Bidding Quiz                                           24th January, 2007

 

                                                    Board 3      Dealer South       E-W Vul

 

 

Do you pass or preempt or open 1♠?  It seems pretty clear-cut to us, we want to get that Spade suit into the auction, we don’t want to preempt with an outside Ace and King, so 1♠ it is.  True, we only have 10 HCP’s, and just 19 on the Rule of Twenty scale, but if we need numeric justification for making the bid that feels so right we can always resort to another measure, the Losing Trick Count … this hand has 6 losers which is about the same as a typical top-of-the-line 1NT opening bid.

 

 

                                                    Board 4      Dealer West       Both Vul

 

 

Are you in the habit of suppressing 4-card majors when you have a square hand?  We are not a big fan of this practice, just because we have no ruffing values does not mean to say that Partner won’t.  If we really had to by-pass a major once in a while, we’d prefer to do it on this kind of hand:

-         Weak major suit (here the major is quite strong)

-         Better holdings in the side-suits (Hearts and Clubs here), not all our values concentrated in the major and Partner’s suit

-         A good reason to grab the No Trump first (holdings which require protection from the opening lead, such as Kxx or Qxx).

The actual hand fails miserably on all counts, not to bid 1♠ would be unthinkable!

 

 

                                                    Board 5      Dealer North       N-S Vul

 

 

Anyone for a Club bid here?  Clearly it is the opponents’ hand, they are likely headed in the direction of a major suit game, so the only purpose of bidding would be for the lead, or to encourage Partner to take a sacrifice.  The latter is quite a promising possibility considering the favorable vulnerability … we only need 8 tricks in 5♣ doubled to beat the score of their vulnerable game, and we have 7 likely tricks in our own hand.  Yes, we’d suggest a 4♣ bid here, hoping that Partner will know when it is right to take the sacrifice.  Even if there is no sacrifice, the jump in the bidding may crowd their auction.

 

Preempting with two side Aces?  Well, yes, but it is their hand, and our only fear would be that Partner might hold something like a 1-5-3-4 yarborough, and feel compelled to sacrifice in 7♣ over their 6♠.  Well, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that!

 

                                                    Board 7      Dealer South       Both Vul

 

 

There’s really no good way to bid this hand, at least playing standard methods.  Firstly, how high are we going with this hand?  Notwithstanding our meager 5 HCP’s, we’d say at least to game, and the real question is how to get there.  Here are the choices:

-         2♠, showing a high-card raise to at least 3♥ … no, this is not a good plan, Partner will expect somewhat more in defense than we have, and we’ll no doubt want to pull her high-level penalty Double of the opponents … this is hardly the basis of a co-operative auction.

-         4♦, a Splinter raise, showing game values and shortness in Diamonds … again, we are short in the HCP department and won’t like it if Partner starts doubling.

-         2♣, natural, planning to raise Hearts next time around … same old problem, not enough defense.

-         4♥, preemptive … also flawed because the hand has so much potential … for example, give Partner

      ♠ -- ♥ AK8763, ♦ 743  ♣ A974, the perfect 11-count, and N-S can make 13 tricks!

 

We’d rate the 2♠ bid as quite abominable, and all the other choices as merely imperfect.  We like to preempt more than most, and we’d go for a 4♥ bid, accepting its imperfection and hoping to keep them out of Diamonds.  Suppose that we do indeed preempt to 4♥, and East now chirps in with 5♦.  What next?  Normally, there is not supposed to be a “next” after we have preempted, we are expected to hold our peace and leave things up to Partner.  But here we would make an exception, and, unless Partner doubles 5♦, we would bid on to 5♥.  Yes, a little bit naughty but sometimes rules must be broken and this may be such an occasion.

 

                                                    Board 9      Dealer North       E-W Vul

 

 

To open or not to open?  The Rule of Twenty is not getting much respect this week, here is another hand that we would open.  Just 11 HCP’s, and unexciting distribution, but we have compensating factors … a chunky suit and a couple of Aces.  So, our own choice would be 1♦ here, but some partnerships prefer more beefy opening bids and will no doubt opt for a Pass.

 

 

                                                    Board 9      Dealer North       E-W Vul

 

 

Partners are encouraged to raise with 3-card Heart support, given the right hand type, namely decent trumps and a ruffing value.  So, it would be rash to leap to 4♥ with our crummy 4-card suit, surely better to bid 3NT, warning Partner that we only have 4 trumps and that 3NT may be a better spot.

 

 

                                                    Board 10      Dealer East       Both Vul

 

Here we show both hands side by side.

 

♠ AKQ8       ♠ J7

♥ KT9852    ♥ Q63

♦ 3                ♦ AQJ76

♣ Q6            ♣ AK2

 

Let’s trace through this auction bid by bid.

 

West            East

                   1NT         Yes, absolutely maximum for the 15-17 range, some would say too good.

 

2♣               2♦

 

3♥                                Forcing, at least 5 Hearts and 4 Spades.  Some partnerships reverse the

                                    meanings of 3♥ and 3♠ here (the Smolen convention).

 

                    4♥            A cue-bid of 4♣ (in case West is slammish) would also be quite reasonable.

 

4♠                                West is good enough to try for slam, but this is not a hand for Roman Key Card,

                                     not with two Club losers.  So, West cue-bids in Spades, hoping that Partner can

                                     co-operate.

 

                    4NT         When we open 1NT we limit our hand and put Partner in charge of the auction.

                                    So what is this take-charge 4NT all about?  East’s plan is go to slam regardless,

                                    and along the way he will tell Partner whether his side has all the Key Cards, just

                                    in case West is interested in 7.  Yes, we can use RKCB to tell as well as to ask.

                                    If West had shown 3 Key Cards, East would have bid 5NT asking for Kings …

                                    he would not be interested in the answer (he was merely headed for 6) but would

                                    ask the question anyway, just in case Partner can go to 7.

5♥                6♥

Pass

 

Post Script

After 3♥, East could have bid 4♣ saying “I have Hearts and a good hand, and in case you are slammish, I figured you might like to hear about my Club control”.  If East makes this bid, it will be West that launches into Roman Key Card, for the same end-result.

 

Hand Evaluation Note

Just because East has a hand that was almost too good for his original 1NT opening does not mean that he is super-maximum in the context of a potential Heart slam.  Partner has shown Spades and Hearts and here is East with just 3 HCP’s in Partner’s suits, and a huge 14 HCP’s in the minors.  So, when it comes to slam potential in Hearts we’d rate the East hand as not much better than average.

 

 

                                                    Board 17      Dealer North       None Vul

 

 

What does Double show here?  It’s a Negative Double, of course, but what are the possible hand types?  Here are the basic characteristics:

-         Some values, let’s say around 7 HCP’s or more;

-         Something in the unbid suits, in this case the majors

-         West does not need both majors in this situation, but if Partner bids the wrong major (doesn’t he always?), West needs an escape plan

-         If West has a 5-card major, then he will only double in this situation with less than 10 HCP’s … with 10+ he’ll no doubt bid his major directly … not game-forcing, merely invitational values.

 

Yes, we’d say that a Negative Double is called for here.  And if Partner bids the wrong major and blurts out 2♥?  What is our escape plan?  We’d pass and settle for our 4-3 fit, comfortable in the knowledge that at least the onslaught of Clubs can be handled in the short hand.  What would 2♠ (over 2♥) show? … pretty much the same hand, but with a 6^th Spade … in other words, a hand that was not good enough to bid 2♠ directly.

 

 

                                                    Board 19      Dealer South       E-W Vul

 

 

Let’s do this one in two stages, depending on the methods of E-W.

 

First, let us suppose that E-W play that new suits are forcing opposite an overcall.  It’s a treatment that has somewhat fallen out of favor, but it works pretty well on this hand.  East simply bids 2♦ and awaits developments.  The awaited development turns out to be a 3♦ bid on the actual hand, and that should be enough for East to take a shot at 3NT.

 

Second, let us suppose that 2♦ is not forcing, but merely “constructive”.  Partner is permitted to pass if he has a truly horrid overcall and tolerance for Diamonds.  In this constructive scenario, 3♦ is generally used as the forcing bid.  Would 3♦ be our choice?  Actually, no, the auction would become crowded and awkward, we’d just boot out 3NT and hope for the best.

 

 

                                                    Board 21      Dealer North       N-S Vul

 

 

4♥ here is usually a hand in the 18-19 HCP range, but this 16 HCP hand with its splendid distribution is plenty good enough for game also.  After all, if Partner has Kxxx of Spades and absolutely nothing else, game will still have a play.  Does this make the hand a 4♥ bid?  We certainly could, but a 4♦ splinter would be a more descriptive route to the same destination.  If Partner has some extras of his own he’ll be able to assess the slam prospects armed with additional useful information.

 

 

                                                    Board 22      Dealer East       E-W Vul

 

 

We have a useful 11-count here opposite an overcalling Partner, and it is incumbent upon us to announce some values in this part-score battle.  But how?  The only possibilities appear to be:

-         1NT … this shows around 8-11 opposite an overcall, but, of course, there is no stop in Diamonds, so it’s hardly appropriate;

-         2♣ … definitely a candidate, though it’s a bid that might be equally well made with 6 Clubs and a weaker hand;

-         2♥ … not an obvious choice at first glance but this one might grow on you after a while … only 2-card support, but both of them are honors and the bid shows exactly the right values.

 

Yes, 2♥ would be our choice.  It won’t be a favorite of the Total Tricks brigade (they hate to lie about the number of trumps) but you can’t please everybody.

 

 

                                                    Board 22      Dealer East       E-W Vul

 

 

Partner’s 2♦ shows a decent hand and Heart support.  With our feeble 8-count opposite a passed hand we are not going anywhere.  The question is “Which is the weaker bid here, Pass or 2♥?”

 

It has been a recurring theme in recent weeks, and is a common enough situation to warrant a clear partnership understanding.  Here are the two schools of thought:

-         Pass is always the weakness bid.  That certainly sounds intuitive enough and is probably the majority treatment.

-         As Partner’s 2♦ shows support and is forcing to 2♥, bidding directly to 2♥ (the level to which we are forced can be used as the weakness bid.  In another sense, this is also intuitive, it’s the Principle of Fast Arrival in action … we are all familiar with the idea (in game-forcing auctions) of going to game quickly with a minimum hand, and there’s no reason why we should not employ the same logic in competitive part-score situations.

 

Anyway, those are the choices, you decide.

 

 

                                                    Board 25      Dealer North       E-W Vul

 

 

First, let’s pose a different problem for North:

            North   East     South   West

            1♠        Pass    1NT     Pass

            ??

After Partner’s Forcing 1NT, when we have a weak 6-4 hand, the recommended rebid is 2♠, in a part-score battle showing the 6^th Spade is more important than introducing the Diamonds. 

 

Now, back to the actual problem, where South’s 2♣ has created a forcing auction.  This changes things, now there’s no rush to show that 6^th Spade, there’ll be time for that later.  So, even though it’s not much of a suit, we’ll bid 2♦ here, planning to rebid the Spades next time around.

 

 

                                                    Board 26      Dealer East       Both Vul

 

 

How do you like that 3^rd hand so-called opening bid?  It’s a matter of style, not everybody has the stomach for openings which are light and which are short a card in the bid suit and which are vulnerable to boot.  We won’t argue the point except to say that proponents of the 1♥ bid will justify themselves with references to “lead-direction”, and the protection that they get from the Drury convention when they make these dubious major-suit third seat openings.

 

Anyway, let’s say that you did perpetrate that opening bid, and that now your passed-hand Partner bids a Drury 2♣, showing Spade support and saying “Please tell me if you have a real opening bid, or do you have your normal collection of rubbish?”.  Now South doubles, and the question becomes “How do we show a bad hand?”  We refer you back to North’s problem on Board 22, where she faces a comparable situation.

 

 

                                                    Board 28      Dealer West       N-S Vul

 

 

Once in a while Partner transfers into our 4-card major, a situation in which many partnerships use “super-accepts”, going beyond two of the major in order to confirm the 9-card fit.  There are numerous super-accept methods in use, our own pet preference is:

-         Simply accept the transfer at the two-level, even with 4 of Partner’s major, whenever our hand is especially bad (maybe 10% of the time we’ll be quite awful, with a minimum, square and quacky hand)

-         Bid 2NT whenever our hand is especially good, by which we mean close to a maximum (but not too quacky) and with some kind of ruffing value

-         Bid 3 of the major with something in between.

 

Why do we like this method?  Because it’s simple, it gives Opener some discretion in evaluating his hand, and, perhaps most important of all, it offers no gratuitous information to the opponents.  For more on this subject, please follow the link to our article.

 

Using the suggested method, what is our choice?  We’d say 3♥ is spot on, minimum in terms of HCP’s, but a decent 1NT nonetheless, and one with a ruffing value, so too good not to super-accept.

 

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