Test your knowledge
Responder's 1st bids -
After 1 Suit, No fit, no new suit, probably balanced
- Question 1
(of 10 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Heart. You have this 17-HCP 5-loser hand
K Q 9 8
A 10 3
K J 10 9
K J
What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 1 Spade
3. 2 Diamonds
4. 2 Hearts
5. 2 Spades
6. 3 Diamonds
7. 2 NT
8. 3 NT
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- Answer 1
(of 10 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Heart. You have this 17-HCP 5-loser hand
( 2 ). 1 Spade K Q 9 8 A 10 3 K J 10 9 K J
What should you bid ?
If you bid 2 NT your partner will think you have 11-12 HCP, and could easily pass with a weak hand, and you'd miss a certain game with at least 29 HCP. If you bid 3 NT, your partner will never know that you had 16+ HCP, and you might miss a Slam. You can't jump shift (2 Spades or 3 diamonds) to show your 16+, since that promises a 6-card suit, or in some special cases a 5-card suit.
Bid 1 Spade, to force your partner to bid again and describe his hand more fully. You will have a second chance to tell your partner how strong you are.
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- Question 2
(of 10 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Heart. You have this 12-HCP 9-loser hand
Q 9 8 Q 10 9 A 10 9 8 K J 3
What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 1 Spade
3. 1 NT
4. 2 Diamonds
5. 2 Hearts
6. 2 NT
7. 3 NT
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- Answer 2
(of 10 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Heart. You have this 12-HCP 9-loser hand
( 6 ). 2 NT Q 9 8 Q 10 9 A 10 9 8 K J 3
What should you bid ?
You are promising a 11-12 HCP balanced hand, denying 4-card Heart support, and inviting your partner to bid 3NT if he has 14 or more HCP.
Note that more advanced players often use the 2 NT bid for another purpose, known as Majors Jacoby 2NT. For these players, you would have to find another bid in this case, such as 2 diamonds, since 2 NT would have a totally different meaning which does not correspond to this hand.
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- Question 3
(of 10 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Heart. You have this 12-HCP 8-loser hand
K 8 Q 10 9 A J 10 9 8 Q 9 8
What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 1 Spade
3. 1 NT
4. 2 Diamonds
5. 2 Hearts
6. 2 NT
7. 3 NT
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- Answer 3
(of 10 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Heart. You have this 12-HCP 8-loser hand
( 7 ). 3 NT K 8 Q 10 9 A J 10 9 8 Q 9 8
What should you bid ?
Give yourself an extra point for the long diamond suit, making 13 altogether. With your balanced hand and little prospect of an 8-card Major fit, go straight to game in NT. You don't want your partner to pass, even if he has minimum points - but if you bid 2NT he could easily pass.
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- Question 4
(of 10 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Heart. You have this 10-HCP 8.5-loser hand
K 8 10 9 7 Q 9 8 6 A J 10 9
Even though you have a balanced hand, you cannot bid NT. 1 NT understates your strength. 2 NT promise 11-12 HCP. You'll have to bid a 4-card suit.1. pass
2. 1 NT
3. 2 Clubs
4. 2 Diamonds
5. 2 Hearts
6. 2 NT
7. 3 NT
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- Answer 4
(of 10 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Heart. You have this 10-HCP 8.5-loser hand
( 3 ). 2 Clubs K 8 10 9 7 Q 9 8 6 A J 10 9
Even though you have a balanced hand, you cannot bid NT. 1 NT understates your strength. 2 NT promise 11-12 HCP. You'll have to bid a 4-card suit.
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- Question 5
(of 10 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Heart. The enemy said nothing. You have this 8-HCP 8.5-loser hand
K 8 10 9 7 Q 9 8 6 K 10 9 7
What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 1 NT
3. 2 Clubs
4. 2 Diamonds
5. 2 Hearts
6. 2 NT
7. 3 NT
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- Answer 5
(of 10 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Heart. The enemy said nothing. You have this 8-HCP 8.5-loser hand
( 2 ). 1 NT K 8 10 9 7 Q 9 8 6 K 10 9 7
What should you bid ?
You are not strong enough to mention your 4-card suits, since that would require a 2-level bid and therefore 10 HCP.
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- Question 6
(of 10 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Heart. Your Right Hand Opponent, RHO, bid 1 Spade. You have this 8-HCP 8.5-loser hand
K 8 10 9 7 Q 9 8 6 K 10 9 7
What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 1 NT
3. 2 Clubs
4. 2 Diamonds
5. 2 Hearts
6. 2 NT
7. 3 NT
8. doubled
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- Answer 6
(of 10 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Heart. Your Right Hand Opponent, RHO, bid 1 Spade. You have this 8-HCP 8.5-loser hand
( 8 ). doubled K 8 10 9 7 Q 9 8 6 K 10 9 7
What should you bid ?
This is known as the "Doubles, Negative double" and in this case promises around 8+ HCP and 4-cards in the two unbid minor suits. It's a more descriptive bid than 1NT in this case. Of course, if the enemy don't make a bid you can't use a double.
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- Question 7
(of 10 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Spade You have this 10-HCP 8-loser hand
10 8 K 9 7 Q J 10 K J 10 9 8
What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 1 NT
3. 2 Clubs
4. 2 Diamonds
5. 2 Hearts
6. 2 Spades
7. 2 NT
8. 3 NT
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- Answer 7
(of 10 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Spade You have this 10-HCP 8-loser hand
( 7 ). 2 NT 10 8 K 9 7 Q J 10 K J 10 9 8
What should you bid ?
Although you only have 10 HCP, it's a good 10 for a balanced hand. You have a long minor; you have lots of 10s; you have stoppers in 3 suits; you have two sequences of honours, and your weak suit is protected by your partner's bid. If your partner has 14 or more HCP, game in NT is likely. The alternative bid of 2 clubs is also descriptive, but you might well miss game if you bid clubs.
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- Question 8
(of 10 on this page)
You opened the bidding with 1 Heart. You partner replied 2NT. You have this 14-HCP 7-loser hand
Q 7 A Q J 7 4 K 9 2 Q 7 2
What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 3 Hearts
3. 3 NT
4. 4 Hearts
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- Answer 8
(of 10 on this page)
You opened the bidding with 1 Heart. You partner replied 2NT. You have this 14-HCP 7-loser hand
( 3 ). 3 NT Q 7 A Q J 7 4 K 9 2 Q 7 2
What should you bid ?
Your partner is inviting you to bid 3NT with 14+ HCP. So you should of course bid 3 NT.
Well, that's the case unless you are no longer a beginner, and have previously agreed to use the Majors Jacoby 2NT convention. Your reply in this case would be 3 Hearts, to deny having either any singletons or a second suit, but to show a hand with more than minimum strength, thus allowing your partner to assess whether it's worth exploring Slam or simply to put it into game.
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- Question 9
(of 10 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Heart. You have this 21-HCP 5-loser hand
K Q 9 8 A 10 9 K Q J 10 A Q
What should you bid.1. pass
2. 1 Spade
3. 2 Diamonds
4. 4 Hearts
5. 4 NT
6. 6 NT
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- Answer 9
(of 10 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Heart. You have this 21-HCP 5-loser hand
( 6 ). 6 NT K Q 9 8 A 10 9 K Q J 10 A Q
What should you bid.
Bidding 4NT sounds as if you are asking for Aces / keycards, and implies suit agreement which you don't have. It would therefore be up to you to sort out any misunderstanding regarding the King and Queen of Hearts if you are using Roman Keycard Blackwood.
Since you are guaranteed 33 points, you can simply put it into 6NT, which is a "quantitative" bid. Your partner will then know exactly how many points you have, and can raise it if he has sufficient strength.
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- Question 10
(of 10 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Spade. Nobody is vulnerable. The enemy said nothing. You have this 7-HCP 8.5-loser hand
10 6 5 9 4 K Q 10 4 Q 10 9 2
What should you bid?1. pass
2. 1 NT
3. 2 clubs
4. 2 diamonds
5. 2 hearts
6. 2 spades
7. 2 NT
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- Answer 10
(of 10 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Spade. Nobody is vulnerable. The enemy said nothing. You have this 7-HCP 8.5-loser hand
( 6 ). 2 spades 10 6 5 9 4 K Q 10 4 Q 10 9 2
What should you bid?
With only 3-card support you can support in Spades.
Note that you have a doubleton which will give your partner a chance to make an extra trick using your trumps. This is far better than bidding 1NT, where your shortage in hearts could be dangerous if your partner is also weak and passes your 1NT reply.
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