Convention Card

Filling out a Convention Card can be challenging, especially for a new bridge player. The purpose of the Convention card is to document the bidding and defensive signaling systems that you and your partner are using, which can be simple or very complex. The ACBL has an excellent set of articles about How to Complete a Convention Card. Click on this ACBL Convection Card link to access them.

To help you get started the ACBL has prepared several Convention Cards that you can download and print:

1. ACBL “FatFree” Convention Card. Basic Beginner convention card.

2. Basic 2 Over 1 Convention Card

3. Standard American Yellow Card (SAYC)

There are several FREE Convention Card Editor programs available on the Internet. The following are link to site where several of these can be downloaded for your use. Using a Convention Card Editor makes updating your card a lot easier and solves the problem of creating identical convention cards for you and your partner.

BridgeWinners.com Convention Card Editor

Download Merlin Vilhauer's Card Editor

Chuck Tesler's Convention Card Editor

Do I need a Convention Card?

Yes, the rules require both you and your partner to have an identically completed convention card. The purpose of the Convention card is to document the bidding and defensive signaling systems that you and your partner are using. This rule is enforced at tournaments. It is a procedural penalty if not followed. The convention card is not for you; it is for use by your opponents. During the game, you should place the convention card on the table with the printing facing your righ-hand opponent (RHO) so that he/she can easily reference the card as desired to get information about a bid or play.

Why should I look at my Opponent’s Convention Card instead of asking when it is my turn to bid?

There are two really good reasons:

1. You can look at an opponent’s Convention Card at any time, not when it is just your turn.

2. If you ask about a bid, the partner of the opponent that made the bid will provide the explanation to you and his partner, which may help the partner remember something that was forgotten. Asking instead of looking at the Convention Card sometimes helps the opponents. If there is something you don’t understand and does not impact your bidding, wait until the auction is over and then ask.

Do I have to ask before I look at an opponent’s convention Card?

It is a common courtesy to do so. If your opponents play Precision or some other complex bidding system, ask if you can keep their Convention Card in front of you during the bidding.