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Responder's 1st bids - After Weak 2 opening
- Question 1
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opens the bidding with 2 Hearts.
What is the highest number of HCP that he could have ?1. 10
2. 12
3. 15
4. 19
5. 20
6. 22
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- Answer 1
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opens the bidding with 2 Hearts.
( 1 ). 10
What is the highest number of HCP that he could have ?
It's a weak opening, assuming that you have agreed to play Weak Two's. He is also guaranteeing 6 cards in Hearts.
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- Question 2
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opens the bidding with 2 Hearts, a weak 2 bid. You have this 11-HCP 8.5-loser hand. The enemy pass.
Q 3 2
10 8 2
A K Q 9 
5 4 3
What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 2 NT
3. 3 Diamonds
4. 3 Hearts
5. 3 NT
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- Answer 2
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opens the bidding with 2 Hearts, a weak 2 bid. You have this 11-HCP 8.5-loser hand. The enemy pass.
( 4 ). 3 Hearts Q 3 2 10 8 2 A K Q 9 5 4 3
What should you bid ?
You will nearly always pass after a weak two opening, even with what would normally be a strong hand for a responder. At the very best you've got 21 HCP between you. However, in this case, you have enough strength to make the enemy's life even harder, so you can raise to the 3-level. The idea of the bid is to steal the opponents contract by removing their bidding space.
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- Question 3
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opens 2 Spades, a weak 2 bid. You have this 15-HCP 6-loser hand.
10 8 2 K 3 2 A K J 9 2 A 2
What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 2 NT
3. 3 Diamonds
4. 3 Hearts
5. 3 Spades
6. 3 NT
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- Answer 3
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opens 2 Spades, a weak 2 bid. You have this 15-HCP 6-loser hand.
( 2 ). 2 NT 10 8 2 K 3 2 A K J 9 2 A 2
What should you bid ?
A game is possible if your partner is at the top of his bidding range. You have a 9-card Major fit ! But you may not have sufficient strength if he is at the bottom of his range (e.g. 6HCP, QJ10 of trumps). Ask him to elaborate by bidding 2NT.
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- Question 4
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opens 2 Spades, a weak 2 bid. You have this 16-HCP 6-loser hand. A game is possible if your partner is at the top of his bidding range. You have a 9-card Major fit ! But you won't have enough points or trump strength if he is at the bottom of his range (e.g. 6HCP, QJ10 of trumps). So you asked him to elaborate by bidding 2NT.
10 8 2 K 3 2 A K Q 9 2 A 2
He replies 3NT. What should you bid next ?1. pass
2. 4 Spades
3. 4 NT
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- Answer 4
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opens 2 Spades, a weak 2 bid. You have this 16-HCP 6-loser hand. A game is possible if your partner is at the top of his bidding range. You have a 9-card Major fit ! But you won't have enough points or trump strength if he is at the bottom of his range (e.g. 6HCP, QJ10 of trumps). So you asked him to elaborate by bidding 2NT.
( 2 ). 4 Spades 10 8 2 K 3 2 A K Q 9 2 A 2
He replies 3NT. What should you bid next ?
You partner's bid means he has the A, K and Q of trumps. You've got at least 25HCP and a 9 card Major fit. Game in Spades looks very likely.
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- Question 5
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opens 2 Spades. You have this 16-HCP 6-loser hand. A game is possible if your partner is at the top of his bidding range. You have an 8-card Major fit ! But you won't have enough points or trump strength if he is at the bottom of his range (e.g. 6HCP, QJ10 of trumps). So you asked him to elaborate by bidding 2NT.
8 6 K 5 3 2 A K Q 9 A 4 2
He replies 3 Diamonds. What should you bid next ?1. pass
2. 3 Spades
3. 3 NT
4. 4 Diamonds
5. 4 Spades
6. 4 NT
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- Answer 5
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opens 2 Spades. You have this 16-HCP 6-loser hand. A game is possible if your partner is at the top of his bidding range. You have an 8-card Major fit ! But you won't have enough points or trump strength if he is at the bottom of his range (e.g. 6HCP, QJ10 of trumps). So you asked him to elaborate by bidding 2NT.
( 2 ). 3 Spades 8 6 K 5 3 2 A K Q 9 A 4 2
He replies 3 Diamonds. What should you bid next ?
Your partner's bid means he has 6-7 HCP, maybe 8, at least 6 of which in Trumps (e.g. AK or AQ or KQJ). You've got at least 22HCP and an 8 card Major fit. But Game in Spades looks a bit challenging with your flat hand. You've got 4 losers to worry about in Hearts and Clubs, with no high cards from your partner in those suits. And you're missing some trump honours, with as many as 4HCP missing in Trumps (e.g. A or KJ). It would have been a different story in Hearts. . .
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- Question 6
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opens 2 Diamonds. You have this 14-HCP 7-loser hand
A K 9 8 K 5 3 2 8 6 A 4 2
What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 2 Hearts
3. 2 Spades
4. 2 NT
5. 3 Hearts
6. 3 Spades
7. 3 NT
8. 4 Spades
9. 4 NT
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- Answer 6
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opens 2 Diamonds. You have this 14-HCP 7-loser hand
( 3 ). 2 Spades A K 9 8 K 5 3 2 8 6 A 4 2
What should you bid ?
You partner's bid means he is strong, not weak. Depending on which bidding system he's using, he has either (a) at least 5 Diamonds with 8 winners in his hand, or (b) 23+ HCP. A slam seems certain. Investigate slowly. If you interpret this as a weak 2 bid, you will miss a Slam. (Note that some "weak 2" players treat an opening bid of 2 Diamonds as Strong, but some treat it as weak, reserving weak 2 bids for the Majors only. Both systems have their advantages. Anyway, it's best to know which system your partner is using).
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- Question 7
(of 11 on this page)
You are the dealer. You have this 6-card Heart suit in a 9-HCP 6-loser hand
K 10 8 4 A Q 10 9 8 2 3 8 7
What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 1 Heart
3. 2 Hearts
4. 3 Hearts
5. 4 Hearts
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- Answer 7
(of 11 on this page)
You are the dealer. You have this 6-card Heart suit in a 9-HCP 6-loser hand
( 2 ). 1 Heart K 10 8 4 A Q 10 9 8 2 3 8 7
What should you bid ?
Although your hand has 6-10 HCP and the right Heart suit for a weak 2 opening, your hand is in fact too strong to open with a weak two. When you have a 4-card Major side suit, you have a very powerful distribution and who knows you might be better off playing in Spades. Just look at the losing trick count - hardly weak ! Don't forget the maxim "6 and 4, bid some more".
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- Question 8
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opens the bidding with 2 Hearts, a weak 2 bid. The enemy, your RHO, bids 3 Clubs. You have this 10-HCP 9-loser hand.
K 3 2 10 8 2 A K 10 9 5 4 3
What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 2 NT
3. 3 Diamonds
4. 3 Hearts
5. 3 NT
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- Answer 8
(of 11 on this page)
Your partner opens the bidding with 2 Hearts, a weak 2 bid. The enemy, your RHO, bids 3 Clubs. You have this 10-HCP 9-loser hand.
( 4 ). 3 Hearts K 3 2 10 8 2 A K 10 9 5 4 3
What should you bid ?
You will nearly always pass after a weak two opening. The idea of the bid is to steal the opponents contract by removing their bidding space. However, if they try to take the bidding back, you can pre-empt them further.
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- Question 9
(of 11 on this page)
You are the dealer. You opened with a weak 2 pre-emptive bid, by bidding 2 Hearts. Your partner replied 2NT. You have this hand
4 3 A Q 10 9 8 2 K 10 8 8 7
What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 3 Clubs
3. 3 Diamonds
4. 3 Hearts
5. 3 Spades
6. 3 NT
7. 4 Hearts
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- Answer 9
(of 11 on this page)
You are the dealer. You opened with a weak 2 pre-emptive bid, by bidding 2 Hearts. Your partner replied 2NT. You have this hand
( 5 ). 3 Spades 4 3 A Q 10 9 8 2 K 10 8 8 7
What should you bid ?
Your partner is saying he has around 16 HCP, at least 2 Hearts, and that game could be on, but in nothing else other than Hearts. He's asking you to give some more detail about the strength of your hand, and the power of your top trumps. With 9 HCP you are top of the strength range (6-10), and with 2 of the top 3 trumps you have better than minimum trumps, so you should give a glowing report. Reply with the highest 3-level suit bid, Spades. Your partner will evaluate your answer - in this case since you gave the best possible news, you can be certain he'll put it into 4 Hearts. Frankly, you could have considered doing this yourself, to save the risk he's fallen asleep, but it's best not to in case he has something even more powerful to discuss, and wants to cue did for example.
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- Question 10
(of 11 on this page)
You are the dealer. You opened with a weak 2 pre-emptive bid, by bidding 2 Hearts. Your partner replied 2NT. You have this hand
4 3 A K Q 9 8 2 10 9 8 8 7
What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 3 Clubs
3. 3 Diamonds
4. 3 Hearts
5. 3 Spades
6. 3 NT
7. 4 Hearts
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- Answer 10
(of 11 on this page)
You are the dealer. You opened with a weak 2 pre-emptive bid, by bidding 2 Hearts. Your partner replied 2NT. You have this hand
( 6 ). 3 NT 4 3 A K Q 9 8 2 10 9 8 8 7
What should you bid ?
3 NT simply means that you have the three top trumps. Since your partner's bid was an enquiry into the quality of your weak opening, with a view to game, he will be very happy with your reply and most often end the bidding at 4 Hearts.
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- Question 11
(of 11 on this page)
You are the dealer. You opened with a weak 2 pre-emptive bid, by bidding 2 Hearts. Your partner replied 2NT. You have this hand
A 3 Q J 10 9 8 4 2 Q 9 8 8 7
What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 3 Clubs
3. 3 Diamonds
4. 3 Hearts
5. 3 Spades
6. 3 NT
7. 4 Hearts
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- Answer 11
(of 11 on this page)
You are the dealer. You opened with a weak 2 pre-emptive bid, by bidding 2 Hearts. Your partner replied 2NT. You have this hand
( 4 ). 3 Hearts A 3 Q J 10 9 8 4 2 Q 9 8 8 7
What should you bid ?
You hand is top of the power range (9-10 HCP), so reply with a Major. You trump suit is bottom of the range, so reply with the weaker Major, i.e. Hearts. Your partner will take this information and decide if you should be in 3 or 4 of your suit, which coincidentally is Hearts.
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