Unpopular bidding

Here's another hand from the aggregate pairs at St. Andrews last Monday. I faced two tough dilemmas. Not ethical dilemmas this time though, just straight up bidding decisions.

Here's my big hand:

♠A3 ♥74 ♦AKQT8 ♣AT84

Lovely. At favourable vulnerability, my right hand opponent dealt and opened 1♠. This was a five card major. I've got three options now:

• Double - it's a 17 point hand
• 1NT - it's a semi-balanced 15-17, with a Spade stop
• 2♦ - a maximum overcall with a good suit
• 2NT - Showing minors

I think the modern style is to go for 2♦, as it makes things easier in later rounds. I didn't like that as it doesn't get across the strength of the hand, and we might easily miss a game. I didn't even consider 1NT, but maybe I should have. It's maybe too strong for that though. In the end I doubled, planning on bidding Diamonds on the next round.

Double might not be the best, but me and partner have agreed that doubling then bidding a suit shows 16-18 and a good suit, so at least we'd know where we stood. In fact, later in the night we had that auction, when the opponents opened 1♦ and I had ♠AQ ♥AQ82 ♦T2 ♣AQT72 I doubled then bid 2♣.

Over my double though things took an unexpected turn. Left hand opponent bid 2♥ and opener raised to 4♥. Here's my hand and the auction so far:

♠A3 ♥74 ♦AKQT8 ♣AT84

Danny Anna W N E S 1♠ x 2♥ - 4♥

Now I have another dilemma. I'd originally doubled because I have such a good hand. Am I going to go quietly now, or will I bid again? Here's the options:

• Double. Two ways to win. It might be going down, or if partner has a really distributional they might sacrifice.
• Pass - They're probably going to make it.
• 4NT - for minors.

I think bidding 4NT is definitely wrong, as for all you know 4♥ is going down. It's better to involve partner. The problem with doubling is, partner might still think that you have Hearts for your first takeout double. I thought 4♥ was probably going down, but I convinced myself to pass. This was the full deal:

NS vul S deal ♠ K ♥ K J T 3 2 ♦ J 6 3 ♣ K J 9 2 ♠ A 3 ♥ 7 4 ♦ A K Q T 8 ♣ A T 8 4 12 17 4 7 ♠ Q 9 8 7 ♥ 5 ♦ 9 5 2 ♣ Q 7 6 5 3 ♠ J T 6 5 4 2 ♥ A Q 9 8 5 ♦ 7 4 ♣ -

Danny Anna W N E S 1♠ x 2♥ - 4♥ - - -

So 4♥ was passed out. When dummy (South) came down we were all a bit surprised. Not wanting to open a hand with such good majors he's opened a cheeky seven point hand! Risky, but hit the jackpot when partner bid Hearts. Anna, sitting East, lead a Club. Rather than ruffing, declarer discarded a losing Diamond from dummy, and let me win the trick in West. I cashed a top Diamond then played Hearts. When declarer lead a Spade from dummy I ducked my ♠A, as I thought that maybe if he had something like ♠K9 he might have a guess, and could go down if he got it wrong. As it happened he had singleton ♠K, which won the trick for 4♥+1.

There were eight tables altogether. The others had North-South in 3♥+1, 4♥=, 4♥x= and 5♥x=-1. On the other three tables EW played, and scored 5♣-2, 5♦x-2 and 5♣x=.

According to the hand records, there are nine tricks available in Diamonds and ten in Clubs. But you could get more if they defence fails to take their Heart, or less if you don't drop the singleton ♠K. But it looks like it's a good sacrifice against 4♥. The problem is, if I double on the second round, will partner pass or bid? Anna was coy about this, and said she might have bid 5♣.

I posted the problem of what to do on the second round on the Bridge Base Forums. Most people ignored my question about what to do on the second round, and just commented on how much they hated my first double. As for the second double 5/7 people favoured Pass, and 2/7 Double, so I feel vindicated.

Bridge Base Forums comments here.

Dodgy ethics

Me and Anna played at St. Andrew's Bridge Club on Monday. I've been on holiday quite a while now, and have slightly lost track of time. "Is it normally aggregate scoring on a Saturday?" I asked irrelevantly. I'd forgotten that it was Monday. It was indeed aggregate scoring though.

Me and Anna played well, with no mistakes. We bid and made all of the games we were dealt, and did well in the partscores. We were even lucky the opponents missed a slam against us, but unlucky that they made a lot of games too. In the end we finished 3rd overall.

In my featured hand we got a very good result, making a part score our way when everyone else went minus. But it came at quite a price, as I made a dubiously ethical bid. I didn't know at the time what the law was, and bid it because I wanted to, but now I know that I was very wrong.

Here's my West hand and auction, leading up to my crucial decision. No one vulnerable:

♠ K 7 6 5 2 ♥ 8 4 ♦ K 6 3 ♣ Q 8 3

Danny Anna W N E S - - 1NT - 2♦ - 2♥ - - ?

North opened a 12-14 no trump. Anna sitting East paused for quite a while, then passed. South transferred with 2♦, and North completed the transfer. Anna paused again over 2♥, and it was passed round to me.

Even though it's aggregate scoring, I'd like to bid 2♠ here. After they pass out 2♥, partner rates to have some points (at least 8 or so), and we've probably got a Spade fit. It's a risky bid, but it's what I want to do. But after partner's two big pauses, it's sort of clear she's got a decent hand.

Ethically, I have to pass. Even though I think I would have bid 2♠ even without the help of partner's pauses, that's not good enough. I think the law is that I have to be actively ethical. I can only bid 2♠, if it's really the only sensible bid. Here that's not the case, as pass is certainly a logical alternative. I wasn't sure on this, but have since got some expert help (more on that later). In a tournament if the director was called, he would probably rule that my 2♠ bid was suggested by partner's hesitation, and rule the score back to 2♥ their way, making.

In the end though I did bid 2♠. Here's the full hand and auction:

No one vul s deal ♠ A Q 4 ♥ K T 9 ♦ J T 8 5 4 ♣ A 6 ♠ K 7 6 5 2 ♥ 8 4 ♦ K 6 3 ♣ Q 8 3 14 8 10 8 ♠ J T 9 3 ♥ A J 2 ♦ - ♣ K J T 9 5 4 ♠ 8 ♥ Q 7 6 5 3 ♦ A Q 9 7 2 ♣ 7 2

Danny Anna W N E S - - 1NT - 2♦ - 2♥ - - 2♠ - - -

After I did bid 2♠, it was passed out. South had a good think about this, and I would certainly have bid 3♦ with his hand, as you've got a 5-5 hand with short Spades so don't want to defend. If you do bid Diamonds, it works out great as partner has five of them, and three card Heart support too.

I get a great dummy in 2♠, and it looks like I could make loads of tricks. Actually though it was hard going. Both Spade honours offisde, repeated Diamond leads, and forgetting how many trumps were left, meant I made just eight tricks. Still, 2♠= was a very good score. On the other tables North-South were playing in Diamonds or Hearts making overtricks. North-South have such a good fit in fact I think you can make 4♥, but the analysis sheet says you can only make nine tricks (why is this?).

Here's the results of the deal on the St Andrew's website.

Finally, as mentioned above, before writing this I wanted some expert advice. So I wrote a poll about what I should do on the Bridge Base Forums. You can see the results (and vote if you want) here. Almost everyone thought that I should pass out 2♥, most because I'm ethically barred from bidding, and some because they wouldn't bid anyway.

Tourna-mental

Last night me and Anna boldly decided to have a go at an online tournament. This is the first time we've done this.

We entered "SpHiNx Pairs", along with 369 other pairs. Anna was pretty nervous, and I certainly didn't help. On the first board I miscounted my losers and put Anna in a hopeless 6♠, off two. Then she passed my takeout double of 1♥, and declarer made it with three overtricks. 1♥x +3 was not a good score.

These two bad boards were followed by two very good ones, which were a bit wild too and did nothing to settle the nerves. The opponents went way overboard in 4♠, doubled, then Anna bid an impulsive 5♣, doubled, and made it. though.

My featured board is that 5♣x=, which gained us 7.6 IMPs.

All vul N deal ♠ Q 6 3 ♥ J 4 ♦ Q 7 4 3 ♣ A 8 3 2 ♠ K 8 4 2 ♥ A T 8 5 2 ♦ K 5 ♣ J 6 9 11 4 16 ♠ J T 9 7 5 ♥ Q 9 7 6 ♦ J 6 2 ♣ T ♠ A ♥ K 3 ♦ A T 9 8 ♣ K Q 9 7 5 4

Danny Anna W N E S - - 1♣ 1♠ 2♣ 2♠ 5♣ x - - -

Anna opened the big South hand 1♣, which West overcalled 1♠. Why West overcalled 1♠ I have no idea. I had the decent looking North hand, and settled for a modest 2♣, prepared to bid 3♣ later if I had too. East raised to 2♠ and Anna had a rebid problem. With four losers and a ten card Club fit, she went for 5♣, which looks fine to me. Afterwards she suggested she could have bid 3♦ instead, which would probably have got us to a rather dodgy 3NT (which does make - eight tricks on top, extra tricks in Diamonds, and opponents can't attack Hearts or Spades without giving you tricks).

5♣ potentially has four losers - two in Hearts and two in Diamonds, if you are very unlucky. West lead the ♥A, which limited us to one Heart loser straight away. So Anna drew trumps then got ready to play Diamonds. The normal way to play the suit is to finesse twice, but since West doubled there's an arguement for playing him for holding ♦K and ♦J and leading up to dummy's Queen. Anna went for the standard double finesse, leading the ♦Q from dummy, which worked nicely. When West won his ♦K he made it easy for Anna by returning a Diamond, for 5♣x=.

Perhaps West played that second round of Diamonds as he was reluctant to lead a Heart and give a ruff and discard, or a Spade away from the King (although actually on this layout that is safe). Declarer could try and make it harder for the defence, by eliminating the other suits before tackling Diamonds. You could just cash the ♠A, or better eliminate all the Spades. Then, even when West has ♦KJx, once he wins his ♦K he might be forced to returning Diamonds as he knows the other suits will give a ruff and discard. In fact, with four Diamonds in each hand, you don't gain anything by a ruff and discard, but the defence don't know that.

This would be the position after Spades are eliminated, with dummy on lead about to run the ♦Q.

All vul N deal ♠ - ♥ - ♦ Q 7 4 3 ♣ 8 3 ♠ K ♥ T 8 5 ♦ K 5 ♣ - ♠ J ♥ Q 9 ♦ J 6 2 ♣ - ♠ - ♥ - ♦ A T 9 8 ♣ Q 9

After that third doubled hand in a row, things settled down slightly. I made a poor 1NT, Anna squeeked home in 3NT, then made another 5♣. Then she lost her connection, was replaced by a Sub, and had to sit and watch this extraordinary auction.

EW vul S deal ♠ 8 ♥ 8 5 3 ♦ K T 9 8 7 ♣ Q J 8 3 ♠ A 5 ♥ A K Q T 7 ♦ J 6 ♣ 7 6 5 4 6 14 15 5 ♠ K Q J T 9 6 4 3 2 ♥ - ♦ Q ♣ A K 9 ♠ 7 ♥ J 9 6 4 2 ♦ A 5 4 3 2 ♣ T 2

Danny Sub W N E S - 1♥ - 1♠ - 2♥ - 3♦ - - -

East opened 1♥, West replied a simple 1♠, and East rebid 2♥. Now West made up the forcing bid of 3♦, which gave East a rebid problem. He found it such a big problem he decided to pass, leaving them in 3♦, a nice 2-1 fit.

Declarer has six top tricks outside trumps, and somehow, through terrible defence, made it up to eight tricks. Me and the Sub both trumped each others winners. I did it accidentally, then I think he got upset and did it on purpose, then he deliberately crashed his ♦A with my ♦K. The end result was for 3♦-1. But since everyone else was in 4♠+2; or 6♠=, we gained an undeserved 15 IMPs here.

In the end, with a lot of help from that last hand, me and Anna finished 67th out of 370 pairs.

System On - Defence

This is the last blog entry in a series describing the basic Acol system that me and Anna play in Glasgow. Hope you're reading this Anna.

Carding

This is pretty standard.

• Reverse attitude on partner's lead.
• Standard count on declarer's lead.
• McKenny discards.

Defence to Multi 2♦

Our defence to 2♦ is a bit controversial, as we tried something else and Anna didn't like it so we've switched. This is what we've agreed on now.

• Double shows a weak NT, or 18+.
• Overcalls are natural two level overcalls.
• Once they've bid a suit doubles are takeout.

Defence to Short 1♣

Just ignore it and treat it like a normal 1♣.

Defence to Lucas Twos

Pretend it's a normal Weak Two opening (2NT overcall is 15-19 with a stop, etc.)

To finish, here's a picture of a horse stuck in a fence:

System on - 1NT/2NT

This is my latest blog entry in a series describing the basic Acol system that me and Anna play in Glasgow. Hope you're reading this Anna.

I've already mentioned that we can open a Weak 1NT with a good 5 card major, and only open 5422 if both doubletons are good.

Responses to 1NT opening

These apply equally for a 1NT opening and a 1NT overcall.

These are the continuations with Stayman. There's a subtle little twist here.

• Bidding 2♣ then correcting 2♦ to 2♥/2♠ shows a weak hand 5-4 in the Majors.
• Suppose you bid 2♣ and get a 2♥ reply. 2♠ is totally artificial and agrees Hearts as trumps. 3♣/3♦ show at least a 5 card minor and implies four Spades.
• The above also applies if partner replies 2♠; 3♥ sets Spades as trumps.
• After a positive reply to Stayman 4NT is quantitative, if you want to bid Blackwood you need to set trumps first by bidding the other Major.

For Transfers:

• Making a transfer then bidding the other Major shows a game forcing hand 5-4 in the Majors.
• Making a transfer then bidding 3♣/3♦ shows a game forcing hand with 5 in Major and at least 4 in minor, 5431 shape or better.
• Opener can jump accept with any 4 card support, he breaks the transfer with a good hand with 4 card support.
• After a transfer, 4NT is quantitative. If you want to bid Blackwood, then start with a 3 level response.

The other possible responses to 1NT:

• 3 of any suit is a slam try in that suit, showing a good six card suit. If the bid is 3♣/3♦ opener bids 3M if they have a 5 card major. Otherwise, opener bids 3NT with a weak doubleton in responders suit, and cuebids with anything else.
• 4♣ is natural (not Gerber). We never bid this though.

Checkback Stayman

We rebid 1NT with 15-17, and 2NT with 18-19.

• If you've got the right strength then prioritise rebidding NT over showing a 4 card Major.
• If you have 18-19 then the usual rebid is 2NT; 3NT is only used if you are very flat (4-3-3-3).

Responder can show a 5-5 hand with a jump after a 1NT rebid, or a weak six carder by rebidding his suit.

2NT responses

2NT opening shows 20-22. Opening 2♣ then rebidding 2NT shows 23-24. As far as possible, the responses are the same as over 1NT. One difference though

• If you bid Stayman and then correct 3♦ to 3♠, as before this shows 5 Spades and 4 Hearts. But it's no longer a weak hand, just giving a choice of games.

The reason for doing that is to stop you going beyond 3NT.

They interfere with our 1NT

After a double we play Helvic. After any artificial interference (e.g. 2♣ showing Majors) our double shows that suit (e.g. Clubs). Over a natural interference, such as 2♥ showing Hearts and a minor, we play naturally:

• Double is penalties.
• 2♠ (any bid at the 2 level) is weak and natural.
• 2NT is natural.
• 3 level bids are strong and forcing, e.g. 3♣ or 3♠.
• A cuebid is Stayman, such as 3♥ here, which asks partner if they have Four Spades.

Our defence to their 1NT

We play competitive doubles, see here. A double of a 1NT opening shows 14+ and balanced. These other bids are about 9-13:

• 2♣ - 54 or better in Majors (depends on vulnerability). Partner bids 2♦ to ask for the better Major, or if he has a strong hand and will invite game next time.
• 2♦ - six card Major.
• 2♥/2♠ - 5 of the Major and at least a 4 card minor. Partner bids 2NT to ask for the minor.
• 2NT - minors

3 level overcalls don't happen much but would be some sort of very shapely hand.

To finish, a jumping horse.

System On - Conventions

This is the next instalment in my effort to document all of the basic Acol system me and Anna play.

Jacoby 2NT

After an opening bid of 1♥/1♠, partner bids 2NT with a game forcing raise.

• After a double, 2NT is still a good raise, but is only invitational.
• After an overcall, 2NT is natural. Use a cue bid for an invitational (or better) raise.
• After a 1♣/1♦ opening, 2NT is natural.

Opener then rebids as follows, supposing the suit is Hearts:

• 3♥, 3NT, 4♥ show balanced hands with 5,6 or 7 losers respectively.
• Suits at the three level show a good second suit, with 6 or fewer losers.
• Suits at the four level show are splinters, with 6 or fewer losers.

If you have a second suit and a singleton, then show the second suit first. Not sure there's anything else to say about that.

Blackwood

We play 1430 Blackwood. After 4NT and the reply:

• Cheapest bid is Queen ask. Reply with next available bid for no Queen, else show cheapest King, or just bid 6 trumps with no extra Kings.
• 5NT asks for specific Kings.

If you happen to have a useful void (not one in partner's suit), there are special responses to 4NT:

• 5NT with even number of keycards.
• 6 of the void suit with odd number of keycards, or 6 trumps if the void is above the trump suit.

The way to remember this, which sounds odd but appeals to me, is that NT is even.

We also play Exclusion Blackwood, which is a jump to the 5 level, but not in a suit that partner has bid naturally.

Finally if the opponents double or interfere after 4NT, we play 1430 as follows:

• Pass is 1 or 4, double/redouble is 0 or 3, next step is 2 without queen, next step after that 2 with queen.

Five level Bids

Think I've written this about five times, but it's never come up so I'm still a bit nervous about it:

• 5M - Asking for control in the opponent's suit, or the unbid suit. If that's not possible, 5M asks for good trumps in context.
• 5NT - pick a slam.

Michaels / Unusual 2NT

This should be fairly straightforward.

• Michaels or Unusual 2NT show two non-specific suits, and are either weak or strong. If you have a medium hand with two five card suits, then you bid twice if you can.
• In the pass out seat you only bid Michaels/Unusual 2NT with the strong version.

If there's two possible cuebids to make, as the opponents have bid two suits, then what do we do?

Fourth Suit Forcing

This is forcing to game, except at the one level (1♣-1♦; 1♥-1♠) where it is just natural. At the two level FSF asks for shape, at the three level it specifically asks for a stopper for NT.

Fit Jumps

I like fit jumps. These are the occasions we play fit jumps:

• If responder is a passed hand, then make a jump shift. For example 1♦-2♠. This shows at least four Diamonds and at least 5 Spades.
• In response to an overcall. Again this shows you have an eight card fit with opener, and shows a good five card side suit.
• In response to a weak two?

Big Hands

Just squeezing this note in here.

• Overcalls are up to 15 points.
• Double then bidding a suit shows 16-18.
• Doubling then bidding opener's suit shows 19+

To finish, a sketch of a horse (not by me!)