Esther: Bruce, my Simpering Simpleton, how can you possibly include non-Esther lessons on a Web site called the "Esther Bridge Lessons"????
          Bruce: Well, Esther.... Errr, I mean Ms. Klinkentoast-Houstonhousen, some instruction is best accomplished through Socratic dialogues, such as the "Esther Bridge Lessons Dialogues" betwen Esther and her hapless bridge student, Bruce, while other instruction is best accomplished in a didactically direct manner, such as in the "Esther Bridge Conventions Lessons."
          Esther: Well, hrmph! Hrmph!!!!

About Learning Various Duplicate Bridge Conventions

          Esther says, "Why should you learn some, or several, of the more exotic conventions? There are two reasons. First, these conventions allow you and your Partner to handle, through your bidding, finding fits in unusual situations, such as being two-suited in the Majors, or two-suited in the Minors. Or to determine quickly whether you and Partner have game (or slam) going hands. Second, you will encounter Opponents bidding some of these systems. You need to know something about these conventions, even if you and Partner are not playing them, so that your bidding can be informed by some understanding of what your Opponents are telling each other through their bidding!"
          Some beginning or rising duplicate bridge players object, because they fear they will screw up when learning and bidding new convention systems. Esther says, "OF COURSE you will screw these new conventions up the first time(s) you play them. But THAT IS THE ONLY WAY TO LEARN NEW CONVENTIONS. My advice is: Play one or two new conventions, and soon get your inevitable mistakes behind you, and thus more quickly arrive at owning an expanding set of tools in your bidding arsenals!!!"

Esther Comments About the Inevitable Pain of Learning New Bridge Conventions

          Bruce: Well, Esther.... Errr, I mean Ms. Klinkentoast-Houstonhousen, do you play all of the conventions discussed below?????
          Esther: No, no, of course not!, my Simpering Simpleton. But I have (1) played every one of these conventions, (2) always screwed them up the first few times, (3) then only by playing them learned them, and only then (4) ultimately decided with Partner(s) which ones we liked and wanted to keep playing. As they say, "First, anything in bridge you only really learn by playing! Second, you never really know until you try it!"

Some 32 Selected Bridge Bidding Conventions

Introduction
          When I was a young child, my mother quoted to me with quite disturbing frequency the phrase, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions," a phrase that arguably was originated in the 12th century by a Cisterician Catholic abbot, Bernard of Clairvaux! However, Larry Cohen, who popularized the "Law of Total Tricks" in his 1992 book, To Bid or Not to Bid: The LAW of Total Tricks, has suggested a variation on this proverb: "The road to hell is paved by good conventions!"
          However, at least some bridge conventions are quite useful! The questions for new and rising bridge players are, "How many bridge conventions? Which ones? And, with what uptake timing???" Larry Cohen offers a useful, fairly precise summary of what he regards as the most useful conventions in his Bridge Booklet #10: The 12 Conventions that Should Be in Your Deck (although he actually covers a few more than 12!). Herewith are brief explanations of some of the conventions that Esther deems worthy of at least some consideration!

Bridge Conventions
          1. One of the most difficult challenges for new and advancing bridge players involves discriminating (1) when you can (and should) safely bid game, versus (2) when you probably cannot make a game contract. Both are equally important to know. Thus, the "2 Over 1" (or, "2/1") NOT, not, NOT Game Forcing bidding convention was invented! ["2_over_1.pdf"]
          Once Responder makes a "2 Over 1" response bid, both Partners know that they will continue bidding until they reach a contract at least somewhere between 3NT and 4S, but may (or may not) be able to bid and make a 5C or 5D contract, and thus "2/1" is not always "Game Forcing"!!! Usually, if you can make a 4C or 4D contract you can make a 3NT contract. Usually, but not always! See: "Esther Bridge 'Pop' Quiz #72".
          If you would like to practice bidding the '2 Over 1' Convention as both Opener and Responder go to "Esther Bridge 'Pop' Quiz #330".
          In Esther's (not very) humble opinion, "2 Over 1" (and "Jacoby 2NT") are vitally important conventions for newer players to learn early on even when first learning to play bridge. These are powerful conventions when they are bid, and equally important information is communicated to Partner when these conventions are instead not bid.
          2. As Esther teaches, the "Law of Total Tricks" is vitally important in deciding at what level to bid suit contracts. Thus, precision bidding in which Partners show exact card counts can be very, very important. This has led to the precision bidding response system Jacoby 2NT, which is a "precision bidding" response showing 4 trump card support, and opening point count, when Partner opens by bidding a 1-level Major. ["jacoby2NT.pdf"]
          3. There are various conventions for asking Partner for a count of Aces or "key" cards (i.e., Aces and the King and/or Queen of trump). Popular systems are Exploring Slam by Asking for Aces or 'Key Cards': Gerber, Blackwood, Blackwood Key Card, Roman Key Card (RKC), and 'Minorwood' Key Card. ["RKC_1430.pdf"]
          4. As players gain more experience and expertise, they progessively place more and more emphasis on bidding systems that emphasize precision bidding that communicates more specific information about both (1) point counts and (2) card counts. One convention useful in this vein is Marty Bergen's Bergen Limit Raise convention, which can be used as a response system when Partner opens the bidding with a 1-level bid of a Major. ["bergen_lim.pdf"]
          5. In addition to 2 Diamonds "Waiting", there are also various other systems for responding to Partner's opening "strong" 2C bid: "7 Response Systems When Partner Opens With a 'Strong' 2C Opening Bridge Bid". ["2C_resp.pdf"]
          6. Two-suited hands play better in suit contracts than flat hands. And hands that are two-suited in the Majors are especially nice! The Flannery 2D! Opening convention is used by Opener to show Partner (1) 5+ Hearts and 4 Spades along with (2) 11-14 HCPs. ["flannery.pdf"] You may also be interested in "Esther Bridge Convention Lesson #32: 'Reverse Flannery'".
          7. Showing Partner exact card count in Partner's bid Major presents challenges if you are already a Passed hand. The "Drury" and "Reverse Drury" conventions can be helpful in this situation. These conventions can be useful in securing a successful 2-level part score in a Major when a Game contract is not makeable, or a Game contract when instead a Game contract is reasonable. ["rev_Drury.pdf"]
          8. One unusually difficult challenge is showing Partner your unusual distributions, such as two-suited hands. The "Unusual 2NT" Overcall bid can be useful for this purpose. ["unus_2NT.pdf"]
          Note. When Partner opens a 1-level Major, your RHO bids "Unusual 2NT", and you hold points and can support your Partner's bid Major (especially holding 4 Trump cards), there is a very special "Support Cuebid" that you can make that is truly "a thing of beauty"! For more information go to: Esther Bridge 'Pop' Quiz #20: "A Very Special 'Support Cuebid'". ["q0020_q.pdf"]
          9. Showing "Attitude" when Partner initially leads to Dummy with "Touching" honors, along with a touch of "Suit Preference". ["att_AK.pdf"]
          10. A "Support Double" is both an offensive and a defensive weapon. ["sup_dubl.pdf"]
          11. Conventions for showing Partner "Attitude", "Suit Preference", "Suit Count": 3 "Signals" to Partner when playing on Defense. ["defense.pdf"]
          12. Five (5) "5 Overcall Two-Suited Distribution Cuebid Systems". [5_cuebids.pdf"]
          13. New Minor Forcing (NMF) is a convention with several variations, but is most commonly used when Opener opens a 1-level Minor bid, Responder bids a 1-leveul Major, Opener denies the bid Major by bidding 1NT, and Responder then wishes to demand that Opener provides more information about Opener's holdings. ["nmf_simp.pdf"] Some additional examples are also available. ["new_min3.pdf"]
          14. "Not-for-Penalty" Doubles are more common than Penalty DOUBLEs. Experienced Partners typically Double between 2 and 4 times in any given competition, and most of these DOUBLEs are "Not-for-Penalty". Here 7 "Not-for-Penalty" DOUBLEs are discussed. ["double.pdf"] Included is discussion of the "Takeout/DEMAND DOUBLE", the "Support DOUBLE", the "They-Stole-My-Bid DOUBLE", and the "Snapdragon DOUBLE". Revised/Expanded 02/09/25. You may also be interested in Esther Bridge Lesson #71: "6 Cases in Which Even 'Low-Level' DOUBLES Are DOUBLEs for Penalty", and/or Esther Convention Lesson #26: "Another Flavor of a 'Not-for-Penalty DOUBLE': The 'Do Something Intelligenet ('DSI') DOUBLE'".
          As noted in this lesson, "In the booklet for a recent competition in this venue [the ACBL-wide semi-annual 'Instant Matchpoint Game'], [booklet author Champion Larry] Cohen included the bid of Double on roughly 1 in every 5 of the randomly-generated Boards. The implication of this pattern on 24 randomly-generated Boards is that your Partnership bidding in every game should probably include 2 to 4 bids of Double! If you are a less experienced player, you probably are not making enough "Not-for-Penalty Doubles"!!!!!
          15. Here are "Various Ways to Show Partner Your Extraodinary (More than Opening) High Card Point (HCP) Strength". ["jump.pdf"]
          16. "Splinter" Bids allow one Partner to show 4 things all at one time in a single bid: "Partner, I have (1) 4+ cards in your bid Major, (2) my HCP range, (3) a void or a non-Ace low 'loser' singleton in a side Suit, and (4) first- or second-Round control in both the Suits other than the Trump Suit and my singleton/void Suit, so a slam may be possible, even with only 28 or so points." Your Hand will rarely meet all 4 of these requirements, but when you do hold such a Hand, a "Splinter Bid" can be a thing of great beauty! ["splinter.pdf"] REVISED/EXPANDED 10/20/24
          17. The "Rule of 8" as a guide to deciding whether to overcall Opponent's 1NT opening, and Marty Bergen's "Disturbing Opponent's No Trump 'DONT' Convention", are both summarized. ["dont.pdf"] You may also be interested in "Esther Bridge Convention Lesson #19, the "Cappelletti Convention" or "Esther Bridge Convention Lesson #27, the "Woolsey Convention".
          18. Esther discusses the "Texas 'Two-Step' Transfer to a Game Contract in a Major After Partner Opened 1NT or 2NT" (actually usually really called the "Texas Transfer" convention). ["TX_trans.pdf" +]
          19. Esther discusses the "Cappelletti Convention to Interfere with Opponents' 1NT Opening Bid". ["cappellet.pdf" ++] You may also be interested in "Esther Bridge Convention Lesson #17, the "Disturbing Opponent's No Trump 'DONT' Convention" or "Esther Bridge Convention Lesson #27, the "Woolsey Convention".
          20. "Cuebids" are "artificial" and thus Alertable! Overcall bids showing an unusual distribution or other Hand features. "Support Cuebids" support Partner's bid Suit made either as the first player to bid, or as an Overcaller. There are 2 primary "Support Cuebid" systems: (1) the 3D! Overcall of Opponent's "Unusual 2NT!" Overcall, and (2) "Support Cuebids" in which the bidder bids Opponent's bid Suit to show Partner support for Partner's bid Suit. Both these "Support Cuebids" systems (1) communicate important information to Partner, and (2) jam up Opponents further bidding of their Suit! Both "1-Level-Up Support Cuebids" and "Jump, Mixed Support Cuebids" are discussed. ["cue_supp.pdf"]
          21. Larry Cohen, who popularized the "Law of Total Tricks" in his best-selling book on this topic, has published numerous other bridge instruction books and articles, and in 2012 published his "Bridge Booklet #10", The 12 Conventions that Should Be in Your Deck. However, in that publication, widely available on the Internet, he actually summarized 17+ conventions, rather than 12! One of these recommended conventions is the "Inverted Minors Convention". "Esther Bridge Lesson" Convention #21 teaches this, the "Inverted Minors Convention", which honors the CARDINAL Bridge Principle: "Talk more, and at Lower levels, the more you have to talk about, and talk less, and at Higher levels (via preempt bids), the less you have to talk about!" ["InvMinor.pdf" -]
          22. Esther discusses, "Jump Shift Bids: By Opener, Responder, Overcaller, and as a 'Passed Hand'". ["j_shift.pdf" =]
          23. Esther discusses, "The 'Super-Duper Super-Accept' Variation on the Traditional Jacoby Transfer from Partner's 1NT Opening Bid". ["SUPER.pdf" -]
          24. Esther discusses, the "3 Over 1" ("3/1") adjunct to the "2 Over 1" convention. ["3_Over_1.pdf" =]
          25. Esther discusses, "What Does Empirical Bridge Research Say About Which Is the Best No Trump Point Range to Use?: 'Kamikaze' vs 'Mini' vs 'Strong' NT". ["NT_range.pdf" =]
          26. Esther has previously discussed various flavors of DOUBLES, such as Esther Convention Lesson #14: "7 'Not-for-Penalty' DOUBLEs" and Esther Bridge Lesson #71: "6 Cases in Which Even 'Low-Level' DOUBLEs Are DOUBLEs for Penalty". In this newer entry, Esther Convention Lesson #26, Esther discusses "Another Flavor of a 'Not-for-Penalty DOUBLE': The 'Do Something Intelligenet ('DSI') DOUBLE'". ["DSI_DBL.pdf" +] WARNING: This "Esther Bridge Convention Lesson" was developed for Advanced Intermediate Players, and not Novices!
          27. Esther has previously discussed the "DONT Convention" [Esther Convention Lesson #17] and the "Capppalletti Convention" [Esther Convention Lesson #19] for disturbing Opponents' 1NT bidding. In this newer Convention Lesson #27 Esther discusses "The Woolsey Convention to Interfere With Opponents' 1NT Opening Bid". ["Woolsey.pdf" +]
          28. Esther discusses "The Truscott (Jordan) 2NT! Bridge Response Convention: Partner Opens a Major, Your RHO Makes a Takeout/'Demand' DOUBLE, and You Can Support Partner's Bid Major". ["Truscott.pdf" =]
          29. A recent addition to the "Esther Bridge Conventions Website" is Esther's posting, "Lightner 'Lead-Directing', 'Penalty' DOUBLEs of Slam/3NT Contracts". ["Lightner.pdf" =] Included is discussion of the "Bridge Battle of the Century" Challenge Match played in December, 1931 and January, 1932, that included on one of the 2 teams Pairs players such as Ely Culbertson, Theodore Lightner, and Oswald Jacoby. Each night 1 Pair from 1 team competed against 1 Pair from the other team until across nights 500 bridge rubbers were completed. Esther says, "This 'Esther Bridge Convention Lesson' is for Advancing/Advanced bridge players. However, less experienced players may find the lesson of historical interest."
          30. Esther discusses "The Art of the Reverse by the Bridge Opener and Responder's 'Lebensohl 2NT' Bidding Option". ["reverse.pdf" +] A "reverse" is a way for an Opener to "show" Partner (1) ~17 HCPs and (2) a 2-Suited Hand and is "forcing" for 1 Round of bidding.
          Also check out Esther's posting on the "Gambling 3NT" Bid. If you're willing to gamble, this convention might be an interesting choice!
          31. Esther discusses "The 'Mathe Convention' and the 'C-RA-SH Convention' Overcalls of Opponent's 'Precision 1C', 1NT, and/or 2C Opening Bids". ["Mathe_CR.pdf" +]
          32. Esther discusses "'Reverse Flannery' as Another Way to Show Partner (1) That You Are 2-Suited in the Majors As Well As (2) Your HCP Count". ["Rev_Flann.pdf" =]

          In February, 2024 Esther added web posting #24 "Test Your Knowledge of the Plethora of Some of the More Exotic Bidding Conventions: A Special, Comprehensive (and Challenging) Esther Bridge 'Pop' Quiz". ["con_quiz.pdf" =] Most of the "Esther 'Pop' Quizzes" are mainly for Newer Players, but this very challenging "Esther Bridge 'Pop' Quiz", not so much!