Dear Larry,

 

In the uncontested auction: 1H - 1S - 3H - 3S

 

1) Is 3S forcing?

2) If so, forcing to game?

 

A:  Yes and Yes  -Larry

 

There are many reasons why this sequence should be forcing. When one partner jump-rebids their own suit, that typically says "I'm pretty comfortable with this suit". As a result, if you are sitting there with no cards in partners suit, and also a hand that doesn't want to go to game, you should pass--this is partner's problem. 

 

Another important concept is that you want to be able to make a forcing bid when your partner has shown a good hand. Here, the jump-rebidder has about 16 points and the responder has at least 6 points. This side isn't far from a game anyways, so there's no reason to have any more invitational bids here. If the responder has a good hand, though, they might need room to describe what is going on. What should responder do with, say, 

 KQJ972  
 3  
 AJ3  
 K92
 ?

They want to explore for game and possibly for slam, and don't want to jump around to get there. 

 

To learn more about forcing and non-forcing bids, you can purchase Michael's webinar here. 

Please feel free to email us bridge questions at [email protected]

 

Updated: August 2021