[baabaa]

I am wondering what is standard/considered to be best in modern bidding in the following sequences. Is openers second bid strong and natural, or is it splinter?

1. 1♦ – 1♠ – 3♣
2. 1♥ – 1♠ – 3♦
3. 1♣- 1♥ - 2♠

[ahydra]

Assuming a standard-type system, all 3 ought to be played as natural and strong, since bidding that suit one level lower is not a reverse (so you have no way to differentiate between a minimum and a maximum opener).

ahydra

[ezyang]

Jumpshift. As a general rule, a splinter is a double jump; so 4♣, 4♦ and 3♠ in your examples would be splinters. There are some cases where this is not the case, usually only when a jumpshift would be impossible. I don't know what people like to do when a reverse is available.

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

the only seq., where it is a bit critical, is the 3rd.
Some play, I prefer, we dont do it anymore, to play 1S as forcing.
If 1S is forcing, 2S is a splinter.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[mikeh]

The simple answer is that in most (all?) standard based methods, with wide range 1 level opening bids, the jumpshift by opener on the second round is played as natural, and forcing to game.

I see one poster made reference to reverses, and at a recent event I witnessed a (bad) player open 1♣ with a powerful 5-5 minor hand, and she then reversed into diamonds. This got what it deserved, when her partner understandingly played her for longer clubs than diamonds. Had she opened 1♦ and jumped to 3♣, she would have far more accurately described not only her shape but her strength, since most players will have a lower limit for a reverse than for a jumpshift.

I see another poster suggest that a jump to 2♠ as a rebid could be a splinter if one used a 1♠ rebid as forcing.

I am aware that a small minority of players, and posters here, do so, but it is really a bad idea. It offends one of the cardinal goals of system design: the need to refine the description not only of shape but also of strength as rapidly as possible.

Big club methods are popular amongst experts for a number of reasons, but a main one is that opening bids of 1♦/♥/♠ are narrowly defined immediately, and opener can further refine the description quite accurately in early rounds of the auction. By contrast, when playing a method in which a 1 bid could be a great 10 to a terrible 22, it is critical to start defining strength as soon as possible. Thus in standard methods, in which 1♠ rebid is non-forcing, by rebidding 1♠ opener is narrowing the strength range from 10-22 to a slightly more tolerable 10-bad 18. (A side note: if one routinely rebids 1N with all balanced hands, then the 1♠ rebid not only narrows strength slightly but significantly refines shape....a major reason why many good players bypass majors to rebid 1N).

When one rebids 1♠ on 10-22, one has conveyed very little useful information to partner, and made later refinements less precise....instead, for example, of dividing the 10-18 range into, say, 10-14 and 15-18, we are still trying to distinguish 10 from 22!.

Sorry for the rant

Btw, a more interesting topic is the use of jumps in auctions such as 1♠ 2♦ 3♥

If 2♦ promises a rebid over a 2♥ call by opener, then 2♥ is forcing, and do we need 3♥ to also be natural and forcing, or is it better to use 3♥ as a splinter, while staying below 3N lest responder's action include something like KQ10 in hearts?

This is even more an issue when playing 2/1 gf, where responder's 2♦ call made everything below game a forcing action.

FWIW, I invariably play 2/1, and use these jumps as splinters, but there are good arguments against that treatment, as well as for it.

[TWO4BRIDGE]

The simple answers:
-- The single-jump-shift is natural and strong ...

-- A double-jump shift is a splinter for partner's last bid suit ...

1D - 1S
??
3C = strong, natural
4C = splinter

[iandayre]

As others have stated, all these bids are natural and game forcing. The way to answer this question for yourself is, had I bid the second suit without jumping, would it have been forcing? Clearly not in the first two, so the jump is needed to force. Some do play a 1-level suit rebid by opener as forcing, but that is not standard in SAYC or 2/1, so once again, it is necessary to jump to force a rebid from partner.

To PMarlowe's point, I don't play opener's 1 level suit rebid as forcing, but among those that do, many play that the jump shift shows 5 Spades and a longer minor.