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- FORCING AND NON-FORCING SITUATIONS
-
-
- Responses to One of a Suit
-
- 1C 1NT 3S Not forcing, but distributionally strong and
- invitational. Responder's hand is not suitable
- for a double.
-
- 1H P 3H
- 1S P 3S
- 1D P 3D
- 1C P 3C Limit raises, invitational.
-
- 1C 1S 2NT Forcing, as if the overcall had not happened
-
- 1D/1H/1S 2C 2NT Not forcing. Non-jump responses of 2NT are
- invitational, showing 11-12 HCP and stopper(s)
- in the opposing suit. When negative doubles
- apply, with 13-15 HCP you make a negative
- double and then bid 3NT; an immediate 3NT
- response would show 16-18 HCP.
-
- 1H/1S P/Dbl 3NT Forcing, artificial raise. See THE 3NT RESPONSE
- TO A MAJOR OPENING.
-
- 1H 1S 3NT Forcing, artificial raise. Note the double
- jump. Single jumps to 3NT are natural bids.
-
- 1D 2C 2H/2S Not forcing ("negative free bid") if playing
- negative doubles. To force, double and then bid
- the major, or cue bid, or jump.
-
- 1H 3S 4C Forcing. New minor suit responses by an
- unpassed hand are forcing.
-
- 1S 2C/2D 4H A forcing splinter bid. See SPLINTER RESPONSES
- TO A MAJOR OPENING.
-
-
- Rebids by Opener
-
- 1S P 2D P
- 3S Not quite forcing. Responder can pass with a
- weak response and a singleton or void in
- spades.
-
- 1S P 2D P
- 3C Forcing, and promises another bid if responder
- bids 3D.
-
- 1S P 2H 3C
- 3D Also forcing, but does not promise another bid
- if responder bids 3H. Here the bidding has been
- crowded, and opener may have planned a 2S rebid
- over a 2H response with something like S-AK1074
- H-Q3 D-AJ96 C-42.
-
- 1C 1D 1S P
- 2H Not forcing unless responder has five or more
- spades. He can pass with S-KJ32 H-7654 D-Q85
- C-62. See REBIDS BY OPENER.
-
- 1H P 2C P
- 2S Forcing. Reverses are forcing on a two-over-
- one bidder, and promise another bid unless
- responder merely rebids her suit or returns to
- opener's first suit.
-
- 1H P 2H 3C
- 3D Not forcing. Opener must double to try for
- game. If the overcall had been at the two
- level, 3D would be a forcing game try.
-
- 1H P 2D P
- 2NT Not forcing, but with a long broken suit and
- a weak hand responder should bid 3D.
-
- 1D 2H 2S P
- 3C Forcing, even if 2S was not forcing. A 4C bid
- would have been a splinter.
-
- 1D 1H P P
- 3C Not forcing, highly invitational
-
- 1H 2D 2NT P
- 3C Normal force, not Stoplight (2NT not a jump)
-
- 1H P 2D P
- 4D Forcing. Jump raises of a two-over-one minor
- suit response are forcing to game. If respon-
- der now bids 4NT, that is a sign-off.
-
- 1H P 1S 2D
- 3C Not forcing, but strong
-
- 1C P 1S 2H
- 3D Forcing. Reverses at the three level are forc-
- ing, even after a one-over-one response.
-
- 1S 2H Dbl* 3C
- P * business A forcing pass. If the doubler is not enough
- to keep the ball rolling, she should not have
- doubled--no matter how many hearts she has.
-
- 1H Dbl Rdbl P
- 3H Not forcing, but the redoubler should pass only
- with a small singleton heart and a minimum
- redouble. Opener should bid 4H if able to make
- game opposite such a hand.
-
- 1C P 1H P
- 2C P 2S P
- 3H Not forcing. If opener has three small hearts
- and extra values, he must bid 4H (responder
- guarantees five in this sequence). A reverse
- by responder does not promise another bid if
- opener's next bid is discouraging.
-
- 1C P 1D P
- 1NT P 2S P
- 3S Forcing. Ruffing values in responder's hand
- ought to produce game even if opener has a
- minimum. A jump to 4S by opener would imply
- not only good spades but good clubs and a
- diamond fit. Can opener have good spades? Yes,
- because he is supposed to rebid 1NT with a
- 4-3-3-3 hand: S-KQ32 H-1087 D-Q32 C-AK3. See
- REBIDS BY OPENER.
-
- 1C P 1H P
- 1S P 3C P
- 3H Forcing, accepting the game try. Opener must
- pass 3C with S-AJ97 H-762 D-63 C-AQJ3. Exchange
- the H-7 for the H-Q and the 3H bid is okay.If
- this seems too aggressive, raise a 1H response
- to 2H instead of bidding 1S.
-
- 1H P 1S P
- 2S P 3C P
- 3H Not forcing. Shows five or six hearts and only
- three-card spade support. To accept the game
- try, opener must bid something else.
-
- 1C P 1H P
- 1NT P 2NT P
- 3H Forcing, accepting the game try and giving
- responder a choice of contracts.
-
-
- Rebids by Responder
-
- 1C P 1H P
- 1S P 3C/3H Not forcing. Bid 2D (Fourth Suit Artificial)
- if stuck for a good bid with a game-going hand.
- See chapter FOURTH SUIT ARTIFICIAL in the book
- "Marvin's Conventions and Treatments."
-
- 1H P 2C P
- 2D P 3H Not forcing, merely a heart raise. A bid of 2H
- would be a preference, not a raise.
-
- 1H P 1S P
- 1NT P 3S Forcing. After a 1NT rebid by opener, all three
- level jumps by an unpassed hand are forcing.
- Use Checkback Stayman (q.v.) with an invita-
- tional hand.
-
- 1D P 1H 1S
- P P 2C Not forcing. When opener refuses to make a free
- rebid, a new suit by responder is not forcing
- (reverses and jumps excepted).
-
- 1C P 1S P
- 1NT P 2H/2D Not forcing. A new suit by responder after
- opener's 1NT rebid is weak (barring reverses)
-
- 1C P 1S P
- 2C P 2H Not forcing. May be a stretch at match points,
- when you can't risk missing a heart contract.
-
- 1C P 1S P
- 2C P 2D Forcing. Pass with no game interest.
-
- 1C P 1D P
- 2C 2H 2S Forcing. Reverses by responder are forcing,
- even in competition.
-
- 1C P 1S P
- 2C P 3S Not forcing. Responder's jump rebids in the
- same suit are not forcing unless opener has
- rebid 1NT or reversed (whereupon all jumps are
- forcing).
-
- 1C P 1S P
- 2C P 4C Forcing
-
- 1D P 1S P
- 2C P 2H Fourth Suit Artificial.
-
- 1S P 1NT P
- 2NT P 3C Both partners have made limit bids, so how can
- one of them start forcing? Responder has a long
- weak club suit, doesn't like notrump.
-
- 1S P 2S P
- 2NT P 3H Not forcing. With a hand like S-Q65 H-KQ943 D-8
- C-6542 responder must bid 4H, not 3H, which he
- would bid without the queen of hearts. This
- jump to 4H is not useful as a splinter bid,
- because slam is out of the question after a
- single raise and mere 2NT rebid.
-
- 1S P 2S P
- 3C P 3H Forcing. Responder may not have a heart suit,
- and is perhaps making a trial bid with a
- holding such as KJx. The difference between
- this and the previous auction is that opener,
- with five spades and four clubs, is unlikely
- to have heart support. A 3H bid is therefore
- more valuable as strength-showing than suit-
- showing.
-
- 1S P 2C P
- 3C P 3S Forcing. Responder shows too much for an
- original 2S raise and opener shows extra values
- by going to the three level. The logic of the
- auction says that game will be bid.
-
- 1C P 1S P
- 3C P 3S Forcing. Whenever responder bids over a strong
- but non-forcing jump by opener, opener must bid
- again. The only way to stop short of game now
- is for opener to bid 4C.
-
- 1C P 1S 2H
- 3C P 3S Not forcing. Opener has a good hand, but may
- not have been planning a jump to 3C over 1S.
- If he was stretching, he can pass 3S.
-
- 1C P 1D P
- 2NT P 3C Forcing. See chapter STOPLIGHT CONVENTION in
- the book "Marvin's Conventions and Treatments."
-
- 1C P 1S 2D
- 2NT P 3C/3S Not forcing, weak sign-off. Stoplight does not
- apply when the 2NT bid is not a jump.
-
- 1C P 1S P
- 2D P 4C Splinter bid in support of diamonds, not a club
- raise. Denies five spades. 3D would be
- invitational and 3C a weak preference, so
- responder must often resort to Fourth Suit
- Artificial to keep the bidding going.
-
- 1H P 2D P
- 2NT P 3D Not forcing. When the 2NT bid is non-jump, a
- repeat of the same suit is weak, warning that
- responder's suit may not run at notrump. Opener
- needs a diamond fit to go on. Any other three
- level bid by responder, including 3H, would be
- forcing.
-
- 1D P 1H P
- 3NT P 4S Forcing. This is a notrump raise, not a natural
- bid. Responder's hearts need a good fit to be
- useful for slam. A natural 4S bid is not avail-
- able over a natural 3NT bid.
-
- 1C P 1H 4D
- P P 4S Not quite forcing. Responder probably has a
- 4-5-1-3 hand, so opener can run to clubs or
- hearts if he lacks spade support.
-
- 1D P 1S P
- 3NT P 4H Not forcing, but invitational. Do not rescue
- a 3NT bid with a very weak hand.
-
- 1H P 2D P
- 3C P 3D Forcing. When opener voluntarily goes to the
- level of three, he promises to bid again even
- if responder merely rebids her suit.
-
- 1S P 2C P
- 2NT P 3S Forcing. Responder's hand is unlimited. He is
- probably offering a choice between 4S and 3NT,
- but he could even have slam in mind.
-
- 1H P 3C P
- 4C P 4H Not quite forcing, but opener will seldom pass
- with this double fit.
-
- 1S P 3H P
- 4H P 4S Forcing, since responder could presumably pass
- 4H with a minimum jump takeout.
-
- 1C P 1S P
- 2H P 3H Forcing. When a reverse into a major gets
- raised, opener must go on unless the original
- response was 1NT.
-
- 1H P 2C P
- 2S P 3H Forcing. A return to hearts at the level of
- three is forcing on opener, unless the original
- response was 1NT. Responder must have heart
- support and too much for a raise of 1H to 2H.
-
- 1D P 1S P
- 2H P 2NT Not forcing. Theoretically denies five spades,
- but might have five weak spades and strong
- clubs: S-108765 H-J2 D-85 C-AQJ9
-
- 1H P 2C P
- 2S P 2NT Forcing, in view of the two-over-one response
- and opener's reverse. If opener had rebid 2D,
- 2NT would not be forcing.
-
- 1D P 1S P
- 2H P 3D Not forcing, weak sign-off. Denies five spades.
-
- 1D P 2C P
- 2H P 3D Also a weak sign-off, despite the two-over-one
- response: S-432 H-8 D-Q87 C-AQ10874. A 3C rebid
- would also be weak, and a 2S rebid is Fourth
- Suit Artificial.
-
- 1S P 2D P
- 2S P 3C Forcing. New suit bids at the three level by
- either partner are usually forcing.
-
- 1C P 1S 2H
- P P 3D Forcing, despite opener's pass. Without enough
- to force, responder can double for takeout. See
- chapter ACTION DOUBLES in the book "Conven-
- tional Doubles."
-
- 1C P 1S P
- 2S P 3C Forcing. After a raise by opener, a return to
- opener's suit is usually forcing.
-
- 1C Dbl 1S P
- 2S P 3C Not forcing, in view of the failure to
- redouble. Responder has only four spades.
-
- 1H P 1S P
- 2S P 3H Forcing. If responder has S-AK93 H-Q87 D-42
- C-J432 she must respond 2C instead of 1S, or
- she may find herself in this forcing situation.
-
-
- 1S P 2H P
- 3H P 3S Forcing. Don't bid 2H with a four-card suit,
- spade support, and 11 points or so--or you
- might find yourself in this forcing sequence.
- With five hearts and a doubtful hand, just pass
- 3H.
-
- 1S P 2C P
- 2H P 3H Not forcing: S-2 H-10987 D-A65 C-KJ873
-
-
- 1C P 1H P
- 1NT P 2S P
- 2NT P 3C Forcing. After a 1NT rebid, a reverse followed
- by a raise is a forcing sequence. Use Checkback
- Stayman with an invitational hand.
-
- 1C P 1H P
- 2C P 2S P
- 2NT P 3C Not quite forcing. Responder must raise to 3NT,
- jump to 4C (promising short diamonds), or bid
- 3D, with a game-going hand.
-
- 1D P 1H P
- 2C P 2S P
- 3C P 3H Forcing. After Fourth Suit Artificial (2S) only
- a direct raise (4C over 3C), a rebid of the
- fourth suit, or a notrump bid is non-forcing.
-
- 1D P 2C P
- 2D P 2S P
- 3C P 3D Forcing. Responder could presumably have passed
- 3C with insufficient values to force.
-
- 1C P 1H P
- 1S P 1NT P
- 2NT P 3C/3H Forcing, accepting the game try. Responder
- cannot say she likes notrump and then say she
- wants to stop in a suit. The 3C bid could be
- based on something like: S-9 H-A1084 D-A962
- C-9843 (3C or 3H implies nervousness about
- diamonds).
-
- 1C P 1H P
- 1NT P 2NT P
- 3H Forcing, accepting the invitation to game and
- giving responder a choice of contracts. Opener
- no doubt has less than adequate trump support
- for hearts, since a good hand raises hearts
- immediately with J10x or better. He could have
- S-A10 H-972 D-AQJ10 C-K1092.