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Home > Tutorial > Bidding > Opener's first bid > Understanding of potential rebids

A good rebid is 

a bit like

shouting at 

your partner.

Understanding of potential rebids 

Opener's second bid--her rebid---is one of the most important in the game, distinguishing, as it should do, between a weak hand and a strong one, between balanced and unbalanced. A consideration of your rebid can often dictate your opening bid. Consider this.

UNBALANCED HANDS

While you would very much like to show partner your hearts, you would have no honest rebid if she were to bid two diamonds. After one club, you can show your hearts if partner bids one diamond, and you can rebid clubs if she mentions spades. So you have the most likely eventualities covered by opening one club. Similar arguments would apply to the hand below where you must open one diamond.

In both the above hands, give them an extra ace and they are then strong enough to open one heart on the first (rebidding three clubs if necessary), and open one spade on the second (rebidding three diamonds if necessary).

HANDS WHERE 1 NT HAS BEEN OPENED

No-trump opening bids require no rebid as they describe your hand within narrow limits and you will bid again only if you are forced or if you are accepting an invitation from partner. Consider this.

When partner responds three spades to your one no-trump opening, you are forced to bid, and with three-card support in spades, you raise to four spades. Remove one of the spades and your rebid would be three no-trumps. If partner responds two no-trumps, she is inviting you to bid game if you are maximum, and you would accept with three no-trumps. Take the queen away and you would pass partner's two no-trumps.

HANDS WHERE YOU INTEND TO REBID NO-TRUMPS

No-trump rebids are very important as they specify your point-count with great accuracy. Failure to rebid no-trumps implies an unbalanced hand.

You must open one spade here and rebid two no-trumps over partner's two clubs, two diamonds or two hearts. If you open one diamond and rebid spades, partner will think you are more unbalanced than this 4:4:3:2 shape and will have no clear idea of your point-count. Give yourself another king and you must rebid  three no-trumps over partner's two clubs, two diamonds or two hearts.

GOOD HANDS

If you hold a good hand, say sixteen points or more, you must get partner excited by jumping a level in your rebid.

After opening one heart, your rebid must be three diamonds or three hearts. Remove an ace and a rebid at the two level is sufficient.

ARE THE OPPONENTS BIDDING ?

Don't forget that you may need to adjust your perception of the strength of your hand in the light of the opponent's bidding. If the defender on your left is bidding strongly, the hand above loses much of its strength and a rebid at the two level will be sufficient.

WHAT IS THE SCORE ?

Many of your rebids will be dictated by the score if you are playing rubber. Game and sixty means that all your energies must be directed towards getting forty and the information imparted by your rebid becomes irrelevant.

Happy rebidding ! See how well you are doing by trying this quiz.