Tag Archives: Inverted Minors

Inverted Minor Raises

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You are playing inverted minors and open this hand one club in first seat, none vul:

inverted minor rebid

 

Partner responds two clubs, an inverted minor raise promising 10+ points and 5+ clubs. What is your rebid?

Decide and then scroll down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You have a big hand, and slam may be possible. Plan to go slow on your way to finding either 6NT or 6Cs. Your 1st rebid should be 2 diamonds, showing the nice stopper in that suit. If partner’s next bid is 2 spades, then you will continue with 3 hearts. As the cards lie, partner will then bid 4 diamonds. You will then bid seven no trump. It looks clear that 13 tricks are likely. Here is the actual hand:

inverted minor rebid 1

Category: Exercises: It's Your Call | Tags: ,

It’s your call with a freak hand

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Here is a fun, freak hand I held the other day. I am in 1st seat facing favorable vulnerability:

major freak

I can’t open a preemptive 2 hearts when holding four or more spades. Instead, how about opening one heart? Okay, I do like holding the K 10 9 in each major, but that’s not enough to justify opening one heart with only six high card points.  However, with 11 cards in the majors I don’t plan to go quietly into the night as the auction progresses (unless it becomes clear there is no fit with partner for either major).

Here’s how the auction proceeded until it got back to me:

michaels bid

At that point it looks like there is high likelihood of major suit fit with partner, so I overcalled three diamonds (Michaels cue bid for the majors). West bid four diamonds passed back to me. Having better hearts than spades I competed to four hearts ending the auction. When play ended I had made four hearts for plus 420!

Bottom line: Points Schmoints — this kind of a freak hand is much better than its high card holding suggests. It’s loaded with tricks. Those low cards in the majors are going to take tricks even though they don’t contribute to your high card count.

 

Category: Exercises: It's Your Call | Tags: , ,

Minor Suit Slam

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Update below

You pick up this nice hand:

Oct6a

RHO passes in 1st seat and you open one diamond. Partner responds two diamonds (inverted minor suit raise showing 10+ points and no interest in the majors).

You rebid two hearts, showing control of the heart suit. After partner bids controls in spades and clubs you end up in six diamonds. Opening lead is the six of diamonds. (It’s often a good idea to lead trump in this situation to cut down a likely cross ruff by declarer.)

Here is the dummy and your nice hand:

Oct6b

My thoughts tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Update:

The most straightforward way to play this by ruffing two spade losers and one heart loser in dummy. You need to be careful on timing. I suggest the following sequence: win the opening lead in hand (saving the jack of diamonds to prevent an overruff of the heart), go to the ace of spades, back to the ace of hearts, ruff a spade low, back to the king of hearts, ruff your last spade low, cash the ace of clubs, ruff a club, ruff a heart with the jack, ruff a club high if an honor fell on the 1st club ruff on your left (otherwise ruff it low), cash a high trump to get you to 11 tricks. If trumps have broken 2-2 you are home. You last trump will win trick you the 12th trick. That sequence requires in worst scenario that clubs break no worse that 2-4 and that trumps are 2-2 (not worrying about unlikely problems in spades or hearts). It looks like a 60 percent slam.

You could also try for 13 tricks by setting up the club suit to pitch losers. It’s a useful exercise to give it a try on paper. Assume that you see the queen of clubs fall on your left as you ruff the 1st club.

Category: Exercises: Declarer Play | Tags: ,

Preempts by Responder

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Your partner opens the bidding one diamond in 3rd seat. RHO passes. What do you do with this hand?

unit3

Before you answer, tell me the minimum number of hearts that are held by the opponents. If you answered nine hearts minimum, good for you. You’ve used the following clues:

  • Partner has at most four hearts (partner would have opened one heart with five).
  • You are void.
  • 13 hearts minus the maximum of four hearts on your side leaves the opponents with a minimum of nine hearts on their side.

Do you think it would be a good idea to impede their ability to find their heart fit?

You can do this is with a preemptive raise to three diamonds. 90 percent of the time your partner will have opened with four or more diamonds. This jump raise is known as an “inverted minor raise.” On your convention card you and parter agree to switch the meanings of the simple raise and the jump raise. By making the jump (rather than the single) raise, opponents will be hard pressed to find their heart fit at the three level.

Here is what your convention card looks like when you and partner agree to play inverted minors:

inverted minor

Note that the double raise is weak and alertable. Also, the alertable single raise shows 10+HCP and no four card major.

Usually the double raise promises at least 5-card support for the opened minor, so it’s a bit riskier if you do it with only four. When the suit is diamonds you will end up with having an 8-card fit or better 90 percent of the time. I would roll the dice on this example and jump to three diamonds.

Category: Exercises: It's Your Call | Tags: