Mr. Ward's Snipe Hunt

 Jean and I moved into our house in April 1986.  Up until 2021, Mr. Ward lived across from us.  Mr. Ward, his wife, Dolores, and two sons, Gary and Jeff, were a fixture in our neighborhood.  Mr. Ward had been a powerful union steward for the Steamfitters Union In Madison.  When we moved into our house he was retired.  He was always a great neighbor and he had a sense of humor.  He would show up at our annual July 4th cookouts in different, silly outfits.  He enjoyed a good laugh.  He let me observe a great ruse which I had read about but never actually seen anyone accomplish, a snipe hunt.

 

It was a nice autumn day when our neighborhood boys were in middle school many years ago.   They are now married and most of them have kids of their own.  I saw Mr. Ward standing out in the driveway in front of his house.  I decided to walk over and see what was going on.

 

“How you doing, Mr. Ward?  It is a nice day.”

 

“Yes, it is a nice day.  I got the neighborhood boys in the backyard helping me out.”

 

“What are they doing?”

 

“They are hunting snipe.  I have a terrible snipe problem.  Those blasted snipe are eating all of my flowers.  I am worried my flowers won’t come up in spring.  I asked the boys to help me.  They said they would. I gave them each a grocery bag and I told them that I would pay them $1 for each snipe they caught in the bag.  I would then relocate the captured snipe to some type of animal reserve.  But I need to get them out of there.  They are ruining my flowers.”

 

I thought, “This is odd.  Mr. Ward has only limited use for flowers.  His wife, Dolores, is the one who likes flowers.”  My curiosity was piqued and so I decided to find out more.

 

I responded. “Oh yes, the famous Wisconsin snipe.  They are small flightless birds.  But they are extremely fast.  It is very hard to catch one.  I read stories of people trying to catch them but they ultimately failed.  I hope the neighborhood boys have more success.”

 

Mr. Ward looked at me and winked.  He knew I had knowledge of his ruse.  He did not mind having a co-conspirator. 

 

I asked, “How long do you think it will take the boys to remove the snipe?”

 

Mr. Ward responded, “It is hard to say. I think it could take most of the afternoon.  It is a nice day. I need to get back to the boys to see if they have caught any of those blasted snipe.”

 

He turned and again gave me another wink.  He then walked to his backyard.

 

Mr. Ward added a few pebbles to his pocket before his snipe hunt.  He also had help from his son Gary.  Every so often, when the boys weren’t looking either he or Gary would toss a pebble in one of the flower gardens in the backyard.  At the noise, one or both, would claim they heard a snipe.  After that claim the boys would stealthily stalk to the flower bed looking for the snipe.  Mr. Ward warned each of them before the start of the snipe hunt that snipe were very wary creatures. You had to be silent while approaching them. If you made any noise at all they would bolt and you lost your chance to catch them in your grocery bag. The snipe hunt went on for most of the afternoon.

 

 Word got around quickly in the neighborhood about Mr. Ward’s snipe hunt. The next day I saw one of my neighbors bringing their garbage cart up for Monday pickup.

 

I asked, “How are things going?”

 

They responded, “They are going well.  I heard some of the neighborhood boys were helping Mr. Ward hunt snipe.  The snipe were in his flower gardens eating the flowers.  The boys were there to catch them for him.”

 

”Did they catch any of them?”

 

“They heard them a lot but couldn’t catch one.  Snipe are really hard to catch.  The boys were really disappointed.  They really wanted to help Mr. Ward by catching his snipe in the worst way.”

 

My neighbor was very serious as we talked about the snipe hunt.  I had a hard time restraining myself from laughing while talking to the neighbor.  I went home and I laughed until my sides ached.

 

Mr. Ward did it.  Not only had he sold his snipe ruse to the boys but he had also sold it to older neighbors.  I admired Mr. Ward greatly for his “believable” snipe hunt.

 

Mr. Ward came out later to place his garbage cart on the curb for Monday pick-up.  I walked over and spoke to him.

 

“How did the snipe hunt go?”

 

“Well, you know it was a little disappointing.”

 

“How so?”

 

“The boys weren’t able to catch any of those blasted snipe.  We heard a lot of them moving around in the backyard but they were just too sneaky and fast for the boys.  After three hours, I told them it wasn’t worth the effort because the snipe go underground and you can’t find them in the late afternoon.  I gave them each a dollar, collected the grocery bags, and sent them on their way.”

 

I then related my conversation with the neighbor regarding how the boys did not catch any snipe and how neighbors were disappointed the boys could not help him out with his snipe problem.

 

Mr. Ward smiled. He knew he pulled off one of the greatest ruses of all time.  He appeared satisfied with the results.

 

He responded, “Those blasted snipe also multiply like mad.  I think maybe the boys may have more success next year catching them.  I got to keep them snipe out of my flower beds. They just ruin my flowers.”

 

With that response, he winked at me again, turned and walked back into his house.

Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - December 19, 2022 - Slam

 

Question:  What is the proper way to bid a slam when you know it is a slam?  North opened in NT and South had more than enough points for a slam.

Vic:

RULE: The stronger the hand, the slower the bidding, until you know & then you go.  

South is holding 21 HCPs. The standard for a small slam in NT is 33 HCPs. The standard for a grand slam in NT is 37 HCPs. As soon as North Opens 1NT (15-17), South knows they should be in slam. Lacking a bid of some sort that the partners have agreed is forcing over 1NT, South should consequently just bid slam. 

The unanswered question here for South is whether to bid 6NT (the appropriate bid if North is at the bottom of their point count range) or 7NT (if North is NOT at the bottom of their point count range). I am unaware of how South could go about finding the answer to that question. If I were South, I would probably just bid 6NT, rather than take a chance at going down in 7NT. 

I would interpret the 4NT bid that South made as a Quantitative try for slam, asking North to bid 6NT if they are at the top of their point count range, otherwise Pass. Holding the North hand, I would have Passed just as they did.

 

Distributional quirks in both clubs & diamonds allow declarer to count 16 tricks off the top.

Weekly Hand Analysis - Mark Olsky - December 19, 2022 - Negative Double

 

Question:  Does a negative double (responders double) consider both the opener's and the overcaller's bids?  If so, can you use a negative double when you do not have four cards in the other suits?

Mark:

The negative double was introduced just over 60 years ago and has been one of the most useful tools in competitive bidding. There is variability in the way people use it, but some principles are pretty universally agreed by most high level players. One such principle is that if you open in 1 of a minor, there is an overcall in a major (1, 2 or 3 level) double (negative) should show 4 cards in the other major. You imply tolerance for the 4th suit, but you don't necessarily show 4 of them. Some players will rarely or never have more than 4 of the other major. Many, including me, will make a negative double with 5 or even more, and a hand not strong enough for a free bid, which is at least strong enough to invite game. If you have a weakish hand but a long suit in which you want to compete, there's no alternative (other than pass) to making a negative double, then bidding the long suit. 

  The negative double made by the robot in this case is exactly standard and should be made by nearly every North player after the same 2 bids by South and West. East has a choice between passing and 1NT. Either could work out well or badly. In this case, the vulnerability makes it risky for East to buy the hand. If S listens to the bidding and trusts the robots' bidding, he leads the one suit partner is known to hold, hearts. This gives E-W the 2 heart tricks they could develop for themselves anyway and gives up nothing else. The result is likely to be +100 to NS for a pretty good result, or +200 for a great result. If S doesn't trust the robot bidding (the often shouldn't be trusted.) he could lead a club and may end with E-W making 90 or 120 for a bad result. That's life in bridge when the hands are evenly divided and everyone competes in the bidding.

  Incidentally, if South were to open 1 of a minor and there's an overcall in the other minor, now N may need to make a negative double even if holding an imperfect hand. At least one of the majors should have 4 cards and the other 3 cards.  If you bend the truth about suit length, you should only do it with solid strength,  namely 8 to 10 points. 

  1 more important point. When there's competition at the table and you are about to make a bid that is the "least of evils" and doesn't describe your hand perfectly, try to anticipate what others are likely to bid before the auction comes back to you and decide what you will bid when that happens. If you look to be in distress and hesitate a long time before the next bid, you are probably conveying improper ("Unauthorized")  information to partner and giving free help to the opponents.

Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shannahan - December 19, 2022 - Going to Game

 

Question:  With a good hand, is it ever acceptable to go directly to game?

Glenna:

An opening preempt is never a good hand—it’s always a long suit with less than 13 points! A 2-level bid shows a 6-card suit, 3-level shows a 7-card, 4-level shows an 8-card suit. We usually do NOT open 5-♣️ or 5 ♦️; we open them 4 of the minor just in cast partner has a beautiful long major. The point of a preempt is to keep the opponents from finding their fit when you suspect they have enough points to bid game.

Never surprise partner on purpose—we all do that often enough without even trying,

Thanks,

Glenna

 

Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shannahan - December 12, 2022 - Going Down 4

 

Question: 

N opens 1C and S responds with 1S, W overcalls 2D and N bids 2H which becomes the contract which goes down 4. Any suggestions ?

Glenna:

This is a super hard hand for newer players. E is correct to pass. The player with the problem is S! Have pity, but know you can NEVER leave partner in a 4-card suit when you have only 1, 2 or 3!! The 5-2 fit is much “safer” (means usually doesn’t go down as much!)

  I would probably  2 ♠️ either could work or either could be disaster. You take your best shot and hope to be right for a change!!! BUT NEVER pass a 4-card suit with 1!! 2 ♣️ is only 90 and 2 ♠️ is 110 so that’s what I would try, 

It’s better to make a bid that might work over passing because you are afraid, Passing out of fear is a terrible thing. At least try to bid something that works.

Glenna

 

Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - December 12, 2022 - Going Down 3

 

Question: S is holding a 7 card D suit with 11 HCP and opens 1D, N has 5 HCP and responds 1S, E issues a T/O double and S jumps to 3D which becomes the contract. As played, the hand went down 3. What would have been a better progression of bids?

Vic:

It is arguable that South hand is worth 11 HCPs. But with a 7-card suit, I support their opening bid of 1D. Holding only 5 HCPs, it is also arguable that North should bid, but given their 5-card suit plus their distribution, I also support their bid of 1S. In bridge aggressive is good. 

I also support the T/O DBL by East.  

Where the auction goes drastically astray is with the jump to 3D by South which promises 17+ HCPs. Definitely, NS are in over their heads & deserve to go down. 

A second call of 2D by South would have been fine, over which West should bid 2H. Looks to me like EW deserve to make 4H. 

Over 3D by South, I would encourage East to DBL again. I would then encourage West to leave that DBL in for penalty & a really BIG number for EW. In bridge reckless is NOT good. 

Ain't bridge a great game?

Weekly Hand Analysis - Mark Olsky - December 12, 2022 - Slam Bidding

 

Question: 

E has 17 HCP and opens 1C, W responds 1D. E then bid 1H and bidding proceeds to a game bid of 4S by W. Should E have responded 1 (or 2) NT to indicate stoppers in all suits except D instead of 1H ? This had made 6 NT.

Mark:

Except for 1 quibble, I really like this auction. E-W did very well to go slowly on the 1 level, to find the golden spade fit, not only 8 cards in all, but the optimum 4-4, which often makes an extra trick compared with 5-3 or 6-2. (On 5-3 and 6-2 hands, the shortness in side suits tends to be with the long trumps, which means that ruffing produces no extra tricks and establishment of long side suits by ruffing is not as consistently possible.)

  My quibble is with East's bid of only 2 spades after partner bid 1S. 2S is not only not forcing, it isn't even invitational. The same hand if you substitute the 2 of clubs for the Ace, would be just right for 2 spades. The choice of bids at that point is between an ultra- conservative 3 spades (highly invitational but not forcing to game) and a mildly aggressive 4 spades (showing a re- evaluated 19+ to 22 points in support of spades) 

This hand qualifies on points, but might be downgraded slightly because the shortness is in partner's other suit. The 4S bid would get you to a very good, not great, slam that will usually be made on the actual lie of the cards, regardless of the opening lead or expertise of the declarer. West adds the 13 points to East's (adjusted) 20 and gets to 33, just right for a small slam. You check for aces (to make sure you are not missing two of them) then bid 6. In a typical duplicate game 70% of pairs will be in 4 or 6 spades because of good bidding on the 1 level. Pairs in 4 spades will get more or less an average board, beating everyone in No-trump and losing to the 6S bidders. 

People who get to NT should get a low board. N-S are likely to sense that E-W are close to slam values and will defend passively. If there's an opening Diamond lead from the South against NT, 11 tricks will be the maximum, even with inspired guessing by declarer. If NT is bid from the W, N will have been warned by the bidding not to lead a diamond and now declarer is most unlikely to end with 12 tricks. The pair that made 6 at NT probably did so only due to a defensive error.