{"appState":{"pageLoadApiCallsStatus":true},"articleState":{"article":{"headers":{"creationTime":"2016-03-26T20:38:24+00:00","modifiedTime":"2021-08-04T18:33:14+00:00","timestamp":"2022-09-14T18:18:30+00:00"},"data":{"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Home, Auto, & Hobbies","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/33809"},"slug":"home-auto-hobbies","categoryId":33809},{"name":"Games","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/33884"},"slug":"games","categoryId":33884},{"name":"Card Games","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/33890"},"slug":"card-games","categoryId":33890},{"name":"Bridge","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/33891"},"slug":"bridge","categoryId":33891}],"title":"How to Respond to a Bridge Bid with a Jump Shift","strippedTitle":"how to respond to a bridge bid with a jump shift","slug":"how-to-respond-to-a-bridge-bid-with-a-jump-shift","canonicalUrl":"","seo":{"metaDescription":"Communicate to your bridge partner that you've got a great hand (or show support for their great hand) by employing the jump shift.","noIndex":0,"noFollow":0},"content":"When your partner opens the bidding and realizes soon after that you have 17 or more high-card points (HCP), game is a certainty. To communicate the good news to your partner, you usually <i>jump shift. </i>This means responding one level higher than necessary (bidding 2♠ instead of 1♠, for example) in a different suit than your partner bid. Your jump shift is a game force, so neither player can pass until a game contract is reached.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab1\" >Why jump shift?</h2>\r\nThe two most frequent reasons for jump shifting are:\r\n<ul class=\"level-one\">\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\">To show a hand that has a strong five- or six-card suit with 17 or more HCP. (You can jump shift with 16 HCP if you have a seven-card suit).</p>\r\n</li>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\">To show a hand with four- or five-card support for your partner’s suit, plus 17 or more SP.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThis figure shows an example of a jump shift with a six-card suit.\r\n\r\n<img src=\"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/258303.image0.jpg\" alt=\"image0.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"122\" />\r\n\r\nWhile you’re busily adding up your points, you hear your partner open 1♣. Respond 2♠ (not 1♠), a jump shift that alerts your partner that game is a certainty. At your next opportunity, repeat your spades (telling your partner that your jump shift was based on a long, strong suit).\r\n\r\nA jump shift can also be based on support (usually four or more cards) for your partner’s suit, plus 17 or more support points (SP). Jump shift in your longest <i>side</i> <em>suit</em>, and then return to your partner’s suit. This figure gives you another chance to make your partner happy (which is always a good idea, especially since you're on the same team).\r\n\r\n<img src=\"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/258304.image1.jpg\" alt=\"image1.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"122\" />\r\n\r\nYour hand has just blossomed to 17 SP (add 1 for each suit with two cards, or <em>doubleton</em>), enough to jump shift. After your partner bids 1♥, respond 3♦ and then return to hearts.","description":"When your partner opens the bidding and realizes soon after that you have 17 or more high-card points (HCP), game is a certainty. To communicate the good news to your partner, you usually <i>jump shift. </i>This means responding one level higher than necessary (bidding 2♠ instead of 1♠, for example) in a different suit than your partner bid. Your jump shift is a game force, so neither player can pass until a game contract is reached.\r\n<h2 id=\"tab1\" >Why jump shift?</h2>\r\nThe two most frequent reasons for jump shifting are:\r\n<ul class=\"level-one\">\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\">To show a hand that has a strong five- or six-card suit with 17 or more HCP. (You can jump shift with 16 HCP if you have a seven-card suit).</p>\r\n</li>\r\n \t<li>\r\n<p class=\"first-para\">To show a hand with four- or five-card support for your partner’s suit, plus 17 or more SP.</p>\r\n</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThis figure shows an example of a jump shift with a six-card suit.\r\n\r\n<img src=\"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/258303.image0.jpg\" alt=\"image0.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"122\" />\r\n\r\nWhile you’re busily adding up your points, you hear your partner open 1♣. Respond 2♠ (not 1♠), a jump shift that alerts your partner that game is a certainty. At your next opportunity, repeat your spades (telling your partner that your jump shift was based on a long, strong suit).\r\n\r\nA jump shift can also be based on support (usually four or more cards) for your partner’s suit, plus 17 or more support points (SP). Jump shift in your longest <i>side</i> <em>suit</em>, and then return to your partner’s suit. This figure gives you another chance to make your partner happy (which is always a good idea, especially since you're on the same team).\r\n\r\n<img src=\"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/258304.image1.jpg\" alt=\"image1.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"122\" />\r\n\r\nYour hand has just blossomed to 17 SP (add 1 for each suit with two cards, or <em>doubleton</em>), enough to jump shift. After your partner bids 1♥, respond 3♦ and then return to hearts.","blurb":"","authors":[],"primaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":33891,"title":"Bridge","slug":"bridge","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/33891"}},"secondaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"tertiaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"trendingArticles":[{"articleId":172026,"title":"Repurposing Items for Beautiful Holiday Decorating","slug":"decorating-for-the-holidays-with-what-you-already-have","categoryList":["home-auto-hobbies","crafts","gifts-holidays"],"_links":{"self":"/articles/172026"}},{"articleId":192609,"title":"How to Pray the Rosary: A Comprehensive Guide","slug":"how-to-pray-the-rosary","categoryList":["body-mind-spirit","religion-spirituality","christianity","catholicism"],"_links":{"self":"/articles/192609"}},{"articleId":193770,"title":"How to Play Rummy: All You Need to Know","slug":"rummy-understanding-the-rules-and-starting-a-game","categoryList":["home-auto-hobbies","games","card-games","general-card-games"],"_links":{"self":"/articles/193770"}},{"articleId":153792,"title":"Format Numbers in Thousands and Millions in Excel Reports","slug":"format-numbers-in-thousands-and-millions-in-excel-reports","categoryList":["technology","software","microsoft-products","excel"],"_links":{"self":"/articles/153792"}},{"articleId":147241,"title":"How to Use the Z-Table","slug":"how-to-use-the-z-table","categoryList":["academics-the-arts","math","statistics"],"_links":{"self":"/articles/147241"}}],"inThisArticle":[{"label":"Why jump shift?","target":"#tab1"}],"relatedArticles":{"fromBook":[],"fromCategory":[{"articleId":232898,"title":"Playing Bridge in Four Acts","slug":"playing-bridge-four-acts","categoryList":["home-auto-hobbies","games","card-games","bridge"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/232898"}},{"articleId":232895,"title":"How to Start a Bridge Game with the Right Stuff","slug":"start-bridge-game-right-stuff","categoryList":["home-auto-hobbies","games","card-games","bridge"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/232895"}},{"articleId":224164,"title":"10 Great Bridge Resources","slug":"10-great-bridge-resources","categoryList":["home-auto-hobbies","games","card-games","bridge"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/224164"}},{"articleId":224161,"title":"10 Ways to Be a Better Bridge Partner","slug":"10-ways-better-bridge-partner","categoryList":["home-auto-hobbies","games","card-games","bridge"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/224161"}},{"articleId":224158,"title":"The Bridge Tournament World","slug":"bridge-tournament-world","categoryList":["home-auto-hobbies","games","card-games","bridge"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/224158"}}]},"hasRelatedBookFromSearch":true,"relatedBook":{"bookId":282022,"slug":"bridge-for-dummies-4th-edition","isbn":"9781119247821","categoryList":["home-auto-hobbies","games","card-games","bridge"],"amazon":{"default":"https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1119247829/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","ca":"https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1119247829/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","indigo_ca":"http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-9208661-13710633?url=https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/product/1119247829-item.html&cjsku=978111945484","gb":"https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1119247829/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","de":"https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/1119247829/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20"},"image":{"src":"https://www.dummies.com/covers/9781119247821.jpg","width":250,"height":350},"title":"Bridge For Dummies","testBankPinActivationLink":"","bookOutOfPrint":false,"authorsInfo":"\n <p><p><b><b data-author-id=\"10014\">Eddie Kantar</b></b> is a Grand Master in the World Bridge Federation and a two-time world bridge champion. He wrote <i>Complete Defensive Play,</i> a book listed as a top ten all-time bridge favorite, and is the author of the first three editions of <i>Bridge For Dummies.</i></p>","authors":[{"authorId":10014,"name":"Eddie Kantar","slug":"eddie-kantar","description":" <p><b>Eddie Kantar</b> is a Grand Master in the World Bridge Federation and a two-time world bridge champion. He wrote <i>Complete Defensive Play,</i> a book listed as a top ten all-time bridge favorite, and is the author of the first three editions of <i>Bridge For Dummies.</i> ","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/10014"}}],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/books/282022"}},"collections":[],"articleAds":{"footerAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_adhesion_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = \"[{"key":"cat","values":["home-auto-hobbies","games","card-games","bridge"]},{"key":"isbn","values":[null]}]\" id=\"du-slot-63221af6d890e\"></div></div>","rightAd":"<div class=\"du-ad-region row\" id=\"article_page_right_ad\"><div class=\"du-ad-unit col-md-12\" data-slot-id=\"article_page_right_ad\" data-refreshed=\"false\" \r\n data-target = 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Category","mainCategoryUrl":"/category/articles/level-0-category-0"}}},"navigationCategoriesLoadedStatus":"success"},"searchState":{"searchList":[],"searchStatus":"initial","relatedArticlesList":{"term":"188136","count":5,"total":376,"topCategory":0,"items":[{"objectType":"article","id":188136,"data":{"title":"How to Respond to a Bridge Bid with a Jump Shift","slug":"how-to-respond-to-a-bridge-bid-with-a-jump-shift","update_time":"2021-08-04T18:33:14+00:00","object_type":"article","image":null,"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Home, Auto, & Hobbies","slug":"home-auto-hobbies","categoryId":33809},{"name":"Games","slug":"games","categoryId":33884},{"name":"Card Games","slug":"card-games","categoryId":33890},{"name":"Bridge","slug":"bridge","categoryId":33891}],"description":"When your partner opens the bidding and realizes soon after that you have 17 or more high-card points (HCP), game is a certainty. To communicate the good news to your partner, you usually jump shift. This means responding one level higher than necessary (bidding 2♠ instead of 1♠, for example) in a different suit than your partner bid. Your jump shift is a game force, so neither player can pass until a game contract is reached.\r\nWhy jump shift?\r\nThe two most frequent reasons for jump shifting are:\r\n\r\n \t\r\nTo show a hand that has a strong five- or six-card suit with 17 or more HCP. (You can jump shift with 16 HCP if you have a seven-card suit).\r\n\r\n \t\r\nTo show a hand with four- or five-card support for your partner’s suit, plus 17 or more SP.\r\n\r\n\r\nThis figure shows an example of a jump shift with a six-card suit.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWhile you’re busily adding up your points, you hear your partner open 1♣. Respond 2♠ (not 1♠), a jump shift that alerts your partner that game is a certainty. At your next opportunity, repeat your spades (telling your partner that your jump shift was based on a long, strong suit).\r\n\r\nA jump shift can also be based on support (usually four or more cards) for your partner’s suit, plus 17 or more support points (SP). Jump shift in your longest side suit, and then return to your partner’s suit. This figure gives you another chance to make your partner happy (which is always a good idea, especially since you're on the same team).\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nYour hand has just blossomed to 17 SP (add 1 for each suit with two cards, or doubleton), enough to jump shift. After your partner bids 1♥, respond 3♦ and then return to hearts.","item_vector":null},"titleHighlight":null,"descriptionHighlights":null,"headers":null},{"objectType":"article","id":188125,"data":{"title":"How to Respond to an Opening Bid in Bridge","slug":"how-to-respond-to-an-opening-bid-in-bridge","update_time":"2021-08-02T15:12:49+00:00","object_type":"article","image":null,"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Home, Auto, & Hobbies","slug":"home-auto-hobbies","categoryId":33809},{"name":"Games","slug":"games","categoryId":33884},{"name":"Card Games","slug":"card-games","categoryId":33890},{"name":"Bridge","slug":"bridge","categoryId":33891}],"description":"Your bridge partner has opened the bidding. Congratulations! Your side has made the first step toward determining the best contract. Now it’s your turn at bat. Get ready to tell your partner, the opener, some details about your strength and distribution.\r\n\r\nWhen your partner opens the bidding in any suit, the opening bid in bridge tells you some important information:\r\n\r\n \t\r\nYour partner usually has between 12 and 20 HCP (11 HCP is possible but relatively rare).\r\n\r\n \t\r\nWith rare exception, your partner is bidding his longest suit.\r\n\r\n\r\nUnless your partner marches to the beat of a different drum, you can bet that the preceding bullets accurately describe your partner’s hand.\r\n\r\nAfter the opening bid, you have some picture of what your partner’s hand looks like, but it isn’t very sharp. Your partner could still have a wide range of possible hands. Typically, you can’t find out too much about your partner’s hand from an opening bid. You need to start describing your own hand and wait for your partner to further describe their strength and distribution.\r\n\r\nAfter your partner opens the bidding, the person to your right gets a chance to bid. Then you, the responder, begin to describe your hand with your response to the opening bid.\r\n\r\nTo make any response to an opening bid, you need at least 6 high card points (HCP) in your hand:\r\n\r\n \t\r\nIf you have fewer than 6 HCP, just pass.\r\n\r\n \t\r\nIf you have 6 or more HCP, your first obligation is to bid your longest suit. Remember, this is not necessarily your strongest suit — simply your longest suit.\r\n\r\n \t\r\nSometimes, if you have 6 or more HCP, you may want to respond in notrump or support your partner’s suit.\r\n\r\n\r\nIf you have 6 or more HCP, you must make some kind of response. You may have to get creative with your response, but with 6 HCP, you owe your partner at least some noise.","item_vector":null},"titleHighlight":null,"descriptionHighlights":null,"headers":null},{"objectType":"article","id":188127,"data":{"title":"How to Respond to Your Bridge Partner’s Overcall","slug":"how-to-respond-to-your-bridge-partners-overcall","update_time":"2021-08-03T19:27:43+00:00","object_type":"article","image":null,"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Home, Auto, & Hobbies","slug":"home-auto-hobbies","categoryId":33809},{"name":"Games","slug":"games","categoryId":33884},{"name":"Card Games","slug":"card-games","categoryId":33890},{"name":"Bridge","slug":"bridge","categoryId":33891}],"description":"After one of your bridge opponents opens the bidding, your partner may bid. This is called an overcall, and you need to respond to that overcall. You know that your partner has a five- or six-card suit — more often than not, a five-card suit at the one level and a six-card suit at the two level. The strength of your hand plus the number of cards you hold in your partner’s suit dictates your response.\r\nResponding to a one-level major suit overcall\r\nIf your partner overcalls 1♥ or 1♠, you know that they have at least five cards in their suit. If you have three or more cards in your partner’s suit, you have found the Holy Grail. You proceed differently, based on what you have in your hand:\r\n\r\n \t\r\nThree or more cards in your partner’s suit: If you have three cards in your partner’s overcalled suit, you have located an eight-card fit. This is no time for secrets; raise your partner’s suit! This advice applies whatever the level of overcall you’re responding to — in fact, the higher the level of the overcall, the faster you should raise! When your partner overcalls in a major suit and you bid another suit, you deny three or more cards in your partner’s major suit.\r\n\r\n \t\r\nFewer than three cards in your partner’s suit: When your partner overcalls and you have fewer than three cards in their suit, you can’t support your partner. However, if you have enough points to bid, you may feel like introducing a decent five- or (preferably) six-card suit of your own. A five-card suit should be topped by at least two of the top four honors, plus intermediates. Experienced players know how important intermediate cards are in long suits. All you need is eight or more high card points (HCP) and a respectable five-card suit.\r\n\r\n \t\r\nBranching off into notrump: When your partner overcalls at the one level, your hand may lack three-card support or a long suit, which suggests a balanced hand. If you have honor strength in the opponent’s suit, you can branch off into notrump by using this scale:\r\n\r\n\r\n \t\r\n9 to 12 HCP: Bid 1NT\r\n\r\n \t\r\n13 to 15 HCP: Bid 2NT\r\n\r\n \t\r\n16 or more HCP: Bid 3NT\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nResponding to a two-level overcall\r\nTwo-level overcalls show the strength of an opening bid, typically with six-card suits. If your partner makes an overcall of 2♣ or 2♦, and you have strength in the opponent’s suit, think about the possibility of playing in notrump. If you have a decent holding in the opponent’s suit and a balanced hand, respond in notrump according to the following scale:\r\n\r\n \t\r\n10 to 12 HCP: Bid 2NT\r\n\r\n \t\r\n13 to 16 HCP: Bid 3NT\r\n\r\n\r\nOf course, you have other options; you may have a strong five- or six-card heart or spade (major) suit that you want to show, or you may raise your partner’s suit to the three level if you have 7 to 10 support points (SP) plus three-card support.\r\nResponding to a weak jump overcall\r\nWhen responding to any preemptive opening bid or overcall, you’re better off adding your tricks to your partner’s tricks, rather than your HCP to your partner’s HCP. When your partner makes a jump overcall at the two level, they promise to take five or six tricks; at the three level, they promise six or seven tricks. So, if you have a modicum of support plus a hand that looks like the two hands may add up to ten tricks (assuming your partner has bid a major suit), go for it. Invite your partner by raising to the three level, or bid game (4♥ or 4♠) if you can see a likely ten tricks.\r\nResponding to a 1NT overcall\r\nWhen your partner offers a 1NT overcall, you have a pretty clear picture of what they have: a balanced hand and 15 to 17 HCP — no more, no less. When your partner opens 1NT, assume that they have 16 HCP — that way, you can never be off by more than a point.\r\n\r\nWhen your partner opens 1NT, your own long suits take on a little extra luster because you know that your partner has at least two cards in your suit (your partner must have a balanced hand to open 1NT). If your partner has two cards in your suit, at least one of them probably is an honor card.\r\n\r\nResponding to 1NT is much easier than responding to any other bid because your partner’s high-card range is so narrowly defined. Because a 1NT overcall tells you so much about your partner’s hand, you can formulate a pretty specific plan of attack for your response, which includes the following:\r\n\r\n \t\r\nIf you have 10 points or more: Play in a game contract.\r\n\r\n \t\r\nIf you have 9 points: Invite game by asking your partner to bid game if they have 16 or 17 HCP, or stay out of the game with only 15 HCP.\r\n\r\n \t\r\nIf you have 0 to 8 points: You want out, either in 1NT or at the cheapest possible level in another suit.\r\n\r\n","item_vector":null},"titleHighlight":null,"descriptionHighlights":null,"headers":null},{"objectType":"article","id":188126,"data":{"title":"How to Make an Opening Bid in Bridge","slug":"how-to-make-an-opening-bid-in-bridge","update_time":"2021-08-03T17:33:20+00:00","object_type":"article","image":null,"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Home, Auto, & Hobbies","slug":"home-auto-hobbies","categoryId":33809},{"name":"Games","slug":"games","categoryId":33884},{"name":"Card Games","slug":"card-games","categoryId":33890},{"name":"Bridge","slug":"bridge","categoryId":33891}],"description":"Making the first bid in a hand of bridge can be nerve-wracking for novices. After the cards are dealt, you pick them up, sort them, and evaluate the strength of your hand. Then, it may be you who gets make the first bid, called the opening bid. But first, you need to decide if your hand is worth an opening bid.\r\nKnowing when to get your feet wet\r\nTwo factors contribute to whether you have an opening bid:\r\n\r\n \t\r\nYour high card points (HCP): Barring exceptions, you should have at least 12 HCP to make an opening bid.\r\n\r\n \t\r\nYour distribution (the way your cards are divided): Normally, you open the bidding in your longest suit, which typically has four or more cards.\r\n\r\n\r\nSuppose that you deal yourself either of the hands you see here:\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nYou can open the bidding with either of these hands; both hands contain at least 12 HCP, and each has a suit with four or more cards. So life is easy: You open the bidding in your long suit, 1♠ and 1♣, respectively.\r\n\r\nThe player who makes the opening bid eventually tries to show both strength and distribution to their partner. For example, if a player makes an opening bid of 1♦, you know that they have at least 12 HCP in their hand and figure to have four or more diamonds.\r\nUnderstanding when to bend the rules\r\nIn general, you need at least 12 HCP to make an opening bid. But not all bridge concepts are cut and dried. As a case in point, the strength requirements for an opening bid can sometimes be shaded a little.\r\nFor example, if you have a six-card suit or two five-card suits, you can open the bidding with as few as 11 HCP. If your partner complains about you opening with fewer than 12 HCP, just tell your partner that you don’t need as many points because you play so well.\r\nHaving the option of passing\r\nThe dealer has the first chance to make a bid. If they have sufficient strength, they open the bidding. They can also choose to pass (“pass” isn’t a bid).\r\n\r\nWhen it’s your turn to bid (you may be first if you’re the dealer, or you may get a chance to make the opening bid if the players before you pass), if your hand doesn’t have enough strength to open, just say one word, “Pass,” and don’t look glum. Even if you aren’t strong enough to open the bidding, you can still join in later.\r\nRemembering your goal: The eight-card fit\r\nThe first few bids in most bidding sequences are exploratory, like two fighters feeling each other out in the early rounds. Usually on the second bid, called the rebid, one of the players comes clean and shows their strength within a few points. Good news: then their partner can add the total HCP between the two hands to get a feel of how high to bid.\r\n\r\nWhile all this telling and adding is going on, the partnership is trying to locate a suit that both players like (one in which they have at least eight cards between the two hands, also known as an eight-card fit):\r\n\r\n \t\r\nIf they find an eight-card fit, they try to make that suit the trump suit. Because hearts and spades (the major suits) are the most rewarding suits to play in, the partnership initially tries to find an eight-card (or longer) major suit fit. Much of the bidding depends on whether an eight-card or longer major suit fit exists.\r\n\r\n \t\r\nIf a partnership doesn’t have such a fit, the partners may play the hand at notrump, in an eight-card or longer minor suit fit (diamonds or clubs), or possibly a seven-card major suit fit.\r\n\r\n\r\nWhen you open the bidding in a suit, your partner can’t possibly know exactly how many cards you have in the suit. The opening bid is just the beginning of your picture. After you make your rebid and, perhaps, a third bid, the picture of your hand starts to come into focus. Even the greatest of paintings begins with a single stroke of the brush.","item_vector":null},"titleHighlight":null,"descriptionHighlights":null,"headers":null},{"objectType":"article","id":224096,"data":{"title":"Playing Bridge: Rebidding After Your Limited Response of 1NT","slug":"playing-bridge-rebidding-limited-response-1nt","update_time":"2021-12-06T20:04:14+00:00","object_type":"article","image":null,"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Home, Auto, & Hobbies","slug":"home-auto-hobbies","categoryId":33809},{"name":"Games","slug":"games","categoryId":33884},{"name":"Card Games","slug":"card-games","categoryId":33890},{"name":"Bridge","slug":"bridge","categoryId":33891}],"description":"When you respond 1NT to your partner’s opening bid in bridge, you limit your hand, showing six to ten HCP, and your partner is captain. Nevertheless, developments may force you to make yet another decision. Here are a few of those developments.\r\nSticking with notrump\r\nTake a look at these cards to see some hands in which your partner’s rebid may invite you to bid again.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nYou may still be up to bat after your 1NT response.\r\n\r\nFor each of the hands above, the bidding has gone as follows:\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nOpener (Your Partner)\r\nResponder (You)\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n1♠\r\n1NT\r\n\r\n\r\n?\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIf your partner has a balanced hand and wants to keep the bidding in notrump, she’ll make one of the following bids:\r\n\r\n \tPass: Your partner has no hope for game (has 15 or fewer HCP). You (responder) are off the hook.\r\n \t2NT: This invitational bid shows 17 HCP with a good five-card suit or 18 HCP. If you like notrump, bid 3NT with eight to ten HCP and pass with six or seven HCP. The ball is back in your court.\r\n \t3NT: Your partner counts 25 points between the two hands (she must be looking at 19 or more HCP). The one who knows goes! You’re off the hook again.\r\n\r\nIf your partner invites you to game by bidding 2NT, refuse the invitation by passing with the first two hands. With the third hand, accept and bid 3NT.\r\nChoosing between two of your partner’s suits\r\nAfter your 1NT response, your partner may choose to bid a second suit. Unless you have a six-card suit of your own, your partner wants to know which of those two suits you prefer.\r\nIf you have an equal number of cards in both suits, take your partner back to the first suit. Either she has equal length in both suits or (more likely) the first suit is longer.\r\nThese cards show you a hand in which you must choose between two suits that your partner bids.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nChoose carefully between your partner’s suits.\r\n\r\nFor this hand, the bidding has gone as follows:\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nOpener (Your Partner)\r\nResponder (You)\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n1♠\r\n1NT\r\n\r\n\r\n2♥\r\n2♠\r\n\r\n\r\nPass\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn this bidding sequence, your partner’s opening bid of 1♠ says, “I like this chapter. I get an opening bid on every hand.” Your 1NT response says, “Stop your crowing; I have nothing again.” When your partner rebids 2♥, she asks you, “Which of my suits do you like better?” Your 2♠ response says, “I don’t like either one, but I prefer spades to hearts because I have an equal number of cards in both suits. Besides, Kantar is watching my every move.”\r\n\r\nWhen your partner passes, the unspoken message is, “Thanks for giving me a break and allowing me to play this hand in spades, where we have seven trumps between our two hands, not in hearts, where we have only six.” Obviously, you need to outgun the opponents in the trump suit — not necessarily in terms of the high cards, but more in the numerical department. You must have more trumps than they do, or else bad things can happen — very bad things. Don’t ask.\r\nIdeally, you want to have eight or more trump cards between the two hands every time you play a trump contract. However, in the real world, you don’t always have an eight-card fit. You may have to make do with a seven-card trump fit. If you wind up playing a contract with fewer than seven trump cards between the two hands, the wheels have come off.\r\nSo when giving preferences to your partner, make sure you concentrate on playing in the trump suit in which you expect to have the most cards, not the one in which you have the highest cards.\r\nGoing with your own long suit\r\nWith this hand, you get a second chance to bid your own long suit.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWhen the two hands don’t mesh, you may choose to bid your own long suit.\r\n\r\nIn this hand, the bidding has gone as follows:\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nOpener (Your Partner)\r\nResponder (You)\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n1♠\r\n1NT\r\n\r\n\r\n2♥\r\n3♣\r\n\r\n\r\nPass\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIf your bids could talk, they’d be shouting the following messages to each other:\r\n\r\n1♠: “I have five or more spades with 12 or more HCP.”\r\n\r\n1NT: “Good for you. I have a weak hand with only six HCP, but I have to respond, or you’ll disown me. I’m not nearly strong enough to bid 2♣ with this particular six-card suit, which would show eleven or more HCP, so I am hedging with 1NT.” (If the club suit were stronger you could bid 2♣ directly with only 10 HCP. AKJxxx, AQJxxx, and AK109xx are examples of suits that would require only 10 HCP to respond 2♣.)\r\n\r\n2♥: “Hey, there. Hearts is my second suit. Which of my two suits do you like better?”\r\n\r\n3♣: “I hate both of your suits, but I have a pretty strong six-card suit of my own, which is clubs.”\r\n\r\nPass: “This is the end of the trail, amigo. You have shown six or more clubs, and we have an eight-card fit, but because you guarantee a weak hand and I have a minimum hand, I know enough to get out of this mess right now.”\r\n\r\nWhen your partner bids two suits, just remember the following points:\r\n\r\n \tWith an equal number of cards in each suit, take your partner back to her first suit. However, if you have a strong six-card suit of your own without support for either of your partner’s suits, bid it!\r\n \tTo raise your partner’s second suit directly, you need four-card support because you should assume that your partner has four cards in a second bid suit, and you’re looking for an eight-card trump fit.\r\n","item_vector":null},"titleHighlight":null,"descriptionHighlights":null,"headers":null}]},"relatedArticlesStatus":"success"},"routeState":{"name":"Article4","path":"/article/home-auto-hobbies/games/card-games/bridge/how-to-respond-to-a-bridge-bid-with-a-jump-shift-188136/","hash":"","query":{},"params":{"category1":"home-auto-hobbies","category2":"games","category3":"card-games","category4":"bridge","article":"how-to-respond-to-a-bridge-bid-with-a-jump-shift-188136"},"fullPath":"/article/home-auto-hobbies/games/card-games/bridge/how-to-respond-to-a-bridge-bid-with-a-jump-shift-188136/","meta":{"routeType":"article","breadcrumbInfo":{"suffix":"Articles","baseRoute":"/category/articles"},"prerenderWithAsyncData":true},"from":{"name":null,"path":"/","hash":"","query":{},"params":{},"fullPath":"/","meta":{}}},"dropsState":{"submitEmailResponse":false,"status":"initial"},"profileState":{"auth":{},"userOptions":{},"status":"success"}}

How to Respond to a Bridge Bid with a Jump Shift

Updated: 08-04-2021

Bridge For Dummies

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When your partner opens the bidding and realizes soon after that you have 17 or more high-card points (HCP), game is a certainty. To communicate the good news to your partner, you usually jump shift. This means responding one level higher than necessary (bidding 2♠ instead of 1♠, for example) in a different suit than your partner bid. Your jump shift is a game force, so neither player can pass until a game contract is reached.

Why jump shift?

The two most frequent reasons for jump shifting are:

To show a hand that has a strong five- or six-card suit with 17 or more HCP. (You can jump shift with 16 HCP if you have a seven-card suit).
To show a hand with four- or five-card support for your partner’s suit, plus 17 or more SP.

This figure shows an example of a jump shift with a six-card suit.

While you’re busily adding up your points, you hear your partner open 1♣. Respond 2♠ (not 1♠), a jump shift that alerts your partner that game is a certainty. At your next opportunity, repeat your spades (telling your partner that your jump shift was based on a long, strong suit).

A jump shift can also be based on support (usually four or more cards) for your partner’s suit, plus 17 or more support points (SP). Jump shift in your longest side suit, and then return to your partner’s suit. This figure gives you another chance to make your partner happy (which is always a good idea, especially since you're on the same team).

Your hand has just blossomed to 17 SP (add 1 for each suit with two cards, or doubleton), enough to jump shift. After your partner bids 1♥, respond 3♦ and then return to hearts.

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