3. Distributional Hands - Carlton & Gedling

Distributional Hands are those with at least 9 cards between the two longest suits.

Some of the bids described in this section are also applicable to Balanced Hands – often it is not until the opener’s second bid that it becomes clear whether a hand is Balanced or Distributional.

3.1 Opening Bids of 1 of a Suit

The minimum requirement to open one of a suit is 12 High Card Points (or 10 – 11 HCP with a 6 card suit). There is no set upper limit, although a hand with a self-supporting suit and at least 8 ‘Playing Tricks’ would be opened with a 2 level bid (see 6.1 for a definition of Playing Tricks).

With two long suits of unequal length (e.g. 5-4, 6-4, 6-5) always bid the long suit first, irrespective of the strength of the two suits.
With two long suits of equal length (5-5, 6-6) open the higher ranked suit first (unless Clubs and Spades).
Opening one suit & re-bidding another shows at least 5 cards in the first suit and at least 4 of the second (due to not having re-bid No Trumps within the first 2 rounds to show a Balanced Hand).
Opening a suit and re-bidding it shows at least a 5 card suit. Opening a suit and re-bidding it twice shows at least a 6 card suit.
Always consider the need to make a sensible re-bid over any change of suit by partner (which is a one round force).

3.2 Change of Suit Responses

After an opening bid of 1 of a suit, a simple change of suit at the 1 level promises at least 6 points and a 4 card suit. There is no upper limit to the number of points held, so opener must bid again (i.e. it is a one round force). The only exceptions to this rule are if the responder had previously made a No Bid or if the opposition makes an intervening bid.

A simple change of suit at the 2 level promises at least 8 points and a 4 card suit, except for 1S – 2H which promises at least a 5 card suit. The reason for the exception is that the bidding has been catapulted up to high level after only two bids and so it needs to contain extra information (i.e. the 5 card suit) to make it worthwhile.

Again there is no upper limit to the number of points held, so opener must bid again unless responder had previously made a No Bid or the opposition makes an intervening bid.

A jump shift (i.e. bidding a new suit at 1 level higher than necessary) shows at least 15 HCP points with a 5 card suit (or 13 -14 pts with a 6 carder). It is a slam-going procedure which is unconditionally game forcing and should only be used when you are certain which suit is going to be trumps.

3.3 Supporting Opener’s Suit

Raising opener’s suit (first time round) promises 4 card support. Such bids are known as limit raises because they are bid to the limit of the combined hands assuming that opener is a minimum. If he is a minimum he will pass, otherwise he will continue the bidding.

When raising partner’s suit with a good trump fit (at least 8 cards between the 2 hands), the strength of your hand should be re-evaluated by adding extra points for Voids, Singletons and Doubletons because these shortages can be used by partner to trump losing cards in these suits:

With a doubleton, add 1 point
With a singleton, add 3 points
With a void, add 5 points

The ranges for responder’s limit raises are:

Single raise (e.g. 1S – 2S) with 6 to 9 points
Double raise (e.g. 1S – 3S) with 10 to 12 points
A triple raise in a Major suit (e.g. 1S – 4S) shows a weak hand - less than 10HCP, but with excellent support for partner’s suit and useful ‘distribution’.

Having been supported, opener will re-evaluate his hand by adding extra points for Voids, Singletons and Doubletons on the following scale:

With a doubleton, add 1 point
With a singleton, add 2 points
With a void, add 3 points

The reason that these values are lower than those for the hand that initially supports a suit are that you often only want to trump cards in one hand, leaving length in the other to draw the opponents’ trumps. Therefore shortages in the hand that bids trumps first are not quite worth so much.

After a raise in a Major suit, opener can investigate the possibility of a Game contract by making a Trial Bid in a suit that in which he requires help from partner (by way of high cards or a shortage) . See 6.3 for information about Major Suit Trial Bids.

After a raise in a Minor suit, opener can investigate the possibility of a Game contract in No Trumps by make a Trial Bid in a suit that he holds stoppers. See 6.3 for information about Minor Suit Trial Bids.

3.4 Opener’s Second Bid

Always support partner’s 4 card Major – see 2.4.

With a weak hand (12 – 15 pts):

Re-bid a 5 card suit at the lowest level
Bid a new ‘lower ranking’ suit at the lowest level. This guarantees 5+ cards in first suit & 4+ in second.

With a stronger hand:

Jump re-bid with a good suit
Jump in a new suit with 17+ pts and two 5 card suits (game forcing)
“Reverse” in a new suit with 16+ pts (A reverse is a bid at the 2 level in a suit which is higher ranking than the first suit bid. It forces partner to go to the 3 level if he wants to show preference for the first suit (e.g. 1H - 2C - 2S or 1D - 1S - 2H). It shows more cards in the first suit bid than the second and is forcing for 1 round.

3.5 Responder’s Second Bid

Re-bid your own suit to show a 6 carder (jump a level with 11+ pts)
With a minimum for your initial response you can show preference for one of opener’s suits by passing or re-bidding the first suit. Always return to the first suit, unless you have 2 more cards in the second suit than in the first. This is because partner will have at least 5 cards in the first, but may only have 4 in the second – length in a trump suit is more important than strength and it is better to play in a 5-2 fit rather than a 4-3 fit.
When you know you have an 8 card fit you can support one of partner’s suits:
Raise to the 2 level with 6 - 9 pts
Raise to the 3 level with 10 - 12 pts
Raise to game with 13+ pts
After a reverse show preference with 6 - 8 pts & raise to game with a good 9+ pts
Bids in No Trumps are based on the same point ranges as for a direct No Trumps response on the first round of bidding:
1NT with 6 - 9 pts
2NT with 10 - 12 pts
3NT with 13 - 15 pts
After a reverse, bid 3NT on 10+ pts

Note: if the partnership has already bid 3 suits, a bid in NT’s promises at least 2 stoppers in the 4th suit. Without them, you should consider giving preference for one of partner’s suits or using the “4th suit forcing” convention (see below).
A bid of the 4th suit does not promise length in that suit. It denies having 2 stoppers in the suit and asks partner to further clarify his hand. It is forcing for one round and is usually regarded as forcing to game. For that reason you must have enough points to cope with whatever response partner may make. 11 pts is generally considered a minimum at the 1 or 2 level and enough points for game at the 3 level. To use at the 3 level you should hold one stopper in the suit to enable partner to happily bid 3NT if he holds just one stopper in the suit opposite you.

3.6 Strong 2 Opening Bids & Responses

A ‘Strong Two’ opening bid of 2 Diamonds, 2 Hearts or 2 Spades shows a quality 6 card (or longer) suit with between 8 and 9 ½ ‘Playing Tricks’ (see 6.1 for a definition of Playing Tricks).

The number of points held is irrelevant. Hands with 10+ Playing Tricks are opened with 2 Clubs – see 3.7.

Note: reserve ‘Strong Two’ opening bids for one suited hands. With a strong 2 suited hand it is better to open with one of the first suit, followed by a jump in the second suit on the second round.

Responses:

Pass with less than 1 ‘Quick Trick’ in your hand (see 6.1 for a definition of Quick Tricks).
2NT with 1 to 2 Quick Tricks in your hand (if partner is minimum he will re-bid 3 of his suit). This is the only response that is not forcing to game.
Single raise (e.g. 2H - 3H): 3 card support or a doubleton honour and at least one Ace or Void
Double raise (e.g. 2H - 4H): 3 card support or a doubleton honour and no Ace or Void
With no support for partner’s suit, you can bid your own good quality 5 card (or longer) suit with at least 2 Quick Tricks in your hand.

Opposite a 2D opener, bid 3NT with 2 card support for diamonds and a scattering of values in other suits

3.7 Two Clubs Opening Bid & Responses

A 2 Clubs opening bid does not show a club suit. It is an artificial bid that can be either:

A Balanced Hand with 23+ pts, or

A Distributional Hand with 10+ ‘Playing Tricks’ (see 6.1 for a definition of Playing Tricks).

A Distributional Hand is revealed by opener’s second bid of a suit (rather than No Trumps). The suit bid shows that you believe you hold ‘game’ in your own hand and have at least a 6 card suit or two 5 card suits.

For opener’s re-bids with a Balanced Hand, refer to section 2.6.

A 2C opening is forcing to game, except after the sequence 2C - 2D - 2NT.

There are 2 types of response to a 2C opening:

2H, 2S, 3C, 3D show at least a 5 card suit with 2 of the top 3 honours
With any other type of hand responder should make an artificial 2 Diamond relay bid and wait for opener to clarify his type of hand.

3.8 Pre-Emptive Opening Bids & Responses

An opening bid of 3C, 3D, 3H or 3S is designed to disrupt the opponents’ bidding space. It will typically consist of a quality 7 card suit with less than 10HCP. Longer suits can be opened at the 4 or 5 level, but these hands are very rare.

In response to a 3 level pre-empt:

Raise to game with one card support and 4 ‘Quick Tricks’ (see 6.1 for a definition of Quick Tricks).
Bid 3NT with a strong hand and a good fit with partner’s suit
Bid a new suit with a good suit that is a genuine alternative to partner’s suit (game forcing)
Otherwise pass

3.9 4-4-4-1 Hands

This shape of hand can be difficult to bid as opener, especially when partner responds with your short suit. Whatever you re-bid will be a lie because:

You cannot re-bid your own suit because it would promise a 5 card suit.
You cannot bid a new suit without promising 5-4 distribution.
You cannot bid NT’s because you don’t have a balanced hand and you may not have the required 15 points.

To avoid the worst repercussions of providing misleading information, the following is recommended:

With 4-4-4-1 hands of 12 or 13 points, pass initially and hope to be able to enter the auction at a later stage.
With 14 points or more, open Hearts if you have them, or open a Minor suit. Never open 1 Spade.
If partner responds with your singleton suit, re-bid NT’s at the appropriate level (see 2.3).
If partner responds with one of your 4 card suits, you can breathe a sigh of relief and support that suit.

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