Responder rebids. The general idea

Bridge Venue

Work it out in your head

Fourth suit forcing, FSF

Your second suit

False preference

Very strong

Example Hands

Quick summary

1 Both weak

2 You weak, he strong !

3 You are strong

Responder's second suit - it is forcing ?

Quiz: Barrier-Reversing

Quiz: Deal # Thursday

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Quiz: Barrier-Reversing

Quiz: Deal # Thursday
Free Downloads Cribsheets Conventions Quick Book Glossary Books to read Deal a hand Other stuff
Basic
strategy
0000). How to use 0001). Bidding Objectives = "8 and 25" 0002). 28 for minor 0003). 33 for NT slam 0004). Suit slam 0005). Importance of length 0006). Convention card 0007). ACOL and American Standard, differences 0008). A-Z Glossary 0690). A-Z Glossary
Hand
evaluation
0010). Balanced-Unbalanced 0011). How strong is your hand, HCP 0012). Distribution points 0013). Losing trick count 0014). Barrier-Reversing 0015). Selection of opening suit 0016). Showing shape 0017). 4441 distribution 0018). The skip over principle 0019). Rule of 20 Opening 1 of a suit 0019a). Rule of 25 Opening 2 of a suit 0019b). Rule of 500 Max penalty risk on preempt if doubled 0019c). Law of total tricks 0019d). Rule of Protective bidding
Opening
bids
0020). Plan of attack 0021). Bal, 12 to 19 HCPs, weak NT 0022). Bal, 20+ points 0023). Bal, 15 to 17 HCPs, strong NT 0025). Unbal, 12 to 19 HCPs, 1 suit 0026). Unbal, Strong 2s 0027). Unbal, Pre-emptive 0028). Unbal, Gambling 3NT 0029). Benji Strong 2s
Responder
1st bids
0030). After 1NT, General principles 0031). After 1NT, Weak 0032). After 1NT, Getting out of trouble 0033). After 1NT, 11+ balanced 0034). After 1NT, 11+ 4-card major 0035). After 1NT, 11+ unbalanced 0036). After 1NT, 19+ 0037). After 2NT 0038). After 1NT, and Enemy has interfered 0039). 1 NT responses 0040). After 1 Suit, With fit 0041). After 1 Suit, No fit, but alternative suit 0042). After 1 Suit, No fit, no new suit, probably balanced 0043). After 1 Suit, 6 points, nothing to bid 0044). After 1 Suit, Very strong 0045). After 1 Suit, Weak freak 0047). After 2 Suit, Strong 2s 0048). After 2 Suit, Weak 2s 0049). After 3 Suit, Responding to preempt
Openers
rebid
0050). Unbalanced, The general idea 0051). Unbalanced, You are weak 0052). Unbalanced, You are strong 0053). Unbalanced, Partner replied with 1NT 0054). Unbalanced, Delayed support 0055). Balanced
Responder
rebids
0060). Responder rebids, The general idea 0061). Choice of two suits 0062). Responders reverse 0063). After 1NT rebid
Basic
Convention
0080). Stayman 0081). Transfer 0082). Transfer after 2NT 0161). Minor suit transfer
Slam
bidding
0090). Slam, Spotting the chance 0091). Blackwood 0092). No-trump slam 0093). Gerber 0094). Extra slam techniques
Interfering
bids
0100). Overcalls, the basic idea 0101). Overcalls, in a suit, over a suit 0102). Overcalls, in a suit, over 1NT 0103). Overcalls, in NT, over a suit 0104). Overcalls, Jump overcall 0105). Overcalls, Double then bid a suit 0106). Overcalls, Bidding opponents suit 0107). Overcalls, Balancing (protective) 0108). Overcalls, Overcall a preempt 0109). Overcalls, Preemptive double jump 0110). Overcalls, To overcall, or to double 0111). Overcalls, Response to 1NT after suit overcall (Lebensohl) 0115). Defence after 1NT 0116). Competitive bidding 0117). Be cautious sometimes 0118). Sacrificing Be bold when non-vulnerable 0119). Sacrificing 0120). Doubles, Double a 1NT 0121). Doubles, Double for takeout 0122). Doubles, Doubling after opponent overcall 0126). Doubles, Protective double
Doubles

0120). Doubles, Double a 1NT 0121). Doubles, Double for takeout 0122). Doubles, Doubling after opponent overcall 0123). Doubles, Negative double 0124). Doubles, Double a 1NT overcall 0125). Doubles, Double a suit over 1NT 0126). Doubles, Protective double 0127). Doubles, Responsive double 0128). Doubles, Double then bid a suit 0129). Doubles, Penalty 0130). Doubles, Support double 0131). Doubles, Lead directing double 0132). Doubles, Maximal double 0133). Doubles, Redoubling - coded meanings 0134). Doubles, Forcing Pass 0135). Doubles, Re-opening double 0139). Doubles, Index of doubles
Advanced
Convention
0150). Majors Jacoby 2NT 0151). Majors Splinters 0152). Majors Weak 2s 0153). Majors Weak 2 defence 0154). Trial bid 0160). NT and minors 4th suit forcing 0161). Minor suit transfer 0162). DONT Bidding When Opponents open 1NT 0163). Game tries 0166). Grand Slam Force 0167). Roman Keycard Blackwood 0168). Cue bidding for controls 0170). 2-suited Overcall Unusual 2NT 0171). 2-suited Overcall Michaels cue bid 0172). 2-suited Overcall Landy over 1NT 0173). Overcall Unassuming cue bid 0179). Very advanced

Quiz How much do you know about this page? Quiz

<= find/hide more deals exploiting this aspect

Reflect on everything you've learned:

what your partner has told you in his 2 bids (e.g. a 5-card first suit)
the combined shape of your hands
your combined strength
the enemy's strength

Then act:

show your preference if partner has bid 2 suits
only rebid your suit if it's long (6-cards) and strong
use "4th Suit Forcing" if it's still not clear (10 HCP at the 2-level, 13+ for higher)
"invite" if game could be on, end the bidding ASAP if not
bid NT at the one level if there's no fit

If game or slam could be on, keep the bidding going, using things like

If you can see that game is obvious, and in what denomination, make a closing bid at that level.

If the opposition are interfering, calculate the cost of any sacrifice on their part, or yours

Print cribsheet

« 0060 »

Oh dear ! By now there have already been three bids involving you and your partner, and the number of possibilities that these 3 bids can describe is enormous. Far too many to list individually. But the good news though is that you now have a lot of information, so you can now quite simply work out what to do next.

Your partner has bid twice. If he bid a new suit, you now know he has 5 cards in the first suit, so you can now support him with a 3-card suit. The same is true if he bid the same suit twice. It is only if he rebid NT that his first suit contains 4 cards.

And you know a lot more too. By now you will know his strength, his balance, his shape, and maybe his second best suit as well as his first. Assemble this information, put it alongside your hand. All you have to do is to decide whether, together, you are (a) too weak for game, (b) possibly strong enough for game, or (c) very strong. Then tell 'im.

There are three basic and common situations:

you are weak (9 or less) and partner is weak (12-15): best to stop (ASAP)
you are weak (9 or less) and partner is strong (16-18): enough to "invite to game"
you have 10+, enough to bid at the two level, or 13+: usually enough for game

There's also the much rarer situation where one of you is very strong (partner 19+, or you 16+), in which case you should be investigating Slam.

No chance of game, so try to end the auction as soon as possible. Options are:

show your preference if partner has bid 2 suits (see Deal 1 & 2 below)
only rebid your suit if it's long (6-cards) and strong (see Deal 3)
pass, if he has rebid his first suit
bid NT at the one level if there's no fit (see Deal 4)

Game could be possible, so invite to game where possible. Generally, your partner's strong second bid will be forcing. In other respects, your reply will be similar to the above

show your preference if partner has bid 2 suits
only rebid your suit if it's long and strong
with 8/9 HCP you should head towards game

With 10-12 HCP game is not certain, so you can "invite to game", in various ways, depending on what is appropriate:

bid at the 3 level in a suit
raise to the 2 level in No Trumps
use "4th Suit Forcing" at the 2 level only, see below

With 13+ game should be certain:

bit at the game level if you have a suit match
raise to the 3 level in No Trumps if you have a stop in the unbid suit
use "4th Suit Forcing" at any level, and keep bidding afterwards, see below
rebid in a new suit at the 3 level (that's forcing)

The "4th Suit Forcing" technique has two different main uses

NT or suit? If 3 suits have been bid, and you are still not sure which suit is right for the contract, use FSF to try to get to 3NT

Minor game? If responder is strong and interested in game in a minor, his partner is allowed to ignore his minor suit rebid at the 3-level. But his partner cannot ignore an FSF followed by a rebid of three in the minor.

After the 3 diamond rebid, the opener will assume responder has 10-12HCP and can pass.

W	N	E	S

1	pass	1	pass
1	pass	3	pass
pass	pass

Instead, with the same cards, responder can bid the 4th suit, obliging opener to reply (and incidentally to give an answer to the question of course, in this case the answer being "I don't have spades"). The subsequent rebid of 3 diamonds by responder shows a strong hand, and is game forcing, asking the opener to decide between NT and the minor.

W	N	E	S

1	pass	1	pass
1	pass	1	pass
2	pass	3	pass
5

If a game bid is possible, though not certain, and the suit is not yet obvious, you could try a second suit or re-bidding your first, making sure you also indicate your strength by going through the "responder's barrier" if you have 12+ HCP. Bidding a second suit is only allowed if partner has re-bid his first suit, or bid NT on the second bid (since otherwise it will be interpreted as "4th Suit Forcing").

You may have a choice of two 5-card suits, or a choice of two 4-card suits, which you should have thought about at the time of your first bid.

W	N	E	S

1	pass	1	pass
2	pass	2	pass
?

Is East's bid forcing ? Or does it show a weak hand with possibly 5-5 in the majors ? If it is forcing, is it to 2NT or for one round ? These days it's considered to be forcing for one round, allowing West to stop at 2, but not 2.

If there's no match, and you end up in a 7-card suit, it's generally better to end up in a 5-2 split rather than a 4-3 split. So, if you have a 2-3 distribution in the two suits bid by your partner, you might want to show preference for the shorter 2-card suit.

If you have 16+ points, you may not yet have shown your partner how strong you are, because you sensibly kept the bidding low in your first forcing bid. Now is the time to reveal your strength, one way or another. In addition to the techniques mentioned above, you might want to use The Losing Trick Count method to work out if you should bid higher in a suit.

Assemble the information, put it alongside your hand, and try to decide if Slam could be on in a suit or NT. If the answer is positive, use Slam bidding techniques, including cue bidding if appropriate (assuming you both know how to do it). If Slam is not on, but game is clear and obvious, then put an end to the bidding by closing off at the "game" level, usually 3NT or 4 of a major suit, .

Deal 4
8 2	W E	A 10 9 5	The bidding has gone 1 -1-1. What next ? East is able to bid 1NT to show that he has 6-9 HCP.
K 5 4 3		10 7 2
Q 2		K J 4 3
A K 10 3 2		6 5

Deal 5
Q 2	W E	9 8 4 3	The bidding has gone 1 -1-2. What next ? West's reverse forces East to bid again. With only 6 HCP, East should show simple preference, bidding 3.
7 5		Q 8 6 4 2
A K 4 2		Q 5
A K 10 7 6		Q 5

Deal 6
Q 2	W E	K 10 9 3	Again, the bidding has gone 1 -1-2. What next ? Again, West's reverse forces East to bid again. This time with 9 HCP opposite a strong hand, East can bid 3NT, knowing that there are 26 HCP.
6 5		Q J 10 4 2
A Q 4 2		K7
A K 10 7 6		Q 5

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The bidding has gone 1-1-2. What next ?

Since opener's rebid showed < 16 HCP and was not forcing, it's best to pass, giving preference for over .

J 10 6 5 4