After a Three of a Suit Opening/Overcall

From Simplex

The Principles for Responder's 1st Round Bid

Simplex Principles of 1st Round Responses to Three of a Suit
  • PRINCIPLE 9: Simplex is a fundamentally natural bidding system. The only gadgets used are 2♣ Redshift, 4NT Blackwood, and the Simplex 2NT.
  • PRINCIPLE 10: Responding hands with trump support but less than 10 HCP bid immediately to their total trump level. (For example, after a 1 opening by partner, a hand containing 6 HCP and four cards in the heart suit would immediately raise to 3. Partner is known to have at least five hearts. Add those five to the four that responder has makes nine. Take six from nine means a raise to the 3-level.) Equally if opener has less than 10 HCP but support for responder's suit, he will bid to the total trump level on the second round.
  • PRINCIPLE 11: If a bidder cannot make the first-round bid his hand merits (because the opposition have already taken the auction too high), the bidder simply doubles, with an implied message to partner: "RHO has just taken my opening bid away, and I believe it is safe for you to bid at this or one level higher."
  • PRINCIPLE 13: Ignore first-round doubles by the opponents. Carry on and make the bid you would have made if the opponents had passed.
  • PRINCIPLE 18: An opening bid, overcall or response of Three of a new Suit guarantees four or more cards in the suit and 17-22 HCP.
  • PRINCIPLE 22: Always bid the cheaper of two equal-length suits.
  • PRINCIPLE 23: Except for strong (17+ HCP) hands and responses to doubles, four-card suits are never explicitly bid in the first round.

1st Round Bids available to Responder

Responding to three of a suit is a little different to one and two of a suit, as the bidding has started high, which has the potential to cause problems for flat hands if you are not careful. Unlike responding to 1-level and 2-level bids, responder should not necessarily bid his longest suit; instead he often bids his cheapest 4+ card suit.

Box R1D
Responding to Three of a Suit (3♣, 3, 3, 3♠)
Bid
Meaning
Forcing?
Where to next?
Pass
0-2 points.
NF
Double
"I had a bid but RHO has just taken it away."
NF
Raise to 4 of Opener's Suit
4+ card support, no other 4+ card suit, 3-8 points.
NF
New Suit below 3NT
3-13 points, cheapest 4+ card suit.
F
New Suit above 3NT but below 4 of Opener's suit
8-13 HCP and a 5+ card suit.
GF
3NT
5-10 HCP and stoppers in all suits junior to Opener's suit.
NF
4NT Blackwood
13+ points.
F
Personal tools
site administrator
Simplex Conventions