THE MATIC BIDDING
SYSTEM
If you want a bridge
bidding system that is easy to learn, easy to remember, easy to use and yet
reach good contracts on most hands, then try the Matic system. It was developed by a nuclear physicist,
now retired, to make life easier for bridge players. It is arguably the most logical bidding system in the
world. It has been used successfully
in club competitions, bridge teams of four leagues and tournaments. There is no claim that it reaches better
contracts than other systems but it compares favourably with them. Some players prefer it because it is so
different from other systems and it eliminates problems of communication
between partners. Instead of having to
remember complex bidding sequences one only has to recall simple rules and be
able to do elementary arithmetic.
The main
features of the system are:
(1) Accurate
valuation of the strength of hands.
(2) Opener’s
first bid specifies the strength of his hand.
(3) Opener’s
first bid is used by partner to determine the final bidding level.
(4) Only one player
gives information; the other decides the contract.
(5) Maximum
information is given with low bids.
(6) Minimum
facts to remember.
1. VALUATION OF HANDS.
The overall
strength of a hand is obtained by adding together points for honours (Hpts) and distribution (Dpts) to obtain
total points (Tpts). The Milton Work
count is used for Hpts because of its simplicity and reasonable
effectiveness. Hpts are 4 for aces, 3
for kings, 2 for queens and 1 for knaves.
Some reduction should be made for unprotected honours eg singleton kings
and doubleton queens. Greater emphasis
is placed on distribution than is usual because most systems underestimate its
importance. The 4th card in a suit is
given 2 Dpts, the 5th given 3 Dpts and the 6th and higher given 4 Dpts. No Dpts are given for a third 4 card
suit.
|
Example 1 |
|
|
Example 2 |
|
||
|
|
Hpts |
Dpts |
|
|
Hpts |
Dpts |
|
ªK8 |
3 |
0 |
|
ªA752 |
4 |
2 |
|
©QJ97532 |
3 |
13 |
|
©K10 84 |
3 |
2 |
|
¨AK10 |
7 |
0 |
|
¨ 9 |
0 |
0 |
|
§ 8 |
0 |
0 |
|
§ 10 64 |
2 |
0 {3rd
suit} |
|
Total |
13 |
13 |
|
Total |
9 |
4 |
|
|
Tpts = 26 |
|
|
Tpts = 13 |
||
If these two hands were held by a partnership
their combined points (Cpts) would be used to estimate the final bidding level. The Cpts = 39 (26 + 13) which is enough for
a 5 level final bid,
2 FINAL BIDDING LEVEL
If one player
knows the Cpts of both hands he can determine the likely level to which the
bidding can safely reach by using the following table.
Cpts 26-28 29-31
32-34 35-37 38-40
41-43 44+
Bidding
level 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
This simple relationship
has been proved to be very reliable by many players over several decades. Subsequent information about how well the
two hands fit together can, of course, modify the final bidding level. Opponents
bids should also be taken into account.
For those with
poor memories the bidding level can be calculated by subtracting 25 from the
Cpts, dividing by 3 and rounding up where necessary to a whole number
For No-trump
contracts it is usually better to base one’s final bid on Hpts held.
3. OPENER’S FIRST BID TO SHOW HIS STRENGTH.
(a) 13 to 17 Tpts - Bid 1§ or double a 1 level suit
bid.
(b) 18 to 22 Tpts - “ 1¨ “ 1 above “ ” “ ”
“
(c) 23 to 27 Tpts - “ 1© “ 2 “ ” “ ” “ ”
Pass with less
than 13 Tpts. For the rare hands with
more than 27 Tpts there are special bids which will be mentioned later. Special bids to cover opponents opening bids
of 1NT and above are also given later
Example hand 1
would open 1© or, say, 1ª over 1¨ or 2§ over 1ª
“ ” 2 “
” 1§ “ ” Double 1¨ “ Double 1ª
As you can
see, a double is the lowest bid for the lowest range of Tpts and each higher
bid is for a higher range. It is easy
to remember the ranges because 15, 20 and 25 are the midpoints and the each
spread is plus or minus 2. You should
note that the midpoints also give the maximum Hpts for the hand.
4. ONLY ONE PLAYER GIVES INFORMATION.
The opening
bidder is called the Informer because he gives information to his partner ,
known as the Director. The Director
never gives information; he only directs the course of the bidding. Whenever the Director makes the lowest bid,
including doubles, he is directing his partner to give him more
information. However, there are two
exceptions,
(a) Doubles of
pre- emptive bids and opening bids of 1NT are for penalties or take-out.
(b) Doubles of
other weak bids and those above the 2 level are for penalties.
Any other bid
is a limit bid and his choice of contract.
The Informer can change the final contract on rare occasions eg having undisclosed strength or where
Director is unaware the hand is of little use for his choice of contract.
5. MAXIMUM INFORMATION GIVEN WITH LOW BIDS.
If the
Director asks for more information the Informer indicates the shape of his hand
as follows:
(a) The lowest
bid shows the longest suit has 4 cards
(b) 2nd
“ ” “
” ” “
” 5 “
(c) 3rd
“ ” “
” ” “
” 6 “
(d) 4th
“ ” “
two 5 card suits
(e) Any higher
bid is a genuine suit with 7 or 8 cards plus a 4 card suit
When the
Director hears the Informer’s opening bid he quickly converts this into Tpts
and Maximum Hpts. For example the
Informer bids 1© over an
opponent’s 1¨, ie. the 2nd bid up and therefore the 2nd range. ( Double being
the 1st range). The Director knows
immediately that the maximum Hpts are 20 and the Tpts are 18 to 22. If he bids 1ª or doubles an opponents 1NT, say, he wants to know the Informer’s
shape. The bids might be as follows;
Opponent A Informer Opponent
B Director Opponent A
Informer
(a) 1¨ 1© Pass
1ª Pass
2¨
(b) 1¨ 1© 1ª D 2§ 2¨
In both cases
the Informer’s 2nd bid is the 3rd lowest above the previous bid so his longest
suit has 6 cards. As a 6 card suit has
9 Dpts the hand also has about 11 Hpts ( 20 Tpts minus 9 Dpts) In case (b) the lowest bid would have been
Pass because the opponents intervention gives the Director another bid. Double
would have been the 2nd lowest bid. It
should be noted that in this example the Opponent A bid has not raised the
Informer’s last bid .
In two bids
the Informer has given a good idea of his Distribution and Hpts.
As frequently
a hand with a 4 or 5 card suit has another suit, the Director subtracts the
following points from the Tpts to estimate the likely Hpts.
Suit
length 4 5 6 5 +
5 7
Remove
points 3 * 6 * 9
10 13
* The extra 1 point can be removed or
doubled later when the Director learns if there isn’t another suit or there is.
IDENTIFICATION
OF SUITS.
If the
Director asks for further information with lowest bids, the Informer always
bids his longest suit first and then the others in the order to keep the
bidding as low as possible. When he
has no more suits to show he rebids a suit already shown or No-trumps,
whichever is the lower.
If the
Informer makes a No-trump bid in reply to the Director asking for his first
suit this means that the suit used to ask is the Informer’s longest and he has
another suit. A special case, where
the longest suit has 4 cards, is:
Director 2§ Informer 2NT showing two suits,
(§ + ª) specifically because the Informer has passed over ¨ and © which he could have bid.
If Director
asks for suit identity and an opponent intervenes the Informer shows he holds
that suit with a double and a pass shows the suit before it.
When The Informer
has shown he has no more suits, a further asking bid is for Aces to begin a
slam enquiry.
OPTING OUT OF
THE SYSTEM
There are a
number of options to prevent an opponent’s intervention pushing one into too
high a contract.:
(a) When the Director is too weak to ask he
makes a genuine bid.
(b) If the Director makes a 1NT bid over a 1
level opening bid by the Informer, the
Informer should pass or bid a long suit at the 2 level.
(c) The Informer does not reply normally over a
jump bid by an opponent; he will usually pass but he can bid a long strong suit, or double with good
cards in the opponent’s suit. The
Director can ask again with the lowest bid.
(d) The
Informer should double a weak bid by an opponent if he has a good defensive
hand , or pass to allow the Director to double or make an asking bid..
(e) Once a
penalty double has been made all other doubles are for penalties.
THE INFORMER
HAS LESS THAN 13 T.PTS
The Director should assume the Informer has 5
Hpts and 3 Dpts and make a natural bid.
The Informer can raise the bid if stronger than the assumption
Where the
Director does not have a long suit to bid he should show his Hpts;
With 15 to 17
Hpts he bids 1 § or doubles a 1 level suit
bid
“
18 “ 20 “ ”
“ 1NT
“ 21 “ 22 “ ”
“ 2NT
The Informer
can use the information to suggest a final contract.
THE INFORMER
HAS MORE THAN 27 T.PTS
He has 2
options if the opponent has not bid;
(a) Bid 1 ª telling the Director to become the Informer whom can use two more Tpt ranges to show a weak hand (i) Lowest bid is 2 to 7 Tpts
(ii) 2nd
“ ” 8 “ 12 “
This is used where the Informer has many
Hpts but no long, strong suit to bid.
(b) Bid 1NT asking
for Aces with a view to a slam
This is used where only a few key cards
are needed to decide the contract.
If the
opponent has bid then downgrade the hand and bid the 3rd Tpt range or make a
pre-emptive bid, because the Director probably has a weak hand.
PRE-EMPTIVE
BIDS AT THE 2 AND 3 LEVEL
A 2 level suit
bid shows the 2nd Tpt range and a 7 or 8 card suit, or two suits with 6 + 5
cards or 6 + 6 cards. Repeat of a suit
confirms 7 or 8.
2§ shows
just clubs or the 2nd suit is spades or hearts
2¨ “ ” diamonds “
” “ ” clubs “ spades
2© “ ” hearts “
” “ ” diamonds
2ª “
” spades “
” “ ” hearts
A 2NT bid shows
the 3rd Tpt range with a 7 or 8 card suit, and no other suit, which is
identified at the next opportunity. A
3 level suit bid is 3rd range Tpts and
6+6 or 6+5 suits which are identified as for the 2 level bids.
RESPONSE TO
OPPONENTS OPENING 1NT AND HIGHER BIDS
Opponents bids
of 1NT and above could push Matic systematic bids to too high a level so
natural bids are used.
(a) Double a weak 1NT when holding 13 Hpts or more, or assume Director has 13
Tpts and make a natural bid.
(b) Treat
pre-emptives as for (a) except that for a double a protected honour must be
held in the opponent’s suit whereupon the Director can consider a no-trump
bid. Without the protected honour bid
no-trumps for takeout.
(c) Usually
overcall opponents strong bids (16 or more Hpts etc ) with 15 Hpts or more and a good suit but one could
consider a long suit sacrifice assuming Director has 5 Hpts .
BIDDING BY
NUMBERS
The first booklet
on the Matic System was called “Bidding by Numbers” because the basic system
can be remembered easily by realising it is based on just two numbers - 3 and 5
There are 3
Tpt ranges each of 5 points, ( 13-17,
18-22, and 23-27 ).
The middle of
the first Tpt range is 15 (3 times 5 ).
Other midpoints are 20 and 25 (5 times 5 ).
Bidding level 1 is the 3 C.pts above 25 (5x5)
ie 26 to 28 and each other level is 3 Cpts more, ( 29-31, 32-34, 35-37,
38-40, 41-43, and 44+ )
When the
Informer does not bid the Director assumes he has 5Hpts + 3 Dpts and bids
accordingly , or with a balanced hand the Director can show his Hpts in three 3
point ranges starting once again with 15.
They are 15 to 17, 18 to 20, and 21 to 23 using 1 club or double of a 1 bid, 1NT and
2NT.
|
Example A |
|
Deals North |
|
|
Informer |
|
|
|
ªK6 |
|
|
|
©KQ95 |
|
|
|
¨ Q632 |
|
|
|
§843 |
|
|
Opponent W |
|
Opponent E |
|
ª Q10 732 |
|
ª J954 |
|
© 86 |
|
© A3 |
|
¨ AJ8 |
|
¨ 9754 |
|
§ 10 65 |
|
§ QJ7 |
|
|
Director |
|
|
|
ª A8 |
|
|
|
© J10 742 |
|
|
|
¨ K10 |
|
|
|
§ AK92 |
|
|
|
||
Informer has
10 Hpts plus 4 Dpts, (14 Tpts) so bids
1§ showing 15 Tpts
Director “
15 “ ” 7 “
(22Tpts) Assumes 37 Cpts (15 +
22)
Suggesting a 4 level contract
The bidding
should go;
Opponent
W Informer Opponent E
Director
- 1 § (15Tpts)
Pass 1 ¨ (asking)
Pass 1 © (4 cards)
“ 1 ª “
” 2 ¨ (a suit)
“ 2 © “
” 3 © (a suit)
“ 4 ©
Director
assumes 26 Hpts: his 15 plus 11 from 15 Tpts minus 4 Dpts
With 9 hearts
and 26 Hpts, 4 hearts should be a good contract.
|
Example B |
|
Dealer North |
|
|
Informer |
|
|
|
ª Q52 |
|
|
|
© 10 98 |
|
|
|
¨ 86 |
|
|
|
§ AQ983 |
|
|
Opponent W |
|
Opponent E |
|
ª J10 9 |
|
ª 843 |
|
© K542 |
|
© 76 |
|
¨ Q753 |
|
¨ KJ10 4 |
|
§ J10 |
|
§ K752 |
|
|
Director |
|
|
|
ª AK76 |
|
|
|
© AQJ3 |
|
|
|
¨ A92 |
|
|
|
§ 64 |
|
Informer
has 8 Hpts plus 5 Dpts, (13 Tpts) so bids 1§ showing 15 Tpts
Director “ 18
“ ” 4 “ (22Tpts)
Assumes 37 Cpts (15 + 22)
Suggesting a 4
level contract
The bidding
should go;
Opponent W Informer
Opponent E Director
- 1 § (15Tpts) Pass 1 ¨ (asking)
Pass 1 ª (5 cards)
“ 1 NT “
” 2 § (a suit) “ 2 ¨ “
” 2NT (no other suit) “
3NT
Director assumes
28 Hpts: his 18 plus 10 from 15 Tpts minus 5 Dpts
With clubs
covered by Informer 3NT looks a reasonable contract.
A no-trump
asking bid is allowed here because the Informer has shown a long unidentified suit and it would not be
sensible to play in No-trumps with so much uncertainty. Once a suit has been identified or the
Informer has shown his longest suit has only 4 cards one must not use No-trumps
as an asking bid because the Director may want a No-trump contract.
There are rare
occasions when the Informer may not accept the Directors choice of
No-trumps. For instance, when the
Informer has a void the Director could not have expected. Also where the Informer has shown only 4
card suits are held but not identified them and he has 3 of them. The Director does not know of the singleton
so the Informer bids his lowest suit after the No-trump bid If this coincides with a shortage in
Directors hand he bids his lowest 4 card suit.
Eventually by such bidding , a 7 or 8 card fit will be found.
|
Example C |
|
Dealer North |
|
|
Informer |
|
|
|
ª AQJ632 |
|
|
|
© Q10 4 |
|
|
|
¨ 765 |
|
|
|
§ 8 |
|
|
Opponent W |
|
Opponent E |
|
ª 975 |
|
ª K10 |
|
© 3 |
|
© AK986 |
|
¨ 9832 |
|
¨ QJ4 |
|
§ KQJ10 4 |
|
§ 652 |
|
|
Director |
|
|
|
ª 84 |
|
|
|
© J752 |
|
|
|
¨ AK10 |
|
|
|
§ A973 |
|
Informer has 9
Hpts plus 9 Dpts, (18 Tpts) so bids 1¨ showing 20 Tpts
Director “ 12
“ ” 4 “ (16Tpts)
Assumes 36 Cpts (20 + 16)
Suggesting a 4 level contract
The bidding
should go;
Opponent
W Informer Opponent E
Director
- 1 ¨ (20Tpts) 1© Double (asking)
2§ 2 ¨ (6 cards) 2© “ ”
3§ Pass (a spade
suit) Pass 3 ª (limit bid)
Director
assumes 23 Hpts: his 12 plus 11 from 20 Tpts minus 9 Dpts
With 8 Spades,
no ruffing potential in Director’s hand, and probably insufficient Hpts for
game the Director settles for a part score.
The 2 Diamond
bid is the 3rd highest because he could have passed or doubled. The Informer’s pass shows a Spade suit
because a double would have shown clubs and a pass is lower than a double
therefore the suit is one lower. If
the 6 card suit had been Diamonds or Hearts he would have bid 3 Diamonds or 3
Hearts.
It should be
noted that whenever the Informer identifies a suit with an artificial bid then
if the Director bids that suit at his next bid then that is the proposed
contract.. eg. Say the Director asks the Informer to
identify his 5 card suit with a 2 Club bid .
Should the Informer reply 2 NT then he is showing the suit is Clubs but
he also has another suit. Therefore a 3
Club bid by the Director is the proposed contract. To ask for more information instead he has to bid 3 Diamonds.
|
Example D |
|
Dealer North |
|
|
Informer |
|
|
|
ª Q10 87652 |
|
|
|
© 86 |
|
|
|
¨ K94 |
|
|
|
§ 7 |
|
|
Opponent W |
|
Opponent E |
|
ª 9 |
|
ª K43 |
|
©A943 |
|
© K10 2 |
|
¨A73 |
|
¨ 10 65 |
|
§J9632 |
|
§ KQ10 4 |
|
|
Director |
|
|
|
ª AJ |
|
|
|
© QJ75 |
|
|
|
¨ QJ82 |
|
|
|
§ A85 |
|
This is an
example of a weak 2 opening.
Informer has 5
Hpts plus 13 Dpts, (18 Tpts) so bids 2ª showing 2nd range
Director “ 15
“ ” 4 “ (19Tpts)
Assumes 39 Cpts (20 + 19)
Suggesting a 5 level contract
The bidding
should go;
Opponent
W Informer Opponent E
Director
- 2 ª (20Tpts) pass 2NT (asking)
pass 3 ª (7 or 8 Spades)
pass 4 ª
Director does
not devalue the knave of Spades because it reinforces his partner’s suit. He subtracts 13 Dpts from Informer’s 20
Tpts to get 7Hpts.
As 2 Spades
may conceal 5 or 6 Hearts also, the 2NT asks for clarification. Repeat of Spades confirms 7 or 8 Spades.
With the
calculated 22 Hpts (7 + 15) and 7 or 8 Spades in one hand the 4 Spade contract
is worthwhile. Of course, the
Informer’s Hpts could be anywhere between 5 and 9 but one should normally
assume the middle value of a range.
|
Example E |
|
Dealer West |
|
|
Informer |
|
|
|
ª A87 |
|
|
|
© - |
|
|
|
¨ K9852 |
|
|
|
§ 98643 |
|
|
Opponent W |
|
Opponent E |
|
ª 965 |
|
ª KQJ42 |
|
© 6532 |
|
© QJ97 |
|
¨ 3 |
|
¨ J7 |
|
§ AKJ52 |
|
§ Q10 |
|
|
Director |
|
|
|
ª 10 3 |
|
|
|
© AK1084 |
|
|
|
¨ AQ10 64 |
|
|
|
§ 7 |
|
Informer has 7
Hpts plus 10 Dpts, (17 Tpts) so bids 1§ showing 15 Tpts
Director “ 13
“ ” 10 “ (23Tpts)
Assumes 38 Cpts (15 + 23)
Suggesting
a 5 level contract
The bidding
should go;
Opponent
W Informer Opponent E
Director
- 1 § (15Tpts) 1ª Double (asking)
2§ 2 © (5 + 5 cards) 2 ª “ ”
Pass 3 § (a suit) pass 3 ¨ “
” 3NT
(Have Diamonds) “ 4 ¨
“ 5 ¨ ?
Director
assumes 18 Hpts: his 13 plus 5 from 15 Tpts minus 10 Dpts
The 38 Cpts
indicated a 5 level contract but in having about 18 Hpts only, and the bidding
of the opponents, he chose 4 diamonds
although he had 10 of the suit and an obvious cross-ruff situation. The Informer might raise to 5 Diamonds in
having the maximum for his range, together with a void and the King of Diamonds. The contract makes on any lead!
|
Example F |
|
Dealer West |
|
|
Informer |
|
|
|
ª 754 |
|
|
|
© AK432 |
|
|
|
¨ 97 |
|
|
|
§ KJ6 |
|
|
Opponent W |
|
Opponent E |
|
ª QJ8 |
|
ª 10 2 |
|
© Q65 |
|
© J96 |
|
¨ AQ863 |
|
¨ KJ42 |
|
§ A8 |
|
§ 10 543 |
|
|
Director |
|
|
|
ª AK93 |
|
|
|
© 10 87 |
|
|
|
¨ 10 5 |
|
|
|
§ Q972 |
|
Informer has
11Hpts plus 5 Dpts, (16 Tpts) so bids 1§ showing 15 Tpts
Director “
9 “ ” 4 “
(13Tpts) Assumes 28 Cpts (15 +
13)
Suggesting a 1 level contract
The bidding
should go;
Opponent
W Informer Opponent E Director
1¨ D (15Tpts) Pass
1NT (Limit bid)
Pass 2 © “ Pass
“
The Director’s
1NT reflects the low Cpt holding. The
Informer can leave the bid or bid a 5 or longer suit; he chooses the latter.
|
Example G |
|
Dealer West |
|
|
Informer |
|
|
|
ª J10 8 |
|
|
|
© A93 |
|
|
|
¨ QJ86 |
|
|
|
§763 |
|
|
Opponent W |
|
Opponent E |
|
ª 7643 |
|
ª K95 |
|
© K10 8 |
|
© 652 |
|
¨ 10 93 |
|
¨ A74 |
|
§ J10 5 |
|
§ Q984 |
|
|
Director |
|
|
|
ª AQ8 |
|
|
|
© QJ74 |
|
|
|
¨ K52 |
|
|
|
§AK2 |
|
Informer has
8Hpts plus 2 Dpts, (10 Tpts), passes showing less than 13 Cpts
Director “ 19
“ ” 2 “ (21 Tpts) No suit so bids Hpts
The bidding
should go;
Opponent
W Informer Opponent E Director
pass pass pass
1NT (18 to 20 Hpts)
“ 3 NT “ pass
“
The Director
has no long suit to bid so he does not make the usual assumption that his partner has 8 Tpts ( 5Hpts+3 Dpts
)and make a natural bid. Instead he
uses one of the bids to tell his partner his H.pts. Knowing the Director has at least 18 Hpts from his 1NT bid, the
Informer bids 3NT having a minimum total of 26 Hpts ( 18 + 8) and no long suit.
|
Example H |
|
Dealer West |
|
|
Informer |
|
|
|
ª 5 |
|
|
|
© KJ974 |
|
|
|
¨ AQ8643 |
|
|
|
§ 8 |
|
|
Opponent W |
|
Opponent E |
|
ª Q10 843 |
|
ª AK9 |
|
© 865 |
|
© Q10 2 |
|
¨ J |
|
¨ 75 |
|
§ AJ42 |
|
§ 10 9653 |
|
|
Director |
|
|
|
ª J762 |
|
|
|
© A3 |
|
|
|
¨ K10 92 |
|
|
|
§KQ7 |
|
Informer has
10Hpts plus 14 Dpts, (24 Tpts) so bids
1H showing 25 Tpts
Director “
11 “ ” 4 “
(15Tpts) Assumes 40 Cpts (25 +
15)
Suggesting a 5 level
contract
The bidding
should go;
Opponent
W Informer Opponent E Director
Pass 3© (25Tpts) Pass 3ª (Asking for
Aces)
Pass 4§ “ 5¨
“ Pass “
The Informer’s
bid shows Hearts and Diamonds (6 + 5) or (5 + 6) . Director asks for Aces using sliding Gerber and learns his
partner has 1 or 4 Aces. As he has 1
Ace , the Informer can not have 4. 5¨ seems a reasonable contract
even though the Hpts are low , about 22 (from 25 - 14, + 11), and having 10
trumps, especially as the Informer has
only 2 cards in the black suits.
|
Example I |
|
Dealer West |
|
|
Informer |
|
|
|
ª KQ9 |
|
|
|
© K72 |
|
|
|
¨ J86 |
|
|
|
§A643 |
|
|
Opponent W |
|
Opponent E |
|
ª AJ43 |
|
ª 10 65 |
|
© A10 |
|
© J63 |
|
¨ Q97 |
|
¨ K432 |
|
§ Q852 |
|
§ J97 |
|
|
Director |
|
|
|
ª 872 |
|
|
|
© Q9854 |
|
|
|
¨ A10 5 |
|
|
|
§K10 |
|
The bidding
should go:
Opponent W Informer
Opponent E Director
1NT Double Pass 2©
Over the 1NT
opening the Informer is not allowed to use the stepwise bidding. However, his
double shows he has 13 or more Hpts and no long suit to bid. Assuming the Informer has only one 4 card
suit that gives him a minimum of 15 Tpts.
Adding this to the Directors 14 Tpts gives 29 Cpts, enough for a 2© limit bid.
Many more
examples and a more detailed explanation of the system is to be found in the
book “THE MATIC SYSTEM or Bidding by Numbers FOR CONTRACT BRIDGE “ ISBN 0 9527989 0 5 available from
Booksellers in the UK for £3. The book
can also be supplied directly from the publisher, Edurec, Spring Wood Lane.
Burghfield Common. Reading, RG7 3DS, United Kingdom for £3 inclusive of postage in the UK or for 6$ for overseas orders. Cheques should be made out to RLG Keith/
Edurec.