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Constructive Raises in Competition
In competitive auctions, after Partner has opened a major, or overcalled a major, the common style is to jump raise with 4-card support and a weak hand, and to cue-bid with support and game-invitational (or better) values. That leaves a gap, the so-called constructive raise, the 6-9 range. One solution is to use jumps to 3♣ and 3♦ for these hands. For more on this, follow the link. Also, see below for some examples from past Bidding Quizzes.
7th April, 2010 N-S Vul
West has an in-between sort of hand. The Law of Total Tricks tells us that this hand should compete up to the 3-level, based on the 9-card Spade fit. But West is too good to bid 3♠ immediately (that would be preemptive) and not good enough to Redouble (nor to use Jordan, nor maybe even Drury). So, playing standard methods, the solution is to bid 2♠ here, and to be prepared to compete later to the 3-level if necessary.
However, there is a useful gadget for this hand, namely “Constructive Raises in Competition”. Playing that gadget, West bids 3♣ or 3♦ to show a four-card raise and a half-decent hand, in other words, something in between a preempt and a game invitation. One common treatment is that bidding 3♣ is a constructive raise with a singleton, and that 3♦ is a constructive raise without a singleton.
1st June, 2011 Both Vul
The hand is not good enough for a cue-bid (showing a limit raise or better), especially considering that the ♥Q is a dubious value. The South hand is one which, with standard methods, would bid 2♠ and then push on to 3♠ if necessary, using Total Tricks logic to reason that with 9 trumps there was safety at the three-level.
There is useful gadget for this hand, namely Constructive Raises in Competition, which can be used opposite an overcall of one of a major. It works as follows: - 3♣ is a “constructive raise” (6-9), showing 4-card support and a singleton somewhere. - 3♦ is a constructive raise, again 4-card support, but this time without a singleton.
With that method in place, South bids 3♦.
3rd March, 2010 Both Vul
South has an in-between sort of hand. The Law of Total Tricks tells us that this hand should compete up to the 3-level, based on the 9-card Heart fit. But South is too good to bid 3♥ immediately (that would be preemptive) and not good enough to cue-bid 2♠ (that would be game-invitational). So, playing standard methods, the solution is to bid 2♥ here, and to be prepared to compete later to the 3-level if necessary.
However, there is a useful gadget for this hand, namely “Constructive Raises in Competition”. Playing that gadget, over East’s 1♠, South bids 3♣ or 3♦ to show a four-card raise and a half-decent hand, in other words, something in between a preempt and a game invitation. One common treatment is that bidding 3♣ is a constructive raise with a singleton, and that 3♦ is a constructive raise without a singleton.
On the actual deal E-W will get to 4♥ with or without this gadget. But if they happen to have that constructive raise available it makes it more difficult for West to support Spades and for E-W to find their good 4♠ save.
2nd December, 2009 E-W Vul
E-W have a 9-card fit and West will no doubt want to compete to the 3-level sooner or later. Of course, in competitive auctions it works better to get where you are going as quickly as possible, all the better to harass the opponents and take up their bidding space. West could bid a direct 3♠ here, but that is generally played as preemptive and this hand looks too good for that. Another solution is to bid 2♠, planning to compete later to 3♠. That’s not a bad approach but it does give the opponents a bit more room to work with. One more possibility is to use a gadget, the so-called “Constructive Raise in Competition”. There are various ways to play this, here’s one of them: - 3♣ (in the above auction) shows a constructive 4-card raise (about 6-9 HCP) with a singleton - 3♦ shows a constructive raise without a singleton Using that method, West has a 3♦ bid here. Follow the link for more information.
5th August, 2009 Both Vul
What’s your plan as South? - 3♠? Most partnerships play this as preemptive, hardly suitable for a hand with two side-suit Kings. - 2♣? No, it’s not good enough for a game-invitational raise. - 2♠? This would be the choice of most players, planning to push on later to 3♠ if necessary (based on the 4th trump). - 3♣? As played by some, this is a “Constructive Raise in Competition”, showing 4-card support and something in between a preemptive raise and a game-invitational raise. Exactly what South has, so the obvious choice if you have this useful weapon in your arsenal.
3rd June, 2009 Both Vul
What are the options here? - 3♥? No, most play this as preemptive and this hand is too good for that. - 2NT? This is commonly played as Jordan, showing Heart support and game-invitational values. We don’t think that this hand is quite good enough for that. - 2♥? In the absence of other methods this would be our choice. And we would later compete to 3♥ if necessary.
The suggested plan of bidding 2♥, then 3♥ if necessary, is not ideal, which is why someone invented “Constructive Raises in Competition”. There are various ways to play these, here’s one of them: - 3♣ shows 4-card support, constructive values, and a singleton somewhere. - 3♦ shows 4-card support, constructive values, and no singleton. By “constructive values” we mean better than a preempt, not as good as a game-invitation. Just what South has! Follow the link for more on this.
18th June, 2008 Board 7
How do you evaluate the East hand? - A Preemptive Raise? Absolutely not, this hand is way too good. - A Constructive Raise? In the last Wednesday Game we encountered Constructive Raises in Competition (CRICs), in which a jump to 3♦ here would be used to show a 4-card raise with around 6-9 HCP’s. This fits into that range and would be OK, we suppose. If you are not playing CRICs then you could show the same hand-type by bidding 2♠ and then 3♠ later, if necessary. - A Limit Raise? We think that this hand is just about worth a limit raise, we’d upgrade it because everything appears to be working and we like that Diamond sequence. So, we’d cue-bid their suit. There are two such suits, which one would we cue-bid? One common treatment is to cue-bid the cheaper enemy suit with 3-card support, and the more expensive one with 4-card support. So, our suggestion here is 3♣.
4th June, 2008 Board 9 E-W Vul
After West’s Double, North will, of course, be raising Partner’s Spades, but how? With a 9-card fit, North is prepared to compete to the three-level, but this hand is too good for an immediate 3♠, that would be preemptive. On the other hand, North is not good enough for a 2♣ cue-bid. It’s somewhere in between a preempt and a cue-bid, in that zone known as a “constructive” raise and the common treatment is to raise to 2♠ and then to compete further to 3♠ if necessary.
However, there is a gadget for this hand type, one which borrows from Bergen Major Raises. The simplest form of this gadget is to use 3♣ here for the “constructive raise”. When is this 3♣ raise in effect? One possibility is that it is in effect whenever Partner has opened or overcalled 1♥ or 1♠, and when the opponents are in the auction, and when 3♣ will be a jump bid.
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