How Do You Start the Bidding in Bridge?

What an Opening Bid Tells Partner

The opening bid is the first call in the auction that isn’t a pass. It does two jobs at once: it announces that you hold a hand worth bidding, and it begins to describe that hand’s strength and shape. Everything partner does next is an answer to the picture you start painting here.

Because the opener speaks first, the bid is a promise. A one-of-a-suit opening promises an opening hand and at least a normal-length suit; a 1NT opening promises a balanced hand inside a narrow point range. Learn these promises and partner can trust every word you say.

Counting Your Hand

Before you can open, you value your hand. The standard method is the high-card point (HCP) count: the same scale used everywhere in bridge bidding.

Roughly 12–13 high-card points is enough to open at the one level. Long suits add playing strength, so on shapely hands many players use the Rule of 20: open if your high-card points plus the lengths of your two longest suits add up to 20 or more. For a full breakdown of every opening level and how to handle borderline hands, see our guide on how many points to open in bridge.

The One-Level Suit Openings

With an opening hand that is not balanced enough for 1NT, you bid a suit. Open your longest suit first; with two five-card suits open the higher-ranking one, and with two four-card suits open the lower.

Opening 1NT and 2NT

A no-trump opening is the most descriptive bid in the game because it nails down both strength and shape in one move. A 1NT opening shows a balanced hand: no void, no singleton, at most one doubleton: with 15–17 high-card points. A 2NT opening shows the same balanced shape with a bigger 20–21 points.

Because the range is so tight, partner can take charge immediately. The full response structure: including Stayman and transfers: lives in our guide to responding to 1NT.

Strong and Weak Two-Level Openings

Opening at the two level says something special. The 2♣ opening is the strong, artificial bid: it shows a powerhouse of about 22+ points (or a hand within a trick or two of game) and forces partner to respond. It is the one opening that is never a contract proposal; it simply says "we may be heading for game or slam."

By contrast, 2♦, 2♥ and 2♠ are usually played as weak two-bids: a good six-card suit with only 6–10 points, designed to take up the opponents’ bidding room. Pre-emptive openings at the three and four level push the same idea further: see preemptive bidding.

A Worked Example

You pick up the hand below as dealer. What do you open?

Count first: two aces (8), one king (3), one queen-jack heart holding and a spade queen and club queen: 16 high-card points in total. The shape is 3-3-4-3, perfectly balanced. With 15–17 and no five-card major, this is a textbook 1NT opening. You describe the whole hand in one bid and hand the steering wheel to partner.

When to Open: and When to Pass

Common Opening-Bid Mistakes

• Opening 1NT with a five-card major. Most partnerships open the major instead, so a five-card spade or heart suit isn’t lost in a no-trump opening.
• Overvaluing a flat 11-count. Without long suits the Rule of 20 fails: pass and wait for a better hand or a chance to compete later.
• Opening the wrong suit. Bid your longest suit first; opening a short suit out of order makes your rebid awkward and misleads partner about your shape.
• Forgetting 2♣ is artificial. A 2♣ opening says "huge hand," not "I have clubs." Reserve it for the genuine powerhouses.

How Many Points Do You Need to Open the Bidding?

The standard minimum for a one-level opening is 12 high-card points (HCP). With 12 or more, you open. With 10 or fewer, you pass. Hands with 11 HCP live in a grey area, and two rules help you decide: the Rule of 20 and the quality of your suits.

The Rule of 20 works like this: add your total HCP to the length of your two longest suits. If the total reaches 20 or more, open the bidding.

Example: ♠ K J 8 5 4   ♥ Q J 9 6 3   ♦ 7   ♣ Q 8   (9 HCP, 5 spades + 5 hearts = 10 suits). 9 + 10 = 19. Pass.

Another hand: ♠ A K 9 7 4   ♥ K J 8 6 2   ♦ 4   ♣ 8 3   (11 HCP, 5 + 5 = 10). 11 + 10 = 21. Open 1♠.

The reason the Rule of 20 works: hands with two long suits have more playing tricks than their HCP suggest. Even with only 11 HCP, you will often find a fit with partner and make a contract that earns a good score. The risk of missing a game by passing is greater than the risk of getting into trouble by opening.

What Do You Open When You Have Two Five-Card Suits?

With two five-card suits, always open the higher-ranking suit first. This lets you rebid the lower suit at your next turn, and partner can give preference back to your first suit at the same level rather than going higher.

Here are the most common two-suited hands and the right opening bid for each:

The underlying logic: the higher suit always comes first so that if partner prefers it, they can return to it at the lower level. Bidding the lower suit first would force partner to go to the three level to prefer the higher suit, wasting bidding space and risking getting too high.

When Do You Open 2 Clubs Instead of One of a Suit?

The 2♣ opening is artificial and shows a very strong hand. It says nothing about clubs. What it tells partner is: "I have a hand too powerful to open at the one level, and I need you to keep bidding until we reach game."

The two main types of hand that open 2♣ are:

• Balanced hands with 22+ HCP. With 20-21 HCP balanced, open 2NT directly. With 22-24 HCP balanced, open 2♣ and rebid 2NT. With 25+ HCP, open 2♣ and rebid 3NT.
• Very powerful distributional hands with fewer HCP but enormous playing strength. For example: ♠ A K Q J 9 7 4   ♥ A K Q   ♦ 8   ♣ 5 (only 20 HCP but expects to make game singlehanded). These hands also open 2♣.

After a 2♣ opening, partner’s negative response is 2♦ (also artificial, showing a weak hand with no suit to show naturally). Any other response is positive and shows values. The key thing to know as the 2♣ opener: you are committed to reaching game no matter what. You cannot stop below game after opening 2♣.

How Does the Rule of 20 Help You Decide on Borderline Opening Hands?

The Rule of 20 is one of the most practical guidelines in bridge for deciding whether to open with a hand that has fewer than the standard 12 HCP.

Count your HCP and add the length of your two longest suits. If the total is 20 or more, open. If it is below 20, pass.

Here is the rule at work on three borderline hands:

♠ K Q 9 7 4    ♥ A J 8 6 3    ♦ 5    ♣ 7 2    (10 HCP + 5 + 5 = 20) Open 1♠

♠ A Q 7 5 4    ♥ J 9 6 3    ♦ 8 2    ♣ K 3    (10 HCP + 5 + 4 = 19) Pass

♠ A J 8 7 3    ♥ K Q 9 6 4    ♦ 7    ♣ 5 2    (11 HCP + 5 + 5 = 21) Open 1♠

The Rule of 20 captures something real about bridge: long suits produce tricks independently of high-card points. Two five-card suits can generate six or seven playing tricks from combinations that HCP alone would undervalue. When you open on the borderline, you often find a fit with partner and make a useful partial score or even a game. Passing those hands risks missing that opportunity.

What Should You Never Do When Choosing Your Opening Bid?

Several common mistakes come up repeatedly in the first bid of the hand. Knowing them in advance saves you from learning them the painful way at the table.

Do not open 1NT with a singleton or void. A 1NT opening shows a balanced hand: a distribution of 4-3-3-3, 4-4-3-2, or 5-3-3-2. If your hand has a short suit (a void or singleton), it is not balanced and should not be opened in notrump, even if the point count is right.

Do not open a minor suit looking for a major fit. If you have four spades and four clubs, open 1♠. The entire point of the bidding system is to find major fits efficiently. Opening 1♣ with four spades makes that much harder.

Do not open 2♣ and then overbid.Remember that your partner’s 2♦ response is weak. If they bid 2♦ and you make a further jump, you might be forcing them to game with nothing. Rebid 2 of your suit (not 3) to show your shape before jumping.

For a full overview of how opening bids connect to the rest of the auction, see our guide to bridge bidding rules and our bridge bidding point chart, which shows the standard point thresholds at a glance.