Hand Analysis - Glenna Shanahan - November 2, 2020- Too good for 1NT

 

Problem: Would you confirm that the West pass on the second bid was correct?  I only had 8 HCP plus a length point.  I thought I needed 11 points to go to 3NT.

Glenna:

This is such an unfortunate hand because E is too good to open 1NT. He should open 1 ♦️ and then jump to 2NT. W’s bid of 2 ♦️ makes it impossible for E to correctly bid. He underbids 2NT and misses game or slightly overbids by bidding 3NT. If W’s bid guarantees 5 ♦️, I would probably bid 3NT because there is no scientific way to bid this hand. Think everyone should agree that W’s bid promises 6-10 points, 5 ♦️ and no 4-card major.

  You mentioned needing 11 points to bid game in NT and we need to clear that up. IF partner opens 1NT, you pass with 0-7, bid 2NT with 8 or 9 and bid 3NT with 10-15. Anytime you have 16 or more, look for slam.

Hope this helps,

Hand Analysis - Glenna Shanahan - October 26, 2020 - NT over Suit

 

Problem: Do you think this is a good illustration of how to bid no trump starting with a major suit bid?

Glenna:

I don’t like the bidding at all: S should open 1 ♥️  but N should bid 1 ♠️  which is forcing and when S bids 2 ♠️, he can bid ♠️ game. They will make 4 or 5 depending on the defense and 3NT can be held to 3 with excellent defense.  By the way, if N had the 5th ♣️ , he would bid it 1st and then correct her 2NT to 3 ♠️ which is certainly forcing and they would play a ♠️ contract,

  It’s a very common problem that people choose NT over a suit contract because it’s worth 10 extra points and ever so often they get lucky and do get a top for playing in NT. But, most often they make 4NT and a major suit makes 5.  I love it when the opponent give me a nice gift.

Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - November 2, 2020- Better Bids

 

Problem:  The question is, “Was there a better way to bid this so that E/W get to 4H?

Vic:

Did EW make 4D? They did not deserve to. They deserve to go down two. Defending 4D, EW deserves to win two club tricks plus the heart Ace & King plus a heart ruff. 

Playing in 4H, NS deserves to go down one (EW deserves to win two spades plus one heart plus one diamond).  So I am not sure why you want to get to 4H & turn a positive score for setting 4D into a negative score for going down in 4H. 

If you play "disciplined" Weak Two bids (which I highly recommend), East is barely strong enough to open 2H not vulnerable. But, their heart suit is too weak to open 2H vulnerable which requires two of the top three honors OR three of the top five including either the Ace or King. East should Pass. 

Vic's Version of the Auction:  Pass - Pass - 1D - Pass - 2D - Pass - Pass - 3C - Pass - Pass - (Pass pr 3D) 

South's 1D:  based on Rule of Twenty Plus Two 

West's Pass: to overcall at the two level (vulnerable) West should have a strong suit, ideally 6-cards in length. West has a weak club suit only 5 cards in length. It would be reckless for West to overcall 2C. Basically, West has no bid over an opening 1D. 

North's 2D: promises at least 4 diamonds & weaker than a Limit Raise - also denies 4 hearts or 4 spades 

East: as explained above would be reckless to enter the auction (vulnerable) with that heart suit. 

North: don't have game in diamonds - no reason to bid on 

West's 3C: too complicated to explain here (should either be passed out OR south could choose to bid 3D which should then be passed out) 

Additional Comments: In the actual auction above South should NOT DBL East's opening 2H bid (they should Pass - their DBL promises "tolerance" in all the unbid suits - they have tolerance in spades & diamonds but NOT clubs). Given South did DBL, West should Pass (there is no reason to expect East to have strength in any suit other than hearts). 

Reckless bids everywhere one looks. Playing against experienced opponents, reckless bids can get you in deep doo doo.

 

Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - October 26, 2020 - Start bidding with 12 HCPs?

 

Problem: The question here is when is it acceptable to open with less than 13 HCPs? Our table was the only one that passed.  All of the other tables had South starting at 1C.

Vic: 

I teach that in 1st & 2nd seat the only time you should cheat on the 13 HCP standard is if your hand satisfies the "Rule of Twenty plus Two". 

Here is how that works:  count your HCPs - count the number of cards total in your two longest suits - count your Quick Tricks. If the combined total of the first two counts adds up to  AND you have at least 2 Quick Tricks, you should open.

 

In your hand above 12 HCPs + 8 cards in your two longest suits adds up to 20. AND you have 2.5 Quick Tricks. You should open 1C. That should result in the two of you finding a spade contract. 

Some players use the Rule of Twenty without the Plus Two. In my opinion Quick Tricks are an important part of the package & ignoring them transitions from aggressive to reckless. 

In 3rd & 4th seat the standards for "opening light" relax even more. Experienced players these days are making some pretty outrageous opening bids in 3rd seat. But that is not a topic I recommend inexperienced players delve into. In 4th seat you can use the Rule of Fifteen (count your HCPs - count your number of spades - if the two numbers add up to at least 15 you can open). I would suggest you consider Quick Tricks also using Rule of Fifteen. 

Have you heard the expression "Six & Five Come Alive"? That refers to hands with one 6-card suit & one 5-card suit which is a very powerful hand from a distributional perspective. Rule of Twenty Plus Two says you could open that hand with only 9 HCPs, providing you have at least 2.0 Quick Tricks. 

With two 5-card suits you need only 10 HCPs to reach the magical number of Twenty.

Finding Convention Card on Bridge Base Online (BBO)

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Bridge Hand Analysis - Victor Johnson - October 19, 2020 - 1NT bid after change in suit

 Comment:  This is a hand Ralph Patterson (rcpmadison) and Doug Van Horn (vhanhornd1) played.  Care to comment?

Vic Johnson:

Actually, your 1NT second bid was in fact correct. 

Starting with South as Dealer, I would expect the auction to go as follows: 

Pass - 1D - Pass - 1S - Pass - 1NT - Pass - 2H - Pass - 3D - Pass - 3NT - Pass - Pass - Pass 

A challenging hand to play, but I do believe it deserves to make 3NT.

 Note: Your 1NT second bid tells Doug you do not have 4 spades - you do have a standard opening hand (13-14) - you are balanced.

Note: Doug's 2H second bid tells you he has a two suited hand (probably either 5-4 or 5-5).

 Note: Your 3D third bid does NOT promise six diamonds - it simply says your diamonds have some strength. It also gives Doug the chance to rebid hearts which would tell you he is 5-5 not 5-4. You would then raise to game in hearts. 

Note: Doug's 3NT third bid confirms he is 5-4 with enough points to bid game.

Bridge Hand Analysis - Glenna Shanahan - October 19, 2020 - A fun hand to play

 Comment: This hand should sort of look familiar.  Could you talk through the thinking on the bidding?

Glenna:

 Actually this was a fun hand. 

Sometimes you can’t be scientific, just go  with your instincts. Mike (North) actually helped me make my decision: his bid showed 8 hearts without a lot of values outside his ♥️ suit.  So now look at my hand: 19 HCP (high card points), 1st round control in 2 suits and 2 2nd round controls (in the other 2 suits.)That means I can loose only 1 ♥️ and 1 ♣️ off the top with the correct leads, etc, Most other E let N play 4 ♥️  which makes because N loses 1 ♠️ and 2 ♦️. 

Think you will find competitive bidding is a process that we never really master—can only improve our deductive reasoning skills which is exactly what this came down to.

  I should tell you that conservative bidders would probably not bid 5 ♣️, but I am an aggressive bidder. That simply means I bid what I think I might make and don’t worry about always making everything I bid. If he’s making 4 ♥️, and I go down one at 5 ♣️ , that’s a good sacrifice. I also have a 50% chance of making 5 ♣️. I thought the odds were in my favor and I got lucky!

Bridge Hand Analysis - Glenna Shanahan - October 12, 2020 - Bid Response

 Glenna:

  MisCindy opened her hand correctly, The problem is totally with East. When your partner opens the bidding and you have 6+ points, you MUST respond. If E would just bid 1NT showing 6-10 points and no 4-card major, W would bid 3NT. Easy, easy bidding! Why do people not believe they OWE their partner good information. Hope East reads this and realizes they MUST bid with 6 or more points This is a good hand to illustrate that rule.

Bridge Hand Analysis - Victor Johnson - Monday, October 12, 2020- Blackwood

 

Problem: Should Blackwood been used for this hand?

Vic:

Blackwood is not the only way to get to slam. In fact for experienced players it is often not even the preferred way to explore for slam. Experienced players often prefer to explore for slam by cue bidding "controls". That is why experienced players avoid using Gerber to ask for Aces - they want "4C" to be available as a control bid. 

Blackwood is important when the specific information you need to know is how many Aces you have. That of course makes this hand a classic Blackwood hand. Following is a suggestion for how the auction might go. 

Auction (Dealer is South):  Pass - 1D (see note below) - Pass - 1H (forcing) - Pass - 4H (promises 4 hearts & 19+ HCPs) - Pass - 4NT (Blackwood) - Pass - 5C (zero or 4 Aces - must be 4 to have 19+ HCPs) - Pass - 6NT - Pass - Pass - Pass 

The hand will make 6NT if diamonds are played correctly (Eight Ever Nine Never Rule dictates playing for diamond Queen to drop). Those who opt to play the hand incorrectly by finessing the diamond Jack will make an overtrick. Sometimes being an inexperienced player works to your advantage. 

Note: Opener's initial plan should have been to follow their first bid of 1D with a subsequent "Reverse" to hearts. A reverse to hearts would have promised a two suited hand with diamonds longer than hearts & 19+ HCPs - a pretty perfect description. Responder's bid of 1H, however, resulted in a change of plans.

 

Hand of the Week Review - Glenna Shanahan - October 5, 2020

 

Problem:  Does the rule for bidding 1NT with 6-10 points apply even if there is interference?

Glenna:

 To bid 2 ♥️, you need 11 points and 5 hearts! So yes, 1 NT was your bid!