Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - November 27, 2023 - Jump Shift

 

Question: 

After partner has supported the opening heart bid, opener is faced with bidding a jump shift to indicate point or bidding game. What would you do?

Vic:

Answer:  I would bid game, just as East did.

 Jumping to game in hearts shows a top of the line point count, just like a jump shift would show. But a jump shift would also show a two-suited hand & East does not have a two-suited hand. A jump shift would consequently be an inappropriate bid in this scenario. 

 When West raises to 2H they have shown heart support & capped their point count at less than a Limit Raise. That makes East the captain of the auction. East knows they belong in game & it is consequently now their duty to bid game. 

 Remember:  "The stronger than hand the slower the bidding, until you know & then you go". 

 Over the jump to 4H by East, I would expect a less experienced West to Pass. 

 A more experienced West, knowing they have 4-card heart support (not just 3-card) & also a singleton diamond Ace, might choose to continue the auction with a control bid of 5D. This would promise first round control of diamonds in some partnership agreements. In other partnership agreements it might promise first or second round control of diamonds. It would also invite opener to consider the possibility of slam.

 I am unsure if East would opt to raise to slam or not. But it turns out EW do deserve to make 6H.

Ain't bridge a great game?

Weekly Hand Analysis - Rich Nordeng - November 20, 2023 - Pass?

 Question: 

I think this hand falls under the category of sometime you should just pass. E responds to partner’s jump-shift by going to game in D. Goes down 2.

Rich:

Weekly Hand Analysis - November 20, 2023 - Glenna Shannahan - Rebid

 

Question: 

S opens 1C and then supports partner’s 1-H response. Should N have re-bid H?

Glenna:

  Not sure why N would not bid 4 ♥️ instead of jumping to 3 ♣️!!!! N had 10 high card points and 3 points for a stiff ♠️ so 4 ♥️ is a clearcut bid in my opinion. Basically when you have an opening hand and partner has opened the bidding, you MUST get the partnership to game.

Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - November 20, 2023 - Lead

 

Question:  What is the best lead?

Vic:  

Defending against a suit contract, inexperienced players seem to have an overwhelming compulsion to lead from doubletons. Because, I suspect, they are imagining voiding themself in that suit & subsequently scoring a ruff. This is badly flawed logic at best. 

 For West to score a diamond ruff, diamonds would have to be led three times. And by the 3rd diamond lead West would need to still have a trump left to ruff with. Facing a competent Declarer, that is highly unlikely to happen, unless Declarer wanted it to happen.

 Unless they are leading a suit partner bid during the auction, leading from a doubleton vs a suit contract tends to be a very poor choice. In this particular case the card led was an unsupported honor, making the choice to lead it even worse.

 Generally speaking, leading from length is much better than leading from shortness. Holding the West hand, I would have been inclined to lead the spade Five (Bottom of Something). Some would lead the spade Six (4th Highest).

 Subsequent to a low spade lead by West, good EW defenders will take the first 5 tricks. South deserves only 6 tricks total for down two.

 Ain't bridge a great game?

Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - November 13, 2023 - Slam

 

Question: N/S have 30 HCP, bidding gets them to game in C, who should have pushed the bid to slam and what should they have bid?

Vic:

I have NS with 31 HCPs. But, the way the hand was bid neither partner has any reason to believe they are that strong. 

 I suppose that over 5C, North could make what I call a "Ho Chunk" bid & roll the dice they can make slam in clubs. But North has two losers off the top in spades, plus two more losers in hearts with no particular reason to believe partner can cover those losers. So in my opinion, a raise to slam by North would definitely be pretty reckless.

 In point of fact, the hand was bid incorrectly from the git go. North is too strong to open 1NT (18 HCPs + 1 Length Point = a 19 point hand). North should open 1D, planning to make a jump bid in No Trump next. 

 South should be thinking No Trump, not Clubs. For bridge players, clubs are for the golf course & diamonds for their finger. My first bid over 1NT, holding the South hand, would be 3NT. That would not get them to slam either. But it would give them a much better score than playing in 5C.

 If North makes the correct opening bid of 1D, Responder (South) should bid 2C (forcing). North should subsequently jump to 4NT, promising a balanced hand & 18-19 HCPs. South would now have a reason to jump to slam in either Clubs or No Trump. 

 Turns out NS deserve to take all thirteen tricks in either Clubs or No Trump. But depending on the opening lead, they might have to play the diamonds incorrectly to take the 13th trick. Small slam in either Clubs or No Trump should not be a problem.

Weekly Hand Analysis - Mark Olsky - November 13, 2023 - Take out Double?

 

Question:  What is South's bid and why should they make that bid?

Mark:

Let's do this a little differently this time. You begin to consider your possible bids and I'll give you a minute or two to do that. 

If you paused for 30 seconds and have a ready answer, you may not have spent enough time. Let's consider the 1st question of cooperative bidding. Are you the describer or decider? Hopefully you agree that if West and North made normal calls for the hands they hold, both are very descriptive. West holds 7 spades, probably headed by the A, likely AJ10.... Partner has short spades, most likely a singleton, at least 12 high card points, almost certainly 4 or 5hearts. That's the basic, typical hand for North, but there is one other major possibility. North could have a hand with a long suit, possibly a secondary suit and a hand too strong for just an overcall. That's unlikely, given the very big hand you have. 

  You have to decide. It's your job. You'd love to give partner a chance to show a stronger than minimum hand that could land a slam, but West has taken up so much bidding room that you may miss a very good slam. That's the opponents' job and you should focus on the most likely thing, which is you almost surely have game and you need to bid it. The obvious bid is 3NT. You have spades double stopped unless E-W have the perfect defensive holding, which is W leads the spade jack and E has at least 2 spades and a quick entry in clubs and you can't take 9 tricks after winning a spade. Even then, you simply duck the opening spade and E probably doesn't have a third one to lead after getting the club. 

  If North makes any move but pass after you bid 3NT, it shows more than a minimum hand and it's your job, as the decider, to get your side to slam. 

  Nothing has been said about vulnerability. If E-W are vulnerable and you are not, at duplicate you probably need only 500 for a top or near top. You could consider converting the takeout double to penalty. Leave that kind of move to the experts when you have 3 trumps. Think about it more if you have 4 with a high honor. On the other hand, if you are vulnerable and they are not and you are playing with a sound partner who is watching the vulnerability and is willing to put you on the 4 level, potentially to be slaughtered if you have nothing, you should be going to slam, in NT, not a suit because of the risk of a spade ruff by East.

  Whatever you do, DO NOT bid 4 diamonds with your hand after the double. You are the decider and you are telling partner that you have a very bad hand with diamonds as your best suit outside of spades. More likely that not, you will be declarer in a part- score contract when game is cold and slam is possible. You should not expect partner to read your mind.

Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shannahan - November 13, 2023 -Overcall

 

Question:   What is South's bid and why should they bid it?

Glenna::

 I bid 3 ♦️ because I have 4-card support, 2 A’s and a small doubleton ♥️! It’s a good bid as partner has an excellent chance of making 3!