The bidding system the app plays: Standard American Yellow Card's basics, as the app's own rules have them. The
robots bid by these rules, and Bid it and the bidding quizzes mark your calls with them, so this sheet is the
rules, word for word.
Points are high-card points: an ace 4, a king 3, a queen 2, a jack 1, with nothing added for length. Where SAYC
leaves a choice, the meaning says which one the rules take. The opponents pass throughout: bidding in competition
isn't in the rules yet (below).
Openings
1♣
12–21 points; clubs are the longest suit, or the longer minor with no five-card major (4-4 in the minors: 1♦; 3-3: 1♣). 3+ clubs.
1♦
12–21 points; diamonds are the longest suit, or the longer minor with no five-card major (4-4 in the minors: 1♦; 3-3: 1♣). 3+ diamonds.
1♥
12–21 points and 5+ hearts, the longest suit (with two five-card suits, the higher).
1♠
12–21 points and 5+ spades, the longest suit (with two five-card suits, the higher).
1NT
15–17 points and a balanced hand (a five-card major too).
2♣
22 or more points: strong and artificial (it says nothing about clubs). Forcing.
2♦
A weak two: 5–11 points and a good six-card diamond suit (two of the top three honours, or three of the top five), with no four-card major suit and no void.
2♥
A weak two: 5–11 points and a good six-card heart suit (two of the top three honours, or three of the top five), with no four-card spade suit and no void.
2♠
A weak two: 5–11 points and a good six-card spade suit (two of the top three honours, or three of the top five), with no four-card heart suit and no void.
2NT
20–21 points and a balanced hand.
3♣
A preempt: 5–11 points and seven or more clubs.
3♦
A preempt: 5–11 points and seven or more diamonds.
3♥
A preempt: 5–11 points and seven hearts.
3♠
A preempt: 5–11 points and seven spades.
4♥
A preempt: 5–11 points and eight or more hearts.
4♠
A preempt: 5–11 points and eight or more spades.
Pass
Fewer than 12 points, and no weak two or preempt.
Responses
Partner opened, and the next player passed.
After 1♣
1♦
6+ points and 4+ diamonds, no four-card major. Forcing.
1♥
6+ points and 4+ hearts (with 4-4 in the majors, hearts first). Forcing.
1♠
6+ points and 4+ spades (with 4-4 in the majors, hearts first). Forcing.
1NT
6–10 points, no four-card major or diamond suit.
2♣
A single raise: 6–10 points and 5+ clubs, no four-card major, not balanced (balanced: 1NT).
2NT
13–15 points, balanced, no four-card major. Forcing.
3♣
A limit raise: 11–12 points and 5+ clubs, no four-card major; invites game.
3NT
16–17 points, balanced, no four-card major.
Pass
0–5 points.
After 1♦
1♥
6+ points and 4+ hearts (with 4-4 in the majors, hearts first). Forcing.
1♠
6+ points and 4+ spades (with 4-4 in the majors, hearts first). Forcing.
1NT
6–10 points, no four-card major.
2♣
11+ points and 4+ clubs, no four-card major. Forcing.
2♦
A single raise: 6–10 points and 4+ diamonds, no four-card major, not balanced (balanced: 1NT).
2NT
13–15 points, balanced, no four-card major. Forcing.
3♦
A limit raise: 11–12 points and 4+ diamonds, no four-card major; invites game.
3NT
16–17 points, balanced, no four-card major.
Pass
0–5 points.
After 1♥
1♠
6+ points and 4+ spades. Forcing.
1NT
6–10 points, fewer than 3 hearts and fewer than 4 spades. (With 10 and no fit, 1NT: a two-over-one shows 11+.)
2♣
A two-over-one: 11+ points and 4+ clubs (3 with no other suit to bid). Forcing.
2♦
A two-over-one: 11+ points and 4+ diamonds. Forcing.
2♥
A single raise: 6–10 points and 3+ hearts.
2NT
Jacoby 2NT: 13+ points and 4+ hearts, a game-forcing raise.
3♥
A limit raise: 11–12 points and 3+ hearts; invites game.
Pass
0–5 points.
After 1♠
1NT
6–10 points, fewer than 3 spades. (With 10 and no fit, 1NT: a two-over-one shows 11+.)
2♣
A two-over-one: 11+ points and 4+ clubs (3 with no other suit to bid). Forcing.
2♦
A two-over-one: 11+ points and 4+ diamonds. Forcing.
2♥
A two-over-one: 11+ points and 5+ hearts. Forcing.
2♠
A single raise: 6–10 points and 3+ spades.
2NT
Jacoby 2NT: 13+ points and 4+ spades, a game-forcing raise.
3♠
A limit raise: 11–12 points and 3+ spades; invites game.
Pass
0–5 points.
After 1NT
2♣
Stayman: 8+ points and (usually) a four-card major; asks opener for one. Forcing.
2♦
A Jacoby transfer: 5+ hearts, any strength; opener bids 2♥.
2♥
A Jacoby transfer: 5+ spades, any strength; opener bids 2♠.
2NT
8–9 points, no four-card major: invites 3NT.
3NT
10–15 points, no four-card major: game.
4NT
16–17 points, no four-card major: invites 6NT (quantitative, not Blackwood).
6NT
18–19 points, no four-card major: slam.
Pass
0–7 points: game is out of reach.
After 2NT
3♣
Stayman: 5+ points and (usually) a four-card major; asks opener for one. Forcing.
3♦
A Jacoby transfer: 5+ hearts, any strength; opener bids 3♥.
3♥
A Jacoby transfer: 5+ spades, any strength; opener bids 3♠.
3NT
5–10 points, no four-card major: game.
4NT
11–12 points, no four-card major: invites 6NT (quantitative, not Blackwood).
6NT
13–14 points, no four-card major: slam.
Pass
0–4 points: game is out of reach.
Opener's rebid
After the sequences you'll meet most, the opponents passing. The rules cover more, and Bid with a robot plays them
all.
After 1♥ – 2♥
3♥
16–18 points: invites game (partner bids it with a maximum).
4♥
19–21 points: game.
Pass
12–15 points: game is out of reach.
After 1♥ – 3♥
4♥
14+ points: accepts the invitation.
Pass
12–13 points: declines the invitation.
After 1♦ – 1♠
1NT
12–14 points, balanced.
2♣
12–18 points and 4+ clubs: a second suit. Not forcing.
2♦
12–15 points and 5+ diamonds, usually 6: a minimum with nothing else to show.
2♥
A reverse: 16+ points, 4+ hearts and more diamonds (5+). Forcing.
2♠
12–15 points and 4+ spades.
2NT
18–19 points, balanced; invites 3NT.
3♣
A jump shift: 19–21 points, 4+ clubs and 5+ diamonds. Forcing to game.
3♦
16–18 points and 6+ diamonds; invites game.
3♠
16–18 points and 4+ spades; invites game.
3NT
19–21 points with no better call (often a long, strong minor): game in notrump.
4♠
19–21 points and 4+ spades: game.
After 1♠ – 2♦
2♥
12+ points and 4+ hearts. Partner bids again.
2♠
12–15 points and 5+ spades, usually 6: a minimum with nothing else to show.
2NT
12–14 points, balanced.
3♣
15+ points and 4+ clubs: a second suit, with extra values. Forcing.
3♦
12+ points and 4+ diamonds: support.
3♠
16+ points and a good 6+ spades. Forcing.
3NT
18–19 points, balanced (with 15–17 balanced, 1NT was the opening).
After 1NT – 2♣
2♦
Answers Stayman: no four-card major.
2♥
Answers Stayman: 4+ hearts (with both majors, hearts first).
2♠
Answers Stayman: 4+ spades, not four hearts.
After 1NT – 2♦
2♥
Completes the transfer: any hand.
The robot partner, past the rules
Where the rules stop, the robot places the contract from the points and fits the two of you have shown
(How it works).
Blackwood. 4NT, once a suit has been bid, asks for aces (1NT – 4NT and 2NT – 4NT invite a slam instead). The robot answers 5♣ with none or four, 5♦ with one, 5♥ with two and 5♠ with three. It doesn't ask
for aces itself.
After a strong 2♣, it answers 2♦: waiting, saying nothing about diamonds.
Competition
The robots don't bid in competition yet: in Bid with a robot the opponents pass, and a practice deal is kept only
where East and West would have passed. Where an auction has the opponents' calls (a lesson's, or a hand you bring),
the app reads them as natural:
An overcall
5+ cards in the suit: 8–17 points at the one level, 10–17 higher.
A weak jump overcall
6+ cards, at most 10 points.
1NT over an opening
15–18 points and balanced (11–15 in the pass-out seat).
A takeout double
12+ points and at most 3 cards in the suits bid.
A negative double
6+ points.
A redouble
10+ points.
A pass before anyone has bid
at most 11 points.
It reads Michaels and the Unusual 2NT as showing nothing. A practice deal is kept with East and West passing
only where neither would have opened, overcalled (a weak jump from 5 points), bid 1NT over the
opening, or doubled for takeout, as above; made a two-suited overcall (5+ cards in each of two suits and 6–17 points, or 8–17 over 1NT); or doubled with
18+ points.
Not in the rules yet
The robots don't play these, and Bid it and the quizzes don't mark them:
Roman Keycard Blackwood (the robot answers plain Blackwood)
Gerber
Responses to a weak two (such as 2NT asking)
Responses to 2♣ past 2♦ waiting
New minor forcing and fourth suit forcing
Splinter bids
Bidding in competition: overcalls, takeout and negative doubles, Michaels, the Unusual 2NT