Reverses Part II

This post is a continuation of the previous post. Please read that one first and if you understand it you can continue with this post. If you don't understand the previous post this one is even more complicated so don't bother with it.

Previous Post:
Simple Reverses

Last post talked about basic reverses. I was trying to make you understand why reversing showed a nice hand. They were more obvious because in each case Responder denied having a four card major. But reverses are not always so easy to spot.

Remember those basic rules about bidding? Let's change one slightly.

Rule #5: Players will bid four card suits up the line.

This means that if Opener opens 1 of a suit, Responder (with two four card suits) will bid the four card suit that is next in line in the bidding.

Opener	Responder
1♦	1♥

Responder is showing a four (or more) card ♥ suit. They do NOT deny having four ♠.

That is an easy one. Here's one a little more difficult to understand:

Opener	Responder
1♦	1♠

Responder is showing a four (or more) card ♠ suit. They do NOT deny having four ♥ however IF they do have four ♥ then they MUST have LONGER ♠ because with four ♥ and four ♠ they would have bid their ♥ first.

That is not so bad but try this one:

Opener	Responder
1♣	1♥

Responder is essentially denying having four ♦. This one is tough to grasp because pretty much everyone will bid a four card major over a four card ♦ suit at the 1 level. There is NOTHING wrong with that. But if that is the case you are probably pretty happy playing in NT rather than the four four ♦ fit that you might have. You should be happy with that. We should prefer to play in NT rather than in ♦ if we are balanced. However for the purposes of understanding reverses keep in mind that if someone goes by a suit they are essentially DENYING having four cards in that suit. That will make it easier to understand reverses.

More reverses by Opener.

Here's a slightly more complicated reverse as compared to the ones in the last post.

Auction 1:

Opener	Responder
1♣	1♠
2♥

Opener again has made a reverse bid. They are unbalanced and should have five ♣, four ♥ and a BIG hand.

The unbalanced part is easy to see. Opener should be unbalanced or they would have rebid some number of NT. So they must be unbalanced. If they are unbalanced they either have a six card suit or a five card suit and another four card suit. Opener is bidding two suits so they have two suits. So a five card suit and a four card suit. Opener will bid the longest suit first so the ♣ must be longer.

Could Opener be five five in the rounded suits?

No. With two five card suits you open the HIGHEST ranking suit first. With five ♥ and five ♣ Opener would have opened 1♥.

Could Opener have five ♥?

Sure, but then they have six ♣.

Could Opener have four ♥ and six ♣?

Yes, they could. They are at least five four but could be more unbalanced for sure.

So that explains the unbalanced part.

What about the BIG hand part? Why should Opener have better than a minimum hand?

Listen to the auction. Opener opened the bidding 1♣ and Responder said "1♠". But Responder didn't just say "1♠", what Responder said was this "I do NOT want to tell you about any ♦ suit I might have and I do NOT want to tell you about any ♥ suit I have. But I do have at least four ♠ and at least 6 HCP."

So Responder is essentially saying "I do NOT want to play in ♥."

And now Opener is essentially asking "Do you want to play in ♥?"

For Opener to ignore Responder's wishes to not play in ♥ they must have a BIG hand because now they are forcing Responder to return to their longest suit at the 3 level. That might be way too HIGH with two minimum hands.

Responder could have this hand:
♠Q964
♥842
♦K83
♣J65

By bidding 2♥, Opener is saying "Choose between my ♥ and my ♣ and my ♣ are longer since I bid them first."

Responder must return to the ♣ suit and must now bid 3♣ (THREE!) since Opener's last bid was 2♥.

The partnership is now at the THREE level and Responder only has 6 HCP. If Opener is only minimum this partnership could be in trouble. Plus the partnership did not have to get so high. Opener KNEW that Responder did not want to tell them about any ♥ suit they had. Why suggest that suit?

Opener MUST have a BIG hand.

Let's take a look at the hand everyone is worried about. Responder could have this hand:
♠Q9642
♥K842
♦3
♣J65

and Opener could have this hand:
♠A8
♥AQ65
♦Q85
♣Q832

Opener will open the bidding 1♣. Responder will bid 1♠ because their ♠ are longer than their ♥.

Now Opener will need to rebid 1NT. This does NOT deny having four ♥. This shows a balanced hand with fewer than 15 HCP, no support for Responder's major and no major they can bid at the 1 level. (This is true. If Opener were to bid their ♥ suit they would have to do so at the 2 level.)

But will the partnership miss out on the four four ♥ fit?

No. Responder is UNBALANCED. They will take Opener out of the 1NT bid and bid 2♥. Doing this will show four ♥ and therefore shows five ♠ because with four four in the majors Responder would have responded 1♥ before bidding 1♠.

Opener will either PASS 2♥ or bid 2♠ depending on their hand. In this example Opener will Pass 2♥.

Opener	Responder
1♣	1♠
1NT	2♥
Pass

Let's do some more practicing. That's always fun.

For the following auctions tell me just what EXACTLY Opener has. Big hand? Minimum hand? How many in each suit they mentioned. Plus IS their bid a REVERSE?

Hand 1

This is the auction:

Opener	Responder
1♦	1NT
3♦

Is Opener’s rebid of 3♦ a reverse? Just what does Opener have?



Hand 2

This is the auction:

Opener	Responder
1♣	1♠
2♦

Is Opener’s rebid of 2♦ a reverse? Just what does Opener have?



Hand 3

This is the auction:

Opener	Responder
1♦	1NT
2♦

Is Opener’s rebid of 2♦ a reverse? Just what does Opener have?



Hand 4

This is the auction:

Opener	Responder
1♦	1♠
3♦

Is Opener’s rebid of 3♦ a reverse? Just what does Opener have?



Hand 5

This is the auction:

Opener	Responder
1♦	1♠
2♥

Is Opener’s rebid of 2♥ a reverse? Just what does Opener have?



Hand 6

This is the auction:

Opener	Responder
1♦	1♠
2♠

Is Opener’s rebid of 2♠ a reverse? Just what does Opener have?



Hand 7

This is the auction:

Opener	Responder
1♣	1♥
1♠

Is Opener’s rebid of 1♠ a reverse? Just what does Opener have?



Hand 8

This is the auction:

Opener	Responder
1♣	1♥
2♥

Is Opener’s rebid of 2♥ a reverse? Just what does Opener have?



Hand 9

This is the auction:

Opener	Responder
1♦	1NT
2♥

Is Opener’s rebid of 2♥ a reverse? Just what does Opener have?



Hand 10

This is the auction:

Opener	Responder
1♦	1♠
3♠

Is Opener’s rebid of 3♠ a reverse? Just what does Opener have?



Hand 11

This is the auction:

Opener	Responder
1♣	1♥
3♣

Is Opener’s rebid of 3♣ a reverse? Just what does Opener have?



Hand 12

This is the auction:

Opener	Responder
1♣	1♥
2♦

Is Opener’s rebid of 2♦ a reverse? Just what does Opener have?



Hand 13

This is the auction:

Opener	Responder
1♣	1♥
2♣

Is Opener’s rebid of 2♣ a reverse? Just what does Opener have?



Hand 14

This is the auction:

Opener	Responder
1♦	1♠
2♣

Is Opener’s rebid of 2♣ a reverse? Just what does Opener have?



Hand 15

This is the auction:

Opener	Responder
1♦	1NT
2♠

Is Opener’s rebid of 2♠ a reverse? Just what does Opener have?



Hand 16

This is the auction:

Opener	Responder
1♦	1♠
2♦

Is Opener’s rebid of 2♦ a reverse? Just what does Opener have?



Hand 17

This is the auction:

Opener	Responder
1♣	1♠
2♠

Is Opener’s rebid of 2♠ a reverse? Just what does Opener have?



Hand 18

This is the auction:

Opener	Responder
1♣	1♠
3♣

Is Opener’s rebid of 3♣ a reverse? Just what does Opener have?



Hand 19

This is the auction:

Opener	Responder
1♣	1♠
2♣

Is Opener’s rebid of 2♣ a reverse? Just what does Opener have?



Hand 20

This is the auction:

Opener	Responder
1♦	1NT
2♣

Is Opener’s rebid of 2♣ a reverse? Just what does Opener have?



Hand 21

This is the auction:

Opener	Responder
1♣	1♠
2♥

Is Opener’s rebid of 2♥ a reverse? Just what does Opener have?