Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - July 4, 2022 - Take Out Double Response

Question: E has opened with a very weak 2 H bid. N has a strong hand but then goes astray with 3 NT that goes down due to the length in H by E. 

Vic:

Based on the fact North is short in clubs, the most likely call by South (Advancer) subsequent to a Takeout DBL by North (Overcaller) is 3C. Factored into a decision to DBL, North consequently needs to plan ahead for what they will bid next if South does in fact answer 3C. 

North has forced South to bid. The 3C bid by South has promised length (4+ cards), but has made no promise of any points at all. Over 3C, I would encourage North to bid 3D (their strongest suit). And I would expect that to end the auction. 

Turns out North will luck out big time with a 3D bid, catching south with four diamonds (including the King) plus 6 points plus shortness in the majors. Looks to me like 3D would make.

Given that South has promised no points at all, the 3NT bid by north, holding only one heart stopper, crossed the line from aggressive into reckless. North deserved to go down.

What would have been a better sequence of bids for N-S ?

 

Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shannahan - July 4, 2022 - 4th Seat Open

 

Question: 

We know that your position in the bidding order can be one of the factors in determining whether or not to open your hand. 

Should S consider opening this hand?

Glenna:

  In 4th seat I would open the hand if I felt I was good at play of the hand. It’s very weak and a bad suit, BUT it fits the bill for opening in 4th seat. Count your number of high card points and add to the number of ♠️ and if it reaches 15, you can open. Another worry I might have is that even though partner has passed, they sometimes get excited because you open and they bid too much. With such a borderline hand, I would consider partner and opponents!

  The real problem is that E has an A and an AK and passed. This is the PERFECT 3rd seat opener and S would simply overcall 1 ♠️.

  Thank you for hands like this as it seems opening differently in different seats is a difficult concept. Let’s keep working on this until everyone understands

Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - June 27, 2022 - Negative Double

Question:  As you can see here, the North Robot 3C even though the hand was weak in diamonds and had four clubs.  Is a negative double a good bid for regular people with North's hand?

Vic:

It is my understanding that the [BBO] Robots are programmed to play a system called GIB (Ginsberg's Intelligent Bridgeplayer). That is the system they use to describe their own hands. It is also the system they use to interpret the bids you make. 

Unfortunately, some GIB agreements are bizarrely different from the systems routinely played in North America (Standard American - Two Over One). To add to the frustration of Robot games, it is also my experience that the Robots tell flagrant lies fairly routinely. 

My suggestion: Hover over every call a Robot makes to see what that call actually means. Hover over every call you are about to make to see how the Robots will interpret it. 

 In the auction above you have opened & West has promised a weak hand. North has reason to believe your side has the balance of the points & probably deserves to play the hand. And obviously, GIB dictated that North should make a Negative Double.

 Personally, however, holding the north hand I would Pass (not bid). I would trust you to balance if you have a strong hand. And with my club holding I would be perfectly content to defend 3C if you Pass.

 Personally, I would have also opened your hand 2H (not 1H). I don’t consider it a strong enough hand to open at the one level in 1st or 2nd seat. You can qualify for Rule of Twenty, but have only 1.5 quick tricks.

 Given the way the auction did progress, holding your hand I would rebid my hearts (rather than raise spades) on my second chance to call & cross my fingers that ended the auction.

 Editor's Note:  For more on GIB go to https://www.bridgebase.com/help/v2help/robots_about.html

 

Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shannahan - June 27, 2022 - When can you double

 Question:  South doubles even with a singleton spade.  Is there a requirement regarding the number of cards you need in a suit before you can double?

Glenna:

Yes there are two (2) requirements for a take out double (TOX!) !! 1st, you must have 13 points which can include dummy (shortness) points. 2ndly, you MUST have 3 cards in the other three (3) suits! If you don’t have both, you can’t make a TOX! You have to pass and hope that partner bids.

  When you double and bid a new suit, you are promising 18+ high card points. That is what standard bidding shows and what we all try to follow.

Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - June 20, 2022 - When to go to game

Question:  In a competitive situation, is it better to play it safe with a part score or is it better to go to game not knowing whether you will make the bid or be set by a trick?

Vic: 

What is “better” is to try your best to accurately describe your hand to partner, then let partner make the decision about whether to go to game or not.

South knows that they have only 4 HCPs. They also know that West has less than an opening hand & that East (Overcaller) apparently has a “Weak Two” hand. That means partner (Opener) can be expected to have extra values. 

I agree with South (Responder) decision to Pass on their second chance to call. An alternative option would have been to bid 3H which would promise heart support, but less than a Limit Raise. 

 South 4-card heart support makes 3H an attractive call. Their bottom of the barrel point count, however, makes 3H an iffy call. If Opener does have extra values, hearing 3H from Responder they will probably go to game. And South should not be excited about being in game.

 If Opener is not ready to give up on the auction, I would suggest DBL on their second chance to call (rather than 2NT). 

North bid of 2NT promises a spade stopper. Three spades to the Jack does not constitute a stopper in my book. Turns out that playing in 2NT & with a spade lead North stands to lose the first 6 tricks. 

A second call of DBL by North tells Responder they are not ready to give up on the auction & asks them to please bid something. South should now bid 3H (basically a drop dead - lowest available level - you forced me to bid call). I would encourage North to subsequently Pass 3H.

 Looks to me like North might or might not make 3H, but definitely does not deserve to make 4H.

 A great interfering 2S bid by East. Ain’t bridge a great game.

 

Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shannahan - June 20, 2022- When to consider a slam

 

Question:  Referring to these hands, is there a point count in either the opener or the responder hands to automatically think of a slam?  If there is a count, then should one or the other go to 4NT to preclude a close-out at 3NT?

Glenna:

  I don’t think either player has enough to consider slam on this hand. 15 and 11 make game, but not usually slam. Sometimes we make an unbiddable slam because of favorable distribution or lucky placement of the cards.

  Generally speaking as to who should move toward slam: 

               Opener has 17+ points and responder shows a good hand.

               Opener has 22+ and responder has points

               Responder: Has an opening hand and partner has opened the bidding—should always think about slam

Hope these ideas help,

Glenna

Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - June 13, 2022 - Missed overcall

 

Question: 

S has opened, E has 19 HCP and no 5 card suits and chooses to bid a T/O double to “force” partner to bid. Should E advance the bidding or pass? E made assumption that S has 12-13 HCP and E/W are vulnerable so chose to pass.

Vic:

East (Overcaller) has promised only an opening hand with their TO DBL, but East is much stronger than that. East consequently needs to advance the auction. I suspect 3S would be a very popular second call for East.  Hearing 3S, I would expect West (Advancer) to take the auction to game.

 I believe West missed the boat on their first chance to call. Looks to me like West is strong enough to bid 2S on their first bid. For all East knows, West may be broke. West needs to tell East they are not. A jump to 2S by West would have promised in the range of 10 points, plus good spade support. A first call of 2S by West would make it a no brainer for East to go to game.

  Unfortunate waste of a very good hand. Ain’t bridge a great game?

 

Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shannahan - June 13, 2022 - Preemptive Bids

 

Question: Should E have opened this hand? Or was this a case of a “lucky” bid. E/W made the 5H contract.

Glenna:

  I would not open this hand 1 ♣️; if I opened it, I would bid 3 ♣️. It shows this hand perfectly. A ‘1 bid” promises 13 points, 2 quick tricks and a rebid and this hand doesn’t have 13 points or 2 Quicktricks!.  Open it 3 ♣️ and W will bid 3 ♥️ and you can raise to game.  Or, if you pass and W opens 1 ♥️, you can now count your ♠️ void and will get to a ♥️ game.  Do not make a bid or call that shows your partner the wrong information and you’ll win more often.

Glenna

Choose Your Bid - June 6, 2022

 

Responses        

                

Responses: 

1. 1♦ = 11 Responses
2. Double – 1 Response
3. 2♦ - 1 Response

Comments: 

1. S only has 12 HCP but has 3 D honors, deserves an overcall
2. South has 12HCP and 1 length point. By Doubling South is letting partner know they have at least 13 pts and 3+ cards in the unbid suits.
3. 5 card suit and 12 points 

Result from Wisconsin State Journal - May 27, 2022