Bidding Quiz                                                      3rd May, 2006

 

                                                   Board 1       Dealer North         None Vul

 

 

East’s 2NT showed the minors, the so-called Unusual No Trump.  This bid offers to the opening side two cue-bids, in this case, 3♣ and 3♦.  Most tournament players put these cue-bids to good use with well-defined meanings … please follow the link to “Unusual vs Unusual”.  There are various “Unusual vs Unusual” methods out there, the N-S pair in the featured auction were using a method whereby 3♠ was purely competitive, typically showing a decent 6-card suit and about 6-9 HCPs.  True, South happens to have 10 HCPs, but those minor suit holdings look pretty useless.

 

 

                                                    Board 2       Dealer East        N-S Vul

 

 

Needless to say, West’s hand is not worth an invitation, that square and empty 8-count does not qualify.  If you are going to invite with 8-counts, at least have a bit more stuffing in your suit.  Actually, you should have a lot more!

 

                                                    Board 3       Dealer South         E-W Vul

 

 

How do you and your Partner play that 3♣ bid by West?  Modern tournament practice is to play this jump cue-bid by the Partner of an Overcaller as a so-called “Mixed Raise”, which is to say that it is somewhere in between a 4-card preemptive raise and a 4-card limit raise.  West’s actual hand is very much at the top end in terms of HCPs, but that Q♣ is not worth much, so it looks like a Mixed Raise to us.  By the way, it would not have mattered whether South made her Negative Double or not, either way it’s a Mixed raise.

 

 

                                                    Board 5       Dealer North         N-S Vul

 

 

What does Double show here?  Clearly, it’s not for take-out, not when the opponents have yet to bid a suit.  No, it has to be strength-showing, and the only issue here is just how much strength does it show?  South’s Double opposite a silent partner shows 18+ HCPs.  With less, we would either open 1NT originally, or rebid a second suit, or stoically pass.

 

                                                    Board 5       Dealer North         N-S Vul

 

 

West has a difficult choice when 2♥ comes back around to him.  First, he must consider whether or not Partner’s Pass of 2♥ was a Forcing Pass.  In other words, when West redoubled 1NT, was he essentially saying “This is our hand, Partner … either we play it, or they play it in a doubled contract”?  You may get differing opinions on this one, but we say that this is not a forcing situation … South has shown 18+ HCPs, so we classify this as a competitive situation.  As such, we think that West should be allowed to pass here, though some might disagree (if everything was clear-cut, this game would not be so fascinating!).

 

If we assume that West is allowed to pass, the next question is should he pass?  Here are his options:

(a)    3♣:  On this particular hand, we might like 3♣ to be non-forcing, but clearly that is not the case … 3♣ here would show a big hand with distribution … perhaps something like:  ♠ A93  ♥ --  ♦ KJ9  ♣ AQJT974.  In other words, a hand which is looking for the best game (or slam).  Alas, bidding 3♣, hoping to be allowed to play it there, is not on the table.

(b)    Dbl:  As a general rule, a low-level balancing Double such as this is optional … the Double simply asks Partner to make his best guess on the hand.

(c)    2NT:  In the absence of agreements to the contrary, this bid is natural, and, on the actual hand, quite reasonable.

(d)    Pass:  Now that we have established (or at least asserted) that Partner’s Pass was non-forcing, we can further say that Pass is a reasonable choice on the actual hand, though perhaps a tad feeble.

 

We wouldn’t argue too much with Double or 2NT or Pass, any of these bids could work, though we like Pass the least.  The main point of interest here is whether Pass is even an option.

 

 

                                                    Board 8       Dealer West         None Vul

 

 

In this Jacoby Transfer sequence, 3♦ was natural and game-forcing.  Over 3♦, Opener has these options:

(a)    Agree Spades with 3♠ or 4♠;

(b)   Bid 3NT;

(c)    Bid anything else to agree Diamonds.

 

So, here, 3♥ would agree Diamonds.  It’s not essential that North has a Heart control for this bid, the basic message here is … “I have Diamond support, and either my hand is slammish, or else I am uncertain about 3NT”.

 

                                                    Board 8       Dealer West        None Vul

 

 

In this Jacoby Transfer sequence, 3♦ was natural and game-forcing, and 3♥ agreed Diamonds.  At this point, South has a perfect hand for Roman Key Card Blackwood, and there are various ways that this can be done, depending on partnership agreement:

     4NT:              We’ve seen before that using 4NT in minor suit auctions can be ineffective, there’s not

                            always enough bidding space (though on this deal the straightforward 4NT works just fine);

     Redwood:      Some partnerships use 4♦ as Blackwood with Clubs agreed, and 4♥ as Blackwood with

                            Diamonds agreed;

     Minorwood:   This is the method used in the featured auction … Diamonds are agreed, the auction is

                            game-forcing and 4 of the agreed minor is available as Blackwood.

 

North’s 5♣ showed 2 Key Cards with the Q♦, so now South can reasonably bid a grand slam.  But, which one, 7♦ or 7♠ or 7NT?  True, 7♠ will score better than 7♦, but, as a matter of fact, 7♠ is the one grand that you should not bid … if 7♠ makes then so will 7NT.  It’s possible to construct hands where 7♦ makes when 7NT does not (for example when the Spades need a ruff to set up the suit).  Then again, the reverse applies, it maybe possible to make 7NT when the Diamonds do not come home.  All in all, it seems pretty clear to go for the maximum and bid 7NT.

 

                                                    Board 11       Dealer South        None Vul

 

 

What do you open as East on this deal?  You have a balanced 22 HCPs, which fits into the 22-24 range that requires a 2♣ opening followed by a 2NT rebid.  But, we’ve been doing some bashing of those 4-3-3-3 hands lately … is this hand a candidate for downgrading to 21 based on its squareness?  Well, by all means deduct something for that ugly shape, but then start adding back on for these plus factors:

            3 Aces:  it’s generally agreed that, in the 4-3-2-1 point count scale, Aces are somewhat undervalued.

            No Queens:  it’s further agreed that Queens are overvalued, so add on a bit more for their absence.

            2 Tens:  Tens figure not at all in the HCP scale, so when we have a couple of them, with supporting

            high cards, that is another plus.

 

Anyway, after all this upgrading and downgrading, you’ll be back where you started, with a hand that is worth a 2♣ opening.

 

                                                    Board 12       Dealer West         N-S Vul

 

 

West could reopen with a Double here, but a far more descriptive bid is 1NT.  Opposite a silent partner, this shows 18-19 HCPs.  The auction is somewhat analogous to South’s sequence on Board 5.

 

Does this means that, with a balanced 18-19, and a Spade stop, that West should always bit 1NT?  Not at all … take a Spade from the West hand and put it into the Hearts, and it looks like a hand that should be doubling back in.

 

                                                    Board 15       Dealer South        N-S Vul

 

 

With 9 HCPs, a 5-card Diamond suit, and those Diamond fillers, East is good value for 3NT here.  But, if he is understandably nervous about the Heart situation, he might try a little gadget … yes, yet another one!  Opposite 1NT, some partnerships have an agreement that 3 of a major shows:

(a)     a singleton in the bid suit;

(b)   exactly 3 cards in the other major;

(c)    5-4 in the minors;

(d)   values for game.

 

What’s the point, you ask?  Well, if Declarer is weak in the short major, the partnership can steer towards a 4-3 fit in the other major, or, failing that, 5 of a minor.  On the board in question, Hearts are the least of West’s worries, so 3NT will be the final contract.

 

 

                                                    Board 16       Dealer West         E-W Vul

 

 

North’s 2♣ was DONT, showing Clubs and another suit, and 2♦ was an attempt to find that other suit.  When it turns out to be Hearts, should South, with her 14 HCPs, try for game?  The hand certainly has some nice features, but not enough distribution to make game likely.  We would pass here, preferring to stay low, and reckoning that the occasional missed games would be far outnumbered by the times when 8 tricks is the limit on the hand.

 

                                                    Board 17       Dealer North        None Vul

 

 

We hesitate to say whether South had a bigger problem at her first turn or second turn.  Starting at the beginning, in the framework of a 2/1 style, what do you think of South's 2♣ response?  Here are our observations:

        (a)  In a 2/1 system, 2♣ is forcing to game, and, opposite the rotten hands that partners open

              these days, this hand does not have enough stuffing be sure of a game contract

        (b) The value bid is 1NT (forcing, and planning to invite with 2NT on the next round)

        (c)  However, if we bid the No Trump first, we will probably be playing it from the wrong side, as Hearts

              is our most likely weak spot, and it would be nice if they led up to Partner's honor holding

        (d)  Therefore, we would overbid a tad with 2♣, maximizing our chances of playing in the right contract

               from the right side, at the risk of sometimes getting too high.

 

Now that we've got beyond South's first bid, we come to the problem at hand which is her second bid.  Here are your options, choose wisely:

        2NT:  Surely not!  We overbid originally to avoid wrong-siding the contract, surely we do not intend

                   to overbid and wrong-side the contract!

        3♦:     This would normally show 4-card support, but we are stuck for good bids here.

        2♠:     Likewise, this would normally show 3-card support, but we are in something of a bind.

 

We prefer 2♠, could live with 3♦, and vigorously repudiate 2NT!

 

 

                                                    Board 20       Dealer West         Both Vul

 

 

South’s hand is strikingly similar to the one that she held on Board 17.  In both cases, she has a 2-3-3-5 12-count.  And, on both boards, Partner opens one-of-a-suit in front of her.  If you play that 1♦ 2♣ is game-forcing, you are faced with the same dilemma ... either bid the value of your hand (in this case with 2NT) ... or overbid a tad (with 2♣), in order to maximize your chances of playing 3NT from the right side.  As before, our preference is to overbid.

 

                                                  Board 23       Dealer South        Both Vul

 

 

South’s 2♦ was a Reverse, and, as such, it was forcing.

 

North’s hand has suddenly got much better, and simply to raise 2♦ to 3♦ seems inadequate.  N-S are not exactly in a commonly discussed sequence here, but it seems to us that the 2♠ bid should show an unusually good hand with Diamond support, and should not necessarily send any special message about the Spade holding.

 

                                                    Board 23       Dealer South        Both Vul

 

 

Do you open South’s hand 1♣ or 2♣?  Many players would cite the fact that South has a two-loser hand and so should open 2♣.  We prefer 1♣, most of the time it’ll make the subsequent auction easier (if, indeed, there actually is a subsequent auction!).  When you open a super-strong hand with a non-forcing bid, as South did here, there is always the risk that it will get passed out … but, on those minor-oriented hands, 2♣ auctions are so awkward that it’s usually worth taking that chance.

 

South’s 2♦ was a reverse, of course, forcing for one round.  2♠ is obviously encouraging, and should probably show a good hand with Diamonds, though we’ll bet that few pairs have firm agreements in this particular auction.

 

What next?  If we really can trust North to have a good Diamond raise, then 6♦ seems likely, maybe even 7♦.  If Partner has the A♥ and K♦ (not out of the question), then we’d like to be in the grand … how do we find out about Partner’s Key Cards without him including the useless A♠ in his response?  Yes, indeed, we can bid 4♠ … Exclusion Key Card Blackwood!  If Partner has that A♠, he’ll exclude it from his response, and we’ll be able to get to the grand if Partner has those two red Key Cards.

 

 

                                                  Board 27       Dealer South        None Vul

 

 

As East, when South’s preemptive 3♦ bid gets passed around, what would be your choice?  Pass is not an option, it’s between 3♥ and Double.  We think that Double is the way to go here, but it's a close decision.  On the one hand we would like Partner's opinion (arguing for a Double), on the other hand we do have a rather nice 6-card suit (arguing for 3♥).  The main point here is that 3♥ is unilateral and really has only one way to win, namely if our side actually belongs in Hearts.  But, Double has several ways to win ... penalty Pass by Partner, or 5-3 Spade fit, a Heart contract anyway, maybe even 4♣.  At least the Double draws Partner into the auction, and that's usually a good thing.  Two minds are better than one.

 

 

                                                  Board 29       Dealer North        None Vul

 

 

North’s innocuous 14-count may not look that spectacular, but it turns out to be one of the most instructive hands of the set.  Clearly, North has an opening bid here, but it’s as well to have rebid in mind when one opens the bidding.  If South opens 1♣, the most likely response from Partner is 1♠, the suit we are short in, and it pays to be ready for that bid.  Here are some possible plans:

(a)    Open 1♣, planning a reverse to 2♥ … no, no, no, this is a major overbid;

(b)    Open 1♣, planning a rebid of 1NT … no, this is an underbid … the 1NT rebid shows 12-14 HCPs, but our 14 here is just too muscular … look at the good 5-card suit and all the useful fillers;

(c)    Open 1♣, planning a rebid of 2♣ … yes, this is quite reasonable … the 2♣ rebid has a bit more potential extra strength that a 1NT rebid, and if it encourages Partner to take one more bid, we might find our way to game.

(d)    Open 1NT! … perhaps it seems a bit bizarre to open 1NT with just 14 HCPs and a singleton, but we kind of like the bid … after all, if we deem it too good for a 1NT rebid, then surely it is good enough for a 1NT opening bid.

 

Opening 1NT opening works rather badly on the actual hand, we regret to inform you!  If that seems to be a bit “out there”, then we suggest opening 1♣, and rebidding 2♣.

 

 

                                                   Board 30       Dealer East        None Vul

 

 

On this hand, as East, after that Double, do you preempt or do you bid constructively?  Preempting to 4♥ holding that outside Ace is not a good idea, in our view, it’s too likely to cause Partner to misjudge things later in the auction.  OK, if we decide to make a constructive bid, what are our options?  Not 3♥, that’s normally played as preemptive.  That leaves:

Redouble:       No, that cannot be right, East has to find a bid which shows Heart support.

Jordan 2NT:   Some partnerships play a convention known as Jordan over the opponent’s take-out Double

                        … in this method, 2NT shows a limit raise or better.

Drury:             If you play Drury, it’s a good idea to extend its usage to this situation.  There are different

                        flavors of Drury, please check the link.

 

So, our choice would be a Drury bid of 2♣ or 2♦ (depending on which type of Drury is being used), showing values and a fit.  This will give Partner the best chance of guessing right on the next round of bidding.

 

 

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