RESPONDING TO 1 OF A SUIT
 
RESPONSE LADDER
With 5/5 in the Majors 
(5 Spades & 5 Hearts) 
go DOWN the Ladder
Bid Spades first.
___S 
  _  P 
      A 
  _  D 
    _E 
      S 

      H 
    _E 
    _ A 
 _    R 
       T 
       S 

With 4/4 in the Major
(4 Spades & 4 Hearts) 
 go UP the Ladder.
 Bid  Hearts first.

 There are three basic principles to consider when partner opens the bidding One of a suit:

1.  Do not  pass with 6 or more points.
Your partner could open the bidding with a 20 point hand. If you pass with a 6 point hand you could miss game. 20 + 6 = 26. With less than 10 points and no suit, bid 1 No Trump. This is a 1 No Trump response not a 1 No Trump opening bid.  It is not necessary to have a  balanced hand with 16 - 18 points in order to respond 1 No Trump.

2.  Respond in a Major suit at the one level.
Over a Minor suit opening by your partner respond, if possible, with a 4 card Major. If you have two 4 card Majors or two 5 card Majors, see Response Ladder on the left. Bid the Major even if it has no honors. Do not get pointed. You do not need honors in the suit to bid that suit. If partner opens 1 H, then respond 1 S with 4 or more Spades. Your partner could have a 4 card Spade suit and still open the hand 1 H.

3.  10 + points to bid a lower ranking suit at the two level.
If you have a lower ranking suit than partners opening suit, then you need 10 or more points to bid that suit at the 2 level. Example: partner opens 1 S and you have a 5 card Club suit, then you would need 10 or more points to respond 2 C. If you have less than 10 points (and more than 5 points) and the suit cannot be bid at the one level, then respond 1 No Trump.

Note: Knowing these 3 basic concepts are essential for effective bidding. Everything following below are important, but can be learned and absorbed during play or at a later date.
 
  RESPONDING                                                  BY SUIT OR NT
 
  Responding in the Majors 
w  Try to always respond with a Major
(even with 4 cards and no honors)
Up the ladder
           with two 4 card majors bid 1 Heart
Down the ladder
           with two 5 card majors bid 1 Spade 
partner              you
    1 C  ====>   ?       What is your response?
 
S  A 4 
H  8 7 4 3 
D  Q 5 4 
C  7 5 3 2 1.		 S  A Q J 7 
H  8 7 4 3 
D  Q 5 4 
C  7 5      2.		 S  9 7 4 3 2 
H  A K Q 9 8 
D  8 5 
C  7      3.

EXAMPLE 1. Respond 1 H. You have 6 points and a 4 card Major. Do not get pointed! (The belief that you need points in a suit in order to bid the suit.) Your partner could have the Ace, King, and Queen of Hearts. To find a Major suit fit, you have to bid the Majors. 
EXAMPLE 2. Respond 1 H. Go up the ladder with two 4 card Majors. Again, do not get pointed.
EXAMPLE 3. Respond 1 S. Go down the ladder with two 5 card Majors. Length counts            more than strength. 

Supporting Partner's Major
w  3 cards or better for support
         Single Raise --- 6 to 9 points
            ie 1 Heart ===> 2 Hearts
         Double Raise --- 10 to 12 points
            ie 1 Spade ===> 3 Spades
partner              you
    1 H  ====>   ?       What is your response?

 
S  A 4 
H  8 7 4 
D  Q 9 8 5 4 
C  7 5 3     1.		 S  A Q 8 7 
H  8 7 4 3 
D  Q 5 4 
C  K 5    2.		 S  9 7 4 3 
H  A 5 
D  8 5 4 3 
C  Q 7 6   3.

EXAMPLE 1. Your partner has a 5 card Heart suit. And even with your 3 meager Hearts, there is the Golden Fit. Bid 2 H. No need to tell the world that you have Diamonds.
EXAMPLE 2. Support partner. This time your hand is worthy of a jump to 3 H.
EXAMPLE 3. Your partner could have a 4 card Spade suit. The only to find a Spade fit is by responding 1 S.

Majors over Majors
w  Bidding 2 Hearts over 1 Spade shows a hand with 10+ points and usually 5 or more Hearts. 
             1 Spade ===> 2 Hearts

w  Bidding 1 Spade over 1 Heart shows a hand 
with 6+ points and 4 or more Spades.
             1 Heart ===> 1 Spade

Responding in No Trump
w  A response of No Trump to an opening
bid of 1 of a suit denies a 4 card major
           1 NO TRUMP ---  6 to 9   points
           2 NO TRUMP --- 10 to 12 points
           3 NO TRUMP --- 13 to 15 points
partner              you
    1 C  ====>   ?       What is your response?

 
S  A 4 3 
H  8 7 4 
D  7 5 4 
C  Q 6 5 3 1.		 S  A Q J 
H  K 7 4 
D  J 5 4 2 
C  7 6 5    2.		 S  A 7 
H  A K 8 
D  10 9 8 5 
C  K 9 7   3.

EXAMPLE 1. Six points is six points. (Partner could have 
20 points, and if you do not bid with 6 points you might 
miss a possible game.) Must respond. Your partner could have opened with a 3 card Club suit, so you would really need 5 Clubs for support. The hand is also very flat, no ruffing value. And you do not have a 4 card Major. All that is left is the default bid of 1 No Trump. You do not need a balanced hand nor 16 - 18 HCP to respond 1 No Trump. This is a default or catchall response.
EXAMPLE 2. No 4 card Major and a very flat (overly 
balanced) hand. You can jump to 2 No Trump.
EXAMPLE 3. No 4 card Major and enough points between your hand and partner's to be in game. Bid 3 No Trump. Bidding Diamonds and playing in 5 D is not a good choice.

The 1 No Trump Response
w  The response of 1 No Trump to partner's opening bid of 1 of a suit is a DEFAULT or CATCH-ALL bid. 
This response of 1 No Trump is not  the same as a 1 No Trump opening bid. 16 High Card Pointsand a balanced hand are not required. The 1 No Trump response shows 6 - 9 points and denies the ability to bid a Major at the 1 Level. 

Responding in a New Suit
w  A response of a new suit at the 1 level
requires a hand with 6+ points
          ie 1 Club ===> 1 Heart
w  A response of a new suit at the 2 level
requires a hand with 10+ points
          ie 1 Heart ===> 2 Diamonds

Supporting Partner's Minor
w  5 cards or better for support
usually denies a 4 card major
         Single Raise --- 6 to 9 points
            ie 1 Club ===> 2 Clubs
         Double Raise --- 10 to 12 points
            ie 1 Diamond  ===> 3 Diamonds
 
  QUIZ 3 RESPONSES 
 
  WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSE?
  PARTNER   YOU      xxxxx                                         PARTNER          YOU
      1 D  ===>  ?               x                                          1 H      ===>    ?
 
  1. S  K 3 
H  9 8 6 
D  J 8 7 
C  Q J 10 7 6		 6. S  K 3 
H  7 5 4 
D  A 9 6 3 
C  Q 3
 
 2.
S  8 7 5 2 
H  9 8 
D  K 9 7 
C  Q J 10 7
7.
S  9 8 7 2 
H  7 5 
D  A Q 6 4 
C  7 6 3
 
 3.
S  A 4 
H  9 8 4 
D  K 9 8 6 3 
C  7 5 4
8.
S  Q 8 3 
H  7 5 
D  A J 9 5 
C  A Q 7 6
 
 4.
S  A Q 10 9 
H  8 7 5 2 
D  5 4 
C  J 9 8
9.
S  Q 8 3 
H  7 5 
D  A J 9 5 4 
C  A 6 3
 
 5.
S  9 8 7 5 2 
H  A Q 10 9 5 
D  A 4 
C  7
10.
S  7 5 
H  Q 8 3 2 
D  A 10 9 
C  A J 7 6

ANSWERS to Quiz 3

 
  RESPONDING                                             BY POINT COUNT


XXYOUR PARTNER OPENS WITH ONE OF SUIT. . . 
XXXXHOW DO YOU RESPOND? ANSWER:
M A G S
 

  

M
With 6 to 9 points
Raise Partner’s suit to the 2 level.
      3 card support in Majors
      4 or 5 card support in Minors
      a raise in the Minor denies
               a 4 card Major
Bid a new suit at the 1 level
      respond with a 4 card Major
Bid 1 No Trump
      catch-all response
      denies a 4 card Major
      the hand could be unbalanced		 Minimum Response Range
Great! Partner has an opening bid.
That is Good. We might even get the contract and play this hand. 
Go slow and easy and find a fit.
 

  

A
With 10 to 12 points
Raise Partner’s suit to the 3 level
       3 card support in the Majors
       5 card support in the Minors
       a raise in the Minors denies
                a 4 card Major
Bid a new  suit at the 1 level
Bid a new suit at the 2 level
       lower ranking than the one
               bid by Partner
Bid 2 No Trump
      denies a 4 card Major that can 
              be bid at the 1 level
      balanced hand		 Average Response Range
Fantastic! We have the balance of power (more that 20 points) and will play this hand. In a Partial or Game. Let's find out where.
 

  

G
With 13 to 15 points
Bid a new suit at the 1 level
Bid a new suit at the 2 level
Bid 3 No Trump
      denies a 4 card Major that can
              be bid at the 1 level
      balanced hand		 Good Responsive Range
Wow Wee! We have a Game for sure. Maybe even a Slam. Let's investigate further. A suit or No Trump? Do not pass until we are a Game contract.
 

  

S
With 16+ points
Bid a new  suit at the 1 level
Bid a new  suit at the 2 level
*Jump shift with 18+ points
      with fit or own strong suit		 Superb Response Range
SuperDuper! Game is certain; but let's see if we're in the Slam Zone. Do not settle for anything less than a game contract. Perhaps a Slam.


* JUMP SHIFT: to jump in a new suit one level above the next available level That is to skip a level. 
1 C ===> 2 S.
The 2 S bid is a Jump Shift.

ready for more mid term TEST V

 
 

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