Forcing Pass

 

Here's a not uncommon situation ... both sides are bidding, the auction is reaching lofty heights, you know that it is your hand, but RHO has just bid yet again and it's your call.  Do you double or do you bid on?  It's not always an easy decision, but sometimes there is a third choice.  Yes, if we can be sure that Partner will bid again, we can simply Pass, and leave the decision up to our esteemed Partner.  What we are talking about here is the Forcing Pass, a useful device which gives us that third option.  But, it's only a Forcing Pass if both you and your Partner both realize that this is your hand, and not merely a competitive situation.

 

January 16th, 2008           Board 10      Dealer East       Both Vul

 

 

North’s 3♠ created a Forcing Pass situation, so after the opposing 4♠ bid, the three obvious options are:

-         5♥:  Bidding 5♥ (or 5♣ or 5♦) shows a strong preference for playing the hand.  Such a bid is more likely to be based on extra distribution than on extra HCP’s.

-         Dbl:  This suggests a hand that prefers to defend, and that bid is as likely to be made on poor offensive values as it is to be made on strong defensive values.

-         Pass:  The beauty of the Forcing Pass situation is that South can pass here, safe in the knowledge that Partner will bid again.  The Pass says “I’m undecided, I’m not sure whether we should declare or defend, you choose”

 

Those are the options, what is your choice?  We would say that this hand should be leaning strongly towards defending … no extra trump, the singleton is a King, control of the trump suit (increasing the chances of getting a defensive ruff or two).  So, we would double.  Partner will not be bound to pass that Double, but she’ll know our preference and only pull it with a good reason.

 

 

22nd November, 2006           Board 6      Dealer East       E-W Vul

 

Here we won't even look at the hands, just the auctions.

 

This board will produce a number of spirited auctions, with N-S vigorously preempting and E-W, whose hand it clearly is, trying to fathom when to stop bidding and when to start doubling the opponents.  Let’s look at two possible starts to the auction:

 

West    North   East     South

                        1♣       1♠

2♥       3♠        4♥        4♠

??

Is this a Forcing Pass situation?  In other words, if West now passes is Partner now prohibited from passing?  We are not saying that this is a Forcing Pass situation (you’ll have to see our new Forcing Pass article for that answer), we merely seek to introduce the concept here.  The benefit of a Forcing Pass agreement with Partner?  It’s simply that, when we are in a known Forcing Pass situation, we have a third string to our bow … we don’t have to Double or bid on … we also have the option of passing, typically indicating uncertainty as to what is right.

 

West    North   East     South

                        1♣       1♠

2♥        4♠        5♥        5♠

??

On this auction the opponents have preempted more vigorously and the bidding is one level higher.  Is this a Forcing Pass situation?  Obviously, the higher the auction the more likely that a Forcing Pass will be available.  We evaded the issue on the previous auction, here we won’t, we’ll confirm what must be pretty obvious and that is that N-S are not going to play 5♠ undoubled and so the Pass is forcing.

 

Do you and your Partner have good Forcing Pass agreements?  If you don’t, then please visit the System Library where we have just added an article on the subject.

 

 

10th May, 2006                  Board 6       Dealer East       E-W Vul

 

 

Here, East has three choices:

(a)    Bid 5♥:   with this minimum hand, it hardly seems right to commit to the 5-level;

(b)   Double:  nor does Double seem right, with shortness in their suit;

(c)    Pass:     yes, of course, East makes a Forcing Pass … he’s not sure what to do, which is an excellent reason to let Partner make the decision.

 

This is not a difficult bidding problem, but many, we suspect, would look at the favorable vulnerability and bid 5♥.  It’s easy to forget that Partner is also aware of the vulnerability.  At least we hope so!

 

 

31st May, 2006                 Board 26      Dealer East       Both Vul

 

 

There’s not much doubt that South is going to bid here, either with 5♥ or Double, so the question we are about to pose may seem irrelevant.  But bear with us.  The question: “Is Partner’s Pass of 4♠ a Forcing Pass?”  In other words, does the strength of our auction dictate that either we play the hand or else they play it doubled?  The different viewpoints are:

            North’s Pass of 4♠ is forcing because N-S have freely bid to game in a non- preemptive fashion …

            the hand clearly belongs to N-S , North’s Pass indicates uncertainty as to whether to double 4♠ or bid

            5♥ … one thing that it does not show is a willingness to defend 4♠ undoubled.

            North’s Pass of 4♠ is non-forcing because N-S have bid game in a competitive auction … a limit

            raise opposite a potentially light opener is not enough muscle to create a Forcing Pass situation …

            South’s 4♥ could be made on all manner of minimum distributional hands without much defense … if

            South had wanted to create a force, over 3♠ she should have bid 4 of a minor (this is not necessarily a

            slam try, but it does create a force).

 

We would say that the Pass is not forcing, but some would violently disagree, it’s not as if there is a right and wrong answer here.  But it would be good if you and your partner were on the same wavelength!  It’s worth discussing.

 

Back to the actual hand.  If North’s Pass is treated by the partnership as forcing, then Partner is offering South the choice of Double or 5♥ … she’ll probably choose 5♥, though that is not guaranteed to be successful.  If the Pass is considered to be non-forcing, then South has already misbid her hand!  Over 3♠, she had a bona fide high-card raise to 4♥, she wasn’t merely competing, so she should have bid 4 of a minor in order to create the force.  By failing to do that, she took away the useful Forcing Pass from Partner … such that, over 4♠, when the non-forcing Pass comes back to South, there’s not much more that she can do but double.  On the actual hand, that would be +200 instead of +650.

 

 

23rd August, 2006            Board 1      Dealer North       None Vul

 

 

What sort of creature is North?

A Mouse?              If that is the case, she will squeak out 3♠, a colossal underbid. 

A Human?            Most humans who are experienced players will see the offensive potential of this hand and

                              bid 4♠.

A Tigress?            This magnificent creature bids 4♦ which says to Partner “We are going to 4♠, which I

                              expect us to make.  We are now in a Forcing Pass situation if the opponents bid over 4♠”.

 

It’s probably fair to say that the Mice just counted up their HCPs, and with only 8 points figured that 3♠ would be plenty.  Not so, Minnie!  South’s overcall is at the two-level, so we can reasonably expect her to have at least the equivalent of an opening bid.  Opposite that opening bid we have the equivalent of 4 “cover cards” … A♥, K♣, and two Diamond ruffs … and that is usually enough for game.

 

The Humans who bid 4♠ were on the right track.  But perhaps 4♠ was not the most descriptive route to game … we would bid 4♠ on a hand such as ♠ A9763, ♥ 543, ♦ 4, ♣ J843, in other words a more preemptive type of hand, one with little defense.  If you will bid 4♠ with this, then 4♠ is a misdescription holding North’s actual hand.  However, by bidding 4♦ (instead of 4♠) we are showing some defense, and creating a Forcing Pass situation if the opponents step back into the auction.

 

Suppose that West had not bid 3♦ but had passed instead.  What would be your choice of bid now?  Yes, a 4♦ Splinter bid … enough for game, and Diamond shortness … perfect!

 

 

20th December, 2006        Board 23      Dealer South       Both Vul

 

 

North’s 3♠ was a Splinter bid, showing shortness in Spades and enough for game.  Let’s assume that N-S are in a forcing situation, whereby they will either play the contract themselves or else the opponents will have to play it doubled.  In such a situation, South has 3 courses of action:

-         Pass                 “I don’t know what to do, you decide”

-         Double            “I’d rather defend than declare”

-         Other Bids      “I’d rather declare than defend”

 

With that in mind, how should we rate the South hand?  It’s not exactly a defensive dreadnought but surely she would be better off suggesting to Partner that they defend.  Here’s why:

-         No distribution (bad for offense)

-         Soft values

-         Not only soft values but minimum values

-         No extra trump

So, although this hand may be no great shakes in the department of defense it is even worse offensively.  Double and take the money!

 

 

5th September, 2007         Board 13      Dealer North       Both Vul

 

 

Our 2♦ showed a good hand, forcing for one round but not game-forcing.  Let’s assume for the moment that West had passed.  What would now be the ways for the partnership to stop short of game?  A common treatment is for South to be allowed to pass next time around whenever Opener rebids 2NT, or rebids her own suit, or raises Partner’s suit, which means that the featured auction is forcing to at least 2NT.

 

Do things change when West chirps in with 2♠?  Here are two schools of thought:

-         That 2♠ removes the partnership from any obligation to bid again, and North’s Pass shows weakness and nothing to say.  In other words, this is not a Forcing Pass.

-         That 2♠ changes nothing, the partnership is still committed to bid at least to 2NT, so North’s Pass is a Forcing Pass, forcing for one round that is.  Does the Pass show weakness?  Not necessarily, North may have a good hand but nothing worth saying, so she gives Partner the chance to describe her hand further.

 

We prefer the second method, but it’s not a universal treatment.  Using that method, we’d bid 3♦, showing good Diamonds and nothing to spare, a bid which Partner is allowed to pass.

 

 

 

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