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Responder's 1st bids - After 1 Suit, With fit
- Question 1
(of 9 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Spade. You have this 13-HCP 7-loser hand
K 10 7 6
A 3 2
K Q J 8 
8 7
What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 2 Diamonds
3. 2 Spades
4. 3 Spades
5. 4 Spades
6. 4 NT
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- Answer 1
(of 9 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Spade. You have this 13-HCP 7-loser hand
( 5 ). 4 Spades K 10 7 6 A 3 2 K Q J 8 8 7
What should you bid ?
With 13 HCP, you know that you and partner have 25 HCP between you. With 4 Spades, you know that you've got an 8-card trump match. That's just what you need for game in a Major. Don't mess around, bid game.
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- Question 2
(of 9 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Heart. You have this 11-HCP 8-loser hand
A 3 2 K 10 7 6 K J 8 7 8 7
What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 2 Diamonds
3. 2 Hearts
4. 3 Hearts
5. 4 Hearts
6. 4 NT
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- Answer 2
(of 9 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Heart. You have this 11-HCP 8-loser hand
( 4 ). 3 Hearts A 3 2 K 10 7 6 K J 8 7 8 7
What should you bid ?
You have an 8-card Major match in Hearts. Is it possible that you have 25 points, and therefore enough to bid up to Game ? You've got 11 points, or 12 including shape. Your partner has promised 12 - if has a little more than the minimum implied by his bid, you'll make it. By bidding 3 Hearts, you are inviting your partner to raise it to 4 Hearts if that IS the case.
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- Question 3
(of 9 on this page)
You opened 1 Spade and your partner replied 3 Spades. You have this 12-HCP 7-loser hand
K 10 7 6 A 3 2 K Q 8 7 8 7
What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 4 Spades
3. 4 NT
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- Answer 3
(of 9 on this page)
You opened 1 Spade and your partner replied 3 Spades. You have this 12-HCP 7-loser hand
( 1 ). pass K 10 7 6 A 3 2 K Q 8 7 8 7
What should you bid ?
You have 12 HCP, or 13 points including a point for your doubleton. Your partner has promised you 10 to 12 points, raising the total to 23-25. You'll most probably struggle to get to game.
The losing trick count comes to the same conclusion: your partner has promised 8 losers. You have the minimum number of losers that your partner will have assumed, namely 7. Best to pass.
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- Question 4
(of 9 on this page)
You opened 1 Spade and your partner replied 3 Spades. You have this 12-HCP 6-loser hand
K 10 7 6 5 A 3 2 K Q 8 7 8
What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 4 Spades
3. 4 NT
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- Answer 4
(of 9 on this page)
You opened 1 Spade and your partner replied 3 Spades. You have this 12-HCP 6-loser hand
( 2 ). 4 Spades K 10 7 6 5 A 3 2 K Q 8 7 8
What should you bid ?
You have 12 HCP, or 15 points including 3 points for your singleton. Your partner has promised you 10 to 12 points, raising the total to 25-27. Game seems promising.
The losing trick count comes to the same conclusion: your partner has promised 8 losers. With only 6 losers, you have one fewer than minimum number of losers that your partner will have assumed. Best to bid to game.
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- Question 5
(of 9 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Spade. You have this 8-HCP 10-loser hand
K J 2 7 6 5 8 7 6 3 A 10 7
What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 1 NT
3. 2 Clubs
4. 2 Diamonds
5. 2 Spades
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- Answer 5
(of 9 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Spade. You have this 8-HCP 10-loser hand
( 5 ). 2 Spades K J 2 7 6 5 8 7 6 3 A 10 7
What should you bid ?
You don't really have a suit of your own to bid. What about supporting Spades ? In this situation, with nothing else to bid, you can assume that your partner has 5 Spades, even though he only promised 4. If he only has 4 of them, he'll probably rebid NT. A bid of 2 Spades is in any case weak, and your partner will not assume that you have more than 6 HCP. The only other possible bid is 1NT.
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- Question 6
(of 9 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Spade. You have this 10-HCP 8-loser hand
K J 7 2 A Q 9 6 5 8 7 6 3 10 9
What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 1 NT
3. 2 Clubs
4. 2 Diamonds
5. 2 Hearts
6. 2 Spades
7. 3 Spades
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- Answer 6
(of 9 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Spade. You have this 10-HCP 8-loser hand
( 5 ). 2 Hearts K J 7 2 A Q 9 6 5 8 7 6 3 10 9
What should you bid ?
If you have a stronger hand, and you also have another suit you can bid, you should bid this other suit first, rather than supporting your partner's suit. You might especially want to do this if your second suit is a Major. Changing the suit in this way does not deny having 4-card support for your partner's suit, but it is a "forcing bid" (obliges the opener to bid again), so you will get another chance to support the suit he bid.
Switching suit also has the advantage of telling your partner more about your shape and strength. (Supporting your partner's suit also has weakness connotations). For example, the weakest bid you can make is a simple raise to 2 of your partner's suit, when you have a mere 6 points and 4-card support, or even 3 if it's a Major and you have a shortage. But if you bid 2 of a new suit, then you must have 10 HCP and 5-cards if it's a Major, and you could have a lot of points, potentially more than 15 depending on the shape of your hand.
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- Question 7
(of 9 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Heart. You have this 17-HCP 6-loser hand
10 9 K J 7 2 A K 9 6 5 A Q
What should you bid ?1. pass
2. 1 NT
3. 2 Clubs
4. 2 Diamonds
5. 2 Hearts
6. 2 Spades
7. 4 Hearts
8. 4 NT
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- Answer 7
(of 9 on this page)
Your partner opened 1 Heart. You have this 17-HCP 6-loser hand
( 4 ). 2 Diamonds 10 9 K J 7 2 A K 9 6 5 A Q
What should you bid ?
Don't bid 4 Hearts, even though you have an 8-card 25 point Major fit. Instead you should bid another suit, forcing your partner to bid again. Bidding 2 diamonds and then jumping with your rebid to Hearts will tell your partner that you have game going 4-card support for his Major suit. It will also tell him that you have 16-18 points, and a second suit, which a direct jump would not achieve. By bidding in this way, you have increased your chances of finding the Slam that could very easily be on the cards.
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- Question 8
(of 9 on this page)
Your partner opens 1 Spade. The enemy pass You have this 12-HCP 6-loser hand
K 10 7 6 A K Q 10 8 7 8 7 2
What should you bid1. 3 Spades
2. 4 Clubs
3. 4 Diamonds
4. 4 Hearts
5. 4 Spades
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- Answer 8
(of 9 on this page)
Your partner opens 1 Spade. The enemy pass You have this 12-HCP 6-loser hand
( 4 ). 4 Hearts K 10 7 6 A K Q 10 8 7 8 7 2
What should you bid
You have an 8-card match in Spades, but DO NOT bid Spades, especially 3 of them, even though game seems very likely. You only have 11 HCP, that's true. But you have great shape - including a singleton and a second suit. With 11 HCP, Major support, and a singleton you might be able to find Slam if your singleton can convert your partner's poor suit into a suit with no losers. Tell your partner about this singleton by double jumping in the short suit. This advanced technique is known as a Splinter bid.
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- Question 9
(of 9 on this page)
You opened 1 Spade, and your partner replied 4 Hearts. You have this 16-HCP 7.5-loser hand
A K 9 8 9 5 4 A 9 4 3 K Q
What should you bid ?
- Answer 9
(of 9 on this page)
You opened 1 Spade, and your partner replied 4 Hearts. You have this 16-HCP 7.5-loser hand
( 0 ). A K 9 8 9 5 4 A 9 4 3 K Q
What should you bid ?
You should investigate Slam, either by asking for Aces, or better still by using a cue bid. The alternative is to bid 6 Spades - a reasonable risk under the circumstances. Your partner's bid has told you that he has a singleton in Hearts. He has 11 HCP which must be somewhere. Your combined 27 HCP is spread across the remaining 3 suits. 5 or 6 tricks seems the most likely outcome. The full deal is shown, from which you can see that 6 Spades will make, what ever the enemy lead.
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| West | |
|---|---|
 | 5 4 3 |
 | K Q 10 8 |
 | 9 6 |
 | A 10 9 6 |
| North | |
|---|---|
| A K 9 8 |
| 9 5 4 |
| A 9 4 3 |
| K Q |
| East | |
|---|---|
| J 2 |
| J 7 6 3 2 |
| J 2 |
| J 5 4 3 |
| South | |
|---|---|
| Q 10 7 6 |
| A |
| K Q 10 8 7 |
| 8 7 2 |
Other Deals that illustrate this technique