Opener's Second Bid

Opener’s Second Bid: Balanced Hands

Balanced hands that can open 1NT (15-17 points) or 2NT (20-22 points) convey a lot of information in their first bid, compared with those that open with a suit bid. If you have a balanced hand that falls outside those point ranges, your partner will need to wait until your second bid before they have all the information they need. Watch the video, then have a go at the quiz and the practice hands.

Try some hands

Hand 1

After your opening bid and partner’s response, choose the best rebid to describe your hand and your partner will then bid the final contract. Try and maximise your chances for an extra trick somewhere in either clubs or diamonds.

Hand 2

You have a better hand this time, but how will you show that to your partner? See if you can figure out the best chance of bringing in the diamond suit to make your contract?

Hand 3

You are the opener again, and must make three decisions this time to determine your final contract. You’ll have a choice of two similar suits to try and make your contract with, but is one safer than the other?

Hand 4

Here, you will open the bidding and choose the most descriptive rebid. After your partner shows even more detail about their hand, you must pick the best contract.

Back

Opener’s Second Bid: Balanced Hands

Now that you know all the openings and responses, it’s time to learn how we can show our hands even more specifically on the second round of the auction.

Question 1/7

Penelope has opened 1♦ and Walter has responded 1♠. What should Penelope bid now?

Walter’s 1♠ response promises at least four cards in the suit, so with four in her hand as well, Penelope knows they have a fit in spades. When you find a major suit fit based on your partner’s response, you should always show the fit right away. The ‘balanced hands rebid NT’ principle is for hands that don’t have fit. Because she just has a ‘regular’ opening hand (12-14 points), Penelope should just raise by one level to 2♠. Jumping to 3♠ would show a stronger hand, typically 15-17 points that has not opened 1NT because it was unbalanced.

Penelope is less enthusiastic about Walter’s 1♠ response with this hand. As Walter has responded in a new suit, his bid is forcing. What should she bid now?

Whilst Walter may have five or more spades for his 1♠ bid, he is only promising a minimum of four, so Penelope cannot see a fit at this point. She should describe her hand with her second bid - remember 'balanced hands rebid NT'. She has a balanced hand that was not strong enough to open 1NT, which she has now shown - jumpinb to 2NT would show a hand that was too strong to have opened 1NT originally.

Penelope has a nice hand here! She has opened 1♦ and Walter’s 1♥ response is forcing, being a change of suit by an unpassed hand. What should Penelope bid?

Walter's response shows at least four hearts, and as he has bid a new suit, his response is forcing. Of course, with this hand, Penelope was going to bid again anyway. She has a lovely four card spade suit, but she remembers the maxim 'balanced hands rebid NT' that applies when you can’t see a major suit fit. If she were to bid spades at any level, that would show an unbalanced hand. By jumping to 2NT, Penelope shows that she has a balanced hand with 18-19 points.

Penelope has the same hand again, but this time, Walter has responded 1♠. What should she bid now?

Penelope is very enthusiastic about spades! She can see that they have a fit in that suit, so she must show that right away. With Walter having enough points to respond, she can also see that they should have at least 25 points between them, so they belong in game. If she were to raise to 2♠, that would show just a regular opening hand, and raising to 3♠ would show a better hand - about 15 to 17. Neither of these bids would be forcing, so Walter could pass and leave them in part score.

Penelope has opened 1♠ this time, and Walter has responded 2♥, which is a game forcing response, showing 5+ hearts. What should Penelope bid now?

In an auction where Walter could have shown his hearts at the one level (so if Penelope had opened 1♣ or 1♦) he would only be promising at least four cards in the suit. Because of the 1♠ opening, however, showing hearts requires him to go to the two level, where responding in diamonds or hearts shows 5+ cards, and is game forcing. So Penelope can see the fit in hearts even though she has only three, and she should confirm this by raising Walter's suit.

Penelope has opened 1♣ this time, and Walter has responded 1♠. What is Penelope’s best rebid?

Walter may well have five (or even more) spades but because he is responding at the one level, he may only have four. Penelope cannot therefore see a definite fit in spades, so she should just describe her hand in her second bid. She has a balanced hand, so she should rebid NT, and she does not have extra strength, so 1NT is the best description of her hand.

Another nice hand for Penelope, especially when Walter makes a game forcing response. What is her best rebid here?

5-3-3-2 is a balanced shape, so Penelope is going to rebid NT. Rebidding spades would show a six card suit. You might be tempted to say that she should jump to 3NT because of her extra strength, but when the partnership is already in a game-forced auction, there is no sense in taking up extra bidding space. Penelope can still bid 2NT to show a balanced hand. When she does that, Walter will not know she has extra strength (she would make the same rebid with 12-14, balanced), but she will have the opportunity to bid more after his next bid, so this is not a problem.

The links will take you to the Bridge Training website, where you can have a go at biding twice as opener. 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.