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Opener's Rebids (Unbalanced Hands) by Paul Bowyer

In the last quiz we looked at opening bids followed by a rebid in No-trumps. Here we are looking at how to plan the bidding of a hand that is not balanced and is going to bid a suit (or suits).

Remember - once you have opened the bidding with a suit bid and partner has responded with a suit bid you are obliged to bid again. There is no such bidding as (f'rinstance) 1♥ - 1♠ - Pass.

Whenever you open the bidding you must anticipate your partner's response and be prepared for it. The opening bidder guarantees a rebid.

Anticipation is the name of the game!
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Question 1

  South
♠ A Q 3 2
♥ 4 2
♦ 5 2
♣ A Q 10 8 5 		 
Q: 1 - In this example you are the opener, South. What is your opening bid? (This is the easy bit - what you should be doing is asking yourself what you would do if partner responds with various suit bids).
SouthWestNorthEast
?


 Your choice:
A: 1♣ (of course!) However, in your mind you should be saying to yourself... "If partner responds 1♦ or 1♥ I will rebid 1♠. If partner responds 1♠ I will raise him to 2♠". That covers the most likely responses so you are primed and ready to go.

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Question 2

  South
♠ 10
♥ K Q J 9 8 5
♦ A 7 6
♣ J 10 8 		 
Q: 2 - In this example you are the opener, South. What is your rebid?
SouthWestNorthEast
1♥Pass1♠Pass
?


 Your choice:
A: 2♥. A rebid in the same suit shows a minimum hand and a long suit - of at least five cards and often six. Here you have opened with only 11 points but you could hardly Pass this hand as opener with such a magnificent Heart suit. After 1♥ - 1♠ - 2♥ partner knows that you only have Hearts.

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Question 3

  South
♠ K J 6 4 3
♥ Q 10 8 5
♦ A J 9
♣ Q 		 
Q: 3 - In this example you are the opener, South. What is your rebid?
SouthWestNorthEast
1♠Pass2♣Pass
?


 Your choice:
A: 2♥. You must show your second suit where it is convenient to do so. Some players get confused a little here. Having heard that "a rebid in the same suit shows a minimum hand" (which is true!) they believe that you MUST rebid your own suit when you are minimum. Here they rebid 2♠ with the comment that they are "too weak to change the suit". This, frankly, is rubbish.

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Question 4

  South
♠ A J 6 5 4 3
♥ K Q 8 2
♦ 4
♣ Q 3 		 
Q: 4 - In this example you are the opener, South. What is your rebid?
SouthWestNorthEast
1♠Pass2♣Pass
?


 Your choice:
A: 2♥. Some players believe that is right to rebid a six-card suit before introducing a four-card suit. On some hands that might be right (it depends on the suit quality) but here it is clear-cut to bid 2♥. You simply must show your Hearts in an attempt to locate a fit in that suit.

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Question 5

  South
♠ A J 6 5 4 3
♥ Q 3
♦ 4
♣ K Q 8 2 		 
Q: 5 - In this example you are the opener, South. What is your rebid?
SouthWestNorthEast
1♠Pass2♦Pass
?


 Your choice:
A: 2♠. One of the great principles of early-round bidding is that you don't venture to the three-level without a fit. Here, 3♣ commits your side to a high-level contract (in practice a game contract) when you may have insufficient values and no trump fit. This is dangerous ground! Here, you must rebid 2♠ and let partner bid on if he has a good hand. If he has a minimum 10 points (or a misfit) then 2♠ is as good a spot as any.

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Question 6

  South
♠ A J 6 5
♥ A K 9 8 4
♦ 4 2
♣ J 5 		 
Q: 6 - In this example you are the opener, South. What is your rebid?
SouthWestNorthEast
1♥Pass2♣Pass
?


 Your choice:
A: 2♥. You may think that you should bid 2♠ here but that would be a mistake. You are inviting preference at the three-level and that needs a good hand to justify this. If partner hates Hearts and Spades he will either bid No-trumps (unlikely to be a success) or go back to 3♥, leaving you precariously placed at the three-level. Any bid that invites preference at the three-level is called a REVERSE and always indicates a good hand (say 16+ points). A rebid of 3♣ on Hand 5 would also have been a reverse.

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Question 7

  South
♠ 9
♥ Q 10 6 5 3
♦ J 2
♣ A K Q 10 4 		 
Q: 7 - In this example you are the opener, South. What is your opening bid? (This is the easy bit - what you should be doing is asking yourself what you would do if partner responds with various suit bids).
SouthWestNorthEast
?


 Your choice:
A: 1♥ (of course!) With 5-5 hands it is generally best to open with the higher ranking suit (especailly if that suit is a major). This can lead you into difficulty but you have little choice. If partner responds 1♠ (which is what you hope he'll do) then you have an easy rebid of 2♣. If, on the other hand, partner responds 2♦ you have no option but to rebid 2♥ as a rebid of 3♣ would be a strength-showing REVERSE.

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Question 8

  South
♠ A Q 7 6 4
♥ 9
♦ A Q 10 6 2
♣ 5 3 		 
Q: 8 - In this example you are the opener, South. What is your rebid?
SouthWestNorthEast
1♠Pass2♥Pass
?


 Your choice:
A: 2♠. And hope the sun shines. It's always depressing to "bury" a good five-card suit but you have little choice. 3♦ would be a REVERSE, hoisting the auction to the three-level on what might be a combined 22-point misfit. You just have to rebid 2♠ and hope partner makes another call.

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Question 9

  South
♠ A Q 7 6 4
♥ A Q 10 6 2
♦ 6
♣ 5 3 		 
Q: 9 - In this example you are the opener, South. What is your rebid?
SouthWestNorthEast
1♠Pass2♥Pass
?


 Your choice:
A: 4♥. What a difference a fit makes! Now, with ten trumps between you you should bid game with a song in your heart. True, you may only have 22 points between you but with ten trumps (partner's response shows five Hearts) you must have a stab at game. This illustrates the difference between MISFIT hands (which produce few tricks) and FIT hands (which produce a lot of tricks). When you like each other's trump suit the sky's the limit.

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Question 10

  South
♠ A Q 9 4
♥ Q 9 6 5 3
♦ 2
♣ A J 8 		 
Q: 10 - In this example you are the opener, South. What is your rebid?
SouthWestNorthEast
1♥Pass2♣Pass
?


 Your choice:
A: 3♣. A horrible hand with only two choices. A raise to 3♣ (just about the least repulsive bid) or a rebid of 2♥. 2♠ is out of the question (to beat the drum - it would be a strength-showing REVERSE) and 2NT a wild distortion. Rebidding 2♥ on ♥Q 9 6 5 3 is not pleasant.

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What next? You may enjoy playing our prepared hands series.
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