5 Natural and unnatural bidding

What is natural bidding? It is following the two principles I’m sure you already know:  a) Bid your longest suit first, b) With two equal suits, bid the higher-ranking first. [N.B. This really applies only to the opener; Responder bids his lower-ranking first normally.] A typical question from a learner is “What if my longest suit is lower-ranking than my second suit?” and my answer is “Still open the longest.” What happens next will depend on what the suits are, what your partner bids, and how strong you are. Here are some examples to guide you:

Suit A then suit B, non-reversing = strength 1 (minimum)

Suit A then suit B, reversing =  strength 2 (16+ points)

Suit A then A at 2-level = ideally a 6-card suit, only 5 if in difficulties. Strength 1

Suit A then A at 3-level = 7 playing tricks. Strength 3

And now some tricky pairs:

A 6 and a 4 :- Bid as if 5-4. If you repeat the 6, partner will think you are one-suited.

A 7 and a 4 :- Bid the 7 twice, then the four if you can

A 6 and a 5 or 5 and a 5 :- Bid both suits, then if you get a third chance, rebid the second suit.

5 clubs and 5 spades (this is a well-known teaser) :- if minimum open 1 Spade and then over a 2-level red-card response repeat the spades. (2C if partner said 1NT.). With 16+ the rebid can be 3 clubs.

So what is unnatural bidding? I’ve just showed you when to break the second rule of natural bidding, here’s another one for the more advanced player:

6 hearts and 5 spades (or similar combos) calls for unnatural bidding. We would never bid a four-card suit before a fiver because partner would assume five in the first-bid suit, but here we can play around a bit. To avoid the bidding going crazily high, treat the 6-5 combo as a 5-5 and open the higher ranking, so keeping rule 2 but breaking rule 1. Try it.