L3.1 – Responses with a Fit

Your partner has opened at the 1 level , which means – “Partner I have at least 4 of the suit bid and have 12 to 19 HCP”  

Partner may have 19 points and with 6 in your hand “game” may be on , so you can’t just “leave them in 1 , as I have a rubbish hand”. Therefore :-

With as little as  6 HCP , you MUST respond  !!

O

Remember Bridge is a partnership game 

O

The Basics

Once the cards have been dealt :-

  1. Count up your HCP and
  2.  Determine “the shape” of your hand – Balanced / Unbalanced
  3. Can I Open ? No ?
    1. Can I Respond with the points I have 
    2. Do we have a “fit” , If Yes :- 
    3. Can I add on some extra points for “shortage

Adding Points for Shortage

If you have a “fit” , and only if you have a fit with partners suit, you can :-

ADD POINTS FOR SHORTAGE (sometimes called distributional points)

Importantly, add points for a :-

  • Void                   add 5 points 
  • Singleton          add 3 points 
  • Doubleton        add 1 point

What is my Response Bid

  • 6-9 Points     – bid 2 of the suit bid 
  • 10-12 Points – bid 3 of the suit
  • 13+ Points    – bid 4 of the suit
  • 15+points     – bid 5 of the suit (minors) * 

*Denies a biddable major and or 3NT