Limit Raises in Bridge: The Invitational Jump Raise

A limit raise is a jump raise of partner's opening suit, such as 1♥ - 3♥, that shows good support and about 10-12 points: enough to invite game, not enough to force it. Opener passes with a minimum and bids game with anything extra.

The name says what it does: responder limits his hand to a narrow range, so opener can make the final decision. Limit raises are standard in 2/1 Game Force, the bidding system this guide assumes, and in SAYC and Acol too. What changes from system to system is how many trumps the raise promises and which bid shows it, so this guide covers the main versions.

After partner opens one of a major, the limit raise is one step on a ladder of raises:

Trumps. In Acol, where majors can be four cards, a limit raise promises four-card support. In five-card major systems the bid is more flexible: most 2/1 players promise four and show three-card limit raises a different way (see below), while traditional Standard American and SAYC allow three or four. You can see what 3♥ means in every system. Whatever you play, the partnership must agree, because opener's decision depends on the trump count.

Points. "10-12" means dummy points: high card points plus a bonus for shortness. A flat 10-count is a weak limit raise; a 9-count with a singleton is a good one.

When you are going to be dummy in partner's suit, a short suit is worth tricks: your small trumps ruff opener's losers. Add points for shortness to your HCP:

Some adjustments a good player makes:

• Downgrade a singleton king or queen, and honors like QJ doubleton. They count twice if you add both the HCP and the shortness.
• Downgrade 4-3-3-3 shape. No ruffing value at all: count it as a point less.
• Upgrade honors in partner's suit. The ♥K in a heart raise is worth more than a side-suit jack.

Other evaluation tools, such as losing trick count, give similar answers for raise decisions and are worth knowing.

Game in a major needs about 25 combined points. Responder has shown 10-12, so opener's rule is simple:

• Minimum (about 12-13): pass.
• 14 or more, or a good 13 with shape: bid game.
• Slam interest (about 17+ with a good hand): make a control-showing cue bid or ask for key cards.

Opener should evaluate too. Count your own shape (a five-card side suit, a singleton), the quality of your trumps, and where your honors are. A 13-count with a singleton and a strong side suit is worth game opposite a limit raise; a flat 14 with a soft ♦QJ might not be.

At IMPs, a vulnerable game needs only about 37.5% to be worth bidding, so close decisions favor bidding game. At matchpoints, the plus score matters more than the game bonus, so close decisions favor passing.

Many partnerships use the direct jump raise only with four trumps, because the nine-card fit is what makes the three level safe. With three trumps and 10-12, they show the hand in two steps:

• 2/1 Game Force: 1♠ - 1NT (forcing), then jump to 3♠ at the next turn. This is the "three-card limit raise".
• Standard American without a forcing 1NT: bid a new suit first, then jump in opener's major at the next turn.

Some pairs use conventions for the same job. Bergen raises put the four-card limit raise in 3♦ (or 3♣ in Reverse Bergen) and use 1M - 3M as a weak raise. By a passed hand, Drury 2♣ takes over the limit raise. If your partner plays Bergen, a jump to three of the major is preemptive, not a limit raise, so ask before you sit down.

In standard methods, 1♣ - 3♣ and 1♦ - 3♦ are limit raises too (see what 3♦ means in every system): about 10-12 points with five-card support (four is common for diamonds) and no four-card major. With a four-card major, responder bids the major first, because a major-suit fit is more important than a minor one.

The minor limit raise works differently in practice. Game in a minor needs eleven tricks, so the usual target is 3NT. Opener, with stoppers in the unbid suits and a fair hand, bids 3NT; otherwise he passes or bids a stopper to look for notrump.

Many players replace this structure with inverted minors, where 1♦ - 2♦ is the strong raise (10+ points) and 1♦ - 3♦ is weak. Check which one your partner plays.

When the opponents bid, a jump raise usually changes meaning:

• After an overcall, the jump raise becomes preemptive: 1♥ - (2♣) - 3♥ shows four trumps and a weak hand. The limit raise or better is shown with a cue bid of the opponents' suit: 1♥ - (2♣) - 3♣. See cue bids in bridge.
• After a takeout double, many pairs play 2NT as a limit raise or better with four trumps (the Jordan or Truscott 2NT), and the jump raise is again preemptive. A redouble shows 10+ points, often without a fit.
• By a passed hand, a jump raise is still a limit raise, but it is not forcing, and opener may have opened light in third or fourth seat. Many pairs use Drury 2♣ instead, so opener can stop in two.

You are South and open 1♥ with ♠K7, ♥AQ985, ♦Q632, ♣J4: 12 HCP. Partner jumps to 3♥ with four trumps and 11 HCP. You have a minimum, a soft ♦Q and two small clubs, so you pass.

3♥ makes nine tricks: declarer loses two clubs and two diamonds. 4♥ would go one down. Notice that North's raise was at the bottom of the range: 11 HCP with 4-3-3-3 shape, no ruffing value at all. 23 points with two balanced hands is not enough for game.

Now you hold ♠A72, ♥AQ985, ♦KQ63, ♣4: 15 HCP and a singleton club. Partner makes the same limit raise, this time with a flat 10 HCP. You have a sound opening, a good side suit and a singleton, so you bid 4♥.

4♥ makes with an overtrick: the singleton club holds the club losers to one, and the only other loser is the ♦A. Partner had only 10 HCP, but your singleton and your side suit made the combined hands worth far more than 25 points.

Partner opens 1♦. You hold ♠84, ♥Q73, ♦AJ85, ♣KQ63: 12 HCP, four diamonds, no four-card major. You play standard (not inverted) minors, so you raise to 3♦. Partner has spades well stopped, the ♥K and a five-card diamond suit, so he bids 3NT.

3NT makes nine tricks: five diamonds, the ♠A and three more from the other suits. 5♦ takes ten tricks, one short. That is the usual pattern with a minor-suit fit: look for 3NT first, because it needs two tricks fewer than five of a minor.

1. Overvaluing flat hands. A 4-3-3-3 ten-count is a minimum limit raise at best, and with poor honors many players make a simple raise instead. Count dummy points honestly.
2. Forgetting what your partnership plays. With Bergen raises, 1M - 3M is weak. With inverted minors, 1m - 3m is weak. A wrong assumption can cost a game or a big penalty.
3. Opener passing with a good 14. Opposite 10-12, game is usually right with 14 or more.
4. Using the jump raise with three trumps when partner expects four.
5. Bidding a minor limit raise with a four-card major. Show the major first.
6. Jump raising after an overcall to invite. After interference, the jump raise is preemptive in most partnerships. Cue bid with a limit raise.

Raise decisions come up on almost every deal, so they are the easiest place to pick up points. The BridgeDummy Bidding Room gives you random deals bid with EPBot robots in 2/1, SAYC, Acol and other systems, and shows the full layout after each board. When you want to test your judgment on one decision, our bidding puzzles solve every call double dummy over hundreds of deals that fit the auction and rate your choice from 1 to 5 stars.

• Bergen raises: four-card raises with artificial 3♣ and 3♦.
• Inverted minors: the modern minor-suit raise structure.
• Drury convention: the limit raise by a passed hand.
• Bridge lesson 15: raising partner: the beginner version.