FOpening
Deciding on an Opening Bid (Forum D)
19
   Forum D is the primary bidding system in Germany and in other German
speaking countries.  It is a five-card major system.
   There are three types of opening bid. The most common type is the
one-level bid. This shows a hand which may be just slightly above average
strength, but may be almost strong enough to make game on its own. Your
later bids should make it clear to your partner how strong your hand is
after you open a one-level bid.
    If you have a hand strong enough to stand a reasonable chance of making
game on its own, you open with a two-level bid. This tells your partner not
to take fright and pass with a worthless hand.
    If you have a poor hand with a very long suit (at least seven cards),
you can open at the three-level -- or even higher. This not only tells your
partner exactly what kind of hand you have, but more importantly, it gets in
the way of the opponents' bidding, making it difficult for them to find their
best contract.
    The first thing to do is to count up your High Card Points, Distribution
Points, Quick Tricks, and Playing Tricks. Then add your High Card Points to
your Distribution Points to find out your Total Points.

34
1
Flannery 2$D ?
4
Are you playing Flannery and do you have a Flannery 2$D Opening bid?
It is important to check for Flannery first because the bid is so descriptive
and tells your partner exactly what you have.  You need 11 to 15
High-Card Points, exactly four spades, and exactly five hearts.

1
Mini-Roman 2D?
5
Are you playing Mini-Roman?
If you are, do you have a Mini-Roman 2D opening bid?
A Mini-Roman 2D opener is a hand with 11-15 HCP and
either 5-4-4-0 or 4-4-4-1 distribution.  The singleton
may be in any suit.

2
Can you
open 1NT ?
4
Always open 1NT if you can, because it tells your partner so much
about your hand.  You need #0 to #U High-Card Points and a balanced
hand (no singletons, less than two doubletons, no six-card suits, and
no five-card major).

2
Can you
open 2NT ?
3
You need #e to #f High-Card Points and a balanced hand (no singletons, less
than two doubletons, no six-card suits, and no five-card major) when
considering an opening 2NT bid.

1
Gambling 3NT ?
3
This bid is usually used as a Gambling 3NT bid, showing a solid minor suit
with 7 or more cards in it and less than a King outside of the suit.
A solid suit must be headed by AKJxxxx or better.

1
25+ balanced?
2
If you are not playing Gambling 3NT do you have a hand with 25-27 points
that is balanced?  If you are playing Benjamin these hands are opened 2$D.

1
Namyats ?
4
Are you playing Namyats?
If you are are, do you have a Namyats 4C or 4D opening bid?
Or a weaker 4H or 4S opening bid?
Or a 3NT opening bid, a preempt to 4 of a minor?

1
4$C, 4$D, 4$H, or 4$S
4
With 8+ playing tricks in hearts, bid 4$C.
With 8+ playing tricks in spades, bid 4$D.
With less than 8 playing tricks in hearts, bid 4$H.
With less than 8 playing tricks in spades, bid 4$S.

1
Playing Weak-Twos ?
2
Are you playing Weak-Two Bids, in which your 2$C opener is strong
and your 2$D, 2$H, and 2$S bids are weak?

1
Weak Two-Bids ?
5
The requirements for a strong 2$C opener when playing Weak-Two Bids are:
(1) Balanced hand too strong for a 2NT opener.
(2) Hand with 8.5 or more playing tricks in it.
(3) Hand with 23+ total points in it.
(4) Hand with 21+ high card points and a strong major.

2
4th seat
Weak-Two Bid ?
13
If you are in 4th seat and you have weak two-level openings, the meaning of
these opening bids is drastically different because of your seat position.
With a 6-card suit and your points concentrated in that suit, you can open
at the two level, with a hand in the 10-14 HCP range.
The requirements for this bid are:
(1) A 6-card diamond, heart, or spade suit
(2) 10-14 HCP and less than 17 total points
(3) At least 2 of the top 3 honors AND 3 of the top 5.
(4) No outside 4+ card suits.
(5) If you suit is Diamonds you must have 13+ total points and if you 
have exactly 13, you must have 2 or more spades.
(6) If your suit is Hearts and you have less than 13 total points,
you cannot have a singleton or void in spades.

1
Bid your 6-card suit
1
Open in your 6-card suit.

1
Playing Benjamin ?
1
Are you playing Benjamin?

1
Benjamin 2$D ?
7
Do you have a game-forcing Benjamin 2$D opening hand?
The requirements for a Benjamin 2$D opener are:
(1) 24+ HCP with a balanced hand (25+ if playing 2NT up to 22 HCP)
(2) 9+ playing tricks with a single-suited major hand.
(3) 10+ playing tricks with a single-suited minor hand.
(4) 24+ total points
(5) A strong two-suited hand with 22+ high card points.

1
Benjamin 2$C ?
7
Do you have a Benjamin 2$C opening hand?
The requirements for a Benjamin 2$C opener are:
(1) Strong single-suited major hand with 8-8.5 playing tricks.
(2) Strong single-suited minor hand with 8.5-9.5 playing tricks.
(3) Balanced 22-23 NT hand (23-24 if playing 2NT up to 22 HCP).
(4) Strong two-suited hand with 18-21 HCP.
(5) Hand with 22-23 total points and a 5+ card major.

1
Strong 2$C opener ?
8
When not playing either Benjamin or Weak-Two Bids, the two-level opening bids
in Forum D are all strong.  2$C is a game-forcing opening bid, while
2$D/2$H/2$S are strong single-suited hands.
This node checks for a game-forcing 2$C opener.  The requirements are:
(1) 23+ total points.
(2) 9+ playing tricks with a single-suited major.
(3) 10+ playing tricks with a single-suited minor.
(4) 23-24 balanced (22-24 if 2NT range stops at 21)

1
Strong 2$D/2$H/2$S ?
5
2$D, 2$H, and 2$S opening bids are all strong.  The requirements for these
bids are:
(1) 6+ card suit with 2 of the top 3 honors and 8+ playing tricks and 17+ HCP
(2) 21-22 total points with a 5 card suit with 4 of the top 5 honors
    or a 6 card suit with 3 of the top 5 honors

1
Bid longest suit
1
Bid your longest suit.

1
One level opening ?
17
Is your hand suitable for opening a bid? This depends in part on the
settings for your opening aggressiveness. If your settings are Average.
The requirements for opening are:
(1) 12+ high card points.
(2) 13+ total points.
(3) 10+ high card points and two 5+ card majors
(4) 2.5+ quick tricks or 2+ and a 5 card major
(5) After two passes you need 10 HCP and a 5 card major or 11+ HCP.
(6) After three passes your HCP + spades length must be >= 15.
If your settings are Very Conserative, you cannot open on fewer than 13 HCP.
If your settings are Conservative, you can open on 12 HCP only if you have
some distribution.
If your settings are Aggressive, open using the rule of 20 except when
you would need to reverse into your second suit or you have points wasted
in your short suits.  Open all 11 HCP hands with a 5+ card major
If your settings are Very Agressive, open all rule of 20 hands and all
11+ HCP hands.

1
5 card major ?
1
Do you have a 5 card major and is it your longest suit?

1
Bid the major
3
Bid your longest major suit.
If you have equal length in the majors, bid 1$S.
If you are exactly 5-5 in the blacks, bid 1$C.

1
Make 1-level opening
9
The rules for determining which suit to open are as follows:
(1) If you have a two-suited hand with a 5 card major and a 6 card minor and
the hand is weak (less than 12 HCP), open one of the major.
(2) If you have 6 clubs and 5 diamonds open and a weak hand (less than 12 HCP),
open 1D.
(3) Bid your longest minor suit.
(4) If you are 5-5 in the minors, bid Diamonds.
(5) If you are 4-4 in the minors, also bid Diamonds.
(6) If you are 3-3 in the minors, bid Clubs.

2
6 cards in a
weak-two suit ?
6
Do you have 6 cards in a suit that you can bid weakly at the two level?
If you are playing Weak Two Bids, then 2$D/2$H/2$S are all weak.
If you are playing Weak Two Bids and you are also playing Flannery then
only 2$H and 2$S are weak.
If you are playing Benjamin then 2$H/2$S are weak.
Otherwise all 2-level bids are strong.

2
Make Weak-Two
bid or Pass
13
Does your hand meet the requirements for a weak two bid?
These requirements vary greatly depending on the Preempting Aggressiveness
setting that you have chosen.  They also vary substantially based on
the vulnerability and your seat position.  Generally speaking, if you
are in third position you should preempt aggressively. If you are
non-vulnerable and the opponents are vulnerable you should also bid
aggressively.  Conversely, if you are vulnerable and the opponents are
not vulnerable, you should bid passively.  Take into account the number
of honors in the suit, the number of high card points in the suit,
your high card points in outside suits, and your outside distribution.
A weak-two bid ALWAYS shows exactly 6 cards in the suit.  The typical point
range of a weak-two bid is 5-10 points (though with aggressive styles
you can have fewer).

2
Seven-card
suit ?
4
If you have a suit of seven or more cards, you should consider making a
shutout bid. This is a bid designed to make it difficult for the opponents
to find their best contract, by jamming their bidding space.
If you do not have a 7 card or longer suit, you should pass.

2
Fourth
hand ?
4
Since the purpose of making a shutout bid is to make things difficult for
your opponents, you must never make one when you are last to speak, unless
you can practically guarantee your contract. Just pass the hand out and wait
for a better hand on the next deal.

2
Bid what you
can make
2
Pass with less than 9 Playing Tricks, otherwise just bid to the number
of tricks (3 or 4) you can make in your own hand

1
Preempt ?
7
Use the aggressiveness control settings to determine whether or not your
hand is suitable for a preemptive bid. Take into account seat position,
vulnerability, suit quality, and points outside your long suit. Generally
speaking if you are in third seat or if you are not vulnerable and the
opponents are vulnerable, you may preempt on many more hands. If you are
vulnerable and the opponents are not vulnerable your preempts should be
very conservative and have strong suit quality.

1
2$D
0

1
1NT
0

1
2NT
0

1
3NT
0

1
2$C
0

1
Pass
0

50
0 0 0 1 2 1 2
28 1 0 -1 -1 -1 -1
1 0 -1 3 4 1 2
28 1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1
2 0 -2 5 6 1 2
29 1 -2 -1 -1 -1 -1
3 0 -3 7 8 1 2
30 1 -3 -1 -1 -1 -1
4 0 -4 9 10 1 2
31 1 -4 -1 -1 -1 -1
5 0 -5 11 12 1 2
31 1 -5 -1 -1 -1 -1
6 0 -6 13 14 3 2
7 -1 -6 -1 -1 -1 -1
8 0 -7 15 30 1 2
9 1 -7 16 17 0 1
32 1 -6 -1 -1 -1 -1
10 2 -7 18 19 0 1
11 2 -6 -1 -1 -1 -1
18 3 -7 20 23 1 2
19 4 -7 21 22 1 0
20 5 -7 -1 -1 -1 -1
21 4 -6 -1 -1 -1 -1
22 3 -8 24 25 1 2
23 4 -8 -1 -1 -1 -1
24 3 -9 26 29 1 2
25 4 -9 27 28 1 2
26 5 -9 -1 -1 -1 -1
27 4 -10 -1 -1 -1 -1
33 3 -10 -1 -1 -1 -1
12 0 -8 31 35 1 2
13 1 -8 32 33 2 1
28 1 -9 -1 -1 -1 -1
14 2 -8 34 17 2 0
32 2 -9 -1 -1 -1 -1
15 0 -9 36 37 3 2
32 -1 -9 -1 -1 -1 -1
16 0 -10 38 39 3 2
17 -1 -10 -1 -1 -1 -1
18 0 -11 40 43 1 2
19 1 -11 41 42 1 2
20 2 -11 -1 -1 -1 -1
21 1 -12 -1 -1 -1 -1
22 0 -12 44 45 3 2
23 -1 -12 -1 -1 -1 -1
24 0 -13 46 49 3 2
25 -1 -13 47 48 3 2
26 -2 -13 -1 -1 -1 -1
27 -1 -14 -1 -1 -1 -1
33 0 -14 -1 -1 -1 -1
0
