Questions about bidding a new suit over a Pre-empt

I have a few questions from my latest games:

A) I opened with a preemptive bid. Partner bid a new suit. Is this bid forcing?
Go to Answer 1A

B) If it is, how should I bid? Do I raise partner's suit one level if I have support for my partner's suit (3+ cards?)? If I don't have support, do I bid NT or rebid my own long suit one level up?
Go to Answer 1B

C) If bidding a new suit is not forcing, how should my partner bid with a very good hand?
Go to Answer 1C

D) If my partner does not have a very good hand but prefers to play in a different suit than mine, how do they bid?
Go to Answer 1D

Heidi's Answer to 1A

Question 1A) I opened with a preemptive bid. Partner bid a new suit. Is this bid forcing?

Answer to 1A: In Standard American, a new suit by Responder after Partner makes a pre-emptive bid is FORCING. That means that Opener MUST bid again if Responder bids a new suit. Note that the pre-emptive bid could be at the two level or even the three level!

N	E	S	W
2♥	Pass	2♠	Pass
???

North MUST bid!

N	E	S	W
3♥	Pass	3♠	Pass
???

North MUST bid!

However...

You and your Partner can agree to play it non-forcing (totally up to you) but then you MUST ALERT the Opponents!

N	E	S	W
2♥	Pass	2♠	Pass
???

North can Pass BUT North must say "ALERT" as soon as South puts the 2♠ bid down on the table. If the Opponents ask North why they alerted, North should say "The 2♠ bid was non-forcing. I am allowed to Pass."

N	E	S	W
3♥	Pass	3♠	Pass
???

North can Pass BUT North must say "ALERT" as soon as South puts the 3♠ bid down on the table. If the Opponents ask North why they alerted, North should say "The 3♠ bid was non-forcing. I am allowed to Pass."

Right now most of us are playing online. Online you must self alert. So South, when they make the 2♠ bid (or 3♠ bid), needs to tell the Opponents that the bid is non-forcing. Note that this information does NOT go to their Partner. Their Partner is already supposed to know!

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Heidi's Answer to 1B

Question 1B: If a new suit is forcing, how should I bid? Do I raise partner's suit one level if I have support for my partner's suit (3+ cards?)? If I don't have support, do I bid NT or rebid my own long suit one level up?

Answer to 1B: You can do all the above!

You can raise Partner with three cards in their suit. You can even raise Partner if you have a doubleton honour in their suit if you don't have anything better to say! You can bid another four card suit. You can bid NT with a maximumish balanced hand. If you've got nothing else to say just rebid your suit.

Let's see some examples:

Example 1:
Take this hand which is North:
♠963
♥AQJ982
♦73
♣T2

N	E	S	W
2♥	Pass	2♠	Pass
???

On this hand you can raise Partner's ♠ suit because you have three card support.

Example 2:
Take this hand which is North:
♠K3
♥AQ8642
♦873
♣T2

N	E	S	W
2♥	Pass	2♠	Pass
???

With this hand I would probably just raise to 3♠ because I have a doubleton honour in my Partner's suit and Partner could easily have six ♠. Plus rebid options are not that good.

Example 3:
Take this hand which is North:
♠3
♥AJT982
♦K873
♣T2

N	E	S	W
2♥	Pass	2♠	Pass
???

With this hand I would bid 3♦ to suggest another place to play.

Example 4:
Take this hand which is North:
♠3
♥QJT982
♦QJ3
♣QJ2

N	E	S	W
2♥	Pass	2♠	Pass
???

With this hand I would probably bid 2NT to suggest both minors being stopped. I hate to do that with a singleton but I am maximum for my weak 2 bid and Partner did bid that ♠ suit.

Example 5:
Take this hand which is North:
♠83
♥KQT982
♦63
♣762

N	E	S	W
2♥	Pass	2♠	Pass
???

With this hand I would just rebid my suit. 3♥. I've got nothing else to show them.

Example 6:
Trickier one! Take this hand which is North:
♠3
♥KQT986
♦6432
♣T2

N	E	S	W
2♥	Pass	2♠	Pass
???

With this hand I would probably ignore my ♦ suit. That might encourage Partner to bid 3NT thinking I had the ♦ covered. I am very weak also. I think I'd just rebid 3♥ on this one.

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Heidi's Answer to 1C

Question 1C) If bidding a new suit is not forcing, how should my partner bid with a very good hand?

Answer to 1C: GOT ME!!! I play a new suit forcing. I have no idea what people do if they don't play it forcing and they have a good hand. Maybe they just leap to game. Who knows?

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Heidi's Answer to 1D

Question 1D) If my partner does not have a very good hand but prefers to play in a different suit than mine, how do they bid?

Answer to 1D: They don't. They "Pass" and let you play in yours.

Generally if you are weak and Partner is weak the Opponents step in and start to bid because they have the values. If you have no fit and no points this is a GOOD thing for you! But if you don't have values and you play a new suit as forcing you CANNOT bid. You just get into trouble most of the time.

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What to Overcall?

Playing matchpoints. Both you and the Opponents are vulnerable.

Here is your hand:
♠AKQJ73
♥985
♦7
♣T94

Your RHO (Right Hand Opponent) is Dealer and opens the bidding 1♦. What is your call?

Show Answer

I like 2♠.

This gets across that you have a SIX card suit but weak values.

You are vulnerable so Partner should expect a good suit so you are not too strong for this bid.

If you overcall 1♠ and then rebid your ♠ suit (because who wouldn't want to show six of that lovely suit!) then you tend to show some defence.

After all, with a six card suit and no defense you would have started with a 2♠ bid!

Open or Pre-empt?

Playing matchpoints. You are vulnerable and the Opponents are not vulnerable.

Here is your hand:
♠Q8
♥AQT972
♦83
♣QT5

You are Dealer. What is your call?

Show Answer

2♥.

This shows a weak hand with a good six card suit.

Don't worry that your hand it too good to open a weak 2. You are vulnerable and the Opponents are not so Partner will expect a decent hand.

Besides you don't have much defence and Partner will expect a stronger hand if you open the bidding 1♥.

Even the Rule of 20 says to open 2♥ -- not 1♥.

Rule of 20 says to count your HCP (you have ten) and add that to the length in your two longest suits (you have six cards in your longest suit and three cards in your second longest suit so that makes nine total) and if that value is twenty or more you should consider this an opening hand. But ten plus nine is only nineteen. Not an opening hand.

If you do use the Rule of 20 you should also consider that your high card values should be in your LONG suits plus most people play you should have two quick tricks on the hand. Either two Aces or a Ace and King together or an Ace with two side Kings -- something like that.

What to Overcall?

Playing matchpoints. You are vulnerable and the Opponents are not vulnerable.

Here is your hand:
♠QJT753
♥AQ
♦QJT
♣J7

Your RHO (Right Hand Opponent) opens the bidding 1♣. What is your call?

Show Answer

1♠

This shows at least 10 HCP (though some will do it on less) with at least a good five card suit.

If you bid 2♠ to show that you have a six card suit you are misleading Partner. You are showing six in your suit but you are also showing a WEAK hand. This is a pre-empt. You should have about 6 to 10 points with a six card suit. You have the six card suit but your hand is too strong!

Responding to a Pre-empt

Playing matchpoints. You are not vulnerable and the Opponents are vulnerable.

Here is your hand:
♠J87
♥AKJ93
♦AQ6
♣KQ

Partner is Dealer and opens the bidding 3♣. This shows a good seven card suit with about 5 to 10 points.

Your RHO (Right Hand Opponent) says "Pass". What is your call?

Show Answer

3♥ is the bid I made with my Partner.

What did my Partner do? He said "Pass"!

Oooops! I obviously meant it as forcing -- I had 20 points! We didn't even have a fit (Partner only had two trump) and I still made 12 tricks. We could make 6♣ or even 6NT since Partner had the ♠ stopped.

The moral of this story is to make sure you discuss with Partner as to whether or not a new suit is forcing over a weak 2 or 3 pre-empt.

If you do NOT play a new suit as forcing the ACBL requires that you ALERT the new suit. (The bid that the pre-empter is allowed to "Pass".)

What to Open?

Playing matchpoints. You are not vulnerable and the Opponents are vulnerable.

Here is your hand:
♠AJT9862
♥7
♦843
♣K3

You are Dealer. What is your call?

Show Answer

3♠.

This tells Partner you have about 6 to 10 points and SEVEN ♠.

Bidding 2♠ would show the same point count with SIX ♠.

What to open?

Playing matchpoints. You are vulnerable and the Opponents are not.

Here is your hand:
♠9
♥AK98764
♦65
♣J76

Your RHO (Right Hand Opponent) is Dealer and Passes. What is your call?

Show Answer

3♥.

Weak.
A weak two bid you will make with a SIX card suit.

You have a seven card suit. So up the pre-empt a level.

What bid will Mess up the Opponents most?

Playing matchpoints. You are not vulnerable and the Opponents are vulnerable.

Here is your hand:
♠J
♥J63
♦J
♣KQJT9875

Partner is Dealer and "Passes". Your RHO (Right Hand Opponent) opens the bidding 1♦. What is your call? (Look at the colours before you decide.)

Show Answer

How about 5♣? Put MAXIMUM pressure on the Opponents.

If you bid a wussy 4♣ how happy are you going to bid if they bid 4♠ and Partner cannot "Double"? Are you really going to defend against 4♠?

Hopefully not. You'll either have to bid 5♣ or be extremely unhappy you are playing in ♠.

So since you are probably going to bid 5♣ anyhow put maximum pressure on the Opponents and bid 5♣ right away -- before they figure out what major suit they want to play in.

If you did bid 5♣ right away you probably got Doubled and went down 3 tricks. This gave the Opponents 500 points.

If you bid a wussy 4♣ guess what? The Opponents bid 4♠. They took 12 tricks in 4♠. That gave them 680 points.

What to do NOW?

Playing Matchpoints. You are not vulnerable and the Opponents are vulnerable. Here is your hand:

♠QT92
♥AJ76
♦4
♣A932

You are Dealer and decide not to open the bidding. Your LHO (Left Hand Opponent) also says "Pass". Partner opens the bidding 3♠. Your RHO (Right Hand Opponent) says "Pass". What is your call?

Show Answer

How about 4♠?

You've got a TERRIFIC hand for Partner!

Partner can probably trump a few ♦ in your hand and also you have a few Aces. Got a good shot for 10 tricks -- even if Partner is a little light for their bid. (Partner in third seat at favourable vulnerability might try and stretch things a little...)

What to Open?

Playing Matchpoints. The Opponents are vulnerable and you are not vulnerable. Here is your hand:

♠AJ4
♥654
♦8
♣KQT972

Your RHO (Right Hand Opponent) says "Pass". What is your call?

Show Answer

How about "Pass"?

You could try opening the bidding 3♣ but the problem is PARTNER might have the nice hand. You might mess up Partner.

If you opened 3♣ Partner will probably let you play it there. You can take 10 tricks in ♣.

If you "Pass" Partner will open the bidding. Now you can show your ♣ and also show you have 10 or more HCP.

Partner will end up bidding (and making!) 3NT because now Partner knows you are not just a weak hand with ♣.

What to Open?

Playing Matchpoints. The Opponents are vulnerable and you are not vulnerable. Here is your hand:

♠T
♥7
♦KJT987642
♣K7

You are Dealer. What is your call?

Show Answer

How about 5♦?

This a hand with less than opening values with a good NINE card suit.

With a six card suit you open at the 2 level. With a 7 card suit you open at the 3 level. With an eight card suit you open at the 4 level.

The problem with bidding 3♦ is that it doesn't mess up the Opponents that much. They will get to their slam now.

Some people even got to play 5♦. These fortunate people went down 3 but the Opponents can make 7 of either major or even 7NT.

What to Open?

Here is your hand:

♠AJT86543
♥9
♦J
♣K87

RHO (Right Hand Opponent) opens the bidding with a "Pass". What is your call?

Show Answer

4♠

This should show an eight card ♠ suit with less than an opening hand.

Open

Here is your hand:

♠T92
♥2
♦AKJ7654
♣J2

You are Dealer. Both sides are vulnerable. What do you open the bidding?

Show Answer

How about 3♦?

Bidding 3♦ shows a weak hand with SEVEN ♦. Don't open the bidding 2♦. That only shows a six card suit. Bidding 3♦ will make it way more difficult for the Opponents to bid. That's what pre-empts are all about.

Responding to Partner's Weak 2 Bid

Here is your hand:

♠QJ73
♥J765
♦AK74
♣6

Playing matchpoints and no one is vulnerable.

Partner opens the bidding 2♥. (You have agreed to play weak 2's so Partner has a six card suit with less than an opening hand.) Your RHO (Right Hand Opponent) says "Pass".

What is your call?

Show Answer

If you obeyed the "Law of Total Tricks" you would bid 4♥ right away. If you do that Partner should take 10 tricks.

Pre-empt from Today

WARNING! The following post talks about Pre-emptive Bidding. Pre-empts are bids used by more experienced players. If you are a new player do NOT bother reading this post. When you have played a bit more and know a bit more you can learn how to use them. For now, do not bother.

Here is a hand from today.
The Opponents are vulnerable.
You and Partner are non-vulnerable.
Your Partner opens the bidding 2♠. RHO Passes. Your bid. What is your call?

♠Q863
♥T
♦QJT763
♣J8

So it is your bid. What will you do?

Show Answer

If you bid 4♠ you get a good board.

Why you ask? How can you possible make 4♠? Partner is weak and you have nothing? How can this be good?

Well Partner does have a weak hand. They have:
♠AKJT94
♥J84
♦94
♣T5

4♠ goes down 2. Partner has no play.

So why is this good? Let's take a look at what happens if you PASS 2♠. After all 2♠ should make if 4♠ goes down 2.

True. 2♠ will make. However the Opponents will NOT allow you to play in 2♠. They will bid. And they will bid 4♥.

Can you defeat 4♥? No. You have no defence. You can't even defeat 6♥. They will take 12 tricks if ♥ is trump.

This is easy for the Opponents to figure out when you pass 2♠.

MUCH more difficult to figure out if you bid 4♠.

Most Opponents will let you play in 4♠ and be happy they defeated you two tricks. They will leave oblivious to the fact that they missed their ♥ slam.

I set this up as a little test. I was watching my students bid. My one student bid 4♠ with such confidence I actually thought they were going to make it even though I knew they couldn't. Good job for them! Next time you get a hand like that bid game with confidence. The Opponents just might not find their game!

Check out this post to learn how to UP the PRE-EMPT:
Pre-emptive Bidding -- Upping the Pre-empt

Pre-emptive Bids -- A Summary

WARNING! The following post talks about Pre-emptive Bidding. Pre-empts are bids used by more experienced players. If you are a new player do NOT bother reading this post. When you have played a bit more and know a bit more you can learn how to use them. For now, do not bother.

This post summarizes all the following posts:
Pre-emptive Bidding -- An Introduction
Responding to a Weak 2
Weak 2 Bids -- Responding to 2NT
Pre-emptive Bidding -- Does Vulnerabilitity Matter?
Pre-emptive Bidding -- Upping the Pre-empt

A pre-emptive bid occurs when one player JUMPS in the bidding to bid a suit and their partner has not yet made a bid.

You can pre-empt when you open the bidding.
You can also make a pre-emptive overcall.

The purpose of a pre-emptive bid is to disrupt the opponents bidding. It shows a weak hand with a good quality, long suit.

To make a pre-emptive bid you should have the following:

• 5 to 10 HCP (or you can play 6 to 11 HCP or even 5 to 11)
• At least 3 of the top 5 honors (A, K, Q, J, T) – non-vulnerable
• At least 2 of the top 3 honors (A, K, Q) - vulnerable or non-vulnerable
• No tolerance for any outside major suit (4+ cards) – your hand is too good
• No outside 5 card minor – your hand is too good
• At most 1 trick outside the suit

Some players are not as disciplined when they make a pre-emptive bid. Their suit is not as good. I recommend being very disciplined when you first start playing pre-emptive bids. After you are more experienced playing pre-empts you can "relax" the rules a bit as you see fit.

The level you pre-empt at shows the LENGTH in your suit.

Pre-empting at the 2 level shows a 6 card suit
Pre-empting at the 3 level shows a 7 card suit
Pre-empting at the 4 level shows a 8 card suit
and so on...

What does Partner do?

They can just bid game.
Pass if they don't expect to make a game and have few trump.
Bid game in 3NT with the right hand.
Bid 2NT to ASK if the pre-empter has an outside feature. That is an Ace OR a King outside the trump suit.
With trump support but a weakish hand they can UP the PRE-EMPT. Bid to the LAW level.

The responses to 2NT from Partner are:
Partner rebids their suit if they do not have an Ace or King outside the suit and their suit is not headed by the AKQ.
If Partner has an outside Ace or King they bid 3 of the suit where they have the outside feature.
If Partner has a suit headed by the AKQ they bid 3NT.

Let's practice what you will bid if Partner opens the bidding 2♠. Partner is VULNERABLE so that means they have a GOOD SUIT. At least two of the top three honours (AKQ) and good spot cards. So it is your bid. What will you do? Pass? Bid 3♠? Bid 3NT? Bid 4♠? Ask Partner if they have an outside Ace or King with 2NT? You decide.

Hand 1

♠8543
♥T9
♦K82
♣KT64



Hand 2

♠QT74
♥AT32
♦7
♣A654



Hand 3

♠QJ65
♥AQ4
♦AQ3
♣A87



Hand 4

♠T94
♥KT7
♦T2
♣A9742



Hand 5

♠JT9
♥AJ76
♦J872
♣42



Hand 6

♠K743
♥82
♦A3
♣KT876



Hand 7

♠A976
♥A82
♦AQJT97
♣



Hand 8

♠953
♥AJ
♦AT9654
♣83



Hand 9

♠QT43
♥A6
♦3
♣KT8765



Hand 10

♠K87
♥A54
♦A54
♣A765



Hand 11

♠
♥KQ65
♦KQ765
♣KQ54



Hand 12

♠J97
♥3
♦AJ983
♣KJ94



Hand 13

♠A32
♥T9
♦K72
♣Q9765



Hand 14

♠KT9
♥A7632
♦642
♣J7



Hand 15

♠J6
♥AJT
♦AT96
♣KJ76



Hand 16

♠J653
♥J875
♦
♣AK753



Hand 17

♠KT72
♥A53
♦6
♣QJ852



Hand 18

♠742
♥KT98
♦98
♣K876



Hand 19

♠K543
♥AK7654
♦43
♣2



Hand 20

♠Q875
♥876
♦J9
♣JT76



Hand 21

♠AQ4
♥T873
♦8652
♣J4



Hand 22

♠AQ65
♥A732
♦T52
♣62



Hand 23

♠T43
♥KJ5
♦K87543
♣J



Hand 24

♠K876
♥7
♦AK6
♣KQ765



Hand 25

♠K86
♥J853
♦43
♣KQJ9



Hand 26

♠98
♥AQ4
♦AQ42
♣KT65



Hand 27

♠K765
♥J4
♦2
♣QJT832



Hand 28

♠QJ93
♥97
♦AK873
♣T2



Hand 29

♠Q94
♥5
♦KQT65
♣QJ74



Hand 30

♠Q
♥AK43
♦A754
♣AK32



Hand 31

♠A976
♥A
♦
♣AQJT9765



Hand 32

♠Q73
♥JT94
♦32
♣AQ96



Hand 33

♠8653
♥8
♦64
♣KQJ874



Hand 34

♠T83
♥87
♦8753
♣AKT5



Hand 35

♠J432
♥6532
♦84
♣AJ8



Hand 36

♠Q4
♥KQ652
♦Q54
♣Q43

Pre-emptive Bidding -- Upping the Pre-empt

WARNING! The following post talks about Pre-emptive Bidding. Pre-empts are bids used by more experienced players. If you are a new player do NOT bother reading this post. When you have played a bit more and know a bit more you can learn how to use them. For now, do not bother.

Please read these posts first to learn a little bit about pre-emptive bidding:
Pre-emptive Bidding -- An Introduction
Responding to a Weak 2

When Partner pre-empts and you have good trump support but a weakish hand you should UP the PRE-EMPT. That means make it even MORE difficult for the Opponents to figure things out.

For instance Partner opens 2♠, RHO Passes (or Doubles or even Overcalls) and you hold:
♠K765
♥J4
♦2
♣QJT832

What do you bid?

Well if you said "Pass" because you are not going to make a game you are sort of right. You are probably NOT going to make a game. But guess who is?

That's right. Your Opponents. They've got to be making at least 4♥.

But they are not in the auction yet. Or if they are in the auction they don't really know what is going on. Want to make life VERY difficult for your LHO? Bid 4♠. Now they have a tough bid. Maybe you are bidding game because you will make it. They don't know. Maybe they will Pass and let you play in 4♠. Sure you will go down one or two but you probably won't be doubled. They might not even figure out they can make a game.

But if you Pass Partner's 2♠ bid it is easy for LHO to come in with either a Double or an Overcall. Now they will find their contract.

Once they know they have game, if you then bid 4♠ it is easy for them to know what to do. They will either Double you in your game or bid 5♥ and make that. It is easy once you give them room to explore.

So when Partner opens and you have a weakish hand, raise them to your LAW level. That means raise them to the same level of the number of trumps you hold between the two of you.

So if Partner opens a weak 2 they have six trump. If you have three trump raise them to the 3 level. If you have four trump raise them to the 4 level.

Let's practice. Partner opens the bidding 2♠. RHO Passes (or Doubles or even Overcalls). What is your bid?

Hand 1

♠K765
♥J4
♦2
♣QJT832



Hand 2

♠953
♥AJ
♦AT9654
♣83



Hand 3

♠QT74
♥AT32
♦7
♣A654



Hand 4

♠T83
♥87
♦8753
♣AKT5



Hand 5

♠A754
♥T76
♦86
♣Q853



Hand 6

♠K86
♥J853
♦43
♣KQJ9



Hand 7

♠A32
♥T9
♦K72
♣Q9765



Hand 8

♠JT9
♥AJ76
♦J872
♣42



Hand 9

♠KJ32
♥7
♦JT983
♣KT8



Hand 10

♠J432
♥6532
♦84
♣AJ8



Hand 11

♠742
♥KT98
♦98
♣K876



Hand 12

♠8543
♥T9
♦K82
♣KT64



Hand 13

♠AQ65
♥A732
♦T52
♣62



Hand 14

♠J73
♥83
♦54
♣KQ8652



Hand 15

♠KJ4
♥93
♦K652
♣KT42



Hand 16

♠KT83
♥82
♦95
♣JT974



Hand 17

♠Q73
♥JT94
♦32
♣AQ96



Hand 18

♠QJ93
♥97
♦AK873
♣T2



Hand 19

♠QT43
♥A6
♦3
♣KT8765



Hand 20

♠T43
♥KJ5
♦K87543
♣J



Hand 21

♠Q963
♥QT86
♦3
♣QT95



Hand 22

♠542
♥AT742
♦Q72
♣J7



Hand 23

♠KT72
♥A53
♦6
♣QJ852



Hand 24

♠J97
♥83
♦AJ93
♣KJ94



Hand 25

♠KJ86
♥T6
♦T52
♣A985



Hand 26

♠Q875
♥876
♦J9
♣JT76



Hand 27

♠Q94
♥95
♦KQT65
♣QJ7



Hand 28

♠8653
♥8
♦64
♣KQJ874



Hand 29

♠9432
♥AQT64
♦74
♣A4



Hand 30

♠AQ3
♥987532
♦97
♣94



Hand 31

♠AJ74
♥KJ43
♦
♣T9743



Hand 32

♠A942
♥93
♦A83
♣7532



Hand 33

♠KT7
♥JT542
♦843
♣KT



Hand 34

♠T94
♥KT7
♦T2
♣A9742



Hand 35

♠Q652
♥K843
♦KT943
♣



Hand 36

♠KT9
♥A7632
♦642
♣J7



Hand 37

♠J653
♥J875
♦
♣AK753



Hand 38

♠AQ4
♥T873
♦8652
♣J4



Hand 39

♠K743
♥82
♦A3
♣KT876

Pre-emptive Bidding -- Does Vulnerabilitity Matter?

WARNING! The following post talks about Pre-emptive Bidding. Pre-empts are bids used by more experienced players. If you are a new player do NOT bother reading this post. When you have played a bit more and know a bit more you can learn how to use them. For now, do not bother.

Please read these posts first to learn a little bit about pre-emptive bidding:
Pre-emptive Bidding -- An Introduction
Responding to a Weak 2

Question: Does vulnerability make a difference when making a pre-emptive bid? Why does that even matter?

Answer: Vulnerability is HUGE! The reason for that is the scoring. First check out my post on:
How to Score at Matchpoints

Now let's see what happens if you go down in your contract. This is the amount of points you give your Opponents if you go down in your contract.

# Tricks you went DOWN in your contract	Non-Vulnerable	Vulnerable
1	50	100
2	100	200
3	150	300

Now let's see what happens if you go down in your contract and the Opponents DOUBLE you.

# Tricks you went DOWN in your contract DOUBLED	Non-Vulnerable	Vulnerable
1	100	200
2	300	500
3	500	800

The BIG number on both these charts is the minus 200.

Minus 200 is a score you never want to get in matchpoints.

Why? Because if you give away 200 points to the Opponents that is a number they will never get for any part score they bid. Sometimes making a pre-emptive bid means you "steal" the contract from the Opponents. So they were going to bid on the contract but you stopped them because you bid too high, too fast for them. This generally means that you will not make your contract. After all, it should not have been yours. The Opponents have the majority of the points. You were just bidding because you had length in your suit. So now let's look at what would happen if you did NOT steal the contract from the Opponents. Rather you had let them bid instead. How many points would you have given away?

If you let them bid 2♠ and take 9 tricks they will get 140 points. Even if they bid 2♠ and take 10 tricks they will still get only 170 points. Neither of these scores beats giving them 200 points. If the Opponents could be in a minor suit (say 3♣) even if they take all 13 tricks they only score 190 points. You would rather give them 190 points versus 200 points.

That means that unless the rest of the Opponents can not only bid but also make a game if you give your Opponents 200 points you will get a bad score at matchpoints. You were better off NOT bidding and just letting them play in their part-score.

That also means that if you go down 2 in your vulnerable contract that is a bad result for you unless the other Opponents bid and make a game.

If the Opponents manage to double you in your vulnerable contract and you just go down 1 trick that is a bad result for you unless others bid and make a game.

What about if the Opponents can bid and make a game?

Well now you need to check out the Opponents vulnerability. If they Opponents are NOT vulnerable (but you are) then you are allowed to go down only one doubled. If the Opponents double you and you go down two tricks the Opponents score 500 points. If they can bid and make 3NT they would only score 400 points since they are not vulnerable. If they can bid 4♥ and take 11 tricks they only score 450 points since they are not vulnerable.

So here's a chart:

Opponents Vulnerability	You are Non-Vulnerable	You are Vulnerable	You are Non-Vulnerable but DOUBLED	You are Vulnerable and DOUBLED
Non-Vulnerable	You can go down one for sure -- that's only 50 points and that will beat any part-score. If you can go down two you'd better make sure the Opponents can take at least eight tricks in NT or a major or nine tricks in a minor	If you can go down one you'd better make sure the Opponents can take at least eight tricks in NT or a major or nine tricks in a minor. If you go down two the rest of the Opponents have to bid and make a game for this to be good for you.	If you can go down one you'd better make sure the Opponents can take at least eight tricks in NT or a major or nine tricks in a minor. If you go down two the rest of the Opponents have to bid and make a game for this to be good for you.	If you can go down one you'd better make sure the rest of the Opponents can bid and make a game. If you go down two the rest of the Opponents need to bid and make a slam for this to be good for you. Very unlikely.
Vulnerable	You can go down one for sure -- that's only 50 points and that will beat any part-score. If you can go down two you'd better make sure the Opponents can take at least eight tricks in NT or a major or nine tricks in a minor	If you can go down one you'd better make sure the Opponents can take at least eight tricks in NT or a major or nine tricks in a minor. If you go down two the rest of the Opponents have to bid and make a game for this to be good for you.	If you can go down one you'd better make sure the Opponents can take at least eight tricks in NT or a major or nine tricks in a minor. If you go down two or three the rest of the Opponents have to bid and make a game for this to be good for you. Going down four will be bad.	If you can go down one you'd better make sure the rest of the Opponents can bid and make a game. If you go down two the rest of the Opponents have to bid and make a game for this to be good for you. Going down three will be bad.

That's an INCREDIBLY difficult chart to memorize!

This is true. Don't bother. Here's an easier way to think of it:

Vulnerability	Meaning	Therefore
FAVOURABLE vulnerability	YOU are not vulnerable but the Opponents are vulnerable	You can go down THREE
EVEN vulnerability	You have the same vulnerability as the Opponents -- either both non-vulnerable or both vulnerable	You can go down TWO
UNFAVOURABLE vulnerability	YOU are vulnerable but the Opponents are not vulnerable	You can go down only ONE

In general just remember that if you are VULNERABLE make sure you have a GOOD suit and be a little more timid in the bidding. You shouldn't get into too much trouble that way.

Weak 2 Bids -- Responding to 2NT

WARNING! The following post talks about Pre-emptive Bidding. Pre-empts are bids used by more experienced players. If you are a new player do NOT bother reading this post. When you have played a bit more and know a bit more you can learn how to use them. For now, do not bother.

Please read these posts first to learn a little bit about pre-emptive bidding:
Pre-emptive Bidding -- An Introduction
Responding to a Weak 2

Last post talked a little bit about asking Partner for an outside feature. We talked about this hand:
♠95
♥AJ65
♦AJT
♣KQ73

and discussed some of the hands we wanted to be in 3NT in. Let's take a look at four hands Partner could have and see where we want to play.

Hand A	Hand B	Hand C	Hand D
♠KQJT76 ♥432 ♦84 ♣62	♠KQJT76 ♥K32 ♦84 ♣62	♠AKQT76 ♥432 ♦84 ♣62	♠KQJT76 ♥432 ♦K4 ♣62
♠95 ♥AJ65 ♦AJT ♣KQ73	♠95 ♥AJ65 ♦AJT ♣KQ73	♠95 ♥AJ65 ♦AJT ♣KQ73	♠95 ♥AJ65 ♦AJT ♣KQ73
With this hand we do NOT want to be in 3NT. The Opponents might not take their A♠ right away and then I have no way back to Dummy.	With this hand we DO want to be in 3NT. The Opponents might not take their A♠ right away but I can get back to Dummy with the K♥.	With this hand we DO want to be in 3NT. We can take six ♠ tricks if they split nicely and I should get three outside tricks.	With this hand we DO want to be in 3NT. The Opponents might not take their A♠ right away but I can get back to Dummy with the K♦.

So how do we figure that out?

We bid 2NT to ASK Partner if they have an outside feature to their hand. That means an Ace or King OUTSIDE the suit they pre-empted in. Partner can also tell us if we don't NEED an outside feature because their suit is SOOO good.

The responses are:
Partner rebids their suit if they do not have an Ace or King outside the suit and their suit is not headed by the AKQ.
If Partner has an outside Ace or King they bid 3 of the suit where they have the outside feature.
If Partner has a suit headed by the AKQ they bid 3NT.

So let's go back to those hands to see what Partner will bid over our 2NT response:

Hand A	Hand B	Hand C	Hand D
♠KQJT76 ♥432 ♦84 ♣62	♠KQJT76 ♥K32 ♦84 ♣62	♠AKQT76 ♥432 ♦84 ♣62	♠KQJT76 ♥432 ♦K4 ♣62
Partner rebids 3♠ to say they do not have an Ace or a King outside the ♠ suit. We will then PASS.	Partner rebids 3♥ to say they have the Ace♥ or the King♥. We will then bid 3NT.	Partner rebids 3NT to say they have a solid suit -- the ♠AKQxxx. We will PASS.	Partner rebids 3♦ to say they have the Ace♦ or the King♦. We will then bid 3NT.

Let's practice responding to our Partner's 2NT bid. On all the following hands you opened 2♠. Partner then bid 2NT. What is your bid?

You	Partner
2♠	2NT
???

Hand 1

♠AKT876
♥T4
♦863
♣75



Hand 2

♠KQT876
♥65
♦A84
♣85



Hand 3

♠AQJT87
♥T
♦J63
♣765



Hand 4

♠AKJ976
♥T83
♦53
♣96



Hand 5

♠AKQT86
♥97
♦9754
♣8



Hand 6

♠KQT876
♥65
♦K84
♣85



Hand 7

♠KQ8754
♥J6
♦9
♣KT95



Hand 8

♠KQT876
♥K84
♦65
♣85



Hand 9

♠AKQT86
♥423
♦754
♣8



Hand 10

♠AKJT85
♥962
♦2
♣Q64



Hand 11

♠KQT984
♥K6
♦9
♣9542



Hand 12

♠AKT987
♥74
♦T84
♣Q7



Hand 13

♠AQT975
♥65
♦K84
♣85



Hand 14

♠KQJT65
♥865
♦Q8
♣94



Hand 15

♠KQJT85
♥962
♦2
♣K64



Hand 16

♠AKQT86
♥4
♦9754
♣65



Hand 17

♠AKT974
♥87
♦97
♣J32



Hand 18

♠KQT986
♥96
♦92
♣A95



Hand 19

♠KQT985
♥A65
♦84
♣85

Responding to a Weak 2

WARNING! The following post talks about Pre-emptive Bidding. Pre-empts are bids used by more experienced players. If you are a new player do NOT bother reading this post. When you have played a bit more and know a bit more you can learn how to use them. For now, do not bother.

Please read this post first to learn a little bit about pre-emptive bidding:
Pre-emptive Bidding -- An Introduction

So Partner just opened the bidding with a weak 2. Now what? What are your responses?

You can just bid game. If Partner opened the bidding 2♠ and I hold this hand:
♠QJ65
♥82
♦AK93
♣AK3

I just bid 4♠ (game). I expect Partner can make this. They should lose a couple of ♥ tricks but that should be it.

I can Pass if I don't expect to make a game and have few trump. Like this hand when Partner opens 2♠:
♠Q5
♥Q82
♦KJ93
♣K873

I will just Pass.

I can bid game in NT with the right hand.
♠KQ5
♥A82
♦A93
♣A873

Here we DO have a ♠ fit but if I count tricks we might only have nine tricks. Six ♠ tricks and three Aces. Nine tricks is good for 3NT but bad for 4♠. So on this hand I will bid 3NT. Notice how I trust Partner has a good suit.

What if I am not sure where the best place to play is? Is there a way to ask Partner about their hand?

What if I hold this hand when Partner opens 2♠:
♠95
♥AJ65
♦AJT
♣KQ73

In NT we might be able to take five ♠ tricks and three outside tricks. But say Partner holds this hand:
♠KQJT76
♥432
♦84
♣62

We might lose a trick in every suit so we cannot play in 4♠. If I try 3NT we could make that if I can take five ♠ tricks. But what happens if the opponents DON'T take their A♠ right away. If they hold up on the A♠ then I have NO WAY back to the Dummy and I will only take one ♠ trick. That is not good.

But what if Partner has this hand:
♠KQJT76
♥K32
♦84
♣62

With this hand the opponents could hold up on the A♠ and I could still get back to Dummy with Partners K♥! In 4♠ I would still lose four tricks but I would be able to make 3NT.

Or what if Partner has this hand:
♠AKQT76
♥432
♦84
♣62

Since Partner's ♠ suit is so good I don't even NEED an entry back to them. I should take 9 tricks in 3NT. I do have eight right off the top and can easily set up a ninth. But 4♠ could still lose four tricks.

So HOW do I ASK Partner about these potential hands?

We can use 2NT as an ASKING bid. It ASKS Partner if they have an outside feature. That is an Ace OR a King outside the trump suit.

We will get into the responses next post. For now let's practice what you will bid if Partner opens the bidding 2♠. Partner is VULNERABLE so that means they have a GOOD SUIT. At least two of the top three honours (AKQ) and good spot cards. So it is your bid. What will you do? Pass? Bid 3NT? Bid 4♠? Ask Partner if they have an outside Ace or King with 2NT? You decide.

Hand 1

♠A97
♥42
♦AKT6
♣KQJ7



Hand 2

♠J6
♥AJT
♦AT96
♣KJ76



Hand 3

♠K543
♥AK7654
♦43
♣2



Hand 4

♠98
♥AQ4
♦AQ42
♣KT65



Hand 5

♠K87
♥A54
♦A54
♣A765



Hand 6

♠Q
♥AK43
♦A754
♣AK32



Hand 7

♠
♥KQ65
♦KQ765
♣KQ54



Hand 8

♠A976
♥A
♦
♣AQJT9765



Hand 9

♠K876
♥7
♦AK6
♣KJ765



Hand 10

♠QJ65
♥AQ4
♦AQ3
♣A87



Hand 11

♠Q4
♥KQ652
♦Q54
♣Q43



Hand 12

♠A976
♥A82
♦AQJT97
♣