1 ♦️ P 3 ♦️ shows 11 or 12 points. West has a 17 point hand and should
be thinking about Slam! W should be 2 ♣️ which is forcing! E would
bid 2 NT and W should bid 6 NT!.
Count, count, count! You have better than an opener so don’t show less than you
have!
Hope
this helps,
Glenna
Question:
Should South double even though North passed?
Vic:
No, South should not DBL. A Takeout DBL promises a full strength opening hand. South has 9 points, 1.5 quick tricks, & 9 losers. None of those values are of opening hand strength.
The bidding by EW is flawed.
Looks to me like a club opening lead would defeat 3NT. I would expect most EW
to reach a 4S contract. Somewhat less likely would be 4H. Either of those
contracts is better than 3NT.
Vic:
In my opinion South should NOT double.
If South does double, North should interpret it as Takeout. Takeout Doubles promises an opening hand & "tolerance" in the unbid suits. Spades & hearts are great, but the singleton club is a disaster waiting to happen. South must trust their partner to "balance" (keep the auction open), if West proves to have a weak hand (they do) & North has some points (they do).
If south does Pass, NS might find game in hearts. The auction might go:
1D - Pass - Pass - 2C - 2D - DBL (negative DBL - promises 4 hearts & 4 spades & at least 8 HCPS) - Pass - 3H - Pass - 4H - Pass - Pass - Pass
From a casual observation, it
looks to me like NS deserve to make 5H (or at least 4)
Question: What does one do as South when East takes your initial bid away? Is Double the proper response?
Glenna:
A TOX (take out double) PROMISES 3-card support for the other 3 suits and 13+
points. A NT overcall on the other hand shows 15-18 points and stoppers in the
opponent’s suit. So South should bid 1NT, not make a TOX! North would transfer
to ♥️ if you play transfers. If
not, she would bid 3 ♥️ which is forcing you
you would bid 3NT or 4 ♥️ depending on your hand.
Competitive Bidding is really great to know and understand because it makes
bridge so much more exciting for the entire table. We overcall suits with a 5+
card suit, NT with Opponents Suit Stopped or make a TOX with support for the
other 3 suits.
Hope
this helps,
Glenna
Vic:
East: 1S
South: Pass
West: 1NT
North: Pass
East: 2H
All Pass
Comment: I expect East will
go down.
A great hand. East should open the bidding 2 ♣️! She has the necessary 22 or more points and a 3-loser
hand. When partner opens 2 ♣️, responder is obligated to
get the partnership to 2NT, 3 of a Major or 4 of a minor. Some people cheat and
count length points to open 2 ♣️, I discourage that at every
opportunity. I think a 2 ♣️ opener is usually short 1
trick of game and this hand certainly qualifies.
Responder should bid 2 ♦️, a waiting bid. He’s waiting
for partner to start showing the description of her hand. She should rebid 2 ♥️. Now West has options available to show her how well they
do or do not fit. He can use a second negative if he has nothing and no help
for her. But this hand has help: He has 3 trump and a singleton ♦️! That singleton ♦️ is at least a trick so he
should bid 4 ♥️! He doesn’t have much, but
making a game should be easier with his cards. He cannot bid 3 ♥️ because that shows a better hand—a hand that might be
interested in slam. It’s up to East Ito decide if she wants to move on. Many
players would Que bid their cheapest A which would be a bid of 4 ♠️ and it says partner, I really have a good hand. Responder
should bid 5 ♥️ because he has nothing
extra.
If East bids 6, she makes It by winning opening lead, cashing 2 top ♥️ and then A and K ♦️, ruffing 3rd ♦️ and now her hand is good.
These
hands are fun and we don’t get enough of them!
Glenna
Question: With a weak 2 bid is it acceptable to go right to game or do you have to take a slower approach??
Vic:
If West interprets the 2H opening bid by East as weak, the jump directly to 4H is correct. This is based on the Law of Total Trump. West should subsequently take the 4H call as a "drop dead" bid & Pass.
I have to assume, however, that East meant their opening 2H bid as strong. If not, they need to review the criteria for a standard opening hand. Strong opening two bids are a feature of some bidding systems, although I think many would agree that the East hand does not quite measure up. In no way, however, is the East hand weak. I would open the East hand 1H planning to jump in hearts on my second call, if partner shows me anything.
If West interprets the 2H opening bid by East as strong, they should explore for slam. Looks to me like EW deserve to make 6H.
The two most common modern
bidding systems popular in North America (Standard American & Two Over One)
both treat opening two bids as weak. The usual criteria are 5-10 HCPs &
exactly a 6-card suit. I recommend adding the stipulation that the 6-card suit
be "disciplined" which basically means that the HCPs should be mostly
in the 6-card suit.
