Bidding Quiz                                                   26th July, 2006

 

                                                    Board 1       Dealer North       None Vul

 

 

After Partner has opened 1♥ or 1♠ in 3rd (or 4th) seat, many players use the Drury convention as a way to check back to see whether or not that opening was full opening strength.  To use Drury requires that you have at least 3-card support and (usually) invitational values.  The two most common flavors of the convention are:

  - 2♣ shows 3 or more of Partner's major

  - 2♣ shows 3-card support, and 2♦ shows 4 or more (the so-called Two-Way Drury).

 

Those who play Drury must decide whether it is on over interference, in this case that Double.  For most partnerships, Drury is indeed on in competition, in which case, East has an easy 2♣ bid in the above auction.

 

 

                                                    Board 3       Dealer North       E-W Vul

 

 

Partner's Weak Two was made under the influence of favorable vulnerability, and therefore could be quite frisky.  But, even opposite the soundest of Weak Twos, game is highly improbable.  We could compete to 3♠, of course, but our side has only 8 trumps, and furthermore we have 4 likely defensive tricks in our own hand.  It looks like we should be defending here, and it seems to us that Double is the percentage action ... 3♥ won't always be beaten but surely it will be most of the time, and when it is we'll score a lovely +200 (or more) on a part-score hand.

 

On the actual hand, 3♥ can be beaten one trick, but, in the interests of full disclosure we must confess that the obvious Spade opening lead gives away the contract.  As we said, the contract will be beaten most of the time!

 

                                                    Board 4      Dealer West       Both Vul

 

 

North thought that her hand was too good for a Weak Two, and we agree with that assessment.  However, is she good enough to take a another call? ... at the three-level, and vulnerable, no less!  First, though, what does Partner's 1NT show after that Double?  Typically, 6-9 HCPs, maybe a rotten 10 ... in other words, a hand not good enough to redouble.  It looks like we have half the points, maybe slightly less, and probably 9 Diamonds (but no guarantees), so 3♦ seems like an obvious call here ... true, Partner may have 3-3-2-5 distribution, in which case we'd much prefer to play it in Clubs, but we don't have a way of discovering that, so we'll go with a known fit of at least 8 cards.

 

Consider the actual hand above, side by side with a stronger version:

     Hand A               Hand B

     ♠ T9                    ♠ A9

     ♥ T                      ♥ T

     ♦ AK7532           ♦ AKQ532

     ♣ K873               ♣ K873

 

With Hand A we want to compete to 3♦ and have no aspirations to game ... holding the stronger version, we also want to compete to 3♦ (at least), but we have hopes for game, too.  If that sounds like deja vu as you read it, then it sounded the same way as we wrote it ... here's an extract from our article "Lebensohl after 1NT Openings", describing a situation where the opponents have overcalled Partner's 1NT opening with 2 of a major:

      With Hand A, you have no aspirations for game, but you would surely like to compete to 3♦.  With Hand

      B, you want to play in game. … whether that game should be 3NT or 5♦ will depend to a large extent on

      Opener’s Spade holding.  Clearly, you cannot use 3♦ for both of these hands.

 

It sounds like the same problem, doesn't it?  So, no surprise that the solution is the same!  Yes, some partnerships play Lebensohl here, too, except that they often call it "The Good-Bad Two No Trump".  Playing this convention, with Hand A you would bid 2NT (relaying to 3♣) as the weak way of bidding 3♦, and with Hand B you would bid 3♦ directly as constructive (but non-forcing) ... now, Partner can try 3NT if his 1NT bid was something like: ♠ Q76  ♥ K743  ♦ T64  ♣ A9. 

 

When does this convention apply?  Aye, there's the rub ... ask 10 experts and you'll get at least 11 different answers.  Here's a simple set of rules covering a limited number of situations, no doubt we'll complicate matters with a future article:

  - Good-Bad 2NT is only bid by Opener;

  - Responder must have bid something other than Pass;

  - Opener's RHO must have bid 2♦ or 2♥ or 2♠.

When this situation occurs, the 2NT rebid by Opener is a relay to 3♣ and a way of competing ... and bidding directly at the 3-level is a constructive move.

 

Warning

This convention is not for the casual partnership!

 

 

                                                    Board 5      Dealer North       N-S Vul

 

 

Let's suppose that we make the seemingly obvious call of 3♥.  Do we expect to be allowed to play it there?  Fat chance!  Our opponents always seem to compete to 3♠ in these situations.  If they do, we might find ourselves going through this Total Tricks analysis:

  - They probably have 9 trumps (no guarantees)

  - We have 9 or 10 trumps

  - It looks as if there are likely to be 18+ total trumps, so 18+ total tricks

  - If they can make 9 tricks in Spades (or fewer) then we would be better off bidding 4♥ here.

 

At this point in the analysis, we should no doubt be wondering why we didn't bid 4♥ directly over their 2♠!  Yes, forget the "obvious" call of 3♥ and bid 4♥ instead ... put the opponents to the guess.

 

On the actual hand, 4♥ turns out to be a poor contract, but it makes, thanks to 2 working finesses.  Lucky?  Absolutely not! ... if the cards had been less favorable, 4♥ going down would have been a good save against 3♠.

 

                                                     Board 7      Dealer South     Both Vul

 

 

After 3 Passes, some players place great store in counting up their Cansino points (Spades plus HCPs), and then passing if the number is less than 15.  This procedure would be most unfortunate on the actual hand, as E-W can make no fewer than 11 or 12 tricks in Hearts!  Regardless of the Cansino point deficiency, East clearly should open his hand, it has too much playing strength to pass.

 

That Cansino-count is a useful tool, because it factors in the importance of the Spade suit in the part-score battle, advising you to pull back a little with a deficient Spade holding.  But, don’t let's overdo it!

 

 

                                                    Board 8      Dealer West        None Vul

 

 

It's always galling to be dealt a good hand and then to do nothing in the auction but pass.  But a Pass is what is required here, the hand is not strong enough for a penalty Double.  It's close, at least in terms of HCPs, but it's nowhere close in terms of tricks ... added to which, the hand has no attractive opening lead.  Anything other than a Pass would be a serious overbid.

 

                                                   Board 9      Dealer North     E-W Vul

 

 

After the opponents open with a Weak Two, many partnerships play that jumps to the 4-level show good two-suited hands.  If the opening bid is 2♦, there are two variations in common use:

  - Bid 4♣ to show Clubs and a major (now 4♦ asks "Which major?"), and 4♦ to show both majors

  - Bid 4♣ to show Clubs and Hearts, and 4♦ to show Clubs and Spades.

We prefer the second method, it's always nice to announce both suits immediately, making life easier for Partner if LHO bids a few more Diamonds.

 

Perhaps the real problem on the hand is on the next round of bidding.  Let's say that we make one of those two-suited bids, and that it now goes 6♦ on our left, back to us.  Clearly, 6♦ is being bid to make (they are Red vs White).  Would you bid 6♠ now?  Tough call!  True, we have already shown our two-suiter ... and, true, Partner had a chance to bid and didn't.  On the other hand, we have some extra distribution (6-5), and almost zero defense.  We rather like 6♠ here, but some of our panel voted otherwise.  Of course, we bid 6♠ in sight of all four hands ... so, perhaps not surprisingly, it was the winning call!

 

 

                                                   Board 9      Dealer North     E-W Vul

 

 

West can see slam on these cards opposite all but the most bizarre of Weak Two bids, and we would suggest that he just ups and bids 6♦ directly.  Is there a risk of missing a grand slam?  Yes, but it’s most remote … true, Partner might have AK♦ and Q♥, but it would take remarkable bidding methods for East to be able to show that specific hand.  No need to futz around when you know where you belong, just go there directly.

 

 

                                                   Board 12      Dealer West      N-S Vul

 

 

Who could resist making a White versus Red Weak Two on this hand?  Not us, at this vulnerability our tendency is to overlook such details as suit quality, and jump right in.  There is a down-side to preempting with crummy suits, of course, it may talk Partner into a disastrous opening lead when LHO ends up as Declarer.  Those partnerships who set suit quality standards for their Weak Twos (such as 2 of the top 3, or 3 of the top 5), don’t suffer from this problem … then again, they get to harass the opponents less frequently.  It’s a trade-off, a matter of partnership style, and our own style is to get in there often when the conditions are right.

 

 

                                                     Board 12      Dealer West     N-S Vul

 

 

With this hand, we want to show weak values and a Diamond suit, but give us another Ace, and we would want to show invitational values and a Diamond suit.  Needless to say, it’s not effective to use the same 3♦ bid for both hands, how on earth is the Doubler supposed to tell the difference?  The solution is to play Lebensohl over their Weak Two, doubled by Partner.  It’s a most useful treatment, we commend it heartily.  Playing Lebensohl, 2NT is a relay to 3♣ … our plan is to sign-off with 3♦ (after the requested 3♣ from Partner), showing Diamonds and a weak hand.  With an invitational hand and the same distribution, we would bid 3♦ directly.

 

                                                    Board 13      Dealer North       Both Vul

 

 

Yes, it's another of those 3rd seat lead-directing 1♥ bids.  As always, when we open light or minimum in 3rd seat, and we have a suit that we would really like Partner to lead, then we can bend that "5-card major" style.

 

Next, instead of being in 3rd seat, suppose that we were in 1st or 2nd seat ... would we open 1♥ then?  We wouldn't, at least not with this hand.  There's a trade-off here, and, with Partner as an unpassed hand, if we start opening too many 4-card majors in a 5-card Major system, we'll be compromising our constructive auctions.  But make the 4-card Heart suit even stronger, and we might well open 1♥, perhaps a hand such as: ♠ J832  ♥ AKQ2  ♦ K9  ♣ T74.  Really, who would want to open 1♣ here in preference to 1♥?  See also Board 16.

 

                                                    Board 15      Dealer South      N-S Vul

 

 

West’s 4♦ was a cue-bid showing a Diamond control, in this case the King.  It also denies a Club control, so we can now forget about bidding the grand slam.  Surely 6♠ has at least a decent play, and may well be cold, and we could just bid it directly.  Of course, we would have preferred to play 6♠ from our side, in case our K♣ requires protecting.  How about 6NT?  If 6♠ makes, then, provided that Partner has the A♥, we will also have 12 tricks in No Trump.  Yes, the solution here is to bid 4NT, Roman Key Card for Spades.  If Partner shows the one Key Card, we can be sure that it will be the A♥, and we can safely bid 6NT.  If Partner shows no Key Cards, we’ll have to settle for 6♠.

 

OK, let’s suppose that Partner shows us that one Key Card via a 5♣ (1430) response.  Should we now use the Queen Ask (5♦) to make sure that we don’t have a potential trump loser?   We wouldn’t bother.  First of all, we might have 12 tricks without the benefit of the long Spades.  Secondly, even if we need the Spades and are missing the Queen, our 9-card fit still gives us a reasonable chance (58% if Partner has the Jack, 45% otherwise).  And, thirdly, if we have to lose a Spade, then even 5♠ might be in danger on the lead of a Club.

 

 

                                                Board 16       Dealer West       E-W Vul

 

 

This one has been a recurring theme of late!  The computer keeps dealing us hands where we'd suggest that you actually open a 4-card major, notwithstanding your 5-card major approach.  Here's another one ... that Heart suit has to be bid ... in any seat!  Or, so say we ... others will say that such bids are "anti-Law", they'll make it hard for Partner to judge accurately in part-score battles ... perhaps so, but there's also a premium on getting our good suits into the auction, just in case this is one of the (hopefully rare) hands where we let our opponents play the hand.

 

                                                Board 18      Dealer         Vul

 

 

We've had a few hands lately where it has seemed like a good idea to upgrade a 17-point as too good for a 1NT opening.  The usual rationale has been a 17-point hand and too much other good stuff.  Is this such a hand?  We don't think so.  True, there is a 5-card suit, but the hand has too many other defects ... virtually fillerless, loads of Queens, and a highly dubious Spade holding.  Yes, indeed, it's a 1NT opening.

 

 

                                                   Board 20      Dealer West     Both Vul

 

 

We are too good to overcall 1♠, so how about Double?  That might work, at least it keeps all of the unbid suits in the picture … but the 5-card Spade suit is a negative.  Our own choice would be 2♥, a Michaels Cue-Bid, showing Spades and a minor.  If North then bids 2♠, we’ll try 3♠, inviting game.  If North bids 3♣ (which is “Pass-or-Correct”, indicating a moderate hand with a preference for our minor) we’ll try 3♥, showing a good hand, and giving Partner the chance to bid 3NT with a Heart stop.

 

System Note:  After that Michaels 2♥ bid, showing Spades and a minor, there are two common methods in use for asking which minor the Michaels bidder holds.

A.  Bid 2NT, after which the Michaels hand simply bids his minor.

B.  Bid 3♣, after which the Michaels hand passes with Clubs, or bids 3♦.

Method A is the "traditional" approach, is there any benefit to Method B?  Yes, we think so, it makes 2NT available for constructive purposes, the most useful of which is to show a decent hand with support for (in this case) Spades.  True, it means that 3♣ is no longer available as a natural bid, but that seems a small price to pay.

 

                                                     Board 21      Dealer North      N-S Vul

 

 

We like the 1♥ opening bid, the nice distribution is ample compensation for opening with this 11-count.  What should be our rebid after Partner’s 1♠ response?  We have no problem rebidding 1NT with a singleton in Partner’s suit, but not when we have a good alternative.  And, on this hand, 1NT would be doubly wrong … we opened the hand on the basis of our distribution, and our next bid should be 2♦, keeping faith with our first bid.

 

                                                 Board 24      Dealer West      None Vul

 

 

In fourth seat, with that lovely South hand, what is your pleasure?  Here are your choices:

(a)    2NT? … no, this hand is just too good, in our view … true, it is balanced (sort of) and it is in the 20-21 HCP range, but it just has too much playing power for that bid

(b)   2♣, planning to rebid 2♠? … maybe that is going too far in the other direction

(c)    1♠? … not unreasonable, but you risk getting passed out when game is available.

(d)   2♣, planning to rebid 2NT? … yes, that would be our choice, it’s worth upgrading our hand to the 22-24 range.

 

                                                   Board 29      Dealer North      Both Vul

 

 

Partner’s 2♦ is a Jacoby Transfer, of course, and here we are with 4 of them.  It’s worth playing Super Accepts in this situation, and there are several different Super Accept methods from which to choose.  Our own favorite method is to use 2NT for all good Super Accepts, so we need look no further with this 5-4 16-count.

 

                                                    Board 30       Dealer East       None Vul

 

 

Here, E-W’s minor suit RKCB agreements are put to the test.  Here are the options:

(a) Minorwood:  If you play this convention, are you sure that this is actually a Minorwood situation?  We think it should be, but the situation is a little murky … was 3♥ absolutely game-forcing? … are Clubs firmly agreed?

(b)   Redwood:  Yes, 4♦ here is clearly RKCB for the Redwooders.

(c)    4NT: In the absence of Redwood and Minorwood, 4NT sounds like it should be RKCB.

 

This time, we’ll take Redwood out for a spin

             West     North   East      South

                                      1♣         2♥

              3♥       Pass     3NT      Pass

              4♦        Pass     5♣        Pass

             7♣        Pass     Pass     Pass

 

4♦ was RKCB, 5♣ showed 2 with the Queen of trumps.

 

 

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