Hand Evaluation

Distribution Points (for trump contracts only)

Add 1 point for a doubleton (2-card suit).
Add 2 points for a singleton (1-card suit).
Add 3 points for a void (no cards in a suit).
Add 1 point for each "extra" trump (see "Suit Length & Strength" below).

Count only high-card points for short suits with "unprotected" honors (K, Qx).

Count full distribution points for short suits with quick tricks (A, Ax, Kx, AK).

DON'T add in your distribution points until you know you have a trump fit.

Suit Length & Strength

Your hand goes "up" in value if you have:

One or two long suits (5+ cards) instead of 4-card suits.
High "spot" cards (10s & 9s) in your long suits. These intermediate cards solidify your suit and often win the second or third tricks in a suit.
Extra trumps. If you have greater length than promised in your agreed trump suit, you'll often take one more trick for each extra trump your side holds. Add in 1 distribution point if you hold enough trumps to guarantee a 9-card fit (for example, if partner opens 1H and you have a 4-card raise). Add in 2 distribution points if you know you have a 10-card fit.

Honor Combinations and Positions

The ultimate value of your honors will depend on the "fillers" partner has. In general, though, you'll win more tricks with hands that have:

Touching honor combinations. A hand such as ♠KJ32 ♥AJ54 ♦AQ ♣Q107 is 17 points, but it's impossible to determine the real value of your king, queens and jacks.
The same 17 points is much stronger if the honors are more concentrated. Change the hand to ♠AKQJ ♥AQJ10 ♦54 ♣765 and it's 7 "sure" tricks because the honors are working together.

Honors in your long suits. High honors in your long suits help turn the suit's small cards into tricks. A holding of KQJ is only two tricks, but KQJxx will often be four tricks. AK is two tricks, but AKxxxx will usually bring in five or six tricks (assuming partner holds xx or xxx in the suit).

Honors in suits partner has bid. Even if partner opens a "short" 1C or 1D, any honor you have (even a jack or ten) may be a valuable filler.

Honors with positional strength. Use the bidding to pick up clues about whether or not your honors are located in a good position. If your right-hand opponent opens 1S, your ♠KJx (over his presumed ♠AQ10xx) is likely to be one or two tricks. But if your left-hand opponent bids spades, your ♠KJx may not take any tricks.

When evaluating your hand for a suit contract, don't give full value to your lower honors (queens and jacks) if they're in a suit the opponents have bid. Holdings such as Qxx, Jxxx and QJx aren't likely to help partner and may take tricks only if you're defending the opponents' contract.

AT THE TABLE

You open 1D and partner responds 1H. What is your rebid?

♠AK54 ♥Q862 ♦AQJ103 ♣Void: 4H. A "normal" 16-point hand would be worth an invitational raise to 3H, but you have a strong side suit and good distributional values here. Adding in 3 points for the void, your hand is worth 19 points in support of hearts, raise partner to game in his suit immediately.

♠AQJ ♥4 ♦AJ7652 ♣KJ3: 2D. Your choice is between 2D, showing 13-15 points, and 3D, showing 16-18 points. With your poor suit and a singleton in partner's suit, your best choice is probably the underbid of 2D. If partner invites game, you can accept -- and be happy to contribute more than promised instead of less.

♠Void ♥J106 ♦AK1084 ♣AKQ93: 3C. Your good suits and 3-card support for partner make this hand worth a jump-shift to force to game. You may be able to raise hearts later if partner shows more than 4. If he had instead bid 1S, you should rebid only 2C to keep the bidding low until you find a fit.

You open 1S and partner responds 2S. What is your rebid?

♠KJ10973 ♥6 ♦AJ98 ♣A4: 3D. This hand has minimum point-count, but once you find the spade fit, it's worth 17 points -- 13 points in high cards, plus 2 points for the singleton, 1 point for the doubleton and 1 point for the extra trump (partner promised at least 3-card support, so you know you have at least 9 trumps). Your 3D bid is a game-try bid that shows your second suit and invites partner to bid 4S if he has help in diamonds.

♠KJ1094 ♥K6 ♦KQ4 ♣AJ9: 2NT. You need general high-card strength from partner to make 4S, so show your balanced hand with a game-try bid of 2NT. Partner will return to 3S with a minimum response or bid 4S with a maximum (8-10 points).

Partner opens 1C, you respond 1H and partner raises to 2H. What is your rebid?

♠KJ5 ♥Q642 ♦KJ3 ♣J54: Pass. With most 11-point hands, you would want to invite game, but this one has such poor trick-taking potential that your best choice is pass. The weak trumps, no aces and flat distribution all make your hand drop in value.

♠7 ♥KQ1074 ♦1092 ♣A975: 4H. You could invite game by bidding only 3H (or making a game-try bid of 3C), but partner will pass with many minimum hands that could easily take 10 tricks. Your extra trump and the singleton make this hand worth at least 12 points, and the fit in partner's club suit makes it even more powerful.