Weekly Hand Analysis - Mark Olsky - March 13, 2023 - Long suit bidding

 

Question: 

This hand went off the bidding rails. E opens 1D holding 14 hcp and 8D, responder bids 1H and opener jumps to 3D. After that things go a bit haywire with the bid winding up at 3NT going down 3. How should you bid a long suit when it is not a pre-emptive bid?

 Mark:

This is a pretty unlucky hand. Sometimes you don't do much wrong and get a bad result anyway. 

First of all, kudos for not opening that hand 3, 4 or 5 diamonds. This hand has too much outside the diamonds to do that and miss a better contract. 1 D is exactly the right opening bid with this hand. If W has so much as 1 diamond, giving the partnership a total of 9, 3NT would probably have a play. You should always worry about a possible misfit when your partner responds in the suit where you have a singleton or void, but overall your results will be better if you aren't a fearful bidder. Some experts would bid the hand just as shown here. Some would bid 3 diamonds over 1 H, but then 4D over 3H, ending the auction and likely going down, but less than other East players with this hand. Some would bid only 2 diamonds over the 1H response, which is quite restrained. This time you are rewarded with a probable positive +90. On other hands a 2D bid will result in +150, but because 5D or 3NT can be made, 150 will prove to be a poor result, as other bidders will be rewarded for their aggressiveness.

  The bottom line is this: 8 card suits are rare and it's difficult for everyone, experts and journeymen alike, to make the right choices. When your holding, combined with partner's, makes it your hand to reach a good game or slam, pre-empting early can derail your own path to the best contract. If it's your opponents' hand for a good game or slam, pre-empting to the maximum affordable level will make it harder for them to get a good result and therefore maximize your chance for a good result. What do you do as dealer with an 8 card suit? If you have 5 to 10 HCP, most or all in your suit, pre-empt. If you have 14 or more points, more than half of them outside your suit as in this case, open 1 and go slow. You won't always be right, but you'll be going with the odds. 

Incidentally, I'm a little surprised at the result of down 3 in 3NT. I don't think you can make it, but most lines lead to down 1 or 2. Many players who see a hopeless contract get discouraged and then distracted. I've had many top or near top boards after getting to an unlucky game or slam, going down but not as badly as my counterparts at other tables. They had exactly the same bad luck as me, but gave up on playing carefully after realizing they were going down. 

  1 final tip on finding yourself in a hopeless contract. Don't help your opponents find the right defense by making comments during the play that alert them to the troubles you are facing.