SAYC 1 Opening Bid

SAYC is a 5-card major bidding system. A 1 opener shows 13-22 points and 5+ spades. Examples of 1 opening bids:

AK953 53 K52 A54 This hand has 14 HCP and 5 spades.

KJ832 AK652 Q72 — With two-suited hands (5-5 or longer), open 1 if your spades are equal or greater length than your second suit. With this particular hand, you can rebid hearts at your next turn.

AQ8753 A5 KQ2 J8 Open 1 with the aim of jump-rebidding 3 to show extra length and strength.

J9875 AT7 AQ2 AJ Opening 1NT instead of 1 seems reasonable with balanced strength. However, see the 1NT (15-17) opening bid for details about opening 1NT with a 5-card major.

With 5-5 in the black suits, some players open 1 while others prefer 1:

AT986 AJ 6 KT987 If you open 1 with this hand and partner responds 1/, you have an easy 1 rebid. However, it is an imprecise bid that could also be made with a hand containing only 4 spades and 3 clubs. If you elect to open 1 instead, you immediately indicate a 5-card suit, but partner may make a 2/1 response, forcing you to introduce your clubs at the 3-level. For more on this topic, see the English Bridge Union's online article about 5-5 hands (PDF).

Examples of hands that should not open 1:

AKJT872 5 A5 Q52 Open 4 to show 7+ spades and a good hand. This promises approximately 7 playing tricks non-vulnerable, and 8 playing tricks vulnerable.

AK987 5 KJ7654 A Open 1 and plan to rebid spades twice to show 6-5 shape.

AKQJ72 AK A9 K83 This hand is too strong for 1 or 4. Playing SAYC, open the bidding with 2, which is strong and artificial.

Response	Meaning
Pass	0-5 points.
1NT	6-9 points. May be unbalanced, and may have a 5+ card suit. Denies 3-card spade support. Non-forcing. 5 KQ8732 763 KT5 This hand is too weak to respond 2, so it must bid 1NT instead.
2//	A 4+ card suit and 10+ points. Forcing. J KQ832 63 AK543 With 5-5 distribution in hearts and a minor, respond 2 and bid your minor next.

2A single raise shows at least 3-card support and 6-9 points. Non-forcing. 2NT The Jacoby 2NT convention, showing a game-forcing hand (13+ points) and 4+ spades. 3//A Strong Jump Shift, showing a 5+ card suit and 17-19 points. Forcing to game. 3A limit raise, showing 4 spades and 10-12 points. Non-forcing. 3NTIn SAYC, this shows a balanced 15-17 HCP with two-card support. Responder normally denies 4 hearts. This bid is forcing to game. However, many players use it as a balanced 13-15 HCP with 4-3-3-3 shape (with the 4-card suit anywhere but spades). 4 Shows 5 spades and 0-10 points. Non-forcing. 4NTBlackwood, asking for aces.

Rebid	Meaning
2//	A 4+ card suit and 13-18 points. Not forcing.
2	6+ spades and 13-15 points. Not forcing.
2NT	A balanced 18-19 HCP. Not forcing.
3//	A 4+ card suit and 19-22 points. Forcing to game.
3	6+ spades and 16-18 points. Not forcing.

Raises

Raise	Meaning
Simple raise	3+ card support for partner's suit and 13-15 points. Not forcing.
Double raise	3+ card support and 16-18 points. Not forcing.
Raise to game	3+ card support and 19-22 points. Not forcing.

Rebidding no-trumps

Rebid	Meaning
2NT	12-14 HCP. Not forcing.
3NT	18-19 HCP. Not forcing.

Rebidding spades

Rebid	Meaning
2	13-15 points and 6+ spades. Not forcing.
3	16-18 points and 6+ spades. Not forcing.

Bidding a new suit

Rebid	Meaning
A new suit at the 2-level	A 4+ card suit, 13-18 points. Non-forcing.
A jump shift in a new suit	A 4+ card suit, 19-22 points. Forcing to game.

Rebid	Meaning
2NT	strong and natural, showing a good balanced hand with weak spades. Not forcing.
A new suit at the 3-level	A game try in spades. Responder should bid 3 or 4, depending on the strength of her hand and how well it fits with opener's second suit.
3	Natural and invitational to game.
4	To play.

When the opponents make a takeout double over 1:

• A redouble shows 10+ points and no other suitable call.
• A 2NT response is the Jordan 2NT convention, showing a limit raise or better in spades.
• A jump raise of 3 response becomes a weak 4-card raise, showing 0-6 points.

If the opponents overcall:

• A double of an overcall through 2 is a Negative Double.
• A cue bid of the overcaller's suit shows a Limit Raise or better in spades. This shows 4+ hearts and 10+ points.
• A jump raise of 3 is a weak 4-card raise, showing 0-6 points.

		Opener			Responder
		KQ873			A6
		A32			KJ64
		A432			95
		6			T8743
		Opener 1 2 Pass			Responder 1NT 2 (1)

1. Taking a preference

		Opener			Responder
		JT987			A52
		AK			5432
		Q763			J
		A4			KQJ76
		Opener 1 2 4			Responder 2 (1) 3 Pass

1. Temporizing with 10-12 points and 3-card support. An immediate 3 raise would promise 4-card support.

		Opener			Responder
		AQJT2			7
		A92			KQJ54
		754			AQJ2
		Q7			943
		Opener 1 3 (1) Pass			Responder 2 4

1. 13-15 points and 3+ card support. Invitational.

		Opener			Responder
		AKT832			94
		Q54			K762
		AK5			T9
		2			AQ843
		Opener 1 3 (1) Pass			Responder 1NT 4 (2)

1. 16-18 points and 6+ spades. Non-forcing.
2. Bidding game with doubleton support and a maximum