Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - January 23, 2023 - Overcall

 

Question:  How should North evaluate a potential heart overcall on this hand?

Vic: 

North has the right to expect that West holds the spade King, giving North two likely tricks in spades. Other than the two spade tricks, however, the North hand is not very impressive.  

I would expect North to conclude that overcalling at the three level, especially considering the fact that NS are vulnerable, would cross the line from a smart aggressive bid to a not so smart reckless bid. If I were North, I would Pass. 

Looks to me like an experienced EW pair, defending against a heart contract, would hold NS to 7 tricks (6 hearts + 1 spade). That would put a bid of 3H down two, giving EW a score of 200 points (500 points in the reasonably unlikely event of a penalty DBL). Either would be a better score than EW would have earned had they been allowed to play a 2S contract.  

Speaking of reckless bids, that is exactly how I would rate the opening 2S bid by West, holding no spade honors higher than the Ten. If West does not open 2S, it is difficult to imagine NS will not find a heart contract, possibly even a game level contract of 4H. By opening 2S, West prevented himself/herself + partner from earning the higher score they could have earned by defending against a heart contract.  

Ain't bridge a great game?

 

Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shannahan - January 30, 2023 - Bid

 

Question:  When should North bid clubs?

Glenna:

This seems to be a continuous problem which I don’t understand. S opens and N bids 1 ♠️. South has a minimum hand and should rebid 1NT. It will then go P, P, P. Perfect spot.  South can bid 2 ♥️ IF, they hold 5 card minor and 4 ♥️ and has 17+ points. North doesn’t have enough points to show his ♣️, but who cares—they take tricks in NT!!!!  You don’t have to bid every suit in your hand when you show what you can, ♣️ are a wonderful gift for your partner.

Glenna

Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shannahan - January 16, 2023 - Bid

 

Question: If you notice this bidding sequence between East and West is different.  East opens up with a heart but rather than confirming hearts with a bid, West shows spades.  What is the correct way to bid this hand?

Glenna:

Good hand to talk about: Will give you how the bidding should go and then want to talk about that they did NOT show their partner what they really held:

6♥️  is cold and many, many players would bid 6. This is a hand where you pull only 2 rounds of trump so you can ruff a loser in dummy with the ♥️ 10. 

Both W and E got off to a good start, but then collapsed on their 2nd bid. E cannot bid 1 NT which shows 13 or 14 and actually has 17!!! AND is not balanced; rather a very fine 2nd suit—show it to partner.  W is showing an opening hand now by bidding game: bid of a new suit and a simple raise shows 6 - 10 and NOT the 14 point opening hand he has!!!

Point to remember: 

• Opener jumps to game after a simple bid by partner shows 19-21!
• Responder jumps to game show a weak hand with long trump. 

Go fast with bad hands and slow with good hands. 2 ♥️ by W in the initial uncorrected bid shows 6-10 so bid game.  I really hope this helps because this is information that you must know in order to advance in bridge.

Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - January 16, 2023 - Game

 

Question:

S has 15 HCP and opens 1 H, N responds 2 H with 9 HCP and  trump support. Should S have made an invitation to game? The hand made 4.

Vic:

Once South finds out there is a Golden Fit in hearts (courtesy of the 2H bid by North), they can add "shortness" points (club singleton) to their HCP count. How many shortness points is something even the experts might disagree about.  

Given that aggressive is good in bridge, I would vote for 3 shortness points. That would increase the value of the South hand to 18 Total Points (15 + 3). 

So yes, I would encourage South to at least invite game or even to jump to game themselves. Invite or jump would be dependent on the partnership agreement for how many points North has promised with their 2H bid. 

If South invites game, I would encourage North to accept the invitation & raise to game. Looks to me like NS do deserve to take 10 tricks, game making. 

I feel compelled to add that whereas aggressive is good, reckless is NOT good. Sometimes the line between the two gets a wee bit blurry. 

Ain't bridge a great game?

Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson- January 30, 2023 -Missed Bid

 

Question: 

Here’s an example of a missed opening bid by N/S. E/W took the bid at 2D and made an overtrick. We did not talk to S however we suspect that without a 5 card suit they forgot about opening 1 C.

Vic:

The two most common bidding systems currently taught in North America are the general approach called "Standard American" & the general approach called "Two Over One". I will assume South & partner are playing one of them. Both of these systems require a 5+ card suit to open in a major at the one level.  

South has a solid opening hand point count of 14 HCPs. South also has 2.5 Quick Tricks (better than standard). Surprisingly, South has 8 losers which is actually worse than standard. 

Point count is the main requirement to open, so South should definitely be eager to bid a suit at the one level on their first chance to call. But they do not have a 5+ card major. 

If both Standard American & Two Over One also required 5+ cards to open in a minor, South would be forced to Pass. But neither general approach requires a 5+ card minor. Both general approaches allow a player to open in a minor at the one level holding as few as three cards in that suit. This is referred to as being allowed to open a "Convenient Minor". 

Were it not for the Convenient Minor stipulation, the South hand is a perfect example of a hand that would have to be Passed, despite having opening hand strength.  

I suspect South might have passed because they were unaware you could open a minor as short as three cards in length. Or maybe their Ace or one of their Kings was hiding behind another card? Be that the case, counting their cards a second time after fanning them out (always a good idea) would have alerted them a card was missing. Or maybe they just added wrong? Ever done that? I have. Or maybe they were just reluctant to open a 3-card suit? 

At any rate, I would expect the South hand to be opened with length, not strength, normally determining which minor. General Rule: Holding 4-4 in the minors open diamonds. Holding 3-3 in the minors open clubs. 

If South does open 1C, I would expect West to Pass & North to respond 1S, allowing NS to find their spade fit. I would expect NS to compete to 2S, possibly even 3S, in a contested auction. 

You might be interested that some bidding systems popular in North America back in the mid 1900s allowed players to open majors at the one level holding only a 4-card suit. Some bidding systems currently popular elsewhere in the world also allow 4-card major suit opening bids. 

Ain't bridge a great game?

Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shannahan - January 9, 2023 - Bid

 

Question: 

E has 14 HCP and opens 1 D, partner has 8 HCP and bids 1 S, E bids 1 NT and W passes. The hand makes 2 NT. 

Should W have bid 2 S to indicate 5? Could this hand have scored higher in S instead of NT?

Glenna:

  How sad that people don’t know how to show their shape and their points in the same bid!!!! W must bid 2 ♥️ !  It doesn’t show extra points, it shows 5 ♠️ and 4 ♥️; not more points.

Now partner can make an intelligent bid because he knows partner is 5-4 in the Majors. Don’t leave partner out to dry, when you can show your shape and your points in one bid!

Hope this helps,

Glenna

Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - January 9, 2023 -NT

 

Question: 

When reviewing hands you will sometimes see hands that were bid and played in NT without stoppers in all 4 suits. In this example E/W managed to take 4 overtricks because S led a H. 

If S had led a C the contract could have gone down. Should players look for NT bids without having all 4 suits stopped?

Vic:

I do NOT recommend a player make what they believe to be an auction ending NT bid unless they have reason to believe their side holds stoppers in all four suits. If they do, I would argue they are playing what I call "Ho Chunk Bridge" or "Slot Machine Bridge" (not the way I believe bridge should be played). 

The question in the auction above, however, is whether East bid 2NT with the idea of ending the auction there? Or did East bid 2NT simply to tell partner they have a balanced hand?  

Making a NT bid to promise a balanced hand, does NOT promise a stopper in all four suits. To Open 1NT, for example, you do NOT need a stopper in all four suits. You simply need 15-17 points & a balanced hand. Some bridge experts would advise that in the auction above East should have opened 1NT. Other bridge experts would support the opening bid of 1H. 

Whether one considers the opening bid flawed or not, pretty much the whole rest of the auction absolutely was. 

I would expect the first call by West to be 1S. The 2D bid actually denies four spades, but four spades is what West has. 

The second call of 2H by East promises a 6-card suit which they do NOT have. Given that the first bid of 2D by West promised five diamonds, the second call by East should have been to raise diamonds (showing a golden fit). 

I would interpret the 2S bid by West as showing a spade stopper & suggesting they do NOT have a club stopper. If that is the way East interpreted 2S, then their 2NT bid DOES promise a club stopper they do not have. Instead of NT, they should raise West diamonds. 

East bid hearts TWICE. Even though hearts is South long suit, leading into the hand supposedly showing six hearts is NOT a good idea. A much better lead would have been the unbid suit, which happens to be clubs. Declarer still makes their contract, but NS get the first five tricks. 

Ain't bridge a great game?

 

Weekly Hand Analysis - Mark Olsky - February 13, 2023 -Double

 

Question: 

E has opened 1S and S passes holding with 5S and 14 HCP. The E/W bid goes down 1. Should S have bid a dbl instead of passing?

Mark:

After E opens 1 spade, what can S do? 

You are not quite strong enough to overcall 1 NT, even though it looks like the favorable position in the opponent's suit could convince some aggressive bidders to stretch and call it 15 points and bid 1NT. Even if W finds the very effective lead of a small heart and E correctly plays the 10(using the rule of 11*) the defenders cash 5 hearts and later get a club, so South still makes 7 tricks for 90 points, right? 

Not so fast. 

Look at the North hand. If your partner has overcalled 1 NT, you expect at least 25 points in the partnership and should bid 3NT, or at least 2NT if you are being ultra- cautious. 

Now S is headed for a minus score after the heart lead. The "problem" is that you have a partner who will probably believe you. Anything you call other than pass after East's opening spade bid is likely to mislead your partner. 

Double is definitely for takeout! When you double 1 of a major suit opening you guarantee 1 of 2 hands: a. 4 cards in the other major, rarely 3 good ones; b. a hand too strong for any other action, usually with a good, long minor suit, or a NT overcall with 19+ points. 

Looking at the South hand, you should predict that partner has 4 or more hearts. They will bid 2 hearts, maybe even 3 with 9 or more points and a decent 4 card suit. 

What will you do then? 

It's the dreaded rebid problem. Always try to project what your partner might do in response to your call and try to avoid a misunderstanding that gets you to the wrong level and/ or wrong suit. 

In this case, it feels a little unsatisfying to pass with such a nice hand, but it's the best action by far. 50 points may seem paltry, but it's likely to be a good result at duplicate. 

Incidentally, the same thing applies when you are all set to open 1 NT with a nice 16 points and suddenly the opponent in front of you opens 1NT. Pass is the best action when an opponent opens what you were about to open. They are likely to struggle in their contract. You don't want to take that struggle off them and put it on yourself. That isn't always the best policy, but much more often than not it is.

Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shannahan - January 2, 2023 - Slam bidding

 

Question: 

W is holding 7S, 19 HCP and opens 4S. E is holding 11 HCP and since partner has bid game, passes.  The hand makes 7S. What would have been a better bidding sequence?

Glenna:

An opening bid of 4 ♥️ or ♠️ is a WEAK bid. It shows an 8-card suit and less than an opening hand!!!! This hand should be opened 1 ♠️ or some people might even open it two ♣️. Partner was totally correct to pass 4 ♠️.  

Hope this sentence makes sense to the players and helps them realize when a hand is weak or strong:  Opener jumps to game after a 1-level response from partner shows a GREAT Hand!!! 

Responder has a great hand after partner opens, he makes 1 or even 2 new suit forcing bids and then bids game, he showing an opening hand. 

****We move slowly with good hands (to determine if we have slam) and we go quickly with weak hands (almost a preemptive type bid).

Hope this helps,

Glenna

 

Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - January 2, 2023 - Take out double

 

Question: 

W has 16 HCP and opens 1 D, E responds 1 H and S overcalls 2C. Declarer,  then bids 4H and S bids 4S to give partner a choice of suit. W doubles and N passes. N/S went down 4 giving E/W 800 pts. 

This hand has several questions so here goes: First of all, would it have been better for S to bid a T/O dbl instead of the C overcall? With the bids as shown, should N have bid 5D over the penalty dbl?

Vic:

North has 3 HCPs, all of them "Quacks", & no distributional feature of any interest. At no point during the auction should North have bid anything. Gold star award to North for their three Passes. 

 Opener (West) promised a minimum of 12-13 HCPs. Responder (East) promised a minimum of 6 HCPs. South is holding 15 HCPs. Clearly, North must have a very weak hand. It is reasonable, in fact, for South to expect that partner (North) may have no HCPs at all. Looks like NS are going to be defending. South would love an opening club lead. I have no problem with South overcalling 2C for lead directing purposes. Other than that, South should be passing, just like partner.

 Closing Comment: A classic example of overbidding that allows opponents (via a penalty DBL) to make a better score than they could have made by winning the contract & playing the hand.

 Ain't bridge a great game?

Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shannahan - January 30, 2023 -Overcall

 

Question: 

West has opened a weak 2S. N and E have passes and S is holding a hand with 19 HCP and overcalls 3C E makes a defensive bid of 3S. N had assumed that S overcalled holding 5C bid 4C over East’s bid. The hand makes 4C but in hindsight it appears it could have made more points for N/S. What is the best way for S to give a better picture of their holding?

Glenna:

Weekly Hand Analysis - Mark Olsky - December 26, 2022 - Reverse

 

Question:  The South hand shows 5 hearts and 4 spades.  If you bid the hearts first and then the spades you are showing a reverse implying the South hand has 17 or more HCPs which the South had does not have.  In order to avoid a reverse do you bid the spades first even though you have four of them?  If you do that are you misleading your partner?

Mark:

This hand can be awkward for partnerships that are not prepared for it. One popular tool is the Flannery convention (Usually 2 diamonds, artificial) that shows exactly this hand. Many players don't find a weak 2 diamonds useful as a pre-emptive bid, so they use it to plug the hole under discussion. If you don't use that, partner would be wise to respond 1 spade with 4, even with a better minor suit. In that case, opener doesn't promise a strong hand raising 1 spade to 2. Also, if playing 2/1 game force, if partner responds 2 of a minor to your 1 H opening, 2 spades by opener is not considered a reverse by most players, with the possible exception of those who play Flannery.

  I strongly recommend against opening 1 spade with that hand. Partner will assume (and should assume) spades equal to, and usually longer than hearts, so with 3-3 in the majors, a very common holding, should always put you in spades. If I'm playing with a partner where I'm so worried about a potential misunderstanding about a reverse, I'd pass that hand (Even taking a pass-out in 4th seat!) rather than open 1 spade. I'm not advocating a pass, just in preference to opening 1 spade.

Let me add a bit more. Even if the top cards in spades and hearts were reversed, i.e the spades were A,K,10, 9 and the hearts were 10, 9,7,3,2 (5 weak cards) I would still open 1 heart. You might find an occasional experienced player that would open 1 spade with that modification, but the majority of experienced, solid players still value length over strength and maintain disciplined consistency. I disagree with the 2 spade bid and the pass of 2 spades by North. North should carry on to game with the strength that the 2 spade bid implied. I would choose between a pass of 1NT or 2 hearts, which typically shows a 6 card suit, but with this suit quality, it's tempting. Passing 1 NT is normally the best. In this case, 1 NT is likely down 1. However, East is likely to lead the club J, W could well be tempted to play a third round of clubs, thinking that partner might be long in that suit. That would allow N to make 8 tricks for a top board. (5 hearts, ace of diamonds and the 2 established clubs.

 

Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - December 26, 2022 - Bid

 

Question:  Should you ever decide to push the opponents higher even though you do not have the HCP to do more?

Vic:

YES - absolutely there are scenarios where you should. Doing so is called "Defensive Bidding". Good defensive bidding is a pathway to good bridge scores. 

Answering your question was the easy part. The more challenging part involves learning the various scenarios (there are many), then recognizing & daring to implement them in the heat of battle. 

The "Law of Total Trump" advises you should not be hesitant to bid up to the level of your total number of trump, regardless of vulnerability. South in the above hand knows their side holds 9 spades. South should not hesitate ON THEIR FIRST CALL to raise North to 3S. This is despite the fact they hold only 6 HCPs. 

Since South could have shown a Limit Raise or better by cue bidding 3D, North should not take 3S as a strong bid. It is a bid that promises 4-card spade support & less than a Limit Raise. In this case it is quite a bit less than a Limit Raise. 

To compete over 3S in no trump, East is now faced with bidding 3NT. Will they or won't they? Should they or shouldn't they? Will they make it or go down? 

East could also DBL 3S for penalty. Will they or won't they? Should they or shouldn't they? Will it work or backfire? 

Will jumping to 3S result in a better score for EW than allowing EW to play in 2NT or a worse score? It depends on many factors. But, the Law of Total Trump advises that MOST of the time EW will deserve a better score for following "The Law". 

Ain't bridge a great game?

Weekly Hand Analysis - Mark Olsky - January 30, 2023 - Preempts

 

Question:  When you have two preempts, should the responder defer to the opener or should the opener defer to the responder?

Mr. Ward's Snipe Hunt

 Jean and I moved into our house in April 1986.  Up until 2021, Mr. Ward lived across from us.  Mr. Ward, his wife, Dolores, and two sons, Gary and Jeff, were a fixture in our neighborhood.  Mr. Ward had been a powerful union steward for the Steamfitters Union In Madison.  When we moved into our house he was retired.  He was always a great neighbor and he had a sense of humor.  He would show up at our annual July 4th cookouts in different, silly outfits.  He enjoyed a good laugh.  He let me observe a great ruse which I had read about but never actually seen anyone accomplish, a snipe hunt.

 

It was a nice autumn day when our neighborhood boys were in middle school many years ago.   They are now married and most of them have kids of their own.  I saw Mr. Ward standing out in the driveway in front of his house.  I decided to walk over and see what was going on.

 

“How you doing, Mr. Ward?  It is a nice day.”

 

“Yes, it is a nice day.  I got the neighborhood boys in the backyard helping me out.”

 

“What are they doing?”

 

“They are hunting snipe.  I have a terrible snipe problem.  Those blasted snipe are eating all of my flowers.  I am worried my flowers won’t come up in spring.  I asked the boys to help me.  They said they would. I gave them each a grocery bag and I told them that I would pay them $1 for each snipe they caught in the bag.  I would then relocate the captured snipe to some type of animal reserve.  But I need to get them out of there.  They are ruining my flowers.”

 

I thought, “This is odd.  Mr. Ward has only limited use for flowers.  His wife, Dolores, is the one who likes flowers.”  My curiosity was piqued and so I decided to find out more.

 

I responded. “Oh yes, the famous Wisconsin snipe.  They are small flightless birds.  But they are extremely fast.  It is very hard to catch one.  I read stories of people trying to catch them but they ultimately failed.  I hope the neighborhood boys have more success.”

 

Mr. Ward looked at me and winked.  He knew I had knowledge of his ruse.  He did not mind having a co-conspirator. 

 

I asked, “How long do you think it will take the boys to remove the snipe?”

 

Mr. Ward responded, “It is hard to say. I think it could take most of the afternoon.  It is a nice day. I need to get back to the boys to see if they have caught any of those blasted snipe.”

 

He turned and again gave me another wink.  He then walked to his backyard.

 

Mr. Ward added a few pebbles to his pocket before his snipe hunt.  He also had help from his son Gary.  Every so often, when the boys weren’t looking either he or Gary would toss a pebble in one of the flower gardens in the backyard.  At the noise, one or both, would claim they heard a snipe.  After that claim the boys would stealthily stalk to the flower bed looking for the snipe.  Mr. Ward warned each of them before the start of the snipe hunt that snipe were very wary creatures. You had to be silent while approaching them. If you made any noise at all they would bolt and you lost your chance to catch them in your grocery bag. The snipe hunt went on for most of the afternoon.

 

 Word got around quickly in the neighborhood about Mr. Ward’s snipe hunt. The next day I saw one of my neighbors bringing their garbage cart up for Monday pickup.

 

I asked, “How are things going?”

 

They responded, “They are going well.  I heard some of the neighborhood boys were helping Mr. Ward hunt snipe.  The snipe were in his flower gardens eating the flowers.  The boys were there to catch them for him.”

 

”Did they catch any of them?”

 

“They heard them a lot but couldn’t catch one.  Snipe are really hard to catch.  The boys were really disappointed.  They really wanted to help Mr. Ward by catching his snipe in the worst way.”

 

My neighbor was very serious as we talked about the snipe hunt.  I had a hard time restraining myself from laughing while talking to the neighbor.  I went home and I laughed until my sides ached.

 

Mr. Ward did it.  Not only had he sold his snipe ruse to the boys but he had also sold it to older neighbors.  I admired Mr. Ward greatly for his “believable” snipe hunt.

 

Mr. Ward came out later to place his garbage cart on the curb for Monday pick-up.  I walked over and spoke to him.

 

“How did the snipe hunt go?”

 

“Well, you know it was a little disappointing.”

 

“How so?”

 

“The boys weren’t able to catch any of those blasted snipe.  We heard a lot of them moving around in the backyard but they were just too sneaky and fast for the boys.  After three hours, I told them it wasn’t worth the effort because the snipe go underground and you can’t find them in the late afternoon.  I gave them each a dollar, collected the grocery bags, and sent them on their way.”

 

I then related my conversation with the neighbor regarding how the boys did not catch any snipe and how neighbors were disappointed the boys could not help him out with his snipe problem.

 

Mr. Ward smiled. He knew he pulled off one of the greatest ruses of all time.  He appeared satisfied with the results.

 

He responded, “Those blasted snipe also multiply like mad.  I think maybe the boys may have more success next year catching them.  I got to keep them snipe out of my flower beds. They just ruin my flowers.”

 

With that response, he winked at me again, turned and walked back into his house.

Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - December 19, 2022 - Slam

 

Question:  What is the proper way to bid a slam when you know it is a slam?  North opened in NT and South had more than enough points for a slam.

Vic:

RULE: The stronger the hand, the slower the bidding, until you know & then you go.  

South is holding 21 HCPs. The standard for a small slam in NT is 33 HCPs. The standard for a grand slam in NT is 37 HCPs. As soon as North Opens 1NT (15-17), South knows they should be in slam. Lacking a bid of some sort that the partners have agreed is forcing over 1NT, South should consequently just bid slam. 

The unanswered question here for South is whether to bid 6NT (the appropriate bid if North is at the bottom of their point count range) or 7NT (if North is NOT at the bottom of their point count range). I am unaware of how South could go about finding the answer to that question. If I were South, I would probably just bid 6NT, rather than take a chance at going down in 7NT. 

I would interpret the 4NT bid that South made as a Quantitative try for slam, asking North to bid 6NT if they are at the top of their point count range, otherwise Pass. Holding the North hand, I would have Passed just as they did.

 

Distributional quirks in both clubs & diamonds allow declarer to count 16 tricks off the top.

Weekly Hand Analysis - Mark Olsky - December 19, 2022 - Negative Double

 

Question:  Does a negative double (responders double) consider both the opener's and the overcaller's bids?  If so, can you use a negative double when you do not have four cards in the other suits?

Mark:

The negative double was introduced just over 60 years ago and has been one of the most useful tools in competitive bidding. There is variability in the way people use it, but some principles are pretty universally agreed by most high level players. One such principle is that if you open in 1 of a minor, there is an overcall in a major (1, 2 or 3 level) double (negative) should show 4 cards in the other major. You imply tolerance for the 4th suit, but you don't necessarily show 4 of them. Some players will rarely or never have more than 4 of the other major. Many, including me, will make a negative double with 5 or even more, and a hand not strong enough for a free bid, which is at least strong enough to invite game. If you have a weakish hand but a long suit in which you want to compete, there's no alternative (other than pass) to making a negative double, then bidding the long suit. 

  The negative double made by the robot in this case is exactly standard and should be made by nearly every North player after the same 2 bids by South and West. East has a choice between passing and 1NT. Either could work out well or badly. In this case, the vulnerability makes it risky for East to buy the hand. If S listens to the bidding and trusts the robots' bidding, he leads the one suit partner is known to hold, hearts. This gives E-W the 2 heart tricks they could develop for themselves anyway and gives up nothing else. The result is likely to be +100 to NS for a pretty good result, or +200 for a great result. If S doesn't trust the robot bidding (the often shouldn't be trusted.) he could lead a club and may end with E-W making 90 or 120 for a bad result. That's life in bridge when the hands are evenly divided and everyone competes in the bidding.

  Incidentally, if South were to open 1 of a minor and there's an overcall in the other minor, now N may need to make a negative double even if holding an imperfect hand. At least one of the majors should have 4 cards and the other 3 cards.  If you bend the truth about suit length, you should only do it with solid strength,  namely 8 to 10 points. 

  1 more important point. When there's competition at the table and you are about to make a bid that is the "least of evils" and doesn't describe your hand perfectly, try to anticipate what others are likely to bid before the auction comes back to you and decide what you will bid when that happens. If you look to be in distress and hesitate a long time before the next bid, you are probably conveying improper ("Unauthorized")  information to partner and giving free help to the opponents.

Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shannahan - December 19, 2022 - Going to Game

 

Question:  With a good hand, is it ever acceptable to go directly to game?

Glenna:

An opening preempt is never a good hand—it’s always a long suit with less than 13 points! A 2-level bid shows a 6-card suit, 3-level shows a 7-card, 4-level shows an 8-card suit. We usually do NOT open 5-♣️ or 5 ♦️; we open them 4 of the minor just in cast partner has a beautiful long major. The point of a preempt is to keep the opponents from finding their fit when you suspect they have enough points to bid game.

Never surprise partner on purpose—we all do that often enough without even trying,

Thanks,

Glenna

 

Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shannahan - December 12, 2022 - Going Down 4

 

Question: 

N opens 1C and S responds with 1S, W overcalls 2D and N bids 2H which becomes the contract which goes down 4. Any suggestions ?

Glenna:

This is a super hard hand for newer players. E is correct to pass. The player with the problem is S! Have pity, but know you can NEVER leave partner in a 4-card suit when you have only 1, 2 or 3!! The 5-2 fit is much “safer” (means usually doesn’t go down as much!)

  I would probably  2 ♠️ either could work or either could be disaster. You take your best shot and hope to be right for a change!!! BUT NEVER pass a 4-card suit with 1!! 2 ♣️ is only 90 and 2 ♠️ is 110 so that’s what I would try, 

It’s better to make a bid that might work over passing because you are afraid, Passing out of fear is a terrible thing. At least try to bid something that works.

Glenna

 

Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - December 12, 2022 - Going Down 3

 

Question: S is holding a 7 card D suit with 11 HCP and opens 1D, N has 5 HCP and responds 1S, E issues a T/O double and S jumps to 3D which becomes the contract. As played, the hand went down 3. What would have been a better progression of bids?

Vic:

It is arguable that South hand is worth 11 HCPs. But with a 7-card suit, I support their opening bid of 1D. Holding only 5 HCPs, it is also arguable that North should bid, but given their 5-card suit plus their distribution, I also support their bid of 1S. In bridge aggressive is good. 

I also support the T/O DBL by East.  

Where the auction goes drastically astray is with the jump to 3D by South which promises 17+ HCPs. Definitely, NS are in over their heads & deserve to go down. 

A second call of 2D by South would have been fine, over which West should bid 2H. Looks to me like EW deserve to make 4H. 

Over 3D by South, I would encourage East to DBL again. I would then encourage West to leave that DBL in for penalty & a really BIG number for EW. In bridge reckless is NOT good. 

Ain't bridge a great game?

Weekly Hand Analysis - Mark Olsky - December 12, 2022 - Slam Bidding

 

Question: 

E has 17 HCP and opens 1C, W responds 1D. E then bid 1H and bidding proceeds to a game bid of 4S by W. Should E have responded 1 (or 2) NT to indicate stoppers in all suits except D instead of 1H ? This had made 6 NT.

Mark:

Except for 1 quibble, I really like this auction. E-W did very well to go slowly on the 1 level, to find the golden spade fit, not only 8 cards in all, but the optimum 4-4, which often makes an extra trick compared with 5-3 or 6-2. (On 5-3 and 6-2 hands, the shortness in side suits tends to be with the long trumps, which means that ruffing produces no extra tricks and establishment of long side suits by ruffing is not as consistently possible.)

  My quibble is with East's bid of only 2 spades after partner bid 1S. 2S is not only not forcing, it isn't even invitational. The same hand if you substitute the 2 of clubs for the Ace, would be just right for 2 spades. The choice of bids at that point is between an ultra- conservative 3 spades (highly invitational but not forcing to game) and a mildly aggressive 4 spades (showing a re- evaluated 19+ to 22 points in support of spades) 

This hand qualifies on points, but might be downgraded slightly because the shortness is in partner's other suit. The 4S bid would get you to a very good, not great, slam that will usually be made on the actual lie of the cards, regardless of the opening lead or expertise of the declarer. West adds the 13 points to East's (adjusted) 20 and gets to 33, just right for a small slam. You check for aces (to make sure you are not missing two of them) then bid 6. In a typical duplicate game 70% of pairs will be in 4 or 6 spades because of good bidding on the 1 level. Pairs in 4 spades will get more or less an average board, beating everyone in No-trump and losing to the 6S bidders. 

People who get to NT should get a low board. N-S are likely to sense that E-W are close to slam values and will defend passively. If there's an opening Diamond lead from the South against NT, 11 tricks will be the maximum, even with inspired guessing by declarer. If NT is bid from the W, N will have been warned by the bidding not to lead a diamond and now declarer is most unlikely to end with 12 tricks. The pair that made 6 at NT probably did so only due to a defensive error.

Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shannahan - December 5, 2022 - 18-19 HCP

 Question: South has 19 HCP and an unbalanced hand.  If the bid is 1D to 2NT for South to indicate 18 to 19 points, then does that require North to bid?   If North is not required to bid should South forget about 2NT and immediately go to 3NT as South did in this hand?

Glenna:

No the correct bid is 2 NT.  We do NOT overbid at matchpoints and partner has a chance to raise to 3 NT so it is a partnership agreement which makes for good results 

Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - December 5, 2022 - 2nd Double

 

Question:  In this bidding sequence the Robot for West doubles twice.  Is this just because of the programming for the robot or is there a reason for doubling twice?

Vic:

If I were East with West my human partner, I would view the first DBL as Takeout, promising "tolerance" in the two unbid suits. The definition of "tolerance" has loosened considerably these days. Ideally, West holds at least 4 cards in both hearts & diamonds, especially hearts. Given that Opener is being forced to the three level, I would expect West to hold at least 10 points. 

A standard rule of defensive bidding is to try to avoid letting the opponents play at the two level in a suit where they have found a fit. I would consequently also view the second "balancing seat" DBL by West as Takeout, saying "partner, bid something". Holding six clubs, East does well to rebid their clubs, giving NS the choice of raising to the three level in spades OR letting EW play the hand in 3C. 

What is the meaning of the two DBLs by Robot West? I have no idea. 

I believe the Robots are programmed in a system called GIB. I checked out GIB just long enough to discover it was different, sometimes bizarrely so, from the two bidding systems with which I am familiar (Standard American - Two Over One). I have no desire whatsoever to try to learn GIB. Looks like this might be a time when GIB means the same. 

[Editors Note.  BBO explains GIB:

" The robots used on BBO are called GIB (Ginsberg's Intelligent Bridgeplayer.) GIB is widely considered to be one of the best computer bridge programs ever created. It is occasionally capable of brilliance. It is also occasionally capable of some really poor bids and plays (just like all human players).  "]

The good news is that in the online games I play it is possible to hover over any bid made by a Robot for an explanation of what that bid promises. Equally important, it is also possible to hover over any bid I am about to make for an explanation of what that bid will mean to the Robot (often very different than what I was intending it to mean). 

The bad news is I have discovered the Robots lie, sometimes flagrantly. I have hovered over Robot bids promising a particular Ace that they prove not to have. Sometime I can actually see that Ace in my own hand. I have been frustrated so often by lying Robots that I have recently vowed to never again participate in any online games that include Robot players. 

Of course, as all bridge players are well aware, the word "never" means almost never. And the word "always" means almost always. 

Ain't bridge a great game?

 

Weekly Hand Analysis - Mark Olsky - December 5, 2022 - Penalty Doubles

 

Question:  Is there any rule when to invoke a penalty double?  The Robots made this bid with the penalty double.

Mark:

I mean this very seriously. 

There's an old saying that I think is valid. If you don't double some contracts that turn out to be cold, you are not doubling enough. 

Many terrible results are due to a failure to double when there is no certainty of setting the contract. In a duplicate game, the auction makes it sound like the same contract will be reached everywhere and the East hand will often double. If everyone in 4S goes down, which is more likely than not, then everyone who fails to double will get a bad score, assuming the same tricks are won and lost at most tables. Even in a team game I would double with the East hand. As long as there are no overtricks, the IMP loss for doubling a cold game is surprisingly small, typically 5 IMPs. You gain a lot if you set the contract 2 or 3 tricks. Moreover, you have an intangible gain as your opponents avoid bold bidding against you in the future. Only at rubber bridge would I not double 4 spades on the bidding shown. That's because of the chance that the double could help declarer find an unlikely line of play to make a game that would be defeated without the warning. 

Knowing that the opponents are facing a 5-0 trump break, a fact they couldn't have known when they bid game, makes it likely that they will take a couple fewer tricks than they expected.

 This hand was unlucky for East. South bid very aggressively with 3 Spades. I'm surprised that North, with significantly more than he might have had to bid 4 didn't make a slight move toward a possible slam by cue- bidding 4 hearts. South would have declined, of course, having less, rather than more, than a minimum for the 3 S bid, but E could be dissuaded from doubling, knowing that N had some thoughts of slam.

 In a game with human opponents at an actual table, I'd think about whether there had been unintended but inappropriate information that kept N from bidding more actively. For instance, suppose South fingered the 2 spade bid before pulling out the 3S card, I would call the director. 

If I were the director with those hypothetical facts established, I'd award an adjusted score of 4 spades un- doubled. I think 4 spades will make most of the time, even without the warning double. If there's a likely play that would lead to going down absent the double, I'd award an un- doubled set to the defenders, provided they didn't defend carelessly.

 

Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shannahan - November 28, 2022 - Interference on opener's 2nd Bid

 

Question:  How should the declarer respond when the 2nd bid is taken by an opponent where the opener is trying to tell partner there is enough points for a reverse in the hand?

Glenna: 

We can’t reverse in an opponent’s suit. When we bid the opponent’s suit, we are cue bidding and are asking for a stopper or showing a good hand. Looking at the hand, I would have bid 1NT. Nothing is perfect, but I have 2 stoppers and a source of tricks, plus I’m still at the one-level so I have better than a good chance to make 1 or 2 NT.

Hope this helps,

Glenna

 

Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - November 28, 2022 - 2NT or 3NT?

 Question:  This hand made 3NT.  How do you decide when to go to game when the partner indicates a minimum support hand?

Vic:

The longer you play bridge, the more ways you will learn to evaluate the strength of your hands. In my two part Beginning Bridge course I teach three basic methods. 

Point Count: A common partnership agreement is that an opening bid of 1NT should promise 15-17 HCPS. The above opening hand is at the top of that range. Given that point count is considered the primary hand evaluation criterion, going to game based on point count alone would be automatic for many players. 

Quick Tricks: Common agreement is that a standard opening hand should include at least 2.0 Quick Tricks. The above opening hand has 3.5 Quick Tricks, significantly stronger than standard. The Quick Trick count screams "go to game". 

Losers: Common agreement is that a standard opening hand should have no more than 7 losers. The above opening hand does have exactly 7 Losers. No reason to worry here.

Taken as a group, the three evaluations above clearly identify a hand that is strong enough to accept an invitation to game.  

Note: If you are a player who is not already routinely evaluating your hands for Quick Tricks & Losers, I would encourage you to start doing so. Don't know how? Sign up for the Beginning Bridge course I expect to be teaching live at the Bridge Club in January//February 2023.

Ain't bridge a great game.

Weekly Hand Analysis - Mark Olsky - November 28, 2022 - High Card Points and Doubling

 

Question: In this hand West doubles with 6 high card points.  What is the range of high card points needed to double?

Mark:

Another interesting competitive bidding hand. West's negative double is near the low end of the range for a negative double, but I agree with it and would have done the same. You promise at least 4 cards in each of the remaining 2 suits and enough strength to suggest competing. 

Since E-W are not vulnerable, you could afford to go down 1 or even 2 (if un- doubled) and show a profit compared to minus 110 or 130. You could have a stronger (even opening bid strength) hand with 4+ distribution in the unbid suits. 

If West has the stronger hand, the next bid must be invitational, forcing or game, as appropriate. If W has a very weak hand, much weaker than this one, that should be Alerted, assuming that E knows that to be a real possibility. Otherwise, N-S could claim to be injured if they are talked out of competing further. Such a weak double wouldn't be "illegal" but outside of the usual expectations that opponents would typically rely on; hence the Alert.2 NT could be set 100 on the likely club lead, which might be an OK score compared to most N-S pairs bidding and making several clubs.

  If E bids 2 hearts after the negative double it usually shows a 6 card suit. However, this 5 card suit is so strong, a lot of players, me included, would bid 2 hearts. It's hard to be sure how the play would go on the actual hand. It might be no better than NT. If S is an enterprising bidder, she will bid 3 clubs because of the lovely suit. If she is conservative, she will pass because of the limited points. If 2 hearts is passed by S and comes back to north, a double by N in the pass-out seat is "reopening" or "D.S.I" (Do something intelligent). In this case, whether South re- bids clubs or passes the double, it looks intelligent( for bidding) or brilliant (for passing.) I would bid. It looks too risky to pass. Most roads lead to a N-S plus score, so holding it to 100 or less should be OK for E-W.