Approach-forcing

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A bidding system in which the responder does not support a partner's bid suit without 4 card support or 3 cards plus a Queen or higher, never passes an opening 1 bid while holding one and a half honor tricks or more, always responds with an indication of hand strength, and in which a 2 opener or jump bid is considered forcing to game. No Trump is used as a negative response when forced to bid. uncountable

    "[…] the approach-forcing system and other less widely known systems offer a helping hand to the beginner […]"

Example

More examples

"[…] the approach-forcing system and other less widely known systems offer a helping hand to the beginner […]"

Etymology

Coined by Ely Culbertson in the early 1930's to describe the bidding system that he invented.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.