4th Suit Forcing
The fourth suit bid must be bid on at least the 2 level, it could be short, and is assumed to be unstopped until indicated otherwise, although he normally has at least a half-stop (e.g.: Qxx). If opener has the suit stopped, he will usually bid NT, although this page on the ACBL web site says that opener's first obligation is to raise partner's suit with 3-card support. It also says that opener can rebid his 2nd suit to show 6+ of his first (minor) suit and 5+ of his 2nd suit (usually a major). If opener's hand does fit one of these other bids, he should rebid his first suit. If the 4th suit bid is 1, it is natural and forcing, but not game forcing. A jump to 2 is FSF but denies 4 spades. Only responder can make a FSF bid and the bidding goes something like 1 - 1 - 1 - 2.
For a fuller treatment, click here.
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