Bid Diamond Bidding System
The complete bidding system together with the fundamental opening bids were devised and developed by Mr. George Robert Nail and Mr. Robert Stucker and published in their books 1. Winning Duplicate: How to Play the Hand and 2. Revolution in Bridge: The Big Diamond and the Fantastic No Trump. The foundation of these opening bids is the 1 Diamond opening bid, which shows 17 plus high card points and an unbalanced distribution. This opening bid is forcing for at least one round. Any Major suit opening promises at least a 5-card suit and the weak No Trump opening is used.

Big Club
A strength-showing artificial one Club opening.

Big Diamond System
A method of bidding devised by Mr. G. Robert Nail and Mr. Robert Stucker. The main feature of this bidding system is the 1 Diamond opening bid, which promises an unbalanced hand with at least 17 high card points. The response of 1 Heart is negative indicating 0-9 high card points, and the response of 1 No Trump is an artificial positive response in Hearts. An opening of 1 Club is forcing, showing a hand with 14 to 16 high cards points, but unsuitable for a No Trump opening. The 2 No Trump range is 20 to 21 high card points. A response of 1 Diamond is negative showing 0 to 10 points. A 2 Clubs response is non-forcing, showing 12 to 15 points with 4-4 or longer distribution in both Minor suits. A response of 2 Diamonds shows 14 to 16 points and 4-4 or 5-4 distribution in the Major suits.

Big Top
The highest matchpoint score on a board when two or more sections are scored together. Common big tops are 25 and 28.

Biltcliffe Coup
This designation was coined by Mr. David Bird, a prolific bridge book author, in his Monks of St. Titus series of books and named after the eponymous Brother Biltcliffe, who performed the coup three times in a single match. The concept of the coup is that when the opponents cease the bidding in a partscore contract, a balancing double in introduced by the possible defenders, and the opponents, unwilling to surrender the contract, continue to bid until a game contract has been reached. The game contract is then doubled and the declarer makes the doubled game contract, thereby defeating the goals of the opponents, who had hopes for an excellent score.

Binky Points
A method, mathematical supported by equations and formulae, to determine the trick-taking ability of two holdings dependent on the holding, the hand pattern, and other factors, as determined by Mr. Thomas Andrew and presented on his website. This method of valuation has only been preserved and archived on this site in .pdf file format for future reference. The serious student should study the additional information as presented by Mr. Thomas Andrew on his wegsite.

Biritch or Russian Whist
The historic four-page pamphlet thought to be the earliest publication of the rules of bridge. Authorship has now been traced to Mr. John Collinson of London, England, in whose name copyright was entered July 14, 1886.

It has been presumed, not substantially proven, that the designation itself refers to the introduction of No Trump, which was a new innovation for card games and card players. However, the student should view and review the transcript of Mr. Mark Brader.

However, in the publication Bibliographies of Works on Playing Card And Gaming by Norton T. Horr, 1905, Published by Longmans, Green and Co., London, England - Notation included: No place of printing or publication mentioned; apparently the first printed description in English of the Game of Bridge.

A notation is also made by the Levantine Heritage in its genealogical report, which can be viewed by clicking on the provided link. It is noted that a Mr. Thierry Depaulis, who is described as a researcher in this subject and the chairman of the International Playing Card Society, proclaimed the following: "realised that Robert’s grandfather was perhaps the man he sought to identify and, in subsequent communication, Robert Baker was able to confirm on several points that indeed the unknown San Francisco player could well be George Noel Baker.

Thierry Depaulis was contacted last year by an Australian correspondent (who is a bridge player and a bridge book collector) who told him he had found a further testimony in a press clipping from a Californian newspaper called The Redwood Journal (published in Ukiah, Cal.). It was in the Bridge column, “Contract Highlights”, edited by Z.V. Smith. In the Friday, February 28, 1936 issue, Smith had this:

An old San Francisco player, who, though unknown in tournaments play, is one of the best in the country, says: “I was born in Constantinople of English parents. My family had long been engaged in the rug trade. I was told that the card game we played had been the popular diversion in Turkey from time immemorial. It was called ‘berich’ (pronounced bay-reech, both syllables unaccented). When the dealer could not make a trump he merely said: ‘Berich!’” Some of the very best players in Europe are Turks, though of course, they have to learn conventional bidding.”

Thierry Depaulis, elaborated on the Levant link of this game, with this history: “The main evidence comes from a small booklet called ‘Biritch or Russian Whist’, written by one John Collinson and printed in London in 1886. A research showed that this man had been to Turkey in 1880-84 and that it was in Constantinople that he learned the game. This Biritch is Bridge in its earlier form that spread to Western Europe from ca. 1890 and became quite fashionable in Paris and London (and also in New York in the mid-1890s). I have published an article on this booklet with my Dutch friend Jac Fuchs (“First Steps of Bridge in the West: Collinson’s ‘Biritch’”, in: The Playing-Card, vol. 32, no. 2, Sept.-Oct. 2003, pp. 67-76). As early as the late 19th century the first bridge manuals (starting from 1895) had a “historical” that pointed out to “Turkey” as a place of origin for the game. As time passed more and more testimonies - some of them very detailed - were published here and there. In my 1997 book (Histoire du Bridge) I had a full chapter on this.”

Bishop Convention
The Bishop conventional defense method was devised as an obstructive action in the form of overcalls following a strong Club opening bid such as Precision, the Polish Clubs, or Roman bidding systems.

Bissell Distributional Point Count
An original method for showing distribution with the first bid, devised by Mr. Harold Winthrop Bissell of New York, United States, and published in the year 1936.

Bissell Opening Bids
As early as the year 1936 Mr. Harold Winthrop Bissell of New York, United States, had a developed bidding system based on his Bissell Points, which he brought to publication. This presentation only presents the opening bids of this bidding system.

Bit
British colloquialism for a small card. For example: Ace-bit shows a doubleton Ace.

Black and Red Gerber
This variation of the Gerber convention was devised by Mr. Irving Cowan, of Ontario, Canada. As is the case with many Ace asking conventions and treatments, it has proven difficult to determine the final contract when the agreed trump suit is one of the Minor suits, especially the Club suit.

Blackout Over Reverses - Wolff Over Reverses
This response method is employed by the partnership when a one-over-one response by the partnership is followed by a reverse bid by the opener on the two level. The developed Blackout method provides a response method for such a bidding sequence.

Black Points
These points are awarded for success in sanctioned club games and Unit games. There are some special events (usually conducted at clubs) which award points where some portion of the award will be in black points and the remainder in another color.

Blackpool Movement
A movement popular in England in which 10 tables play 24 boards. Two boards are played in each round, and bye stands are placed between tables 1 and 10, and between 5 and 6. Players and boards move as in a normal Mitchell Movement for 11 rounds so that in the 11th round original opponents are again in opposition. For the 12th round East-West pairs deduct their pair number from 11 and move to the indicated table.

Blackwood After Interference
If the opponents dare to interfere with the bidding after you initiate the Blackwood convention, you have several choices to show your number of Aces. There are several devised conventions to show your strength, such as: DEPO, ROPI, PODI, DOPI, DOPE, RIPO.

Blackwood Award
The Blackwood Award is given annually by ACBL to a player, living or deceased, who has made major contributions to bridge outside the area of bridge expertise.

Blackwood Convention
Mr. Easley Blackwood came up with an idea on how to bid and also how to avoid slams. This concept in the game of bridge is almost universal in practically every bidding system, albeit somehow varied, modified, and/or altered to meet modern bidding versions.

Blackwood Variations
In the course of the game of bridge and its evolution the Blackwood conventional method is perhaps the top concept to be modified, expanded, extended, and varied. A list of these variations on the basic and fundamental concept are listed.

Blanchard Case
After the 1984 Fall NABC in San Diego, Mr. Robert and Jill Blanchard of New York City filed suit against the ACBL in Los Angeles, California. The claim of Mr. and Mrs. Blanchard was that gender-based events such as the Men's Pairs violated California's Unruh Act, which is an anti-discrimination statue. After five years of deliberation, the Los Angeles Superior Court, in which the suit was filed, dismissed the suit for lack of prosecution. As part of a settlement with Mr. and Mrs. Blanchard, in which they agreed not to appeal, the ACBL's insurance carrier paid $15,000.00 toward the legal expenses acquired by Mr. and Mrs. Blanchard. The insurance carrier also paid for all of the ACBL's legal expenses.

Beginning in 1990, three nationally-rated events formerly restricted to men were changed to open events. The Life Master Men's Pairs at the Spring NABC is now one of two Open Pairs. The Men's Swiss Teams, also contested in the Spring, is now the Open Swiss Teams. The Men's Board-a-Match Teams, contested in the Fall, is now the Open Board-a-Match Teams.

During the time of the suit filed by Mr. and Mrs. Blanchard, and in response to complaints by the couple, the ACBL also eliminated gender-based events from those used to qualify ACBL pairs for WBF competition. Mr. and Mrs. Blanchard claimed that they could not qualify together in events restricted to men or women. The ACBL Board of Directors agreed and changed the qualifying policy.

Blank
1. a void; a holding of no cards in a suit; see Chicane
2. Slang: bare; unaccompanied by protecting cards;
3. Slang: to leave unaccompanied by small cards through discarding.

Blank Hand
A hand with seemingly no trick-taking potential.

The Blind and the Game of Bridge
Mr. Eddie Timanus is no stranger to competitive games. The resident of Arlington, Virginia, born 1971, is well known to fans of the television game show Jeopardy as a five time champion of the program, a feat that trivia buffs revere the same way sports enthusiasts glorify winning the decathlon. Mr. Eddie Timanus, a sports writer for USA Today, who covers the collegiate beat (especially lacrosse), has now set his sights on tournament bridge. Why should this be unusual (or difficult) for such an obviously gifted young man? It is because Mr. Eddie Timanus is totally blind.

Despite being born without sight, Mr. Eddie Timanus developed a fascination with all types of games, and by the time he was in junior high school Timanus had developed a group of friends who shared his interests. One member of that group, Joe Hertz of Sterling, Virginia, has remained good friends with Mr. Eddie Timanus and is his bridge partner here in Washington.

Although Mr. Eddie Timanus has long been familiar with rubber bridge, Mr. Joe Hertz persuaded him to give duplicate a try at the Arlington regional last year. The pair entered the 0–5 masterpoint Newcomer Pairs on Friday afternoon where they finished fifth overall with a 59% game. In the evening game, they finished second overall, again with a 59% effort.

"I earned my first red points," said Mr. Eddie Timanus, who plays with the help of Braille cards (there are raised "dots" on the corners of the cards) and an "electronic bidding box" produced by Baron Barclay. The other players at the table announce their bids and their cards as play proceeds.

ACBL allows the use of Braille cards, but they must be supplied by the player who requests their use, so Mr. Eddie Timanus and Mr. Joe Hertz created several of the special decks.

Modifying game components to allow Mr. Eddie Timanus to participate is nothing new to Mr. Joe Hertz. "When we were younger, we played all kinds of board games, but the trick was to find ways to include Eddie," he said. The group even came up with their own name for the process - "Eddiefying".

"Eddiefying a game requires imagination, but we always came up with a solution, even for games like football," said Mr. Joe Hertz. Their football solution was to make Mr. Eddie Timanus the quarterback for both teams, so that the real strategy lay in which side could best plan the blind player's pass attempts during the huddle. Mr. Eddie Timanus was able to parlay his love of games and trivia into multiple Jeopardy championships. In 1999, Mr. Eddie Timanus won five days in a row on the popular game show earning $69,700. He was invited back to play in the program's Tournament of Champions (open only to other strong contenders) later that year, and made it to the semifinal round to earn another $5000. He has become an inspiration to the nation after becoming an undefeated champion on Jeopardy Oct. 19, 1999. Ratings for the veteran game rose 15 per cent during the final two days of Timanus's appearances. Mr. Eddie Timanus was invited to the 2002 Million Dollar Masters Jeopardy playoffs in New York. Though unsuccessful in advancing beyond the first round, his original interview with TVgameshows.net reflects on his five-day title and reaction from around the U.S.

With all of his accomplishments, Mr. Eddie Timanus has recently added one more. He was married in July 2002 to his girlfriend, Kelli. "Even though I'm a newlywed, I do have my wife's permission to be here. She's not a bridge widow yet!"

Note: On March 3, 2014, Mr. Eddie Timanus appears again on the television game show Jeopardy for the Game of the Decades 1990.

Blind Lead
1. the opening lead; a lead made without benefit of seeing the dummy
2. an opening lead made with only weak clues from the bidding.

Blitz
Slang: defeat severely;
Slang: a big win;
Slang: a win that obtains the maximum possible score.

Blizzard
A very weak hand; a hand with no useful cards whatever.

Block
To prevent the running of a suit by denying the hand long in the suit an entry therein. Also a situation in which entry problems within a particular suit make it difficult or absolutely impossible to collect winners or possible winners in that suit.

Blockbuster
Slang: a very powerful hand; powerhouse.

Blocked
Unable to be run without use of an entry in another suit. For example: in a particular suit, dummy has Queen-Jack-Ten-Nine; declarer has Ace-King. The suit is blocked.

Blocking
The action of playing in such a manner as to cause a suit to be blocked in the suit of the opponents.

Blooman Convention
This concept was devised and developed by Mr. Robert (Bob) Hoffman of Boynton Beach, Florida, United States, and by Mr. Irv Bloom of West Palm Beach Florida, United States. This description of the concept was originally published in the Bridge Bulletin of the American Contract Bridge League of March 2006, page 28.

Bludgeon Opening Bids
These opening bids were devised and developed by Mr. Ian Wilson of Irvine, California, United States. The concept is that the opening bids constitute a bidding system based wholly on limit bidding only with no bid being a forcing bid, neither one round forcing nor game forcing.

Blue Club
The Blue Team developed a bidding system using a combination of the Neapolitan and Roman bidding systems. Combining the most favorable features of both bidding systems resulted in the formation of the Blue Club bidding system. The main proponents of this bidding system were Mr. Walter Avarelli, Mr. Benito Garozzo,Mr. Pietro Forquet, Mr. Massimo D'Alelio, and Mr. Giorgio Belladonna. They had great success at the bridge tournaments using the Blue Club System.

Blue Team Club Openings
Blue Team became the popular name for the Italian International Bridge Team, which had many international successes from 1956 to 1975. The captain and the members of the Blue Team devised a bidding system, which is still played today. The Blue Team Club was the result of the efforts of the Italian Bridge Federation, Mr. Carl Alberto Perroux, the team captain, and the team members, who dedicated themselves to the study of the game of bridge.

Blue Team Club System
The Blue Team Club System was mainly devised by Mr. Benito Garozzo. The Blue Team Club System is based on the principle that a 1 Club opening is forcing. The style of this system is called Canape, and this means that the opener can / should bid the short suits before bidding the long suits. Canape is a bidding method in which the opener bids his long suit on his rebid and was developed by Mr. Pierre Albarran from France.

Blue Team Club Responses
As the name implies, the opening will be 1 Club. The significance of this 1 Club opening is that it is defined as 1. forcing, and 2. shows 17 or more points using a 4-3-2-1 count. Sometimes it is also a distributional factor which may define a 1 Club opening with slightly less than 17 points, or a weaker 1 Club opening with exactly 17 points.

Blue Team Roman Responses to Blackwood
Even the Roman Blackwood convention method, a variation of the original Blackwood convention, has a variation. This variation was devised by the Blue Team Club and was applied with some success. The Blue Team was the popular name given to the Italian International Bridge Team which had a series of huge successes starting in 1956 and fading in the year 1969.

Blue Team Four Club-Four Diamond Convention
A delayed game raise used in the Blue Team Club system to describe the Minor suit controls of the responder. When the opener bids and rebids a Major suit or opens a Major suit and rebids in No Trump, and the responder has excellent support for the suit of the opener, the responder can show his controls by a certain bidding procedure.

Blue Club Responses
In the United Kingdom, the 2 No Trump response to a Weak Two Opening by partner is known as Blue Club Responses. In the United States, the 2 No Trump responses to a Weak Two opening bid by partner are known as the Ogust Convention. See: Ogust Convention.

Blue Club, Calgary Casual Style
The online version is presently off line. Presented by Mr. Alex Knox and is Version 8.3, dated September 1, 1999. According to the Author's Notes: The first part of this work is adapted from the book The Blue Club by Benito Garrozo and Leon Yalloze, edited by Terence Reese, which I consider the best "system" book I have ever read. I have incorporated several of my own ideas and also those of some other authors. This information has only been archived and preserved in .pdf file format on this site.

Blue Club
The online version is presently off line. Published by Mr. Emil M. Prodanov. This modified version has only been preserved and archived as a .pdf file on this site for future reference.

Italian Blue Club
The online version is presently off line. This is a Summary of The Blue Club, published by Mr. Benito Garozzo and Mr. Leon Yallouze in 1969, posted to the Internet and modified by Mr. G. Meier in the year 1995. This information has only been archived and preserved in .pdf file format on this site for future reference.

Blue Club European Austrian Version
This modified version of the Blue Club Bidding System is a European/Austrian work in progress by Mr. Stefan Zijlstra and which has been dated 1999. This non-completed version is only archived on this site in a .pdf file format for future reference. Footnotes have been added to aid the student of this modified version, which is incomplete. According to the author the description of this modified concept is presented below:

Four ideas have to be known to get the sense of the system:
1.	4-card majors: Think of it what you like, it HAS advantages if you hit on a 4-4 fit in opening bid. Many drawbacks or further advantages might be discussed for decades (and so it has been), but if you found a 4-4 or better fit you are in no-bottom position for sure.
2.	Strong club opening: Again, think what you like, but getting more room for big hands is an advantage. Again all other facts (more preemptive room, cheap lead-directing bids etc.) can be discussed, and have their rights, but nothing brings more exact contracts then an uncontested strong club auction, especially with a positive hand opposite.
3.	Canapé style: Although it might be seen as a side effect of rigorous 4cM openings done ever since, this style, played with discipline and knowledge of the system it is a powerful weapon, not only for the dreaded hidden side suit.
4.	Strictly defined openings: All 3 approaches mentioned above make sure that every opening in Blue Club is defined very clearly. 5 Point range (11-16), 4! Card major possible or not. Trust me, that helps.
A Warning: This document contains much of the base system, much standard conventions used with it and some treatments, which are coming generally with the system…. BUT…. the author denies ANY thought of delivering a full system. Much too much is missing, far too many sequences not discussed. Filling those holes would take months and years, and a better brain.

Blue Peter
A humorous term for a high-low signal invented in 1834 by Lord William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, born September 14, 1774, and died June 17, 1839. This was probably the first defensive signal in any game of the Whist family. This particular signal was employed in a side suit to indicate to the partner that the trump suit should be led as soon as the possibility presented itself. The name is nautical in origin, referring to a signal hoisted in harbor to denote that a ship is ready to sail. A picture of the Blue Peter signal still used today is shown below. When the signal is used at sea it means that your lights are out or burning badly.

Note: Mr. Alan Truscott, in his bridge column for The New York Times, dated and published September 18, 1966, writes that this concept dates back to the days of Whist, and its prototype was originated by Lord Henry Bentinck in 1834. This bridge column has only been preserved and archived in .pdf file format on this site for future reference. Mr. Alan Truscott also notes that the carding technique known as upside-down signaling is credited to Mr. Karl Schneider of Austria as a distinction between the two concepts.

The Blue Team
The Blue Team (Italian: squadra azzurra) was the team that represented Italy in international bridge tournaments, winning sixteen world titles from 1957 through 1975. For the most part, the core of the team was made of pairs Giorgio Belladonna - Walter Avarelli, Benito Garozzo - Camillo Pabis-Ticci and Pietro Forquet - Massimo D'Alelio, with Eugenio Chiaradia and Guglielmo Siniscalco playing in early years, and Dano De Falco, Arturo Franco, Vito Pittalà in late years. The spiritual father and long-time coach (non-playing captain) of the team was Carl' Alberto Perroux. The name of this popular Italian bridge team is most likely a result of the 1956 Italian Trials, when the Blue Team defeated the Red Team.

Blue Team Club
A popular offspring of the Neapolitan System, developed mainly by Mr. Benito Garozzo. We have attempted to offer a short version. For a more detailed version, the following .pdf file will be of immense help. This version was written by Mr. Arturo Franco and Mr. Marco Pancotti and translated into English by Mr. Daniel .J. Neill. In the words of Mr. Daniel J. Neill: This second edition of the Blue Team Club comes after a year of diffusion of the first edition. To my great satisfaction and, I believe, to the satisfaction of Arturo as well, the availability of complete outline of the system has augmented the spread. It is fitting that a true and proper Club be furnished with an Internet site: Source.

Note: A detailed, in Internet book-style, .pdf file format version written and compiled by: Mr. Arturo Franco and Mr. Marco Pancotti, can be viewed by the visitor and bridge student. The picture below is of Mr. Marco Pancotti from the year 2004.

Note: Mr. Mario Beretta, Mr. Carlo Bruna, Mr. Gino Cavazzuti, Mr. Fabrizio Hugony, Mr. Gianluca Gentili ,Mr. Andrea Mesian, and Mr. Alfredo Viola participated in the drafting of the system.

Blue Team Two Diamonds
An opening bid showing a hand containing 17 to 24 high card points, with a 4-4-4-1 distribution.

Bluff
A bid or play made with deceptive intent.

Bluhmer
A call, often a jump bid, which encourages high-level action, usually a slam-try, by denying values opposite partner's short suit.

Board
1. the dummy; dummy's cards, as spread on the table
2. in duplicate bridge: a holder, usually of metal or plastic, used to preserve the cards as originally dealt
3. a deal.

Board-a-Match
A scoring system for team play in which each deal accounts for one point: a team scores 1 point if it gets a higher score, 1/2 point if it gets an equal score, 0 if it gets a lower score.

Board-a-Match Rules or BAM Rules
Conditions of Contest is .pdf file format from 2014 as published by the ACBL. These conditions apply to all board-a-match (BAM) team events. At the North American Bridge Championships there may be additional specific conditions for certain events. In such cases the specific conditions will supersede the general ones. These conditions must be posted. Sponsoring organizations may amend these conditions for specific events but such amendments must appear in all printed tournament schedules. Furthermore they must be posted prior to the start of event. Sponsoring organizations may, with ACBL approval only, amend these conditions for a specific event. The final decision on any item in these conditions shall be made by the Director in Charge. Furthermore, any issue not specifically covered will be resolved by the Director in Charge.

Bocchi-Duboin Opening Bids
These opening bids are the principle features of the bidding system developed by Mr. Norberto Bocchi and Mr. Giorgio Duboin, both of Italy.

Body
Strong intermediate cards, such as 10s, 9s and 8s. Some authorities advocate counting a 10 as half a point, sometimes only for No Trump purposes.

Club System - The Boland System of Contract Bridge Bidding
The origin of this bidding system is unknown, but is most likely the conclusions of Mr. V.F. Boland and Mr. John H. Law, Winner of Mitchell Board-a-Match Teams in 1948, with team mates: Mr. Jack L. Ankus, Mr. Jeff Glick, Mr. Alvin Landy, and Mr. Sol Mogal. They were two bridge experts and authors, who published their studies 1931 in the book: The Boland System of Contract Bridge Bidding, published by The Penton Press Co., Cleveland, Ohio United States, ISBN: B00086XV34, LC: 35028719

In this bidding system a 1 Club opening bid can be either an artificial bid promising between three and five honor tricks or a normal Club bid. The point range is undetermined. If the opener rebids Clubs on the two level, then the point range becomes determined and is considered a standard opening. After a response by the partner on the one level, rebids by the opener still on the one level show that the opening bid indicated about a minimum in honor strength. Any and all openings on the two level are strong and forcing.

Boland Convention - Boland Slam Try - Boland Slam Bids
The origin of this bidding method is unknown, but is most likely the conclusions of Mr. V.F. Boland and Mr. John H. Law, two bridge experts and authors, who published their studies 1931 in the book: Accurate Contract Bridge. This is a method of slam exploration after one partner opens especially with a 1 No Trump, but which can also be applied with a 2 No Trump opening, and the responder jump raises to 4 No Trump.

Bolish Club
A system that has evolved from EHAA+ (the version of Mr. Jari Böling of EHAA, Every Hand An Adventure), and is now more similar to Polish Club. Other sources of inspiration are Keri by Ron Klinger, Ambra by Benito Garozzo, and Einari Club (a local Blue-team-like system, something of a standard in Turku). This information has only been preserved and archived on this site in .pdf file format for future reference.

Bols Bridge Tips
A series of annual contests invented by Herman Filarski and subsidized by the Bols Company of The Netherlands. Players of international stature submitted bridge tips for publication in periodicals all over the world. A panel of judges voted each year to decide the winner.

Bolster
This is another designation for a partial stopper, which is officially defined as a suit holding, that will provide a stopper, if and only if partner has a holding in the same suit or category. For example, a singleton Queen, a doubleton Queen, a tripleton Jack, four cards to the ten, five cards to the nine, or six cards to the eight. Note that other official definitions require that a partial stopper must be at least a doubleton Queen. According to this definition a singleton Queen does not constitute a partial stopper.

Note: the origin of the designation bolster is unknown, although it is believed to have originated when the game of Whist was played in the United Kingdom and then later in the United States. The word itself is defined as to support, prop up, reinforce.

Bonney's Squeeze
The Bonney's Squeeze is a triple squeeze against one opponent combined with a simple squeeze against the other opponent. This particular squeeze technique was first analyzed by and credited to Mr. Norman F. Bonney.

Bonus
A term used in all types of bridge to describe various premiums given under the scoring rules to sides or partnerships that accomplish specified aims.

Book
The first six tricks taken by declarer.

Books

Whist: American Leads and their History, author Nicholas Browse Trist, published in New York, United States, and London, England, by Harper & Brothers Publishers in 1900. Full title: The History of American Leads, and, incidentally, the Progress of Whist from the days of Hyle to the year 1982.

Book Game
A style of a player who is acquainted with the situations described in the books about bridge, and rigorously follows this pattern of bidding and play. It features theoretical knowledge, but implies lack of skill from practice and lack of versatility.

Book Player
Slang: someone who seldom departs from established procedures or requirements; a straightforward player.

Boost
Slang: raise
Slang: bid in the hope of pushing the opponents to a higher contract.

BOSS
Note: This website has been taken off-line. BOSS represents a compilation of a bidding system published by Mr. Peter Babli. Boss is an acronym for Bidding Order Shows Strength. This information is only archived and preserved on this site in a .pdf file format for future reference.

Boston or BOSTON
This acronym stands for the lead agreement Bottom Of Something, Top Of Nothing. The agreement refers only to the first card lead by defense and has no other application. The concept behind this lead method is that the opponents have found a contract, but the defense knows that the wrong player is on lead. In order to re-arrange that the defense becomes corrected is to play, according to the agreement, a low card promising a useful and winning honor in the suit led or Bottom Of Something. The lead of a high card, or Top Of Nothing, communicates to partner that there is no effective winner in the suit lead. This feature is strongly requesting that partner switch suits when on lead and to infer from the dummy and previous play as to which suit would be most effective.

Botswana Bridge Federation
The Federation is located in Gaborone, Botswana.

Bottom
In matchpoint scoring, the lowest score on one deal.

Bowers Convention
This slam bidding method was devised and developed by Mr. Stewart Bowers of New York, New York, United States. Additional information about Mr. Stewart Bowers is not available and any contribution would be greatly appreciated.

Bowman Trophy
The competition for the presentation of The Charles Bowman Trophy is conducted by the East District of the Scottish Bridge Union. The competition is contested as a Men's Teams championship. Conditions include that each team may constituted up to six members, any four playing on each night without substitution. The event was first contested in the year 1967.

Bowman-Hancock Opening Bids
These opening bids were devised and developed by Mr. John H. Hancock of Los Alamos, New Mexico, and additionally by Mr. Allen Bowman of Green Valley, Arizona. Incorporated are the opening of 5-card Majors, the 1 No Trump Forcing convention after a Major suit opening, and the use of Stayman and Transfers after a 1 No Trump opening. Following a strong opening of 2 Clubs and / or 2 Diamonds, relays are used as artificial negatives.

Box A Card
To place a hand in a duplicate board with a card, usually not the top card, turned face up.

Bozo Roman Convention
The origin of this conventional method is unknown. The intention of this conventional method is to show a certain shape and distribution, which is 4-4-4-1 or 4-4-5-0, with opening bids.

Prize Money Bridge Events or Tournaments
Such events are also sponsored by the ACBL. Prize Money Bridge Pairs is a match point duplicate bridge game with an individual movement. Participants play only one hand with each partner. Scores of each hand are computed on a match point duplicate bridge pair game basis.

Since players play only one hand with each partner, a standard bidding system is required that all players can easily understand. Prize Money Bridge uses the ACBL Standard Yellow Card with minor variations. Since everyone is playing the same system, there is no need for "Alerts" as everyone can check their Yellow Card to learn the meaning of a specific bid.

BPT events are divided into three ifications. The first ification is the Open event. The Open event is played in three sessions: two qualifying sessions and a final session at designated times. The maximum first place award in the Open event (based on attendance of a minimum number of tables) is a cash amount to be published and announced. The entry fee for the Open event is determined by the sponsoring organization and covers play in all three sessions.

A second event ification is the Stratified event. The Stratified event is played in two sessions, the time of which is determined by the sponsoring organization. The Stratified event is limited to players who have won less than a pre-set amount won in previous BPT events. The maximum first place award for the Stratified event is a certain amount and the entry fee is a certain amount determined by the sponsoring organization.

The third event ification is the 299er event. The 299er event is limited to players with less than 300 masterpoints. The event's first session is set by the sponsoring organization followed with the second session played at a designated time. The maximum first place award for the 299er event is established by the sponsoring organization.

All players who fail to qualify for the finals are eligible to play in a consolation event. There is no additional charge to play in this event and winners earn "BPT Bridge Bucks," which are good in any BPT sponsored event.

In addition to cash awards, players in BPT events win masterpoints at regional rating. Players may make advance reservation for these events.

Bracket
This designation refers to a grouping of entries in a Knockout Tournament, that will, upon conclusion, result in the winning of one entry, translated bridge player.

Bracketed
This designation applies to a Knockout Event and means that the event is broken up, split, grouped and/or separated in groups, generally via a rating category or categories, in such a manner that each segment and/or group will produce its own winner or winners.

Bracketed Knockouts
A method of conducting knockout events for a large number of teams with a limited number of sessions for matches available. The teams are divided into groups, usually 8, 16 or 32, and each group competes in a separate event with its own set of winners. The criterion for deciding which teams go into which brackets usually is masterpoints.

Braille Bridge Cards
Manufactures of bridge playing cards have met the challenge to produce playing cards for the blind and for people with limited eyesight. A few examples of these cards are presented on our web page.

Break
1. The division of the adversely held cards in a suit. For example: a three-two break means finding one opponent with three of the missing five cards and the other with two.
2. The act of defeating the contract.
3. The action taken by one player, who makes the first lead in an unplayed suit.

Breakage
A rubber bridge term for rounding off the score to the nearest 100 points.

Breakthrough Opening Bids
These opening bids were devised and developed by Mr. Robert D. Sundby of Wisconsin, United States. Generally all first responses are considered to be natural although any one level response can represent a canapé bid. After a Major suit opening, which allowed for a 4-card suit, the responder could use the 1 No Trump Forcing convention.

Briddles by Mr. Bob Chambers

Invented and created by Mr. Bob Chambers of Texas, United States, these pictures present the bridge player with clues, from which the bridge player must deduce the meaning. The solution is always a bridge-related phrase, with which the bridge player is acquainted. These Briddles, which is a combination of the two words, bridge and riddles, are for amusement and pleasure only.

Bridge
A card game for four players, acting in two partnerships, in which bets are made on the number of tricks each side will win during the play of the cards. Contract Bridge, Rubber Bridge, Chicago are all forms of this card game.

The interested visitor might be captivated by the definition provided by The Encyclopedia Brittanica, published in the year 1910 regarding the game of bridge, and which includes summaries for Three-handed Bridge, Dummy Bridge, Misery Bridge, Draw- or Two-Handed Bridge, and Auction Bridge, as defined in the year 1910.

Bridge At Schools
This is a .pdf file, which will be automatically opened by your browser. This is a company started in September 2002, whose main priority is to research benefits of a bridge program so that schools will wish such a program and enable such schools to run such a bridge program. It has been endorsed by the ACBL and funded partially by start-up grants from ACBL Educational Foundation, ACBL Charity Foundation and ACBL Affiliates.

Bridge and the Immune System
It seems that playing bridge, according to scientists and UC Berkeley, can have a positive effect on the T-cells needed to increase the immune system of the body. Excerpts from the Los Angeles Time and the Orange County Register.

Bridge Bacillus - Bridge Disease
In the course of a society certain surveys, studies, and polls are conducted, which bring attention to conclusions heretofore unknown and not recognized. This information is based on a study conducted by the World Health Organization, or at least this is the source mentioned in the treatise. However, the actual source of the information is unknown. We would greatly appreciate hearing from the author of this treatise and hope that we have contributed in the sharing of this information.

Bridge and Brain Power - Present link on The New York Times online edition, published May 21, 2009.
The reporters Mr. Erik Olsen and Mr. Benedict Carey, in the employment of The New York Times newspaper, sit in on the weekly bridge game at Laguna Woods, Irvine, California, United States, and discusses the longest and largest ongoing study of people 90 years of age and over and the potential benefits of mental exercise. This information as presented by Mr. Erik Olsen and Mr. Benedict Carey is in a .pdf file format and is only preserved and archived on this site for future reference.

Note: Since The New York Times changes its headlines each and every day, the provided link to The New York Times is only to the Home Page. In order to find the relevant article the visitor must use the search field on the Home Page and enter the following: "Benedict Carey"+bridge. iPhone version

Bridge Base Inc.
Bridge Base Inc. was founded in 1990 by Fred Gitelman, President, and Dr. Sheri Winestock, Vice-President. Their first two products, BASE II (1990) and BASE III (1991) were analytical tools designed for serious students of bridge. In 1992 Bridge Base Inc. released the DOS version of Bridge Master, an educational software product designed for players of all levels of ability. Bridge Master has been translated into several languages, including Dutch, Danish, French, German, and Italian. Bridge Master is widely considered the greatest medium ever devised for learning declarer play technique.

In 1994 Bridge Base Inc. began the development of Bridge Engine. Bridge Engine is an authoring tool for creating bridge software products for Windows. One of the uses of Bridge Engine is to convert bridge books into interactive software products. The Club Series (1995), Counting at Bridge (1996), and Private Bridge Lessons, Volume I, (1998) Volume II, and Defense are all examples of these sorts of Bridge Engine applications. Bridge Master for Windows (1996) is another Bridge Engine application. Bridge Base Inc. developed the Pendergraph vugraph software using Bridge Engine. Pendergraph is the vugraph program used in all North American Championships and all World Championships held in North America.

The advantage of using one program (Bridge Engine) to create several applications is that all of the resulting applications will have the same look and feel, making it easier for the user to learn to use our software. We have recently added the ability to create web pages to Bridge Engine. The bridge hand and auction diagrams on this site were created using Bridge Engine. In 1999, the user interace and special features of Bridge Engine were enhanced. Learn to Play Bridge, a free program available through the American Contract Bridge League, was the first program generated by the updated engine. Bridge Master 2000, an upgrade to Bridge Master for Windows, soon followed and all new programs will be generated using the state of the art Bridge Engine.

Fred Gitelman is currently responsible for all software design and development as well as bridge analysis. In 1998 Fred began a contract with Microsoft to develop their online bridge service which is now available as free at The Gaming Zone.. Dr. Sheri Winestock is responsible for documentation, software testing, and running the day-to-day operations of the company. Sheri is in charge of "animation" - the process of using Bridge Engine to convert written bridge material into computer software products - and is the Webmaster of this site. Bridge Base Inc. also employs Chrys Schock and Shelagh Paulsson of Toronto on a part-time basis. Chrys and Shelagh are responsible for data entry, software testing, and artwork.

Fred Gitelman, (1965), has a strong background in both computer science and bridge. Fred learned to program in BASIC when he was 12 years old. He studied computer science at the University of Toronto. Before founding Bridge Base Inc., Fred worked for three years in the Research and Development department of Netron Inc. of Toronto, a world leader in developing software engineering tools. Fred currently does most of his programming in C, C++, and Java. Fred learned to play bridge at age 18 and was immediately captivated by the game. Fred has studied and played bridge intensely ever since and he is now widely considered one of the top bridge players. Fred has twice finished second in World Championship events (1991 World Junior Championships and 1995 Bermuda Bowl). Fred won the Gold Medal in the 2002 IOC Grand Prix and won the Silver Medal in the 1997 Maccabiah Games. He won the 2003 Cavendish Invitational Pairs and has won a number of North American Championships, including the 2001 Reisinger Board-A-Match Teams. Along with invitations to play in international bridge events (Netherlands, London, Indonesia, Denmark, China, and Iceland), Fred has maintained a career as a successful bridge writer as well as a part-time professional player. Fred's other interests include: downhill skiing, tennis, golf, juggling, computer science, and mathematics.

Dr. Sheri Winestock, (1962), completed her Doctorate in the History and Philosophy of Psychology at York University in Toronto. Sheri has worked full-time for Bridge Base Inc. since her graduation. Her excellent management, organizational, bridge, and language skills have made a major contribution to the success of the company. Sheri has some programming experience as well. Sheri is a high level bridge player and represented Canada in the 2000 Venice Cup. Sheri was a silver medalist in the 1997 Maccabiah Games. Sheri's other interests include: golf, downhill skiing, tennis, jigsaw puzzles, and cryptic crossword puzzles.

Fred and Sheri live with their dog, Magic, in Las Vegas.

Throughout the history of our company we have been fortunate to receive the support of several prominent bridge players including: Warren Buffett, Audrey Grant, Bob Hamman, Eric Kokish, Michael Lawrence, Zia Mahmood, Brent Manley, and Eric Rodwell.

10550 Hope Mills Drive, Las Vegas, NV, USA 89135 - 702-341-9993 or 888-631-9581

Bridge Chips
These are round, square, and diamond-shaped coins or chips for the bridge player, especially Rubber Bridge players, as reminders of points, premiums or bonuses won, and state of vulnerability, which are to be placed on the bridge table next to or near the player totalling points, etc. They were one of the many promotional items specifically designed and manufactured by Mr. Ely Culbertson to promote and popularize the game of bridge. Below are the pictures of the box holding the Bridge Chips and the booklet explaining their usage at the bridge table, written also by Mr. Ely Culbertson.

Bridge Federation of Asia and Middle East - BFAME
An organization founded in 1979 as Bridge Federation of Asia & the Middle East to administer bridge in the respective geographical area. From 5 original NBOs, the zone grew rapidly to the present 22 member countries. Soon, its area of jurisdiction was enlarged to accommodate Africa, and its name changed accordingly. In 1996, the Bridge Federation of Africa, Asia & the Middle East (BFAAME) was divided into (the obvious) 3 subzones, to be able to govern bridge better in its vast territory. In 2000, the African NBO's formed Zone 8 of the WBF and Zone 4 was once again renamed to its original Bridge Federation of Asia & the Middle East (BFAME).

Bridge Game, The - Movie
Premier at the 27th San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, June 2003. The following is a description quoted by Blue Walcer.

This film is the story of how for every week for the past year, four women have met on the bridge where a friend committed suicide. In her honor, these intriguing women ritualistically take turns venting their troubles before going off to an afternoon of bridge.

One rainy Tuesday, tensions rise and emotions flare as it is discovered one of the women unexpectedly climbs over the railing and attempts suicide in their presence. Conversation turns from trashy to intense and volatile emotions illustrate how real issues can be buried under layers that often mask friendship. As more secrets, abuses, and addictions are revealed, each must face personal fears and confront disappointments in their lives.

Yet the women forge a new depth and intimacy both with each other and within themselves. Directors Rhomie K. Thompson and David L. Lowe apply the bridge as a metaphor, and the film challenges viewers to consider the way people play the game and keep things light by playing it cool. The metaphor also comes into play as the women ultimately build a bridge toward greater honesty and intimacy. Compelling performances and a powerful script take us on a journey of raw emotion, longing, and possibilities.

Bridge Journal, The
This publication was originated by Mr. Paul Heitner, who was also the Managing Editor, and Mr. Jeff Rubens. The Bridge Journal was a bimonthly magazine intended for the edification of and exchange of ideas by serious players, founded and first published in 1963 by Mr. Paul Heitner and Mr. Jeff Rubens and aimed at improving technical and mechanical aspects of the game, especially at tournament level.

According to the publication The Bridge Bum: My Life and Play by Mr. Alan Sontag, Mr. Paul Heitner held the distinct nickname of The Whale owing to the fact that his physical frame of 6 feet and 2 inches had to support more than 400 pounds. When Mr. Jeff Rubens became Associate Editor of The Bridge World in 1967, The Bridge Journal ceased independent publication and merged with The Bridge World.

Bridge Magazine
Founded by Mr. A.E. Manning-Foster. This publication in the United Kingdom is a monthly publication featuring book reviews, news, quizzes and competitions with prizes, readers' letters and special subscriber offers. The London Bridge Centre has been one of the largest European Bridge businesses beginning in the mid 1990s. Headquarters is located in the heart of London, where the customer can find a physical bookstore and where the customer can come and browse the books, try the latest software, or ask for advice from the staff on all of their bridge needs. Mail Order is a speciality of the London Bridge Centre, and they have been sending goods worldwide since the early 1990s. The shop now provides the same service for chess and poker players.

The Bridge Magazine was founded by Mr. A.E. Manning-Foster, and he also founded the International Popular Bridge Monthly magazine, also published on a monthly basis. The location of headquarters was the same as for the Bridge Magazine: 455 Alfreton Road, Nottingham NG7 5LX, Britain. This publication was started and introduced many expert bridge players to the world of publication and which published the opinions and conventional methods of the advanced players to the many new players of the game. Although initially successful the publication was shelved for possible lack of subscriptions. Mr. Anthony Sowter, described as a key figure in British and international bridge, was the Chief Editor and contributed many articles to and for this publication. Sally Brock (formerly known as Sowter and Horton), born 1953, is a WBF Grand Master. She has written various books on the game of bridge and was a former Executive Editor of International Popular Bridge Monthly. Other bridge experts include Mr. Lionel Wright from New Zealand and Mr. David Weiss.

The Bridge Magazine was founded in 1926 and claims to be the longest continuous running Bridge Magazine in the world. This dubious 'record' has been contested by The Bridge World, which was founded in 1929 by Mr. Ely Culbertson and claims to be the world's oldest continuously-published bridge magazine. It has been suggested that both claims are valid since the Bridge Magazine of London, England, was not allowed to be published for several years during the WWII owing to a shortage of paper.

Bridge Museum - The Ace of Museums - (Presently off line)
Mr. Gerard Hilte is the founder of the Bridge Museum in Leerdam, The Netherlands. This is the only Bridge Museum worldwide. He started collecting bridge books in 1972. In his own words: The first paraphernalia I received as a gift from students of my bridge courses. In 1985 I founded Bridgesoft (together with Onno Jansens, member of the Dutch Senior Team). All the money we earned teaching bridge and developing bridge software was used to buy new items for the bridge collection, especially for books and bridge magazines.

I think it is very important to preserve the collection for the bridge community, now and in the future. Therefore I founded the Museum and every year make a donation to maintain and extent the collection. About 25% of all our books are signed by the author. And a complete collection of the most important bridge magazines are part of the library of the Dutch Bridge Museum, such as Bridge Worlds, Bridge Magazine, British Bridgeworld and the Dutch Bridge Magazine. A lot of items are really funny, the electric bridge table, bridge tailies, whist- and bridgemarkers, scorepads, envelops with bridge stamps, autographed by the world champions, Culbertson- and Goren-phenalia, some are unique like the Culbertson Encyclopedia signed by Al Sobel, and Le Dentu's Championship bridge with an ode to Terence Reese, the badge collection of Andre Boekhorst, a radio program about Culbertson on a LP, and many auto bridge devices.

The physical address of the Nederlands Bridge Museum is:

Bridge Museum
JT Visserstraat 1
4141 HV Leerdam,The Netherlands
E-mail: gerard@hilte.com +31 (345) 631 744.

The following promotional film about the Nederlands Bridge Museum has been posted to YouTube.com by MediaMogelijkheden on October 1, 2012. Duration of film is four minutes.

The following picture is a photograph of the street, in which the Nederlands Bridge Musem is located.

Bridge-O-Rama
An early method of displaying bridge to an audience, now generally replaced by Vu-Graph.

BRIDGE+ PAIRS
The Bridge Plus+ Pairs is specially designed for new players who have just finished taking a series of lessons. The bridge is very relaxed. The director, who often also was the teacher, is available to answer questions and offer assistance. A special form of duplicate play devised for students. It is patterned after the students’ room experience. The games usually last two hours, allowing the students to play 10-14 hands. The games are supervised by accredited teachers.

Bridge Poems-Bridge Poetry
This is a collection of poems written by, authored by, and contributed by individual bridge players. We believe that these efforts should and must be presented on the Internet for the enjoyment of all bridge players. Contributions are welcomed and encouraged.

A Poem is defined as:

1. A verbal composition designed to convey experiences, ideas, or emotions in a vivid and imaginative way, characterized by the use of language chosen for its sound and suggestive power and by the use of literary techniques such as meter, metaphor, and rhyme.
2. A composition in verse rather than in prose.
3. A literary composition written with an intensity or beauty of language more characteristic of poetry than of prose.
4. A creation, object, or experience having beauty suggestive of poetry.

Poetry is defined as:

1. The art or work of a poet.
2. Poems regarded as forming a division of literature; the poetic works of a given author, group, nation, or kind.
3. A piece of literature written in meter; verse.
4. Prose that resembles a poem in some respect, as in form or sound.
5. The essence or characteristic quality of a poem.
6. A quality that suggests poetry, as in grace, beauty, or harmony.

Bridge and the Sexes
Barbara A. Spellmann has published in both psychology journals and law reviews. She has also published articles in the Bridge Bulletin of the American Contract Bridge League, in which article she addresses the question Sex Differences in Bridge. Her article was published in the issue of July 1996 in The Bridge Bulletin. Presently, 2016 or twenty years later, Barbara A. Spellmann is a Professor of Psychology and Professor of Law and works in the Department of Psychology at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. This information has also only been preserved and archived on this site in .pdf file format for future reference.

Bridge Today
This is the designation for a bridge-related magazine offered on a subscription base by Pamela and Matthew Granovetter. Additional information may be found at their website.

Bridgette, The Game of
Bridgette was invented by Prince Joli Quentin Kansil, formerly known as Mr. Joel Dennis Gaines, with the financial assistance of Mr. Waldemar K. von Zedtwitz. He was also the protégé of Mr. Albert H. Morehead, the first Bridge editor of The New York Times. It is the only two-hand Bridge game that has been endorsed by many Bridge experts, and it has had a wide following since its introduction in 1970.

Bridge World, The
Founded in 1929 by Ely Culbertson, The Bridge World is the world's oldest continuously published bridge magazine. For over 70 years the world's brightest bridge minds have gathered each month to share their winning secrets in its pages. Every monthly issue of The Bridge World is packed with reports, articles, stories, tips, examples, quizzes, and more to help advancing bridge players improve their understanding and appreciation of the game. Virtually every important bridge analyst in the history of the game has contributed to The Bridge World.

The Bridge World is geared toward serious bridge players who wish to improve their game. It is an invaluable learning resource for players on the intermediate level and up. Many subscribers begin reading the magazine at an intermediate level, and as they learn from reading the magazine, they progress and understand more and more of each issue, and then return to the old issues to reread them. For over 70 years, The Bridge World has maintained its reputation as the most respected bridge magazine by the world's expert players. Each issue now also features Bridgeworks, a section designed to help players understand and win more by stressing common sense and useful thought patterns, as opposed to memorization and complex rules. It is designed to help improve your game by improving your 'bridge thinking', not rote learning.

Bridge World Standard 1993
A consensus Bidding System developed in 1967 and periodically revised, most recently in 1993. It was based on the majority preferences of 125 leading experts and thousands of Bridge World readers. The methods used in the system were determined by polls. A clear expert preference determined the treatment, while close questions were decided by the vote of the readers. Because it is a consensus system, the Bridge World Standard is rarely used by regular partnerships. It is, however, valuable in forming casual partnerships.

Bridge World Standard 2001 - Revised, Established Version
Bridge World Standard encapsulates common American expert practices, determined by polls, as a set of partnership agreements (and, where there is no consensus, non-agreements). It is used as a framework for problems in the Master Solvers’ Club, by impromptu partnerships, and as a basis for discussion by those who wish to formulate their own system.

Where the experts are in substantial agreement (with close cases decided, when possible, by the votes of Bridge World readers at large), those methods become part of the system. Where there are competing popular approaches, alternative methods, called leaves, are listed.

Bridge World Standard Defense
Bridge World Standard Defense is a set of defensive-carding agreements based on the methods most popular among American experts. It is used as a format, style, and partnership agreement for defensive card-play. The advantage of a Standard Defense is that it permits both partners, who are acquainted with the format, to readily conform to the standards of the agreement without much prior discussion.

Bridge World Standard Opening Bids
This system was created by consensus of the readers of the Bridge World Magazine, when Mr. Edgar Kaplan was editor of the magazine. The year of the first release and publication is unknown. An update has been released for the year 2001 and can be found on the Internet at the address of The Bridge World. Presented is the Complete System for Bridge World Standard 2001.

Bridge World Team
A name applied to several teams in the early Thirties and whose members were particularly associated with The Bridge World magazine. The most famous of these teams comprised Ely and Josephine Culbertson, Waldemar von Zedtwitz, and Theodore Lightner. Their successes included the Vanderbilt Cup of 1930 and the first of the Anglo-American Matches.

Bridge Zones
The global game of bridge has been divided up into eight geographical areas called Zones. See: WBF Zones.

Bridgette
A bridge game for two players invented by Prince Joli Kansil, or the former Joel D. Gaines, with the assistance of Waldemar von Zedtwitz. It is played with a 55-card deck, the standard deck plus three extra cards called colons. The colons are used in the play to force the opponent to discontinue the suit he is leading. In an advanced version of Bridgette, cuebids are used to elicit specific information about the opponent’s distribution.

Brilliancy
Exceptional play or defense that qualifies the player for honor awards.

Bring In
Slang: fulfill a contract; play a suit without loss, or without adverse circumstance, or to win a particular number of tricks.

British Bridge
Direct methods of bidding advocated in the Thirties by a group of English players headed by Walter Buller and Ewart Kempson, as opposed to the approach-forcing methods popularized by Mr. Ely Culbertson.

British Columbia Centennial
This was a bridge tournament, conducted over six days, and held annually since 1949 in Alaska, British Columbia, or in the state of Washington, United States. Also prior to the year 1967 the tournament was conducted also in Oregon. From the beginning the tournament was conducted at a time that it coincided with the birthday of George Washington, the first President of the United States, but only until 1958. Starting in 1959 the tournament was conducted in the early fall, and starting in 1968 the tournament was conducted either in late May or early April.

During the years from 1963 and 1967 the tournament was conducted twice annually, once in the spring and once in the fall. The designation for the tournament conducted in the spring was not always identical or regular since it was also known as the Pacific Northwest Regional Championships, or Polar, Polar-Canadian Regional, Canadian, and also as Vancouver, but the tournament was designated in 1968 as the Pacific Northwest Regional when the tournament, which was conducted in the fall, was replaced by the Canadian and Puget Sound Regionals.

British Gold Cup Winners - Gold Cup Winners
The British Gold Cup, or as it is better known the BBL Gold Cup, was first played in the year 1931. It is one of the oldest, continuous Bridge Competition in the world and some of the greatest names in the game of bridge in England have participated in this event. However, the British Bridge League has decided to discontinue the British Gold Cup as it is now known and rename it as of January 1, 2000, the 2000 Gold Cup. This event will be directed by Bridge Great Britain, which is a new organization which has been selected to continue the event as well as the British Home Internationals and the British Simultaneous Pairs. Much of the information from the former Website for the British Bridge League appears now on Ecats Bridge.

British Style Roman Blackwood
The Roman Blackwood conventional method, as devised by the successful Blue Team Club of Italy, proved to have a flaw in the responses in so far that the response of 5 Hearts was ambiguous. Bridge players in the United Kingdom devised a variation to overcome this flaw.

Broderick
A colloquial term, that refers to a 10-4 in any one suit. This term refers to a nickname for the television actor Broderick Crawford's role as Chief Dan Mathews in the television series Highway Patrol, which aired from 1955 until 1959. The series was later rerun under the new name Ten-Four, referring to the radio code for message received.

Broken Sequence
An interrupted run of cards, such as King-Jack-Ten.

Broken Suit
A suit lacking cards in sequence, especially honor cards.

BROMAD - Bergen Raise Of Major After Double
As soon as the auction sequence begins it becomes inevitable that the opponents attempt to compete, often with a takeout double. The auction has been disturbed, and the relay of information has developed some speed-bumps. In order to overcome this situation, the concept of BROMAD was developed to indicate certain holdings. This concept was developed by Mr. Marty Bergen, bridge personality, bridge theorist, bridge author.

Bronze Life Master
A Life Master who has at least 500 masterpoints recorded by ACBL.

Brougham and Vaux, Baron - Baron Brougham and Vaux - Henry Charles Brougham

This is the title of the person, Henry Charles Brougham, to whom Boaz dedicated his publication:

The Laws Of Bridge And A Guide To The Game By "Boaz" And How To Play Bridge By "Badsworth", 1895-1905, Publisher: Thomas de la Rue & Co. Ltd., Bunhill Row, London, England, ISBN: B0008B80J

Note: Google presents online two pictures of the publication's Sixth Edition printed in the year 1899. The title of this publication indicates or allows the conclusion that Boaz and Badsworth are two authors. The source for these two pictures is the digitalized version by Google, which sub-heads the copy with By Boaz, pseud. van Allan Lindsay Lister Badsworth, pseud Boaz, "Badsworth".

Note: The following single publication is included under this entry for Badsworth owing to the dedication listed in the publication under How To Play Bridge, which was To Lord Brougham and Vaux, Who Brought Bridge to England.

The first Baron Brougham and Vaux was Henry Brougham, born 1778 and died in May 1868 in Cannes, France, at the age of 89 years.

The second Baron Brougham and Vaux was William Brougham, born 1795 and died 1886.

The dedication of Badsworth is for the second Baron Brougham and Vaux, born 1795 and died 1886.

The third Baron Brougham and Vaux was Henry Charles Brougham, born 1836 and died 1927.

Badsworth - (Pseudonym: Allen Lyndsay Lister and also known as Boaz. - Source: Bibliographies of Works on Playing Cards And Gaming by Norton T. Horr, ii, #62, 1905, Published by Longmans, Green and Co., London, England

Brown Sticker Conventions and Treatments
These are defined as any opening bid of two clubs through three spades that: a) could be weak (may by agreement be made with values below average strength),
and b) does not promise at least four cards in a known suit.

Exception: The bid always shows at least four cards in a known suit if it is weak. If the bid does not show a known four card suit it must show a hand a King or more over average strength. (Explanation: where all the weak meanings show at least four cards in one known suit, and the strong meanings show a hand with a King or more above average strength, it is not a Brown Sticker Convention).

Exception: A two level opening bid in a Minor suit showing a weak two in either Major suit, whether with or without the option of strong hand types, as described in the WBF Conventions Booklet.

Brozel Defense Method
The Brozel conventional defense method was developed by Mr. Bernard Zeller, and can be applied either in the direct or balancing position. The particular defense method can show either a one-suited holding, a two-suited holding, or a three-suited holding. The modified version by Mr. Lionel Wright is also included.

Brozel Rescue Bids
The origin of this conventional defense method is unknown. Many bridge partnership agreements include the agreement that the defense method is only applicable when the No Trump range is 11 to 14 high card points. The frequency of being doubled when using this No Trump range is higher than when the No Trump range requires more high card points.

Brozel Preempts
This conventional method originated with Mr. William (aka Will) Aubrey, and is posted on his website (Note: presently off line). He designated these bids as Brozel Preempts because the structure is the same as the Brozel bids used over a 1 No Trump opening by the opponents. The overcaller must have a distribution of 5-5 or better with values of 13-15 points, including distribution, to employ them.

Bruno's Big Club System - Off Line
The "Big Club" is a Bridge bidding system developed by Mr. Bruno B. Wolff Jr., Assistant Dean Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. It is a modification to the Schenken Club and Precision Club systems based on 20 years of noon bridge games among good friends at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. This is in a .pdf file format and is only archived and preserved on this site for future reference.

Brushtunov Three Times Three Bidding System
This bidding system was published (translated into English) by Mr. Vitold Brushtunov of the Ukraine, but it was devised and developed around the middle of the 1970s by bridge players from Kharkov, Ukraine. Mr. Vladimir Korop and his son Mr. Alexey Korop formulated the ideology and spectrum of opening bids of absolutely unusual, extremely aggressive and destructive system, called 3x3, or Three Times Three. The structure is posted on the website of BridgeFiles. This bidding system has only been preserved and archived on this site in .pdf file format for future reference.

Note: The bridge reader will understand that the attempt was made by Mr. Vitold Brushtunov to formulate these ideas in English, which is not his native tongue. The reader will forgive any incorrect sentence structure and/or possible word mis-use, which would not be commonly phrased, but which can nevertheless be understood. The original format has been preserved.

Bubble Double
This designation is from the Dutch bidding system, commonly referred to as MAF or M.A.F., which is an acronym that could have several different translations such as: Majors Always First or Multi's Are Favorite, and stands for two its characteristic properties. The dutch word "maf" (or "maffe" as adjective to nouns in certain cases) may be an adjective or an adverb. This word is used when English-speaking people would say "sluggish(ly)", "queer(ly)","dul(ly)", or  "funny (funnily)". As a matter of fact maf is all four jointly, so the translation is also really "maf" indeed.

The Bubble Double is employed after Weak No Trump openings and other openings that bubble up out of empty hands such as the Precision 1. It signifies at least one 4-card Major suit and less than 10 high card points, and denies a 5-card suit. If the partner of the doubler passes, then the partner converts the double to a penalty double. Otherwise the partner will bid.

Buchanan - Clubs-Diamonds-Hearts Buchanan - CDH Buchanan
This is a defense method against a No Trump opening by an opponent. This conventional method was devised by Mr. David F. Buchanan, and was published in Bridge Magazine in January, 1980. Any additional information would be greatly appreciated.

Bull
Slang: Ace;
Slang: blunder.

Bulldog System, The
This is a designation for a bidding system or conventional method listed in the publication The Bridge Player's Bedside Companion, authored by Mr. Albert A. Ostrow, published 1955. During the early evolution of the game of bridge there occurred a proliferation of many such bidding systems. However, many have been forgotten and were discarded for the newest version of another bidding system. The originators of the Bulldog System are Mr. William Hanna and Mr. Douglas Steen. The combination of the given names of both bridge players provides the reason for the designation. William becomes Bill and from Douglas they used the first syllable resulting is Bill-Doug or Bull-Dog, Bulldog. The main features of the Bulldog System follow:

1.	A 1 No Trump opening was a variable opening, in that a 1 NT opening, not vulnerable, shows 12-14 high card points, whereas a 1 NT opening, vulnerable, shows 17-19 high card points.
2.	The employment of the Kivi conventional method was necessary to pinpoint the range of the No Trump opening.
		4 by the responder asks for a more accurate and precise high card point count.
			4 by the opener shows minimum values (vulnerable and not vulnerable).
			4 by the opener shows the middle range (vulnerable and not vulnerable).
			4NT by the opener shows the maximum range (vulnerable and not vulnerable).
3.	Artificial Jump Shifts up to and including 3 Clubs promise strong holdings. However, other Jump Shifts, such as in competition, are employed to be obstructive and preemptive in nature.
4.	The Okuneff conventional method is employed. By competition once the suit of the opponent has been cuebid, then this becomes an invitation to play in a game contract of 3 No Trump, but only if the partner holds a stopper in the suit of the opponent. If no stopper is held, then the partner must find another bid after the cuebid, especially if the bidding space allows this below 3 No Trump. If the partner has a partial stopper in the suit of the opponent, then the partner is allowed to bid the cheapest unbid suit. Otherwise the partner must seek another suit bid above the level of 3 No Trump.
5.	The Stayman conventional method is employed on the second round, also after No Trump rebids.
6.	Responsive Doubles are employed.
7.	Rush Asking Bids are employed.

Mr. Albert J. Okuneff, also affectionately called Okie, is the developer and originator of the Okuneff conventional method. This particular conventional method was later renamed and became known as the Western Cuebid, reportedly much to the chagrin and disappointment of Mr. Albert J. Okuneff. The Okuneff Convention continued to be listed in The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge, page 306, published 1976, after which it was removed and renamed in the later issues.

Rush Asking Bids were devised and developed by Mr. Courtland Rush of St. Joseph, Missouri, United States. These Asking Bids differ from the normal asking bid procedures in that the asking bids inquire about controls outside the asked suit on the Norman Principle, whereby each Ace is equivalent to 1 point and each King is equivalent to .5 point. Such bids continue to be employed in other systems such as the Mafia Club, a publication by Mrx. Kenneth L. Lindsay and published 1981 by Aiga Publications. They have been somewhat updated and also renamed to Lindsay/Rush Asking Bids.

Buller System
A bidding system developed by Lieutenant Colonel Walter Buller and published in his book The Way To Play! The Buller System Of Contract Bridge, which was published in the year 1936 by The Star Publication Department, London, England, LC: 36012083. Additional details are unknown.

Notes: Lieutenant Colonel Walter Buller was born December 10, 1886, and died May 21, 1938. He was an active British Auction and Contract Bridge organiser, and also a player, writer, author, and one of the leading bridge personality in England in the early 1930s. Among other activities of his bridge career, and also writing for the weakly column for the Star (a London evening newspaper, which ceased operation in 1960), and mainly as a showman, leader, and organiser, he arranged the first Anglo-American bridge match against the Culbertson Team in the year 1930. He also captained the English team.

Note: The Buller System was mainly based on the idea of natural bids, which was successful in the early stages of the game of bridge. In England the system was referred to as British Bridge, which employed his direct bidding system. However, following the huge victory of Mr. Ely Culbertson over the English team and later in the year 1934 the victory of the adopted Culbertson bidding methods against the Buller Team the result was that the Buller System was dealt the death blow, from which it never revived. The Buller System was abandoned.

Note: Lieutenant Colonel Walter Buller also introduced the London News Chronicle's 222-page record of the 1930 match: International Bridge Test: Complete Record of Bidding, Play & Scores in Duplicate Contract Bridge Match between England & America (London: News Chronicle, 1930). LC: 31020736.

Bullet
Slang: Ace.

Bumble Dog - Bumble Puppy - Bumblepuppy
Humorous terms applied to bad players or bad play in the game of Whist. The term bumbledog referred to the planless player whereas the term bumblepuppy referred to the planless playing. The two designations may be written as two words or as one word. Source: Terms in Contract Bridge by Ely Culbertson in the publication American Speech, Vol. 9, No. 1 (Feb., 1934), pp. 10-12.

Note: Mr. John Petch Hewby (pseudonym: Pembridge) in his publication Whist, or Bumblepuppy? wrote the following, which is directly quoted text:

Whist, or Bumblepuppy? Lecture I. Introductory. "Vacuis committere venis Nil nisi lene decet."--Eton Grammar. "Those that do teach young babes Do it with gentle means and easy tasks."--Shakespeare. As, humanly speaking, you will probably play something for the next fifty years, should you select either whist or bumblepuppy,1 it will be as well for your own comfort-- "That there are a large number of players who think they play whist, and yet do not reason, is too true; but such play may be bumblepuppy, or some other game, it certainly is not whist"--Westminster Papers. Definition Of Bumblepuppy. Bumblepuppy is persisting to play whist, either in utter ignorance of all its known principles, or in defiance of them, or both, Hudibras has given another definition:--"A liberal art, that costs no pains Of study, industry, or brains." I the comfort of others is a minor consideration 1--to have some idea of their general principles. But first you must decide which of these two games you intend to play; for though they are often confounded together, and are both supposed to be governed by the same ninety-one laws and a chapter on etiquette, they differ much more distinctly than the chalk and cheese of the present day. Professor Pole, in his " Theory of Whist," Appendix B, has made a very skillful attempt (by modifying the maxims of whist) to make the two games into a kind of emulsion. I was rather taken with this; and, having been informed that the most incongruous materials will mix if you only shake them together long enough, I have given his plan a fair trial, and failed.

Note: A definition of the designation bumblepuppy is also that it refers to a game called Nineholes, which is a game in which nine holes are made in the ground, into which a ball is bowled. Another definition is a game, in which balls or marbles are filled into nine holes in the ground or through arches in a board. (Merriam-Webster dictionary).

Bump
Slang: fall together, as in two honors falling in on trick; cause to fall together.

Bumper
A designation, perhaps more colloquial than technical, for a two-game rubber. This is a term generally used in the game of Whist, which preceded the game of bridge.

Bump Mitchell
An adaptation of the Mitchell Movement invented by Mr. Forrest Sharpe for the accommodation of a half table. The game is set up as if there were no half table or extra pair, and the boards are distributed to all the full tables only. If the number of full tables is even, a skip at the normal time will be necessary.

<Burgay Affair
This particular incident occurred in 1976 prior to the 22nd Bermuda Bowl in 1976 at Monte Carlo, Monaco.

Burgay Convention
This is a .pdf file and will be automatically opened by your browser. This conventional method originated in Norway, but it is unknown by whom. As far as possible the content of the .pdf file has been maintained to the original and the formatting as well. We hope that we have done the author justice by keeping his concept clear and understandable for the fellow bridge player. If the author would like to make any corrections, introduce him/herself, then we would absolutely credit this person with the authorship. We are also certain that this is but a part of a complete bidding system, which is also unknown to us. Any visitor having knowledge of this conventional method is requested to email us with additional information.

Burner
Slang: A colloquialism used in bridge tournaments to refer to a photocopy or raw scores, but not matchpoints, made available to players a few minutes after the end of a session or the machine used to produce it.

Burn's Law of Total Trumps - Burn's Laws - Off Line
Mr. David Burn of London, England, has studied the expert wisdom of the experts, and concluded that the limitations of application suggest a possibly different approach, or definition, or a different, even contradictory one-liner definition. A few of such witticisms are presented below.

Burn's Law of Total Tricks:	When you are declarer, the total number of trumps held by your side should be greater than the total number of trumps held by your opponents.
Burn's Law of Total Tricks - Sequel:	It is called The Rule of Eight, and it is for those of you whose bidding methods are already geared to the avoidance of 3-0 fits but whose judgement at the higher levels of the auction may be a little suspect.
Burn's Law of Eleven:	1. During the auction, ascertain how many aces are held by your opponents. 2. Subtract this number from eight. 3. Do not bid at the level given by the answer.
Burn's Third Law:	You cannot make 3NT on a cross-ruff.
Principle of Dummy:	If your side has bid and supported a major suit during the auction, but finished up in no trumps, you should put the major you were bidding on the extreme right of dummy as it appears from declarer's point of view.

Business Double
See: Penalty Double.

Business Double
This designation has been adopted by the bridge community and is a synonym for a penalty double, after partner has made a takeout double, but the advancer. The advancer holds insufficient values for game, but holds generally three of the top five honors in the suit bid by the opposing side. The business double normally occurs on the one level.

Bust
Slang: a very poor hand; a hand weak in honor cards; a hand weak for the holder's earlier bidding.

Busy
Pertaining to a card needed to prevent an opponent's winner or for some other specific purpose.

Butcher
A bad line of play that seems intended to fail. The name is derived from Solo and other card games in which it may have been desirable to lose tricks. Another term to describe this bad line of play is the French term misere.

Butler
This is another way of calculating Pairs Tournaments using IMPs and the method is to compare every score with the average of all scores. Usually the highest and lowest scores are dropped from the calculation of this average. The difference between every score and the average is converted into IMPs. Source is off line.

Butler
N/S	E/W	Butler
110	-	2
80	-	2
-	90	-3
-	100	-4
110	-	2
0	0	-1
90	-	2
80	-	2

Note: Source is off line. Butler scoring is rather different from matchpoint scoring (normal pairs) and is very closely related to the scoring for teams. The result for a pair at the end of the evening is quoted in International Match Points (imps) rather than as a percentage. Successfully fulfilling a contract is rewarded, while overtricks (so vital at matchpoints) are relatively unimportant. The scoring is best illustrated by calculating the Butler scores for an example hand.

Suppose on a particular hand N/S have a spade fit and some pairs bid and make game while others only find a part score. If the board was played six times, the scores might look like this: (ranked from biggest score for N/S to smallest.)

A	4 + 1	+650
B	4 made	+620
C	3 + 2	+200
D	3 + 1	+170
E	3 + 1	+170
F	5 -1	-100

At matchpoints N/S at table A would get a top and at F would get a bottom. More importantly N/S at C score above average because they beat D, E and F even though they failed to bid the game. In Butler scoring the fact that A and B bid and made game is strongly rewarded, but the distinction between C and D & E is small. Butler scoring rewards bidding and making a game. In matchpoint scoring, (i.e. normal "pairs" scoring) the absolute score on a board is unimportant, but crucial is how many other scores it is greater than. In Butler scoring the absolute magnitude of the score is important.

To calculate the Butler scores for the six examples above we need to calculate what is known as the datum for the board. This is the average (mean) score on the board when the two extreme scores (outliers) are removed. (Note: the datum can be negative) Ignoring results at table A and F (the two extreme scores) for the moment, we calculate the mean score for N/S from B to E. This is:

(620 + 200 + 170 + 170)/4 = 290.

Thus the datum on this board is +290. Now we calculate the difference between each result and the datum and convert this difference to imps, doing it for all of the scores. For A:

Net score = actual score - datum = 650 - 290
Net score = +360 = +8 imps.

Therefore N/S score +8 imps (rewarded for bidding and making a game) and E/W score -8 imps. Doing this for all of the scores gives this table:

Table	Contract	N/S Score	Datum	Net Score	N/S IMPs	E/W IMPs
A	4 + 1	+650	290	+360	+8	-8
B	4 made	+620	290	+330	+8	-8
C	3 + 2	+200	290	-90	-3	+3
D	3 + 1	+170	290	-120	-3	+3
E	3 + 1	+170	290	-120	-3	+3
F	5 -1	-100	290	-390	-9	+9

N/S with scores C to E lost a few imps because they failed to bid the game available. But F lost lots of imps because of over exuberance - this is just like teams: 5 -1 scores very badly when teammates concede 4.

Follow the calculation of imps in the next example for this set of scores when N/S are not vulnerable, E/W vulnerable:

Table	Contract	N/S Score	Datum	Net Score	N/S IMPs	E/W IMPs
A	5 * - 5/E	+1400	460	+940	+14	-14
B	6 made	+980	460	+520	+11	-11
C	4 + 2	+480	460	+20	+1	-1
D	3 NT + 1	+430	460	-30	-1	+1
E	6 - 1	-50	460	-510	-11	+11
F	6 * -2	-300	460	-760	-13	+13

Here datum = (980 + 480 + 430 - 50)/4 = 1840/4 = 460. All scores are then converted into imps against this datum.

Scores for each pair on a board are then in net imps. A final ranking list is calculated by adding up the scores for each pair on each board to give an overall score in imps.

This deals with the scoring. There are several ramifications of this method of scoring in the play. First, the somewhat artificial distinction between different game contracts is largely removed making the scoring much nearer Rubber bridge. For example 3NT+1 and 4 making, scoring 430 and 420 respectively cannot be more than 1 imp different when the scores are calculated, but in matchpoints these might be very different. Thus bidding the safest game is one rule of thumb - no need to risk 3NT "for the matchpoints" when it looks like 4/4 or even 5/5 will be safer. In general the scoring is very like teams - if there is a thin game on, you want to be in it as the benefits are large. Similarly when defending a contract go all out to beat the contract and don't worry about letting through an extra overtrick. As we've already seen overtricks (and to a lesser extent undertricks) are relatively unimportant - an overtrick can never be more than 1 imp difference, thus ensuring a game against adverse distribution is rewarded.

There are several variations of the Butler scoring: Source is off line..

1. Average Butler is score comparison with a field average score.
2. Field Butler is score comparison with every other score in the field.
3. Halfway Butler is score comparison with a middle/median score. Halfway Butler is only fair if:

a. there are two separate fields (NS and EW) with no comparison, or
b. if you find the average number of IMPs won by each direction during a match and and subtract/add this from the results.

Halfway Butler is just average butler with a large number of scores removed (all but one) - the major advantage is that that the "datum" is always a bridge score. This also means that bidding a game is worth 10 IMPs vulnerable instead of more. The problem with all butler scoring is that the number of IMPs available in one direction is usually greater than the number available in the other direction. Halfway makes this even more the case, but with two separate fields.

4. Leaders Butler is score comparison with the average of the scores at the top tables.

For additional information on Butler Scoring: Median or Mean. This information has also only been preserved and archived on this site in .pdf file format for future reference.

Butt In
The act of entering the auction with an overcall.

Buy
Slang: obtain the contract; make the highest bid in.
Slang: the discovery of a certain card and/or cards in the dummy once faced, which may not be expected from the auction. Example: "I hoped to buy a Spade honor."

BWS
An abbreviation for Bridge World Standard.

By Me
Slang: an improper form of the call: pass.

Bye
1. A round without an opponent.
2. A duplicate bridge movement, referring to a table, sometimes called a bye stand where boards are placed but not played.

Byzantine Blackwood
Devised by Mr. John C. H. Marx, (aka Jack), of London, England, and who was one of the bridge pioneers developing the Acol Bidding System in the United Kingdom.