Keith22

As the original poster, I'd like to thank everyone for his advice. The 1♦ response works very well, as it is forcing and will permit opener to more fully describe his hand. In addition, responder can rebid 2NT, and in this case, the 2NT rebid shows a balanced hand with 10-11 points with stoppers in unbid suits. I wish I had thought of it myself! I'm learning to play using the ACBL Learn to Play Bridge software and the ACBL Bridge Series of five books. The combination of these materials seems to me like a good set of tools to get started.

I'm a beginner and am learning to bid using the ACBL book Bidding in the 21st Century, which teaches SAYC. Suppose partner opens 1♣ and I have the following hand: ♠A82 ♥KT2 ♦AT6 ♣7653. I have 11 HCP and no distribution points and fall into the 10-11 point invitational response range. I have too many points to respond 1NT, too few points to respond 2NT (SAYC requires 13-15 HCP to respond 2NT), and no suit to bid. If I bid 2♣, I suggest a minimum response, and if I bid 3♣, I suggest real support for clubs, which I don't have. Which is the best (or least undesirable) response I could make?