Slam-seeking conventions Slam-seeking conventions Slam-seeking conventions are codified artificial bids used in the card game contract bridge. Bidding and making a small slam (12 tricks) or grand slam (13 tricks) yields high bonuses ranging from 500 to 1500 points. However, the risk is also high as failure to fulfill the slam contract also means failure to score the bonus points for a game (300-500). Conventions have been devised to maximise the opportunity for success whilst minimising the risk of failure. Contract bridge bidding systems are mainly "natural" (most bids have an obvious meaning) or "artificial" (many bids have a meaning unrelated to
Bridge convention Bridge convention Contract bridge is a trick-taking card game played by four players in two competing partnerships in which a sequence of , also known as the auction, precedes the play of the cards. The purpose of this bidding is for players to inform their partners of the content of their hand and to arrive at a suitable contract at which to play the hand (or to prevent the opponents from arriving at a suitable contract). Although bidding is often "natural" (describing a hand by simple reference to possession, shape, and strength of the named suit) players may also bid