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Raising Partners Suit with 4 Card Support
One of the main purposes for bidding in bridge is to find an eight card major suit fit to play
in. The second purpose is to discover how many points the partnership has between them. Limit bids are useful bids
as they can show the strength and the shape of the hand.
You can show your partner that you have cards and points in their suit by raising the bidding in the same suit,
depending on whether you raise their bid by 1, 2 or 3 levels shows your partner your point count. This same suit
raise is called a limit bid. Limit bids are useful bids as with one bid it is possible to show both the strength
and the shape of your hand.
Bidding game directly is a pre-emptive bid designed to shut out the opponents. It promises 6-9 HCP with either 4 trumps & a void, or 5 trumps & a singleton. If you have more than 13 HCP, you must change suit first and then bid game. Remember that if you have 4-card support for the opener’s major suit and less than 13 points, you should raise that suit immediately.
.
A new suit bid is not a limit bid. Limit bids are:
- No Trump bids - A bid to play a hand without a trump suit where the highest card played to the suit first led to the trick - wins. This bid is peculiar to Bridge
- Same suit bids – bidding a suit that has already been bid by either player
Bidding game directly is a pre-emptive bid designed to shut out the opponents. It promises 6-9 HCP with either 4 trumps & a void, or 5 trumps & a singleton. If you have more than 13 HCP, you must change suit first and then bid game. Remember that if you have 4-card support for the opener’s major suit and less than 13 points, you should raise that suit immediately.
| Level of bidding and points required for "Game" | Bonus Points for Game bid and made -Not Vunerable |
Bonus Points for Game bid and made -Vulnerable |
|---|---|---|
| Bidding 3NT requires 25 HCP and winning 9 tricks | 300 | 500 |
| Bidding 4♠, 4♥ requires 26 TP and winning 10 tricks | 300 | 500 |
| Bidding 5♦, 5♣ requires 27 TP and winning 11 tricks | 300 | 500 |
| Clubs | Diamonds | Hearts | Spades | NT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5C | 5D | 4H | 4S | 3NT |
Red text indicates the minimum bid in each suit and in NoTrump to obtain "Game"bonus
points
Remember that if you have 4-card support for the opener’s major suit, you should raise that suit
immediately.
| Opener Bids | Responder Bid | |
|---|---|---|
| Major Suits | ||
| 1 ♥/ ♠ | 2 ♥/ ♠ | = 6-9 TP & 4+ cards (in openers bid suit) |
| 3 ♥/ ♠ | = 10-12 TP & 4+ cards (in openers bid suit) | |
| 4 ♥/ ♠ | = 5-9 TP & 4/5+ cards (in openers bid suit & void or singleton) | |
| Minor Suits | ||
| 1 ♦/ ♣ | 2♦/ ♣ | =6-9 TP & 4+ cards (in openers bid suit) |
|
|
3♦/ ♣ | = 10-12 TP & 4+ cards (in openers bid suit) |
Instant Progress Quiz - Check all correct answers
Partner opens 1♥
What is your responding bid?
- ♠ 9 7 6 3
- ♥ A 4 3 2
- ♦ A Q 8
- ♣ 8 3
Answer: 3 ♥ show your 4 card heart support and your 10-12 HCP.
Extra for Experts
A different game on the same subject as this lesson, with questions for community discussion in the comments area below.
Play