Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - May 2, 2022 - 1NT or 2NT?

 

Question: Declarer has indicated a 5 card C suit, responder has 12 HCP and C support but not enough HCP for game in a minor. As Vic would say there are only 3 suits in Bridge, Spades, Hearts and No-Trump, should responder have bid 2NT?

Vic:

Responder’s 1NT call promises 6-10 points & denies a 4-card major. So yes, Responder should have bid 2NT (11-12 points & denies a 4-card major). Undervaluing or overvaluing your hand are two of the worst lies you can make. 

North/South also apparently have a flawed agreement that Opener can rebid clubs to promise FIVE. Rebidding a suit should promise SIX (period - end of story). 

Even though opening a minor may promise as few as three, it is bad bridge to agree that you can subsequently rebid that minor to promise five. If you do make that agreement, you are left with no way to tell partner when you have six. It is far more important to be able to show six of a minor than to be able to show five of a minor.  

In this case rebidding their club suit was a good decision by North, even though they only had five. But South should have the right to expect SIX. And with their point count plus their club fit South should take the auction to game in NT. Looks like West could be expected to lead a heart which would allow Declarer to easily take 9 tricks. 

This hand is a classic example of a bad auction, resulting from a flawed understanding of basics by two very good players. Teaching & reinforcing good basics is the focus of Friday morning Chat Bridge. Regular attendance at Chat Bridge would help even experienced players correct the basic flaws we all have in our games. Just saying. 

Contact Vic for more information about Friday morning Chat Bridge. 

Ain’t bridge a great game?

Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shannahan - May 2, 2022 - Responder

 

Question: 

I think this is an example of responder needing to look at the added values of the void and length in hearts.  How would the “guru(s)” bid this one?

Glenna:

      When we 1st pick up a hand to count our points, we add 1 point for every extra card in a suit over 4. With AJxxx we have 5 high-card points and 1 point for the 5th ♥️. If we held AKJTxxx, we would have 8 high-card points and 3  points for the 3 extra ♥️.

      ALL that changes WHEN we find a fit! Partner open 1 of a minor, you bid 1 ♥️ and partner raises you to 2 ♥️. Now you no longer count length, you count shortness because you have a declarer and a dummy. When you have found a dummy, you count dummy points and not length points. Now, you have 5 points for your void and should be happy to bid 4 ♥️.  Other dummy points: 1 points for a xx, 3 points for a stiff or singleton and 5 points for the void.

  The reason we say bidding is a living thing is because it changes as we find out more about the hand, Be sure to reevaluate with EVERY bid!!!!

See you at the tables,

Glenna

Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - April 25, 2022 - Small Slam

 

Question:  

Here is a missed opportunity bid based on responder’s fear of a missing Ace. Hand easily made 6S.

Vic:

I believe the bidding sequence shown should have gotten NS to small slam (6S). 

North has promised an opening hand. The 2H overcall by East promises a solid heart suit (ideally 6 cards in length) & opening hand point values as well or at least very close to opening hand point values.  

Given their own 8 HCPs, South can assume West is broke or close to it. It is also reasonable for South to assume East has the heart Ace which means South has only one loser in that suit. Finally, it is reasonable for South to assume partner has all the other high spade honors, either that or they lied big time about having an opening hand. 

The 6 cards that are most critical for slam in a suit contract are: the 4 Aces + trump King & Queen. There is a high likelihood NS are missing only one of those 6 cards (probably the heart Ace). It doesn’t often get much better than that. Slam is rarely a rock solid guaranteed bid.  

Over 5D, I would encourage north to take a deep breath & bid 6S. Given the information South has, slam is far more likely to make than not make.

 

Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - April 18, 2022- 5 Card Major

 

Question:  South opens with 1S but only has 5 spades.  What should the second bid be?

Vic:

No, the second bid is not correct. Rebidding a suit promises 6 cards & lying about length happens to be a reasonably “bad” lie. 

South opening bid promises a 5-card spade suit & 13-21 points. South is rock bottom of that point count range & their spade suit is pretty weak. They do have a slightly above standard 2.5 quick tricks (2.0 is standard for an opening hand). But they also have a below standard 8 losers (7.0 losers is standard for an opening hand).  

Basically, South has nothing to tell partner that they did not already tell them & partner subsequently decided to Pass over West 2H. South needs to trust their partner & take their chances on defending 2H by also passing. 

East should have DBLed South 2S for penalty. Looks to me like South could potentially find themselves down two. Doubled, that would give EW a score of 300, much higher than EW would get from making a part score heart contract.

Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shannahan - April 18, 2022 - 5 Card Minors

 

Question: E opens 1C and then raises to 2 C after responder bids 1 H. With 8 HCP and 5 H should W make the 2H bid or pass?

Glenna:

  This is a hand that gives me a chance to suggest some new thoughts about describing your hand to partner. 1st of all NEVER EVER, EVER rebid a 5-card minor. We don’t rebid 5-card Majors so certainly it can’t be good to rebid a minor. When you hold a 5-card minor THINK NT!!!!  That is the number one rule for everyone.

  But this hand has a flaw for NT in that your ♠️ holding is too short. (I would bid NT with 3 ♠️.) A ♠️ will be probably be led if you bid NT, so instead raise partner to 2 ♥️!   Teachers preach don’t raise partner without 4, but sometimes it’s the only bid that makes sense. If your partner tells you to NEVER raise with only 3, suggest they google how to play 4-3 fits because they become fun once you’ve played a few. This hand works great because you found partner with 5 ♥️ and he would have passed 1NT because you might have only 1 ♥️. 2 ♥️ is the best contract for this hand. Hope you look Into playing 4-3 fits!!!

Glenna

 

Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - April 11, 2022 - Reverse

 

Question: 

This hand has 21 HCP with a singleton king of spades. Can this hand be opened as 2 NT instead of 1 D and then jump-shift to H ?

Vic:

Given that they would count a singleton King as being worth only 2 HCPs, some experienced players would count West as only a 20 HCP hand. Either way, the singleton King renders 2NT an inappropriate opening bid. The appropriate opening bid is 1D, the bid West did in fact make. 

The 1st Pass by East denied an opening hand. The 2nd Pass by East promises less than 6 points. In light of their 5-card spade suit which allows them to count a length point I would expect many East to respond 1S instead of Pass. 

If Responder does bid 1S, Opener should not “jump shift” to anything. An experienced player would probably interpret a jump shift by West to 3H over 1S as a “splinter bid” in support of spades.  

Opener could bid 2H (not a jump) over 1S. That would be a “Reverse”, promising a heart suit that is shorter than their diamonds (probably 5 - 4) & showing extra values. Over 2H, I would expect East to bid either 2NT or 3D. 

As pretty as the West hand is, it looks doubtful to me that EW deserve more than 8 tricks in any contract. The best final contract would be two level or below in either NT or diamonds. Any auction that gets them higher than the two level renders them deserving of going down, turning a positive score into a negative score.

 

Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shannahan - April 11, 2022 - Preemptive bids

 

Question: 

Did N/S miss  a game opportunity with the pre-empt opening bid from N instead of opening 1 S?

Glenna:

A preemptive 3-level bid shows a 7-card suit and less than an opening hand. Same is true for weak 2-bid—a less than opening with a 6-card suit. An opening 4-bid is an 8-card suit and at most, a bad opening hand. This hand should be opened 1 ♠️. Partner wouldn’t need a lot to make 6!