Openings
- Balanced hands
- Non-balanced hands
- Continuing the auction after a standard bid
- Weak twos and pre-empts
- Overcalls (by opponents)
Balanced hands
"Balanced" means generally flat - no singletons or voids, not more than one doubleton (some say two).
If your hand is balanced, it is important to show your partner that this is the case. These bids are very descriptive and traditionally place the onus on partner to do something appropriate.
Count your High Card Points and look up the following table:
| HCP | Bid | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 12-14 | 1NT | Jacoby Transfer (article yet to be written) expected in response, or 2NT to invite game |
| 15-17 | 1 of best suit with 1NT prepared rebid | |
| 18-19 | 1 of best suit with "NT prepared rebid | |
| 20-22 | 2NT | semi-forcing, transfers maybe on subject to partnership agreement |
| 23+ | 2C with 2NT prepared rebid | forcing to game |
NB: In the 1X followed by NT prepared rebid cases, if interference or partner's reply prevents a 1N} rebid, bidding 2NT shows 15-19 HCP.
NB: The loser count doesn't work so well in a no-trumps hand. Similarly any adjustments one might make to the point count for distributional hands won't apply. The key here is balance.
Responses if balanced
When replying to such a hand, if yours is balanced too and reasonably strong, then it may well be better to end up in no-trumps than to seek out a fit which cannot be better than eight cards.
Bear in mind that Traditional Hand Evaluation tells us that game in no-trumps requires 24-25 HCP.
Over 1NT and 1x-1NT
- 2NT is invitational to game, showing a narrow miss for the magic 24-25. (For example, over 2NT, responder would raise to 2 on 10-11 HCP.) Opener then rebids 3NT if they have a maximum of the indicated point range, and passes otherwise.
- 3NT is a sign-off in game, showing balance and promising a combined total of 24 HCP even if partner has a minimum.
- 4NT is usually invitational to slam (though it may be Blackwood), showing a narrow miss for 33 HCP. (For example, holding 20 HCP opposite a 1NT opening.) Opener rebids 6NT if they have a maximum of the indicated point range and passes otherwise.
If you have a sufficiently stonking hand that you know you have 33 HCP between you, go read the slam bidding article and good luck!
Over 1x-2NT
If it's definitely an 18-19 HCP bid, proceed as for 1x-1NT but with adjusted point requirements, and obviously you can't invite game.
If it's ambiguous, i.e. your or opponents bidding allowed no chance to say 1NT, the increased range of opener's hand (15-19 HCP) is a lot harder to gauge accurately. Proceed with caution, only assuming the low end of the promised points range.
Responses if not balanced
If you have a long suit - long enough that you can be sure a fit exists - then you can short-circuit the conversation. You can count your losers and estimate partner's number of cover cards from the points-to-covers table, which will tell you exactly what to bid.
Non-balanced hands
Traditional opening strength is approx 13 or more HCP, 7 or fewer losers. Open 1 of your longest suit; if more than one of the same length, bid the cheapest of them. Assuming partner replies, you can then show your next long suit, or rebid your original suit to show "more than 4 cards and no suit of the same length".
YOU MUST NOT BID A NEW SUIT UNLESS YOU HOLD FOUR CARDS IN IT. This is very important. Partner will assume that you do!
If very strong (20ish or more HCP, 4ish or fewer losers, some say at least as many quick tricks as losers) open 2C. 2C is an artificial forcing bid which neither promises nor denies anything about clubs. It's simply a strong bid; don't worry about having to have a suit conversation at the two level as you've got sufficient points on your own for it to likely not be a problem.
NB that a natural bid of a new suit by either partner at any time other than the partnership's first bid of the auction is forcing.
Suit ordering
Caution: This applies to our system, many bridge players have differing views.
The order in which you show suits can be crucial. If you have two suits of the same length, always bid the cheapest first. If you have two suits of different lengths, bid the longer first; your rebids show any asymmetry.
Consider the following sequences:
In this sequence, opener has shown at least four clubs and at least four hearts. (They could go on to rebid hearts to show five of each, or clubs to show 5 clubs and 4 hearts.) |
Here, by skipping clubs at the 1 level and bidding it later, opener has shown more diamonds than clubs, probably 5-4 though they could rebid the diamonds to show six of them. |
Responding to standard bids
To reply to a 1-level opening at the 1-level, e.g. 1S over 1C, you ought to have 6 or more HCP and nine or fewer losers.
To reply to a 1-level opening at the 2-level, e.g. 2C over 1S, you ought to have more like 9 HCP and eight or fewer losers.
If you have a suit that's worth bidding, would have to bid it at the 2-level but don't have the strength to bid at the 2-level by the above rules, bid 1NT instead. This is an artificial response meaning "there's something I would like to have said but can't at the 2 level".
Responding to strong bids
2NT is nearly forcing. Partner has shown 20-22 HCP; if you have fewer than about 4 HCP, then probably least bad to leave it there. Otherwise, according to the traditional point requirements, you certainly have enough to make 3NT provided no suits are disastrous, and it doesn't take much more to have enough for game in a major; if you have a good suit, it's time to have a conversation. (Of course, you might also want to think about slam if you have more than a handful of points.)
2C is an artificial forcing bid. This means that, if your partner bids it, you absolutely must reply; to fail to do so is a car-parking offence, because it does not mean they want to play in clubs and for you to leave them is likely to be disastrous.
If you have less than about 4 HCP, you must bid the artificial 2D response to show your weakness. What happens next is a matter of debate...
- Many conventions then insist that you bid on until the 2C-bidder signs off, making least bad bids as necessary. Their next bid will usually be natural, showing their longest suit, so you should accept if appropriate or show your longest - and so on.
- NB. I've often played 2D replies to 2C as "good luck partner you're on your own", and not a game force (anything else is game forcing).
Midwinter adds:It's probably best to discuss whether this applies or not with your partner before playing.
Continuing the auction after a standard bid
So your partner bids so as to show five hearts, say, and you've bid to show replying strength. You've got three hearts. 3+5 = 8 - a fit - woohoo. Now what?
- 1H - 1S
- 2D - ???
At this point you apply the loser count. (Advanced note: not always, depending on whether you know you the fit to be 8 or better than 8 cards. See loser count adjustments. Assume partner has 7 losers, given that they opened at the 1 level. Say you have eight losers, so apply the formula: Bid = 18 - (L1 + L2) = 18 - 15 = 3. Bid 3H.
There are some situations in which you don't do this immediately, but they'll have to wait for some more advanced notes.
Weak twos and pre-empts
With a very long suit (6 cards) but only replying strength (6 or more points, 9 or fewer losers) - i.e. not opening strength - opening a weak two may be useful as it simultaneously describes your hand to partner and shuts the opponents out of the lower-level bidding space. See pre-emptive openings for prescriptive details of the discipline required and how to respond. (NB: Such a bid quite often turns into a sacrifice. That's often the point!)
Overcalls
These are not strictly part of your opening, but you need to be aware of them and consider what they mean if one comes up. See the overcalls article.