Bidding Quiz                                             May 10th , 2006

 

 

                                                    Board 1       Dealer North         None Vul

 

 

What does Partner’s Double signify?  It’s primarily a penalty Double, no doubt he has some Diamond tricks and a decent hand.  Does that mean we have to pass?  Absolutely not, there’s invariably a co-operative element in the low-level Doubles, and East should feel free to pull the Double if he is bereft of defense or has an undisclosed fit for Partner.

 

Here, East has no defense, and a fit, so it seems pretty clear to bid 3♠ here.  Once in a while, Partner will have them dead to rights and your 3♠ bid will convert a juicy penalty into a minus score, but your partners are always most understanding when that happens, are they not?

 

 

                                                    Board 2       Dealer East        N-S Vul

 

 

Even though South has the best hand at the table, she has been unable to get into the auction thus far … should she pass one more time?  No, we suggest that South doubles here.  What should Partner expect from South for this Double?  Some values, of course … and yet a hand which was unable to get into the auction earlier … Heart length and Spade shortness would explain the earlier silence.

 

So, essentially, doubling here is a take-out for the minors.  Not that South is particularly looking forward to hearing 3♦ from Partner!  No, South is gambling that North’s Spades are good enough to convert the take-out Double into a juicy penalty.  And, on the actual hand, that is exactly what happens! 

 

 

                                                    Board 6       Dealer East       E-W Vul

 

 

Here, East has three choices:

(a)    Bid 5♥:   with this minimum hand, it hardly seems right to commit to the 5-level;

(b)   Double:  nor does Double seem right, with shortness in their suit;

(c)    Pass:     yes, of course, East makes a Forcing Pass … he’s not sure what to do, which is an excellent reason to let Partner make the decision.

 

This is not a difficult bidding problem, but many, we suspect, would look at the favorable vulnerability and bid 5♥.  It’s easy to forget that Partner is also aware of the vulnerability.  At least we hope so!

 

 

                                                    Board 7       Dealer South        Both Vul

 

 

Regardless of whether East’s Double is Negative, or merely value-showing, West can surely not pass here, the potential for slam is just too great.  A bid of 4♠ would be altogether too feeble, and the choice seems to be between 5♥ and 5♠.  No doubt, 5♥ would get a lot of votes, but it won’t help the partnership find a Spade contract … East’s Spades will be too weak for him to suggest Spades.  The only way to get to a 4-4 Spade fit (if one exists) is for West to bid 5♠.  Yes, 5♠ is our choice here, just bidding what you’ve got is often a good thing.  The 5♠ bid gets E-W to 6♠, whereas the more nebulous 5♥ will no doubt land E-W in the lower-scoring 6♦.

 

Does 5♠ have any special meaning, other than showing Spades and a very good hand?  We don’t think that it should be anything other than a natural bid … it’s the only way that West can show Spades and also consult with Partner, so it’s simply not practical to give the bid a meaning such as “Bid 6 with good trumps”, or “Bid 6 if you don’t have 2 Heart losers”.

 

 

                                                    Board 8       Dealer West        None Vul

 

 

East has a very nice hand, but it’s not quite good enough to insist on game.  Some kind of game try is in order, and there are innumerable methods from which to choose.  One day, we’ll add a write-up to the System Library, but, in the meantime we’ll offer you one simple approach, and then a refinement.  The simple approach is the “Help Suit Game Try”, whereby Opener names a suit in which he would like help, and Responder goes to game if he has help in the suit (and a half-decent hand), or even if he has no help but a super-duper hand.  Using this approach, East bids 2♠ (help is definitely needed in that suit!).

 

The problem with the Help-Suit method is that it gives a road map to the defense, making it easier for them to find the right opening lead.  There’s an alternative Help-Suit method which is less helpful to the defense … Opener makes the cheapest bid (again 2♠, as it happens), which asks Responder to bid the cheapest suit in which he would accept a game try.  On the actual hand, West bids 3♥ over 2♠, saying that he would not accept any Help-Suit game try.  See the difference?  E-W have revealed no specific weakness in this auction, all that has happened is that West has shown a bad hand.  By the way, after 1♥ 2♥, 2♠, a bid of 2NT is used to show help for Spades.

 

                                                    Board 9       Dealer North        E-W Vul

 

 

Would you balance with a Double as West?  Non-vulnerable, we would most certainly balance, but vulnerable is far more risky, of course, there is always the specter of -200 as a deterrent.  We wouldn’t fault Pass or Double here, either could work.

 

On the actual hand, passing 2♦ results, in all likelihood, in a score of -90.  Balancing with a Double will result in a score of -100 or -200, depending upon whether 3♣ is doubled … but a score of +50 is also possible if N-S push on to 3♦.  That, of course, is the upside of taking action … sometimes, even when it is wrong, it will work out fine if the opponents refuse to sell out.  We’ll bet that many Norths will push on to 3♦ on the actual hand, and that not unreasonable action will get them a minus score.

 

 

                                                   Board 11       Dealer South        None Vul

 

 

What is your plan as South?  One option would be to transfer to Hearts, planning to play it in 2♥, unless Opener super-accepts to show a maximum and 4 Hearts, in which case game is a possibility.  Plan B would be to use Garbage Stayman … South bids 2♣, then, after 2♥ or 2♠, passes … and, if North bids 2♦, then South bids 2♥, which, by partnership agreement can show a weak hand and both majors.  We prefer the Garbage Stayman option, giving up on the highly unlikely game possibility, but improving the chances of finding a part-score major suit fit.

 

                                                    Board 12       Dealer West       N-S Vul

 

 

What do you bid as East over 2♥?  Double is not an option with that doubleton Spade, so the choices are 2NT or Pass.  If the vulnerability were reversed, it would be right to bid 2NT, giving your side a chance to bid the vulnerable game … but at this favorable vulnerability the percentage bid is surely to pass … this is a bid which can win in two ways:

(a)    if game is not possible, then +200 (or more) defending 2♥ undoubled will be a good matchpoint score;

(b)   if game is possible, then West probably has enough to balance with a Double … now, down two or better beats the score for the E-W game.

 

 

                                                    Board 12       Dealer West        N-S Vul

 

 

After a Weak Two, in the balancing seat, with shortness in the opponents’ suit, we bend over backwards to make that Double.  After all, South did not further the preempt, nor did South make a constructive bid … so, most of the time, East is either ready to Pass the Double or has the values needed for E-W to compete in a part-score.  Is West’s 7-count enough for a balancing Double?  Absolutely!

 

 

                                                  Board 13       Dealer North        Both Vul

 

 

If the opponents open one of a suit, then a direct 1NT overcall typically shows 15-18, and a balancing 1NT shows something less than that, perhaps 10-14, give or take a point or two.  If the opponents open two of a suit, a 2NT overcall shows about the same as before, namely 15-18.  But how about a balancing 2NT, is that a reduced range?  No, to come in with 2NT, even when balancing, we need a good hand, the same 15-18 that is needed in the direct seat.

 

                                                    Board 14       Dealer East        None Vul

 

 

West could make a value-showing Double here, but would hate to see Partner pass for penalties when West has that undisclosed Diamond fit.  West might also consider a limit raise of 3♦, but hopefully not for long because it’s a gross underbid.  There’s no good number of Spades to be bid, and thus, by a process of elimination, we end up with 3♣ … when in doubt, cue-bid!

 

 

                                                    Board 16       Dealer West        E-W Vul

 

 

This simple problem is just a little refresher course in Negative Doubles.  After an opening bid of 1♣, and a 1♦ overcall, the Negative Double shows both majors (at least as is generally played nowadays) … with one major we just bid it naturally, even if it is only a 4-card suit.  But, over 1♦ and a 2♣ overcall, the same does not apply … now, bidding 2♥ or 2♠ shows a 5-card suit (and decent values), so the Negative Double is best used to show at least one major, not necessarily both.

 

However, if we choose to make a Negative Double of 2♣ with just one 4-card major, we need a fallback position when Partner bids the wrong one (partners have a habit of doing that!).  The fallback positions are typically:

(a)    3-card support for the other major (planning to let Partner play in the 4-3 fit);

(b)   Limit raise values in Partner’s Diamonds;

(c)    A hand that can bid some number of No Trump.

 

 

                                                   Board 20       Dealer West        Both Vul

 

 

We have a huge fit for Partner’s Hearts, and slender values … does this mean that we should preempt? … or bid constructively?  It’s a pretty tough choice in our view, and our own guess would be to treat it as a simple limit raise … in other words, we’d cue-bid 3♦ here, rather than leaping to 4♥.

 

 

                                                  Board 21       Dealer North         N-S Vul

 

 

North has something of a rebid problem here.  No number of Hearts is right … obviously not 2♥ … nor 3♥, this bid is invitational, showing about a King less than North actually has … and 4♥ is more or less right on values, but the Heart suit is just not good enough for the bid.  If not some number of Hearts, then what exactly? The only options are 2NT or a fake jump shift.  We like North’s actual choice of 2NT … true, it’ll lose some 6-2 Heart fits, but that may not be a bad thing.

 

If North rebids 2NT, she’ll end up in 3NT … if North rebids 3♣, Partner will bid 3♥, and the final contract will be 4♥.  As No Trump and Hearts play virtually the same on this particular board, we’d naturally prefer to be in No Trump.

 

                                                    Board 22       Dealer East        E-W Vul

 

 

Needless to say, West will not be stopping short of 4♥ on this hand, but what is the best way of getting there?  One route to 4♥ would be simply to bid it directly, with the idea of putting maximum pressure on the opponents.  Not a good plan!  If North bids 4♠ (as she would on the actual hand), then it is E-W who are given the last guess, not their opponents.  No, West needs a way of showing a 4♥ bid with some “stuff” outside … not that the singleton K♠ and the QJ♣ is a huge amount of “stuff”, but it is surely enough “stuff” to elevate the hand above the level of merely preemptive.  Here are West’s options, as we see them:

(a)    Bid 4♥ anyway, planning to bid 5♥ if the opponents have the temerity to compete to 4♠ (which they often seem to do at this vulnerability!) … we don’t like this plan one bit, it’s unilateral, taking Partner out of the auction and relegating him to spectator status (Partners don’t like that!).

(b)   Bid 4♥, planning to Pass the opponents’ 4♠ bid … no, we don’t think much of this one either, it doesn’t do justice to the hand’s defensive values, nor to the 6^th Heart.

(c)    Splinter raise of 3♠ … inexpressibly awful, not worth contemplating.

(d)   Conventional raise of 3NT … some partnerships play that 3NT in this situation shows a 4♥ type of hand, except one with an outside defensive trick … a hand with 5 Hearts and an outside Ace would be just about perfect.  True, the West hand does not fall exactly into that mould, but it’s not that far off.

(e)    Bergen Raise … if you are playing Bergen Raises then you might consider bidding 3♣ or 3♦ (whichever one you use as the limit raise), and then going to game anyway if Partner signs off in 3♥ … this sequence shows a hand which is worth a shot at game, but not worth a Jacoby 2NT bid.

(f)     Jacoby 2NT … this would be a psyche, of course, or at least a semi-psyche, but we like it anyway!  It’s the bid most likely to discourage competition, and it’s unlikely that it will propel E-W too high … if East has slam aspirations, West has plenty of room in which to apply the brakes.

 

So many choices!  Well, not really, we don’t think much of the first three.  You can take your pick of the last three, they all have some merit.  Considering the vulnerability, and our Spade shortness, we’d love to be able to buy this one in 4♥, and our own guess as to the best way to do this is to try the semi-psychic Jacoby 2NT.

 

 

                                                    Board 25       Dealer North        E-W Vul

 

 

We think that West has a pretty clear-cut 4♠ bid … there are far too many minimum East hands which will be enough for game, so no reason to mess around with a game try here.

 

 

                                                    Board 26       Dealer East       Both  Vul

 

 

Does North make a limit raise or a preempt?  We’d have to say that a limit raise is in order here, even though our hand has less HCPs (and way less defense!) than Partner might reasonably expect.  The point is that we have a great source of tricks for a 3NT contract, and preempting is not going to convey that message.  As it happens, South has 14 HCPs, and a hand most suitable for a shot at 3NT.

 

 

                                                  Board 27       Dealer South        None Vul

 

 

Yes, we would certainly open the North hand, and, later, when Partner makes a Negative Double, showing 4 Hearts, we’d just keep bidding and bidding and bidding, until they double.

 

 

                                                  Board 29       Dealer North        Both Vul

 

 

South has a mere 4 HCP’s, but we would certainly get our 5-card major into the auction here.  However, change the hand a tad, so that we only have a 4-card major, and we would pass in a flash.

 

 

                                                    Board 29       Dealer North        Both Vul

 

 

North’s Redouble is an offspring of the Support Double, showing 3-card support for Partner’s Hearts.  And on the next round of bidding?  We suggest a Double here, showing extras.

 

 

                                                    Board 30       Dealer East        None Vul

 

 

Anyone for a heroic balancing bid in the East seat?  It’s always tempting to come in when we are short in the preempt suit, but perhaps East needs a little bit more to take action.  We would pass as East, and we note, with regret, that coming in with a Double or with 3♠, albeit borderline psychotic bidding, is also the winning action.  Oh, well.

 

                                                    Board 32       Dealer West       E-W Vul

 

 

It would be nice to get that nice 5-card suit into the auction, but it’s just not possible … 2♥ would show a weak hand … and 3♥ would be right on general values, but would show a 6^th Heart.  As Hearts are out of the question, we simply bid the only alternative, which is 2NT.

 

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