M J Bridge
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Responders rebid
root page
Bidding
Partner rebid in a new lower-
Let me start by recapping what we already know about the deal.
Partner has at least five cards in his first suit, at least four cards in his second suit, and something like eleven to eighteen points.
You have shown a strictly limited range, typically six to nine points (or ten according to partnership agreement), and you have denied as many as four cards in any major which might have been bid at the one-
♠
♥
♦
♣
5
7 6 3 2
K Q 6 2
J 5 4 3
You have a clear preference in a minimum hand.
Pass.
LHO |
Pard |
RHO |
You |
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1♠ |
- |
1NT |
- |
2♣ |
- |
? |
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♠
♥
♦
♣
5 3
7 6 3 2
K Q 6 2
J 5 4
Prefer the 5-
There is also a good chance that the spade contract will score better.
Bid 2♠.
LHO |
Pard |
RHO |
You |
|
1♠ |
- |
1NT |
- |
2♣ |
- |
? |
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Very occasionally such a bid at the two-
♠
♥
♦
♣
4
7 6 5 4 2
K Q 6 3 2
Q 3
OK -
Some would recommend 2♠.
Alternatively make a first response of 2♥ planning to rebid 3♦, but partner will expect more, and I doubt if you will allow him to stop at that point.
LHO |
Pard |
RHO |
You |
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1♠ |
- |
1NT |
- |
2♣ |
- |
? |
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Preference
All of which brings me back to your most common action of returning to partner’s first suit.
The following assumes that you have chosen not to make one of the (comparatively rare) bids above.
With no better bid available you will ‘correct’ to partner’s first suit.
Note that even with two cards in partner’s first suit and three in his second a simple preference will be the correct action -
Such a bid is known as ‘mere preference’ and promises no additional strength.
Raise to three of partner’s second suit
A raise to three of partner’s second suit will suggest four-
♠
♥
♦
♣
4
7 6 2
K Q 6 5 3 2
Q 5 3
Bid 2♦.
Having already limited your hand this is no more than a choice of final contract based on a six-
LHO |
Pard |
RHO |
You |
|
1♠ |
- |
1NT |
- |
2♣ |
- |
? |
|
|
|
|
♠
♥
♦
♣
4
6 4
K Q 9 7 6 3 2
J 7 3
Perhaps you should have bid 2♦ first time?
But 3♦ now describes the hand perfectly, and is likely to be the best contract.
LHO |
Pard |
RHO |
You |
|
1♠ |
- |
1NT |
- |
2♥ |
- |
? |
|
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|
|
New suit which could not have been bid at the one-
Once in a while you may be able to escape into a long suit which you were not strong enough to show on your first response.
Such a suit should be at least six-
This bid is always weak and non-
Post-
♠
♥
♦
♣
5
7 6 3 2
K Q 6 2
Q J 5 4
Bid 3♣.
You have already limited your hand, and so this bid must show a maximum (say eight or nine points) and at least four clubs.
LHO |
Pard |
RHO |
You |
|
1♠ |
- |
1NT |
- |
2♣ |
- |
? |
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Post intermediate and above
The impossible major
There is one rather obscure possibility, and that is that you rebid in a new suit in which you cannot possibly hold four cards as you failed to bid it when you had the opportunity at the one-
Such a bid is clearly forcing and must promise a maximum holding.
It can be given any meaning which you choose to agree.
The suggestion is that it should show a maximum raise of partner’s second suit -
You might be quite hard-
When partner’s first suit is spades a rebid of 2NT by you (in a hand already limited by the initial 1NT response) can be used in the same way.
Beginner and above
This page last revised 19th Jan 2020
Context -
♠
♥
♦
♣
T 8 3
4 3
K 6 5
A 9 6 4 2
Partner has shown at least five hearts and four diamonds with anything from about eleven to eighteen points.
You have shown six (five) to nine points with no available suit response.
LHO |
Pard |
RHO |
You |
|
1♥ |
- |
1NT |
- |
2♦ |
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A number of principles follow immediately from these observations:-
i) nothing you do now, including a bid of 2NT or a bid at the three-
ii) nothing you do now will suggest that you hold four or more cards in a suit which you could have bid at the one-
iii) if you now choose to pass with seven or more points there is a possibility that a game may be missed facing partner’s maximum holding of about eighteen.
By far your most common action will be to ‘show preference’ to partner’s first suit by reverting to his suit at the two-
Pass
This should be a rare bid.
It will only be made on a seriously minimum hand, say six (five even) or a poor seven, and with a clear preference for partner’s second suit.
Typically you will hold a singleton in partner’s first suit and at least three cards in his second suit.
The old guideline -
Post-
False preference
At the top end of your range (eight or nine points say) this simple preference will frequently be the correct action even when the fit in the second suit is clearly superior.
Such a bid is known as ‘false preference’.
You would make such a bid when it is the only way to keep the action alive and there is the possibility that partner is hoping to bid again with seventeen or eighteen points.
At worst, a five-
This stratagem won’t always lead to your best part-
♠
♥
♦
♣
7
Q 6 3 2
K Q 6 4 2
Q 5 4
With nine points you must strive to keep the bidding open.
Make a ‘false preference’ bid of 2♠.
(Note that 2♦ would promise a six-
LHO |
Pard |
RHO |
You |
|
1♠ |
- |
1NT |
- |
2♣ |
- |
? |
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|
Of course, partner won’t know if the preference is real or false.
That doesn’t matter.
If partner has no more than a basic opener then he will pass and your extra points will usually prove sufficient for him to scrape through.
If by any chance he holds seventeen or eighteen then he will make a further bid.
Typically he will:-
raise his first suit with six cards;
rebid his second suit with 5-
bid 2NT with 5-
and bid a three-
following which you should be able to choose the optimum final contract.
Intermediate and above
Three of partner’s first suit
If we can raise partner’s second suit to the three-
There is nothing wrong with this line of thinking, but the truth of the matter is that most partnerships will not add this twist.
It is worth pointing out that raising partner’s second suit may be the only honest way of keeping the auction open, whereas a return to the first suit at the two-
I shall look a little deeper into the matter in the following, but if your return to partner’s first suit is always at the two-
Three cards in partner’s first suit
However, if your choice is to retain the option of jumping to three of partner’s first suit then your strategy should take into account your agreed policy relating to an immediate raise of partner’s opening one of a major to the two-
Your agreement is that you can raise on three-
If you are happy to raise partner to the two-
It is of course not impossible, but there will be some reason why you preferred 1NT at your first opportunity -
Clearly such a hand is not an offensive holding and you may well be reluctant to over-
I haven’t come across the following thought elsewhere, but it seems to me that you might agree to jump in partner’s first suit with precisely nine points in a 4-
It should at least make it relatively easy for partner when he holds exactly sixteen points, and it may well lead to a good 3NT contract when holding a 5-
♠
♥
♦
♣
7 6 5
J 3 2
K Q 2
Q J 5 4
Bid 3♠ if you have adopted the distinction above.
This bid shows precisely nine points with three-
However, you will not be alone if you bid 2♠ promising up to nine points.
LHO |
Pard |
RHO |
You |
|
1♠ |
- |
1NT |
- |
2♣ |
- |
? |
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Your agreement is that you must have four-
In this rather dated method it is quite likely that you will still hold three-
With this thought in mind there is much to be said for letting partner know the good news if you happen to hold a maximum hand with three-
This time my suggestion differs significantly from the one above.
Jump in partner’s first suit with eight or nine points and three-
A simple return to two of partner’s first suit may of course have less than three-
But, I must repeat -
many partnerships will not include such a bid in their repertoire, and some of the thoughts above are my own and have not been tested in serious competition.
Opener |
Overcaller |
Responder |
Advancer |
Opener's rebid |
Overcaller's rebid and beyond |
Responder's rebid and beyond |
The continuing auction |