Better Bidding. Better Results!

1. Almost all no trump bids or raises are limit bids. Therefore, the partner of the player who makes the first limit bid is considered the captain, the one who places the final contract.

2. When holding four hearts and four spades, respond one heart to a minor suit opening bid even if your spades are stronger. Bidding spades first and then hearts shows longer spades than hearts!

3. Do not rebid a major suit after a one no trump response unless you have a 6 card suit or longer.

4. Responder should not rebid a suit unless it is a 6 card suit or a very strong 5 card suit. The definition of a strong 5 card suit is.

AK1093, AQ1095, AJ1094, KQ1096, QJ1093 or stronger. Those nines and tens are not there by accident. Replace them by twos

and threes and those suits are not strong enough to rebid!

5. Hands that have a good fit require fewer high card points for game than misfitted hands. Bid aggressively with fitting hands and conservatively with misfitted hands.

6. An original 2NT response to a major suit opening is played by the majority as Jacoby 2NT (4 trumps or more and opening bid value)

An original 2NT response to a minor suit opening is played by the majority as about 11 HCP (invitational, not forcing). That is good!

7. An original 3NT response to a one suit opening bid is played by the majority as 13-15 HCP. That is not so good! That is the lazy, easy way! Playing this way, holding 16-18HCP many players will make one or two bids, and then they can resist it. They will launch into Blackwood and bid a slam that will fail more often than make. Or missing two aces, they will end up at the five level, sometime going down for a very bad result.

If opener has opened a minimum 12HCP hand you do not want to go past the game level.

Here is a more logical way that is played by some good players.

To show 13-15HCP, as responder bid a new suit (forcing) and then jump to 3NT. (Not having a 4 card major, your new suit could be a

3 card minor suit, but no harm will result from this.)

And play that an immediate jump to 3NT shows 16-18 HCP.

Not forcing of course!

There, you get it of your chest and opener is in a very good position to determine if the final contract will be a game or slam. See # one above

If you find 16-18HCP is to much, play it as 16-17HCP.

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