Reverses bridge convention

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Reverses are an offensive bidding mechanism to indicate to your partner that you have more than a minimum opening, to be more aggressive to reach a possible Game or maybe even more. In Standard American, a “reverse” is defined as a non-jump bid at the two level in a new suit that that ranks higher than the suit the opener originally bid. It indicates additional strength. Example: The North Dealer opens with a Club. Both opponents are silent and responder bids a Spade. Opener then says 2 Hearts on the rebid. On the face of it, this is a strange bid, since responder deliberately avoided bidding 1 Heart (if he had two four-card majors, he would have bid Hearts first, bidding his suits “up the line”). By introducing the Heart bid, the rebidder introduces a suit in which there is unlikely to be fit. This seemingly off bid is therefore a “reverse” that indicates extra strength and invites partner to keep the bidding going.

Return to the Bridge Burglar’s Guide to Bridge Bidding Conventions

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