Bidding Quiz                                     27th September , 2006

 

                                                    Board 3      Dealer South       E-W Vul

 

 

Did any Souths open with a Weak 2♦?  White versus Red we just love to preempt, but even we have standards, you know.  This one has a number on minor defects … none of these is a deal-breaker on it’s own, but collectively they say “Pass”:

-         4-card Major:  Having a 4-card major when we preempt runs the obvious risk of losing the fit in that suit, and, even worse, here we have a good 4-card major.

-         Void:   When we preempt we put our Partner in charge of the auction, so having another surprise, this time in the form of that void, is not going to make it any easier for him to judge the auction correctly.

-         Weak Suit:  This one is a double defect.  Firstly, Partner might lead one with disastrous results, and in fact, on the actual deal she might well be on lead against a Spade contract, in which case she has an obvious lead of the K♦ from Kx.  Whoops!  Secondly, Partner, holding that same Kx, for example, might be entitled to expect some Diamond tricks in a No Trump contract.

 

That’s an awful lot of negatives for such a puny preempt (it’s not as if 2♦ is going to inconvenience them that much), so we’d pass.

 

                                                    Board 3      Dealer South       E-W Vul

 

 

We confess that we would open the North hand 1NT!  True, it’s a point shy, but it has the compensation of a 5-card suit and some useful fillers.  This one looks better than many 15-counts to us, and there’s a lot to be said for getting that 1NT card out on the table against vulnerable opponents, they may find it hard to get into the auction.  Also, opening 1NT makes it very likely that North will be Declarer, a good thing as this is a hand which needs to be protected from the opening lead.

 

If you are going to start opening these hands 1NT, it would be wise to announce your opening 1NT bids as “a good 14 to 17”.

 

                                                    Board 5      Dealer North       N-S Vul

 

 

South has an awkward rebid problem, here are the choices:.

-         3♦:  No, the hand is too strong, we’d almost want to bid 3♦ without one of those Aces.

-         2NT:   There are a couple of reasons not to like this one.  Firstly, there is the worthless doubleton Club, we want Partner to play the No Trump if that is where we belong.  Secondly, if we were to bid No Trump (suppose we were to swap the Heart and Club holdings, for example), then this is more of a 3NT bid, showing a source of tricks

-         3♣:  The old fake jump shift into a minor.  This might work out well, but it’s such a misdescription of the hand that the rest of the auction is likely to be pure guesswork by both players.

-         2♠:   Not perfect, of course, but our own preference.  It’s true that when we have to lie we’d prefer to lie about the minors, but there’s also the degree of lying to consider … 3♣ would be such a whopper, whereas 2♠ is merely a small untruth.

 

However, we’ll be the first to admit that 2♠ may not work well if Partner raises to 3♠.  In that case, we’ll bid 4♦, and Partner won’t be sure if this is a slam try in Spades or an untruth alert.  But, on the bright side, it may well be that 4♠ on a 4-3 fit is the magic spot, and, if Partner does not raise us to 3♠ we will be in excellent shape.

 

                                                    Board 6      Dealer East       E-W Vul

 

 

There’s an oft-quoted piece of bridge advice, that we should “Support with support”.  This is doubly so when Partner’s suit is a major, and if we were to follow that advice our method of support here would be to cue-bid 2♦, showing invitational values (or better).  However, with the hand we would disregard the aforementioned advice, at least for the time being, and we would bid 1♠ instead.  After all, our Heart suit is terribly weak, it’s not the lead we want if East ends up as Declarer.  If Partner declines to support Spades we can go back to her Hearts later.

 

                                                    Board 7      Dealer South       Both Vul

 

 

This one is on the cusp between inviting game and insisting on game … in a team game (especially being vulnerable) we would insist on game … at matchpoints, it’s not so clear, we’d probably take the optimistic route anyway (seduced by the Heart fillers), but wouldn’t want to be dogmatic about it.

 

Anyway, make your own choice, and then consider the methods available:

-         If you consider the hand to be invitational:  the prescribed method for showing a 4-5 invitational hand in the majors is to transfer to Hearts, and then bid 2♠ … 2♠ can be passed or raised, or else Opener can go back to some number of Hearts or No Trump, depending on his strength.

-         If you consider the hand to be game-going:  now, we use Stayman … we’ll raise a major suit response, of course, and we’ll bid 3 of a major over Opener’s 2♦ response.  Which major do we bid?  The natural approach is to bid 3 of our 5-card suit, offering a choice (in this case) between 3NT and 4♥.  There is also a useful gadget available, known as Smolen, whereby we bid 3♠ (the 4-card major), offering Partner the same choice, but allowing the strong hand to be Declarer in 4♥.

 

OK, that’s how to handle the 4-5 major suit hands.  How about when we are 5-4?  With the game-going hand, it’s the same method as above.  And, when we are invitational, we use Stayman, and then, after a 2♦ response, we bid 2♠.

 

                                                    Board 8      Dealer West       None Vul

 

 

Most partnerships play some form of conventional defense to the opponents’ 1NT openings, perhaps the most popular of these being DONT and Cappelletti.  The general idea is to provide additional ways to get into the auction, especially by being able to show two-suiters.  Some methods even give up on the strength-showing Double, using that bid instead as another way to get into the auction.  So this is really a 2-part problem:

-         If you play Cappelletti:  Playing this convention (or any other method which preserves the strength-showing Double) we would double here.  This is not guaranteed to succeed, though, it’s quite possible that they will score 5 Clubs and a Heart, netting us +100 when we can make some number of Hearts.  More likely is that West or North will bail out of 1NT doubled, in which case our plan is to bid up to 3♥.

-         If you play DONT:   Here, there is no strength-showing Double, the Double being used to show a one-suiter.  So, again, with this hand we would Double, though with a totally different meaning to before.  Partner is requested to bid 2♣, after which we’ll reveal that our one-suiter is in Hearts.  But, bidding just 2♥ is not enough, we’d bid 3♥, showing a hand with interest in game (with a preemptive hand, we would have bid 3♥ directly over 1NT).

 

 

                                                    Board 11      Dealer South       None Vul

 

 

Here are the choices:

-         2♣:  Not terrible, but we’d hate Partner to have a weak 5-1-4-3 hand and leave us there.  We’d also be in an awkward position if Partner gives us a preference to 2♥ … do we invite in Hearts and give up on Spades? … or do we bid 2♠ and imply that we have only 5 Hearts?

-         3♥:  That would certainly show the right values, but it will make it very difficult to find a 5-3 Spade contract.  For example, with a 5-1-4-3 hand, moderate Spades (and we know for a fact that they are moderate!) and values in the minors, Partner will no doubt bid 3NT, and we would have to leave her there.

-         3♠:   Again, this is right on values, but it shows a 4-card suit, we may well find ourselves in a tenuous 4-3 4♠ contract instead of a nice cozy 6-2 4♥ contract.

-         2♠:   This would be our choice.  If Partner takes another call, we’ll be in an excellent position to find the best game, if not then there probably is no game and 2♠ is likely to be a comfortable spot.

 

 

                                                    Board 11      Dealer South       None Vul

 

 

This is not a hand for point-counters!  Yes, it’s only 7 HCPs, but a very nice 7 points, indeed … six trumps, a singleton, an Ace, that lovely “six four, bid more” shape … all in all it’s excellent value for 3♠.  To pass would be utterly unspeakable!

 

System Note:

Do you and your Partner have the agreement that 3♠ here guarantees a 5^th Spade?  We find that agreement quite useful, especially if Partner is apt to raise us with a 3-card suit occasionally.  If you adopt that style, what are you supposed to do with an invitational hand that has just 4 Spades?  The suggestion is to make the most descriptive game try available, such as 2NT, or another 4-card suit, or belated support for Partner.

 

 

                                                    Board 13      Dealer North       Both Vul

 

 

It’s a common mistake to over-use Blackwood, sometimes cue-bidding, or asking Partner’s opinion, is a better way to go.  This hand we would take to slam provided that we don’t have 2 Diamond losers, and the way to find out is to bid 4♣.  Now, if Partner can show us something in Diamonds with a 4♦ bid, we’ll take a shot at the slam.

 

As a general rule, it’s not a good idea to use Blackwood with two losers in a suit, and this hand is a case in point.  If, over 3♠, we ask for Aces (or Key Cards), and we then find out that one is missing, we haven’t achieved anything, we might still have two fast Diamond losers.

 

 

                                                    Board 14      Dealer East       None Vul

 

 

South’s 2NT showed the minors which means that both 3♣ and 3♦ are available as cue-bids.  There are various methods for using these, and they come under the collective heading of Unusual vs Unusual.  We happen to use the variation known as “Lower for Lower”, which simply means that, regardless of which major was opened by Partner, our lower cue-bid shows the lower major, and the higher one shows Spades, of course.

 

Armed with this weapon, we’d bid 3♦ here, showing at least an invitational raise in Spades.  With a lesser, purely competitive hand with Spades, we’d bid 3♠ directly over 2NT.

 

 

                                                    Board 17      Dealer North       None Vul

 

 

Here is another hand where we have two cue-bids available, and one treatment that we like is to use them both as a limit raise in support of Hearts.  2♦ (the cheaper cue-bid) is used to show three-card support, and 2♠ is used to show four-card support.  Is West’s 8-count worth making a limit raise (via 2♦)?  Absolutely!  An Ace, a King, shortness in one of their suits, looks like enough to us.

 

 

                                                    Board 17      Dealer North       None Vul

 

 

Partner’s 2♦ showed invitational values and 3-card support.  North’s 2♠ was alerted as showing 4-card support (with only 3 she would have made a Support Double).  So, they probably have a 9-card fit, and so do we.  These things we know:

-         We’d be delighted to play this one in 3♥

-         They won’t let us, they are sure to bid over 3♥, they also know they have a 9-card fit, that’s the reason they are playing Support Doubles, of course

-         If they bid 3♠ over our 3♥, will we not want to try 4♥?  Surely, yes, if it’s 9 tricks for each side, then 4♥ is a good sacrifice.

The inescapable conclusion is that, if we know we will be bidding 4♥ eventually, let’s do it right away and apply maximum pressure.

 

If we do bid 4♥, and then they bid 4♠, are we now in a Forcing Pass situation?  Absolutely not!  If we wanted to show which side's the boss on this hand we would have bid 3♠ over 2♠, saying to Partner “I have a real 4♥ bid, this is our hand”.

 

Tragic Footnote:

 Even though we assert that the aforementioned logic is irrefutably impeccable, on this particular hand it turns out to be utterly useless!  The opponents had an unfair advantage on the hand, that being South’s knowledge of a double-fit in Spades and Diamonds.  Alas, East had no similar knowledge of our own double-fit in Hearts and Clubs.  All that East knew was that there were 18 total trumps and so, typically, 18 total tricks.  They also knew about the total trumps, but the knowledge of their double-fit caused South to upgrade the total trick expectation to 19 or 20.  She was right on, both sides can make 10 tricks, and the winning action by East would have been to take the dive in 5♥.

 

                                                    Board 18      Dealer East       N-S Vul

 

 

Not too many would argue with a 2♥ call here, but consider also trying 2♣.  West is quite likely to be declaring a Spade or a Diamond contract, and it would be helpful to point her in the right direction when it comes time for the opening lead.  Of course, we have no great desire to play in Clubs, we’ll go back to Hearts if she raises us … and we’ll compete later, if need be, up to 3♥ … the 2♣ bid is purely for the lead.

 

 

                                                    Board 19      Dealer South       E-W Vul

 

 

Our apologies for including this one in the Bidding Quiz, of course you wouldn’t open 2♠ with such a rotten suit and with two outside defensive tricks.

 

                                                    Board 20      Dealer West       Both Vul

 

 

Some might overcall 2♥ here, but we are doublers ourselves.  True, there is always the danger of losing the 5-3 Heart fit, but the suit is no great shakes given it’s alarming lack of intermediates.  But, if we upgraded the Heart suit to AJT32 we’d be a little tempted to bid 2♥, and make it AJT92 and would definitely succumb to that temptation.

 

                                                    Board 20      Dealer West       Both Vul

 

 

After the opponents make a take-out Double, many players use Jordan 2NT to show a limit raise, but this is probably best reserved for hands with 4-card support.  Our plan would be to make a strength-showing Redouble, and then to support Spades later, showing a 3-card limit raise, exactly what we have!

 

 

                                                    Board 24      Dealer West       None Vul

 

 

What’s your plan on this hand?

-         Open 1NT?  Not our choice, it looks altogether too good for that … true we don’t much care for the Qx of Clubs, but the rest of this 17-count is very good indeed … the five card suit and the two working Tens take it over the top, we think.

-         Open 1♦ and rebid 2NT over Partner’s 1♥ response?  We’ve already said that it is too good for a 15-17 bid, so that must put it in the 18-19 range … however, there’s no need to force things in No Trump when we are unstopped in one of the unbid suits and when we have a convenient alternative (aka the Spade suit!)

-         Open 1♦ and rebid 2♠ over Partner’s 1♥ response?  No, that would be too much, we have a 5-loser hand.

-         Open 1♦ and rebid 1♠ over Partner’s 1♥ response?  Yes, we finally got there!

 

 

                                                    Board 27      Dealer South       None Vul

 

 

Any thoughts about whether South should accept the invitation?  We don’t think so!  Yes, it’s 16 HCP’s, and, yes, we have a 5-card suit, but after that it’s all downhill … no Tens, no Nines even, too many Queens, and only one Ace … definitely a non-accept!  And with good reason, even 2NT will be tough sledding, looks to us like down one.

 

                                                    Board 29      Dealer North       Both Vul

 

 

Pity North as she has to find a bid over 2♠ doubled!  And she’s vulnerable, no less!  A Pass might be tempting if the Spades were a tad stronger, maybe even AT9x would be enough to make that gamble.  But, with no Spade spots, we’re asking Partner to have 5 defensive tricks in the side-suits, a lot to ask for.  The trick here is not to get ashen-faced, and trembling as you bail out to 3♣ would also be a dead giveaway.  And, if the opponent’s Double of 3♣ is particularly vicious we can always try 3♦!

 

System Note:

Do you play Lebensohl after their overcalls of 1NT?  If so, have you extended its usage to the situation here, where Partner has doubled their Weak Two?  We highly recommend that you do, please check the link.

 

 

                                                    Board 30      Dealer East       None Vul

 

 

What would be your plan with the South hand?  We offer you three choices:

-         Open 2♣, planning to rebid 3♦:  Absolutely our least favorite, opening 2♣ and then rebidding 3♦ is just a horribly inefficient start to the auction, something to be avoided at almost any cost.

-         Open 1♦ and rebid 2♠:    This is certainly an improvement over the previous plan … we take the (very slight) risk of getting passed out in order to initiate a more informative auction.

-         Open 2♣ and rebid 2NT:    This would be our choice.  True the hand is not picture perfect with that singleton A♣, but it’s close enough!  This sequence shows 22-23 or 22-24, according to most methods.

 

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