Bidding Partner's Suit at the 1-Level

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Responding to a Negative Double with an Awkward Hand

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could show a 3-card raise of your partner’s suit at the 1-level?
Compare these two auctions.

On the above auction to the left, North's 1♠ response shows 4 or more spades. In the auction to the right. North's Negative Double shows exactly 4 spades.

South, with spade support, can show their support and their strength by raising spades.

On the auction to the right, South (the opener) has an additional option. They can bid 1♠. What should a 1♠ bid show?

Sometimes opener has a difficult hand to rebid. What should South  rebid on the auction below holding ♠A53 ♥873 ♦KQ6 ♣KJ83?

North would like to rebid 1NT with their balanced minimum opener, but they don’t have a heart stopper. Rebidding 2♣ advertises a 6+ card club suit. North has a 4-card club suit. Jumping to 2♠ shows 4 spades and 12-14 points. North has just 3 spades. North’s hand is flawed for a 1NT, 2♣, or 2♠ response.

Because South’s Negative Double didn’t consume any bidding room, a 1♠ rebid is available. Use the 1♠ rebid to show a minimum balanced opener with no heart stopper.

You can also use a 1♠ rebid to show a bare minimum opener with 4-card spade support (e.g. ♠A653 ♥873 ♦KQ6 ♣K83). Jumping to 2♠ might encourage partner to make a game try. When you will not accept any game try, rebidding 1♠ will help avoid getting to high.

So bidding your partner’s suit at the 1-level shows either:

• A minimum balanced opener with 3-card support and no heart stopper, or
• A bare minimum opener with 4-card support

This approach applies to both hearts and spades when responder uses a Negative Double to show both majors.

With a 4-card fit, North can raise either major normally in accordance with their strength. If North has a balanced minimum with 3-card support and no diamond stopper, North bids their 3-card major at the 1-level. If North has a bare minimum opener (11-12 points) with 4-card support and wants to slow down the auction, North can bid their 4-card major at the 1-level.

So a 1♥ or 1♠ rebid by North shows either:

• A minimum balanced opener with 3-card support and no diamond stopper, or
• A bare minimum opener with 4-card support

A good way to remember this agreement is to recall that raises to the 2M, 3M, and 4M are available to show 4-card support and minimum, intermediate, and strong hands respectively. This leaves a bid of your partner’s suit at the 1-level available to show awkward hands or bare minimum openers with 4-card support that want to slow down the auction.

Billy Miller deserves credit for sharing this approach in his Gadgets and Gizmos “The Magical Level” article in the June, 2010 “The Bulletin.”

If you play against any Transfer Walsh pairs, you will see them realizing a similar benefit in uncontested auctions.

1♦* is artificial showing 4+ hearts

A 1♥ (or 1♠) rebid by opener typically shows a minimum opener with 3-card support, or a bare minimum opener with 4-card support. A 1NT rebid tends to deny 3-card support.