Recap

12-14 pts and balanced - Open 1 NT

12-19 pts and unbalanced - Open 1 of Longest Suit

Openers Rebids

After a player opens, his/her partner responds with a suit then the opening player “rebids” his/her hand to give more information about it.

NT Rebids

1NT Rebid = 15/16pts and a balanced hand

2NT Rebid = 17/18pts and a balanced hand

3NT Rebid = 19pts and a balanced hand

Therefore if we have a balanced hand and between 15-19 pts we:

Open a 1 of a suit
Rebid 1,2 or 3 NT (but only if our partner responds with a suit)

Suit Rebids

In other circumstances, 1 of a Suit promises 12-19pts and an unbalanced hand. As you always bid 1 of your longest suit, it also promises at least 4 cards in the suit bid.

We use our rebid to tell partner more about the shape/point count of openers hand.

For the purposes of suit rebids we divide the 12-19pts range into two segments:

· 12-15pts is a weak rebidding hand

· 16-19pts is a strong rebidding hand

“The Barrier Principle”

When we open a suit at the 1-level we create a barrier at the 2-level in the same suit. If we have a weak rebidding hand we must not rebid above that barrier. If we have a strong rebidding hand, then we may break the barrier.

E.g. if you open 1H, then 2H is the barrier!

Therefore if our partner breaks the barrier we know they have 16-19pts.

We adopt the following priority for our rebids:

If you have support for partner then raise his suit. Jump-raise if you have a strong rebidding hand. Support normally involves 4-card, but need only be 3-card if your partner has promised 5 in his bid.

If you know you have enough points for game then bid game!

Bid a new suit at the lowest possible level. You must have at least 4 cards in the new suit bid, and remember you must never break your barrier unless you have a strong rebidding hand.
Rebid the suit you opened with. You must have 5 cards to do this.

If you have a strong responding hand AND 6+ cards then jump rebid the suit. E.g. 1c -> 1s -> 3c