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Quiz: Barrier-Reversing

Quiz: Deal # Tuesday
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Basic
strategy
0000). How to use 0001). Bidding Objectives = "8 and 25" 0002). 28 for minor 0003). 33 for NT slam 0004). Suit slam 0005). Importance of length 0006). Convention card 0007). ACOL and American Standard, differences 0008). A-Z Glossary 0690). A-Z Glossary
Hand
evaluation
0010). Balanced-Unbalanced 0011). How strong is your hand, HCP 0012). Distribution points 0013). Losing trick count 0014). Barrier-Reversing 0015). Selection of opening suit 0016). Showing shape 0017). 4441 distribution 0018). The skip over principle 0019). Rule of 20 Opening 1 of a suit 0019a). Rule of 25 Opening 2 of a suit 0019b). Rule of 500 Max penalty risk on preempt if doubled 0019c). Law of total tricks 0019d). Rule of Protective bidding
Opening
bids
0020). Plan of attack 0021). Bal, 12 to 19 HCPs, weak NT 0022). Bal, 20+ points 0023). Bal, 15 to 17 HCPs, strong NT 0025). Unbal, 12 to 19 HCPs, 1 suit 0026). Unbal, Strong 2s 0027). Unbal, Pre-emptive 0028). Unbal, Gambling 3NT 0029). Benji Strong 2s
Responder
1st bids
0030). After 1NT, General principles 0031). After 1NT, Weak 0032). After 1NT, Getting out of trouble 0033). After 1NT, 11+ balanced 0034). After 1NT, 11+ 4-card major 0035). After 1NT, 11+ unbalanced 0036). After 1NT, 19+ 0037). After 2NT 0038). After 1NT, and Enemy has interfered 0039). 1 NT responses 0040). After 1 Suit, With fit 0041). After 1 Suit, No fit, but alternative suit 0042). After 1 Suit, No fit, no new suit, probably balanced 0043). After 1 Suit, 6 points, nothing to bid 0044). After 1 Suit, Very strong 0045). After 1 Suit, Weak freak 0047). After 2 Suit, Strong 2s 0048). After 2 Suit, Weak 2s 0049). After 3 Suit, Responding to preempt
Openers
rebid
0050). Unbalanced, The general idea 0051). Unbalanced, You are weak 0052). Unbalanced, You are strong 0053). Unbalanced, Partner replied with 1NT 0054). Unbalanced, Delayed support 0055). Balanced
Responder
rebids
0060). Responder rebids, The general idea 0061). Choice of two suits 0062). Responders reverse 0063). After 1NT rebid
Basic
Convention
0080). Stayman 0081). Transfer 0082). Transfer after 2NT 0161). Minor suit transfer
Slam
bidding
0090). Slam, Spotting the chance 0091). Blackwood 0092). No-trump slam 0093). Gerber 0094). Extra slam techniques
Interfering
bids
0100). Overcalls, the basic idea 0101). Overcalls, in a suit, over a suit 0102). Overcalls, in a suit, over 1NT 0103). Overcalls, in NT, over a suit 0104). Overcalls, Jump overcall 0105). Overcalls, Double then bid a suit 0106). Overcalls, Bidding opponents suit 0107). Overcalls, Balancing (protective) 0108). Overcalls, Overcall a preempt 0109). Overcalls, Preemptive double jump 0110). Overcalls, To overcall, or to double 0111). Overcalls, Response to 1NT after suit overcall (Lebensohl) 0115). Defence after 1NT 0116). Competitive bidding 0117). Be cautious sometimes 0118). Sacrificing Be bold when non-vulnerable 0119). Sacrificing 0120). Doubles, Double a 1NT 0121). Doubles, Double for takeout 0122). Doubles, Doubling after opponent overcall 0126). Doubles, Protective double
Doubles

0120). Doubles, Double a 1NT 0121). Doubles, Double for takeout 0122). Doubles, Doubling after opponent overcall 0123). Doubles, Negative double 0124). Doubles, Double a 1NT overcall 0125). Doubles, Double a suit over 1NT 0126). Doubles, Protective double 0127). Doubles, Responsive double 0128). Doubles, Double then bid a suit 0129). Doubles, Penalty 0130). Doubles, Support double 0131). Doubles, Lead directing double 0132). Doubles, Maximal double 0133). Doubles, Redoubling - coded meanings 0134). Doubles, Forcing Pass 0135). Doubles, Re-opening double 0139). Doubles, Index of doubles
Advanced
Convention
0150). Majors Jacoby 2NT 0151). Majors Splinters 0152). Majors Weak 2s 0153). Majors Weak 2 defence 0154). Trial bid 0160). NT and minors 4th suit forcing 0161). Minor suit transfer 0162). DONT Bidding When Opponents open 1NT 0163). Game tries 0166). Grand Slam Force 0167). Roman Keycard Blackwood 0168). Cue bidding for controls 0170). 2-suited Overcall Unusual 2NT 0171). 2-suited Overcall Michaels cue bid 0172). 2-suited Overcall Landy over 1NT 0173). Overcall Unassuming cue bid 0179). Very advanced

Quiz How much do you know about this page? Quiz

<= find/hide more deals exploiting this aspect

Quick summary

Suppose 3 suits have been bid, and you are still not certain which suit you should be in

if you have the 4th suit yourself, you can bid No Trumps.
if you don't have it, ask your partner if he has it (just bid it)

If your partner does have it, he will bid NT.

If he doesn't have it

he will try to bid your first suit,
he'll only rebid his own suits if he is longer than promised (starting with the 2nd suit),
he can raise the 4th suit if strong.

Level

When game is not certain, force at the 2-level. You need 10+ HCP.
When game is certain, force at any level, and keep bidding.

2nd use: Getting to game in a minor
Beware: responder's re-bid of 3-in-a-minor can be passed. So with a strong minor hand, use 4th Suit Forcing followed by a bid of 3-in-a-minor, to get to game in the minor. If that fails, revert to game in NT.

Print cribsheet

Bridge Venue

+	West
	4 2
	6 5 3
	7 6 3 2
	A 5 4 3

	North
	K J 5
	A J 7
	A K Q 8 4
	9 6

+	East
	A 9 8
	10 9 8 2
	10 9
	K 10 8 7

+	South
	Q 10 7 6 3
	K Q 4
	J 5
	Q J 2

Example Deal

You: North
Dealer: North
Vuln: none

# 126030

No Trumps or a suit ? And how to get there ?
..
Go to quiz (& full page) of deal # 126030
***

Click the + buttons to peep

Click on "q1" below to see question 1, and on "A1" to see the answer.

Question 1

North is dealer, with a balanced 18-point 6-loser hand and opens 1 Diamond. Partner replies 1 Spade, promising 6 or more HCP. What should North rebid and why ?

Question 1

North is dealer, with a balanced 18-point 6-loser hand and opens 1 Diamond. Partner replies 1 Spade, promising 6 or more HCP. What should North rebid and why ?

Answer

Even though North is balanced, the short club suit has no stoppers. Maybe best to bid a suit? Bid 2-Hearts to promise 16+ and 4-card suit. Only a little lie, and if partner raises in Hearts (promising 4) then you can switch to Spades since he MUST have 5 of them (otherwise he wouldn't have bid Spades first).

Question 2

Have a peep at South's cards. What should he now bid, knowing that the partnership has at least 27HCP ?

Question 2

Have a peep at South's cards. What should he now bid, knowing that the partnership has at least 27HCP ?

Answer

He can't support the Hearts with only 3, and he can't go to NT in case North has nothing in Clubs. But game is on, so he simply asks North to keep describing his hand by using 4th Suit Forcing, which when used at the 3-level is forcing to game.

Question 3

What more information can North give to South ?

Question 3

What more information can North give to South ?

Answer

North now knows that South has a 5-card Spade suit, since the 4th Suit Forcing bid denies having clubs. He can now give delayed support, and raise to game in Spades.

. . . .

Some subjects to follow up on
Unbalanced, Delayed support
Choice of two suits
Barrier-Reversing
NT and minors 4th suit forcing

#1	+	<-- click the + to show/hide one possible Bidding Sequence
West			North	East	South
-			1D	p	1S
p			???
			2H	p	3C
p			4S	p	p
p
-			System: Acol (Benji)
suggest a different Bidding Sequence

bid	explained at....
#2	+	<-- click the + for explanation of relevant Bidding Techniques
1D	Unbal, 12 to 19 HCPs, 1 suit
1S	After 1 Suit, No fit, but alternative suit
2H	Barrier-Reversing
3C	NT and minors 4th suit forcing
4S	Bidding Objectives = "8 and 25"

			Hand evaluation

#3	+	<-- click the + for ideas on the Opening Lead
Opening Lead: West , 7 Reasons, when playing in Either suit or NT contract: 1. top of rubbish

« 0160 »

"4th Suit Forcing", NT and minors

Anyone who already has the 4th suit would bid NT !

When 3 suits have been bid, and you are still not sure which suit is right for the contract, you can try "4th Suit Forcing".

Logically, if you have a stopper yourself in the 4th suit, you can yourself put the contact into No Trumps. A bid in the 4th suit is therefore in effect redundant as a proposal to play in NT, and instead has come to mean "I want to carry on bidding, and either

I can't put it into NT because I lack the 4th suit. Have you got it ?, or
I'm not happy where we are, please describe your hand further.

You need 10 HCP to use it at the 2-level, and 13 HCP to use it at the 3-level. In the latter case, it's (obviously) game forcing.

Partner's reply
If your partner has a stopper in the 4th suit, he can put it into No Trumps. Both logically and as the name implies, it's a forcing bid. The responses from the opening bidder are:

bid No Trumps if he has a stopper in the 4th suit
without a stopper, try to support partner's suit (consider delayed support)
rebid the second suit if it has extra length (i.e. 5)
raise the 4th suit if it has 4 cards and extra strength,
if all else fails, or with extra length (i.e. 6) bid your first suit

With this reply, if you have game going points between you, you can then keep bidding up to game.

Strong minors - don't miss a game

There are 2 issues to consider when you have a strong game going hand in a minor

5 tricks is a lot of tricks to make, only one short of a slam, so you need a lot of strength and information to go for it
you must at the same time try to decide if 3NT would be better

The problem arises if you are strong in the minor: a re-bid of 3-in-a-minor-suit is a "limit bid", telling your partner that you have 10-12 HCP. It can be passed, leaving you in the wrong place.

The solution is to use "4th suit forcing", and then re-bid 3-of-the-minor. The combination of these bids tells your partner you are strong in the minor, and is an attempt for game or slam in the minor. If that fails, you can opt for 3NT.

Of course, your partner won't know at first that your "4th suit forcing" bid is in fact strong. But it doesn't matter, he will in the meantime give you that useful 4th suit information. You next bid of the 3-in-the-minor will make everything clear.

After the 3 diamond rebid, the opener will assume responder has 10-12HCP and can pass.

W	N	E	S

1	pass	1	pass
1	pass	3	pass
pass	pass

Instead, with the same cards, responder can bid the 4th suit, obliging opener to reply (and incidentally to give an answer to the question of course, in this case the answer being "I don't have spades"). The subsequent rebid of 3 diamonds by responder shows a strong hand, and is game forcing, asking the opener to decide between NT and the minor.

W	N	E	S

1	pass	1	pass
1	pass	1	pass
2	pass	3	pass
5

Examples

	Hand 1
	10 3 2		The bidding goes 1-1-2. What do you bid ? You can't agree to with 7 cards, and by repeating could miss a game (combined 23-26 HCP). Bid the 4th suit at the 2 level, 2, to see if partner has a stopper there and a NT contract
	A K 8 6 4
	A 4 3
	4 3

	Hand 2
	K 3		The bidding goes 1-2-2. What do you bid ? You can't agree to or with 7 cards in each case, and by repeating could miss a game (combined 26-29 HCP). Bid the 4th suit at the 3 level, 3, to see if partner has a stopper there and a 3NT contract
	A 4 3
	A K 8 6 4
	9 4 3

	Hand 3
	A 4 3		The bidding goes 1-2-2. What do you bid ? You can't agree to or with 7 cards in each case, and by repeating could miss a slam (combined 30-33 HCP, noting opener's reverse). Bid the 4th suit at the 3 level, 3, to see if partner has a stopper there and a big NT contract, and then probably go on to rebid either at 5 or 6.
	K 3
	9 4
	A K 8 6 4 3

Now try the quiz

Can you put all this into action ? Try the quiz for this subject by clicking on the link at the top left of the page, just below the main menu.
(You can try quizzes for any other subjects too while you're there. Look out for the thin red line).

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Quiz: Barrier-Reversing