The Boring Club is a bidding system

Bidding system

A bidding system in contract bridge is the set of agreements and understandings assigned to calls and sequences of calls used by a partnership, and includes a full description of the meaning of each treatment and convention...

 in contract bridge

Contract bridge

Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard deck of 52 playing cards played by four players in two competing partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other around a small table...

 designed by Lucas Smid of the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

. In this system all balanced

Balanced hand

In the game of bridge a balanced hand denotes a hand containing no singleton or void and at most one doubleton. As a bridgehand contains thirteen cards, only three hand patterns can be classified as balanced: 4-3-3-3, 4-4-3-2 and 5-3-3-2...

 ('boring') hands, that in most natural systems would be opened 1NT or would be opened in a suit at one level with the plan to rebid 1NT or 2NT, must be opened with 1. The general idea behind this system is to get the information about the shape of the hand (balanced or unbalanced) across to partner in the very first bid.

The opening bids in boring club can be summarised as follows:

• 1: Balanced (12-18 hcp), no five card major
• 1: 4+, unbalanced (10-21 hcp)
• 1: 5+ (10-21 hcp)
• 1: 5+ (10-21 hcp)
• 1NT: 5+ (10+ hcp)
• 2: Balanced (19-22 hcp), may contain five card major
• 2: Multi (including 23+ NT and game forcing
  Forcing bid
  In the card game contract bridge, a forcing bid is any bid that obliges the partner to bid over an intermediate opposing pass. Owing to the partnership's bidding system or a bridge convention, partner must "keep the bidding open", i.e...
  
   hands)
• 2: Muiderberg convention
  Muiderberg convention
  The Muiderberg convention in the card game bridge is also known as the Dutch Two opening. It is a two-level preemptive opening based on a two-suiter with precisely a five-card major and a minor suit...
  
  
• 2: Muiderberg convention
  Muiderberg convention
  The Muiderberg convention in the card game bridge is also known as the Dutch Two opening. It is a two-level preemptive opening based on a two-suiter with precisely a five-card major and a minor suit...
  
  
• 2NT: Two suiter
  Two suiter
  In contract bridge, a two suiter is a hand containing cards mostly from two of the four suits. Traditionally a hand is considered a two suiter if it contains at least ten cards in two suits, with the two suits not differing in length by more than one card. Depending on suit quality and partnership...
  
   in both minors with longer clubs (10-15 hcp)

The 1 opening

A boring club 1 opening shows 12-18 high card points in a balanced hand

Balanced hand

In the game of bridge a balanced hand denotes a hand containing no singleton or void and at most one doubleton. As a bridgehand contains thirteen cards, only three hand patterns can be classified as balanced: 4-3-3-3, 4-4-3-2 and 5-3-3-2...

 not containing a five card major

Major suit

In the card game contract bridge, the major suits are spades and hearts . The major suits are of prime importance for tactics and scoring as they outrank the minor suits while bidding and also outscore them...

. This opening bid is non-forcing

Forcing bid

In the card game contract bridge, a forcing bid is any bid that obliges the partner to bid over an intermediate opposing pass. Owing to the partnership's bidding system or a bridge convention, partner must "keep the bidding open", i.e...

 with transfer responses:

1 - ??

Pass: 4+, 0-6 hcp

1: 4+, 7+ hcp

1: 4+, 7+ hcp

1: puppet, forces opener to rebid 1NT

1NT: balanced, no four card major, 8-10 hcp

2: 4+, no four card major, 10+ hcp (Inverted minors

Inverted minors

The term inverted minors refers to a treatment used by the Kaplan-Sheinwold bidding system . Under this treatment, a single raise of opener's minor suit is strong , and a double raise is pre-emptive, showing a maximum of 8 HCP...

)

2: 5+, no four card major, 10+ hcp

The 1NT opening

In boring club, the unbalanced hands that in a natural system would have been opened 1, get opened with a forcing

Forcing bid

In the card game contract bridge, a forcing bid is any bid that obliges the partner to bid over an intermediate opposing pass. Owing to the partnership's bidding system or a bridge convention, partner must "keep the bidding open", i.e...

1NT opening. The following responses apply:

1NT - ??

2: 0-10 hcp, not necessarily -support

2: no five card major, 10+ hcp

2: 5+, 10+ hcp

2: 5+, 10+ hcp

2NT: -fit, 10+ hcp

3: -fit, weak (5-9 hcp)

Further reading

• Lucas Smid, Saaie klaver (2003). http://www.bridge.nl/groepen/Bridgeblad/2004/01-2004/saaieklaver1.pdf (in Dutch)
• Chris Burton, Double Club System (a similar system). http://www.gravesendbridgeclub.org/CB/systems/DoubleClub/index.html