Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shannahan - October 17, 2022 - When to go to NT

 

Question: What do you do when your partner insists on a suit and you only have one of that suit with a good hand? 

Glenna:

 We have all experienced bidding sequences just like this one. The simplest thing I can recommend is to recognize a non-fitting hand and pass as soon as possible! 

    Think like this:  You opened the bidding with 14 points and a 6-card ♦️ suit. Partner bid 1 ♥️ showing 4 or more ♥️ and at least 6 points. You are forced to bid again and rebid your 6-card suit. Now you have shown partner your hand—opening with 13-to-15 point and a 6-card suit—you have told partner everything you need to say. 

  Partner now bids 2 ♥️ showing 5-9 points and a 6-card suit (some players cheat and rebid a 5-card suit. They have told you exactly what they have. Even IF they had 9 or 10 points, it’s not enough for game so pass. Be thankful you have at least 1 honor card to help. You cannot bid again unless partner jumps or bids a new suit and then you MIGHT have enough for game.

Hope this helps as it’s a more common problem than you might think!

Glenna