Introduction
Reverse bids are a natural bid of a second suit by opener, which shows extra strength. The difficulty for some people is to know what a reverse bid looks like in contrast to just a simple natural bid of a second suit. Let's look at examples and then come up with a simple rule.
This is a simple bid of a second suit, as we all know. One key characteristic I like to point out, in contrast to a reverse (example coming in a moment): responder can take you back to your first suit on the 2 level. As you can see in the above example, responder can just bid 2♥ if they don't want to stay in 2♣.
Let's contrast that with a reverse auction:
On this hand, you have bid 2♥ as your second suit. This is a reverse and should show 17+ points. Let's say partner wanted to take you back to your first suit — they would have to go to 3♣. Can you see the contrast with the previous example where you could bail out on the 2 level?
If you think about that logically, you should need extra points to force to the 3 level!
Criteria of a reverse
- 16 or 17+ points. A lot of people lately have lowered the bar to 16+ points, which is okay. Discuss with your partner what your standards are; I recommend 16 or 17 points as a minimum — don't reverse with 15 points!
- An unbalanced hand. Typically a singleton, but a 5422 shape hand is also okay. Don't have a 4432 hand. These hands are either a 1NT opening or a 2NT rebid.
On that note, let's consider this auction:
On this auction a 2NT rebid is appropriate, showing 18-19 balanced. It is not the right hand for a reverse of 2♥, which should show an unbalanced hand.
What to do after a reverse?
I recommend a very simple approach, with one main bid to remember.
Key bid — 2NT. I suggest 2NT shows a weak hand (say less than 7 points). Basically saying to partner, I have a hand that isn't good enough to game-force opposite your 17 points.
That frees you up, because now every other bid you make is game-forcing. So, for example:
Here you can keep the bidding low and start off by showing partner you have a fit in clubs, without worrying he will pass.
Hands that aren't strong enough to reverse
There are some hands that would work perfectly for a reverse except they don't meet the point-count requirement. For example:
Here you would love to bid 2♦ to show your second suit, but it shows reverse strength! So you have to simply rebid 2♣. Rebidding your first suit will be a very common thing to do when you don't have the strength for a reverse.
Final words
Reverses are a very useful and natural way to bid a two-suited strong hand. I highly recommend keeping your standard of it showing 16 or 17+ high card points, and not doing it any time you have a two-suiter.
A key idea is to remember that responder bids 2NT as artificial to say "I have a bad hand, maybe we don't have enough for game", which frees up all other bids to be natural and game-forcing.