The puzzles below represent a small change from the normal items that fall into this series.  Instead of a play problem, there is a multitude of bidding problems.  Each represents a certain type of bidding error.  If you get none of these right, don’t worry.  Every player that I know got these wrong at least once in their lifetime.

If you get all of these right, I will look forward to reading your articles in future issues of the Bulletin.  In all cases, no one is vulnerable.  You are West.  What is your bid in each bidding situation?

1    

Q 10 8 7 6
J 9 8
3 2
K J 8

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
		1	Pass
?

2    

K J 3
J 8 7
K 8 3
Q 7 6 2

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
		1	Pass
?

3

J 8 2
Q J 8
Q 8 6
K J 7 2

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
		1	Pass
?

4

Q J 7
8 2
A Q J 7 2
K J 2

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
1	Pass	1	Pass
?

5

Q
J 7 6 5 3
8 2
A J 7 5 3

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
		1	Pass
1	Pass	1	Pass
?

6

Q 8 7 2
2
J 10 7 4
10 6 5 3

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
		1	Dbl
?

7

Q 7 5 3
A 8 2
7 6
10 5 3 2

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
	1	Dbl	2
?

8

Q J 6 4 2
A Q 7 6 3
J 9
8

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
			1
2	Pass	2	3
?

9

K J 7 6 2
Q 9 7 6
4 2
K 9

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
		1	1NT*
?

*16-18

10

K 2
Q 9 6 5 4 3
6 5 3
Q 3

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
		2	Pass
Pass	3	Pass	3
?

11

K J 6 3
8
7 2
K 10 9 7 6 3

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
	1	1	1
?

12

K 9 8 2
9
A J 3 2
A Q 7 3

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
			1
?

SOLUTIONS

1    

Q 10 8 7 6
J 9 8
3 2
K J 8

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
		1	Pass
?

One would be hard pressed to imagine that your first bid as responder could be a difficult one, yet when I give this hand to my students, a majority of them offer the wrong answer.  The correct bid with this hand is two hearts.  It is not one spade.  True, if your partner has spade support, bidding one spade will be OK and may even be best.  If your partner does not have spade support, then he will have to rebid something else and you will be in an awkward position.  Say that you bid one spade and East rebids two diamonds.  You will certainly go back to two hearts but East will not know you really do like hearts.  He will fear that you have something like a small doubleton heart instead of the J98.  When you have the values to show your partner major suit support, you should do so and not get involved in other stories.  Look at it this way.  If you opened this hand one heart, wouldn’t you love to hear partner raise?

2    

K J 3
J 8 7
K 8 3
Q 7 6 2

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
		1	Pass
?

Raise to two hearts.  Do not bid three hearts and do not use a forcing notrump response if you have that available.  A jump raise promises four card support so jumping is violating a major rule.  In addition, this hand has such poor quality points that a belated raise to three hearts is no better.  This hand has maximum high cards for a two heart raise but it has terrible shape and it has only three trumps.  I rate this hand at about eight and a half support points.  Here is a possible layout.

K J 3
J 8 7
K 8 3
Q 7 6 2

Q 8
A 10 6 5 3
A J 4
K 8 4

South has fourteen decent high card points.  If North jumped to three hearts, South would go on to game.

How will game play?  South has a spade loser, one or two heart losers for sure and maybe three, and a big headache in clubs.  I can imagine South actually going down in two hearts, let alone three or four hearts.  

This hand emphasises three important points.

1.    A fourth trump is worth a lot.  If North had one more heart, the chances are good that there will be just one trump loser.  

2.    Random queens and jacks are not good cards.  Queens and jacks come into their own when they have some supporting honors go go with them.  

3.    Balanced hands are trouble.  4-3-3-3 hands do not play well in a trump contract.  Even when the four card suit is trump, the lack of a ruffing value hurts the hand.

3

J 8 2
Q J 8
Q 8 6
K J 7 2

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
		1	Pass
?

This is another judgment trap hand.  Yes, you have ten high card points but they are lousy points.  One notrump is fine.  For you to make game with this hand, your partner will need a fifteen or sixteen count.  With that good a hand, he might have opened one notrump.

In addition to the worry that comes with getting too high, there is the problem of how to go about doing it.  If one notrump is not the right bid, then what is?  Two notrump?  Spare me.  Two clubs?  The rest of the bidding will be exciting.  Better to respond one notrump and if given another chance, catch up on that extra half a point later.

4

Q J 7
8 2
A Q J 7 2
K J 2

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
1	Pass	1	Pass
?

Anyone who has followed my writings over the years will recognize this type of hand.  The correct bid is two spades.  Do not rebid one notrump and do not rebid two diamonds.  If you bid notrump, the opening lead (you can count on this) will be a heart through whatever your partner has in hearts and you won’t like it.  If you bid two spades, you can still get to notrump if it is right and you can get to notrump from partner’s side of the table if that is best.  The other rebid, two diamonds, is seriously flawed too.  Two diamonds should show a six card suit and inferentially it should show a hand that could not rebid one notrump.  Most of the time, when you rebid your minor, you don’t have any support for partner’s major.  If he has five spades to the nine and a stiff diamond and a minimum hand, he will pass two diamonds.  Care to play there?  Raising spades may get you to a marginal two spade contract, but if there is further bidding, your final contract will be excellent and well-reasoned.  I feel quite strongly about this question and its answer.  

5

Q
J 7 6 5 3
8 2
A J 7 5 3

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
		1	Pass
1	Pass	1	Pass
?

Bid one ugly notrump.  Do not bid two hearts on such a terrible suit and do not bid two clubs.  The main point of this hand is that a two club bid, tempting as it is, would show at least ten high card points.  When you bid two clubs, your partner will not know you are bidding on cheese in hopes of finding a safe home.  He will think you are bidding constructively.  If he has a fifteen point or better hand, he will continue until you get to game.  Your hand will be a sad sight for him if he sees it and if he doesn’t see it, he will wonder why you are losing so many tricks.  At the conclusion of the hand, he will definitely be wondering what you had.  You can alibi it away for a round or two, but eventually, he will see those cursed hand records and the truth will be out.

6

Q 8 7 2
2
J 10 7 4
10 6 5 3

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
		1	Dbl
?

There is a fallacy in bridge that has tenaciously stuck around in spite of fifty years of publicity to the contrary.  I expect that most readers of this article will be in agreement with the bid I am suggesting but my readers will admit that they know many who have not yet accepted this rule.

RULE – When your RHO makes a takeout double, a jump raise by you has a totally different meaning than when your RHO passes.  You should bid three spades with this hand.  If your RHO passed, a three spade bid by you would show either a limit raise if that is your system, or a game forcing raise if that is your system.  When there is a takeout double, the jump raise no longer shows a good hand.  It shows a weak hand with good shape and FOUR or more card support for your partner.  This hand, weak as it is, is a fine example of a jump raise over a takeout double.

As noted, there is a good chance that you are already using the bid this way, in which case you fairly may ignore these comments and proceed to the next hand.  If, however, you still use a jump raise as a limit raise or as a game forcing raise, you are losing out on a wonderful opportunity to mess with your opponents’ bidding.  I promise that using the jump raise as weak is the best treatment for this bid.  If you have a good hand, you can redouble or can bid two notrump, a special bid that has become a standard way to show support with points.  I can’t discuss the details of that bid here, but since it is so popular nowadays, you should be able to get some information on it.

7

Q 7 5 3
A 8 2
7 6
10 5 3 2

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
	1	Dbl	2
?

Did you bid two spades?  There is an area of bidding where the fear in us comes to the fore.  “Bid two spades with only six high card points and a bad four card suit?  Oh, my.”

There are reasons why you should bid two spades and I can tell you the reasons that many do not bid two spades.  First, the reasons why you should bid two spades.

You have six good-looking high card points and you have some shape.  In support of spades, you have seven decent points.  Your suit is poor, but your partner promises support so you will be safe in two spades.  By bidding, you put your side into contention to make something AND you do something else which is valuable.  Even if the hand does not belong to your side, you may push their side to the three level which may be higher than they are safe.  All of this is in addition to the modest chance that your side can make a game.

If your partner opened one spade or overcalled one spade, would you not raise to two spades?  Yes, you would.  When partner doubles one heart, he is doing something similar to bidding one spade.  He is showing spades, along with other suits as well.  Since your partner often has four spades, is it not a wise idea to bid two spades, which is more or less the same thing as raising spades?

Why do many players fail to bid two spades?  One reason is that they view a two spade bid as ‘bidding’ spades as opposed to ‘raising’ spades.  Partner’s double is a question which asks you if you have spades.  When you do, you should try to say yes.

Another major reason why players do not bid spades with hands like this one is that in the recent past, they did bid spades with this kind of hand only to find that partner did not have support.  Partner, it turns out, has doubled for takeout with only two spades.  Fresh with the memory of playing in a four-two fit, players resolve that it will never happen again.  This is what happens when you make a poorly judged takeout double and your partner is left high and dry in a stinky contract.  Partners remember this kind of treatment.  

Be sure that when you make a takeout double, you have what you are supposed to have and in time your partner will learn that bidding two spades with this hand is a good thing to do.

8

Q J 6 4 2
A Q 7 6 3
J 9
8

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
			1
2	Pass	2	3
?

 Did you pass?  Well done.  Did you think of bidding three spades? A bad tendency.  Did  you actually bid three spades?  Quite gross!  You bid two clubs, showing five-five in the majors, and dragged a preference out of East.  At this stage in the auction, if someone asked you what East has, you would guess that East has from zero to eleven points and two or more spades.  Not much of an insight.  If someone asked East what you have, he would say that you have five-five in the majors with eight or more points.  

Interesting, isn’t it, how accurately East pegs your hand?  

The question for the moment is simple.  Who knows better how many spades your side can make, you or your partner?  Given that you have a near minimum hand, it must be right to defer to your partner’s judgment.  If your partner has some bits and pieces, he will bid again.  Give East this hand:

10 8 7 3
K 9
A 8 7
9 7 6 3

He will know that his fourth spade is gold and his high cards are fitting and he will continue to three spades.  

Give East this hand instead:

9 5 3
10 5
K 8 6 5
Q J 5 2

East will know he has nothing for you and will pass three clubs in a flash.  The key to this competitive bidding decision is the common one that says when you have a minimum for your prior bidding, you should let partner make the last decision.  West, having shown his shape, should make no more voluntary bids.

9

K J 7 6 2
Q 9 7 6
4 2
K 9

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
		1	1NT*
?

*16-18

There is one and only one bid for this hand.  Double.  If you fail to double with this hand, you will end up defeating one notrump a couple of tricks and will receive a boring one hundred points for your efforts.

That one notrump overcall announces a big hand, to be sure, but it is not such a big hand that South can be sure of making one notrump.  When he bid it, he was hoping that his partner would produce a few points.

How many points do you have?  You have nine high card points.  

How many points does your partner have?  You don’t know for sure, but it is fair to guess that he has at least twelve and can have more.

This means your side has twenty-one high card points minimum and can easily have more.  

Here is the hand that South has.

Q 9 3
A K 10
A Q 8 5
Q J 8

South has a good hand, as announced by his one notrump bid.  How many tricks will it take in notrump?  Well, if his partner has the king of spades and the king of clubs, South will make a notrump or two.  If his partner produces no high cards or perhaps a jack, South’s hand will make four red suit tricks and perhaps one more trick along the way.

West knows with his nine high card points that South is going to find a terrible dummy.  South is not going to get to dummy to take any finesses.  Because of this he will spend the entire hand leading away from his tennaces instead of up to them.  

This is a lovely opportunity for West and he should take advantage by doubling and leading his fourth best spade.  True, South will make one notrump on occasion when everything is sour for East-West, but that will be rare.  My guess is that South will go down about eighty percent of the time, which adds up to a fine score for you.

I suggest that whenever your opponent overcalls one notrump you double it with nine or more high card points and with any eight point hand that offers a decent lead.  

10

K 2
Q 9 6 5 4 3
6 5 3
Q 3

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
		2	Pass
Pass	3	Pass	3
?

Hard to believe, but there is a good bid you can make with this piece of cheese.  Double.  The meaning of double is that you wish partner to lead a spade.  You promise a high spade honor for this bid. The ace, king, or queen all meet this requirement.

The one thing that double does not mean is that you remember the bidding and want partner to know it.  Doubling with two little spades or even three little spades is misguided.  The opponents won’t play it in three spades doubled and your double will give the opponents more room to sort out what they want to do.  The only thing your double will do is convince partner that you want a spade lead.  If he leads a spade and you can only produce a little card, your partner will feel deceived.  Say you have a hand like this one.

7 6 3
K J 9 7 6
8 7
K 9 3

If you double three spades, your partner, if on lead, will lead a spade and that may not be good.  If you pass three spades, your partner will think to himself that you did not ask for a spade lead.  If, with this information, your partner still leads a spade, it is because his spades are good enough to do so.  If you pass three spades and partner’s spades aren’t all that good, he will know to look elsewhere.  Perhaps you will get lucky enough to see him lead a heart.  

That can happen, but not if you make a spontaneous double without good reason.

11

K J 6 3
8
7 2
K 10 9 7 6 3

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
	1	1	1
?

Bid two clubs.  A new suit in response to an overcall is not forcing.  It says you have some points and feel safe in bidding.  If your partner wishes to pass, he can and if he can bid on, knowing you have a few points, that is OK too.  If East does rebid, say two hearts, you don’t have to fret that you have promised him a good hand.  You can and should pass two hearts knowing that East bid it without encouragement from you.  

Think how you would feel if you passed one spade and heard opener rebid two diamonds.  If this was passed to you, might you not feel like bidding three clubs now?  Better by far to bid two clubs at your first opportunity. That way, you won’t have to decide to bid three clubs later.  

It surprises me how many partnerships play that a new suit is forcing.  Some play, so help me, that a new suit promises a fit for partner’s suit.  It may give the partnership some comfort to play this way, but it means that you will be doing a lot of passing while you wait for the right hand.  That is not my style and it should not be yours either.  Bid two clubs on hands like this one and get involved in the auction.  

NOTE that if you bid two clubs and they buy the hand, you prefer a club lead from partner.  Obviously, if he has great hearts, he will lead them, but if he has a broken heart holding, he will be pleased to follow your hint.

12

K 9 8 2
9
A J 3 2
A Q 7 3

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
			1
?

 The right bid is pass.  I regret that this is not unanimous.  There is a measurable number of players who insist on doubling with this hand and it saddens me that they do not go for five hundred points each and every time.  Bridge is a forgiving game and you can make bids like this now and then and get away with them, but not if I am watching.  

The right bid with this hand, good as it is, is to pass.  If you double, your partner will bid hearts.  

If he bids one heart, you will have to leave him in one heart which he will hate or you will have to bid something to escape.  Doubling and bidding a new suit or bidding notrump shows a much bigger hand.  

Things could be worse.  Your partner might bid two hearts or even three hearts.  You will hate both of these bids too.  

A thoughtful player might bid one spade which is pretty close to being a good bid.  With better spades, it would be a good bid.  But you have poor spades, so that bid is out.

Best is to pass and see if the bidding won’t go better for you later.  If your LHO bids hearts and your RHO raises, you can double for takeout.  That will be a fair description of your hand and with luck, your side will win out in the bidding.  

RULE – When you have an opening bid and your RHO opens first, it is not necessary to bid.  You will try to bid and often there will be a good bid available, but when there is not, it is best to pass instead of making up a bid for the occasion.  

The post Play Too Fast Series – 12 Bidding Situations appeared first on Michael Lawrence.

Part One

West 8 K J 8 7 5 A K J 7 K J 8
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH 1 Pass 1 Pass 2 Pass 2 Pass ?

By Mike Lawrence

Assuming you are playing matchpoints, what should West bid now? In an effort to help your decision, here are five possible hand for your partner to have.

#1
J 7 6 3
A 4 2
8 5 3
A 9 4

#2
A K 10 5 4
Q 6
9 8 5 3
7 4

#3
K 9 7 6 5
8 3 2
8 5 2
Q 5

#4
K Q J 7 4
9 3
8 6
9 6 5 3

#5
Q 9 5 4 3
10 9 2
6 4
A Q 3

Which is the worst of these five hands that East can have for his bidding?

Which is the best of these five hands that East can have for his bidding?

Part Two - Michael's Answers

West 8 K J 8 7 5 A K J 7 K J 8
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH 1 Pass 1 Pass 2 Pass 2 Pass ?

Here are my thoughts on each of these five hands.

#1
J 7 6 3
A 4 2
8 5 3
A 9 4

This is an impossible hand for East to have. He should have raised to two hearts. Why look for a major suit fit when you have a perfectly good major suit fit already? Raise to two hearts. That shows 6-9 support points, which is exactly what you have.

#2
A K 10 5 4
Q 6
9 8 5 3
7 4

This is the best of the possible hands East can have. It has nine good points, which is about as many as West can hope for. It also has a doubleton heart, which is typical of preference bids. The queen doubleton of hearts is pretty good stuff under the circumstances.

#3
K 9 7 6 5
8 3 2
8 5 2
Q 5

This is a possible hand. It looks pretty awful, but it does have three trumps and what turns out to be a nice queen of clubs. This is not the worst of these five hands.

#4
K Q J 7 4
9 3
8 6
9 6 5 3

This is the bad one. It has no help in either of West’s suits and it has all of its strength in spades where may be of no value to West.

#5
Q 9 5 4 3
10 9 2
6 4
A Q 3

This is not a possible hand. East should raise to two hearts. If you bid one spade and later take a preference to two hearts, West will suspect you of having a preference-type hand like hands 2, 3, and 4. With decent heart support and raise points, it is best to raise and not confuse the issue.

SUMMARY

Most of the time, East’s auction suggests just two hearts. This is a bad sign for a heart contract. If East happens to have three hearts, he ought to have a pretty wretched hand on the lines of Hand 3.

Look at Hands 2, 3, and 4, which are possible hands for East to have.

Game is poor or impossible on Hands 3 and 4 and is not a favorite to make on Hand 2, which is the best hand of the lot.

West should pass it out in two hearts. It is important for West to know that East will raise when it is right and not be distracted into bidding spades unnecessarily.

The post How Well do You and Your Partner Understand Each Other? Can You Trust Each Other? appeared first on Michael Lawrence.

Part One

Dealer: W Vul: E-W	North A 8 7 4 8 2 K Q 9  K J 6 3
	South Q J 10 9 5 J 5 3 A 9 8 4 2
Lead: K Bidding:   WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH 1  Dbl 3 4 Pass Pass Pass

By Mike Lawrence

North and South bid to a thin four spades after some modest competitive bidding by East West.

West led the king of hearts and continued with another heart to East’s ace. South noted that four spades was going to require a spade finesse plus a good guess in clubs. When East returned the ten of clubs at trick three, South thanked East for solving his club problem. South won with the jack in dummy. South had no club losers now and had only to draw trump.

Alas, South had no way to get back to his hand to take the spade finesse. He tried leading the king of diamonds, hoping to ruff a diamond in his hand but West won the ace and gave East a club ruff. South got to take his spade finesse later, but it was too late. Where did South go wrong? Or was four spades just unmakable?

Which do you choose?

Four spades should make.

or

Someone bid too much.

Part Two: All 4 hands

Dealer: W Vul: E-W	North A 8 7 4 8 2 K Q 9  K J 6 3
West K 2 K Q 9 7 4 A J 5 Q 7 5		East 6 3 A 10 6 3 10 8 7 6 4 2 10
	South Q J 10 9 5 J 5 3 A 9 8 4 2
Lead: K Bidding:   WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH 1  Dbl 3 4 Pass Pass Pass

Four spades was cold. South overlooked a crucial point of timing. Given East’s ten of clubs was a singleton, it was not necessary to let the lead go to dummy. South should have won with the ace of clubs, finessed in spades, and then later take the morally certain club finesse after trumps were drawn. Not all gifts are as they seem!

A SYSTEMIC ASIDE

Note East’s raise to three hearts. After a takeout double, the raise to three hearts is no longer a strong bid. It is better used to show a weak hand with some shape and at least four trump. It may buy the hand or it may allow West to compete further if he has the hand for it. Be sure you have this understanding down pat.

There is an excellent convention that you can use which will remove the need to have the jump raise show a good hand.

1   DBL   2NT

When is the last time you bid one heart, heard a takeout double, and had your partner jump to two notrump? You might think that your partner was making a natural notrump bid, but that is not so. If he had a balanced thirteen points, he would start with a redouble. Perhaps a big penalty is available.

If you agree that two notrump has no needed natural meaning, then you might like to play this convention instead.

THE IRREGULAR REDOUBLE

This is just one of many names that this convention has. It works this way.

1 DBL  2NT

or

1 DBL  2NT

The jump to two notrump over the double says you have the following.

1. Limit raise values or more. If you have a limit raise, you will stop in three of the major unless your partner gets you higher.
2. Four or more trumps. This is one of the 100% rules of bridge. Never make a jump raise with just three trumps. If you have just three trumps, start with a redouble and then raise partner’s suit. If the opponents compete, as they often do, your partner’s judgment will be better off knowing when you have three trumps and when you have four.

I STRONGLY suggest you use this convention. If you do, then your partner can give a jump raise with a weak hand and can also bid his stronger hands accurately. An excellent combination.

 

The post Is There a Hidden Trap to Worry About? appeared first on Michael Lawrence.

Part One

Dealer: S Vul: None
	South A K 10 7 6 10 8 4 Q 10 9 8 4 —
NORTH SOUTH        Pass     1 ?

By Mike Lawrence

This hand came up in the Grand National Teams playoffs. If you come up with the right decisions, you continue to the next round.

No one is vulnerable. There are two passes and your partner opens one spade in third seat. The next player passes and it is back to you. What is your plan?

This is a fine hand under the circumstances. Even though partner opened in third seat, you aren’t going to let him get away short of game. What do you bid now?

Here are some choices:

1. Three spades
2. Four spades
3. Two diamonds
4. Three diamonds
5. Drury two clubs
6. A splinter of four clubs

Part Two

Dealer: S Vul: None
	South A K 10 7 6 10 8 4 Q 10 9 8 4 —
NORTH SOUTH       Pass      1 ?

Passed hand bidding is not easy. Many of your forcing bids are no longer available and what few substitutes you have are not adequate. Of the six choices, the only one that makes sense is four clubs. Here are my objections to the other choices.

Three spades – This is just plain inadequate. Even if partner has a dog, there should be some kind of play for game.

Four spades – Also inadequate. This will get you to game so it is a better bid than three spades, but it does nothing to help partner look for a slam.

Two diamonds is too scary to contemplate. It might get passed out.

Three diamonds has merit since it is a jump shift. It has merit, though, only if it promises a spade fit.

Drury can work, but it will be hard to convince partner that this is your hand.

It is the splinter that gets my attention. It tells partner you have four or more super trumps plus it identifies a major aspect of your hand. Partner won’t know that you are void in clubs, but he will know you have a singleton along with other features.

 

	NORTH	SOUTH
		Pass
	1	4
	4	?

Partner thinks enough of his hand that he cue-bids four diamonds. Do you bid four spades or do you think enough of your hand to do more? Here are your choices.

1. Four spades
2. Five spades
3. Five clubs

Part Three

Dealer: S Vul: None
	South A K 10 7 6 10 8 4 Q 10 9 8 4 —
NORTH SOUTH       Pass     1 4     4 ?

Of these bids, I reject four spades. Partner is showing a willingness to look for slam and he is missing the AK of trumps. It is hard to imagine a hand that he can have which is not safe at the five level.

Five spades is OK since it shows more enterprise, but I still prefer five clubs. Five clubs shows a void now and invites more news from partner.

	NORTH	SOUTH
		Pass
	1	4
	4	5
	5	?

What now? Partner has bad spades yet is still cue-bidding. Choose from these bids.

1. Five spades
2. Six spades
3. Six clubs

 

Part Four

Dealer: S Vul: None
	South A K 10 7 6 10 8 4 Q 10 9 8 4 —
NORTH SOUTH       Pass     1 4     4 5      5 ?

Since partner is continuing to show features, I can’t imagine stopping in five spades.

Six spades is OK here, but it gives up on seven. Heck. If partner has the two red aces and the king of diamonds, seven spades will be playable. Why bid six spades and give up on seven when seven is still a likelihood?

Bid six clubs and hope partner can bid six diamonds.

	NORTH	SOUTH
		Pass
	1	4
	4	5
	5	6
	6	?

Nuts. Partner has the wrong king. Sign off in six spades and expect it to be cold, with seven sometimes being on a finesse.

Here are the two hands. How should you play six spades with the king of clubs lead?

	North Q 9 8 4 2 A K 9 A 7 3  A 8
	South A K 10 7 6 10 8 4 Q 10 9 8 4 —

 

Part Five

	North Q 9 8 4 2 A K 9 A 7 3  A 8
	South A K 10 7 6 10 8 4 Q 10 9 8 4 —

Do not rush to guess the diamond suit. Ruff the club lead with the ten. A tiny safety play to cater to West’s having eleven clubs! Draw trumps (they divide two-one). Now you can discard dummy’s heart on the ace of clubs, play the ace and king of hearts, and ruff a heart. With clubs and hearts eliminated, you can lead the ten of diamonds for a finesse. Whatever West wins with, he has to give you a sluff and a ruff or lead a diamond. Either clears up your problems.

The post An Interesting Bidding Hand appeared first on Michael Lawrence.

Dealer: W Vul: All	North J 3 A 10 5 A Q 9 8 7 6 K J
West K 10 4 2 K J 8 6 4 5 4  10 2		East Q 9 8 6 5 9 3 2 J 2 A 5 4
	West A 7 Q 7 K 10 3  Q 9 8 7 6 3
Bidding:   WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH  Pass 1 Pass 2 Pass 2 Pass 2NT Pass  3NT Pass   Pass  Pass

The post The Dreaded Two Club Bid appeared first on Michael Lawrence.

Part One

Dealer: S Vul: N-S
	South 9 A K J A K Q 10 8 7 6 5  2
Lead: A   WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH       1 2 2 5 6 Pass  Pass Pass

By Mike Lawrence

South opened a quiet one diamond and found himself guessing what to do on the next round when East jumped to five clubs. I sympathize with South’s decision to bid six diamonds. Who can tell what the right bid is. If North has no aces, five diamonds is enough. If North has two aces, seven notrump may be the best spot.

How do you feel about South’s bidding?

North suggested after the hand that South should have opened two clubs. That suggestion might have been sensible, but it would not have kept the opponents out of the bidding. South can bid spades, but East would still be there with his five club bid, giving South more or less the same problem.

How should South handle this situation?

Part Two: All 4 hands

Dealer: S Vul: N-S	North K Q J 7 5 Q 5 2 J 4 2  J 5
West A 10 6 4 7 9 3 A K 10 9 7 3		East 8 3 2 10 9 8 6 4 3 — Q 8 6 4
	South 9 A K J A K Q 10 8 7 6 5  2
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH       1 2 2 5 6 Pass  Pass Pass

West took his ace of clubs and late in the play, he got his ace of spades, setting six diamonds one trick.

There is a simple solution to this disaster. Play that a four notrump opening asks for aces. In an earlier hand in this Web Page, I mentioned this use for an opening four notrump bid. On that hand, it came up as a theoretical thought. On this hand, it came up as a reality.

Using four notrump as Blackwood means you can’t open four notrump to show 27-28 points, but that is a small price. In my lifetime, I can remember only one hand where I wanted to show the big balanced hand. Since I have no idea how to respond to a 27 point opening four notrump bid, I am happy to have a meaning for four notrump that I can understand.

In my lifetime, I have opened four notrump to ask for aces on six or seven hands. I won’t claim that I gained on all of them but I will claim that I never had a bad result by doing so. In every case, we avoided various potential dangers.

SPECIAL ASIDE

Winning players have learned that when an opponent opens a strong two club bid, it is worthwhile bidding on weak hands with good suits. It disrupts the opponents’ bidding.

Say that your RHO opens with two clubs and you have one of these hands. You note that you are not vulnerable and they are. Should you bid with these three hands and if so, what?

One
Q J 8 7 6 3
4 3
8 7 3
3 2

Two
8 7 3
K 3
K Q J 8 3
8 7 3

Three
A
K 10 8 6 5 4 3
3
Q 10 7 6

Part Three: Suggestions

SUGGESTIONS

One
Q J 8 7 6 3
4 3
8 7 3
3 2

Bid two spades if you feel conservative and three otherwise. Passing with this hand leaves opener room to develop his hand. He can show the kind of hand he has and his partner will have time to show what he has too. Do not let your opponents bid their big hands by themselves.

Two
8 7 3
K 3
K Q J 8 3
8 7 3

I would bid two diamonds with this. You might bid three if you felt brave. Even the two diamond bid can hurt their bidding. Say that your LHO passes and your partner bids three diamonds. Opener can’t rebid at the two level any more. The lost bidding space can hurt them.

Three
A
K 10 8 6 5 4 3
3
Q 10 7 6

Bid four hearts. It is true that you can go down a ton, but they may not know that doubling you is the best they can do. They will worry that they have a slam and may give up the penalty in favor of looking for a slam. If they do, their bidding may not be perfect since you have taken away three of their precious rounds of bidding.

Here is a hand as seen by opener.

South
A K J 9 4 2
Q
A K Q 4
 A J

First, the uncontested auction:

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
			2
Pass	2	Pass	2
Pass	3	Pass	3
Pass	4	Pass	4NT
Pass	5	Pass	6
Pass	Pass	Pass

Your partner has two small spades with five diamonds to the jack. Six diamonds is cold.

Now, the contested auction.

South
A K J 9 4 2
Q
A K Q 4
 A J

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
			2
2	Pass	3	3
Pass	4	Pass	?

Without knowing about partner’s length in diamond, you more or less have to pass four spades. You will make it, but it is not the same as when you can explore during the bidding and find the diamond fit. Here is the complete hand.

Part Four: All 4 hands

	North 8 5 9 7 4 J 10 6 3 2  Q 6 2
West 7 3 K J 10 8 2 8 10 8 7 5 3		East Q 10 6 A 6 5 3 8 6 5 K 9 4
	South A K J 9 4 2 Q A K Q 4  A J

West’s gentle two heart bid and East’s quiet raise stole enough bidding room from South that N-S missed their diamond slam. A serious loss. You will note that West was not in big trouble if he got doubled, either. With sensible play, West will take seven or eight tricks.

The message is clear.

WHEN YOUR OPPONENTS OPEN WITH TWO CLUBS, YOU SHOULD VIEW IT AS AN EXCUSE TO BID.

With discretion, you can bid effectively and will gain a lot of good results when the opponents fail to come to grips with the bidding. It will happen.

The post Using Bidding Space to Save Bidding Space appeared first on Michael Lawrence.

Part One

Dealer: W Vul: N S	North  A Q A 6 3 A Q J 10 5 6 5 3
	South 9 8 4 K 5 2 8 7 6 4 3  K Q
Lead: Q Bidding:   WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH Pass 1 Pass 1NT 2 3NT Pass Pass

By Mike Lawrence

Both South and North had choices in the auction. South had to choose between one notrump and a raise to two diamonds. South should not be too quick to bid notrump. Many players overlook raising a minor suit and often pay a price for it. The problem with bidding one notrump is that you may get a spade lead. Whatever partner has in spades will be better off having a spade lead come up to it. If you bid two diamonds, your partner may be able to bid notrump, getting the play from the right side of the table.

On this hand, the balanced shape and overall values does suggest a one notrump bid which is the call that South made at the table. My feeling is that both bids, one notrump and two diamonds, are decent choices.

North had problems too. With seventeen balanced points, he might open one notrump, showing fifteen to seventeen points. With an excellent suit and with sensational high cards, North chose to start with one diamond instead, treating his hand as being worth more than seventeen points. A fair assessment.

West led the queen of hearts. East signaled with the eight and South took the trick. Any thoughts on how to proceed?

South started diamonds, West showing up with the singleton king. South came back to his hand with the third round of diamonds and promptly took the spade finesse for his ninth trick. Didn’t work. East won the king and returned a spade. South had only eight tricks to take.

Part Two: All 4 hands

Dealer: W Vul: Both	North  A Q A 6 3 A Q J 10 5 6 5 3
West J 10 7 6 5 2 Q J 9 K A J 2		East K 3 10 8 7 4 9 2 10 9 8 7 4
	South 9 8 4 K 5 2 8 7 6 4 3  K Q
Lead: Q Bidding: WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH Pass 1 Pass 1NT 2 3NT Pass Pass Pass

Declarer lost track of his tricks. South should start diamonds as he did, in the process, learning that West had a singleton king.

At some point, South should lead a club to his king, ensuring a ninth trick. When this happens, East will follow suit with the ten. West wins his ace and plays back the jack of clubs, won by South.

Later in the hand South has the spade finesse in reserve for an overtrick. Do you think that South should finesse in spades? How can you tell?

MAKE A DECISION

If South remembers the bidding, he will not finesse in spades. West, who had passed originally, had shown up with the ace and jack of clubs, the queen and jack of hearts, and the king of diamonds. If West also had the king of spades, it would give him fourteen points, in which case he would have opened the bidding. South should refuse the spade finesse.

FOR THE RECORD

Look at West’s hand.

West’s heart lead might have been a stroke of genius but it worked poorly. A spade lead would have crushed three notrump. Would you lead spades or hearts, yourself?

The reason I ask this question is that there are so many imponderables in bridge that many of your questions, even after the fact, can not be answered correctly. If East had the king of hearts instead of the king of spades, the heart lead could be best. Retrospect is always more enlightened when you can see all four hands. A big piece of advice that I can offer you is that you be extra open minded after the information is in.

Few things are easier to do than taint your thinking when you get to see all four hands. Work hard to be fair.

Surely you have heard an opponent say something like this after the hand.

“All you had to do was lead the ace of clubs. I would get two club ruffs.”

This sounds like some serious postmorteming of the worst kind. Do not get involved with this kind of thinking. You will be a better player for it and your partner will be grateful too.

 

The post Collecting and Using Information appeared first on Michael Lawrence.

1. Which of these Bridge Immortals acquired the most master points in tournament competition?

1. Alfred Sheinwold
2. Charles H. Goren
3. Oswald Jacoby
4. Eli Culbertson

2. Which has the highest percentage chance of happening?

• A finesse for a queen
• Six cards dividing three – three
• Taking two tricks with 432 opposite the AJ10

3. Which U.S President achieved near expert status as a bridge player?

• John F. Kennedy
• Dwight D. Eisenhower
• Harry S. Truman

4. Which of the following holdings represents ONE QUICK TRICK?

• QJ10
• AQ7
• KJ7
• KQ6

5. How many points does it take to make three notrump in general?

• 24
• 26
• 32

6. If you open three spades when vulnerable, how many tricks should you expect to take in your own hand?

• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9

7. You bid 4NT asking partner for aces. What does he bid if he has all four aces?

• 5C
• 5NT
• 6C

8. In first seat, partner opens 4H with nobody vulnerable. How many high card points should he have?

• 8-12
• 13-15
• 16-18

9. If you can arrange the cards any way you like, how many trumps do you need to make 6S?

• 4
• 6
• 8

10. Which distribution is dealt most often?

• 4-3-3-3
• 4-4-3-2
• 5-4-2-2

11. Traditionally, what is the Worst sin you can do in bridge?

• Revoke
• Ruff your partner’s ace
• Lead from the wrong hand.

12. Which statement is common to bridge, tennis, and golf?

• Ace
• Deuce
• Ball

TWELVE MEDIUM QUESTIONS
1. If you are allowed to arrange the cards any way you want, what is the fewest number of high card points you need to make a grand slam (All thirteen tricks) in a suit contract?

• Sixteen
• Five
• Thirty three
• Eleven

2. If you play that a double of an opening three spade bid is for penalty, you are playing which convention?

• The Negative Double
• Fishbein
• Asking Bids

3. If you are in 3NT doubled and redoubled vulnerable and go down 3400, how many tricks did you take?

• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

4. Partner opens with 1C. What is your correct response with AQ107, J1064, Q84, 93

• 1D
• 1H
• 1S
• 1NT

5. The opponents end up in 4S. Your side hasn’t bid. You have the A974 of hearts. How often will a good player lead the ace of hearts?

• 2% of the time
• 15% of the time
• 35% of the time

6. Your Right Hand Opponent opens 1S. Which convention do you use to ask your partner to bid a minor suit?

• Cheaper Minor for takeout
• The Unusual Notrump
• The Negative Double

7. How many points, counting distribution, does it take to make a takeout double when your RHO opens 3S?

• 14 points
• 17 points
• 20 points

8. If you open 1NT with a void suit, you have:

• Made a perfectly legal bid
• Done something silly
• Possibly misarranged your hand
• All of the above may apply

9. Partner opens 1S. RHO bids 1NT. Which spade should you lead from the Q82?

• The queen
• The eight
• The two

10. Partner opens 1C, and you respond 1H. Which of the following rebids by partner shows the strongest hand?

• 2NT
• 3C
• 3H

11. How many spade symbols are on the Jack of Spades?

• 2
• 4
• Lots

12. You open 1H, your LHO doubles for takeout, and your partner jumps to 3H. How many high card points does your partner have?

• 3-7
• 8-11
• 12-15

TWELVE DIFFICULT QUESTIONS

1. What is the Vienna coup?

• When you intentionally revoke
• A necessary unblocking play to help you play for a squeeze
• You ruff partner’s winner in order to gain the lead

2. Which card is known as the “curse of Scotland”?

• The nine of diamonds
• The queen of spades
• The jack of clubs

3. Which is more likely to occur?

• Holding all thirteen cards of any suit
• Holding thirty seven high card points
• Holding no card higher than a five spot

4. If you bid a slam requiring three finesses to work, what are your chances of success?

• 30%
• 12.5%
• 33.33%

5. The opponents bid 1NT – 3NT. What card should you lead from the KJ1074 of spades if using normal leads?

• The jack
• The ten
• The seven
• The four

6. In bridge parlance, what is a “Hook”?

• A finesse
• Rescuing partner from a doubled contract
• Dropping a singleton king offsid

7. Which aspect of bridge is generally thought to be the hardest?

• Playing the hand
• Bidding
• Defending a hand

8. How often might it be right to lead from the king of an unbid suit against, say, 6S?

• 2% of the time
• 10% of the time
• More than 20 % of the time

9. How many club symbols are there in total on the two and three of clubs?

• Five
• Seven
• Nine

10. What is the maximum number of bids (counting passes) possible to end up in a contract of 1D?

• Ten
• Twelve
• Sixteen

11. Which of the following is NOT a modern bidding system?

• The Big Pass
• Precision Club
• The Variable Diamond
• Standard American

12. When in doubt, what should you do?

• Pass
• Review the bidding
• Lead a trump
• Claim

ANSWERS

TWELVE EASY QUESTIONS

1. Which of these Bridge Immortals acquired the most master points in tournament competition?

1. Alfred Sheinwold
2. Charles H. Goren
3. Oswald Jacoby
4. Eli Culbertson

2. Which has the highest percentage chance of happening?

• A finesse for a queen. 50%
• Six cards dividing three – three. 35%
• Taking two tricks with 432 opposite the AJ10. 75%

3. Which U.S President achieved near expert status as a bridge player?

• John F. Kennedy
• Dwight D. Eisenhower
• Harry S. Truman

4. Which of the following holdings represents ONE QUICK TRICK?

• QJ10
• AQ7
• KJ7
• KQ6

5. How many points does it take to make three notrump in general?

• 24
• 26. This is the guideline that Charles Goren touted when he started writing books. Today, with dummy play being much improved, twenty-four is closer to the truth.
• 32

6. If you open three spades when vulnerable, how many tricks should you expect to take in your own hand?

• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9

7. You bid 4NT asking partner for aces. What does he bid if he has all four aces?

• 5C
• 5NT
• 6C

8. In first seat, partner opens 4H with nobody vulnerable. How many high card points should he have?

• 8-12
• 13-15
• 16-18

9. If you can arrange the cards any way you like, how many trumps do you need to make 6S?

• 4. You have AKQJ opposite a void. Draw four rounds of trump, leaving one outstanding, and then play your winners. It is likely that you should have been in seven notrump.
• 6
• 8

10. Which distribution is dealt most often?

• 4-3-3-3
• 4-4-3-2
• 5-4-2-2

11. Traditionally, what is the Worst sin you can do in bridge?

• Revoke
• Ruff your partner’s ace. I was once the victim of the ‘ultimate’ in worst sins. My partner ruffed my ace with the ACE of trumps. This was not our most effective defense.
• Lead from the wrong hand

12. Which statement is common to bridge, tennis, and golf?

• Ace
• Deuce
• Ball

TWELVE MEDIUM QUESTIONS
1. If you are allowed to arrange the cards any way you want, what is the fewest number of high card points you need to make a grand slam (All thirteen tricks) in a suit contract?

• Sixteen
• Five. (You have eleven trumps to the AJ in your combined hands and can set up a long suit after drawing the two missing trumps. The king and queen are both singleton and drop when you play the ace.
• Thirty three
• Eleven

2. If you play that a double of an opening three spade bid is for penalty, you are playing which convention?

• The Negative Double
• Fishbein. Harry Fishbein, one of the most colorful players of all time used to wear a different beret to each session of bridge. It always got my attention.
• Asking Bids

3. If you are in 3NT doubled and redoubled vulnerable and go down 3400, how many tricks did you take?

• 2
• 3. Down six. It would be 1700 if no one had redoubled. Someone got greedy
• 4
• 5

4. Partner opens with 1C. What is your correct response with AQ107, J1064, Q84, 93

• 1D
• 1H
• 1S
• 1NT

5. The opponents end up in 4S. Your side hasn’t bid. You have the A974 of hearts. How often will a good player lead the ace of hearts?

• 2% of the time. If you read these questions and remember only one thing, it should be that leading aces against a suit contract is a very bad tendency. It may work out now and then, but in the long run, it is a horrible choice.
• 15% of the time
• 35% of the time

6. Your Right Hand Opponent opens 1S. Which convention do you use to ask your partner to bid a minor suit?

• Cheaper Minor for takeout
• The Unusual Notrump. Thank Al Roth for this convention. It is at the same time one of the best and the worst of conventions. All depends on how you use it.
• The Negative Double

7. How many points, counting distribution, does it take to make a takeout double when your RHO opens 3S?

• 14 points
• 17 points. Give or take, assuming you have proper distribution. Many players double with just fourteen on the theory that they are being robbed, but this is not quite true. If you double with fourteen and find partner with a weak hand, you will go down quite a bit.
• 20 points

8. If you open 1NT with a void suit, you have:

• Made a perfectly legal bid.
• Done something silly.
• Possibly misarranged your hand.
• All of the above may apply.

9. Partner opens 1S. RHO bids 1NT. Which spade should you lead from the Q82?

• The queen
• The eight
• The two

10. Partner opens 1C, and you respond 1H. Which of the following rebids by partner shows the strongest hand?

• 2NT. This bid shows 18-19 high card points. The other two bids show lesser values. All three bids are invitational.
• 3C
• 3H

11. How many spade symbols are on the Jack of Spades?

• 2
• 4
• Lots, assuming your deck is like mine.

12. You open 1H, your LHO doubles for takeout, and your partner jumps to 3H. How many high card points does your partner have?

• 3-7. This is a weak bid. In practice, it will usually be in the lower range. Oh, yes. Your partner better have four or more trumps too, never just three.
• 8-11
• 12-15

TWELVE DIFFICULT QUESTIONS

1. What is the Vienna coup?

• When you intentionally revoke.
• A necessary unblocking play to help you play for a squeeze.
• You ruff partner’s winner in order to gain the lead.

2. Which card is known as the “curse of Scotland”?

• The nine of diamonds
• The queen of spades
• The jack of clubs

3. Which is more likely to occur?

• Holding all thirteen cards of any suit (Four possibilities)
• Holding thirty seven high card points (Four possibilities)
• Holding no card higher than a five spot. There are 560 possibilities. You might enjoy working out the possible combinations. For starters, there are four possible hands that have the two, three, four, of each suit and one of the four fives.

4. If you bid a slam requiring three finesses to work, what are your chances of success?

• 30%
• 12.5%
• 33.33%

5. The opponents bid 1NT – 3NT. What card should you lead from the KJ1074 of spades if using normal leads?

• The jack. Lead the top of your interior sequence.
• The ten
• The seven
• The four

6. In bridge parlance, what is a “Hook”?

• A finesse
• Rescuing partner from a doubled contract
• Dropping a singleton king offside.

7. Which aspect of bridge is generally thought to be the hardest?

• Playing the hand
• Bidding
• Defending a hand

8. How often might it be right to lead from the king of an unbid suit against, say, 6S?

• 2% of the time
• 10% of the time
• More than 20 % of the time. Not many get this one.

9. How many club symbols are there in total on the two and three of clubs?

• Five
• Seven
• Nine

10. What is the maximum number of bids (counting passes) possible to end up in a contract of 1D?

• Ten
• Twelve
• Sixteen. (P-P-P-1C-P-P-DBL-P-P-RDBL-P-P-1D-P-P-P)

11. Which of the following is NOT a modern bidding system?

• The Big Pass. This is a real system requiring that you pass in first or second seat if you have an opening bid or more. Some players refer to this as the ‘Fert’ system, a short and polite way of calling it the ‘Fertilizer’ system.
• Precision Club. This is one of the best of the current strong club systems we have today.
• The Variable Diamond. There was indeed a system called the big diamond but never the Variable Diamond. Stick around, though. Someone will invent this system in the next few years.
• Standard American. Everyone plays this once in their life and usually moves on to two over one of perhaps Precision.

12. When in doubt, what should you do?

• Pass
• Review the bidding
• Lead a trump. All of the answers in this list are good to do when you are not sure but this is the one that is the answer to this classic question.
• Claim

The post 36 Fun Questions appeared first on Michael Lawrence.

The Puzzle

Dealer: S Vul: Both	North J 9 8 4 7 5 4 2 7 3 2 Q 6
	South A K Q 10 Q 6 A K J 10 A K J
Lead: K Bidding: WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH       2 Pass 2 Pass 2 Pass 4 Pass Pass  Pass

By Mike Lawrence

Every now and then you get a hand that is too enormous to open two or three notrump.

The book says that with twenty-seven balanced high card points you must open four notrump but it doesn’t tell you how to respond to four notrump. In any event, I have found that opening four notrump to show a big notrump hand is just too unwieldy as well as too rare to cater to. A much better use for an opening four notrump bid is to ask for aces. Once in awhile you get a hand like this one.

8
A
K Q J 10 8 7 6 4
A K Q

I would love to know how many aces my partner has. If I open four notrump, I find out. If I open one diamond or perhaps two clubs, the opponents may get into the bidding and either deprive me of being able to ask for aces later or perhaps will find a good save against my game or slam.

Going back to the question of what to bid with the twenty-seven point hand above, a possible solution is to open two clubs and rebid a good four card suit. On this hand, rebidding two spades works well because partner has a fit and raises to game. Note that North’s four spade bid is a weak bid showing four trump, a smidgen of points, but nothing useful for slam. South can pass four spades knowing there are two heart losers.

Can you imagine any other auction which gets you to four spades? I am not claiming that this bidding trick will always work, but it is a good one to consider when you have one of these monstrous hands.

Against four spades, West starts with three rounds of hearts forcing South to ruff. How should South play?

You can, if you wish to play conservatively, draw trump and take your ten sure tricks. You have four spade tricks, a heart ruff in your hand, two diamonds and three clubs. A sure ten tricks.

But if you are playing in a tournament where overtricks are worth something, you may wish to play all out to get an overtrick.

THE TWO OBVIOUS LINES

One line is to play three clubs discarding a diamond from dummy. Now you can play the ace and king of diamonds and ruff two diamonds in dummy.

Hopefully, no one can ruff any of these tricks.

Another possibility is to take a diamond finesse somewhere along the way. But that is risky because the defenders may get a diamond ruff or if you have drawn trumps, West may cash a heart when he gets in with the queen of diamonds.

THE BEST LINE

There is yet a third line which avoids 99% of the hazards. I invite you to look for it now before showing you all four hands.

All 4 Hands

Dealer: S Vul: Both	North J 9 8 4 7 5 4 2 7 3 2 Q 6
West 7 6 5 2 A K J 10 Q 9 8 4 10		East 3 9 8 3 6 5 9 8 7 5 4 3 2
	South A K Q 10 Q 6 A K J 10 A K J
Lead: K Bidding: WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH       2 Pass 2 Pass 2 Pass 4 Pass Pass   Pass

The winning play is called a dummy reversal. When West led the third round of hearts, South must ruff with a high one, not the ten. Play one high spade out of your hand to make sure they divide at least 4-1. When both of your opponents follow, you can almost claim.

Go to dummy with the queen of clubs and ruff the last heart with your remaining high trump honor. This leaves you with the singleton ten of spades. There are still three trumps out and because you still have the ten of spades, you can overtake it with the jack, draw trumps and claim. Dummy’s hearts are all gone and the third small diamond in dummy will be discarded on your good clubs.

This line gives you eleven sure tricks and requires only that clubs aren’t divided eight-zero. As you can see, the clubs are not eight-zero, but they are almost that bad. The seven-one split means that West will ruff the second round of clubs and one of your tricks will go up in smoke.

Remember. When you have a choice of ruffing one suit in dummy or another suit in your hand, always consider which is the safer approach. Learning to look at a hand from both perspectives is an important skill.

EVER SEEN THIS BEFORE?

Imagine this scenario and decide if you have not seen it before. You put down your dummy for partner. Your hand includes four trumps, a singleton in a side suit, and the K109763 of another.

They lead your singleton suit and your partner wins the opening lead in his hand.

What do you expect your partner to do next?

If you said that you expect him to continue the suit they led and ruff it in dummy, you are right. You are right that this is the line of play found routinely my declarers around the world. But it is possible that this is not a good line. Your K109763 side suit may be the key to the hand. Perhaps your partner should be setting up this suit rather than ruffing things in dummy.

Care to know more about Dummy Reversals, one of the least understood of dummy play techniques? You will find many examples of them in Private Bridge Lessons, Volume Two. Just look in the software section for a further discussion of this and other software products.

 

The post Bidding More to Show Less appeared first on Michael Lawrence.