In
contract bridge
Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking game, trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two Team game, competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each othe ...
, a relay bid is a
conventional bid that usually has little or no descriptive meaning but asks partner to describe some feature of his hand. A relay is often the cheapest bid available but need not be.
Stayman
Stayman is a bidding convention in the card game contract bridge. It is used by a partnership to find a 4-4 or 5-3 trump fit in a suit after making a one (1NT) opening bid and it has been adapted for use after a 2NT opening, a 1NT overcall, a ...
and
Blackwood are common examples of relay bids.
The rationale for introducing relay bids emerged from the idea that it is not always the best use of bidding space for both partners to describe their hands. Instead, only one partner can make the cheapest bids available (relays) while the other describes his hand. This is especially useful when the asker has a balanced or very strong hand.
Relay
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. The purpose of bi ...
s are for the most part based on relay bids: in most sequences (especially forcing ones), one partner just relays while the other describes his hand in a highly codified manner. While relay systems offer a higher level of exchanged
information
Information is an Abstraction, abstract concept that refers to something which has the power Communication, to inform. At the most fundamental level, it pertains to the Interpretation (philosophy), interpretation (perhaps Interpretation (log ...
than natural systems, they also have the drawbacks that they are complicated to memorize and often exclude the players' judgment, particular in regard to honor location, which can be crucial.
There is often confusion between puppet bids and relays. A puppet bid requests partner to make the cheapest bid regardless of his hand. A relay bid requests partner to make a descriptive bid in response. The descriptive response can be natural (as in Stayman) or coded (as in Blackwood). A "marionette" bid is similar to a puppet bid except that it allows responses other than the cheapest bid with certain uncommon hand types. Thus technically it's a relay but with the cheapest bid expected most of the time.
See also
*
Relay (disambiguation)
A relay is an electric switch operated by a signal in one circuit to control another circuit.
Relay may also refer to:
Electrical engineering
* Protective relay, a device designed to trip a circuit breaker when a fault is detected.
Historical
* ...
External links
Relay systems on BridgeGuys
Bridge conventions
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