Test your knowledge
4th suit forcing
- Question 1
(of 5 on this page)
You are South. Your partner North opened 1 Heart, and after your reply of 1 Spade he replied 2 Diamonds. This is your 14-HCP 6-loser hand.
A 9 6 5 4
Q
Q 8 7
A Q 10 8
What should you re-bid ?1. pass
2. 2 Hearts
3. 2 Spades
4. 2 NT
5. 3 Clubs
6. 3 Diamonds
7. 3 Spades
8. 3 NT
9. 4 Spades
Back to explanation
- Answer 1
(of 5 on this page)
You are South. Your partner North opened 1 Heart, and after your reply of 1 Spade he replied 2 Diamonds. This is your 14-HCP 6-loser hand.
( 8 ). 3 NT A 9 6 5 4 Q Q 8 7 A Q 10 8
What should you re-bid ?
Your partner has shown 12-15 HCP, a 5+ card suit in Hearts and a 4+ card suit in diamonds. You have the other two suits, even though you've only bid one of them so far. There's no point bidding the 4th suit - you know that you've got all 4 suits covered, and you know that a Major suit is unlikely. Go straight to no trumps, and with 26+ HCP guaranteed, bid at the game level.
Back to explanation
- Question 2
(of 5 on this page)
You are South. Your partner North opened 1 Diamond, and after your reply of 1 Spade he replied 2 Clubs. This is your 10-HCP 6-loser hand.
A 9 6 2 K 6 5 Q J 10 7 5 4
What should you re-bid ?1. pass
2. 2 Diamonds
3. 2 Hearts
4. 2 Spades
5. 2 NT
6. 3 Clubs
7. 3 Diamonds
8. 3 Spades
9. 3 NT
10. 4 Spades
Back to explanation
- Answer 2
(of 5 on this page)
You are South. Your partner North opened 1 Diamond, and after your reply of 1 Spade he replied 2 Clubs. This is your 10-HCP 6-loser hand.
( 3 ). 2 Hearts A 9 6 2 K 6 5 Q J 10 7 5 4
What should you re-bid ?
You have a club match, with at least 10 cards, and 15 points including distribution. Your partner has promised 12-15 HCP, so 5 clubs could be on. So, do you bid clubs (3, 4 or 5?) of do you try for the easier 3NT ? If you bid 3 Clubs, you are promising 10-12 points and your partner is allowed to pass, which is not good. By bidding the 4th suit, 2 Hearts, and then rebidding clubs you will tell your partner how strong you are, as well as your interest in the minor. (You will also find out if your partner has a Heart stopper, even though you probably don't care too much).
Back to explanation
- Question 3
(of 5 on this page)
Refer to the previous question, Quiz no. B 0160 question 2. You are South still, and your rebid was 2 Hearts.
A 9 6 2 K 6 5 Q J 10 7 5 4
When your partner North replied 3 Clubs, what did he mean ?1. I don't have good Hearts
2. I don't have good Spades
3. Both my Spades and Hearts are weak
4. Both my Spades and Hearts are weak, and I have 5 Clubs
Back to explanation
- Answer 3
(of 5 on this page)
Refer to the previous question, Quiz no. B 0160 question 2. You are South still, and your rebid was 2 Hearts.
( 4 ). Both my Spades and Hearts are weak, and I have 5 Clubs A 9 6 2 K 6 5 Q J 10 7 5 4
When your partner North replied 3 Clubs, what did he mean ?
After your forcing 4th suit bid in Hearts, your partner will reply NT if he has Hearts. Failing this, your partner will try to support your first suit, Spades. So we can tell that both his Spades and Hearts are weak. By bidding one of his own suits again, he is telling you that he has one card more than previously promised. . . from which you can now deduce that he should have 5 clubs and 5 diamonds, along with a 12-15HCP hand. That kind of distribution will probably mean a 6 loser hand. With your 6-loser hand and your 11-card club match, a game in Clubs seems a very good bet.
Back to explanation
- Question 4
(of 5 on this page)
You are East. Your partner West opened 1 Diamond, and after your reply of 1 Heart he replied 2 Clubs. This is your 10-HCP 8-loser hand.
10 4 3 A Q 8 7 5 4 Q 2 Q 10
What should you re-bid ?1. pass
2. 2 Diamonds
3. 2 Hearts
4. 2 Spades
5. 2 NT
6. 3 Clubs
7. 3 Diamonds
8. 3 Hearts
9. 3 NT
10. 4 Hearts
Back to explanation
- Answer 4
(of 5 on this page)
You are East. Your partner West opened 1 Diamond, and after your reply of 1 Heart he replied 2 Clubs. This is your 10-HCP 8-loser hand.
( 4 ). 2 Spades 10 4 3 A Q 8 7 5 4 Q 2 Q 10
What should you re-bid ?
Your partner has promised 12-15 points, with a 5-card diamond suit and a 4-card club suit. So, there appears not to be a fit. Can you get to 3NT ? Only if your partner has some Spades, because you certainly don't. By bidding Spades, the 4th suit, not only do you find out about your partner's spade cover, but you also show that you have a minimum 10HCP hand. This could help your partner decide if game is on or not. A rebid of your Hearts shows a long strong Heart suit but promises no more than this and is thus probably less informative, and not forcing. The forcing bid will give you a chance to bid your Hearts again on the next round if you want.
Back to explanation
- Question 5
(of 5 on this page)
The bidding goes 1 Club, you reply 1 Heart, partner rebids 2 Diamonds. You have this 8 HCP 9-loser hand.
10 3 2 A K 8 6 4 J 4 3 4 3
What do you bid ?1. pass
2. 2 Hearts
3. 2 Spades
4. 2 NT
5. 3 Clubs
Back to explanation
- Answer 5
(of 5 on this page)
The bidding goes 1 Club, you reply 1 Heart, partner rebids 2 Diamonds. You have this 8 HCP 9-loser hand.
( 1 ). pass 10 3 2 A K 8 6 4 J 4 3 4 3
What do you bid ?
Although you might feel inclined to ask about the 4th suit by bidding 2 Spades, you don't have the strength. You need 10 HCP to use 4th suit forcing at any level, and a game going hand to use it at the 3-level. By the way, your pass in effect says you feel safer to play at 2 diamonds rather than 3 clubs, given the total number of each suit between you that you can rely on.
Back to explanation