CHAPTER 6
Responding to an Opening Bid of One Heart or One Spade
When Ely Culbertson staged a bridge match between his American team and Great Britain, he had actors in Madison Square Garden dress up as playing cards and duplicate the plays made before a packed crowd of spectators. I wonder what he would be doing today with all the advances made in technology?
When your partner opens the bidding 1NT, you can often make an immediate decision about the zone and the denomination. After all, you know not only that the opener has specifically 12, 13 or 14 points, but also that he has at least two cards, and no more than five cards, in every suit. That gives you a very clear picture indeed.
When the opening bid is one of a suit, you simply don’t have enough information to make a final decision right away. For example, when the opener bids 1
, the value of his hand could be as weak as 12 points or as strong as 20 points. The shape could be balanced – the opener could have a balanced hand and yet too many points to start with 1NT – or unbalanced. Consider what you do know. Your partner has a better than average hand of at least 12 points and the suit he is bidding is his longest, which means he has at least four cards in it.
Supporting partner’s major suit
Suppose your partner opens a major suit, either 1 or 1
. Since your partner has at least four cards in the suit, whenever you have four or more cards in the suit – support – you know the partnership has at least an eight-card fit. If you have support for your partner’s major suit, the Acol system is one of the most logical systems in the world. You simply show your support by raising (bidding the same suit) to the appropriate level – meaning: the stronger your hand the more you bid.
To decide the appropriate level, the responder thinks of his hand as small, medium or large. When the responder has 13 or more points, he knows that even if the opener has a minimum count of 12 or 13 points, there should be enough combined strength for a game. Think of hands in this range as large. With 10–12 points, the responder knows a game is a possibility, and would like to move toward this zone without possibly getting too high. Think of hands in this range as medium. With 6-9 points, the responder wants to bid only to keep the auction going in case the opener has a lot of additional strength for his opening bid. After all, the opener could have as many as 20 points. Hands in the 6–9 points range are small. Raise your partner to the appropriate level using this chart:
Raising partner’s major suit
|
0–5 points |
Pass |
|
6–9 points |
Raise to the two level |
|
10–12 points |
Raise to the three level |
|
13 or more points |
Raise to the four level |
Using this scale, you will not get too high on the bidding steps if your partner has a minimum strength hand for his opening bid. On the other hand, if your partner has some extra strength he will be able to tell you about it with his next bid.
Let’s put the idea of supporting your partner’s major suit into practice. Suppose your partner opens the bidding 1. What would you do, as responder, on the following hands?
In the first example, you have excellent support but your hand is ‘small’, with only 8 HCPs, so it is appropriate to raise your partner’s suit only to the two level. Respond 2.
The second hand falls into the ‘medium’ category since you have 11 HCPs. So it is appropriate to show this strength by jumping a level. Raise to 3.
The last hand is of the ‘large’ variety, with 14 HCPs. You can move even further up the bidding steps, all the way to a game. You know your partner has at least 12 points and you have 14. Surely your partner will thank you for such a fine dummy. Raise directly to 4.
What could be simpler and more beautiful! Acol does have a way of getting straight to the point, just like English.
Of course you don’t always have a hand with which you can support your partner. On many hands you have to come up with another bid. Keep the purpose of the bidding in mind. The partnership is looking for the answer to the two questions:
• What zone should we be in?
• What denomination should we be in?
The partnership is hoping to discover enough combined strength for one of the bonus levels, either a game or a slam. The best game contract, providing the partnership has an eight-card fit, is either 4 or 4. A fit isn’t always available and so the next choice is to look for a game in 3NT.
It has to be remembered that there isn’t enough combined strength in every hand for a game. In the search for the best denomination, the partnership has to be careful not to get too high, since every bid moves the partnership up the bidding steps.
Responding in no trumps
With a balanced hand (and no interest in the other major) you can make a limit response in no trumps. The stronger your hand, the higher you can bid. To respond in no trumps, use the following chart:
Responding in no trumps to partner’s major suit
|
0–5 points |
Pass |
|
6–9 points |
Respond 1NT |
|
10–12 points |
Respond 2NT |
|
13 or more points |
Respond 3NT |
Here are some examples. Your partner opens the bidding 1. What would you bid with each of the following hands?
In the first example you have a balanced hand and 8 points, so respond 1NT. In the second hand, with 11 HCPs, you want to move to the next level and bid 2NT. Finally, in the third example, with 14 points, you know there is at least enough combined strength for the game zone, so you can respond 3NT.
Bidding a new suit
There are times when you cannot support your partner’s major suit and you don’t have a balanced hand. In such cases, you want to bid a new suit, looking for the best denomination. However, you do not want to get too high on the bidding steps while searching for the best contract, so there are a couple of guidelines to consider:
Responding in a new suit to partner’s major suit
|
0–5 points |
Pass |
|
6–9 points |
Bid a new suit only if you can do so at the one level. Otherwise, bid 1NT |
|
10 or more points |
Bid a new suit (even if it is at the two level) |
It might seem quite straightforward to use these guidelines but let’s take a moment to look at one kind of hand which might appear troublesome. Your partner opens the bidding 1 and this is your hand:
You cannot support your partner’s spades and your hand is not balanced. Your next choice is to bid a new suit. The diamonds have sufficient length and it might be tempting to bid 2
but there is another consideration. In order to bid a new suit at the two level, the guideline suggests that you need 10 or more points. This hand has 6 HCPs, not enough to venture up the bidding steps to the two level. If your partner has only 12 points, your opponents will have as much, or more, strength than your side. If you bid 2 you would be contracting to take at least 8 of the 13 tricks and you have not yet even finished deciding the denomination in which you are going to play – your partner may not like diamonds as a trump suit! What can you do?
The guideline suggests that you should respond 1NT. You have too many points to pass – the opener might have as many as 20 points and you would miss the opportunity for a game bonus. You cannot support your partner’s suit with only two cards – he could have only a four-card suit. You do not have the 10 or more points needed to venture into a new suit at the two level. That leaves the ‘catch-all’ response of 1NT.
This is a good time to mention that one of the most common errors made by a responder is to bid a new suit at a higher level without sufficient strength. With the above hand, it may seem strange not to be able to mention the diamond suit right at the start of your bidding conversation. The auction is not over, however, and you may get the opportunity to show your suit later. By then the opener will know that your hand was too weak to bid a new suit at the two level and he won’t be tempted to move too high up the bidding steps.
If you take another look at the requirements for bidding a new suit, you can see that a suit can be bid at the one level with 6 or more points. Look at the following three hands and decide what they have in common and how they differ. Then decide what you would respond if partner has opened the bidding 1.
On each hand, you would respond 1. The difference is clear to see. The first hand has only four spades and 7 HCPs. The second hand has five spades and 15 HCPs. The third hand has six spades, and 7 HCPs. You might wonder how the opener will ever have a picture of your hand when you start out with the same response, 1, to describe three such different hands.
First of all, the responder usually takes on the role of the captain. By bidding 1, the responder is in a position to hear another bid from the opener. The opener, the describer, will give a clearer picture of his hand and then, the responder can make a final decision. For example, suppose the opener next bids 2. With the first hand, you could pass, satisfied with a partscore. In the second hand, you have enough points to want to be in a game contract. After all, your partner has shown at least 12 points and you have 15. Since the opener’s second bid has told you that he has support for your spade suit, in addition to his diamond suit, you could choose a final contract of 4. In the last example, you would want to push towards a game without actually bidding it, and could make an invitational bid of 3 at your next opportunity. So, your response of 1 is only commencing the dialogue between you and your partner. At this first stage, you are saying: ‘I want to respond to your opening bid and I have at least four spades. Later I will tell you more’.
When you support your partner’s major suit right away, you have settled the question of which denomination to play in and are only concerned with determining the zone in which you belong. When you respond in a new suit, you are still exploring for both the best denomination and the best zone. You want to take your time and keep as much room as you can available on the bidding steps, rather than jumping the level of the bidding. You are merely making a suggestion to your partner that you would prefer another suit. You and your partner may have some talking to do before you arrive at your final destination. For this reason, the response of a new suit is forcing and the opener must bid again. So, you can bid a new suit with as few as 6 points or as many as 13 without being afraid that the opener will pass and leave you in the wrong zone.
Before we leave the subject of bidding a new suit, let’s consider two very similar hands. You are the responder and your partner has opened the bidding 1:
On the first hand, you have a new suit which you can mention at the one level, so respond 1.
On the second hand, we have exchanged the spades and clubs to see the difference. Although you would like to show the clubs, you cannot bid a new suit at the two level without promising 10 or more points. You don’t want to pass, so you will have to use the catch-all response of 1NT.
Using the bidding messages
Sign-off bids
There are no sign-off bids that the responder can make, since the opener could have a very strong hand. The responder isn’t signing off even when he jumps to the game zone of 4 after an opening 1 bid. He is merely suggesting that if the opener has a minimum hand, 4 is a reasonable contract. If the opener has more than minimum values, the partnership can head towards a slam. More about this in Chapter 12.
Invitational bids
There are two kinds of invitational bids by the responder:
• A raise of the opener’s suit to the two, three or four level
• A response of 1NT, 2NT or 3NT
The opener can pass any of these bids since each one limits the responder’s hand to a specific strength and the responder is prepared to be left in the denomination. For example, when the responder raises the opener’s suit, a fit has been found. The responder is satisfied with the denomination. Similarly, when the responder bids no trumps, he is content to play in that denomination. The invitation is for the opener to continue to bid again with extra strength and to pass with a minimum hand.
Forcing bids
There is one type of forcing bid that the responder can make:
• A new suit
The opener must bid again because the responder’s range is very wide and he could have as few as 6 points or as many as 13. The responder may not be content to be left in either the denomination or the level.
Over Zia’s shoulder
Let’s look over Zia’s shoulder. Here are two hands which Zia held after his partner opened 1. Let’s see how he responded.
|
Audrey: |
On the first hand, you bid 3 |
|
Zia: |
This is a perfect hand to illustrate the importance of counting support points (see Chapter 2) rather than length points when you plan to support your partner’s major suit. I gave myself 5 points for the void in hearts. This hand then values at 11 total points, enough to make a limit jump raise. The 3 |
|
Audrey: |
In the next example, it might be tempting for our readers to bid the heart suit. |
|
Zia: |
This is a temptation but one to which you shouldn’t yield. I responded 1NT. Remember that the responder’s bid of 1NT simply shows a hand with 6–9 points and no support for the opener’s suit. This hand fits the description exactly, whereas a bid of 2 |
Summary
When your partner opens either 1 or 1 and you have four-card or longer support, your first priority is to raise your partner’s suit to the appropriate level:
Raising partner’s major suit
|
0–5 |
Pass |
|
6–9 points |
Raise to the two level |
|
10–12 points |
Raise to the three level |
|
13 or more points |
Raise to the four level |
With a balanced hand (and if you cannot bid 1 over 1) make a limit raise in no trumps:
Responding in no trumps to partner’s major suit
|
0–5 points |
Pass |
|
6–9 points |
Respond 1NT |
|
10–12 points |
Respond 2NT |
|
13 or more points |
Respond 3NT |
When you don’t have support for your partner’s major suit and have an unbalanced hand, bid a new suit at the appropriate level:
Responding in a new suit to partner’s major suit
|
0–5 points |
Pass |
|
6–9 points |
Bid a new suit only if you can do so at the one level. Otherwise, bid 1NT |
|
10 or more points |
Bid a new suit (even if it is at the two level) |
An opening bid of 1 or 1 is an invitational bid. The responder can’t make a sign-off bid since he doesn’t know the limit of the opener’s hand. He can only make a limited or forcing bid.
Responder’s bidding messages
|
Sign-off bids |
None |
|
Invitational bids |
Raising your partner’s major suit Bidding no trumps |
|
Forcing bids |
A new suit |
Commonly asked questions
Q Suppose my partner opens 1 and I have the following hand:
Should I respond 1, the suit I can bid at the one level, or my longer suit, 2
, even though I have to bid it at the two level?
A There are two schools of thought. Many players would respond 1 since you are more interested in finding a major suit fit than a minor suit fit – time enough for the club suit later. Others prefer to start with their longer suit, planning to show the spades at their next opportunity. Either bid could work out best on the actual hand, but sticking to our rule of keeping it simple, we would recommend bidding 2, your longest suit.