Reverses are the most difficult part of standard bidding for a player to learn. Reverse auctions are not intuitive, defining reversed auctions are awkward, and there is no standardization of the following rebids.

All of these problems hinder the ability to use a reverse comfortably. I will start by giving a usable definition, and then giving solutions for dealing with responder’s rebid.

Definition:

A structured reverse has occurred if taking preference to Opener’s first bid suit forces the partnership to the three-level. (and Opener’s rebid was not a strong jump shift).

Examples are:

North South             North South           North South

1C        1S                     1C        1H                  1D        1NT

2H                                 2D                              2S

In all of these examples if South (the Responder) wants to play in Opener’s suit, they are forced to take preference on the three-level.

What does a reverse show about Openers’s hand?

1) 16+HCP (less then an opening 2C bid)

2) A longer first bid suit then second bid suit.

3) Good suit quality.

4) Opener is prepared to go to at least the three-level.

5) A Reverse is forcing for one round.

Responders Rebids:

What if any of the responders rebids is forcing?

This is one a question which is not answered in standard. If this question is not addressed, then playing reverses becomes very problematic. There are a few popular agreements that give rules to Responder’s rebid over reverses. I will recommend a simple one and mention a few popular ideas.

Simple Solution:

All bids are forcing to game except if the responder bids 2NT, which is a weakness showing bid.

North South           North South           North South

1C        1S                   1C         1H                 1D        1S

2H       3C                   2D        2H                2H       3H

All of these auctions are forcing to game. The goal of having all auctions except the weakness response of 2NT be forcing to game is for the partnership to have no issues in finding the best game or best slam. Broadly defining which bids are forcing and which are non-forcing makes a long auction much easier. The partnership can comfortably bid naturally with no worries of being passed.

The weakness showing response of 2NT:

If the responder rebids 2NT after Opener makes a reverse it is a weakness showing bid. It is an artificial bid saying nothing about NT shape or the desire to play in NT. It describes this message to opener, “ Partner I know you have a good hand, I have a weak hand. Unless you have extras and show that to me, I am going to pass the next bid you make or correct the contract to the contract I think we should play on the three level. Please respect my decision unless you have something extreme”.

North South           North South           North South

1C         1S                 1C          1H                1D         1H

2H        2NT             2D         2NT             2S          2NT

3C         Pass            3C          3D               3D          3S
Pass                           Pass

There are other popular agreements for responder to use as their rebid structure after a reverse. Some of them are:

1) All bids are forcing to game other then a 2NT response

2) All bids are forcing to game other then a 2NT response or rebid of the major. Responder rebidding their major is forcing 1-round only.

3) All bids are forcing to game except an artificial weak fourth suit below 2NT or 2NT, whichever is lower.

4) All bids are forcing to game except an artificial weak fourth suit below 2NT or 2NT or a rebid of the major and rebidding the major is forcing only 1-round.

You should discuss which agreement you and your partner like best. Having good agreements with partner is paramount, and being the one to initiate a discussion of topics which are known to be problematic makes any partnership that you are in stronger.

I would recommend using the simple solution that I recommend. It works very well in practice, and is easy to remember.

For an explanation of strong jump shifts check out my earlier post in: Forcing and Non-Forcing Bids Pt.4

A story about a hand from a Sectional in Wilmington Delaware really illustrates this point. I was playing at a local sectional in which I played in an A/X pairs game while another section of  B/C/D pairs played the same boards. In my section, playing against two veteran lifemasters, I defended as South against the following auction.

When the smoke cleared and the hand was over the opponents succeeded in taking 12 tricks for a score of +170. While I wasn’t surprised at the result, the opponents seemed to be and their post mortem continued through to the next hand. In listening to their conversation I was shocked. They just couldn’t figure out what the problem had been!

What went wrong was fairly common, not fully understanding the concept of forcing and non-forcing bids.

Jumpshifts by Opener are forcing to game. The 3D bid by East was forcing.

The full hand was:

While the partnership may not have gotten to the slam (which makes on a finesse), they should have been able to get to their cold 5D contract.

By playing standard Jumpshift agreements they would have been able to:

1) Search for the best game
2) Explore the best strains
3) Consider slam
4) Diagnose the lack of heart stopper
5) Allow East to finish showing distribution– and the heart shortness.
6) Recognize that there was no wasted values in the heart suit.

The auction should continue with East showing his spade fragment:

Now West can raise and play in the 4-3 (Moysian) fit, or look for the best level in the minors.  Since they were playing matchpoints, the Moysian spade fit is pretty attractive. Assuming normal breaks, you beat any pair in 5 of a minor, +450 vs. +400 or +480 vs. +420. Against pairs in slam you win roughly half the time depending on the success or failure of the spade finesse.

…………..

This same hand came up again for discussion, while dining with a good “C” pair after the first session ended. Ed, the C player who sat East, was reveling in his good luck on this board. When he was faced with the bidding problem, he chose to bid 3NT over Wests’s 3C jump shift. He was not sure if a 3D bid would have been forcing, and with his very balanced shape decided to gamble in the highest scoring strain. Their opponents didn’t find the obvious heart lead and he was +490 for a top score. However, Ed knew that the hand hadn’t been bid correctly, and asked my advice.

Upon hearing his tale, I explained that strong jump shifts by Opener are commonly misunderstood, and commented on how players in the flight A event had gotten this hand wrong too. I further explained that the fundamental issue with this hand is that players are reluctant to accept the principle that when opener jump shifts it forces to game. I recommended that they adopt the standard treatments for jump shifts by opener.

Well, my advice was acknowledged, and the partnership admitted that they weren’t sure if a 3D preference bid would have been forcing (they shrugged at each other as if it were not). After the discussion was over, and armed with the information that their agreements were flawed, they didn’t make any adjustments to their game, and continue to use nebulous agreements in jump shift auctions!

Why is there such reluctance to play jump shifts as game forcing? It’s easier, stronger, and it is standard.

The only forcing bid that Opener can make is 2C. This strong 2C bid lets Responder know that Opener is so strong that they want to have a constructive auction even if responder has a dismal hand with 0-4 HCP’s.

If Opener is not strong enough to open 2C, then Opener has three options:
1) Showing a big Balanced hand
2) Opening on the 1-level and making a Strong Jump Shift (Forcing to game)
3) Opening on the 1-level and making a Structured Reverse (Forcing for one round)

Notice how an Opener only has two ways to force responder to rebid when making an opening bid on the 1-level: A Strong Jump Shift Or Structure Reverse. It is amazing when one thinks of it that an Opener only has two tools to force responder, which makes it really important to fully understand the characteristics of both reverses and strong jumpshifts.

Balanced Hands

When the strong hand is balanced, bidding is basically dictated by the bidding structure.

18-19: Open 1of a suit. Rebid 2NT if responder’s bid doesn’t reveal an 8-card major suit fit. If Responder bids a major which opener has 4-card support for, then Opener jumps to game in that Major.

20-21: Open 2NT

22-24: Open 2C and then rebid 2NT

25-27: Open 3NT

28-29: Open 2C and then rebid 3NT.

Strong Jump Shift

A strong jump shift by Opener guarantees 5-4 in the two suits, and a hand that is strong enough to force to game after Responder makes a simple response on the 1-level.

Some examples of a strong jump shift by opener.

1D-1H    1H-1S   1S-1NT
3C            3D         3H

Since a strong jump shift by Opener is forcing to game the partnership must reach 4 of a major, 5 of a minor, 3NT, or a slam contract. The recognition that all non-game bids are forcing defines all other bids as forcing. The partnership should use the flexibility achieved by all these forcing bids to explore for the best strain and level.

“Good auctions happen when both parties are aligned in thinking and are trying to attain the same goals.”

One of the problems that many upcoming players have is that their partnerships do not play that jump shifts by Opener are 100% forcing to game, instead playing that this bidding sequence “shows a good hand.” The reason for this common error is that Opener frequently holds a good hand, but not be good enough to force to game opposite a minimum Responder. With Opener holds these good hands Opener’s best strategy is to underbid these and hands and show belated strength should they get another chance. This is not an intuitive sequence to choose, but is clearly best and standard.

For example North may have to make a rebid with the following hands in the auction:

North South
1H- 1S
?

Hand A           Hand B          Hand C

♠K                    ♠AQ                 ♠8
♥KQ1093       ♥KQ1093        ♥AKJ876
♦QJ1093        ♦8                     ♦AKJ74
♣A5                 ♣KQ654          ♣5

Hand A and Hand B are both good hands that have 16HCP but neither are good enough to make a strong jump shift, and both have the wrong shape for a reverse. Hand A should rebid 2D and Hand B should rebid 2C. Game is uncertain against many minimum Responders, and if the auction stops here the result should be reasonable. If the respond makes a rebid, even a simple preference, then the Opener can show belated strength on their third bid and give an accurate description of the strength and shape of their hand.

Below are a few reasonable auctions stemming from Hand A:

Opener Responder
1H 1S
2C Pass

Opener Responder
1H 1S
2D 2H
3D* *showing extras and at least 5/5

Now to discuss Hand C:

Hand C has 15HCP’s which is less than the other two example Opener’s,, but Hand C is clearly worth a strong jump shift. The reason is that Hand C has great trick taking potential opposite only a modest fit, and has direction. Direction is when a player has reasonable expectations to reach target contract(s).Hand C has direction in a safe and reasonable expectation that this hand could make a 4H game or 5D game opposite a spectrum of minimum hands.

For example if responder has:

♠A654 Opener could easily take 11 or 12 tricks in either Diamonds or Hearts.
♥95
♦Q5
98764

♠K873 This hand is not good enough to respond. Yet 4H or 5D could easily make.
♥95
♦1086
♣756

♠96543 Opposite this 6 HCP hand it is odds on to make 6D or even 6H.
♥Q
♦109872
♣A3

You hold as East:

♠7
♥876
♦QJ5
♣KQ6543

The auction begins:

W            N             E              S

1S           P             ?

What do you bid and why?

The first bid that many players consider with this hand is 2C.  The hand has good clubs, clubs are the primary feature of the hand, and responding in clubs is the most natural looking bid. However, the bid of 2C is a forcing bid and opener will expect 10 or more HCPs from responder. In bidding  2C’s responder coerces opener into a mindset of looking for the best game or possibly slam. Responder’s actual hand really only has the strength to warrant a dialogue for the best part score. Opposite a minimum opener the partnership could easily contract at too high a level if the responder overbids their hand with a 2C response.

A 1NT bid by Responder shows less than 10HCPs and less than 3 spades.  A 1NT bid aligns the partnership in the search of level since it is non-forcing bid. Should the responder get another chance they can offer up clubs as a possible strain.

The message of this hand:

When responder bids 1NT after their partner opens 1 of a major (1H-1NT or 1S-1NT) the response is a non-forcing bid. The responder  is showing a hand with less than 10 HCP’s less, than three cards in partners major, and also does not promise a balanced hand. With a long suit and less than 10 HCP’s it is better to limit the strength of the hand and create a non-forcing auction by responding 1NT then to overbid the strength of the hand to show a long suit.

You hold the following cards in the East position.

♠KQJ6
♥AQ6
♦K5
♣J643

The auction begins with your partner Opening 1C:
W   N   E   S
1C

Is the 1C a forcing bid?
1C is a non-forcing bid. Responder is allowed to pass as the opener is limited to a range of about 11-21 HCP.

The auction continues:
W   N   E   S
1C   P   1S

Is the 1S bid forcing?
1S is a forcing bid. This bid is forcing because the bid is unlimited.

The auction continues:
W   N   E   S
1C   P   1S  P
1NT

Is the 1NT bid forcing?
1NT is a non-forcing bid. The opener is showing a limited hand with 12-14 HCPs. A responder without a strong enough hand to invite to game opposite a 14 HCP balanced hand is allowed to pass.

The auction continues:
W    N    E    S
1C    P    1S   P
1NT P   ?

Responder has 16HCP. Opposite a 12-14 HCP hand, responder knows that the partnership belongs in a game contract. This means that the responder must choose a bid that is forcing (or a game contract) and must avoid making a (non-game) rebid that is non-forcing.

For example the east player must discard the choices of bidding 2C or 2NT because these bids are non-forcing.

All bids are either forcing on non-forcing. Partner must make a legal bid or is allowed to pass.  There is no in-between.

What about invitational bids?

Invitational bids can be passed and therefore are non-forcing.