Bidding Quiz                                   14th June, 2006

 

 

                                                   Board 1       Dealer North        None Vul

 

 

How about 2♥ here?  Not everybody would condone such a Weak Two, no doubt complaining about the topless suit,  and the 4-card major on the side … valid points both, but non-vulnerable there’s a lot to be said for getting in there.  On the plus side, the hand is offensively oriented, there are some trump fillers, and we love that 6-4 shape.  We know that we would be unable to resist, but it's primarily a matter of style.

 

 

Board 2      Dealer East      N-S Vul

 

 

We have a lively distribution, but have nothing worth saying in first seat, better to pass and see what happens.  But, after North opens in 4^th seat with a 1♣ bid, the gloves are off.  At this point in the proceedings action is required!  And all the more so as we are white versus red. It would be nice if East could show both of his suits here, but, using “standard” methods, he cannot … he can show the two lower unbid suits (with the Unusual 2NT), or the majors (with Michaels), but what he cannot do is show Diamonds and Spades. 

 

Given the unavailability of a two-suited bid, we rather like 3♦ here, that white versus red thing sometimes makes us go crazy … but, seriously, at this vulnerability, bidding a mere 2♦ would be quite lame.

 

 

                                                    Board 3       Dealer South        E-W Vul

 

 

At this point, most partnerships play that 3♦ is a Splinter ... in other words, shortness in Diamonds with Club support.  Is this the right bid on the hand?  We don't think so, we prefer to reserve Splinter bids for weaker hands.  After all, when we splinter we are asking Partner's opinion ... and the question we are asking is "How do you like your hand opposite Diamond shortness?"  Here, if we Splinter and Partner bids then 3NT, we'll not be passing, our hand is too good ... for this reason we would not have bothered to splinter in the first place.

 

After 2♣, we think that South is good enough to use Roman Key Card Blackwood ... do you play Minorwood or Redwood?  We highly recommend one (or even both) of these conventions ... here they provide South with a cheaper way to ask for Key Cards, allowing the partnership to stop in 4NT or 5 of the minor if the response shows that 2 Key Cards are missing. 

 

                                                    Board 4       Dealer West        Both Vul

 

 

For a second-seat vulnerable preempt, West's suit is a tad moth-eaten, and another good reason not to open 3♥ is the possession of those two Queens.  These have more potential on defense that they do on offense … quite the opposite of what we expect from our preempts!  In fact, on the actual hand, playing in 3♥, those two Queens would be quite useless ... and defending an enemy Club suit they would be worth 2 tricks!

 

 

                                                    Board 5       Dealer North       N-S Vul

 

 

West has a solid suit and 21 HCPs, but, even so, a bid of 3♥ is quite adequate here.  The sequence of doubling, and then bidding a new suit, shows a very good hand, and there's no need to do more ... West has 5 losers in his hand, and needs some help from Partner if game is to be made.

 

 

                                                    Board 6      Dealer East       E-W Vul

 

 

North is obviously going to take this one to game, sooner or later, and one way to create a game-forcing auction is to bid 2♥ here, initiating a Fourth Suit Forcing sequence.  But why bother?  There's no point in messing around here, we'd just go straight to the obvious game.  However, make the hand a bit stronger, say with an outside King, then we would try the 4th suit first, and then jump to 4♠.  In other words, bidding 4♠ directly limits the strength of the hand.

 

Why shouldn't North bid 4♠ immediately over 1♦?  This would be a purely preemptive bid, with a long but weaker suit, maybe KQxxxxxx and out ... or even KQJxxxx at this vulnerability.  So to summarize: by bidding 1♠ and then 4♠, North shows a hand too good to preempt, one that is good enough to insist on game in Spades, but without extras.

 

Board 7      Dealer South      Both Vul

 

 

North is in an awkward, but not uncommon, situation here.  She would like to play this one 3NT or 4♠, depending upon whether or not South has 3 Spades.  In fact, North is in exactly the same situation that she would be in if South had rebid 1NT instead of 2♣.  After the 1NT rebid, most players use New Minor Forcing (or some other checkback method) to investigate the 5-3 major fit.  And, yes, you can use it in this sequence, too!  So, after 2♣, North bids 2♦, and now South shows that 3-card support.

 

Without that 2♦ device, North would be totally up the creek … 2♠ is not forcing, nor is 3♠ (which should show better and longer Spades, anyway), and 3NT would give up on a 4♠ contract.  So, 2♦ is the practical bid … it’s forcing, and it gives Partner a chance to support Spades.  In fact, on this hand, you might well make the bid regardless of whether you and your Partner have discussed its meaning, it seems like a safe enough way of investigating the 5-3 fit.

 

Board 9      Dealer North      E-W Vul

 

 

When they invented the Negative Double, showing support for the unbid suits, it’s probably fair to say that they did not have East’s hand in mind.  No, this hand should be bidding Spades, and then Diamonds, all the way to the 5-level.  Or, should we bid Diamonds, and then Spades, all the way to the 4-level?  An interesting choice!

 

It's tough to keep a 6-card major out of the auction, but we have to give some thought to our next bid, as well as this bid.  There is a distinct possibility that our next bid will be at the 4-level ... surely the opponents have at least 9 Hearts between them, maybe more, and it will not have escaped their notice that they are white and we are red.

 

If we bid 1♠, and LHO bids 4♥, we will have to bid 5♦ next, forcing Partner to 5♠ if that is his preference.  So, better to bid 2♦, and then be prepared to bid 4♠ (and then even 5♠), later in the auction.  Yes, of course, 2♦ shows a lot more in the way of HCPs, but we shouldn't really care about that too much ... we are hardly worried about Partner doubling them for penalties, because you will not be sitting for it anyway!

 

 

                                                    Board 10      Dealer East        Both Vul

 

 

East might have considered opening his hand, after all it does pass the Rule of Twenty, but Pass is fine, too, especially as the hand has so little in the way of defense.  Having passed, and after Partner's 1♠ opening bid, East has an obvious 2♦ bid ... obvious unless E-W happen to be playing Two-Way Reverse Drury, in which case 2♦ is not available as a natural bid.  In this case, perhaps E-W also use this gadget for a minor-oriented passed hand:

                     Pass

        1♠         2NT                 Shows a hand with both minors.

 

The question is "Does this 2NT show a good hand or a weak hand?"  On this particular deal we'd love for it to show a good hand, and that is the recommended treatment ... we prefer that the bid be constructive in nature, with a weak hand we would pass or bid 1NT.

 

 

Board 12      Dealer West      N-S Vul

 

 

You have the values for game, and a stopper in the unbid Spade suit, so leaping to 3NT does not seem completely unreasonable.  But, consider also making a Fourth Suit Forcing bid of 2♠ here ... you'll probably end up in 3NT eventually, anyway, but going via the 4th suit will give you a chance to investigate other possibilities, such as a minor suit slam.  If you are going to leap to 3NT here, you really should have a heftier Spade holding.

 

The point to remember here is that leaping to game when there are less committal alternatives available is supposed to express a strong opinion, and on this hand we don't really have one.

 

Note the difference between this hand and Board 6.  On that previous board, North was always going to insist on Spades, and she had the choice whether to go via Fourth Suit Forcing or to bid 4♠ directly ... so going via Fourth Suit Forcing would have shown extra values.  But, on Board 12, East was not about to insist on anything ... he was using Fourth Suit Forcing due to uncertainty, not extra strength.

 

 

                                                    Board 13       Dealer North        Both Vul

 

 

South has 3 choices here:

   3♥:  We are borderline for a jump rebid ... give us the T♥ and it would be more clear-cut ... but the real

           problem with bidding 3♥ is that it might freeze Spades out of the auction.  For example, suppose that

           North holds:  ♠ K8753  ♥ 2  ♦ KT94  ♣ AT2.  After 3♥, North can hardly bid 3♠ with such a feeble

           suit, and the 5-3 Spade fit will be lost as N-S flounder in 3NT.

   2♥:  Some would call this a slight underbid, but at least it has the benefit of keeping things more fluid ... for

           example, if North held the sample hand above, he could bid 2NT over 2♥, after which South would

           try 3♠ on the way to game.

   2♠:  This risks playing in a 4-3 fit, of course, but that should not be such a terrible thing with those minor

           suit ruffing values.  And, we'll really like our 2♠ choice if it turns out that Partner is 5-2 or 5-1 in the

           majors with a weak hand.  Then again, 2♠ may work out rather poorly if Partner is 4-2 in the majors.

 

Well, 3♥ is our least favorite choice by a long way because of the way it crowds the auction ... we think it's pretty close between the other two, and we'd go for 2♥.

 

 

Board 18     Dealer East     N-S Vul

 

 

An interesting auction!  West’s 2♦ was the so-called “waiting” bid, merely denying a good hand with a biddable suit.  West’s next bid showed Heart support, and some values, too … as the auction is game-forcing, 3♥ here is more encouraging that 4♥, it’s the Principal of Fast Arrival in action.  3♠ and 4♣ were both cue-bids, showing a control in each of the bid suits. 

 

What next?  It would clearly be a mistake to try Blackwood here, with those two Diamond losers ... a double mistake because we also have a void.  But if Partner has the A♦ or K♦ then we will surely have some sort of play for slam.  How do you ask Partner if he has one of those cards?  Well, actually, you don't ask, you tell.  Simply bid 4♥, conveying the clear message that you are unable to proceed past game unless Partner has a Diamond control.  If he doesn't he will pass, and you will be happy to have stayed at the 4-level ... and if he does have a control, he will bid again.

 

How do you play 2♣ 2♦, 3♥?  A common treatment for this bid is that it sets the trump suit, and initiates cue-bidding.  So, an alternative approach for this East hand.

 

Board 20      Dealer West      Both Vul

 

 

Some players would decline to use Stayman with the West hand, they would simply bid 3NT directly, saying that their hand has a square shape and no ruffs, and a pathetic Heart suit to boot.  That’s all well and good, but that does not mean that Opener’s hand is without a ruffing value.

 

And so it is on the actual deal … if South leads a Club against 3NT, Declarer is held to 9 tricks … but 4♥ makes 10 tricks on any defense.  Strangely enough, on the actual deal, it’s because the Heart suit is so feeble that 4♥ is a better spot.  In No Trump, the opponents will attack Clubs, getting their 4^th trick before Declarer can get his 10^th.  But, in 4♥, those feeble trumps provide protection against the Club attack, as we laboriously knock out the high trumps.

 

But, we don’t want to over-simplify here.  On other layouts, it’s not impossible to see how the defense might arrange a Spade ruff, for example, making 3NT the preferred contract.  A complex subject, no easy answers.

 

System Note:  After Partner opens 1NT, what does your bid of 3♦ mean?  Heaven knows, there enough alternatives out there ... weak, invitational, strong, one-suited, two-suited, three-suited, take your pick.  But, if your own preferred method hardly ever comes up, you may want to consider playing "Stayman in Doubt".  In  this method, you bid 3♦ whenever you have a square hand with a 4-card major (and game-going values), and, if Opener also has a square hand with a 4-card major, he declines to show it and simply bids 3NT.  It's a nifty way of staying out of those major suit games where there are matching square distributions.

 

 

Board 21      Dealer North      N-S Vul

 

 

This is a hand where you will want to try 4♥ or 4♠, it's simply a matter of getting to the best suit.  If your partnership is fairly disciplined about suit quality when opening a Weak Two, you might as well just bash out 4♠, and forget about the Heart suit.  But if you open Weak Twos with extremely ratty suits (even when vulnerable), you may want to try a (forcing) 3♥ first, planning to bid 4♠ next, unless Partner shows interest in Hearts.

 

The various methods for following up Weak Two openings are discussed in the System Library.

 

 

Board 22      Dealer East      E-W Vul

 

 

Do you open this one in 4th seat?  The points are obviously divided more or less equally around the table, and who goes plus on this deal will depend upon various random factors, such as finesses and who happens to have the best fit.  But, in these low-level part-score battles, the side which has the boss suit has an edge.  Of course, holding Jxxx in Spades is not exactly an overwhelming advantage, but it is worth something, and should be enough to tilt the scales in favor of opening.  As we have discussed before, this logic is embodied into "Cansino count" ... add your HCPs and Spade length, and if the total is 15 or more, then open in 4th seat.  Needless to say, the advice provided by this rule is far from infallible.

 

And now for something completely different.  Instead of opening 1♣, there is something to be said for an opening bid of 1♠ ... yes, really, the bid has some merits, though being a lead-director is not one of them.  If you open 1♠, Drury will protect you from an exuberant South, and if she responds with 1NT then you have an easy Pass.  Something to think about.

 

 

                                                    Board 23       Dealer South       Both Vul

 

 

No prizes for finding the 2♠ rebid!  1NT here would not be a good idea with that worthless Club doubleton ... so much better to raise Partner on your 3-card suit.

 

 

                                                    Board 24      Dealer West       None Vul

 

 

South knows that she will compete to the 3-level sooner or later, and she should do so right away, trying to make life difficult for the opponents.  It would not be a good idea to pass, hoping to buy it in 2♥, that's not going to happen, and it gives the opponents to much room in which to maneuver.  Nor would it be a good idea to jump to 4♥ just because N-S have a 10-card fit ... this hand has too much defense (especially against a Spade contract) and not much offense.  So, a simple little preemptive nudge to 3♥ is called for.

 

 

Board 25      Dealer North      E-W Vul

 

 

North has a rebid problem, after South’s 1♠ response.  Clearly, too good for 1NT, so the choice is between 2♣ and 2♥.  We don’t like either very much!  2♣ is a bit short in the Club department, and a bit long in the strength department … and reversing into 2♥ is a slight overbid (only 15 HCPs, but then, on the other hand, not a Queen in sight!).  It won't be everybody's choice, but our own (slight) preference is for 2♥ here.  Yes, this might get us too high, but we would rather try our luck in, for example, an adventurous Heart game, than languish in a 5-1 or 5-2 Club fit, when we have a 4-4 Heart fit.  Even so, there's nothing wrong with rebidding 2♣, just don't make the mistake of rebidding 1NT.

 

 

Board 26      Dealer East      Both Vul

 

 

After 1♦, South could bid the Unusual 2NT, showing the two lower unbid suits.  But that hardly seems right here, the Hearts are longer, and so much stronger.  Our own choice is 3♥, something of a stab in the dark, it won’t always work out well, but it’s a reasonable shot.  However, if your partner is of a nervous disposition, consider bidding just 2♥.

 

                                                    Board 31       Dealer South       N-S Vul

 

 

As before on Board 22, here we have another 4th seat situation where the decision on whether to open is largely based on the Spade suit.  Only 10 HCPs, but the 5 Spades provide extra power in the part-score battle, and we would open 1♠ here.

 

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