Bidding Quiz                                               2nd May, 2007

 

                                   Click here for print-formatted version of the Bidding Quiz

 

                                                    Board 2      Dealer East       N-S Vul

 

 

North’s 5♣ bid is primarily preemptive, and, as N-S are Red versus White, she surely have a huge fit and some distribution.  Are you tempted to double anyway?  That would not be our choice.  West has a void in their suit and undisclosed support for Partner, surely a 5♦ bid is called for.  The obvious bid is also the winning bid, as 5♣ and 5♦ both make.  It’s also true that 5♥ makes on the actual deal, but E-W have no realistic way of getting to their better scoring spot.

 

                                                    Board 3      Dealer South       E-W Vul

 

 

Our 2♠ bid showed Club support and invitational values.  North’s 4♦ showed a Diamond control and was trying for slam.  What next?  This week’s Bidding Quiz has got off to a very easy start, this one is another no-brainer.  South can hardly have a better passed hand … no wastage in the enemy suit, maximum values, good controls, and an extra trump.  So, South bids 4♥, showing a control in that suit, which, on the actual deal, propels N-S to the excellent 6♣ slam.

 

Redwood Note

Some partnerships play that, in forcing Club sequences, 4♦ is used as Roman Key Card Blackwood, the so-called Redwood convention.  We like Redwood, but it’s something of a nuisance here, because Partner’s hand is:

            ♠ 5

            ♥ 753

            ♦ AQJ4

            ♣ AKQ84

After 3♠ on your right, what would you bid with this hand if 4♦ is Redwood and not a cue-bid?  The hand is certainly not suitable for Redwood, we’d prefer to elicit Partner’s opinion, and the only way to do that now is 4♠.  If this is how the auction goes, South would have to jump to 6♣ with her maximum hand.

 

 

                                                    Board 5      Dealer North       N-S Vul

 

 

What are our choices?

-         Pass?  Surely not!  We cannot sell out to 3♥ when we have so much lovely offense.

-         3♠?  No, not enough either, that would be purely competitive.  Partner hasn’t promised much, but we don’t that need much to make game, we just need the right stuff, such as the Q♠ and the Q♦.

-         Double?  Even if this is being played as a Maximal Double (in other words, as a game try) it’s still not a good idea.  That bid works best when we are interested in Partner’s general values.  But here, there are maximum hands which will be quite unsuitable, and minimum hands which will be perfect.  True, Partner will know to discount the K♥ opposite our likely shortness, but she won’t know that the A♥ is also not useful, nor will she know that Diamond cards are more valuable than Club cards.

-         4♠?  Nothing much wrong with that.  It may make, it may not, it’s worth a shot.

 

Actually, there’s one more choice, one that we prefer, namely 4♦.  By partnership agreement this is not a slam try, it merely tells Partner we have Diamond values.  Why bother?  Our purpose is to invite Partner’s cooperation if the opponent’s bid on to the 5-level.  Picture Partner with these two hands:

            Hand A                        Hand B

            ♠ QJ63                        ♠ QJ63

            ♥ 9832                         ♥ 9832

            ♦ QJT8                        ♦ 8

            ♣ 8                              ♣ QJT8

Let’s say that South bids the cooperation-seeking 4♦, and that West later competes to 5♥.  We are now sitting North with Hand A or Hand B.  If we hold Hand A we’ll bid 5♠ based on our double fit.  Not surprisingly, this will be the winning, N-S will make 11 or 12 tricks in Spades, while E-W will likely make 11 tricks (assuming one Spade and one Diamond).

 

Now let’s look at Hand B.  We’d say that North has a stand-out Double of West’s 5♥ which will probably be down 3 tricks or so, whereas 5♠ requires considerable luck to make.

 

 

                                                    Board 7      Dealer South       Both Vul

 

 

This hand is another commercial for the Good-Bad 2NT, which is a Lebensohl-style relay to 3♣.  When South then bids 3♥ she is saying “I am merely competing, don’t expect any extras”.  With a better hand, South would bid 3♥ directly.

 

Of course, just because South has a gadget at her disposal does not mean that she has to use it.  But here we would.  The South hand may be rock-bottom minimum, but all the values are working and there’s no wastage in Spades opposite Partner’s presumed shortness.

 

 

                                                    Board 8      Dealer West       None Vul

 

 

E-W are in a game-invitational auction, but that’s no reason for us not to bid the cards in front of our face.  We have an expectation of 10 combined Clubs, close to half of the HCP’s, and some shape.  That’s enough for us to bid 4♣, notwithstanding the apparent strength of their auction.  And, if the opponents bid on to 4♥?  We’ll be done, it’ll be up to Partner to make any further decisions.

 

 

                                                    Board 10      Dealer East       Both Vul

 

 

How many Spades do we bid here?

-         2♠?  We could try just 2♠, planning to bid 3♠ later, but that shows a different type of hand, let’s say a couple of Kings and only 4 Spades, in other words a hand which is too defensive to preempt but not good enough to make an invitational raise.

-         4♠?  This would be preemptive in the E-W methods, but even though we have a 10-card fit, we’d prefer some shape for this bid.

-         3♠?  This is also preemptive and looks like plenty to us.

 

On the actual deal, Partner has a normal 11-point overcall, there is no adverse distribution, and yet 4♠ doubled is a painful -800.  It’s not enough to preempt on trumps alone, a little distribution is also desirable.

 

 

                                                    Board 10      Dealer East       Both Vul

 

 

 East’s 3♠ was preemptive, putting South on the spot.  If East had kept silent, then no doubt South would think that she had done plenty with a simple raise to 3♥.  But in the face of the 3♠ preempt she must do even more, and bid 4♥.  Only 8 HCP’s, not much (actually nothing) in the way of distribution, but at least the points all appear to be working, and there are some useful-looking fillers.  This is what the bridge literature calls an “uncomfortable 4♥ bid”, in other words a bid which has to be made, but it’s under pressure and may work out badly.

 

Just for the record, on this occasion it does not work out badly at all, and 11 tricks occur.

 

 

                                                    Board 11      Dealer South       None Vul

 

 

When 1♠ was passed around to East, he was way too good for a balancing jump to 3♦, that bid typically shows a weaker hand, let’s say 11-14 (a better suit would be nice, too).  1♦ was a possibility, but we prefer the actual choice of Double, planning to bid again.

 

After North’s 3♣ preempt we have the values for 3NT but it would be bizarre to bid it with a void in the enemy suit.  Playing “standard” methods, we’d bid 3♦, forcing we would say, and hope that Partner can bid 3NT.

 

System Note

If E-W play Equal Level Conversion, things are less clear, but we would still say that 3♦ (over 3♣) is forcing.  For more on Equal Level Conversion, please visit the Systems Library, and also see Board 19 in this Bidding Quiz.

 

 

Boards 14 and 24

 

Board 14                                             Board 24

♠ KQ942                                             ♠ K8

♥ Q9                                                    ♥ AK873

♦ 32                                                     ♦ JT

♣ AQT6                                              ♣ A852

 

South   West    North   East                 West    North   East     South

                                    Pass                1♥        Pass    2♦        Pass

1♠        Pass    2♦        Pass                ??

??

 

Let’s assume that the featured pairs are playing 2/1 as forcing to game.  In that case, what are your rebids with these two hands?

 

The first point to make is that most 2/1 pairs require that a bid of 3♣ shows extra values.  If that is the case, then the left hand clearly does not qualify.  And the right hand?  It’s a bit closer, but not quite up to snuff in our opinion, especially as the suit is so poor.

 

If not 3♣, then what?  If we cannot bid 3♣ (for lack of values) then we need a “neutral” or “emergency” bid whenever we don’t have a sixth card in our major, and when we don’t have stops in the unbid suits.  There are two schools of thought, maybe with a little bit of grey in the middle.  One style is to bid 2NT as “neutral”, not guaranteeing stops, simply nothing better to say (so, playing this method, rebidding our major would show a 6^th one).  The other school of thought is for 2 of the major to be the “neutral” bid, not guaranteeing a 6^th card, it’s a bid that could be made with a 5-card major and a hand that is unsuitable for a 2NT rebid.

 

The latter style is the most popular nowadays, so let’s assume that method.  In that case, what next?  On the left hand, nobody would argue too vehemently with the “neutral” rebid of 2♠, but our own preference would be 2NT.  True, we don’t have both the unbid suits completely stopped, but it’s pretty close, and there is a lot to be said for making a limiting bid in these auctions.  2NT shows 12-14.

 

On the right hand, again we’d bid 2NT, even though we have 15 HCP’s.  This time we do have both the unbid suits stopped.  Yes, we could jump to 3NT, showing 15-17, and wouldn’t argue the point strenuously one way or the other, except to say that we would prefer stronger black suit holdings for that jump.

 

 

                                                    Board 16      Dealer West       E-W Vul

 

 

No doubt we’ll play this one in Hearts, and, assuming that 3♥ is forcing here, what should be our choice?  3♥ or 4♥?

 

As in the previous problem, we have two schools of thought.  Take your pick from these:

-         4♥ here shows concentrated values in the two bid suits, and denies controls outside those suits.  In this style, 3♥ could be a good or bad hand, merely one which does not fit that “concentrated values” mold.

-         4♥ here shows a rotten hand, the so-called Principal of Fast Arrival at work.  Therefore, 3♥ is more encouraging in terms of slam.

 

We can go either way on this one, it’s only important that you and your Partner are going the same way.

 

 

                                                    Board 16      Dealer West       E-W Vul

 

 

South’s 2♣ was game-forcing, then Partner supported our Hearts.  Should we make a slam try?  No doubt we are influenced by knowing all 4 hands, but we wonder if a simple and uninformative (to the opponents) bid of 4♥ is not called for.

 

Perhaps we are being “result merchants” here, but we wonder whether North should bother to make a slam try.  Sure, she has a few extra HCP’s, but South needs to have quite a lot for slam to be a good proposition, for example A♠, A♥, A♦, K♣.  Even that does not make 6♥ cold, and with such an impressive collection maybe South should make a try.  Perhaps North should downgrade on account of that QJ doubleton in Diamonds.

 

The bottom line is that there is no slam (there usually isn’t), and cue-bidding Spades here simply tells East to lead a Diamond against 4♥.  Without the Spade cue-bid, East may well find the lead of a Diamond from Kxxxx to be altogether too risky, allowing Declarer to score an extra trick.

 

Something to think about.

 

                                                    Board 19      Dealer South       E-W Vul

 

 

 

There’s not too much wrong with a 2♦ bid here, but this is a good hand for a Takeout Double, at least if the partnership is playing Equal Level Conversion (ELC).  ELC applies after a Double of a one of a major opening bid.  Normally, when we double and then bid a new suit, we show substantial extra values, but an exception is often made for this auction:

 

            North   East     South   West

                                    Pass    1♥

            Dbl      Pass    2♣       Pass

            2♦        etc.

 

This “Equal Level Conversion” bid of 2♦ typically shows 4 cards in the unbid major, 5 Diamonds, two or less Clubs, and no substantial extra values.

 

 

                                                 Board 24

                                                 Please see Board 14.

 

 

                                                    Board 25      Dealer North       E-W Vul

 

 

This one is easy enough.  North has a raise to 4♥, and along the way she can make a Splinter bid of 3♠, in case that turns Partner on slam-wise.

 

                                                    Board 28      Dealer West       N-S Vul

 

 

It’s time to make a plan.  Partner has 20-21 HCP’s, how do we proceed?  Perhaps the first question is “How do we evaluate our hand?”  The combined assets are 31-32 HCP’s and the generally accepted standard for 6NT is 33 HCP’s.  However, we have a 5-card Spade suit, and one with excellent fillers, so surely we are worth at least a slam invitation.

 

Having established that, now we can ask the question “How do we proceed?”  That depends on the answer to yet another question, how do you and your Partner treat these two auctions?

 

            North   East     South   West                North   East     South   West

                                                 Pass                                                    Pass

            Pass    Pass     2NT     Pass                Pass    Pass    2NT     Pass

            3♥        Pass    3♠        Pass                4♥        Pass    4♠        Pass

            4NT     etc.                                          4NT     etc.

 

The first auction was a Jacoby Transfer sequence, and it’s standard for this auction to be invitational to slam with 5 Spades.  And the second sequence?  Assuming that 4♥ was a Texas Transfer, then 4NT is Roman Key Card.  No doubt Responder has 6+ Hearts and intends to go to slam if the Key Card situation is satisfactory.

 

The North hand is not one for Roman Key Card, we are more interested in Partner’s opinion, so we go the route of the left-hand auction.

 

                                                    Board 31      Dealer South       N-S Vul

 

 

West’s 2♦ was DONT, showing Diamonds and a major.  We have game-going values here, and we would like to investigate whether 3NT or 4♥ is the place to be.  This is a good hand for Lebensohl, which offers these two options (amongst many others):

-         A cue-bid of 3♦ is Stayman, and denies a Diamond stopper

-         2NT is a relay to 3♣, and now 3♦ is Stayman, showing a Diamond stopper

 

If those are the N-S methods then this is a piece of cake.  North bids 3♦ the slow way (showing a Diamond stopper) and 3NT is duly reached.

 

As it happens, West has a Spade-Diamond two-suiter, and if E-W had been playing Cappelletti West’s call would have been 2♠.  This is still a Lebensohl situation, of course, but now North has “Stayman without a stopper” so she goes the “fast” route and bids 3♠ directly.

 

 

                                                    Board 32      Dealer West       E-W Vul

 

 

The E-W methods do not include Inverted Minors, so Partner’s 3♦ bid is invitational in strength, denying a 4-card major.  South’s Double was a surprise, there are obviously a large number of HCP’s in this deck!  Actually, the Double makes our hand look even better, surely if Partner has a minor suit Ace then there will be at least a play for slam.

 

What are your Ace-Asking methods in this situation?  It’s well-known that using 4NT does not work well in minor suits auctions, all too often the response gets the auction too high.  Here are some alternatives:

-         Minorwood:  In this method, in a forcing auction with a minor suit agreed, a bid of 4 of the minor can be used as Roman Key Card.  It’s a good method, but of no use here, we are not in a forcing auction, 4♣ would merely be competitive.

-         Redwood:  In this method, the red suits are Ace-asking … 4♦ when Clubs are agreed, and 4♥ when Diamonds are agreed.  Perfect!  Over South’s Double we jump to 4♥, and when Partner shows one Key Card we bid the slam.  Redwood works fine here, but sometimes confusion creeps into the auction.  For example, if Hearts have already been bid by us, 4♥ might be ambiguous.

-        Bothwood:  Actually we like to play both Minorwood and Redwood!  If a Minorwood bid is available we use it, but if, as here, Minorwood is not in effect, then we revert to Redwood.

 

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