Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shannahan - Monday, June 28, 2021 - Contested Auction

Question:  In a contested auction, how do you know when to pass out of the auction?

Glenna:

  Dave and I were playing precision and it was easy for us to find 4 ♥️! I opened 1 ♣️ which is 16+, E bid 2 ♣️ natural and Dave bid 2 ♥️. I know he has 5+ ♥️ and 8+ points. I bid 2 ♠️ natural and he bid ♥️ again so I was happy for him to play 4 ♥️ as we had at least 8 ♥️ between us and game values.

  Standard America bidders have a little harder time. N opens 1 ♠️, E overcalls 2 ♣️ and depending on NS agreements, S has trouble showing long ♥️ and not many points. S can jump to 3 ♥️ showing the hand IF they play weak Jump Shifts or he can pass and wait for partner to reopen (a VERY important understanding to share with partners) and will bid ♥️ freely after the reopening double.

  Not sure how the bidding went when NS ended in 3 ♦️! Somehow South has to bid ♥️ enough time to show partner can support him with a XX or even a X (singleton). Never settle for a minor when there is a long Major is my best advice.

The factors I try to consider in a contested auction:
               Any extra length in my suit (or partner’s)
               Shortness in opponent’s suit
               Good Hand - high cards in long suits
               Stiff or doubleton honers KQ KJ  AT  QJ. — all bad
               Who is vulnerable and who is not: We are red and they are white should be very careful. Equal vulnerability can be a little frisky

 

Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - Monday, June 28, 2021 - When do you stop bidding when Stayman is invoked?

Question:  How do you know when to stop bidding as opener when using Stayman?

Vic:

Answer: The moment either player knows partner's distribution & point count (within a range of three), they become Captain of the auction. It is now THEIR choice when the bidding should stop. The beauty of 1NT Opening bids is that they describe distribution (balanced) & point count within a narrow range (commonly 15-17) with a single call. When Responder subsequently makes a Stayman call, they next find out whether Opener has a 4 card major. It is then up to Responder whether the auction continues or not. Responder's Options:  Drop Dead (PASS) - Invite Game (2NT or 3SUIT) - Bid Game (3NT or 4SUIT). 

Specific Auction Above: As a function of Opener's two bids (1NT then 2H), Responder knows that Opener has a 15-17 point balanced hand probably with exactly 4 hearts. It is possible Opener also has 4 spades. Responder is now Captain of the auction. Holding 8 HCP's, Responder is technically strong enough to invite. Four of Responder's HCPs, however, are "Quacks" (Queens & Jacks). Responder makes what in retrospect appears to be a wise decision to PASS. 

Note: On Responder's first chance to call, they bid Stayman rather than transfer Opener to their 5-card spade suit. Stayman is the proper call when Responder holds 5 cards in one major & 4 cards in the other. 

Note: Holding 4 cards in both majors, Opener made the proper choice to bid Hearts (up the line). Opener has no way to tell Responder they also have 4 spades. Probably, they do not. But the heart bid does NOT deny 4 spades. 

Note: If Opener had answered Responder's Stayman bid with a bid of 2S, that WOULD deny 4 hearts. A second bid of 2S by Opener In this case might also motivate Responder to Invite Game (knowing they have a 9-card golden fit instead of just an 8-card golden fit). An Invitational call of 3S would transfer Captain of the Auction to Opener. Holding 15 points Opener would usually PASS. Holding 17 points Opener would usually raise to Game. Holding 16 points Opener would usually consider other aspects of hand evaluation to decide if their 16 points is "strong" or "weak". Ain't bridge a great game?

 

Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - June 21, 2021- Maybe Not a Cue Bid

Questions: West completed a 2 diamond cue bid meaning she had more than 10 points and help in hearts.  Did she need at least 3 hearts for the cue bid?  If she went to 2 Clubs would that have been a better bid?

Vic:

Well, NS has every right to expect the 2D bid to promise 10+ points & heart support, meaning at least 3 hearts. Whether it means that or not, however, is a function of EW partnership agreement. The EW partners could have an agreement that it means something else. The only way NS can be absolutely certain is to ask. 

If that is the explanation EW receives, then West has made a deliberate decision (for whatever reason) to deceive both opponents as well as partner. That does happen sometimes in bridge. In this case the deception resulted in a 4H contract that does not deserve to make. 

My regular partners & I play Two Over One which is basically a tweaked version of Standard American. If I opened the east hand 1H, I would expect my partners to respond 2C. For partners playing Standard American with an added partnership agreement that a new suit by Responder at the two level is forcing, I would also expect West to respond 2C. 

Looks to me like 4H deserves to go down two. Hopefully, that is what happened (ideally doubled which would give NS a score of +300).

 

Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shannahan - June 21, 2021- Weak Freak

 

Question:  Going from 1 Spade to 4 Spades could be considered a fast arrival meaning West hand is weak.  West’s hand is not weak.  Do you think the bidding sequence is correct?

Glenna:

We are talking about two different things here so hope you don’t mind, but I’m going to explain both bidding sequences so everyone can see the difference between the two! 

1,  First when responder jumps to 4 ♠️ over partner’s 1 ♠️ opening, it’s called a weak freak—showing about 5-9 points and a 5-card ♠️ suit! Also the same for ♥️.              

2. Opener bids and jumps are very different. Opener bids 1 ♥️ and partner bids 1 ♠️.

     a. Opener bids 2 ♠️ - shows 12-15 and 4 ♠️

     b. Opener bids 3 ♠️ shows 16-18 and 4 ♠️

     c. Opener bids 4 ♠️ show 19-21 and 4 ♠ 

3, Opener rebids his same suit:  1 ♥️ and partner bids 1 ♠ 

    a, Opener bids 2 ♥️ he has a 6-card suit and 12-15

    b. Opener bids 3 ♥️ he has a 6-card suit and 16-18

    c. Must make a forcing bid with 19-21 

Hope reading through this a couple of times will make it clearer, Glenna

Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - June 14, 2021- They stole my bid!

Question: What should N do on the first bid when W stole his bid?

Vic:

Well, I am guessing that North intended their DBL to be for penalty. I expect, however, that Negative Double (promising 4+ hearts & ideally clubs as well) would be a far more common interpretation by South. So unless the partnership has a specific agreement that a DBL by North in this situation would be for penalty, it was an unfortunate choice of calls. 

Another first option for North would be 1NT which would show 6-10 points, tend to deny 4+ hearts, & imply a balanced hand with a stopper in spades. The North hand, however, is not balanced & has much stronger than "stopper" strength in spades. 

Perhaps the best first option for North would be to simply Pass, hoping that West ends up playing in a spade contract. If East subsequently passes as well, South will probably bid 2C which would open the door for a number of final contract possibilities. 

 

Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shannahan - June 14, 2021- West Pass or Respond?

 Question:  What should West do on the first bid?

Glenna:

  West was correct to pass the 1 Club bid by S. The 3 D bid was also correct. The reason you didn’t get a good result was because of good  play or poor defense of the hand and not the bidding.  I need to tell that some declarers are more clever than others and sometimes your result is because of their superior play and not your fault.

   I am going to suggest this simple line of defense and hope that there might be a tip that helps.

W: should lead A or K of ♦️ (depends on your carding agreement)

S: plays the 2

E: plays the 5

N: plays the 4

W now has a problem. He knows E has 3 and can count the suit to know if he continues the suit N can make a discard on the Q so he must switch

By the process of elimination; he cannot lead a ♦️ , a trump or from his ♠️  holding. Therefore, he must lead his stiff ♣️.

If N lets you win the C, you must switch to the 9 of S setting up a S trick for your side. With good defense, you are entitled to 1 H (9 sets up for.a trick), 1 ♠️  , 2 ♣️ and 2 ♦️. You just can’t take the 2nd ♦️ right away.

  If you are going against a clever declarer, he wins the ♣️ A, leads a ♥️ to his hand and leads his small ♦️ forcing W to win and can now pitch a ♠️ or a ♣️ to eliminate 1 of his losers.

 There is one simple solution that takes time to master but provides wonderful opportunities for everyone at the table. That is  COUNTING.

Hope this helps,

Glenna

Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - June 7 , 2021 - Going to 6H?

Question:  Should N raise S bid to 6H with this hand?

Vic:

A jump to 4H by Responder over a 1H opening bid by partner is a "drop dead" bid, cautioning opener not to go on.

Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shannahan - June 7, 2021- Opening Hands

 Glenna:

   Neither E nor W should open these hands.  The only safe time to open an 11-point hand is with a 6-card ♦️, ♥️  or ♠️. Then we open 1 of that suit and rebid 2 of that suit.  I don’t even open a lot of 12 point hands, but use the following guidelines for 12-point openers: 2 Quick tricks, a rebid available and 7 or less losers. A loser is A, K or Q of a suit and that is a guideline, not a hard and fast rule. I use this for 1st and 2nd seat openers only because 3rd seat can be up to 3 points less for opening (good suit with most points in that suit). 4th seat has a completely different set of rules and that is Pearson Points, Rule of 15 or Casino Count—alll 3 mean the same thing. Count your hight card points AND the number of ♠️ and if the total is 15, you can and should open in 4th seat. If you don’t have these things, you really should pass.

  One very important note: Nothing works all the time! Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it’s part of what makes bridge so difficult.

See You At The Tables,

Glenna