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Opener's Rebid
We've opened one of a suit, Partner has responded with one of a suit. Do we raise Partner, rebid our suit, rebid 1NT, make a stronger move? Please read on.
4th August, 2010 N-S Vul
Let us not be afraid to play in the occasional 4-3 fit! North’s 1♥ does not promise more than a 4-card suit, but nonetheless it would be a mistake for South to rebid 1NT for a number of reasons: - The Heart suit is good (the Ace of trumps is worth its weight in gold in 4-3 fits!) - There is a ruffing value in Spades - Furthermore, if the hand belongs in No Trump it is likely to be better played from the North side - Finally, just because South raises Hearts, it does not mean that the hand cannot be played in No Trump.
2nd March, 2011 None Vul
What is your choice of rebid with the South hand? - 2♥? Definitely not, that would be a strength-showing reverse and this hand is not close to qualifying. - 1NT? Not our favorite, we try to avoid that rebid with a singleton in Partner’s suit (though it’s not always possible), in case Partner gets the urge to rebid his 5-card suits. Added to that, we have nothing in Clubs, and No Trump might be better played from North’s side (for example, a Spade lead through North might be awkward). - 2♦? Yes, that’s our choice. More often than not this bid is made with a 6-card suit, but a 5-card suit this good is more than adequate.
2nd November, 2011 N-S Vul
The first question is: “What does South’s 4♦ mean?” The common treatment nowadays is that it shows: (a) 4-card Spade support, (b) Enough for game, (c) Solid Diamonds (ideally six of them). That being so, should North pursue slam? The first thing for North to realize is that her hand might not be as good as it looks. If South has 4-6 distribution, then she has shortness in Clubs or Hearts and one of North’s side-suit Kings will be completely wasted. Even so, it’s possible to imagine South with the perfect hand: ♠KQxx, ♥Ax, ♦AKQJxx, ♣x. So, perhaps North can take a small risk with Roman Key Card here. As usual, Partner comes up with a disappointing response (two with), so 5♠ is the final contract. This mercifully makes when there is only one trump loser.
7th December, 2011 N-S Vul
South does not really have a good rebid here. The choices are: - 3♣: A bit ambitious, not such a great Club suit, and could lose the Spade fit. - 2♣: Similarly imperfect, and a slight underbid. - 3♠: This is supposed to show 4-card support, but otherwise OK. - 2♠: This is the bid you would most likely get from a panel of experts.
We rather like 3♠ ourselves, even though it is somewhat unilateral (as it pretty much commits the partnership to play in Spades). However, it is about right on values, and those Spades are rather fine.
The aforementioned panel of experts will not do well on this board. North has no reason to bid on after South’s 2♠ rebid, and they’ll play in the part-score. The unilateral 3♠ bidders will get to (and make) game.
22nd November, 2006 Board 9 E-W Vul
We don’t have any problem rebidding 1NT with a singleton in Responder’s suit, but this does not seem like the right hand for such a bid, given the fact that North has neither of the unbid suits stopped. So, scratch that one off the list, and also scratch off 2♥, we are clearly not anywhere close to reverse strength. That leaves 2♣, a bid which does not promise 6 cards, but that’s what it’s usually based on. Nonetheless, 2♣ is surely the right rebid.
31st May, 2006 Board 24 None Vul
After 1♥, we confess to being in two minds about whether to rebid 1♠ or 1NT. Here are some arguments and counter-arguments: (a) We’d guess to bid 1NT because: - If the hand belongs in 1NT, it’s probably better from the East side, so we’d better bid it while we still can; - With just 3 Spades, Partner might leave us playing in our 4-3 fit; (b) We’d guess to bid 1♠ because: - Partner might have 4 of them; - If Partner chooses to pass 1♠ holding just 3 Spades, that may actually be a good thing … in that case, he’ll probably have a doubleton in one of the minors … this suit is likely to be an enemy target in No Trump, but, in the 4-3 Spade fit, the hand with the 3 trumps will provide some protection against a forcing defense. There are the pros and cons … choose for yourself.
13th December, 2006 Board 15 N-S Vul
The continuum of No Trump ranges goes like this: 12-14: Open one of a suit and rebid 1NT 15-17: Open 1NT 18-19: Open one of a suit and make a jump rebid of 2NT 20-21: Open 2NT 22-24: Open 2♣ and rebid 2NT
On this particular hand
we would rebid 3NT. Where does this fit into the aforementioned
gradation of No Trump ranges? Actually, it doesn’t fit in anywhere!
Here we have but 18 HCP’s but our double jump to 3NT is not based on HCP’s it’s based on a source of tricks, namely a (hopefully) running
minor suit. The ideal hand for such a bid contains a stopper in the two
unbid suits and a very strong and long suit. This one certainly
qualifies. 7th June, 2006 Board 1 None Vul
The correct bid here is 2♥. With that weak 6-4 hand it’s better to rebid the 6-card major in preference to introducing the 4-card minor. Is it ever right to bid 2♦ with that 1-6-4-2 distribution? Actually, yes! Let’s look at two more hands of the same ilk.
Firstly: ♠ 8 ♥ AKQT53 ♦ J943 ♣ A9 No, this is not a 2♦ bid either! You jump to 3♥ on this one … showing extras and fortified by that robust Heart suit and that lovely 6-4 distribution.
Secondly: ♠ 8 ♥ AQT753 ♦ K943 ♣ A9 This is a pretty good hand, but not quite good enough to jump rebid to 3♥. The solution? Rebid 2♦! Now, if Partner corrects to 2♥, we can give it a boost to 3♥. What does this show? Something in between a 2♥ rebid and a 3♥ rebid.
7th June, 2006 Board 20 Both Vul
Based on HCPs alone, the obvious rebid here is 2♠, typically showing 14 HCPs or less. But this hand is just too good for that, notwithstanding the mere 13 HCPs. You’ve just got to love that void, and all those juicy fillers. Full value for a 3♠ bid in our book. After this fine bid, the partnership will zip into 6♠ for +1430 … after a 2♠ rebid, it will most likely languish in +680 territory.
30th August, 2006 Board 8 None Vul
It’s tempting to jump to 3♦ with that lovely hand … it’s only 16 HCPs, but there’s that great distribution and the fitting honors with Partner’s Spades. We prefer 2♦, though, we need to find a fit if this hand is to meet its full potential. The major problem with bidding 3♦ is that it might put Partner in a bind if he has 5 Spades and a Club stop, maybe something like: ♠ A9865, ♥ 73, ♦ 87, ♣ A987. If the auction starts 1♥ 1♠, 3♦, it would surely seem right to bid 3NT here … not a good choice opposite East’s actual hand!
18th October, 2006 Board 7 Both Vul
It’s a sensible agreement for 3♦ in the above auction to deny a 4-card Spade suit. With that in mind, what would you bid as North here? We’d say that there are three possibilities, only one of which is utterly unspeakable: - 3NT: Yes, this is the unspeakable option, thanks to the Club weakness, let’s move on. - Pass: This could well be right, but the hand does have good potential for a 3NT contract … two fast Spade tricks and enough Hearts to protect that suit. If Partner has running Diamonds and something good in Clubs, 3NT should be a breeze. - 3♠: We’ve already established that Partner should not have 4 Spades for this auction, but we still like 3♠ here. Two reasons … firstly, it might allow Partner to bid 3NT… secondly, the Spades are so good that the 4-3 fit might play quite well (especially if the short hand can look after the second or third round of Clubs).
4th April, 2007 Board 32 E-W Vul
Here are the choices: - 3NT? We may have the values for this bid, but we also have a Club weakness, and there’s a strong likelihood that we really belong in one of the major suits. Jumping to 3NT is not the best way to find that major fit. - 4♥? Again, we have game-going values, and 4♥ may well make, but it’s a shot in the dark, who’s to say that 4♠ will not be a better spot. If we jump to game in 4♥ (or to 3NT, come to that), that 5-3 Spade fit will be missed. - Spades? There is no right number of Spades that can be bid on this hand. Jumps in Spades would show 4-card support. - 3♦? How about the bogus jump shift to a short minor, creating a force and giving us the chance to investigate further the major suits? This is better than all of the aforementioned, certainly a bid that we could live with. But, again, there’s the danger that we’ll miss a 5-3 Spade fit. Picture our intrepid Partner with: ♠ K9732 ♥ 7 ♦ 976 ♣ A642. Opposite this hand we would love to be in 4♠, as 3NT will require a 3-3 Heart break. - 3♥? An underbid, and, again, with that constructed West hand it might land us in 3NT instead of 4♠. - 2NT? Playing IMP’s we wouldn’t dare make that bid, we would be afraid that it might get passed out (yes, it is an underbid) and we would miss game. But at matchpoints we’d take the chance, it seems the best way to get to the right contract, at least it will be if Partner has the decency to find one more call.
So many options! We’d like to dissuade you from the first three, and encourage you to try whichever of the last three tickles your fancy.
26th April, 2006 Board 17 None Vul
At her second turn, South has these 4 bids to choose from: (a) 4NT: Yes, South has a terrific hand, but it’s not quite that good. (b) 4♥: Not recommended, because South has two more descriptive options available. (c) 4♣: A Splinter raise, surely a better choice that 4♥, because it gives Partner a better chance to evaluate her hand for slam purposes. (d) 4♦: By partnership agreement, this can be used to show a raise to 4♥ with solid Diamonds.
Yes, we suggest 4♣ or 4♦ here, take your pick. We like 4♦ ourselves, but the partnership needs to be on a sure footing as to precisely what the bid means. Back in the Aces Scientific days, 4♦ was defined as showing nothing outside the two long suits, so that K♠ would have disqualified South’s hand. But, nowadays, the preference of some players is not to have 2 losers in any one suit, so, in fact, that K♠ is required.
10th May, 2006 Board 21 N-S Vul
North has something of a rebid problem here. No number of Hearts is right … obviously not 2♥ … nor 3♥, this bid is invitational, showing about a King less than North actually has … and 4♥ is more or less right on values, but the Heart suit is just not good enough for the bid. If not some number of Hearts, then what exactly? The only options are 2NT or a fake jump shift. We like North’s actual choice of 2NT … true, it’ll lose some 6-2 Heart fits, but that may not be a bad thing.
If North rebids 2NT, she’ll end up in 3NT … if North rebids 3♣, Partner will bid 3♥, and the final contract will be 4♥. As No Trump and Hearts play virtually the same on this particular board, we’d naturally prefer to be in No Trump.
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