This bidding system was developed by Americans Mr. Kenneth Schutze and Mr. James (Jim) Griffin, both of Austin, Texas, United States.

The concept behind the Toad Club system is that it is a big club system in which all good hands, defined as 16 plus high card points or the equivalent thereof, playing strength, are opened with 1Club. Failure to open 1 Club, therefore, limits the hand to at most 15 high card points. The Toad Club system also employs the use of variable No Trump ranges, which varies with the state of vulnerability.

     
     

Notes

In addition to being a very exact system for offensive bidding, the system was designed to also be very aggressive with distributional weak hands to make constructive bidding by the opponents more difficult.

The complete outlined description of the Toad Club system has been archived and preserved on this site in .pdf file format for future reference.

The newest version as presented online is from Mr. James (Jim) Griffen and is dated as of March 23, 2011. The link is a .pdf file. The bridge student will notice that several of the opening bids have been altered or updated in order to reflect a better version.

Note: A short version of the Toad Club Relay Precision is presented on BBO and is dated December 7, 2008. Link.

Important Note: The Toad Club opening bids is separated into two distinct, whereby one set of opening bids is when the the partnership is playing Mid-Chart, and one set of opening bids is when the the partnership is not playing Mid-Chart.

Opening Bids Only

Bids   Strength   Meaning
1 :   16 or more high-card points   Shows any distribution.
1 :   11-16 high-card points   Promises 2 or more Diamonds.
1 :   11-17 high-card points   Promises 5 plus Hearts in 1st and 2nd seat, 4 plus Hearts in 3rd or 4th seat.
1 :   11-150high-card points   Promises 5 plus Spades in 1st and 2nd seat, 4 plus Hearts in 3rd or 4th seat.
1 NT:   11-13 high-card points   Variable No Trump range - 11-13 points by state of non-vulnerable, and
    14-16 high-card points   by state of vulnerability.
        Note: Partnership agreement by equal vulnerability, either both not vulnerable or both vulnerable, is an individual partnership agreement.
2 :   11-15 high-card points   Promises 6 plus Clubs, and may have another 4-card or longer side suit.
2 :   4-10 high-card points   Either a weak 2 Hearts or 2 Spades bid, or
    17-20 high-card points   with a distribution of 1-4-4-4.
2 :   4-10 high-card points   Distribution either 4-4-1-4, 4-4-0-5, 3-4-1-5, or 4-3-1-5.
2 :   4-10 high-card points   Shows a 5-card plus Spade suit and a 5-card plus suit in either Minor suit. (Similar to Polish)
2 NT:       A normal preempt in either Clubs or Diamonds, but not both.
3 :   4-10 high-card points   Shows a pattern of 5-5 or better in both Minor suits.
3 :       Promises a 7-card plus solid suit (not necessarily Diamonds)
         
Below are the opening bids if the partnership is not playing Mid-Chart
Bids   Strength   Meaning
2 :   11-15 high-card points   Distribution either 4-4-1-4, 4-4-0-5, 3-4-1-5, or 4-3-1-5.
2 :   4-10 high-card points   Shows a 5 to 7-card Heart suit; weak two bid.
2 :   4-10 high-card points   Shows a 5 to 7-card Spade suit; weak two bid.
2 NT:   4-10 high-card points   Shows a pattern of 5-5 or better in both Minor suits.
3 :   3-10 high-card points   Preemptive bid in Clubs.
3 :   3-10 high-card points   Preemptive bid in Diamonds.
         
Following are the opening bids for both versions:
Bids   Meaning
3 :   A normal preempt in Hearts.
3 :   A normal preempt in Spades.
3 NT:   A normal preempt in 4 Clubs or 4 Diamonds.
4 :   A good 4 Hearts preempt with 7-8 playing tricks.
4 :   A good 4 Spades preempt with 7-8 playing tricks.
4 :   A normal preempt in Hearts.
4 :   A normal preempt in Spades.
4 NT:   A very good preempt in 5 Clubs or 5 Diamonds.

 

 

If you wish to include this feature, or any other feature, of the game of bridge in your partnership agreement, then please make certain that the concept is understood by both partners. Be aware whether or not the feature is alertable or not and whether an announcement should or must be made. Check with the governing body and/or the bridge district and/or the bridge unit prior to the game to establish the guidelines applied. Please include the particular feature on your convention card in order that your opponents are also aware of this feature during the bidding process, since this information must be made known to them according to the Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge. We do not always include the procedure regarding Alerts and/or Announcements, since these regulations are changed and revised during time by the governing body. It is our intention only to present the information as concisely and as accurately as possible.

 


     
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