Category Archives: Exercises: It’s Your Call

5-5 in the black suits

Posted on October 10, 2019 by Harry • 0 comment

Update below

Two passes to you. What’s your opening bid with this nice hand and 5-5 in the black suits?

Your thoughts? My thoughts will be in update tomorrow.

Update: Most players would open this hand one spade, but I recommend one club. It’s a much better than minimum opening, and you will never lose the spade suit. I plan to bid and rebid spades at my next next two tuirns. Partner will know that I am at least 5-5 in the black suits, and it leaves open the possibility of game or slam in clubs. When you open the bidding plan your rebid.

Contrast the above with this hand from Sunday:

This hand I opened one spade in 1st seat. It’s a minimum opening bid, and this time spades are much better than clubs. I will not strain to bid the club suit at the three level if the auction becomes competitive.

Category: Exercises: It's Your Call | Tags: Plan your rebid, Reverses

Whose hand is it?

Posted on October 9, 2019 by Harry • 0 comment

You are South holding this hand:

East deals and opens one spade. You pass (good call). LHO responds three clubs (alerted as a spade raise in the 8-10-point range, promising at least four spades). Your partner now overcalls three hearts and RHO tries to sign off at three spades.

It’s your call. Here is a summary of the auction:

What action do you take? First things first, how good is your hand in the context of the auction so far? Your partner has a nice hand with at least six hearts, so you have at least a 10-card heart fit. Opponents have minimum of 9-card spade fit, leaving partner with three or fewer spades. That singleton is a nice feature. Your other nice feature is the ace of diamonds. It looks like partner has at least nine tricks in hearts – 6 hearts, two spade ruffs and the ace of diamonds. Maybe your clubs will help her bring home a club trick. Time to be optimistic. Don’t give in to three spades. Bid four hearts.

Category: Exercises: It's Your Call | Tags: Bergen Raise, Overcalls

A One Diamond Overcall?

Posted on October 9, 2019 by Harry • 0 comment

I recently observed this hand:

RHO opened one club in 1st seat and this hand overcalled one diamond. That’s an overcall that has nothing to gain and much to lose. It’s a lousy nine point hand. It does not interfere at all with opponents’ search for a golden major suit fit. It encourages partner to lead a diamond if LHO becomes declarer, ugh. Sure enough LHO became declarer and parter led a diamond, giving the opponents a top board.

My recommended partnership agreement is that a one diamond overcall be lead-directing with at least an almost opening hand. Overcalling with the junk above leaves partner with too much guess work about whether to compete or double for penalties.

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

Do we have a slam?

Posted on October 8, 2019 by Harry • 0 comment

There was lots of postmortem discussion on this hand the other day:

Nobody got to six spades, yet all were making six. How can you bid it? Answer is you cannot, and you should not. It only makes because of the lucky diamond features and location of heart queen. Moreover, spades are behaving nicely (West does not hold A J x of spades). Everything worked just right in this unlikely lie of the cards.

But say you gave North the diamond king rather than the king of clubs, so that the hand looked like this:

North’s hand is actually improved a bit with the marriage of top two diamonds. But there is no play for six spades in this layout. NS prospects are hampered by duplicative values in diamonds.

This revised hand (board 22a) illustrates the usefulness of splinter bids. South opens the bidding one club and North responds one spade (EW are silent). Now South splinters by jumping to four diamonds (one level higher than a jump shift)! The jarring nature of the jump by partner also jars the memory, so it’s easy to remember that you are playing splinters. The game-forcing splinter promises shortness in diamonds (singleton or void). North becomes aware of the duplicative values in diamonds and signs off in four spades.

Of course, you and partner must agree beforehand that you are playing splinters. Here is the relevant portion of the convention card:

Notice that splinters (in red on the convention card) are alertable. You can often make a small slam with fewer that 33 points when partner knows that the shortness coveyed by the splinterer is a feature (e.g. not duplicative value).

Category: Exercises: It's Your Call | Tags: slam bidding, splinters

Third Seat Opening

Posted on October 8, 2019 by Harry • 0 comment

You are in 3rd seat vulnerable with this hand:

Should you open the bidding?

I suggest the answer is “yes”. You open one diamond and have a convenient rebid of two clubs. Sometimes it will turn out badly. But you will find a fit with partner in one of the minors well over half of the time, and your hand is then worth a good 13 points. You have set the stage for a competitive auction. It looks like they have the majors.

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

Value of a preempt

Posted on October 7, 2019 by Harry • 0 comment

Preempts are meant to disrupt opponents communications with enough tricks in hand to prevent disaster. A good example occurred yesterday. Here is your hand vulnerable vs not vulnerable:

When you preempt it’s necessary to count your tricks. When vulnerable you want to be within 3 tricks of making your bid, within 4 tricks when not vulnerable. It looks like you have 4 tricks in spades and one and one-half in diamonds for five and one-half tricks. That’s too few vulnerable to bid three spades. Open the hand two spades, and you are within the requisite margin of safety. The only downside is that your partner is likely to lead an unhelpful spade if LHO buys the contract.

Bottom line when preempting with a weak hand: count tricks rather than points, and stay within the margin of safety (three tricks vul, four tricks not vul).

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

A Competitive Auction

Posted on October 7, 2019 by Harry • 0 comment

You pass in 1^st seat holding this weak hand (unfavorable vul).

LHO passes, partner opens one diamond in 3^rd seat, RHO passes, and you respond one spade. LHO now overcalls two clubs, partner rebids two diamonds, and RHO bids three clubs. It’s your turn. Bidding summary:

What do you do?

You sure hate to miss a possible heart fit. But your shortness in diamonds suggests a worrisome misfit. Should you go ahead and venture a bid of three hearts? If you do partner will know that you are at least 5-4 in the majors.

You have three clubs, so inference is that partner is short in clubs. Partner has promised at least six diamonds. Holding one club and six diamonds, partner has room for six cards in the majors. With that reasonable likelihood, it’s a good idea for you to compete with three hearts.

Category: Exercises: It's Your Call | Tags: Counting the hand

Preempts by Responder

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Harry • 0 comment

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

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:

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: Inverted Minors

Handling Interference

Posted on September 29, 2019 by Harry • 0 comment

Update Below

Lot’s of interesting hands in today’s Unit Game. Here is one for you:

You are in 4^th seat (favorable vul), and your partner opens one diamond. RHO overcalls two spades. What is your call?

First, how good is your hand in context of the auction so far? Singleton spade is a nice feature. You have three card support for partner’s suit, including two honors. You have five clubs, including King-Queen touching honors. I suggest it’s worth 11 or 12 points. Don’t you think you should bid? If so, what’s your call?

My recommendation tomorrow.

My recommendation: This is a perfect hand for a negative double. You promise at least four hearts and have clubs. Also, you would be happy if partner rebids her diamond suit.

Category: Exercises: It's Your Call, Interesting Hands | Tags: Negative Double

Balancing in Direct Seat

Posted on September 28, 2019 by Harry • 0 comment

In 2^nd seat (none vul.) you hold:

RHO opens the bidding one club, taking away your opening bid. You wisely (in my view) decide to pass and await developments. LHO responds one heart, partner passes and RHO raises to two hearts. It’s your turn. Is it time for you to come into the auction? If so, what’s your bid?

It sounds like the opponents have found a heart fit of at least eight cards. That means your partner will have at most a doubleton in hearts, leaving at least 11 spaces in partner’s hand that can contain spades. Mike Lawrence gaves us the insight that you likely have a spade fit (because of the distributional value implied by your three little hearts!). You should pre-balance by bidding two spades. You likely have a fit, you’re only at the two level, and your high cards in the minors look like they are working.

Here is an earlier post in which I did not quite satisfy the logic for balancing in direct seat.

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

Good Bid, Partner!

Posted on September 27, 2019 by Harry • 0 comment

I was sitting South and opened this minimum hand one heart in 1^st seat:

Opponents were silent. My partner responded two clubs and my rebid was two diamonds.

Partner then jumped to three hearts, showing 3-card heart support and a slam invitational hand. My next bid was four hearts with my minimum.

Partner was still interested in slam and bid 4NT (Roman Keycard Blackwood 14-30). I bid five spades showing two key cards plus the trump queen. Partner then put me in a contract of six hearts.

Left hand opponent led the ace of spades and this was my dummy:

Recall my hand:

At trick two LHO made the excellent shift to the seven of clubs. Should I play her for the king of clubs? She is putting me to an early guess! I decided I cannot make the contract without finessing for the king of clubs, so I put in the queen and it won. From there it was a matter of setting up dummy’s clubs for a diamond pitch or two (being careful not to get overruffed).

Category: Exercises: Declarer Play, Exercises: It's Your Call | Tags: Roman Keycard Blackwood

Standard Use of a Cue Bid

Posted on September 24, 2019 by Harry • 0 comment

Your partner opens the bidding with one spade in 2^nd seat. Right hand opponent interferes with a Michaels cue bid of two spades (showing at least 5-5 in hearts and an unknown minor). You hold:

You have a nice spade raise, but the overcall has robbed you of bidding space (a nice feature of Michaels). How are you going to cope? You could bid three spades or three diamonds.

Instead I suggest you cue bid three hearts (hearts is RHO’s known suit). By doing that, you convey to opener that you have trump support and at least the values for a limit raise.

Bottom line: Cue bid of an opponent’s overcalled suit promises an invitational raise or better in your partner’s opened suit (usually a major). Since it has become standard practice for most players, the cue bid is not alertable in this situation. Notice also that it reserves the direct raise to three of partner’s major to show eight to a bad 10 points — very helpful to partner in deciding whether to press on to game.

Category: Exercises: It's Your Call, Interesting Hands | Tags: Cue Bids, limit raise, Michaels Cue Bid

It’s Your Call

Posted on September 23, 2019 by Harry • 0 comment

You are in 4^th seat (vul vs not vul) and player on your right opens one Spade. What action are you going to take with this unbalanced hand?

You could pass, but that doesn’t seem right with all that playing strength (those little spot cards are going to take tricks in a minor suit contract). You could overcall two diamonds, planning to bid clubs at your next turn. That’s what I did.

Also, I could have made an unusual notrump overcall of 2NT, promiising at least 5-5 in the minors (two lower unbid suits). What would you do?

I will follow up on this problem tomorrow.

Category: Exercises: It's Your Call | Tags: Overcalls, unusual notrump

What’s Your Call?

Posted on September 23, 2019 by Harry • 0 comment

You are in 4^th seat (both vul) and player on your right opens one club! What action are you going to take with this nice hand?

It sure looks like passing is a bad idea this time. But a double will surely elicit an advance in hearts, and that’s not what you want to hear. You cannot overcall two clubs, because partner would interpret that as Michaels. How about an overcall in one of your two 4-card suits?

Rate the following alternatives for your action:

Make an overcall of one diamond
Make an overcall of one spade
Make a takeout double

Category: Exercises: It's Your Call | Tags: Overcalls, Takeout Double

Yesterday’s Game and Lesson

Posted on September 19, 2019 by Harry • 0 comment

Hi, all:

We had another fun discussion of opening bids at yesterday’s lesson. I follow that up here with a post mortem on the game itself. It’s all about opening bids. Enjoy.

Category: Exercises: It's Your Call | Tags: Bidding Exercise, Overcalls, rebids, Stayman, transfers, Weak Twos

Four Hands on Bidding

Posted on September 17, 2019 by Harry • 0 comment

See my updates for each hand below

Here are four hands from Sunday. 1st hand is from board 11:

You are South as dealer and pick up this hand with only 4 points, but it has 11 cards in the majors!

You pass, hoping that partner has something.

The bidding goes:

How do you plan to advance your side of the auction from here?

Harry’s recommendation: your diamond void is a nice feature. Plan on bidding your majors in natural order, meaning the longer suit (hearts) first. A four point hand suddenly looks like a game force.

2nd hand is from board 16:

As dealer (vul. vs nonvul.) you pick up the following hand:

You and partner are playing preemptive weak twos in the 5-10 HCP range. What is your call?

Harry’s recommendation: It looks overly optimistic to think your spade suit is going to provide the necessary 4 tricks vulnerable. Pass!

3rd hand is from board 22:

Your right-hand opponent deals and opens the bidding one heart. What is your call holding?

Harry’s recommendation: Overcall one Spade. This hand is too good to pass, and your three little hearts make it more likely that partner will have a fit for you in spades. (HT: Mike Lawrence)

4th hand is from board 24:

As dealer you open the bidding one heart (none vul.) holding:

After two passes, right-hand opponent overcalls two clubs. You know your partner has fewer than six points. What do you say next to describe your huge hand?

Harry’s recommendation: Two alternatives here. With some of my partners I would cue bid three clubs. With others (who prefer to “bid where you live”) I would jump to three hearts to describe my big hand.

Category: Exercises: It's Your Call | Tags: Bidding Exercise, Overcalls, rebids

Another bidding problem from Sunday

Posted on September 10, 2019 by Harry • 0 comment

See update below

Your partner opens the bidding one diamond in second seat. RHO passes and you respond one heart holding:

Partner’s rebid is two clubs and it’s back to you. Don’t you have a game forcing hand with your nice 14 points? Your call?

Please respond in the comments. I will post my recommendation Wednesday evening.

Update: This is a perfect example of the opportunity to use 4th suit forcing to game. Bid two spades. Partners next bid should help guide you to the right spot.

Category: Exercises: It's Your Call | Tags: 4th suit forcing

Bidding problem

Posted on September 10, 2019 by Harry • 0 comment

Here is an interesting bidding situation from Sunday.

Your hand:

Your partner opens one heart in second seat. RHO overcalls two spades! What do you do? Give it a little thought before you scroll down.

Pass! You have a misfit with partner, and opponents are in trouble. This situation is similar to our earlier discussion here. Jim Cheney will be happy that you are waiting for partner to make a reopening double.

Category: Exercises: It's Your Call, Interesting Hands | Tags: Bidding Exercise

It’s Your Call

Posted on August 31, 2019 by Harry • 0 comment

You are West and open the bidding with one heart (both vul). Here is your hand:

LHO (North) overcalls one spade, partner passes, and South (LHO) passes. Summary of bidding so far:

It’s often a good idea to double in this situation, because partner may have made a trap pass with a good hand and good spades. In fact, Jim Cheney says, “it’s automatic”. You will never lose the heart suit unless partner passes your double for penalty.

However, you have a strong hand containing seven hearts. You would have to set the opponents down three for +800 to do better than your vulnerable game in hearts for +620. But if you can only make +140 part score in hearts, you would do better setting the opponents down one (+200) or down two (+500).

Is it best to rebid your hearts? If so, at what level? Or is it best to double? Your hand is too good to pass, so what is your bid? Double? Two hearts? Three hears? Four hearts?

Your thoughts in the comments, please.

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

It’s Your Call

Posted on August 29, 2019 by Harry • 0 comment

See update below. You are sitting South (both vulnerable). West opens the bidding with one club. Partner (North) overcalls one heart and East passes. You have a nice hand:

What is your call? Please give me your thoughts in the comments.

Update: You have an opening hand and a known heart fit. Best is to bid two clubs showing your limit raise or better. Yes, you may also have a spade fit, but no reason to give the opponents additional information.

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