Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - April 5, 2021- 2 Spades or 3 Spades?

 

Question:  How do you know to go to game rather than part score.  West has 10 points.  Should the bid have been 3S instead of 2S?

Vic:

A first call by West (Responder) of 3S would have been a Limit Raise. Different partners have different agreements for how strong a Limit Raise should be. Common agreements include: 10-11 pts  11-12 pts  10-12 pts. My regular partners & I opt for 10-12 pts with two stipulations. 

Stipulation One: Ten point Limit Raises should ideally feature a "strong" ten points. If not strong, Responder should make only a Simple Raise to 2S. 

Stipulation Two: Twelve point Limit Raises should ideally feature a "weak" twelve points. If not weak, Responder should force to game in spades. 

How does one decide whether a point count number is "strong" or "weak"? Two good criteria for making that decision are Quick Tricks & Loser Count. The West hand has 1.5 Quick Tricks which is compatible with a Limit Raise. The West hand has 8 Losers which is also compatible with a Limit Raise. Aggressive (but not reckless) is good strategy in Duplicate Bridge. I would encourage West to make a first call Limit Raise of 3S. 

Opener (East) has a stronger than Standard opening hand (17 HCPs) with 3.5 Quick Tricks. Their second call of 3S tells Responder they are stronger than Standard & invites Responder to continue to game if they are at or near the top of the point count promised by the Simple Raise to 2S. Now Responder should definitely "look for an excuse to bid - not an excuse to Pass" & continue to game.