Responding to Partner's Opening Bid: Bridge Responses Chart

When partner opens one of a suit, respond with about 6 points or more and pass with less. Raise partner's major with three or more cards, otherwise bid a new suit of four or more cards (a new suit is forcing), and bid 1NT when you have nothing better: 6-10 points over a minor, and a forcing 1NT with about 6-12 over a major in 2/1 Game Force.

That covers most hands. This page gives the full response charts for one of a major, one of a minor, 1NT, 2♣ and weak openings, then shows how SAYC and Acol differ. The charts use 2/1 Game Force, the default system of the BridgeDummy Bidding Room. There is a full deal, a quiz, and a short list of the mistakes that cost the most.

Partner's one-level opening shows about 12-21 points. Game needs about 25 between you, so with 6 points you can still have game opposite partner's strong hand. That is why 6 points is enough to respond, and why you pass with 0-5.

Responder's first bid has three jobs:

1. Keep the auction open with 6 or more points, so partner can show a strong hand.
2. Show a fit as soon as you can, because a fit in a major is the most useful fact in bridge.
3. Show your strength range, either exactly (a raise or a notrump bid) or with a forcing bid that promises more later.

A forcing bid means partner must bid again. A new suit by responder is forcing for one round in every standard system, so you never need to jump just to show a good hand. A limited bid (a raise, a notrump reply) shows a narrow range, so partner can often place the contract at once.

In five-card major systems partner holds at least five cards in the suit, so three-card support already gives you an eight-card fit. Here is the 2/1 Game Force chart:

Three of these bids have their own pages: the limit raise, Jacoby 2NT and the splinter. The jump to game (1♠ - 4♠) surprises beginners: it is weak, not strong. With a strong hand and a fit you go slowly through Jacoby 2NT, so 4♠ is free to mean "lots of trumps, little else: let's take their bidding room away."

Count support points when you raise. Once you know there is a fit, shortness becomes trick-taking power. A common scale: with four trumps count a void as 5, a singleton as 3 and a doubleton as 1. With three trumps count 3, 2 and 1. Add these to your HCP to choose between the single raise, the limit raise and game.

A minor-suit opening can be as short as three clubs, and it is the opening for most balanced hands of 12-14 and 18-19. So your first aim is not to raise the minor. It is to find a major fit, or to bid notrump.

Which suit first? Use these rules:

1. Bid your longest suit first. With five hearts and four spades, bid 1♥.
2. With two five-card suits, bid the higher-ranking one first.
3. With two four-card suits, bid the cheaper one first (up the line). With four hearts and four spades, bid 1♥; partner can still bid 1♠.
4. With a weak hand, show a four-card major before a longer minor. Over 1♣, with four spades, five diamonds and 7 points, bid 1♠. You may get only one bid, and the major is what partner needs to hear.

Many pairs play inverted minors, which swap the meanings of the minor raises: 2♦ becomes the strong raise (10+) and 3♦ the weak one.

Over a 1NT opening (15-17 balanced), you already know your combined strength within three points, so most responses are simple:

Add your points to partner's 15-17. With 8-9 you invite (23-26 combined), and with 10 or more you bid game (25 or more). Transfers let you show a five-card major with any strength, even with no points, because 2♥ played by the strong hand is safer than 1NT.

Over a strong 2♣, never pass. The usual reply is 2♦, an artificial waiting bid that can be any weak hand. A positive response (2♥, 2♠, 3♣ or 3♦ in 2/1 and SAYC) shows a good five-card suit and about 8 points, and 2NT shows a balanced hand with about 8. Most pairs agree that 2♣ forces to game unless opener rebids 2NT or responder shows a bust with a second negative.

Over a weak two (say 2♥), partner has a six-card suit and a weak hand, so you need a lot to try for game:

• Raise to 3♥ to block, not to invite. With three trumps and a weak hand, the raise takes room away from the opponents.
• 2NT is the one forcing ask: partner shows a side feature or uses the Ogust steps.
• A new suit is forcing for one round in 2/1 and SAYC.
• 4♥ can be a strong hand that expects to make or a weak one that blocks. The opponents cannot tell which, and that is the point.

Over a three-level preempt, count tricks, not points. Partner's suit will take about six tricks in hand. You need to supply the rest.

Most of the charts above apply to every natural system. The main differences:

The biggest difference from SAYC is the 2/1 game force rule. In 2/1, a two-level new suit over 1♥ or 1♠ commits the side to game, so the hands that are too weak for it go through the forcing 1NT. That is why 1NT covers 6-12 in 2/1, and why a three-card limit raise often starts with 1NT. To compare the systems on one call, see what 1NT means in every system after partner's 1♠.

In Acol, partner's major opening can be a four-card suit, so a raise needs four trumps unless you have a good reason.

If your right-hand opponent bids after partner's opening, the charts change a little:

• You no longer need to bid to keep the auction open. Partner gets another turn anyway. A bid now (a "free bid") shows real values, about 6 or more for a raise, 10 or more for a new suit at the two level.
• A double is not for penalty. In modern methods it is a negative double: it shows the unbid major (or both unbid suits) and enough values to compete.
• A raise is still the first priority with support. Raising partner at once makes it harder for the opponents to find their fit.
• A jump raise becomes preemptive in most styles, and a cue bid of the opponent's suit shows the good raise.

Partner (North) deals and opens 1♣ with ♠K Q 7 3 ♥A 5 4 2 ♦8 6 ♣A J 8: 14 HCP, no five-card major, three clubs and two diamonds, so the standard opening is 1♣. You are South with ♠J 9 6 4 ♥8 3 ♦Q J 7 5 3 ♣K 5: 7 HCP, four spades and five diamonds.

With a weak hand, show the four-card major first: 1♠. North has four spades and a minimum, so North raises to 2♠. South has 7 points opposite a minimum raise (12-15), so game is out of reach and South passes.

Double dummy, 2♠ by South makes nine tricks, +140. The other contracts you could reach score less: diamonds take eight tricks (+90 in 2♦) and notrump takes only seven (+90 in 1NT, and 2NT would go down).

On this deal 1♦ would also have worked, since North would bid 1♥ next and the spades would come out later. But with a weak hand you may not get a second chance. If East or West comes in after 1♦, the auction can reach the two or three level before anyone mentions spades, and with 7 points you cannot bid them that high alone. Show the major at once.

• Passing with 6 points because the hand looks ugly. Partner may hold 20.
• Bidding a new suit when you can raise partner's major. A raise tells partner about the fit at once. With support for a major and a weak hand, raise.
• Jumping to show a good hand. A new suit is already forcing. Jumps have special meanings, and in most systems a jump raise to game is weak.
• Bidding 1NT with a four-card major over a minor. 1NT denies a four-card major. Show the major.
• Bidding 2♥ over 1♠ with four hearts. A two-level heart reply promises five.
• Forgetting your first bid on the second round. Responder's rebid must fit the range you showed. The full method is in responder's rebid.

Responding well is a habit, and habits come from repetition:

1. Bid deals with a partner. In the BridgeDummy Bidding Room you bid random deals with EPBot robots in 2/1 Game Force, SAYC, Acol, Precision or Polish Club. Choose the system you play and watch how the robot partner answers your openings, then take the responder's seat yourself. You can also bid with a friend at /bidding/partner.
2. Test single decisions. The bidding puzzles put you in South's seat after partner's opening. Every option is solved double dummy over hundreds to thousands of deals that fit the auction, so you see how much a limit raise gains over a single raise on hands like yours.

For the other side of the table, read bridge opening bids.