Opener’s Rebids

When we open with one of a suit, our hand can represent a fairly wide point range, typically between 12 and 21 points. To provide more information about the strength of our hand and the distribution of our suits, we use specific rebid sequences.

These rebids help refine the picture of our hand, allowing partner to assess its potential more accurately and make informed decisions about the contract.

By following these structured rebidding patterns, we communicate critical details such as whether our hand is minimum, invitational, or strong, as well as the relative lengths of our suits.

Perhaps the most important concept for rebids is this:

• Some sequences are complete descriptions of strength and distribution, allowing partner to pass.
• Other sequences are incomplete desriptions, which include the message, “Don’t pass yet, Partner. I’m not finished describing what I’ve got.”

After a major suit fit has been found

When partner raises our 1♥ or 1♠ opening bid, it establishes the trump suit, ensuring that the final contract will be played in that suit. However, the next step is to determine the appropriate level for the contract based on the combined strength of both hands.

This is achieved by adding the known strength of our own hand to the point range indicated by partner’s bid. Partner’s bid provides specific information about their point count and support, which helps us narrow down the total strength of the partnership.

For example, if partner raises our 1♠ opening to 3♠, this typically indicates 10-11 points with support for spades. By adding their point range to the points in our own hand, we arrive at a two-point range for the total strength of the partnership. This total allows us to judge whether to stop at the current level, invite game, bid game, or explore a higher-level contract like a slam.

This systematic approach ensures that the final contract reflects the partnership’s combined strength, minimizing risk while maximizing scoring potential.

If the partnership total is…

22-23 = Pass
23-24 = Pass
24-25 = Bid 4♠
25-26 = Bid 4♠

Responding to Partner’s Single Raise: A Guide

When partner makes a single raise, such as responding 2♠ to your 1♠ opening, their point range is broader, typically 6–9 points with support in your suit. This wider range requires careful decision-making to determine whether to bid game, invite, or stop at a partial. Here’s how to approach it:

---

Bid Game with 24+ Combined Points:
To confidently bid 4♠, the partnership needs at least 24 total points. This means you need 18+ points in your hand to jump directly to game:

• Your 18 points + Partner’s 6-9 points = 24-27 points.

---

Pass with a Maximum Total of 24 Points:
If your hand holds only 12–15 points, the partnership total cannot reach 25, making game unlikely. In this case, you should pass and settle for 2♠:

• Your 12-15 points + Partner’s 6-9 points = 18-24 points.

---

Invite Game with Intermediate Points (16–17):
With 16–17 points, the combined total could fall anywhere between 22–26, depending on partner’s exact strength. Since you don’t have enough information to decide outright, raise partner’s 2♠ bid to 3♠ as an invitation to game. This leaves the final decision to partner:

• If partner has 6–7 points, they pass, as the total cannot exceed 24:
  • Your 16–17 points + Partner’s 6 = 22–23 points.
  • Your 16–17 points + Partner’s 7 = 23–24 points.
• If partner has 8–9 points, they bid 4♠, as the total reaches at least 24:
  • Your 16–17 points + Partner’s 8 = 24–25 points.
  • Your 16–17 points + Partner’s 9 = 25–26 points.

---

Summary for Partner’s Single Raise (Point Ranges for Combined Hands):

• 20–23: Pass.
• 21–24: Pass.
• 22–25: Invite.
• 23–26: Invite.
• 24–27 (or better): Bid game.

This structured approach ensures that you maximize the scoring potential of your combined hands while minimizing unnecessary risks. By carefully assessing the partnership’s total strength, you can make informed decisions that lead to the best possible contract.

Practice

After a minor suit opening

When we open in a minor suit, it’s still possible to discover an eight-card fit in a major suit. Identifying this potential fit involves both partners bidding their four-card suits in ascending order of rank, starting with the lowest-ranking suit first. This systematic approach ensures that any 4-4 fit in a major suit is revealed during the bidding process.

If a 4-4 major suit fit is uncovered, the decision on how high to bid is guided by the same point total framework used for other contracts. The partnership should assess the combined point total, aiming for a minimum of 24 points to consider bidding at the game level. This approach helps ensure that the partnership commits to a major suit game only when the combined strength and fit are sufficient, optimizing both scoring opportunities and risk management.

♠J54   ♥AQJ983   ♦K9   ♣A3
After 1♥ – 1N your rebid is…? 

Extra length in your major

When you hold six or more cards in a major suit, partner’s decision not to raise initially does not eliminate the possibility of a fit in that suit.

With such extra length, it’s often appropriate to bid your suit again to emphasize its strength and length. By doing so, you give partner another chance to reassess their hand. Even if partner didn’t initially recognize a fit, they might have a doubleton in your suit, which combined with your six cards creates an eight-card fit—enough for a solid trump suit.

This approach ensures that potential fits are not overlooked and helps the partnership explore all viable contract options. Repeating your suit highlights its importance and invites partner to reevaluate based on this new information, increasing the likelihood of finding the best contract.

Rebidding two of your major simply indicates that you hold an additional card in that suit. It does not provide any information about the quality of the suit. Even a weak suit with minimal honor strength, such as this one, is sufficient for a 2♠ rebid.

The purpose of this rebid is to emphasize the length of your suit rather than its strength. This helps partner evaluate their hand in combination with yours to determine the best contract. While the suit’s quality may not be ideal, the additional length can still contribute significantly to the partnership’s play potential, especially if partner has some support.

By rebidding, you provide clarity about your hand’s distribution, allowing the partnership to proceed with confidence.

♠J87542   ♥KQ7   ♦AQ2   ♣3 – Your 2♠ rebid shows 12-15 points.

Try this one.

No major suit fit

When no fit in a major suit is found, the focus shifts to exploring a notrump contract before considering a minor suit as the final option. Balanced hands that begin with a one-of-a-suit opening typically fall into two point ranges: 12–14 points or 18–19 points. These ranges allow for clear and straightforward rebid options, making it easy to communicate both the strength and balanced nature of the hand to partner. This approach ensures that higher-scoring contracts, like notrump, are prioritized whenever possible.

• 12-14 point balanced hands look for a major suit fit at the one level, then make a minimum rebid in NT.
• 18-19 point balanced hands make a jump rebid in NT.

Why are 15-17 point hands not included? 

Practice

Rebidding suits at the two level

When holding an unbalanced hand, the appropriate rebid is to either emphasize a six-card or longer suit, even if it is a minor suit, or to introduce a second suit. This rebid provides essential information about the shape of your hand, helping partner better understand your distribution and evaluate the partnership’s potential for an optimal contract.

If you have a six-card or longer suit, rebidding it demonstrates its length and strength, signaling its importance as a potential trump suit. Even with a minor suit, this approach ensures partner has a clear picture of your hand’s distribution, especially if no better options have been identified.

Alternatively, if your hand includes a second suit, introducing it highlights additional distributional features and the potential for a fit in the new suit. This strategy is especially useful for unbalanced hands, as it offers partner more options to find the best fit and make informed decisions about the level and strain of the final contract.

By rebidding a long suit or showing a second suit, you maximize communication with partner, ensuring the partnership explores all possible options for the most successful outcome.

Sometimes your second suit is only four cards long.

Rebidding suits at the three level

If you are fortunate to hold a strong six-card or longer suit along with invitational strength (16–17 points), you can convey both the suit’s length and your hand’s strength with a single bid: a jump rebid in your original suit. This effectively communicates your hand’s key features, helping partner make an informed decision about the partnership’s final contract.

Showing great strength

When your hand is so strong that even a minimum response from partner (typically 6 points) confirms there is enough combined strength to reach game (24+ points), it’s time to make a bid that conveys this good news. But how should you do that?

For a balanced hand with 18–19 points, we’ve already seen that a jump to 2NT effectively communicates game-going strength. However, when your hand is unbalanced with sufficient strength to commit to game, the appropriate action is to jump the bidding in a new suit. This type of rebid is known as a “jump-shift.”

A jump-shift conveys a powerful, unbalanced hand with at least 18 points, as partner’s initial response only guarantees 6 or more high card points. This bid not only emphasizes your hand’s strength but also introduces a second suit, helping partner visualize your distribution and plan for the final contract. The jump-shift is a critical tool for ensuring the partnership capitalizes on its game potential.

“Reverses” are invitational or better

A reverse is a bid of a suit that Partner passed over for her one-level response.

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Example 4

Reverses consume a significant amount of bidding space. If the responder wants to select the opener’s first suit, they are forced to bid at the three level. This increased level of bidding can be risky, especially if both partners have minimum hands. To avoid overcommitting the partnership, reverses are reserved for hands with extra strength, ensuring there is enough combined power to support the higher bidding level.

More on reverses….

Example 5

Example 6

She doesn’t have sufficient coverage in the fourth suit (clubs) to support a notrump contract and is hoping the spade bid will guide partner toward bidding notrump. Once a major suit fit cannot be found, the next priority is exploring a notrump contract.

Here’s your hand:

♠AKT8   ♥J6   ♦KQT2   ♣763

And here’s the bidding:

You can be certain there is no spade fit because the responder bypassed a 1♠ response in favor of bidding 2♣. Is there still any justification for rebidding 2♠?

Here’s your hand:

♠K84   ♥AKJ6   ♦KQT92   ♣7

And here’s the bidding:

Summary for Opener’s Rebids