You open, LHO bids, Partner Passes (Continued….)

Bid a new 4-card suit

If your second suit is 4+ cards, and it ranks lower than your first suit, bid it on the two-level:

You
♠  A Q 10 9 7          You         LHO         Partner         RHO
♥  5 3                       1♠          2♣            Pass              Pass
♦  A K 8 5                2♦
♣  4 2              

You have a two-suited hand, and though you have a minimum point count, you should bid. Partner will be forced to take a preference between spades and diamonds.

Bid Notrump

Believe it or not, if the opener rebids 1 NT after his partner has passed, opener needs 18+ points! Contrast this with opener’s rebid of 1 NT if responder  bid: 12-14 points. We don’t fool around with NT.

You
♠  K Q J                You            LHO            Partner            RHO 
♥  A K Q              1♦              1♠                Pass                 Pass
♦  J 10 9 6            1 NT
♣  Q 10 9  

There are two explanations for this. First, it’s too dangerous to bid notrump opposite a partner with few or no points unless you have a strong hand - keep in mind, partner could have zero points.  And second, you would have opened 1 NT with 15 to 17 points, hence the 18+ point count.

Cue Bid

If you opened with 21  points, probably just shy of a 2♣ opening bid, you may choose as your rebid a cue bid - that is, bid the overcaller’s suit. This is a very strong takeout double to your partner.

You
♠ A                        You            LHO            Partner            RHO
♥ A K J 9 8           1♥              1♠                Pass                 Pass
♥ K Q J 2              2♠
♣ Q 10 6                
                             This announces b-i-i-i-i-i-i-g!

Here are some extra things to think about:

1. If your partner will not be forced to bid higher than the two-level, you can reopen with 13 points.
2. If you bid on the three-level or force partner to bid on the three-level, you need 17+ points.
3. Avoid reopening balanced hands unless you are strong.
4. If your RHO bids, be very careful. Your partner will have another chance to bid even if you pass, so don’t strain to make a bid.

© 2013 Roberta Salob

You open, LHO bids, Partner Passes

The bidding goes:         You            LHO          Partner         RHO
                                   1♠               2♦               Pass             Pass
                                   ?

You should make every effort to bid unless you have 13 to 16 points (minimum opener) and 3+ cards in the opponent’s suit.  

Don’t forget your partner may have a decent hand with as many as 9-10 points but was unable to bid after the overcall.

There are five different bids the opener can make:

Double

If you opened and partner passed, you can double for takeout. You need support for the two unbid suits. Opener can double with a minimum point count - it does not show extra points.

You
♠  K 10 8                You          LHO          Partner        RHO
♥  A Q 8 6              1♦             2♣              Pass            Pass
♦  A 9 8 7 4             Dbl
♣  2           

You are showing support for hearts and spades.  Your partner must answer (unless his RHO bids) by bidding hearts, spades, NT or raising diamonds. 
Note: If partner is convinced their bid will go down, he may pass, converting the opener’s takeout double to a penalty double.

Rebid a 6-card suit

You may not rebid a 5-card suit, but 6 or more should be rebid:

You
♠  A K J 8 6 4         You           LHO        Partner        RHO
♥  6 4                      1♠             2♦             Pass             Pass
♦  9 5                       2♠
♣  K Q 5     

You have a good chance of making 2♠ or you may even push the opponents too high. If you had a stronger hand - let’s say another ace - you should jump to 3♠ to prod partner if he has some values.

Look for the next "Roberta's Blog" for three more options!

© 2013 Roberta Salob

Partner leads a spot card

Honor leads are easy to figure out - spot cards, that is the 2 thru 9, are ambiguous. The most common agreement is with three small cards, lead the lowest card.

•  Partner leads a high spot card

Almost always the lead of a high spot card (7, 8 or 9) is usually the start of a “high-low” signal: 

•  Partner leads a low spot card

Interpret Your Partner's Honor Lead

If you are not interpreting your partner’s opening lead against a trump contract, you are wasting a very valuable opportunity to defeat their bid.

Partner leads an honor

If your partner’s lead is an honor, you can almost always expect it to be the top of a sequence. Immediately say to yourself, “He’s got the honor right below, but not the one above.” 

Let’s say the opponents wind up in 4♥:

Dummy
♠ 8 6 4
Partner You
Leads ♠Q           ❏ ♠ K 9 7 3

Your partner leads the ♠Q. Let’s analyze: the queen promises the jack and denies the king and ace. So declarer has the ♠A, which will probably win the first trick. But what do you play on trick #1? Signal with the ♠9 that you want the suit continued. You know where everything is located - clue partner in.
Incidentally, what if partner opened the bidding 1♠? Then declarer would have a singleton ace -  don’t encourage partner to lead another spade - follow with the ♠3.

Dummy
♠ 8 6 4
Partner You
♠K lead              ❏ ♠ J 7 3

Now you know partner has the queen, and declarer has the ace. Signal with the ♠7 to encourage partner to continue spades the next time he gets the lead. Your ♠J is important!

Dummy
♠ 8 6 4
Partner You
♠Q lead              ❏ ♠ A 2

Figure it out: Declarer has the king. If you follow with the ♠2, declarer wins the king and you have to sit and wait for your ace, which may never happen. Not only that, it’s a doubleton ace, so you would block up the spade suit by playing your ♠2. Up your ace!

Dummy
♠ 8 6 4
Partner You
♠A lead             ❏ ♠ Q 9 7 3

Partner probably has the king; you must tell him it is safe to lead his king by signaling with the ♠9. You would be indicating either a doubleton or the ♠Q; either one would encourage partner to lead his ♠K.

Tune in next time when the topic will be "Partner leads a spot card."

© 2013 Roberta Salob

Stayman or Jacoby?

Of course you know that with a 4-card major you respond 2♣ and with a 5+ card major use Jacoby.
What about a hand with a 4 and a 5-card major? Look at East:

1.     West                       East
        ♠ K J 10                 ♠ Q 9 8 6
        ♥ Q 10                   ♥ K J 8 6 5
        ♦ Q J 10 6 5           ♦ A 8 7
        ♣ A K 7                 ♣ 5

        West                      East
        1 NT                     2♣
        2♦                         3♥
        3 NT                     Pass

Taking a Preference

This is one of the least written about topics in bridge literature, yet it is one of the most important concepts in bidding. It involves duty and obligation.

Preference Bidding: If opener bids two suits, you must choose if you have 0 to 10 points. Passing is choosing opener's second suit.

If you have an equal number of cards in the two suits opener bid, choose opener's first suit.

Here is an extreme example of this theory at work:

1. You
♠ 4 3 2  Partner        RHO        You        LHO
♥ 4 3  1♠ Dbl          Pass       2♣
♦ 5 4 3 2  2♥                 Pass         ?
♣ 5 4 3 2

Of course you passed partner’s 1♠ opener. However, if you pass partner’s 2♥ bid, using the same lazy thinking, you will leave partner in a 6-card trump suit (he only showed four hearts) when you know he has five spades and you can be in an 8-card trump suit. Your bid must be 2♠.

What if your preference is partner’s second suit? We’ll give you a few more points in this next hand:

2. You
♠ 9 4 3 2 Partner RHO You       LHO
♥ 4                     1♥  Pass 1♠ Pass
♦ 5 4 3 2 2♦                Pass         ?
♣ K J 3 2

Here you have a clear preference for partner’s diamonds. Since a new lower-ranking suit by opener is not forcing, you should quietly pass and play the hand in 2♦.
And just in case you are thinking of bidding 2 NT - forget it – you would need 11+ points to bid 2 NT.

3. You
♠ 5 4 3 2  Partner  RHO  You  LHO
♥ 4     1♦  Pass Pass 2♣
♦ 6 5 4 3   2♥* Pass ?
♣ 5 4 3 2    
                            *A “reverse” bid - when your second suit is higher ranking 
                              than your first suit, you have a very strong hand - 17+ points.

Again your instinct to just pass and get out fast is wrong; you prefer diamonds to hearts. But now you are increasing the bid to 3♦. No matter - you must take your preference, wherever it takes you.

4. You
♠ 3 2  Partner  RHO  You  LHO
♥ 4 3 1♠ Pass 1NT Pass
♦ A 5 4 3 2           2♥  Pass         ?
♣ Q 4 3 2

Your obligation is to take a preference. Opener has shown five spades and four hearts. Your bid is 2♠.

Sometimes you should take a “false” preference:

5. You
♠ 4 3 LHO  Partner     RHO  You
♥ 4 3 2 1♦          1♠ 2♦ Pass
♦ 5 4 3                 Pass         2♥  Pass ?
♣ A Q 5 4 3  

Your preference is for hearts, but partner only showed four hearts. Since playing in a 5-2 fit (spades) is superior to a 4-3 fit (hearts), return partner to 2♠. Another advantage to bidding 2♠ is you give partner another chance to bid.

You don’t have to take a preference with 0 - 10 points if:
1. You have a 6+ card suit (just rebid it) or
2. You can bid one of something new or
3. Your RHO bid (now you can pass)

© 2013 Roberta Salob

Responses to 2♣ with a really bad hand

Here’s a controversial topic in the opening 2♣ saga– how does the responder to 2♣ show a dreadful hand? By definition, “dreadful” refers to a hand with 0-3 points, without any card higher than a queen.

Here are two popular methods to show these bad hands: