How the opener bids a five card suit.

To open a suit you need just four cards; to repeat a suit, however, you should try to have six cards. With five cards, you usually have a preferable alternative to rebidding your suit. 

Exercise: On each of the following three hands you have five spades. But will you be opening and rebidding them?

(a) Open 1 ♠ but rebid 2 ♥, indicating your five-four shape (see deal).

(b) You will not even bid spades once, instead opening 1NT, showing a balanced 12-14 (yes - even with a five-card major).

(c) You do have a Rule of 20 opener (points + no. of cards in two longest suits getting to 20). You will open 1♠, but your rebid will depend on partner’s response. Over 1NT or 2♣, you will rebid 2♦; over 2♦, you will raise to 3♦; but over 2♥, you will understandably be loath to rebid 3♦, taking the bidding to the nine-trick level with no assurance of a fit or more than half the pack in points. A 2♠ rebid is best, in spite of the lack of a sixth spade. Repeating a  five-card suit, however, is exceptional.

Intermediate deal of the month

1) Rule of 20 opener:  open when high-card points added to length in two longest suits get to 20.

2) Should rebid 2 ♥ to show 5-4 shape. 

Opening Lead: ♣10.

3NT failed on ♣10 lead - to ♣J and ♣K. Declarer won ♣A on the third round, knocked out ♥A, but the defence cashed a fourth club and ♠A. Down one.

How the Deal should be Bid

Final Contract: 4 ♥ by North
Opening Lead: ♣3.

What should have happened

4♥ makes. After ♣3 lead win ♣A and (optional) play ♦AKQ throwing ♣4. Then lead to ♠Q. Say East wins ♠A and leads ♥3 to ♥A then ♥5. Win ♥Q, lead to ♠K, trump ♠4, and cross-trump your way to 10 tricks. Game made.

If you remember just one thing....

I was once asked in an interview to give one useful piece of advice to intermediate players. This was it: Do not rebid a five-card suit if you have an alternative.