Glenna's and Vic's Hand Analysis - Your Bid is Taken - July 13, 2020

Problem

What do you do when your bid is taken?  The 1H bid by East prevents South from opening !D.  South cannot double because there is no support in spades.

Vic Johnson's Opinion

1) I agree with your initial plan to open 1D. That would promise at least a 13-14 pt hand & at least 3 diamonds.

2) Your Question: RHO foiled your plan by bidding 1H which means it is no longer possible for you to be "Opener". You now take off your "Opener" hat & switch it for an "Overcaller" hat. What are your bid options now as an Overcaller?

3) Answer: It depends! This is the most common initial answer to many bridge questions.

4) Option: If your hand was stronger, you could overcall 1NT. That would promise a 15-18 pt hand & a "stopper" in LHO heart suit.

5) Option: If you were shorter/weaker in hearts (not more than two) & had four spades, you could make a Takeout DBL. That would promise an opening hand, shortness in hearts, & "tolerance" in the three unbid suits. It is a forcing bid asking partner to bid their longest suit.

6) Option: If you had 5+ diamonds, you could bid 2D. This would promise a solid opening pt count & at least a five card diamond suit. Overcalling at two level can get you in deep doodoo against experienced defenders (partner may not have much at all), so you need to be solid, especially vulnerable.

7) Your Hand: You should PASS & hope your LHO raises opener's hearts.

8) Note: If your LHO now passes, partner should strive to either DBL or bid something which would get you two back in the auction. You would then take off your "Overcaller" hat, put on your "Advancer" hat, & get ready for a rockem sockem competitive auction.

Glenna Shanahan's Opinion

You would like to make a takeout double, but can’t with only 2 ♠️ as you promise 3 cards in all unbid suits. You probably shouldn’t bid 2 ♦️ without 5, but with such a nice hand, you want and probably need to take action. If I held that hand, I would bid 3 ♠️ over partner’s 3 ♦️ bid, asking partner if they have a ♠️ stopper and partner should quickly bid 3NT. That should be a successful contract.

A cue bid has 2 different meanings: 1st asking for a stopper to bid 3NT which you just saw in action. The other time is with partner opens the bidding and your right hand opponent (RHO) bids a suit and you want to show limit raise or better values, you cue bid the opponent’s suit. If you just raise partner’s suit, you have a weaker hand.