Opener’s Rebid when Unbalanced (Standard)

Length: 10 minutes

Let’s say that you have opened the bidding with 1 of your longest suit. Your partner responds and now you have to decide what to rebid. This is the bid that tells your partner what kind of hand you have, so it is important to get right.

If you are unbalanced, you will have one of these hand types:

  • Single-suited (you only have one long suit)
  • Two-suited (you have two long suits)
  • Three-suited (you have 4441 shape)

For now, we will concentrate on bidding single- and two-suited hands, as they are the most common.

Previously-bid suits

Remember that a non-forcing bid is one that your partner is allowed to pass. Bidding a suit that has already been bid by one of you is non-forcing (unless you both already know you have the strength for game). This is because you have either already decided on your partner’s suit or are insisting on your own as Trumps; now that the strain has been chosen, you need to diagnose the level and therefore need to limit the strength of your hand to within a narrower range.

Bidding your suit again

If you bid your suit again, it tells your partner that you hold 6+ cards in the suit: a single-suited hand. Remember that your range is roughly 12-19 when you have opened 1 of a suit, so when your partner has promised at least 6 HCP:

Opener’s strengthOpener’s action
Game-going (19 HCP)Bid game (prefer 3NT to 5minor if possible)
Maximum (Good 15 or 16-18 HCP)Jump to 3
Minimum (12-15 HCP)Just bid 2

When your partner has promised at least 10 HCP:

Opener’s strengthOpener’s action
Game-going (15+ HCP)Jump to 3
Minimum (12-14 HCP)Just bid 2

Supporting Partner’s suit

The same structure applies when you have 4-card support for the suit your partner just bid at the 1-level, showing 6+ HCP. The difference here is that you will bid your partner’s suit now.

Opener’s strengthOpener’s action
Game-going (19 HCP)Bid game
Maximum (Good 15 or 16-18 HCP)Jump to 3
Minimum (12-15 HCP)Just bid 2

If Partner has bid at the 2-level, showing 10+ HCP, you don’t have quite so much space:

Opener’s strengthOpener’s action
Game-going (15+ HCP)Jump to 4
Minimum (12-14 HCP)Just bid 3

New suits

Bidding a new suit on your rebid shows that you have a two-suited, unbalanced hand with 4+ cards in that suit. Since you bid a different suit first, your partner should know that that was your longest suit and is therefore longer than your second suit; in this way, you have shown your shape quite well: 5+ cards in your first suit and 4+ cards in your second suit – all in just two bids!

If you have 19 HCP and your partner has shown 6 HCP, you know that you have enough points for game and need to have a way to show your shape but also force your partner to bid. Therefore, with a game-going hand, you must jump in your second suit. Here are some examples:

  • 1♣ – 1♥ – ; 2♠ = 19+ HCP, 5+♣4+♠
  • 1♦ – 1♥ – ; 3♣ = 19+ HCP, 5+♦4+♣
  • 1♠ – 1NT – ; 3♥ = 19+ HCP, 5+♠4+♥

This means that if you do not jump, you are showing any opening hand that cannot force to game: that’s 12-18 HCP – quite a wide range! Here are some examples:

  • 1♣ – 1♥ – ; 1♠ = 12-18 HCP, 5+♣4+♠
  • 1♦ – 1♥ – ; 2♣ = 12-18 HCP, 5+♦4+♣
  • 1♠ – 1NT – ; 2♥ = 12-18 HCP, 5+♠4+♥

Summary:

  • With only one suit, rebid it at the 2-level (with a minimum) or the 3-level (with a maximum).
  • With 4-card support, show your support to the appropriate level for the strength of your hand.
  • With another 4-card suit to bid, show your partner that you are at least 5-4. Jump only if you have enough strength for game.
Back to: First Steps: How to Bid in Bridge (Standard)