As most Bridge players prefer to open the lower of 4 card suits and
are therefore able to indicate a longer suit
in the first one bid if the second is lower ranking - e.g. 1 ♠ followed
by 2 ♦ would show
at least 5 Spades. Therefore using the above system of opening 4441 hands can lead to some misunderstandings
over distribution.
With a singleton Spade if you open 1 ♦
and partner bids 2 ♣ your only rebid is 3 ♣
implying 5 Diamonds
and it it the same with a singleton Heart.
With a singleton Diamond opening One Club (suit below) works
with either method
With a singleton Club if you open 1 ♥
and partner bids 2 ♣ your only rebid
is 2 ♦
(unless you are strong enough to reverse and bid 2 ♠ )
or if partner bids 2 ♦ you have to bid
3 ♦
both bids implying 5 Hearts,
and there are many similar sequences
If you play or want to play that a rebid of a lower ranking suit
does promise a longer first bid suit
then read on.
In their book The Art of Good Bidding published in 1992 Terence Reese and David Bird introduce their
guideline on this topic with
“There is no need to remember
special ‘rules’ here.
Just check you will have a descriptive and sound rebid available if partner responds in your
short suit”
With that thought in mind consider the following.
Always open the lowest suit except with a singleton Club or Spade and a 12 or poor 13 count
in which case
Pass and come in later.
If the opposition bid your singleton or your singleton and one other
you can come in with a reopening takeout double. If they bid two of your suits you are probably best
out of it. Obviously there is a small danger that Partner might open 3rd in hand with 11/12 points and
pass your response, missing a slim game but it is a small price to pay for avoiding some very poor
contracts if you do open.
It’s hard to Pass but on balance it’s better.
With a singleton Spade if you are
playing a wide ranging 1NT rebid, say 12-16. then you can open a Club.
With this method you always have a descriptive and sound rebid available and it’s easy to remember.
Below the suits are Spades-Hearts-Diamonds–Clubs from left to right.
4:4:4:1 provided you have a good 14 points or better, after opening 1 ♦ you can support either Major or rebid 2/3NT after a 2 ♣ reply.
4:4:1:4 after opening 1 ♣ you always have a rebid. If partners bid is 1 ♦ you can bid 1 ♥. If he/she bids a Major,you can support. After a 1NT response you can Pass, Raise or rebid Clubs (partner must have four)
4:1:4:4 after opening 1 ♣ you always have a rebid. If partners bid is 1 ♦ or 1 ♥ you can bid 1 ♠ . If he/she bids 1 ♠ you can support. And as before after a 1NT response you can Pass, Raise or rebid Clubs (partner must have four)
1:4:4:4 after opening 1 ♣ you nearly always have a rebid. If partners bid is 1 ♦ you can bid 1 ♥. If he/she bids 1♥ you can support or after a response of 1 ♠ you can bid 1/2NT according to points,
but only if you are playing a wide ranging 1NT response or you should have a very good 14 - 16 points. After a 1NT response you can Pass, Raise or rebid Clubs (Partner must have four and on this particular distibution,knowing Partner has at most three Spades ,would probably be best.)
All of this is based on the assumption that you
and your partner follow the rule of biddding suits upwards and don't just bid 1NT with 6-9 points regardless of distribution..If you do then no system will work for you.