Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shanahan - January 4, 2021 - Nice Biddable Hand

 

         W                 N                           E                            S

                                                                                       Pass

      Pass                1 ♥️                     Pass                   1 ♠️

      Pass               3 ♥️                     Pass                   4 ♥️ 

       Pass by all

  Note: N had 16-18 points and 6-card suit which is what 3 ♥️ show

                  S had to respond and only response possible is 1 ♠️

                  Contract is a nice comfortable, makable one and everyone is happy

Hope this helps,

Glenna

Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - January 4, 2021- Disciplined vs Anything Goes Pre-Empts

 

Quick Answer:  It depends on the partnership agreement. 

There tend to be two opposite schools of thought on partnership agreements for preemptive bids. They are "disciplined" vs "anything goes". 

Disciplined means the partners have agreed that the suit in question should have some punch to it. Common standard is 2 of top 3 OR 3 of top 5 honors (vul) & marginally weaker (nonvul). Anything goes means no promised standards for strength of the suit in question. Most of my regular partners & I play disciplined. 

By the Way: In the hand above East is dealer. That means north will certainly never get the chance to "Open" the auction. Also, if north was dealer & EW was an experienced pair, I would expect it to be irrelevant whether north opened 3C or not. Either way, I would expect EW to find their diamond or heart contract (at least game & quite likely slam).

Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - December 28, 2020 - Bidding a Hand

 

West:  Pass 

North:  1C

at least 3 clubs & 13-21 points 

East:  1D

5+ diamonds & at least 8 points 

South:  Pass

implies less than 6 points 

West:  1H

4+ hearts & at least 6 points 

North:  2C

6+ clubs & towards the lower end of their opening point count range 

East:  2D

6+ diamonds & solid opening hand or better (denies 4 hearts) 

South:  3C

a competitive bid promising club support (probably at least three) 

West:  3D

a competitive bid promising diamond support (probably at least three) 

Pass - Pass - Pass 

Note:  NS deserves to make 2C (they can also make 2S) - EW deserves to make 4D (they can also make 2NT)

Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shanahan - Monday, December 28, 2020 - Each hand with a long suit

 

Question:  How should this be bid with each hand having a long suit?

Glenna:

  I didn’t get a copy of your bidding so I’m going to bid as though we all live in a perfect world. I will make side notes to explain some of my bids and hope that helps.

   S.             W.           N.           E

    Pass            1 ♦️             1 ♥️           1 ♠️ * (promises 5+ ♠️ 

   Pass             1NT. *            2 ♥️  *          2 ♠️.   *     1NT promises a ♥️ stopper. 2 ♥️ promises 6+ cards.  *promises 6 ♠️ and still 6-10 its

   Pass.             Pass.           3 ♥️  *         Pass out.     North’s 3 ♥️ shows a good hand with only 4 or 5 losers (normally would show 4, but the 1Nt bid tells  that 
                                                                                                                                                                     West has to have the J ♥️ So, her losers are 2 ♠️. 1 ♥️ and 1 or 2 ♣️ 

 

Hope this helps

Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shanahan - December 21, 2020 - Jacoby Transfer

 

Question: 

Is this the proper way to refuse a  transfer?  Or should it have started with 3H to avoid the thought of a Jacoby transfer?

Glenna:

This Is an interesting hand from several points. 1st, I never open a 5-card ♠️ suit 1NT. I open a bad ♥️ suit (J9753) 1NT. Both those are based on the fact that we have rebid problems! But with 1 point for the 5th ♠️, you have 18 pts and are too good to open 1NT. You should open 1 ♠️!

  Now about transfers—you NEVER. NEVER decide that you can NOT accept the transfer if you have agreed to play them. You will loose all your partners if you don’t accept them!!!! But partner should bid ♦️ if he’s trying to transfer to ♥️ Remember when you open 1NT, and partner bids a red suit—that is a transfer and you accept without thought!!

  Another point: There is no jump Transfers in bridge. 2-level is a transfer. 3 ♥️ by partner would show 6+ hands and a hand that want to be in slam. Opener can make a super accept, but responder cannot make a jump invitation—super important to remember.

There are a lot of important points in this hand. So, please read this a couple of times to make sure you have the facts!

Have a great week.

Glenna

Hand Analysis by Vic Johnson - Monday, December 21st - Keeping the bid open

 

Question: Should partner always keep the bidding open even if they have minimum support in the called suit?

Vic: 

In the world of bridge the word "always" means "almost always" & the word "never" means "almost never". So a quick answer to the question you pose would be "No". In the specific example above, however, the quick answer is "Yes". 

Using the Rule of Twenty (plus two), South has an opening hand. The "Twenty" is arrived at by adding 12 HCP's to 8 cards in two longest suits. The 2.5 quick tricks actually exceeds the "plus two" requirement of 2.0 quick tricks. On a side note the Loser Count (7) also meets the expectation of a standard opening hand. 

So once North opens, South needs to make sure the bidding does not stop short of game. The term "game" used in this context means at least to the three level in NT or at least to the 4 level in a suit contract. It does NOT mean forcing to the 5 level in the unhappy event the pair feels compelled to play in clubs or diamonds (clubs are for the golf course - diamonds are for your finger). 

One spade (a forcing bid) is the appropriate first bid for Responder (so far so good). The 2H second bid by Opener promises at least a 6 card heart suit & a point count towards the bottom of the 13-21 point range they promised when they opened. South now knows they have "golden fit" (8 or more cards) in hearts. Lacking a forcing bid, south should next bid 4H (the stronger the hand the slower the bidding - but once you know you need to either go or make a bid you know is forcing). Holding an invitational hand, South should bid 3H to tell opener about the golden fit. Holding less than an invitational hand south could pass 2H. 

Remember, it is the number of cards you hold in the trump suit that is of primary importance. Quality is nice as well, but not as critical as number. If hearts is trump, those two small hearts in the South hand will take Aces & Kings in other suits. Equally important is the fact that they represent two hearts that the opponents do NOT have. Ain't bridge a great game?

 

Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shanahan - December 14, 2020 - Michaels Cue Bid and Information Request

 Request:  Please discuss the 2 spade bid by south.  We did not understand the bid.  Can you also discuss when you can receive an explanation from the opponents?

Glenna:

  I am so glad you asked about this and would like you to consider sharing it with your Monday morning players as they will have this come up in open games!

Stan used a convention called Michaels. He could NOT double because TOD’s promise at least 3-card support for the other 3 suits and 13+ points. So when we can’t double, most of us use a convention that allows us to show 2 5-card or longer suits.

  Michaels:: Shows 5 of the other Major and a 5-card minor. If I wanted to know which minor, I would bid an artificial NT and he would show his minor.

  Unusual 2NT: a 2 suited 5-5 hand: 1 ♥️ , 2NT—shows both minors

                2NT: 1 ♦️ P.  1 ♠️,  2Nt - shows ♥️ and ♣️ 

                       2NT: NEVER shows ♠️ so it’s the other two that was not bid

 Sometimes this bid works and sometimes it helps the declarer more than partner. But, that’s true of almost all conventions.

Any time you want clarification click on the bid in BBO that you don’t understand and the opponent will write an explanation. After you read the explanation, click on it and it will disappear.

  F2F, you’re not suppose to ask until it’s your turn to bid, and then you can ask the opponent—the deal with this that many people don’t understand, ask if it means you might be able to bid. IF you’re not planning to bid, but just wonder what the meaning is, wait until the auction is over and ask about the bids before you lead. If partner is on lead, when he asked if you have questions, say yes. Ask your questions, BUT he cannot change his lead!

Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - December 14, 2020- 2 Bids

Question;  During your December 7th discussion you talked about 2 bids.  Would you analyze the hand and discuss what you meant when you said “Never let opponent play at the 2 level where they have a fit.” 

Vic:

Are you talking about a 2 bid by Opener? by Responder? by Overcaller? by Advancer? It makes a difference. A 2 bid by any of those people could be good or bad, depending on what their hand looks like. A generic statement that "2 bids are bad" does not make sense. It is difficult to imagine that I ever said that. 

In the example above the 2D bid is a second call by opener. It is a perfectly acceptable bid that tells partner they have a two-suited hand (as opposed to a balanced hand) with a diamond suit that is either the same length or shorter than their spade suit. It also clarifies that they are towards the bottom edge of the 13-21 points they promised when they opened.

The quote "Never let opponent play at the 2 level where they have a fit.” is correct - it is a standard rule of defensive bidding. It does not apply in this situation, however, because opponents have not demonstrated they have a "fit". South has shown a two-suited hand & north has simply indicated they prefer diamonds to spades (maybe the lesser of two evils). So, although you have a strong enough hand to push the auction, there is no reason for you to do so, especially vulnerable.

 

Also, when you are in the balancing seat & it is appropriate to push you have two options. 1) you can bid (better have a good 5+ card suit)   2) you can DBL asking partner to bid their longest suit (better have "tolerance" in the suits they might bid)

 

 

BBO Partnership Desk - Do you need a partner for Wednesday morning bridge?

 Believe it or not it is possible for you to find a partner for Wednesday Morning competitive bridge.  You can use something called the BBO Partnership Desk.  The BBO Partnership Desk shows people waiting for partners to play in the specific bridge game.  You should probably resort to calling people if you are not comfortable on a computer.  The BBO Partnership Desk does not differentiate between people regularly playing with the Bridge Club of Madison and people who do not have an affiliation.  

If you are interested in pursuing the Partnership Desk review the 6 minute video on YouTube 

https://youtu.be/Q4DuRagPC1U

If you want written instructions then read this.

Add ACBL Number to BBO or Check BBO has your ACBL Number

 You obtained your ACBL Number and then bought BB$.  You are finished.  You can play competitive bridge.  Right?   Not so fast.  You have one more step.  You need to give BBO your ACBL number.  Once you supplied that number to BBO then you can play competitive bridge.  Until that number is supplied, your partner will see a screen like this:

The following is the procedure to fix that problem.  You can also use the same procedure to verify BBO has your ACBL Number.

Step 1:  Log on to BBO

Step 2:  Find ACBL World which is located to your left under the green Featured Areas section banner.

Step 3:  Find the blue button on the left side in the middle of the screen "Add new ACBL number".  Click on that button.

Step 4: Enter your BBO log on ID in the box located in the upper right.  (If a number already exists, verify that number is your ACBL number.  This is how you make sure BBO has your ACBL Number.) Underneath that box enter your ACBL number.  After both numbers are entered then hit the gray Update box.  BBO will then load your ACBL number into your account.  You should be ready to play.

Hand Analysis by Victor Johnson - Monday, December 7, 2020 - Possible Slam

 

Comment:  Is this hand a possible slam?

Vic: 

There are six cards that experienced players pondering slam in a suit contract are most concerned about. They are the 4 Aces plus the trump King & Queen. The NS pair holds all six of those cards in hearts. If they are playing Roman Key Card Blackwood 1430, they would be able to find out they held all six of those cards. Having found that out I would expect them to bid to 6H. 

Inexperienced players generally have no way to find out about the trump King & Queen. They could find out, however, that they have all four Aces & might also conclude they probably have at least 33 points. Believing that to be true, I would expect them to bid to 6H also. 

This hand deserves to be in 6H. Oddly enough, however, it does not deserve to make 6H. Good defense will hold NS to no more than 11 tricks in a heart contract. The major stroke of bad luck for declarer is the 4-1 trump split for which the odds are 28%. A 3-2 split (68%) would enable declarer to make their 6H contract. 

Following is how I imagine an inexperienced NS pair might advance to slam in hearts. 

West is dealer - EW are passing, 

North:  1H (a Rule of Twenty plus Two opening bid) 

Comment: South has a right to picture north with a 13-21 point hand. South has 19 HCPs in their own hand. It is reasonable for South to believe that north must hold the heart Ace & King plus at least 6 points worth of assorted Queens & Jacks. 

South:  4NT (standard Blackwood) 

North:  5D (one Ace) 

South:  6H 

Comment: Slams are rarely guaranteed. Bridge favors players who are aggressive (not reckless, but aggressive). Anyone too timid to bid slam in this scenario will not often find themselves at the top of the bridge leader board. With respect to the above hand, however, the timid bidders who reach only 4H will make their contract, while the more aggressive bidders will deserve to go down. Ain't bridge a great game?

Hand Review by Glenna Shanahan - Monday, December 7, 2020- Down 4

 

Comment:  We bid this hand to 4S and obviously wound up in the wrong place.  We went down 4. Where did we go wrong?

Glenna:

W opens 1 ♦️ , N bids 1 ♠️ and I think S can bid 3NT. It shows a full opener with ♦️ stopped and 99.9% of the time a doubloon ♠️. If S is afraid to bid 3 because partner might not have a good hand, 2 is ok? (Sorta). But when N bids 3 ♣️, S must bid 3NT not raise ♠️. The bid didn’t make N’s ♠️ longer, it simply showed a 2nd suit—so should be 5-4 or even 5-5 in the black suits. 3N is a great contact.

Hope this helps!

Glenna