REVERSE BIDS

Overheard at a table recently after West had gone horribly light in a contract!

W.      “Not sure how we got to such a high level.”
N.       “You made a reverse bid.”
W.      “We don’t play reverse bids.”
N.       “Well you did on this occasion and your hand wasn’t strong enough for the bid!”

West probably didn’t know what a reverse bid is and bid the shape of their hand without thought to the strength. This is something I see fairly often. So what is a reverse bid?

Essentially it is a re-bid that forces partner to make preference for the first bid at a higher level, usually at the three level. As such the hand should be stronger than a minimum opening. Consider the following bidding sequences:

Sequence A is not a reverse re-bid. South if minimum for their 1♠ bid can bid 2♥ if they prefer Hearts to Diamonds.

Sequence B is a reverse re-bid. If South prefers diamonds then they need to bid at the three level. Given that South may only have 6 points North should have 18 or more points.

Sequence C is also a reverse re-bid as South needs to bid to the three level if they prefer Hearts. As South has freely bid to the two level North can shade their hand by a couple of points to 16 or more points. This sequence is almost forcing to game, unless it is apparent that there is a massive misfit, in which case it might be wise to end the bidding at the lowest possible level. For example if South now bids 3♣ indicating that they only have long clubs and not much outside, then North, if very short in clubs, should contemplate passing.

Sequence D is not considered a reverse re-bid as preference can be made at the two level, which is relatively safe. Also 1NT is an available bid for South.

Sequence E is also not a reverse bid. It is however another strong bid called a jump shift. This should be 18 or more points and is usually forcing to game.

There are inferences that can be taken from North’s reverse bids. As they haven’t opened or rebid No Trumps then they are likely have a distributional hand, at least 5/4 in the suits bid.

So what should North bid with distributional hands with opening values that are not suitable for 1NT opening or No Trump re-bids? Presuming that the first bid suit is longer (as it should be) than the second suit, just rebid that suit. If South is a lot stronger than a minimum response then they are likely to bid again.