Opener's Rebids

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

When we open one-of-a-suit, our possible point range is quite wide (12-21). We then clarify both the strength of our hand and the length of our suits through specific sequences of rebids.

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."

We call these two types of bids non-forcing bids (NF) and forcing bids (F). Every bid fits into one category or the other. When one partner makes a forcing bid, the other partner must keep the bidding open regardless of how rotten he thinks his hand is.

After a major suit fit has been found

When Partner raises our 1♥ or 1♠ opening, we know we will play in that suit.

But we still have to determine how high to bid based on the combined strength of the two hands. We do this by adding the exact points we know for our own hand to the point range Partner shows with her bid.

For example, when Partner raises 1♠ to 3♠, she will have 10-11 points with spade support. We add Partner's points to our own and we get a two-point range for the total points in the partnership.

If the partnership total is...

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

How many points for a 4♥ or 4♠ game?

With only 23 points, you don't want to bid to the four level.

24 points gives about a 50-50 chance of making game. It doesn't matter if you bid game or a partial on 24. Either way, you'll only be in the best contract about half the time.

With 25+ you don't want to miss the chance for a 4♥ or 4♠ game bonus.

What do we do after Partner has made only a single raise and her point range is wider (1♠ - 2♠ = 6-9 points with spade support)?

We still bid game when the partnership total is 24+. That means we need at least 18 points to jump to game.
(18 + Partner's 6-9 = 24-27)

And we pass with 12-15 because the total cannot exceed 24.
(our 12-15 + Partner's 6-9 = 18-24)

But with the in-between 16-17, we don't have enough information to make the game-or-partial decision ourselves. So we raise Partner's 2♠ bid to 3♠, inviting game and giving Partner the final decision.

If she has 6-7 she passes because the total cannot exceed 24.
(our 16-17 + Partner's 6 = 22-23)
(our 16-17 + Partner's 7 = 23-24)

And with 8-9, she continues on to 4♠ because the total cannot be less than 24.
(our 16-17 + Partner's 8 = 24-25)
(our 16-17 + Partner's 9 = 25-26)

Summary for after Partner raises to 2♥ or 2♠ (4-point range)...

20-23 = Pass
21-24 = Pass
22-25 = invite
23-26 = invite
24-27 (or better) = bid game

Practice

Before looking at these hands you may want to review how to count points.

♠Q9 ♥KQJ63 ♦A87 ♣J52
After 1♥ - 2♥ your rebid is...?

Pass.

You have 13 points and Partner has 6-9, so the total cannot exceed 24.

♠Q9 ♥KQJ63 ♦A87 ♣J52
After 1♥ - 3♥ your rebid is...?

Pass.

Your 13 plus Partner's 10-11 = 23-24. Avoid going to 4♥ when you might have only 23.

♠AJ952 ♥AK3 ♦KQ4 ♣32
After 1♠ - 2♠ your rebid is...?

Invite game with 3♠. Your bid asks Partner to continue to 4♠ with the top half of what she's already shown.

Your 17, plus Partner's 6-9 = 23-26. You cannot bid 4♠ on your own because you might have only 23 total.

Partner will go on to 4♠ with 8-9, making 25-26 total.

♠QJ ♥KQ863 ♦954 ♣AK7
After 1♥ - 3♥ your rebid is...?

Rebid 4♥

Did you remember to subtract for honors without small cards (-1 for spades)?

Your 14 + Partner's 10-11 = 24-25.

After a minor suit opening

When we open in a minor suit, we may still find an 8 card major suit fit.

Both partners will bid 4 card suits up-the-line (lowest ranking first), and if we uncover a 4-4 major suit fit, we use the same 24 total point chart to decide how high to raise.

♠Q973 ♥K64 ♦AQ87 ♣K2
After 1♦ - 1♠ your rebid is...?

Raise to 2♠.

Your rebid shows a minimum opening, 12-15 points.

Notice that your 12-15 point range is a 4-point spread, as is responder's 6-9 points for a two-level raise.

Partner will take over from there, following the same total point chart to decide how high to bid.

♠K9 ♥AK63 ♦Q5 ♣KJ752
After 1♣ - 1♥ your rebid is...?

Rebid 3♥ (16-17)

Your 16 is too much to bid only 2♥ (which would show only 12-15), but not enough to guarantee 24+ total.

Partner will go to 4♥ if she has 8+ points.

♠8 ♥QT73 ♦AKQ4 ♣KJ32
After 1♦ - 1♥ your rebid is...?

Invite game with a 3♥ rebid.

You have 15hcp + 2 for the singleton = 17.

Partner will place you with 16-17 and continue to the 4♥ game if she holds 8+.

♠QT54 ♥AJ3 ♦KT5 ♣AJ6
After 1♣ - 1♠ your rebid is...?

Rebid 2♠ (showing 12-15).

Your hand is worth 14 (15hcp - 1 for 4333 shape = 14)

If Partner has extra strength, she can bid higher.

Incidentally, it was the bad shape that stopped you from opening 1N (15-17). The hand is only worth 14.

♠KJ54 ♥A3 ♦KT5 ♣Q865
After 1♣ - 1♥ your rebid is...?

Rebid 1♠.

The search for a major suit fit is not over. You don't have heart support, but Partner might have spade support. Bid your suit now before the bidding dies at a low level.

Extra length in your major

When you have 6+ cards in a major, Partner's failure to raise does not rule out the possibility of a major suit fit.

With extra length, bid your suit an extra time. Maybe Partner will have a doubleton to go with your six cards, and that's a fit.

♠J54 ♥AQJ983 ♦K9 ♣A3
After 1♥ - 1N your rebid is...?

Rebid 2♥.

This describes an extra trump and a minimum 12-15 count.

Further bidding decisions are then up to Partner. She's likely to pass because her 1N response limits her hand to 6-9 points.

Rebidding two of your major just promises an extra card. It says nothing about the quality of your suit. Even this rotten suit is a 2♠ rebid...

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

Try this one.

♠AKQJT ♥K87 ♦952 ♣43
After 1♠ - 1N your rebid is...?

Pass

You have a minimum hand with no extra length in your suit. You cannot rebid spades, even with a suit this strong, because you don't have a 6 card suit.

No major suit fit

When there is no major suit fit, we turn our attention to notrump before choosing to play in a minor suit. The only point ranges a balanced hand might have after opening one-of-a-suit are 12-14 points or 18-19 points. These hands have easy rebids.

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?

15-17 point balanced hands are opened with 1NT, not one-of-a-suit.

Practice

♠QJ7 ♥AJ53 ♦KT52 ♣Q3
After 1♦ - 1♠ your rebid is...?

1NT. You have a minimum balanced hand, and no major suit to bid at the one level.

♠AJ7 ♥AJ53 ♦KQ52 ♣A3
After 1♦ - 1♠ your rebid is...?

Jump to 2NT

You have a maximum balanced hand.

Your jump tells Partner that her minimum 6 points is enough for game.

If Partner has more to show about her distribution, the three level is available below game.

♠QT76 ♥J53 ♦KQ52 ♣A3
After 1♦ - 1♥ your rebid is...?

Rebid 1♠. Continue the search for a major suit fit.

♠AJ73 ♥A5 ♦KQ52 ♣AJ3
After 1♦ - 1♥ your rebid is...?

Make a jump rebid of 2NT. This shows a balanced hand of 18-19 points and establishes a game force.

If you bid only 1♠, Partner might pass on her next turn, and you'd play a lowly 1♠ contract when you belong in 3NT or 4♠. (Later you'd say, "Oops, I should have jumped to 2N... Sorry Partner.")

♠85 ♥KJ9 ♦AJ2 ♣QJ963
After 1♣ - 1♥ your rebid is...?

Rebid 1NT.

Don't worry about having no honors in spades. The important thing is to show your minimum count with a balanced hand.

Do not rebid clubs. Minor suits have lower priority than notrump, especially when there's no guarantee of a club fit.

Rebidding suits at the two level

When we don't have a balanced hand, we rebid a 6+ suit (even a minor) or show a second suit.

♠4 ♥K9 ♦KJT62 ♣AJ763
After 1♦ - 1♠ your rebid is...?

Rebid 2♣.

This gives Partner a choice of suits. With a weak hand she can choose clubs by passing, or choose diamonds by correcting to 2♦.

When you offer a choice, Partner doesn't need any extra points to bid your original suit.

♠AJ3 ♥Q7 ♦KQ7632 ♣53
After 1♦ - 1♥ your rebid is...?

Rebid 2♦. Six card suits can be rebid at the two level even with a bare minimum count.

Sometimes your second suit is only four cards long.

♠J32 ♥7 ♦AT932 ♣AK53
After 1♦ - 1N your rebid is...?

Rebid 2♣.

Partner has to have a 4+ suit somewhere, and her bidding says it's not in the majors. So she has a fit for one of your minors.

Notrump is a higher priority than minors, but that doesn't mean you should choose notrump when the bidding tells you that Partner is unlikely to have your weak suits covered.

♠AJ932 ♥QJT7 ♦Q2 ♣K8
After 1♠ - 1N your rebid is...?

Rebid 2♥.

Your spade opening prevented Partner from bidding hearts at the one level, so you are continuing the search for a major suit fit.

You make this rebid even though you have a notrumpy minimum because majors are our highest priority.

♠AJ932 ♥Q2 ♦QJT7 ♣K8
After 1♠ - 1N your rebid is...?

This hand is the same as the previous hand, with the red suits reversed.

Pass.

Your hand is semi-balanced with honors in your short suits. It's a reasonable guess that a notrump contract will play well, so there's no reason to go fishing for a fit in our lowest priority category – a minor suit.

Rebidding suits at the three level

If you are lucky enough to have a strong 6+ suit and invitational strength (16-17 pts), you can show all this with one rebid – a jump in your original 6+ suit.

♠A2 ♥KQJ982 ♦AT7 ♣K8
After 1♥ - 1 ♠ your rebid is...?

Rebid 3♥

Partner will know the length of your suit, the quality of your suit, and the strength of your hand. She will be well placed to select the final contract.

♠AKQT82 ♥K2 ♦JT7 ♣84
After 1♠ - 1N your rebid is...?

Rebid 2♠.You have a fine suit, but not enough strength for an invitational bid of 3 ♠.

♠K98532 ♥AK2 ♦7 ♣AK2
After 1♠ - 1N your rebid is...?

Rebid 3♠.

You would like to have a better suit for this rebid. But the only other bid available that would show invitational values is a raise to 2NT, and your hand is not notrumpy in character.

♠K98532 ♥A2 ♦Q ♣AKJ2
After 1♠ - 1N your rebid is...?

Did you remember to subtract a point for the stiff diamond honor? 17 -1 = 16 points.

You still have a weak spade suit, but this time you have an alternative to jumping in spades.

Rebid 2♣.

If Partner takes a preference to 2♠ (as she should on a doubleton), you can then invite with 3♠. And if she doesn't prefer spades, you'll be glad you didn't jump all the way to 3♠ on a weak suit.

♠KQ2 ♥2 ♦KT8 ♣AKJ532
After 1♣ - 1♥ your rebid is...?

Jumping in the opened suit works for minors too.

Rebid 3♣ = 16-17 points.

With a strong 6 card suit, there's a good chance the final contract will be 3NT, using clubs as a source of skaters.

Showing great strength

When your hand is so strong that any response from Partner, even on only 6 points, tells you there is enough total strength in the partnership to make a game (based on 24+ points), you make a bid to tell Partner the good news. How do you do that?

We've already looked at jumping in NT with a balanced hand of 18-19 points. When we have an unbalanced hand of game-going strength, we jump the bidding in a new suit. This rebid is called a "jump-shift".

Partner has only promised 6+ hcp, so a jump-shift must be at least 18 points.

♠AK932 ♥Q2 ♦AQJ7 ♣K8
After 1♠ - 1N your rebid is...?

Rebid 3♦ – a jump-shift.

Partner is alerted to the fact that there are enough points for a game bid, and her rebids will help you figure out which one.

♠AQT3 ♥2 ♦AK97 ♣KQJ8
After 1♦ - 1♥ your rebid is...?

Your rebid should be 2♠ – a jump-shift.

♠AQT3 ♥KJ2 ♦Q ♣KQJ86
After 1♣ - 1♥ your rebid is...?

Rebid 1♠.

Your hand counts to 18-1(singleton diamond honor) = 17.

17 is not enough to jump shift.

"Reverses" are invitational or better

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

Little Bear asks, "Do you really think that made sense to a beginning bridge player like me? I've heard other players talk about reverses. They ask each other questions like, 'Do you play reverses?' Now what does that mean, exactly?"

Well Little Bear, they're actually asking about the strength required for certain bids. I don't think you'll have any trouble after you see a few examples.

example 1

Opener	West	Responder	East
1♦	P	1♠	P
2♥	P	?

After Opener's diamond bid, Responder passed over hearts to respond in spades. When Opener bids the suit skipped over, it's a reverse. Opener's 2♥ rebid is a reverse.

example 2

Opener	West	Responder	East
1♦	P	1N	P
2♠	P	?

Is 2♠ a reverse?

Yes, the 2♠ rebid is a reverse.

Responder skipped over both hearts and spades to get to her 1NT response.

example 3

Opener	West	Responder	East
1♦	P	1♠	P
2♠	P	?

Is 2♠ a reverse?

No, the 2♠ rebid is not a reverse. Responder bid spades, she didn't skip over them.

Opener is simply confirming that a major suit fit has been found. Opener shows 12-15 points and 4 spades.

example 4

Opener	West	Responder	East
1♠	P	2♦	P
2♥	P	?

Is 2♥ a reverse?

No, 2♥ is not a reverse. Responder didn't make a one-level response.

A reverse shows an invitational hand or better, and is forcing for one round.

Reverses use up a lot of bidding space. If Responder wants to choose Opener's first suit, she has to bid on the three level. We wouldn't want to bid to 2NT or three of a suit when both partners have minimum hands. That's why reverses require extra strength.

More on reverses....

example 5

Opener	West	Responder	East
1♠	P	2♦	P
2♥	P	?

Why would Opener make this 2♥ rebid?

She's still looking for a Major suit fit. Partner couldn't bid hearts at the two level without five of them. So maybe there's a 4-4 fit. Major suit fits are our first priority.

example 6

Opener	West	Responder	East
1♥	P	2♦	P
2♠	P	?

This 2♠ rebid is not a reverse, because Responder bid on the two level.

There can be no 4-4 spade fit because Responder skipped over a 1♠ response. So why would Opener bid a suit where there can be no fit?

She doesn't have the fourth suit (clubs) well covered for NT, and she's hoping the spade bid helps Partner bid NT. After failing to find a major suit fit, notrump is our next priority.

A reverse is....

a new suit
not a jump
a suit Partner skipped over when making her one-level response

Here's your hand:

♠AKT8 ♥J6 ♦KQT2 ♣763

And here's the bidding:

You	West	Responder	East
1♦	P	2♣	P
?

If you rebid 2♠, is that a reverse, requiring extra values?

No, a 2♠ rebid is not a reverse, because Responder didn't bid on the one level.

You know there is no spade fit because Responder skipped over a 1♠ response when she bid 2♣. Is there any reason to rebid 2♠ anyway?

Yes, 2♠ is a reasonable rebid. The search for a major suit fit is over, and notrump is our next priority.

You would like help in hearts from Responder before committing to notrump. Bidding spades tells Responder not to worry about spades.

Here's another hand:

♠K84 ♥AKJ6 ♦KQT92 ♣7

And here's the bidding:

You	West	Responder	East
1♦	P	1♠	P
?

Responder skipped over hearts to bid on the one level. So it would be a reverse for Opener to rebid hearts.

Does Opener have the required strength to rebid 2♥?

Yes, Opener has 16 points, enough for an invitational rebid.

Summary for Opener's Rebids

Rebids for 12-15 points (minimum hands)

new suit at the one level (continues search for a major suit fit)
1NT (usually a balanced hand of 12-14)
single raise of Responder's suit (usually 4 card support)
non-jump rebid of original suit (usually with 6+ cards in suit)
new suit, lower in rank than original suit (5+ and 4+ cards in the two suits)

Rebids for 16-17+ points (invitational hands)

new suit at the one level (continues search for a major suit fit)
2-level reverse (forcing one round)
jump raise of Responder's suit (usually 4 card support)
jump rebid of original suit (6+ cards and a "good suit")
raise Responder's 1NT to 2NT
new suit, lower in rank than original suit (5+ and 4+ cards in the two suits)

Rebids for 18-21 points (game-forcing hands)

jump in a new suit (called a jump-shift)
2-level reverse (there can be follow-up problems after this underbid)
double jump raise of Responder's suit (usually 4 card support)
double jump rebid of original suit (6+ cards in suit)
jump rebid in NT

plush toy bear Go to the next topic:

Overcalls

Bridge Bears is run by a retired teacher and ACBL life master who has 35 years teaching experience and who's been playing bridge for over 50 years. I don't claim to be one of the top players, but I do understand how slowly beginners need to go when they are trying to learn how to play bridge.