# Balanced hand

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{{Short description|Hand with an even distribution of suits}}
A '''balanced hand''' or '''balanced distribution''' in [card game](/source/card_game)s is a hand with an even distribution of suits. In the game of [contract bridge](/source/contract_bridge), it denotes a hand of thirteen cards which contains no singleton or void and at most one {{gcb|doubleton}}. Three [hand patterns](/source/Contract_bridge_probabilities) are classified as truly balanced: 4-3-3-3, 4-4-3-2 and 5-3-3-2. The hand patterns 5-4-2-2 (an example of a two-suiter) and 6-3-2-2 (a single-suiter) are generally referred to as ''semi-balanced''.

In natural bidding systems, balanced hands within specified high card point (HCP) ranges are generally opened with a notrump bid, or rebid in notrump.

In the Netherlands, a bidding system called ''Saaie klaver'' ("''[Boring club](/source/Boring_club)''") that reserves the 1{{Clubs}} opening for all balanced hands (''boring hands''), has gained some popularity.

==See also==
*[Single suiter](/source/Single_suiter)
*[Two suiter](/source/Two_suiter)
*[Three suiter](/source/Three_suiter)
*[Bridge probabilities](/source/Bridge_probabilities)
*[Boring club](/source/Boring_club)
*[Kamikaze 1NT](/source/Kamikaze_1NT)

==Literature==
* {{OEB|7}}
{{WPCBIndex}}

Category:Contract bridge bidding

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Balanced hand](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balanced_hand) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balanced_hand?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.