Jump Shift bid for Responder

A jump-shift response always shows partner a long suit and a strong responding hand, without guaranteeing a high-card point count. Opener's can also make Jump Shift bids but the points they are showing are higher for each bid

You have a strong hand 13+ points

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A jump shift bid is when your bid jumps by 1 more level than you normally would need to make.

Examples of jump shift bids

Regular Bidding	Jump Shift Bidding	Meaning of Jump Shift Bid
1C - 1D; 2C - 2H;	1C - 1D; 2C - 3H	Responder holds at least 5 diamonds and 4 hearts and 13+ points
1D - 1H; 2D - 2S;	1D - 1H; 2D - 3S	Responder holds at least 4 hearts and 4 spades and 13+ points
1S - 1NT; 2C - 2H/D	1S - 1NT; 2C - 3H/D	Responder holds at least 2 spades and 4 hearts/diamonds and 13+ points
1H - 1S; 1NT - 2S	1H - 1S; 1NT - 3S	Responder holds at least 6 spades and 13+ points

When to jump-shift

A jump-shift response can be most useful for those hands where you want to invite a slam, not insist on one. A strong jump-shift should be made only when you have a one-suited hand with good honor strength in your suit, slam-try strength or better and a good rebid. In addition the jump-shift response works best when you want to describe your hand to partner. A jump-shift bid is valuable for describing the following types of deals:

A strong hand (17+ pts.) with one long, strong suit holding at least two of the top three honors.
An intermediate hand (13-16 pts.) with a long, solid suit and good controls.
A balanced slam-invitation (17 to a "bad" 19 pts.) with a good 5-card suit.

When not to jump-shift

Even with very powerful hands, you should make a low-level response any time you need general information from partner about his strength and distribution. Avoid making a jump-shift with the following types of hands:

A two- or three-suited hand - You need time to explore to find the best suit for your contract.
A one-suited hand with a bad suit (missing two or more top honors).
Into a suit that needs good honor support or length from partner.
A very strong, balanced hand, NoTrumps is often a better place for this type of hand.

A jump-shift doesn't always promise a distributional hand - it can also be made with a good 5-card suit and balanced strength. With very strong hands, there may be a problem finding a good rebid after your jump-shift, so in that situation try to keep the auction at a low level rather than jump shift responding.

Practice Game for this lesson (with full commentary)