Precision Club

Precision Club is a bidding system in the game of contract bridge. It is a strong club system invented by C. C. Wei assisted by Alan Truscott and first used by Taiwan teams in the late 1960s. Their success in placing second at the 1969 Bermuda Bowl launched the system's popularity.^[1]

The central feature of the Precision system is that an opening bid of one club is used for any hand with 16 or more high card points (HCPs), regardless of distribution. An opening bid of one of a major suit signifies a five-card suit and 11-15 HCPs. A one notrump opening bid signifies a balanced hand (no five-card major suit) and 13-15 HCPs.

Popularity

After the success of Taiwan (Republic of China) teams in 1969 and 1970 Bermuda Bowls with the system, the entire Italian Blue team switched to Precision Club and won yet another World Team Olympiad in 1972. The modifications to the system were made chiefly by Benito Garozzo and he titled it Super Precision. Today, multiple world champions Jeff Meckstroth and Eric Rodwell play their own variant known as RM Precision. In North America, Precision is less commonly played than Standard American or 2/1 game forcing, especially at the club level.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advocates of Precision say that it is generally more efficient (and precise, as the name would suggest) than systems such as Standard American. Because all opening bids except 1♣ are limited, the responder almost immediately knows the hand potential and the chances for a part score, game or slam.

Critics of Precision bidding, question the wisdom of combining a strong club with 5 card majors. This causes certain hand shapes to bid awkwardly, and a high percentage of hands are opened with one diamond, including in some cases hands with only a doubleton diamond. Howard Schenken wrote in Big Club, "This is so absurd that I wish to go on record in stating that the Big Club cannot be played with any hope of success if you attempt to use it by bidding only 5-card majors."^[2] Bob Hamman was quoted as saying, "My opinion on Precision is that combining five-card majors with a forcing club is like trying to mix oil and water, and it has serious structural defects…" ^[3]

Some players have abandoned Precision in favour of a Strong Diamond System that swaps the strong 1♣ and weaker 1♦ openings. This gives the commoner weaker opening more room to bid.

Main opening sequences

• 1♣: Conventional, 16+
  • Responses:
  • 1♦: negative, 0-7. If playing the "impossible negative", any 4-4-4-1; this will be followed by a strong rebid.
  • 1♥, 1♠, 2♣ 2♦: 8+, 5-card suit
  • 1NT: 8-10, balanced
  • 2♥, 2♠: 4-7, 6-card suit
  • 2NT: 11-13 or 16+, balanced
  • 3♣, 3♦, 3♥, 3♠: 4-7, 7-card suit
  • 3NT: 14-15, balanced

• 1♦: 11-15, no 5 card major or 6 card club suit. Sometimes a 3 card suit; some partnerships will open on a 2 card suit with shapes such as 3-3-2-5.

• 1♥, 1♠: 11-15, 5-card suit

• 1NT: 13-15, balanced

• 2♣: 11-15, 6-card suit or a 5-card suit with a 4-card major

• 2♦: Conventional (Mini-Roman), 11-15, 3-suited hand with singleton or void in diamond

• 2♥, 2♠: Weak two bid, 8-10, good 6-card suit

• 2NT: 22-24, balanced

• 3♣, 3♦, 3♥, 3♠: normal preempts

• 3NT: Conventional (Gambling), solid 7-card minor suit leading with AKQ, no outside strength

Precision today

There have been many variations since 1969's 'Precision Club'. 3NT is played as 'Gambling' (where it used to show 24-27HCP), 1♣ - 1♦ is not anymore a 4-4-4-1 (Impossible Negative), and the "Unusual Positive" is used instead. Also, many systems using relay bids are precision-based, opening a strong club.

When 1♣ - 1♦ is not anymore a 4-4-4-1,

1♣ - 2♥ = 8+ HCP, 4-4-4-1 Singleton ♠;

1♣ - 2♠ = 8+ HCP, 4-4-4-1 Singleton ♣;

1♣ - 3♣ = 8+ HCP, 4-4-4-1 Singleton ♦;

1♣ - 3♦ = 8+ HCP, 4-4-4-1 Singleton ♥

References

Further reading

• Reese, Terence Precision Bidding and Precision Play

External links

• Precision Bidding at TurboIRC
• Precision Bidding at BIL Precision
• Problems With Precision Bidding
• A Modern Version Of Precision
• A Strong Diamond Variant of Precision