Correct contract bridge / by E.V. Shepard ; including the official Laws of contract bridge adopted by the Whist Club, New York, and by all the leading clubs in America.

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CONTRACTING POWERFUL HANDS
THE conviction that Bridge is a genuine science
increases rapidly, as talks and correspondence
with scientists, mathematicians, and the members of
faculties of leading universities proves. It behooves
us to consider the game more from a scientific standpoint and less than has been done in the past from
the personal viewpoint of prominent players, otherwise we cannot always rapidly progress in the right
direction.
TOPOGRAPHY OF CONTRACT
A properly trained "contract engineer" utilizes
bids as a topographer employs symbols, to describe
in minute detail what he views in his hand. The
definite values required for the probable success of
certain declarations are announced by their holder
in set terms, which are a feature of "slam bidding."
As previously remarked, the custom of making an
opening bid of two, to announce "game expectations
and slam hopes," originated among Auction players,
who unofficially allowed Soo points for a small slam
and i,ooo points for a grand slam, when both bid
and made. The sole use of the opening two bid of
any suit was to notify partner of slam prospects;
hence this bid was termed "the slam signal." This
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