What Is a Bridge Convention Card and How Do You Fill One Out?
A convention card is the written record of what you and your partner have agreed to play: opening bids, conventions, and defenses. Every club and duplicate player needs one. Here is what goes in each section and how to fill in your first card.
What a Convention Card Is For
In casual home bridge, partnerships often bid by feel, with agreements that live only in memory. Once you move to a club or start playing duplicate bridge, the game expects something more formal: a completed convention card sitting on the table so opponents know, in general terms, what your bids mean before the auction even starts.
This is not about giving away secrets. Bridge is a game of full disclosure: your side is entitled to know the opponents' methods in the same way they are entitled to know yours. The card simply makes that information available without needing to ask about every single bid during the auction.
The Main Sections of an ACBL Convention Card
The standard ACBL card is divided into a handful of sections. You do not need to fill in every box on your first attempt: start simple and add detail as your partnership's agreements grow.
General Approach
Your overall style: minimum points to open, whether openings are forcing, your 1NT range, and any unusual tendencies such as light third-seat openings.
Opening Bids & Responses
What each opening shows, response structures, and which conventions apply over 1NT, such as Stayman and Jacoby transfers.
Slam Conventions
Which ace-asking method you use, typically Blackwood or Roman Key Card Blackwood, and any cue-bidding style.
How to Fill Out Your First Convention Card
- Agree your basic system first. Sit down with partner before the game and settle on Standard American, Acol, or whichever system you are learning. Everything else on the card builds from this choice.
- Fill in General Approach. Write your minimum opening point count (usually 12 or 13), your 1NT range (commonly 15–17), and whether your one-level openings are forcing (usually no, in Standard American).
- Check the boxes for conventions you actually play. Tick Stayman and Jacoby transfers if you use them. Leave everything else blank rather than guessing: an unchecked box tells opponents nothing artificial is happening.
- Record your doubles and overcall style. Note whether you play takeout doubles, negative doubles, and through what level, plus your minimum point count for a simple overcall.
- Sign it and bring a copy for each session. Both partners should have a matching card. Update it as you add new agreements rather than starting from scratch each time.
A simple, mostly blank card played correctly is far better than an elaborate card neither partner fully understands. Add conventions one at a time, and only after you have both practiced them, following the same steady approach recommended in how long it takes to learn bridge.
Convention Card vs Alerts: What Is the Difference?
The convention card is a static, written summary checked before or between rounds. Alerts happen live, during the auction: when partner makes a bid with an artificial or unusual meaning, you say "alert" so the opponents know to ask about it if they want more detail. The two systems work together: the card gives the general shape of your methods, and alerts flag the specific moments where a bid does not mean what it looks like it means.
Key Takeaways
- A convention card records your partnership's bidding agreements for opponents to see.
- Most clubs and all ACBL sanctioned events expect a completed card from both partners.
- Start with a simple Standard American card and add conventions gradually.
- The card covers general methods; live alerts cover specific unusual bids during the auction.
- Full disclosure is a core principle of bridge, not an optional courtesy.
Related Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
A convention card is a printed reference sheet where a partnership records their bidding agreements: opening bid requirements, conventions in use, and defensive methods. Both players place a completed card on the table so opponents can see the partnership's methods at a glance.
For casual home or online play, no. For club duplicate games and ACBL sanctioned events, most clubs expect both members of a partnership to have a completed card available as a courtesy to opponents.
The General Approach section covers your overall bidding style: minimum points to open, whether your openings are forcing, your 1NT range, and any unusual tendencies such as opening light hands in third seat.
No. A simple Standard American card with basic openings, Stayman and Jacoby transfers is enough for most new partnerships. Add conventions one at a time as you and your partner get comfortable, rather than filling in every box on your first card.
The convention card is a static written record of your methods, checked before or between rounds. Alerts happen during the auction itself, when a partner's bid has an artificial or unusual meaning that opponents need to know about immediately.
The ACBL provides the official convention card as a free download on its website, and most bridge clubs keep printed copies on hand for members to fill in before a game.