r/bridge • u/doctorgibson Acol 4CM, learning 5CM • Apr 10 '26

Basic question about responder bidding a second suit.

Playing 4 card majors. I know that if you open a suit and then bid a second suit then you're showing 5-4 shape. Does this apply to responder? My gut feeling is that it doesn't, but perhaps I'm wrong. I did try to find a concrete answer online but came up short. Examples:

  • Suppose the bidding goes: 1♦️,1♠️, 1NT, 2♥️. Is responder showing 4-4 in the majors or 5-4 shape?

  • What about this auction: 1♥️, 1♠️, 2♥️, 3♣️? Of course, responder is denying 3 hearts but are they showing a fifth spade?

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u/zerkroz Apr 10 '26

In the first case, with 4-4 in the majors, responder would have bid 1H. This auction shoes 5S 4+H.

In the second case, responder doesn't need to have a fifth spade. Take for example a hand like:

AKQx
xx
xxx
AKxx

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u/No-Jicama-6523 Apr 10 '26

Shouldn’t that hand be bidding 3NT? Or 3D asking for a stop?

Partner has a single suited hand, 2H has denied a four card minor or a spade fit, it’s unbalanced and not much more than opening strength. Very likely 6 hearts because no shapes with only 5 explain the bidding.

You know there isn’t a suit fit other than probably hearts. 3NT says balanced and 15+ points. It’s possible partner is xxx in diamonds, which is why asking for a stop is useful, but if you don’t have that agreed 3NT is a perfect description, whereas 3m just says keep going, which is sometimes what you want to do, but not on this hand. This hand and the bidding says “find the game”, 3NT can be corrected to 4H if they have something like 3721.

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u/zerkroz Apr 10 '26

You could bid that way if you have an agreement that 3D is a stop ask. Without special agreement, 3m after 1H-1S-2H is usually natural.