Convention Card Videos - September to October 2021 - Vic Johnson - September 27, October 4, October 11, October 25

Example convention card - Click Here

September 27, 2021 - Introduction to Convention Card

YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/C-Pc1fgnu88

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October 4, 2021 - General Information

YouTube Link:https://youtu.be/Syu5FG-WHOw

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October 11,  2021 - Major and Minors

YouTube Link:https://youtu.be/b9-jUE1bMNM

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October 25, 2021  - Remainder of Convention Card

YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/akw2QdJD-LM

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Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shannahan - October 11, 2021 - A 4 bid

Question:  Here’s a hand  that certainly has slam potential. Should declarer have opened 1H and then increased bid when responder supports the Hearts?

Glenna:

 Another great hand. We need to start by explaining an opening 4-bid. A 4-bid opening shows at MOST a very bad opening hand—11 or 12 points and it is called a preemptive bid. Preemptive in that you think the opponents are cold for a game somewhere so you open 4 to prevent that. It also shows an 8-card suit whether it’s a minor or a Major.

  The current hand is beautiful. It should be opened 1 ♥️ and game will be found and some will find slam. Responder has the obligation to get the partnership to game and he has a couple of choices. If he knows Splinter Bids, he should bid 4 ♣️ and that may prompt opener to look for slam. The splinter shows an opening hand with 4-card support and a singleton in the suit he bid at the 4-level.  Opener can bid 4 ♥️ or his cheapest Ace with a good hand. 

  If the partnership does not play splinter bids, responder should make sure to get them to game. Start with making a forcing bid and then if necessary, bid 4.

  By the way, with a 9-card minor you should still open only 4—opponents have trouble doubling at the 4-level, but the 5-level is pretty easy!

See You At The Tables,

Glenna

Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - October 11, 2021 - 3 Clubs or 3 NT?

Question: I know your mantra is to avoid the minors and play No Trump but this was a hand that went south pretty early with the robots gorging themselves on diamonds.  We went down 3.  I think we should have been better playing in clubs.

Vic:

Bad Bid by North. 

Second bid by South of 2C promises at least 6 clubs & a standard opening point count. It also denies 4 hearts. This description is accurate on all counts. South has now finished describing their hand which makes North the Captain of the auction. South should not bid again unless North encourages them to do so. 

Holding only 10 HCPs, a reasonable decision by North would be that there are not enough points for game. With no sure stopper in either hearts or spades, it would also be reasonable for North to accept the distasteful conclusion that this hand would best be played in a minor suit (club) contract at the lowest available level. Having reached the above conclusion, North should Pass 2C.

Should East decide at this point to overcall & turn it into a competitive auction (a good defensive bidding strategy), I would encourage North to feel free to subsequently compete in Clubs to the four level if need be. 

Bad Bid by South 

The raise by North to 3C is encouraging to game, overselling the strength of their hand. The Captain Hat has now been passed to South. Given the encouragement by North, if South had stoppers in both spades & diamonds, their 3NT bid would certainly be appropriate. South does NOT, however have a diamond stopper, nor are they strong enough to imagine game in clubs which requires 11 tricks. I would encourage South to also knuckle under to the harsh reality of playing in a minor suit & set the contract by Passing 3C. 

Note (BUT)

 The second bid by South of 2C strongly suggests to North the very real possibility of six tricks in clubs. That should make the thought of a NT contract very appealing. South did open the auction & they do not have the club King or the diamond Ace. Surely they must have some points in hearts and/or spades. 

 Holding the North hand, I would be very tempted to bid 2NT on my second call (rather than Pass 2C), even with only 10 HCPs. A 2NT bid by North is not encouraging & South should Pass. East would now have the opening lead & would probably lead the spade four (longest suit - 4th highest). That would allow declarer to set up the Club suit, making 2NT.

Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shannahan - October 4, 2021- Bidding Progression to Go to Slam

 

Question: Bidding progression to get to slam. Should responder just jump to 6 NT when point count indicates slam potential?

Glenna:

The answer to this hand is rather complicated and I wish we had an opportunity for me to host a 2-hour class on how we handle 5-4 hands when partner opens 1 or 2 NT.  If responder’s hand is extremely weak, he would transfer to the 5-card suit and pass.

  When he has an invitational or game going hand, he must use Stayman. This gives him a picture of his partner’s hand and he immediately knows if they can play 4 ♠️ , 4 ♥️,  Major suit slam  or some number of NT.

  On this particular hand, North would bid ♠️  and South could bid 5 ♠️ saying I don’t have an A to show, but I have enough points that we are in Slam range.  If South should transfer by bidding 3 ♥️ and North should jump to 4 ♠️.  When partner asks if you have 3 ♠️ and you have 4 and a maximum, you MUST jump to game, Now South knows N has 4 ♠️ and 21 points and South can bid 5 ♠️.  

  This hand only makes slam because of the ♦️ suit and very few people would find the slam. The main point of this hand is to learn when to transfer and when to use Stayman. Hope this explanation raises questions and maybe a thought of playing this way. It will get you better results.

See You At The Tables,

Glenna

 

Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - October 4, 2021 - Opener's Second Bid

 

Question:

You know you want to be in hearts but the second suit is clubs.  The procedure is to bid your first suit because it has five and the second because it has 4.  Do you bid the clubs or again bid the hearts even though you do not have six hearts?

Vic:

You are getting ahead of yourself here. You should NOT YET be thinking about where you want to play the hand. That is Step Two. 

At this point you should be thinking ONLY about describing your hand to your partner. That is Step One. Until Step One is accomplished, you need to keep a completely open mind with regard to Step Two. 

Your hand is not balanced. It is a two-suited hand with a standard opening point count. That is what you need to focus on telling partner. You should bid hearts first because it is the longer of the two suits. 

West overcalls 2S & partner Passes. If partner had 3 hearts & at least 10 pts, they should have raised your hearts. If partner had at least 10 pts & a suit of their own, they should probably have  bid that. If partner had at least 10 pts & a spade stopper they should probably have bid 2NT. Partner’s Pass tells you they do NOT have what it takes to make any of those bids. 

You have minimal values to bid at the three level. On the other hand, West was showing a weak hand, so their must be points somewhere. A good guess would be that East has them. It is aggressive to be sure, but aggressive is good in bridge & you are not vulnerable. So I support your decision to bid clubs at the lowest available level. By doing that you have now finished describing your hand. There is nothing more to tell. 

That makes partner Captain of the auction.  It is now up to partner to think about Step Two & decide where you want to play the hand. You need to stop bidding unless partner forces you to continue. 

Partner tells you they think you will be better off playing in 3H than 3C. Partner is NOT encouraging you to bid again, they are performing their duty as Captain & setting the contract. Unless partner has misbid their hand, I expect them to be weak with not more than 2 hearts. Be that the case, you will be fortunate to take nine tricks. 

I wonder who has the five unaccounted for spades.

 

Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - September 27, 2021 - Underestimating Hands

 Comment:  I think declarer and responder underestimated their hands.

Vic:

Yes, jumping to 2S on their second call is exactly what Declarer should do. A jump to 2S shows a spade suit that is shorter than their club suit (probably 5-4). If it was longer or the same length as their club suit, they should have bid spades first. It also promises in excess of 17 HCPs.

Given that Declarer did not jump to show the stronger hand, I think Responder did well to bid 4S. With their pretty worthless doubleton in clubs & their lack of any high honors in spades, Responder has no particular reason to encourage exploration for slam. Nor does Declarer have any way to go forward over 4S that will tell them what they need to know to get them to slam.

If Declarer did jump to 2S, there is a decent chance that an experienced pair would find their way to slam. I think it is unlikely that an inexperienced pair would find their way to slam even then.

By the way, South missed a great chance to overcall 2H (weak) on their first chance to bid. If you were South & ended up playing defense with partner on lead, would you like them to lead hearts? Of course you would, So tell them that by bidding 2H. The 2H call also uses up bidding space which will mess with the opponents auction.

Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shannahan - September 27, 2021 - 5-4 and 4-4 Hands

 

Comment:  I think this hand shows under-valuation by both declarer and responder. HCP total 28 but it easily makes 6 S. Should declarer bid a jump-shift to 2S instead of 1S over the 1D bid by responder?

  I am going to give you the bidding as it should have gone and then explain why.

 

             

                

  The main method we have for showing our shape is by bidding our suits in a very standard order. When we have 4-card suits, we bid UP the line.

When we have 5-card suits, we bid down the line

  When we have 5-card suits, we open the higher suit, overcall the higher suit, etc. You hold: ♠️ T9742  ♥️ AKDT9. ♦️ 64  ♣️ 8. You are dealer and must open 1 ♠️ and partner bids whatever, you bid 2 ♥️. He bids 2NT and you must bid 3 ♥️ showing  a 5-5 hand. IF you had a 5-4 hand, you would bid 3NT!!! Please reread this until it makes sense.

   If you are 4-4, partner opens 1 ♣️  and you bid 1 ♥️ and then partner bids 1 ♠️ and you will bid 2 ♠️! You went UP the ladder so you have a  4-4 hand. If partner opens 1 ♣️ and you bid 1 ♠️ and he bids 1 NT, you bid 2 ♥️ showing 5 ♠️ and 4 ♥️.

  Two super important points: 4 ♠️ is NOT a shut out—ii shows 19-21 points. (Only  3 NT is a shut off bid). Partner has what we call “3 dead ♥️" so he cannot bid slam.

  2nd important point: East was showing a ♦️ control and interested in slam. Slams are difficult to bid so don’t be too disappointed in yourself that you didn’t bid the slam.

 If you are still confused by 5-4 and 5-5 hands, let me know and I can make up more hands until it becomes clear!

Have fun at the tables,

Glenna