Responder's second bid

Responder’s Second Bid after ‘Regular’ Rebids

You have seen in the previous module how some of opener’s rebids are forcing and some are not. What you do as responder in these situations is, of course, influenced by this. We will start by looking at responder’s actions after non-forcing rebids by opener in this step, before moving on to what to do after forcing rebids in the next.

Try some hands

Hand 1

After your partner makes a bold rebid, you need to decide whether you should be playing in partscore, game or even slam. Try and figure out the best way to approach the heart suit to maximise your tricks.

Hand 2

After your partner picks two suits you dislike, how can you find the least bad contract? This time you must pick the best way to take advantage of the spade suit, both to set up a discard and use it before the opportunity vanishes.

Hand 3

This time you have a much nicer hand, and must use it well to reach the best contract. More importantly, will you be able to find a way to make all your tricks before the defence cashes a load of clubs?

Hand 4

After your partner shows two suits, you should have enough information to decide the final contract by your second bid. When playing it, see if you can take full advantage of your club suit even if you face a bad split…

Back

Responder’s second bid after ‘regular’ rebids

Question 1/13

Penelope has opened 1♣, then raised Walter’s 1♠ response to 3♠. What should Walter bid now?

By raising Walter's suit, Penelope shows that the partnership has found a major suit fit, so they definitely want to play in spades. She could have bid 2S with just a regular opening hand (12-14 points) so by bidding 3S instead, she is showing extra points - around 15-17 - but not enough to jump straight to game. Walter now knows that Penelope has an unbalanced hand, with 5+ clubs as well as her four spades. How? Because her point range is 15-17, so with a balanced hand she would have opened 1NT. Excellent detective work! Walter has 9 points and great cards in clubs, giving the pair a 'double fit' so he should bid game.

Here again, Penelope has raised Walter’s suit, but to the two level this time. What should Walter bid now?

Penelope's rebid places her point count in the 12-14 range, so although he knows now that they have heart fit, Walter doesn't know if Penelope's hand is balanced or unbalanced. With 11 points, it's possible that they have enough for game if Penelope is at the upper end of her opening range and the hands fit well together. By bidding a new suit where he has values, Walter is giving his partner the information she needs to judge whether to sign off in 3♥ or go to game.

Penelope hasn’t shown fit with Walter’s suit this time. Instead, she has shown a balanced hand in the 12-14 point range with her 1NT rebid. What should Walter bid now?

Walter knows that the upper limit of Penelope's hand is 14 points. Adding that to his 9, he can see that they don't have enough for game, so they should play in the lowest sensible part score. With his balanced hand, 1NT looks like a very good place to play, so he should pass. 2♣ would ask about Penelope's major suits. Walter already knows she doesn't have four spades (she would have raised) and he is not interested in hearts.

This time, Penelope has jumped to 2NT on her rebid. What should Walter bid here?

By jumping to 2NT, Penelope shows a strong, balanced hand - one that was too strong to open 1NT, so 18-19 points. Walter does the sums and realises that they have enough for game. As there is no spade fit, he should just bid 3NT.

Penelope’s 1NT rebid again shows a balanced hand. This time it’s one that was not strong enough to open 1NT, and again she does not have four spades. What should Walter bid?

Walter can see that they have enough points for game. The question is which game? If Penelope has three cards in spades they should play in 4♠, especially given that Walter has a singleton. By bidding an artificial 2♣ (Checkback) Walter gives Penelope room to show three card spade support if she has it, and also to show four hearts if she has those (on this occasion he is not interested in the latter). With a balanced hand, Penelope would not have been able to show either of these holdings in her rebid.

Penelope again shows a strong, balanced hand with her jump to 2NT (18-19 points). What should Walter bid now?

Well done if you got this one right. You can bid 3♣ artificially as Checkback after a 2NT rebid in just the same way as 2♣ after a 1NT rebid, giving opener the opportunity to show three cards in the major in which you responded or four cards in the other major. Here, Walter would be happy to hear either, and if Penelope has neither, they can play in 3NT.

Yet another ‘no fit, balanced hand’ rebid from Penelope. What should Walter bid?

By rebidding his suit with a jump, Walter is showing both an invitational hand and a six card suit. Penelope should have at least two hearts for her balanced rebid, so he knows that they have fit in hearts. She can pass if she has a very minimum hand and play in 3♥ or raise to game if she has a good 13, or 14 points. It would not be crazy for Walter to just bid 4♥ on this hand, so give yourself half a point if you chose that option.

Penelope has shown an unbalanced hand with her rebid. She will have at least five hearts and at least four clubs. What should Walter bid?

When opener has shown two suits, responder must pick one of those two suits whenever they have fewer than 10 points. If Walter had two more cards in his partner's second suit, clubs, than in her first, he would pick clubs by passing. However he only has one more club, so he should put her back into her first suit by bidding 2♥.

Same auction, different hand. What should Walter bid here?

Again, Walter has a weak hand when his partner has shown two suits. This time, though, he does have two more cards in his partner's second suit than her first, so he can pass and leave her in 2♣.

And again, same auction, different hand. What should Walter do here?

Now Walter has an invitational hand when his partner has shown two suits, so he has more options. Bidding 2NT would show 10 or 11 points and no fit with either suit, but he does have fit in clubs, so he should raise that suit. Raising partner's second suit by one level shows an invitational hand, as opposed to passing, which would show a weak hand with preference for the second suit.

Another unbalanced hand for Penelope - 5+ hearts and 4+ diamonds. What should Walter bid?

Walter does not have fit with either of Penelope's suits, but he does have an invitational, balanced hand so he can bid 2NT. He would need a slightly stronger hand to go straight to 3NT, as Penelope might only have 12 points. 3♣ would be showing a game forcing hand (not necessarily with clubs), as it is the fourth suit.

Penelope shows an unbalanced hand with 5+ clubs and four spades. What should Walter bid with this hand?

By rebidding his hearts Walter is showing invitational values and 6 cards in hearts. He does not need to jump to the 3 level (as he would after a 1NT rebid) because simply not picking one of opener's two suits means he cannot have a weak hand. Penelope can pass with a very minimum hand and two or three hearts, or bid game in hearts, or 3NT with non-minimum hands.

Last one. Penelope has shown an unbalanced hand with diamonds and clubs. What should Walter bid?

With his 13 hcp, Walter knows that the partnership has enough for game, but it's not yet clear what the best game will be. If Penelope has three spades along with her five diamonds and 4+ clubs, they should play in 4♠. If not, they probably do best to play in 3NT. By bidding the fourth suit, Walter gives Penelope a chance to say something else about her hand and at the same time lets her know that they are definitely going to game.

The links will take you to the Bridge Training website, where you can have a go at bidding some hands to practice this topic. Your partner will make a rebid and you must interpret it and make a suitable second biud yourself. You will then be able to play the hands and see if you can make your contract. Have as many goes as you like if you don’t succeed the first time.