Responding to Partner

Your Turn to Talk

Your partner has opened the bidding. They've started a conversation — now it's your turn to respond. As the responder, you have a crucial job: tell partner about YOUR hand so the partnership can find the best contract together.

Think of it like this. Your partner said something — maybe "I have 13-21 points and five or more hearts" (a 1♥ opening) or "I have exactly 15-17 HCP and a balanced hand" (a 1NT opening). Your response is your reply: "I have support for your hearts and 8 points" or "I have a long spade suit and a good hand."

Every response you make sends a message. The better you get at choosing the right response, the more accurately your partnership will land in the right contract.

The Responder's Principles

Before we dive into specifics, here are the guiding principles for responding:

1. Support Partner's Major Suit When You Can

Finding a major-suit fit (8+ cards between the two hands in hearts or spades) is the top priority. Major-suit games require only 10 tricks (4♥ or 4♠), while minor-suit games require 11 tricks (5♣ or 5♦). So if partner opens a major and you have 3+ card support, that's usually your most important piece of news.

2. Show a New Suit When You Have One

If you can't support partner's suit, your next priority is to show a suit of your own — especially a 4+ card major that partner might be able to support.

3. Bid Notrump as a "Nothing Else to Say" Bid

A notrump response often means: "I have some points but no great fit and no new suit to show." It's the fallback option.

4. Limit Your Hand When You Can

Some bids are limited (they tell partner your approximate point range), and some are unlimited (they could be weak or strong). In general, it's helpful to limit your hand early so partner can make good decisions.

5. Don't Respond with Fewer than 6 Points

With 0-5 points, you usually pass. Partner opened with 13-21 points, and your combined total might still be too low for any contract. Let the opening bid stand.

What's Ahead

Each type of opening bid gets its own response system:

Each opening bid creates a different landscape, and your response strategy adapts accordingly. But the underlying goal never changes: help the partnership find the right contract.

Let's start with the most exciting scenario — partner opens a major.