Do Something Intelligent

Here’s your hand sitting east, EW vulnerable and you are dealer:

♠ KQ10

♥ J8632

♦ AK10

♣ J6

A pretty normal 14 HCP 1H opener. Here’s the bidding:

West          North         East           South

                                  1H              Dbl

Rdbl *          2D           P                 P

Dbl               P            ?

*10+ HCP, implies no fit

What’s that? My partner, who is a teaching pro when playing with others, and I had only played a few times and hadn’t established enough rapport to know what ambiguous bids mean. Is it penalty or takeout or DSI (Do Something Intelligent)? I’ve got a run of the mill 14 HCP opener, a seven-loser hand. We’re vulnerable. Can we make 3NT? If we can make game we would have to set them four to get a good board (800 v. 600), which means we would have to take nine of the 13 tricks (in which event we could make 3NT). Was it worth the risk? If we only set it three we only get 500 for a certain bottom board.

North was in one of the most unenviable positions in bridge in this auction. Almost by definition in an auction that goes as this one did; 1 of a suit, dbl, rdbl, the fourth hand can’t have much. Two players, opener and doubler, are pretty much promising opening hands, at least 12 HCP each and redouble is promising at least 10 HCP. That’s a minimum of 34 HCP, leaving fourth hand with a maximum of six, and probably less.

However when you find yourself in that position in fourth seat, you must bid if you have an unbid four card suit. Why? Because if you don’t bid and it is passed around to doubler, doubler has to guess what is in your hand. Where is your longest suit? You have to tell her immediately by bidding your unbid longest suit if it’s got at least four cards in it. If you pass, you are telling partner you don’t have an unbid four card suit but can support any unbid suit she bids, so she may freely bid her longest suit, confident that you have at least three of them.

Here are the four hands:

North

                        ♠ 54

                        ♥ Q954

                        ♦ 6542

                        ♣ Q74

West                                        East

♠ J982                                     ♠ KQ10

♥ A10                                      ♥ J8632

♦ QJ9                                       ♦ AK10

♣ A1032                                 ♣ J6

                        South

                        ♠ A763

                        ♥ K7

                        ♦ 873

                        ♣ K985

Sitting north was a teaching pro playing with a student. The student’s takeout double was dubious at best and this hand exemplifies why. When my partner redoubled, North was required to bid his longest unbid suit, but South should know he doesn’t have much, if anything. So he bid diamonds.

Have you decided yet what you would do? I had a tough call because I didn’t know exactly how strong partner was. We might be able to make 3N. If so, we would have to set them four doubled to get a good board. I decided to defend so passed my partner’s double, knowing that it was a top or bottom decision. South, who got her partner into this mess can’t do anything but pass with her three little diamonds. It was their longest suit at 4-3 because the other two suits were 4-2.

I figured that we had the bulk of the points and the only way they could make tricks was by ruffing, so I led the AK10 of diamonds and we took the first three tricks. It was downhill from there on for North. We took nine tricks (three diamonds, two spades [declarer got the ace and a ruff with his fourth diamond], two hearts and two clubs) for down 4, doubled, 800 for us and a top board.

The hand was played 12 times, nine EW were in 3NT, making three and four; two made four spades, although only one bid it.

If there’s a lesson here, it’s to be careful with your takeout doubles. With only two quick tricks and only 10 HCP, that’s not a hand with which to make a takeout double in second seat because it puts partner on the horns of a dilemma if LHO redoubles, which happens a lot. And if you are playing against experienced players, they double low level contracts more than the average player.

After the hand was over I asked my partner what his double was. He looked at our 800 point score and said, “penalty.”

How to Find Slam With a Distributional Hand

Here’s your hand sitting South, North dealer, nobody vulnerable.

♠ KQ6432

♥ 

♦ 6

♣ KQ9732

West          North         East         South

                  1C           P              1S

2H              Dbl*        P              ?

*Support Double

You’ve got a huge hand now that you know you have a double fit (you know that North has at least three clubs). You know that you and partner have two suits in which you have at least nine cards. You have to make a forcing bid, but what?

Any bid of one of your two suits would be non-forcing. If you jump to game, the bidding will probably be over if partner has a simple 12-14 HCP opener. You want to look for slam. If she’s got both black aces, six spades should be cold. Lacking one of them, though, it would be down unless she’s got the diamond ace or the heart ace and gets a heart lead.

Your best bid here could be 3H, but that could be ambiguous because partner could interpret it as Western Cue, asking for a heart stopper to play in no trump instead of showing first round control and telling partner you are interested in slam. If it were Western Cue, North would bid 3N showing a heart stopper. So this depends on partnership understanding. If it’s Western Cue, North’s response of 3S would simply deny a heart stopper. Because most pairs play Western Cue, 3H is not a good bid.

Here are the four hands:

North

                        ♠ A85

                        ♥ K1032

                        ♦ J95

                        ♣ AJ4

West                                        East

♠ 97                                         ♠ J10

♥ AQJ854                                ♥ 976

♦ A873                                     ♦ KQ1042

♣ 5                                           ♣ 1086

                        South

                        ♠ KQ6432

                        ♥ Void

                        ♦ 6

                        ♣ KQ9732

Here’s how the bidding could go with an advanced pair:

West          North         East         South

                  1C                P              1S

2H              Dbl*             P              4H**

P                 4S***          P               5C****

P                 6C*****     P                6S

All Pass

*Support Double showing three spades

**Big hand implying but not promising first round control of hearts, confirming spades as trump, looking for slam

***Cue bid showing the spade Ace but this could be an ambiguous bid and partner could just be signing off in spades.

****Regardless of North’s ambiguous bid, I’ve got a great club suit and fit for you and worst case it’s a three loser hand! Even if you were signing off in 4S I still think we might have slam because you opened and you should have at least two tricks for me. If not, bid 5S and I’ll pass.

*****I’ve got the Club Ace but you pick the slam, clubs or spades

This bidding shows how an experienced pair can reach a difficult-to-find slam with cooperative bidding.

This hand was played 12 times. One pair got to 6C, two pairs got to 6S. Confirming the difficulty in bidding this hand, 4S making seven was an average board. Two pairs were in 6N, a ridiculous contract, but one made it, and it was played by south!

West, on lead, has two aces. How could this possibly have made 6N when West can take the first two tricks? Even if north plays 6N, the standard lead would be the diamond queen or partner’s suit. If the diamond, West would overtake with his ace, take the heart ace, and return a diamond so EW should take the first six tricks for down five. But even if East leads his partner’s bid suit, hearts, west should take his two aces for down at least one.

That’s what makes bridge such a challenging game. It’s not so much who is playing the hand as who is defending!

Two Minor suited hand response to minor suit open over a preemptive 3H bid

Here’s your hand sitting south:

♠ Void

♥ J

♦ AKQJ94

♣ J109754

Your partner, North, opens 1C. Here’s the bidding to you:

West          North         East           South

                  1C            3H            ?

You’ve got a terrific diamond suit and for all you know your partner might only have three little clubs and the AKQ are held by opponents, so you could lose two clubs and a heart, so a jump to 5C is not the best bid for two reasons; you might not make 5C and you might miss a slam. But a simple raise to four clubs doesn’t do justice to this hand. And to bid your diamond suit, which would be forcing, puts your partner in a bind if she opened with, let’s say distribution of 4-3-2-4. So what’s your call?

You have a perfect call, 4H! This is a cooperating call because you are a partnership and you should make decisions together, not unilaterally. This bid tells partner that you have a good hand with support for her suit. And if she goes to 5C, you have an easy call to six, thinking that you certainly won’t lose anything but a heart. You just have to hope that she’s got the AK of clubs. Sometimes you have to rely on instinct and take a chance.

Here's the four-hand layout:

North

                        ♠ AJ84

                        ♥ A6

                        ♦ 76

                        ♣ AK862

West                                        East

♠ KQ752                                 ♠ 10963

♥ Q98                                      ♥ K1075432

♦ 1083                                     ♦ 52

♣ Q3                                       ♣ Void

                        South

                        ♠ Void

                        ♥ J

                        ♦ AKQJ94

                        ♣ J109754

This hand was played 13 times in a club game. Five played it in 5C. Four played it in 3N. Two played it in 5D. Two pairs found the club slam and played it in 6. All pairs made seven except one who somehow lost a trick and only made 6N.

A hand with a weak response playing inverted minors

Here’s your hand sitting East as dealer:

♠ K5

♥ A8

♦ A9

♣ AQ109652

Bidding:

West          North       East         South

                                1C             P

3C*            3S           ?

*weak, at least five clubs

EW was playing inverted minors, so the jump to three clubs showed a weak, preemptive hand with at least five clubs. So what’s your call?

You have seven clubs. You know partner has five clubs but not many points. Forget slam and forget about playing it in five clubs. You have 3N cold.

If you bid 3N, and get the contract, you can make three (nine tricks) regardless of the lead. Since you know that partner has five clubs there is only one club outstanding in opponents’ hands. If it’s the king it will drop. So with a diamond or a heart lead you will make three (seven clubs, the ace of hearts and the ace of diamonds. If you get a spade lead, you will make at least four because the lead into you makes your king of spades a winner.

Here are the four hands:

North

                        ♠ AQ1082

                        ♥ Q10632

                        ♦ J73

                        ♣ VOID

West                                        East

♠ J94                                       ♠ K6

♥ 95                                         ♥ A8

♦ 1054                                     ♦ A9

♣ KJ743                                  ♣ AQ109652

                        South

                        ♠ 763

                        ♥ KJ74

                        ♦ KQ862

                        ♣ 8

In the actual hand as played by East, she jumped to five clubs over 3S, going down one, not even attempting 3NT. If north bid 4C instead of 3S, East would be in a quandary because if she didn’t get a spade lead she would not make 4NT. She could take 9 tricks off the top but once the two red aces are gone she’s got no stopper in the red suits. And she’s going to get a heart lead (despite South’s good, five card diamond suit; from the bidding South knows partner has five hearts, so her best lead is from her four card heart suit) so after East takes her nine tricks, they are going to run their hearts and the spade ace for down one. Even if South leads the diamond six, the result will be the same, only the winners they take will be in diamonds, not hearts.

The only question on the hand depends on North. An aggressive north might bid 4C (Michaels Cue Bid promising 5-5 in the majors). This would be aggressive because it’s a game-forcing bid when he doesn’t have an opening hand as it doesn’t even satisfy the Rule of 20 (10 cards in two suits and 10 HCP). So to make a game forcing bid like this would be super aggressive. When this north merely overcalled 3S (a good overcall giving partner a lead), South didn’t think a nine point hand was worth taking action by bidding game, 4S. But if North bids 4C, South can comfortably bid 4H if East passes, and 4H makes.

It was an interesting hand with game for both pairs if they can find it. This hand was played 9 times, only three got it right. However, if EW is not playing inverted minors, West’s initial response would be 2C (a weak raise) and North could then overcall 3C showing the majors at a lower level so it would not force to game, and NS would find their good heart fit. Two pairs played in 3NT, making three; one pair played in 4NT, making four; two pairs played in 5C, down one; only one NS found a heart bid, playing in 3H making four; one pair played in 5S down one and one pair played in 6C, down two.

What should East do if North bids 4C? She has only three possible tricks on defense, the aces of hearts and diamonds and possibly the spade king. One of the opponents is void in clubs (she’s got seven and her partner is promising five) so her club ace is dead. As a result, she doesn’t want them to find a major suit fit, so it would be appropriate to sacrifice in 5C. If they go to five spades or hearts she would set it, since North, with the strong hand, has the spade ace and East is sitting behind with the king. 

Bidding in Response to Partner's Overcall

Here’s your hand sitting East:

♠ A98

♥ Void

♦ Q8653

♣ KJ982

Here’s the bidding, South dealer

West          North         East         South

                                                1S

2H              2S             ?

First, what do you know? South opened the bidding so probably has 12-14 HCP. Your partner, West, overcalled 2H at the two level. She probably has an opening hand or a terrific Heart suit. North raised opening bidder to the two level, so he has a minimum, probably at least three spades and six HCP. You have 10 HCP and a void in partner’s suit. For partner’s overcall she should have at least 10 HCP (with a big heart suit), or an opening hand of at least 12 HCP. That adds up to 18 HCP for opponents and 22 HCP for you, at a minimum.

The result of this analysis is that you should not pass. This should be your hand, but obviously not in hearts. You have two unbid five card minors. You have two possible calls, one of which is 2NT. But with only one stopper in opponents’ suit and a void in partner’s suit, that’s not a pleasing prospect. The bid here is to double. That’s not a penalty double. You are an unbid hand. You should be telling partner that you feel that you have the preponderance of the points and you can support both of the unbid suits. So your double is for takeout to one of the unbid suits, and to tell partner that you have no support for her suit. This is called a “Responsive double.”

People play this differently, but the requirements for a responsive double are generally:

1.   Opponents have bid the same suit;

2.   Partner has either doubled or bid a suit;

3.   You cannot support partner’s suit;

4.   You have at least four cards in each of the unbid suits;

5.   You have at least 8 HCP if you force partner to bid a major at the one level or a minor at the two level;

6.   You have at least 9 HCP if you force partner to bid a major at the two level;

7.   You have at least 10 HCP if you force partner to bid at the three level.

Here is the four hand layout:

                 North

                        ♠ KQ3

                        ♥ 8654

                        ♦ 42

                        ♣ Q1075

West                                        East

♠ 74                                         ♠ A98

♥ Q10973                                ♥ Void

♦ AK9                                     ♦ Q8653

♣ A64                                     ♣ KJ982

                        South

                        ♠ 106532

                        ♥ AKJ2

                        ♦ J107

                        ♣ 3

Clearly, South took an extremely optimistic view of her hand by opening 1S in first seat with only 9 HCP, but this is a perfect hand for East to make a Responsive Double with 10 HCP and 5-5 in the two unbid suits. Double dummy (looking at all four hands) the hand makes game in either minor, although it’s better in diamonds due to the unfavorable club split.

Be sure that you and partner are on the same wave length. You don’t want to make a responsive double and have your partner take it as penalty, and vice-versa.

What to Lead Against No Trump When Partner Has Made a Lead-Directing Double

Here’s your hand sitting West:

♠ J32

♥ K54

♦ 9643

♣ A97

Here’s the auction with North dealer:

West          North         East       South

                  P            P              1N

P                2C*         D**          2D

P                2N           P              3N

All Pass

*Stayman

**Lead-directing

What do you lead? In the actual hand, West led the club 7. Here is the four hand layout:

North

                ♠ Q976

                ♥ A107

                ♦ Q10852

                ♣ 5

West                         East

♠ J32                         ♠ A107

♥ K54                        ♥ 98632

♦ 9643                       ♦ Void

♣ A97                        ♣ QJ1062

                South

                ♠ K54

                ♥ QJ

                ♦ AKJ7

                ♣ K843

South has seven sure tricks, five diamonds and two hearts. With a club lead, which is certain with the lead-directing double, that make eight tricks because the king will be good. After taking the diamonds he leads a spade to his king. Because the ace was East’s only entry, he ducked, so South had seven tricks and when the heart king is onside, South made 3.

The mistake was West’s opening lead. He must lead the Ace and then follow with the club 9. That forces out South’s king and when South leads a spade, East can rise with his ace and run the three remaining club tricks for down one.

In this situation, West must lead his club ace. His partner has made a lead directing double. He must have a reason. If he doesn’t have the ace or the king, he must have at least five good clubs. Why else make a lead-directing double? But when West does not lead the ace, what is east to think? South bid 3N over his lead-directing double. The obvious conclusion is that he has both the ace and king of clubs when his partner doesn’t lead one of them.

West, an experienced player, was upset that East didn’t take his spade ace and lead a club to his ace, but how was East to know that West had the Ace? He led the club 7. As far as East knows, he has two or three little clubs and is just being a good partner by leading the suit.

Don’t make an ambiguous lead when you can tell your partner something important. One of the axioms of bridge defense on opening lead is “Don’t lead an ace and don’t underlead an ace.” That doesn’t apply when defending no trump when you often underlead an ace if it’s your longest suit. But when you are defending no trump and your partner makes a lead-directing double, always lead your highest card in your partner’s suit, even if it’s ace or king doubleton. That tells him the layout and aids him in the play of the hand. West’s lead of the club 7 (his lowest club) was worse than awful because it told partner nothing and implied that's all he had in clubs.

In the actual hand, just about everybody made 3 or 4 no trump, undoubtedly because no defender made a lead-directing double of the 2 club Stayman bid. This pair got halfway there but was done in by a terribly ambiguous lead.

Evaluating HCP in determining whether to open 1NT

How would you open this hand?

♠ K104

♥ AQ82

♦ Q8

♣ A753

With 15 HCP, it’s tempting to open in 1NT, which shows 15-17 HCP and a balanced hand. This is a balanced hand and it has 15 HCP. But two of the points are the doubleton diamond queen. Is that worth 2 HCP?

Here’s what happened when South, in second seat, opened the hand 1NT:

South             West   North             East

                     P

1NT                 P         2C                   P

2H                   P         4C*                 P

4S**                P         6H                   All Pass

*Gerber (asking for aces)

**Two aces

Here’s the layout:

 North

                        ♠ AQJ

                        ♥ KJ103

                        ♦ 96

                        ♣ KJ109

West                                        East

♠ 9875                                     ♠ 632

♥ 965                                       ♥ 74

♦ AJ1042                                 ♦ K753

♣ Q                                         ♣ 8642

                        South

                        ♠ K104

                        ♥ AQ82

                        ♦ Q8

                        ♣ A753

West led the diamond ace and east signaled she had the king by playing the diamond 7, so south lost the first two tricks for down one. Lots of people don’t go to slam holding a worthless doubleton without confidence that partner has a first or second round stopper in the suit. But North was aggressive and should not have jumped to slam because she only has 15 HCP. If partner is at the bottom of his bid with 15 HCP, there should be no slam and that’s the situation here.

The question is, how to invite? The answer is not an ace-asking auction. After South bids 2H, North can cue bid her spade ace. That would not be showing a spade suit because if North had four spades but not four hearts, she would bid 2N, then if South has four spades as well as four hearts, he can bid 3S. And if North had five spades to go with her four hearts there is no reason to bid the spades after finding the 4-4 heart fit. So for her to bid the spade ace, that should be confirming a heart fit and showing slam interest and South could either accept the invitation by cue bidding an ace or just going directly to blackwood. In this instance, with a minimum, South would close out in four hearts.

However, South arguably erred by opening this hand 1NT. His doubleton diamond queen is not worth 2 HCP. A doubleton king would be worth 3 HCP because it is a trick unless the ace is behind him. The doubleton queen cannot be counted on as a trick or even a possible trick, so it is an illusory 2 HCP. The hand could (and probably should) have been downgraded to 13-14  HCP and opened 1C. When North bids 1H, South would then bid 2H showing a normal opening hand with seven losers. North would forget about slam and close out in four hearts. However, many players would still open this 1NT.

The hand was played 13 times in a club game. Five pairs were in slam, all going down. I don’t know how the bidding went elsewhere but I would bet that all slam players opened the hand 1NT and those that were in four hearts (five pairs; two others played in 3NT and one played in 5 hearts) opened it 1C because if it’s opened 1NT by South, any good player holding the north cards with 15 HCP opposite at least 15 HCP will look for slam.