Bridge bidding system
Blue Club is a bridge bidding system, developed mainly by Benito Garozzo. It was used by the famous Blue Team and became very popular in the 1960s. It has gained a strong following ever since.
The main features are:
- Strong club system: 1♣ opening promises 17 or more HCP, with step answers showing controls (K=1 and A=2 controls) or HCP. 1♦ being negative showing 0-5 HCP and 1♥ showing 6-12 HCP but with no more than 2 controls, 1♠ showing 3 controls, 1NT showing 4 controls etc.
- Four-card majors: 1♥ and 1♠ and 1♦ openings are limited (12-16 HCP),
- Canapé. With two-suited hands, the opener's second bid is in the longer suit, whereas other more popular systems bid their shorter suit second. However, unlike the "fellow" Roman Club, there are many exceptions to this rule in Blue Club.
- 1NT ranging from 13 to 17 high card points. It can be either 13-15 points, which is essentially a replacement bid for a balanced club suit with two specific shapes, 3-3-3-4 and 3-3-2-5, or 16-17 pts and balanced. A more modern treatment is to play the lower range as 13–14, and the upper range as 15–17, this removes some of the strain on this bid.