I know one thing. I need to get this partnership to game. I have 10 HCP and Partner opened the bidding 1NT. Together we have the values for game. Since I have at least 8 HCP I am going to bid Stayman. That way I get the best of both worlds. If I find a 4-4 fit in ♥ we will play there. If I find a 5-4 fit in ♠ we will play there. So once I bid Stayman if Partner bids 2♥ I will bid 4♥. If Partner instead bids 2♠ I will bid 4♠. Easy.
Life is never that easy however so after my 2♣ bid Partner responds 2♦ saying they do not have a 4 card major. Hmmmm. We still could have a 5-3 major suit fit. I have 5 ♠. I know Partner does not have 4 of them but Partner could have 3 of them. Though they might only have a doubleton. How do I find out if we have a 5-3 ♠ fit? Here I need to bid my ♠ suit again. This must show a 5th card in the suit. After all, if I only had 4 ♠ in my hand I would now know we don't have a fit. Partner has denied having 4 of them. So here I can either rebid 2♠ or rebid 3♠. The difference is in my point count. If I have enough for game I need to jump to 3♠. This shows a 5 card ♠ suit and at least 10 HCP. If I were to rebid 2♠ this still shows a 5 card ♠ suit but now denies having enough for a game. But I still must have 8 HCP because I went through Stayman. So I have at least 8 HCP but not 10 HCP -- 8 or 9 HCP.
When I bid Stayman and Partner says they do not have a 4 card major if I were to bid a major I not only show at least 5 of that major but I also show 4 of the other major. Why is that? Because if I only had a 5 or a 6 card major I would have started with a transfer bid. I would not have started with Stayman. Stayman guarantees at least 1 major suit with exactly 4 cards in it.
Here is a table that shows what you should have for this auction:
1NT
2♣
2♦
If you now bid:
This shows:
2♥
A five card ♥ suit (along with a 4 card ♠ suit) with 8 or 9 HCP
2♠
A five card ♠ suit (along with a 4 card ♥ suit) with 8 or 9 HCP
3♥
A five card ♥ suit (along with a 4 card ♠ suit) with 10 or more HCP
3♠
A five card ♠ suit (along with a 4 card ♥ suit) with 10 or more HCP
On all these hands Partner opened the bidding 1NT. I bid 2♣ (Stayman) and Partner responded 2♦ saying they do not have a 4 card major. What is my bid now?
Hand 1
When I open the bidding 1 of a minor and Partner responds with 1 of a major the first thing I want to do as Opener is to support Partner's major. Since Partner only promised 4 in their suit, I need 4 in order to support them. If I have a fit I can now count Distribution points.
Shortness
Points
Useful void
5 points
Useful singleton
3 points
Useful doubleton
1 point
Check out these posts for more detailed information on Distribution points:
Distribution PointsDistribution - Counting Shortness with Honors
To support Partner's major I also need to show them whether or not I have just a minimum opening hand, a better than opening hand or a hand that wants to game force it's SO good. I can show this by raising them 1 level, raising them 2 levels or bidding game in their major.
Table to show what the different responses mean. Remember points includes HCP (High Card Points) and also Dummy points.
Opener
Responder
1 minor
1 major
2 Partner's major
This says partner, I have a minimum opening hand -- about 13 to 16 points.
3 Partner's major
This says partner, I have a better than opening hand -- about 17 or 18 points.
4 Partner's major
This says partner, I have a MOOSE -- about 19 to 21 points since I am bidding game when you only show 6 points.
Check out this post for more practice on raising Partner's major without using Dummy points:
Rebidding when you have a fit for Partner's Major
Another tip. Balanced 18 HCP points. Look at this hand:
♠
KQ8
♥
KQJ2
♦
KJ86
♣
K7
Very nice hand. I will open the bidding 1♦ because I am too strong to open 1NT. Partner responds 1♥. I have a fit so now I can count Dummy points. Since I have 18 HCP and 1 Dummy point this brings my total to 19 points and I should therefore bid a game. Nice in theory, but not so good in practice. Opposite a balanced 6 HCP hand I don't want to be in game. Experience has shown me that with a balanced 18 HCP I should NOT count an extra point and bid game. Bidding 3♥ shows a very nice hand. Partner will raise on 8 points. If Partner has to say "Pass" to 3♥ we probably shouldn't be in game. So don't count extras for any doubletons if you have 18 HCP with a balanced hand.
So with ALL that in mind on each of the following hands I opened the bidding 1♦. Partner then bid 1♥. I have a fit for Partner's ♥ since I have 4 of them. Since we will play in ♥ I will be Dummy and can now count Dummy points. What do I do on the following hands?
Hand 1
When it comes to rebidding my minor suit, things are not as clear cut as they were when I opened 1 of a major and rebid that major. First of all, when I opened 1 of a minor I only promised 3 of them. So when I rebid my minor suit I only technically need 5 of them. I also need to work in the fact that I want to find a major suit to play in first and if my hand is somewhat balanced I'd prefer to be in NT rather than a minor.
Say I open the bidding 1 ♦ and Partner responds with 1♥. The first thing I want to do as Opener is to support Partner's major.
Since Partner only promised 4 in their suit, I need 4 in order to support them. If I have a fit I can now count Distribution points. Check out these posts for more information:
Rebidding when you have a fit for Partner's Major and can count Distribution pointsRebidding when you have a fit for Partner's MajorDistribution PointsDistribution - Counting Shortness with Honors
If I don't have a fit for Partner's ♥ I will now bid 1♠ before anything else. That would show a 4 card suit and also DENY having a fit for Partner. Afterall I will always show support for Partner first.
If I do not have a fit for Partner's ♥, and I do not have 4 ♠ then what? With a minor I sometimes want to play in my minor suit BUT I also prefer to play in NT if I can. So what are my choices here?
If you have a 6 card ♦ suit I probably want to rebid my suit. If I rebid 2♦ I show a minimum opening hand with a 5 (or more) card ♦ suit. If I have more values I can jump to 3♦ to show 16 to 18 HCP with a GOOD 6 card ♦ suit. Note that I do NOT get to count distribution points here. I have no idea Partner and I have a fit. This is High Card Points only!
If I have a 5 card ♦ suit I probably want to bid NT rather than rebidding my minor suit. But I should have a balanced hand and high cards in both other suits in order to do this. If all my values are in my ♦ suit or my hand is unbalanced I'll probably rebid my minor instead.
Opener
Responder
1♦
1♥
2♥
Partner I have about 13 to 16 points and 4 ♥
3♥
Partner I have about 17 or 18 points and 4 ♥
4♥
Partner I have about 19 to 21 points and 4 ♥
1♠
Partner I have about 13 to 18 or 19 HCP and 4 ♠
1NT
Partner I have about 13 to 14 HCP and a balanced hand. I do NOT have another 4 card suit (other than ♦)
2♦
Partner I have either 13 to 15 HCP with 6♦ or a minimum hand with 5♦ that doesn't want to bid NT for some reason. Maybe I am slightly unbalanced, maybe I don't have the other suits stopped.
3♦
Partner I have about 16 to 18 HCP and a GOOD 6 card ♦ suit. I do NOT have a 4 card major.
With that in mind on all the following hands you opened the bidding 1♦. Partner responded 1♥. It is your turn to bid again. What will you bid and what does it say about your hand?
Hand 1
