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PLAY practice game for this lesson
Partner opens a suit
Bids holding a minimum hand (6-9- points)
Usually without support for your partner's suit, you want to see if a NoTrump contract is viable. Bidding a new suit at the 1-level shows your partner you have at least 6 HCP.
Keep the bidding as low as you can to leave more room to explore the correct place for your contract. Your choices are usually one of the following.
If you have more than 13 HCP, you must not preempt.... you should change suit at the lowest level first and then bid game (this is known as a delayed game raise).
Keep the bidding as low as you can to leave more room to explore the correct place for your contract. Your choices are usually one of the following.
- Bid (show) a suit at the 1-level if possible 6+ HCP
- Bid 1NT to show you have 6 - 9 HCP
Bidding game directly is a preemptive bid designed to shut out the opponents it also asks your partner stop bidding.
Leaping into game promises 6-9 HCP with either 4 trumps & a void(zero cards in a suit), or 5 trumps and a singleton (one card in a suit).If you have more than 13 HCP, you must not preempt.... you should change suit at the lowest level first and then bid game (this is known as a delayed game raise).
Responses with a minimum hand
| Opening Bid | Your Response | Points | Meaning of Responder Bid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 in a suit | Pass | 0-6 | Game is out of reach and you have no five card suit to bid |
| 1 in a suit | 1NT | 6-9 | Not able to bid at the two level and no four card suit higher ranked than openers suit |
| 1H/1S | 4H/4S | 5-7 | Promises five cards with minimum strength points |
| 1H/1S/1D/1C | Intervening bid by opposition and you bid double "X" | 5-7 | A negative Double promises 8-9 points and some cards but unable to bid over the opposition's bid |
Exercise: Partner opens 1♥. What is your responding bid?
Your Hand
- ♠J 8 5
- ♥K Q
- ♦7 4 2
- ♣10 9 8 7 6
Answer: Your bid is 1NT. You know you have no major fit and you have 6 HCP.