Test your knowledge
Responder's 1st bids -
After 1 Suit, No fit, but alternative suit
- Question 1
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Diamond. You have this 7-HCP 9.5-loser hand
10 8 6
A Q 8 4
J 8
8 6 4 2
What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 1 Heart
3. 1 Spade
4. 1 NT
5. 2 Clubs
6. 2 Diamonds
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- Answer 1
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Diamond. You have this 7-HCP 9.5-loser hand
( 2 ). 1 Heart 10 8 6 A Q 8 4 J 8 8 6 4 2
What should you bid ?
You can't support you partner's suit with only 2 cards. So bid your own 4-card suit.
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- Question 2
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Spade. You have this 7-HCP 9.5-loser hand
10 8 A Q 8 4 J 8 7 8 6 4 2
What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 1 NT
3. 2 Clubs
4. 2 Diamonds
5. 2 Hearts
6. 2 Spades
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- Answer 2
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Spade. You have this 7-HCP 9.5-loser hand
( 2 ). 1 NT 10 8 A Q 8 4 J 8 7 8 6 4 2
What should you bid ?
You can't support you partner's suit with only 2 cards. You have your own 4-card suits, but after your partner's opening bid of 1 Spade, you'd need to go to the 2-level to mention either of them. Unfortunately you don't have the strength to do that with your 7 HCP hand. You'll have to bid 1 NT to show 6+ HCP.
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- Question 3
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Spade. You have this 10-HCP 8-loser hand
10 8 A K Q 8 4 J 8 8 6 4 2
What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 1 NT
3. 2 Clubs
4. 2 Diamonds
5. 2 Hearts
6. 2 Spades
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- Answer 3
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Spade. You have this 10-HCP 8-loser hand
( 5 ). 2 Hearts 10 8 A K Q 8 4 J 8 8 6 4 2
What should you bid ?
You can't support you partner's suit with only 2 cards. You have your own 4-card suits. Bid the 5-card suit first.
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- Question 4
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Spade. You have this 10-HCP 8-loser hand
Q 8 A K 9 8 J 8 7 8 6 4 2
What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 1 NT
3. 2 Clubs
4. 2 Diamonds
5. 2 Hearts
6. 2 Spades
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- Answer 4
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Spade. You have this 10-HCP 8-loser hand
( 3 ). 2 Clubs Q 8 A K 9 8 J 8 7 8 6 4 2
What should you bid ?
You can't support you partner's suit with only 2 cards. You have your own 4-card suits, but neither is ideal. First, the clubs are rather weak. Second, to bid a Major at the two level as a new suit promises a 5-card suit, which you don't have. You'll have to bid 2 Clubs, or 1NT.
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- Question 5
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 diamond. You have this 13-HCP 7-loser hand
10 8 A K Q 8 6 A 8 7 8 6 4
What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 1 Heart
3. 1 Spade
4. 1 NT
5. 2 Clubs
6. 2 Diamonds
7. 2 Hearts
8. 2 Spades
9. 3 Hearts
10. 4 Hearts
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- Answer 5
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 diamond. You have this 13-HCP 7-loser hand
( 2 ). 1 Heart 10 8 A K Q 8 6 A 8 7 8 6 4
What should you bid ?
You have all that's needed to bid 2 Hearts, but since the 1 Heart bid is available, you should bid 1 Heart. You must bid at the lowest level available.
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- Question 6
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 diamond. You have this 16-HCP 5-loser hand
10 A K Q 8 6 A K 7 4 8 6 4
What should you bid ?1. 1 Heart
2. 1 Spade
3. 2 Clubs
4. 2 Diamonds
5. 2 Hearts
6. 2 Spades
7. 3 Diamonds
8. 3 Hearts
9. 4 Hearts
10. 5 Diamonds
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- Answer 6
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 diamond. You have this 16-HCP 5-loser hand
( 1 ). 1 Heart 10 A K Q 8 6 A K 7 4 8 6 4
What should you bid ?
Well, game is a certainly, with at least 28 HCP + another 3 for shape. Slam could be on. So let's describe your hand well. If you support your partner's suit (5 diamonds ?), you would be denying having Hearts. With such a fine Heart suit, that would be a crime. Bid the Hearts. Since you've changed suit, a forcing bid, you'll have a chance to show support for your partner's suit later. Even with 16 HCP, you do not need to jump. You can tell your partner about your strength later.
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- Question 7
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 diamond. You have this 16-HCP 5-loser hand
10 A K Q 8 6 2 A K 7 8 6 4
1. 1 Heart
2. 1 Spade
3. 2 Clubs
4. 2 Diamonds
5. 2 Hearts
6. 2 Spades
7. 3 Diamonds
8. 3 Hearts
9. 4 Hearts
10. 4 NT
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- Answer 7
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 diamond. You have this 16-HCP 5-loser hand
( 5 ). 2 Hearts 10 A K Q 8 6 2 A K 7 8 6 4
This case is a bit special. You have 16 HCP and you have a 6-card suit. You need to tell your partner about this unique combination, by jump-shifting - to a new suit and jump. You are really saying that Hearts is very special. With your distribution, Slam could easily be on in Hearts. Your partner will assess the situation and if he has 2 Hearts in his hand will most probably explore Slam.
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- Question 8
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 diamond. You have this 9-HCP 8-loser hand
10 9 K Q 3 8 7 6 K J 10 9 5
What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 1 Heart
3. 1 Spade
4. 1 NT
5. 2 Clubs
6. 2 Diamonds
7. 2 Hearts
8. 2 Spades
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- Answer 8
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 diamond. You have this 9-HCP 8-loser hand
( 5 ). 2 Clubs 10 9 K Q 3 8 7 6 K J 10 9 5
What should you bid ?
You need 10 points to change suit at the 2-level. Here you only have 9. But with a 5-card suit you can do it with 9. In this case you have an 8 -loser hand, which is a further comfort.
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- Question 9
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 diamond. You have this 8-HCP 8-loser hand
10 J 3 2 K 7 6 K J 10 9 8 5
What should you bid1. pass
2. 1 Heart
3. 1 Spade
4. 1 NT
5. 2 Clubs
6. 2 Diamonds
7. 2 Hearts
8. 2 Spades
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- Answer 9
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 diamond. You have this 8-HCP 8-loser hand
( 5 ). 2 Clubs 10 J 3 2 K 7 6 K J 10 9 8 5
What should you bid
A 6-card suit is always a good thing. Even with only 8 HCP you should bid it. Think of it as 2 extra points for shape if you like - or use the LTC to note that you have a stronger than average responding hand, with 8 losers, rather than 9.
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- Question 10
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 club. You have this 8-HCP 9-loser hand
A K 9 8 J 6 4 2 9 8 8 6 4
What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 1 Diamond
3. 1 Heart
4. 1 Spade
5. 1 NT
6. 2 Clubs
7. 2 Diamonds
8. 2 Hearts
9. 2 Spades
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- Answer 10
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 club. You have this 8-HCP 9-loser hand
( 5 ). 1 NT A K 9 8 J 6 4 2 9 8 8 6 4
What should you bid ?
If you bid your stronger 4-card Spade suit, you would either be denying having a 4-card suit in Hearts, or you would be promising 5 Spades on a Heart rebid. But if you bid your Hearts first, you will not be able to bid your Spades next time if your partner rebids his suit - since that would be known as a "responder's reverse", or going through responder's barrier, promising 12 HCP. You'll have to bid Hearts if you want to bid a suit. But with a balanced shape and 8 HCP, perhaps you could try 1NT.
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- Question 11
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 club. You have this 8-HCP 6-loser hand
4 2 A K 9 8 J 6 4 2 8 6 4
What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 1 Diamond
3. 1 Heart
4. 1 Spade
5. 1 NT
6. 2 Clubs
7. 2 Diamonds
8. 2 Hearts
9. 2 Spades
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- Answer 11
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 club. You have this 8-HCP 6-loser hand
( 2 ). 1 Diamond 4 2 A K 9 8 J 6 4 2 8 6 4
What should you bid ?
You should bid your lower-ranking 4-card suit in this case, even though it's weaker. Bidding your diamonds will still allow your partner to mention both of the Majors. If your partner rebids Spades, showing 5-4 in Clubs and Spades and denying a 4-card Heart suit, you will not have missed a chance to find an 8-card Major match - there never was one. If your partner rebids Clubs then he is denying having a 4-card second suit, so again nothing is lost. (If you bid the Hearts first, you might be missing a diamond fit, since opener cannot bid rebid diamonds with fewer than 16HCP).
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