Bidding has been called the language of bridge in more articles and books about the game than I could think to list in a single post.

If you don’t know how to bid, your cards aren’t speaking to your partner – and you’re going to play a confusing game with the 13 cards you have.

Bidding does more than just reveal the contract for the game.

As the official language of the game, bidding can tell all.

Here are 5 things your bidding can reveal about you.

1: Your hand’s strength

Hand strength is one of the first things most bridge players are taught to measure. Every bridge instruction book that has been written will teach you something about it.

Bidding reveals it to the whole table.

Experienced players can tell what you have in your hand, at least more or less. Communication between partners happens during the bidding phase, but could also tip your opposing partnership to your cards.

Always think of this before making your first bid!

2: Your mood at the table

Bidding can show your mood.

Confident bidding is good, but overconfident bidding on a good day is as bad as going all-in at any other card games out there. Beware of feeling too good about the odds of your hand.

Bidding that jumps all over the place might show distraction, or just a rough day.

How much does the average day show in how you bid during that particular game?

Check your bridge stats and you might be surprised.

3: Your bridge upbringing

Depending on where (and when) you learned to play bridge, your conventions might look different. Preference for ACOL is more common to European players, while a preference for newer adaptations is shown by younger and newer players.

Have you thought of how your bidding might show your bridge upbringing?

Compare how you bid to what your partner has been doing since they started to play bridge to see this in practice.

4: Your partner’s learning school

If your bidding style shows how you learned to play (and where you learned in the first place), remember that the same is true for your bridge partner.

Online bridge means partnerships can be formed fast, and more instant adaptation to each other’s bidding style is necessary.

Pay attention to how your partner bids. Even if you’ve only known them for the past two minutes, you’ll learn something about their bidding.

5: Your new tricks

If your bidding style changes, it can point to growth or change in your bridge play. New tricks are learned by players all the time, and it’s one of the first things that can become evident in how they bid.

Is your opponent or partner bidding like they’ve just made a deal with the devil for a deck of cards?

Well, they’ve been working on better bidding. Shouldn’t you?