The optimum contract is that contract which offers the best chances, in unopposed bidding, of gaining bonus points for part-score, game or slam whilst minimising the risk of failure. It is that contract which cannot be improved upon by further bidding nor could it have been improved upon by taking a different line in earlier bidding.
At Chicago or IMP scoring it is generally worth bidding game even with a slightly less than 50% chance of success due to the relatively high value of the bonuses (especially when vulnerable). In duplicate pairs scoring, the subtle difference between a major suit game, a NT game and a minor suit game make the choice of denomination an important decision.
Each side has its own optimum contract and, for a side with poor hands, "pass" may be the optimum call.
Read more about this topic: Optimum Contract And Par Contract
Famous quotes containing the words optimum and/or contract:
“Everywhere—all over Africa and South America ... you see these suburbs springing up. They represent the optimum of what people want. There’s a certain sort of logic leading towards these immaculate suburbs. And they’re terrifying, because they are the death of the soul.... This is the prison this planet is being turned into.”
—J.G. (James Graham)
“A contract for better for worse is a contract that should not be tolerated.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)