Hand evaluation. The skip over principle
Fundamental - Skipping a re-bid = don't have it
When the opener misses out a rebid that he could have made, it's because he doesn't have this suit.
For example, after 1: 1, an opener's re-bid of 2 means he does not have a 4-card spade suit. Also, as he didn't re-bid 1NT he doesn't have a balanced hand either.
This helps you enormously to build a picture of your partner's hand, especially when used in combination with some other fundamental principles:
- bidding longest suit first
- bidding two 5-card suits down the line
- as responder, bidding two 4-card suits up the line
- not breaking your barrier when holding fewer than 16+HCP
- preferring to re-bid in 1 of a new major before supporting responder's minor
- requiring 10+HCP for a 2-over-1 reply
- not re-bidding 1NT when holding singleton
Now try the quiz
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