M J Bridge

Bidding

 Responder root page

Home

Conventions

Hands

Theory

Opener’s first bid

Opener’s rebid

Direct raises


If you have not adopted any support bids then your methods will differ only in detail from those given under a beginning method.

Context  -  Acol bidding - Responder’s first bid - partner opened one major in first or second seat - no intervention - support bids.

Beginner and above

This page last revised 22nd Feb 2024

Post-beginner and above

And if you have adopted the Jacoby 2NT game-force then a simple implementation will be in line with that given under improvers’ methods.

Intermediate and above

Variations on these basic methods are commonplace.


On the whole they will be dependent on the particular support bids adopted and so the main discussion will be found in context (see below).


There are, though, a number of aims and underlying principles.


Strength


In constructive auctions in which you have reason to harbour realistic hopes of a game or slam contract it is important to give partner accurate information relating to the playing strength of the hand.  That is why the beginner method divides the various raises up according to a point-count range, and whatever you replace it with should have the capability to make similar distinctions.


Length


If planning to take the bidding beyond the two-level it also becomes important to let partner know how good your fit is.

The guideline here is to ‘bid to the level of the fit’  although this simple rule will be affected to an extent by the prevailing vulnerabilities.


In bidding to this level you should assume that partner’s opening one of a major was made on a five-card suit - it won’t always be, of course, but it will usually be the case and when it isn’t he should have at least fifteen points to compensate (depending on the partnership agreement on opening 4-4-4-1 hands (personally I don’t open 4-4-4-1 hands with a major)).


Thus, if you have the bidding space available to show weaker and stronger holdings, then even with minimum strength you would like to be able to bid to the two-level with three-card support, to bid to the three-level with four-card support, and to bid to the four-level with five-card support.


Preemptive raises


The last of these is part of almost all common systems, jumping to four of partner’s major with five-card support on a weak hand (which broadly translates as less than invitational values).  You may well choose to make the same bid on a weak shapely hand with only four-card support - typically containing a singleton or void.

8 3

J 9 7 6 4

8 7 3

Q 6 4

Partner opened 1.

Bid 4.

Don’t expect the contract to make.

Just hope that your opponents cannot find their way to 4.


A similar widening of the range for a weak four-card raise to the two-level is discussed on the edits page.


You probably won’t have room to include a weak raise to the two-level on three-card support as well as on stronger three-card holdings, but if you do it would be theoretically sound,


and the more ranges you can provide for four-card raises to the three-level (e.g. 0-4, 5-9, 10-11, and 12+) the better.


Various standard (and non-standard) allocations will be found in context


Jacoby 2NT


2NT ‘limit or better’ raise


Bergen raises