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Bidding Quiz 6th September, 2006
Board 1 Dealer North None Vul
North South ♠ 3 ♠ AQJ954 ♥ AKJT965 ♥ 7 ♦ T4 ♦ KQ6 ♣ AT6 ♣ KQ5
North South 1♥ 1♠ 3♥ 3♠ 4♥ 4NT 5♦ 5♥ Pass
N-S got into a strong auction, then South bid 4NT which was Roman Key Card … as no suit had been explicitly agreed, trumps were assumed to be the previously bid suit, namely Hearts. N-S were playing 1430, which meant that North’s response of 5♦ showed 0 or 3 Key Cards … and that’s where things start to get interesting!
The question is this: After South’s 5♥, is North supposed to pass with 0 Key Cards, and bid again with 3 Key Cards?
Or, to put it another way: After using Roman Key Card, and getting one of those ambiguous 0/3 or 1/4 responses, is it assumed that the Roman Key Card bidder knows which Partner has?
One would think that the development of the auction would make it quite clear, after all there is a huge difference between the 0 and 3 (notwithstanding the fact that a French pair in a World Championship once got a 0/4 response wrong and ended up in a grand slam missing all 4 Aces!).
We offer two agreements, pick the one you like the best: Agreement A: The RKCB Asker is not assumed to know whether Partner has the higher number of Key Cards, he assumes the worst and signs off at the 5-level. Then, if Partner has the higher number, he is obliged to bid again. This implies that the Asker must have at least one Key-Card to invoke RKCB, otherwise he will ask, hear “0 or 3”, and be unable to sign off at the 5-level (Partner, of course, being obliged to bid again). Agreement B: The RKCB Asker is assumed to know which of the two possibilities Partner has. Therefore, when the Asker bids 5 of the agreed suit, Partner is not obliged to bid on with the higher number of Key Cards.
We prefer B (we think that the Asker should not be using RKCB if he won’t be able to discern the difference between 0 and 3), but many people play A, so take your pick. However, if you choose Agreement B, we suggest that you also refrain from invoking RKCB holding no Key Cards (just like the Agreement A players). That way, the 5♥ bid in the featured auction is not a sign-off, it allows Partner some discretion as to whether or not to bid 6. In the featured hand, Partner will not bid on, he has absolutely nothing extra.
Hesitation Blackwood: Perhaps you’ve seen this one in action … the opponents get into a Key Card auction, the response is “0 or 3”, the RKCB Asker thinks for a while, then bids 5 of the agreed major, after which his Partner bids 6 with some alacrity. Did something untoward just happen? Probably not, but to be on the safe side, and to avoid all hints of suspicion when your side is doing the RKCB bidding, we suggest the following: - If you are an Agreement A partnership, mark on your Convention Card something like “Always bid 6 with 3 or 4” … end of problem, you are now above suspicion. - If you are an Agreement B partnership, things are not so easy, because you are allowing Partner some discretion after you bid 5 of the agreed major … the best advice is to have your bid planned out ahead of time, “if Partner bids 5♣ I’ll do this, if it’d 5♦ I’ll do that”, and so on. No hesitation, no problem.
Board 4 Dealer West Both Vul
Playing Weak Twos in the 5-10 range, do we open this hand 2♥? No, it’s not a trick question, but neither is it a difficult one! We are vulnerable, rock-bottom minimum in terms of high cards, and no distribution to speak of. Or, no distribution of which to speak, if you prefer. An obvious Pass, how on earth did this one get into the Bidding Quiz?
Board 4 Dealer West Both Vul
Just two possibilities to consider here: 4♣: The hand and the suit are good enough for the bid, but the trouble with 4♣ is that it takes us past 3NT, and it is likely to miss any 4-4 Spade fit. Dbl: This bid keeps 3NT and Spades in the picture, but suffers that major defect of only 2 Hearts … making a Take-out Double with two cards in an unbid major is a dangerous undertaking, and is generally to be avoided unless the Doubler has a really good hand.
Notwithstanding the Heart defect, we would double, because we just hate to give up on both 3NT and 4♠. On the actual hand, after we Double, Partner bids 3♥ (no surprise there), and we would try 4♣ … now, when Partner persists with 4♥, we’ll give up.
Let’s change the situation. Suppose that you have the same hand, but RHO opens just 1♦. Do you double or bid 2♣? This one’s easy! You’ll bid 2♣, it’s your best suit, it doesn’t take us past 3NT, and we have plenty of space to discover any Spade fit.
Board 5 Dealer North N-S Vul
West’s 2NT rebid showed 18-19 HCPs, and did not deny a 4-card Spade suit (unlike a 1NT rebid). Most partnerships play New Minor Forcing after a 2NT rebid, the primary purpose of the convention being to investigate further a major suit fit. Does this mean that we should bid 3♣ here? We wouldn’t, out preference being to follow these rules in this situation: - we use New Minor Forcing when we have 5 cards in our bid major (with or without 4 in the other major; - when we are 4-4 in the majors we rebid 3♠
So, the bid here is 3♠, denying a fifth Heart.
Board 8 Dealer West None Vul
What are the options here with this 10-count? 2♠? There’s nothing wrong with raising on a 3-card suit, especially when we have some ruffing potential, but 2♠ doesn’t seem enough, and 3♠ would show 4-card support. 2♥? No, the suit is hardly good enough to rebid. 2♦? This would be artificial and forcing, our hand is not good enough. 1NT? Yes, with that lovely holding in the unbid suit it certainly looks as if we should be bidding No Trump. 1NT here shows 6-10, but still it seems like an underbid to us. 2NT? A bit aggressive, perhaps, but the Diamond holding is so good we think the hand is worth upgrading.
Yes, 2NT would be our choice, but 1NT is reasonable.
Board 11 Dealer South None Vul
South North ♠ AT742 ♠ KQ83 ♥ AT54 ♥ 96 ♦ Q42 ♦ AKT6 ♣ A ♣ QT3
South North 1♠ 2NT 3NT 4♦ 4♥ 4♠ 5♣ 5♦ 5♠ 6♠ Pass
North’s 2NT was the Jacoby 2NT, showing a game-forcing Spade raise. South’s 3NT showed some extra values and denied shortness … true, she actually has a singleton Diamond, but it’s usually not a good idea to make a shortness bid with a singleton Ace or King, it’s likely to mislead Partner and cause her to mis-evaluate her own hand … for example, consider how you might evaluate KQJx opposite shortness (you wouldn’t like it), compared with how you would evaluate KQJx opposite the Ace.
After 3NT, neither player had enough to take charge, and a subtle cue-bidding dance followed. Here’s what the bids after 3NT were saying:
4♦ Shows A♦ or K♦, denies A♣ and K♣
4♥ A♥ or K♥, and apparently unfazed that Partner has no Club control
4♠ This basically says “I don’t have much, if anything, extra, it’s up to you to keep the slam hunt going”
5♣ Says “I have something in Clubs, which you no doubt already knew, and I am still interested in slam”
5♦ “I have a second high Diamond”
5♠ This says something along the lines of “Well, you made the cheapest available cue-bid, and here I am bidding 5♠, surely you can guess what is my concern”.
Yes, of course, South is concerned about the Heart situation. North’s doubleton looks after that, so we believe that she should bid 6♠ here.
Board 13 Dealer North Both Vul
We’ve been seeing a lot of Super-Accepts in recent weeks, and here is another one. No reason why they should be limited to 1NT openings, we’d also make one after this 2NT opening. If you are sure that Partner is on the same wave-length, you might try 3NT here, announcing a good Super-Accept (well, great except for the trump suit), but if you have not discussed this agreement, a simple 4♠ is obviously safer.
This deal is a good commercial for Super-Accepts … South has no points and just 5 Spades and would no doubt pass a 3♠ bid from North, missing a cold game.
Board 15 Dealer South N-S Vul
North clearly is not going to game, and with that distributional hand would like to play in one of her suits. In the old days, this hand was a piece of cake … North would bid 2♣, South bids 2♦, and North signs off in 3♣. In modern-day bidding, most partnerships play that sequence as strong … no doubt an admirable treatment, but not useful on this hand.
Nowadays, it’s more common to use 4-suit transfers, which means that the way to escape to 3 of a minor is via a 2♠ transfer … so that’s what we’d do, giving up on any chance of finding a 4-4 Heart fit.
Board 16 Dealer West E-W Vul
Flannery players would have no problem with this hand, they’d just open 2♦, showing 11-15 HCPs and 4-5 in the majors. However, this South wasn’t playing Flannery and has something of a rebid problem. We like 2♥ ourselves (it almost looks like a 6-card suit), but there’s also something to be said for passing. However, we certainly don’t care one bit for 2♠ (the hand is not good enough), nor for 2♣ (that would be the “normal” response here to a Forcing No Trump, except that North is a passed hand, so there is no obligation to manufacture such a bid).
Board 18 Dealer East N-S Vul
No doubt, at this vulnerability, West was tempted to try a preemptive 3♦ over 2♣, but more cautious counsel prevailed. Now, what would you bid as West after Partner’s reopening Double? The choice lies between 2♦ and 2♠, and it might seem natural to go for the higher-scoring major. But, we suggest 2♦, the logic being: - if we bid 2♦, Partner will know we have a bad hand (we couldn’t even bid 2♦ directly) - if we bid 2♠, Partner will wonder if we have a useful 6- or 7-count, a hand not quite good enough to make a Negative Double of 2♣ … such thoughts might induce him to invite to game.
On the actual hand, Partner had only 3 Diamonds, and 2♦ goes down 2. However, Partner has 4 Spades, and the 4-4 plays a trick better, as 2♠ is down just one. A triumph for the 2♠ bidders? Actually, no, if we bid 2♠, Partner is good enough to invite with 3♠, and there they’ll be, also down 2.
Board 19 Dealer South E-W Vul
Opposite a Weak Two, this hand is going to game, it’s a question of finding the best one … 3NT, 4♥ and 4♠ are all on the horizon.
Most partnerships play that 3♥ here is forcing, but it’s not a good choice, we’d prefer a 6-card suit, or at least a really good 5-card one … this particular Heart suit is not close to measuring up. It’s also common to use 2NT as an asking bid of some sort … some play it as asking for a feature, others use Ogust in one of its various forms. Whatever your 2NT method, we suggest that you use it here … if Partner responds 3♣ or 3♦ (whatever they may happen to mean) now we can bid 3♥, showing a lesser suit than a direct 3♥, and giving ourselves the chance to find the 5-3 Heart fit. And, if Partner’s rebid is 3♥ or 3♠? Now we must guess between 3NT or 4♠ … our guess would be 3NT, unless Partner’s response to 2NT indicated good Spades.
Board 20 Dealer West Both Vul
Here we go again, upsetting the “Law” proponents by suggesting a 1♠ bid here. To us, it looks like a 5-card suit, and we know what suit we want led if we end up defending. But, if you are a Law-abiding citizen, and if you prefer to open a 643 suit when you have an AKQJ suit available, then we won’t press the point.
Board 22 Dealer East E-W Vul
Have you and your Partner discussed the meaning of cue-bids when the opponents have bid two suits at the one-level? The simple, and probably most common, method is to play these bids as natural, typically with at least a good 5-card suit. If that is the case, perhaps North should bid 2♠ here, she does have very nice Spade spots, and the prospect of some Club tricks.
In the above auction, East has shown 5 Hearts, so does it really make sense for 2♥ by North to be to play? This does not seem useful to us, surely it will come up but rarely. So, the suggestion is to play the cue-bids as natural, unless the opponent has shown 5 in the suit, in which case it is Michaels. With such an agreement, with the featured hand, North might even consider bidding 2♥, showing Spades and a minor.
Board 22 Dealer East E-W Vul
East may only have 12 HCPs, but his 4-loser hand is full value for a game-try. East’s 2♥ bid might well have been a “false preference”, by which we mean that he might have, for example, 2 Hearts and 3 Diamonds. Nonetheless, we want to play this one in Hearts, we do have an 8-card fit, after all.
With that in mind, what should be our game try. The obvious choices are 3♥ and 3♦, but the right bid is surely 3♥. No point in confusing things when we know we are playing in Hearts … if we bid 3♦, Partner might wonder whether his 2-card Heart support is adequate … no need to confuse matters here, we just bid 3♥ and keep our 5th Diamond a secret from the defenders.
Board 24 Dealer West None Vul
On Board 22, we considered the meaning of our cue-bids after the opponents had bid two suits at the one-level. Here, again, they have bid two suits at the one-level, but the situation is different, because in this auction Partner has also bid a suit. In a competitive auction it’s customary to use the cue-bid to show support for Partner and a decent hand (at least invitational values). Here North has a choice of two cue-bids, which should he use? A useful treatment is as follows: With 3-card Support: Make the cheaper cue-bid (2♣) With 4-card Support: Make the expensive cue-bid (2♦)
This treatment puts Partner in the know in terms of our total trumps, and will make it easier for her to judge the subsequent auction.
Board 24 Dealer West None Vul
North’s 2♦ bid showed a 4-card Spade raise and invitational values, after which East also appears to be showing a decent hand with good Diamonds. We would imagine that he must have AKxxxx to bid them up to the three-level, and to double a Diamond cue-bid along the way. If that is the case, we have 8 tricks in No Trump (except in the unfortunate situation where he is missing the Ten, has no side-suit entry, and the suit breaks 4-1). If East has the K♥ or Q♠ or A♣ that will be 9 tricks … and, if not, then 3NT will no doubt be a good save against 3♠! It’s not often that one thinks of 3NT as a potential sacrifice against a part-score, but here’s an example!
On the actual hand, Partner does have AKxxxx of Diamonds, and the K♥, so 3NT rolls. And, if we take away the K♥ and give it to the opponents, they will no doubt make 3♠, with 3NT down just one.
Board 25 Dealer North E-W Vul
South does not have a particularly impressive 14-count, and the range for a 1NT overcall is supposed to be 15-18, but nonetheless we would be sorely tempted to overcall 1NT anyway. Our Diamonds are well-positioned, we like the 9♦ (we’d prefer the Ten, of course) and we like the vulnerability. We acknowledge that this will not be to everyone’s taste, but it certainly works well on the actual board. After our 1NT overcall, we’ll end up declaring a Spade contract, making 8 or 9 tricks. If we routinely pass 1♦ instead, they’ll buy the contract in 1NT and we’ll probably go minus.
Board 29 Dealer North Both Vul
LHO opens 1♦, Partner doubles, and as we are mentally pulling out the 1♥ card we notice that North has bid 1♥ in front of us. Is she psyching? Probably not, but it is a well-known psyching situation, and a commonly prescribed remedy is as follows: With 4 Hearts we double. With 5 Hearts we bid 2♥, which is natural. Having said that, East needs a better hand to double (at least another King, we would say), and better Hearts would be nice, too! So, East should pass.
Suppose, after our obvious Pass here, it goes 1♠ on our left, Pass, Pass, back to us. Even vulnerable, it seems wimpy to pass, we think that East should dredge up a balancing “do-something-intelligent-Partner” Double.
Board 30 Dealer East None Vul
Before we get to this hand, lets back-track, and consider this auction: West North East South 1♣ 1♦ 1♠ 2♦ 2♠ 3♦ ?? In this auction, if West wants to compete (typically with a moderate hand and an extra trump), he simply bids 3♠. If he wants to invite game he bids 3♥, a bid which says nothing about Hearts, it’s merely a way of inviting game, rather than simply competing.
Next, take a look at: West North East South 1♣ 1♥ 1♠ 2♥ 2♠ 3♥ ?? In this auction, because we are competing in touching suits, there is no intermediate suit with which we can make a game try. We can compete with 3♠, but how do we try for game? The solution is the so-called “Maximal Support Double”, especially designed for this situation … it gives us a way to make our game-try, but gives up on a penalty Double (though not completely, Partner can always convert the Double).
OK, that’s the background, now on to the featured hand. Here, we are competing in touching suits, does that mean that the Maximal Double is still available as a game-try? Maybe yes, maybe no. The difference in this auction is that South is bidding Hearts single-handedly, so this is a situation where we are more likely to want a penalty Double at our disposal. Even so, our own preference is use the Double here as the game-try, we think that treatment has a higher frequency of use.
Assuming that E-W are playing Maximal Doubles in this situation, we would, indeed, Double. If we were not playing Maximal Doubles here, we’d probably guess to bid 3♠ and let Partner guess what to do.
Board 32 Dealer West E-W Vul
Playing normal methods (whatever that means!), South would no doubt bid 3NT … she has the values for game and will be praying that the Heart suit does not prove to be fatal. If yours is a partnership where the auctions 1NT 3♥ and 1NT 3♠ come up infrequently, then perhaps you would like to consider this alternative treatment: 1NT 3♥ and 1NT 3♠ show game-going values, shortness in the bid major, 3 cards in the other major and 5-4 in the minors.
The objectives of the convention are: - warn Partner of the potential danger in the short major; - suggest a (potential) 4-3 fit in the other major (with ruffs in the danger suit coming in the short hand!); - suggest a minor suit game if No Trump and the other major prove untenable.
We love this treatment, it copes well with hands which have no good treatment otherwise. So, as South, with the featured hand, we bid our favorite convention if it’s available, otherwise we grit our teeth and bid 3NT.
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