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The Minor Suits

In Bridge, the diamond suit and the club suit are the minor suits and are often referred to as 'the minors'.
Of these two suits Diamonds ♦ ranks higher than Clubs ♣. With an opening hand, you should if possible open 1 of a major or 1NT, only opening 1 in a minor suit if those bids are not available to you.

Why do I need to know about the Minors?

The Minors - Diamonds ♦ & Clubs ♣

The ultimate goal in contract bridge is to gain the highest possible Bridge score in the lowest possible contract If you finish up in a Minor contract you need to win more tricks in order to gain the same points as contracts in No Trump or a major suit . The minor suits in Bridge are diamonds and clubs, diamonds ♦ rank higher than clubs ♣. They are referred to as 'minor' suits because contracts played in those suits score less per trick than contracts made in the major suits, and they are also lower in the suit rank. To make the bonus points associated with bidding to ' game ' level in a minor suit players need to bid to a higher level therefore having to win more tricks than game in a major suit.

Level of bidding and points required for "Game"	Bonus Points for Game bid and made -Not Vunerable	Bonus Points for Game bid and made -Vulnerable
Bidding 3NT requires 25 HCP and winning 9 tricks	300	500
Bidding 4♠, 4♥ requires 26 TP and winning 10 tricks	300	500
Bidding 5♦, 5♣ requires 27 TP and winning 11 tricks	300	500

Biddable and Re-biddable Suits:

The difference between biddable and re-biddable suits is about the number of cards you have in each suit in your hand. If you have a suit with four cards in your hand it is is called a 'biddable' suit, this is because you must have four cards in a suit to bid (as with everything in Bridge there are exceptions but we will learn about these later).
If you hold five cards in a suit it is called a 're-biddable' suit, with this number of cards and the correct number of points you are free to bid and then rebid this suit, telling your partner you have at least 5 or more cards in that suit.

Another word, this time about tricks:

A trick in Bridge is when all four players have played a card

For 1♣ or 1♦ Opening bids:
1a. In Standard American Bidding You need 13-21 TP and 3+ cards in the suit you are bidding
1b. Bidding Acol you need 12-19 TP and 4+ cards in the suit you are bidding
2. Bid your better (longer is better) minor suit
3. Open the bidding with your longest suit, regardless of honor card quality
4. Without a longer suit (you have two or three 4-card suits) open the lowest ranked suit

Instant Progress Quiz

Check the correct answer/s

Select all correct information about minor suits- from this Lesson

Minor suit games score 20 points for each trick won plus the bonus points if you have bid up to game level

In a minor suit game you need to win at least 10 tricks to make your contract

Diamonds and Clubs are the minor suits

You get no extra points for 5D making 11 tricks over 3D making 11 tricks

Hearts and Diamonds are the major suits

Minor Suits - Practice Game

Experienced players recognise Minor Suits instantly but for beginners it takes more time and adds to that 'cognitive overload' that many beginners experience. Use our Minor Suits practice game to boost your Minor Suit recognition skills.

Exercise:

Your Hand

♠A K Q J
♥3
♦A 8 6 3
♣A Q 3 2

Exercise: What should be your Opening Bid with this hand?
Answer: The correct opening bid here is 1♣. With two 4-card minors open the lower. You can bid your spade suit later.

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Next: Major Suits

Previous: Suit Ranking