Many of the following articles are present on the Internet and have only been archived on this site. The bridge players of this country have invented and devised a bidding system and then the variations of this concept. The success rate of the bidding system as entertained in national and international bridge tournaments has earned this bidding system and the variations a place in the bridge world. Although not an official designation, the description of the Polish Club Bidding System is, by the admission of the developers a small club system, as opposed to a big club system.

The opening bid of 1 Club is forcing for one round, but it is not a game forcing bid. This particular opening bid shows either a weak and balanced holding with about 12 to 14 working points, or a natural 1 Club opening with unlimited values, or any strong holding.

Polish Club is a term describing a set of conventions played mainly in the country of Poland. They were developed, devised and published by a group of experts of the Polish Brydz magazine in the 1960s. Although not a complete, universal, distinct or unified bidding system, but rather a family or set of bidding systems, which are used by individual partnerships, the Polish Club has experienced several advantages over other bidding systems.

Other names for distinct Polish Club Systems, possibly even geographical variations, are included in the following list. Although the different variations are generally referred to as Polish Club, this may not be the case with purists.

The attempt has been made to include as many publications of this concept as possible. Some of the presentations are only in the Polish language and there is no English translation available. Any contributions are greatly appreciated.

The main feature of the Polish Club bidding system is the artificial 1 Club opening. Since the 1 Club opening includes strong hands, the remaining one level openings are limited in strength.

Note: These .pdf files and this information about Polish Club Bidding Systems have been compiled and composed by bridge player and posted to the Internet. The attempt has been made to include these sources on the Internet. These files have only been archived and preserved on this site for future reference. Any and all translations in English are appreciated and any and all contributions made to this list are appreciated.

The Cracow System
This bidding system was very popular in the southern city of Cracow, Poland, during the 1980s. Among its adherents were Mr. Kwiecien, Mr. Pszczola, Mr. Krzysztof Martens. No information available about this variation at this time.

Fiskforsk No Trump Structure
This information has been also presented online by Mr. Mike Mardesich of Seattle, Washington, United States, dated June 3, 1999. The Fiskforsk Complex of No Trump responses is named after or for Mr. Petter Olsen, who originally presented this information on his personal website, which is presently off-line. This information has also only been preserved and archived on this site in .pdf file format for future reference.

Martens-Szymanowski System
This is a variation of the Polish Club System used by many well-known bridge experts and especially promoted by the partnership of Mr. Krzysztof Martens and Mr. Marek Szymanowski of Poland. No information available about this variation at this time.

Nasz System
This is a variation of the Polish Club System and which is played in a certain geographical location within the country. The name translates to Our System and is commonly referred to as Strefa, which translates as Zone. The link is to a .pdf file , and is only written in Polish Language. This information is written in a .pdf file format and will be automatically opened by your browser. Anyone wishing to translate this article, please send it to the BridgeGuys.

Otwarcie Polish Club
This write-up is in a .pdf file format, and describes the conventional bidding system used in Poland. This article has been written for the Bridge Forum, especially for the Internet Wspólne Forum. This file will be automatically opened by your browser. This file in only in the Polish language. It would be greatly appreciated if anyone wishing to translate these pages would send the translation to the BridgeGuys.

Polish Club Oddball Sequences
In certain Polish Club bidding systems there are certain flaws, which must be handled individually and/or by the individual partnership agreement. The author of this particular write-up is unknown. Any contribution of additional information would be greatly appreciated. The presentation of the original write-up is presently off line. This information has only been preserved and archived on this site for future reference.

Polish Club Summary and 1 Club Auctions
This information is written in a .pdf file format, and will be automatically opened by your browser. The presentation of the original write-up is presently off line. This information has only been preserved and archived on this site for future reference.

Polish Club 2 Clubs Auctions
This information is written in a .pdf file format, and will be automatically opened by your browser. The presentation of the original write-up is presently off line. This information has only been preserved and archived on this site for future reference.

Polish Club 1 Diamond, 1 Heart, and 1 Spade Auctions
This information is written in a .pdf file format, and will be automatically opened by your browser. The presentation of the original write-up is presently off line. This information has only been preserved and archived on this site for future reference.

Polish Scissors
This information is written in a .pdf file format, and will be automatically opened by your browser. This conventional bidding system is based on an opening bid, which originally promised a 5-5 distribution in any two of the four suits. This version is called The 2 Spades Opening in the HIGH System of the Polish Scissors bidding theory. This 2 Spades opening shows (at least) 5-5 in any two suits. The strength is either 5-10 high card points or a very strong hand (10 tricks) with at least 5-5 in the Minors. In most tournaments in Norway this convention is not allowed, as any preemptive opening bid must show at least one specified suit, so in the LOW system the 5-5 hands are opened 2 Hearts / 2 Spades / 2 NT (showing Majors / +another / Diamonds +Major respectively).

Polish 2 Diamond Convention or Wilkosz Convention or Wilkosza Convention
This is a .pdf file format and is in the Polish language. Any visitor wishing to translate this version would greatly benefit the bridge community. This information has been compiled by Mr. Marek Wójcicki Przemysl. Since the English-based computer keyboards do not recognize the Polish characters, this .pdf file has been printed off the Internet in its original form and therefore contains the URL in the content in Poland, where this information is located. This is a variation of the Wilkosza 2 Diamonds conventional method.A conventional bidding system devised by the expert bridge player Mr. Andrzej Wilkosz during the 1960s. The designation of the original version is also called The Polish 2 Diamond. There are several variations of this conventional method since the original version was deemed to be a Brown Sticker, meaning that most bridge sponsoring organizations banned and/or limited the use of such methods.

Polish Club System Notes
This write-up has been compiled by Mr. Gunther Schutzenmeier. This information is written in a .pdf file format, and will be automatically opened by your browser. The presentation of the original write-up is presently off line. This information has only been preserved and archived on this site for future reference.

Summary of System Sequences
This information is written in a .pdf file format, and will be automatically opened by your browser. The presentation of the original write-up is presently off line. This information has only been preserved and archived on this site for future reference.

Wspolny Jezyk, which translates to Common Language. No information available about this variation at this time.

 

 

If you wish to include this feature, or any other feature, of the game of bridge in your partnership agreement, then please make certain that the concept is understood by both partners. Be aware whether or not the feature is alertable or not and whether an announcement should or must be made. Check with the governing body and/or the bridge district and/or the bridge unit prior to the game to establish the guidelines applied. Please include the particular feature on your convention card in order that your opponents are also aware of this feature during the bidding process, since this information must be made known to them according to the Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge. We do not always include the procedure regarding Alerts and/or Announcements, since these regulations are changed and revised during time by the governing body. It is our intention only to present the information as concisely and as accurately as possible.