You can respond in a new suit at the one-level with a measly six points and four grotty cards. It is different when responding in a new suit at the two-level: you are forcing opener to bid again at what is fast becoming an uncomfortably high level, with no assurance of a safe landing spot.

A useful guideline that tells you as responder whether to bid a new suit at the two level combines the two key factors: the strength of the hand and the length of the suit you’d bid.

Enter The Rule of 14: Add up the number of high-card points in your whole hand to the number of cards in the (lower-ranking) long suit. You can bid a new suit at the two-level if the total comes to 14 or more. Otherwise, assuming you have no higher-ranking four- card suit you can bid at the one-level, you must choose between the dustbin 1 NT response and the three-card raise* from 1 ♥ /♠ to 2 ♥ /♠.

*I’m assuming you do not have four-card support – or you can support and the Rule of 14 is irrelevant.

Exercise: Partner opens 1 . Which of these responding hands should bid a new suit at the two-level?

Answers: Hands (i) [bid 2 ♣ ] and (iii) [bid 2 ♣] satisfy the Rule of 14. Hand (ii) does not [bid 1 NT].

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