Responder Rebids

Playing matchpoints. Both you and the Opponents are vulnerable.

Here is your hand:
♠AJ763
♥KT
♦KT94
♣Q7

Partner is the Dealer and opens the bidding 1♣. The Opponents are silent during the bidding. Your first response is easy. 1♠. Partner rebids 1NT.

Partner should be showing a balanced hand with less than 15 HCP (a balanced hand with 15 HCP will open the bidding 1NT -- not 1♣) and fewer than four ♠. Partner will raise your ♠ suit with four ♠. What is your bid now?

Show Answer

This is tough. You have enough for a game so you have to make sure you either A) bid game or B) make a bid Partner cannot "Pass"

You are unbalanced and you still could have a nice little ♠ fit. Partner does not have four but they could have three.

If you want to give up on the ♠ fit just bid 3NT. That gets you to game.

If you want to try to find a five three ♠ fit you need to JUMP in the bidding and bid a new suit. In this case 3♦. This shows you are unbalanced (you are taking Partner out of the NT they bid so you must be unbalanced) and strong enough to go to game since you jumped.

Partner will show you if they have three ♠ by bidding 3♠. You can now bid 4♠.

Note that in order to force Partner to bid you need to JUMP in the bidding. Partner is allowed to "Pass" 2♦.

For more information on how does Responder force over 1NT check out this post:
How Does Responder Force Over 1NT?

Rebid by Responder

Here is your hand:
♠A72
♥AKQ4
♦962
♣983

Your LHO (Left Hand Opponent) is Dealer and says "Pass". Partner bids 1♣. Your RHO (Right Hand Opponent) says "Pass". What is your bid?

Your first bid is easy. I hope everyone bid 1♥ on this hand. This shows four or more ♥ and at least 6 HCP. This also forces Partner to bid again. Which Partner does. Partner rebids 2♣. Now it is back to you. What do you bid NOW?

Show Answer

Answer:

This is a tough one to bid properly.

The thing to remember is that Partner opened the bidding. You also have an opening hand. You NEED to either get Partner to a game or FORCE Partner to bid again so that you can figure out what game you want to bid.

The easiest bid to make is 3NT.

AHHHHH! Without a ♦ stopper?!? How can you possible recommend bidding 3NT without a ♦ stopper!?!

First of all -- relax. The opponents are NOT bidding ♦. If they have all the honours in ♦ and five of them they probably would be bidding ♦.

Second of all Partner opened the bidding. They must have values somewhere. Maybe they have a ♦ card? Sure it COULD be all in the black suits but that would be pretty unlucky. Even then the opponents might not lead a ♦ . Or maybe the ♦ split 4-4 since no one is overcalling the suit.

However I don't actually mind if you don't want to bid 3NT on this hand.

If you don't bid 3NT what are you going to bid?

Believe it or not you need to bid 2♦ on this hand.

Why 2♦? Because it is a FORCING bid. Partner MUST bid again. They will bid 2NT and then you can happily bid 3NT to get to your game.

If you bid 3♣ on this hand guess what? Partner PASSES. You just missed a game.

How does Responder Force if 1NT has NOT been bid

Be sure to read this post first:
How Does Responder Force Over 1NT?

What happens if 1NT has NOT been bid in the auction? How does Responder force Partner to bid now?

A NEW suit by Responder is forcing for at least one round.

However there is a caveat. If Responder is a PASSED hand they cannot force. So that means if Responder started off the bidding by Passing and their Partner opens the bidding Responder can no longer force by bidding a new suit.

Seems unfair?

Remember Responder started off by Passing. They do NOT have an opening hand. So now Opener with a minimum hand knows they cannot make game so will just Pass once they have found a fit. Why get higher if you cannot make game?

Say I am Dealer. I have this hand:

♠QJ32
♥AQ42
♦Q3
♣Q73

I have 13 HCP and open the bidding 1♣. Partner bids 1♠. This is a FORCING bid. My Partner could have 6 HCP it is true. But they could also have 13 HCP and if I Pass we have missed a game. Even worse -- they could have 20 HCP and we have missed a small slam! I have to keep the auction going so Partner can bid game or slam if they have the values. I would just respond 2♠. This shows a minimum opening hand. I don't want to get Partner any more excited than they already are.

Same hand. This time PARTNER is Dealer and they start off with a Pass. My RHO also Passes. I hold:

♠QJ32
♥AQ42
♦Q3
♣Q73

I have 13 HCP and open the bidding 1♣. Partner bids 1♠. We have a fit. But do we have enough for game?

No. Partner started off with a Pass. They do not have an opening hand. I have a bare minimum. I can Pass this bid. We should not have missed a game. Partner has limited their hand by Passing in first seat.

Let's practice some auctions. Tell me if these bids are forcing or not:

Auction 1

Opener	Responder
1♣	1♥

Is 1♥ a forcing bid? Does Opener have to bid again?



Auction 2

Opener	Responder
	Pass
1♣	1♥

Is 1♥ a forcing bid? Does Opener have to bid again?



Auction 3

Opener	Responder
1♣	1♠
2♣	2♥

Is 2♥ a forcing bid? Does Opener have to bid again?



Auction 4

Opener	Responder
	Pass
1♣	1♠
2♣	2♥

Is 2♥ a forcing bid? Does Opener have to bid again?



Auction 5

Opener	Responder
1♣	1♥
1♠	3♥

Is 3♥ a forcing bid? Does Opener have to bid again?



Auction 6

Opener	Responder
1♣	1♦
1♥	1♠

Is 1♠ a forcing bid? Does Opener have to bid again?



Auction 7

Opener	Responder
1♥	1♠
1NT	2♣

Is 2♣ a forcing bid? Does Opener have to bid again?



Auction 8

Opener	Responder
1♣	1♥
1♠

Is 1♠ a forcing bid? Does Responder have to bid again?



Auction 9

Opener	Responder
	Pass
1♥	1♠
3♦	3♠

Is 3♠ a forcing bid? Does Opener have to bid again?

How Does Responder Force Over 1NT?

Most of the time when Partner opens the bidding and you respond, Partner will limit their hand on their rebid. Once they do that, most of the time you, as Responder, should know where to place the contract.

For example, you hold this hand and Partner opens the bidding 1♥:
♠AQJ932
♥9
♦AT7
♣QJ9

You respond 1♠ and Partner then bids 1NT. What is your bid?

Partner is showing a minimum, balanced opening hand. You also have an opening hand. You have enough for a game but not a slam. You know you have a ♠ fit because Partner should have two of them and you have six. So your bid is 4♠.

Let's take another hand. This time Partner opens 1♦:
♠QJ93
♥Q962
♦A7
♣KJ9

You respond 1♥ (with two four card majors bid them up the line) and Partner then bids 1NT.

Partner is showing a minimum, balanced hand. You also have an opening hand. You want to be in game. You tried to find a 4-4 ♥ fit but Partner didn't show support. You'd like a 4-4 ♠ fit but Partner could have bid 1♠ over your 1♥ bid and didn't. Partner does not have four ♠ so you do not have a fit there either. But your hand is balanced and since you want to be in game you bid 3NT. Pretty easy.

Now let's take a look at some more difficult hands to bid.

Partner again opens 1♦:
♠KJ932
♥9
♦T7
♣QJ963

You respond 1♠ and Partner bids 1NT. Balanced hand with 13 or 14 HCP. (After all with 15 HCP they would have opened 1NT.)

Not quite as easy. You know you DON'T want to play in NT -- your hand is too unbalanced. You know you have a fit in one of the black suits but not sure which one. You also don't have very many points so you don't want to get too high. On this hand you can bid 2♣. This is a NON-FORCING bid. Partner is allowed to Pass. In fact, Partner is either supposed to Pass or bid 2♠. That's it. Those are their only choices.

So far, so good. But now what about this hand?

Partner opens 1♦:
♠AQJ92
♥9
♦A7
♣QJ963

You respond 1♠ and Partner bids 1NT. Balanced hand with 13 or 14 HCP. (After all with 15 HCP they would have opened 1NT.)

You know you'd prefer not to play in NT -- your hand is too unbalanced. You'd like to find a 5-3 ♠ fit. But you do have the values for a game so if you can't find a 5-3 ♠ fit you don't mind playing in 3NT. At least you will have bid a game. But how do you show only 5 ♠ on this auction?

2♠ shows a weak hand with six ♠
3♠ shows an intermediate hand with six ♠
4♠ shows a game forcing hand with six ♠

All these bids show a six card suit. How do you show a five card suit?

Bid another suit.

Once you take Partner out of their NT contract they will know you are unbalanced. If you were unbalanced because you had six ♠ you would have rebid your ♠ suit. If you were to bid another suit you would show at least another four card suit. But if you only had two four card suits your hand would be balanced and want to play in NT. So you must also have a five card suit along with your other four (or more) card suit. You would bid your longest suit first so your first suit bid must have five cards and your second suit bid would have at least four cards.

Therefore, in the auction, you need to bid your ♣ suit. But you can't just bid 2♣. That is a non-forcing bid remember. Partner can Pass. In order to force Partner to bid you need to jump to 3♣.

This does several things:
It puts a game force on the auction. No one is allowed to Pass below game.
It shows an unbalanced hand that does not want to play in NT -- probably five ♠ and four ♣ since with a single suited unbalanced hand you would just rebid your suit.

So back to that hand:
♠AQJ92
♥9
♦A7
♣QJ963

Partner opens 1♦. You respond 1♠ and Partner bids 1NT. You rebid 3♣. Now at this point Partner probably does one of two things:

Partner bids 3♠. This tells you that Partner has three ♠ for you. If they had four ♠ they would have supported you right away. But when they bid NT they already showed they had two ♠. They need at least two cards in every suit to be balanced. So after Partner bids 3♠ you can bid 4♠.

If Partner instead responds 3NT you do not have a ♠ fit. Just Pass.

RULE:
In an auction where Opener has limited their hand by bidding 1NT Responder must JUMP in a NEW, lower ranking SUIT in order to force Opener to bid again. This creates a GAME FORCE on the auction. No one is allowed to Pass a bid below game.

Opener	Responder
1♣	1♥
1NT	3♦	This is GAME forcing -- Responder JUMPED in a NEW, lower ranking suit over Openers 1NT rebid. Opener MUST respond.

Opener	Responder
1♣	1♥
1NT	3♣	This is invitational -- Responder JUMPED in a suit that was already bid. Opener can Pass.

Opener	Responder
1♣	1♥
1NT	3♥	This is invitational -- Responder JUMPED in a suit that was already bid. Opener can Pass.

So with that in mind what do you respond with each of these hands when your Partner opens the bidding 1♦, you respond 1♠ and Partner rebids 1NT? What does that tell Partner?

Hand 1

♠KJ873
♥AKJT9
♦J
♣94



Hand 2

♠QT842
♥K6
♦6
♣QT982



Hand 3

♠AQT54
♥
♦A932
♣KQT2



Hand 4

♠J7643
♥75
♦A
♣Q9764



Hand 5

♠AK862
♥AT5
♦9
♣A943



Hand 6

♠AT853
♥AQ632
♦A3
♣J



Hand 7

♠Q7654
♥5
♦J3
♣KJ832



Hand 8

♠AKJ64
♥T
♦A32
♣KT85



Hand 9

♠AKQ94
♥832
♦2
♣KJ64



Hand 10

♠AT765
♥7
♦KQ7
♣AJ83



Hand 11

♠KQ953
♥7
♦T7
♣Q8642



Hand 12

♠JT754
♥42
♦Q
♣KJ852



Hand 13

♠AQT98
♥KJ84
♦6
♣K75



Hand 14

♠Q9743
♥2
♦84
♣AJ742



Hand 15

♠KT652
♥KJ43
♦KQ
♣A8



Hand 16

♠Q9732
♥KQ74
♦T
♣864



Hand 17

♠AJ642
♥K4
♦K3
♣K853



Hand 18

♠QT652
♥AKJ5
♦A65
♣7



Hand 19

♠Q9742
♥QT532
♦Q5
♣8



Hand 20

♠AQT52
♥AQ73
♦KT
♣J5



Hand 21

♠J8642
♥
♦J82
♣AJ532



Hand 22

♠AJT64
♥K95
♦6
♣AQT4



Hand 23

♠A9432
♥J5
♦8
♣QT765



Hand 24

♠K9762
♥KJ873
♦63
♣T



Hand 25

♠AQ962
♥73
♦74
♣AKQ2



Hand 26

♠AT532
♥86
♦9
♣KQ852



Hand 27

♠J8732
♥A65
♦
♣QJ743