| has gloss | eng: In contract bridge, a splinter bid is a convention whereby a jump bid in a side-suit indicates a trump fit and a singleton or void in the suit bid. For example, a 4 clubs response to a 1 heart opening establishes hearts as trump suit and indicates a singleton or void in clubs. Most experts agree that a responder should have 10-12 high card points for a splinter. With a strong hand, a responder and opener may be able to make slam on sheer strength, so splinters by responder are normally restricted to hands containing 10-12 high card points and a void or a small singleton in the splintered suit. A singleton honor is frowned upon. Although they consume bidding space, splinter bids are very descriptive as they help partner to reevaluate his/her hand: soft honors (a king, queen or jack) in the splinter suit lose value, while honors in the other three suits gain value. |