[bobh2]

and still more housekeeping:

****How to Deal with Interference After Partner Opens 1N******

Frankly, when partner opens 1N and the opponents interfere, this is an irritating situation. It is less so if we know what to do, but still a pain. Some bids and some methods are worse than others but we need to learn how to deal with this. Some background first.

At matchpoints, there are some players who just dive in, all the time. They do this on 4-4 patterns, all kinds of crazy stuff. On one hand, they are risking huge numbers, but on the other hand, they can get huge payoffs by messing up the bidding. Matchpoints is a knife fight in a dark room. If you are playing IMP pairs or teams, the risk/reward isn't nearly so great for the "scramblers"...they have a lot better chance to be handed their head. You can apply the methods below but if you know your are playing against matchpoint oriented loonies, just keep your doubler out.

Interference bids in sane situations are usually on lengthy one suiters or serious two suiters. Most people adopt one of the common methods and use it. You ought to know how to counter these bids. It is helpful to have some tools to work with before starting discussions on countering specific methods. The first tool you need to have is Lebensohl. This is, as far as I know, the best tool to use to counter 1suiters. You also need to think about playing neg x's over 1 suiters. In general, it is not productive to play immediate x's of one suited bids as penalty, regardless of what we were taught when we started playing bridge. For sure, look up Lebensohl, learn how to play it. It is hugely useful in this situation and even more so dealing with weak two bids. If you don't play it over weak two bids, aggressive weak two bidders will drive you nuts.

Before we discuss how to beat the methods, let's see what the strengths and weaknesses are.

Capp is the "default", it seems on BBO. On one hand it is a programmed way to get into the bidding on both one suiters and two suiters. With all due respect to Mike Cappelletti and Freddy Hamilton, I sincerely believe it has a theoretical weakness. In theory, a bid over an opening nt has a fairly high degree of risk. Their responder knows opener is on a lot of points and has a flat hand, more or less. If you walked in when you are unlucky, you can just get killed. So what are you trying to accomplish with a bid here? Theory again, you should have two objectives..one, to compete for the part score, and two, to throw a monkey wrench in their well-ordered offensive bidding machinery. The second is getting more important all the time. People, even rookies, are bidding so well that leaving them alone and letting them use their tools, is getting expensive. So, perhaps you need to be bidding, and having a schematic is a good idea. The only problem is, Capp does a poor job of getting in their face. Why? Because the one-suiter of Capp doesnt' cause any pain. Any bidding over 1n should have two qualities, one, it is major oriented, exclusively, and any 1 suiter should make 3rd hand's life difficult. Why so much emphasis on majors? Because if you have minor orientation, and bid, you shove them out of nt and into a major where they belong, and worse if you both have fits, they can outbid you....maybe you ought to defend nt when you have minors?????

CAPP (Short for Cappelletti...and also called Hamilton...two claims on inventing this, I think)

X is penalty
2c is a one suiter
2D is both majors
2H is Hearts and a minor
2S is Spades and a minor
2N is both minors

To deal with this:

Over X:
XX to relay to 2c, and pass with clubs, or correct to D.
From here "all systems on"...stayman and transfers..but I recommend that 2S is a double minor takeout, weak

Over 2C...the biggest weakness of their system...
X is Stayman...commonly called "stolen" for "He stole my bid"
again, "all systems on" but now, 2S is your normal stuff, Minor Suit Stayman or 4 way transfers

Over 2D(Majors)
You now know both suits...if you have interest in penalizing them, X
if you have both minors, but no interest in game, pass, let them pick a major and bid 2N at your next turn (2N is not a good place to play partscores...use it in competitive auctions for takeout).
Q bid a major if you have a stop and a game going hand. Your most likely game is 3N. If you have a game going hand in one minor, Q bid either major, preferably one with a control and over partner's next bid, bid your minor. With both minors, game going, no interest in 3N, Q the preferred major, and over partnters' next bid, Q bid again.
bid either minor to play

Over 2H or 2S(that major and an unknown minor)

Use Lebensohl. It's hard to deal with an unknown suit, ignore it.

The most common bid from Capp is the one suiter. The 2C bid accomplishes nothing as far as making you work if you play what is outlined above. A better tool is called for for them, but now you can deal with Capp. (A better tool is outlined below)

DONT:

Another fairly common schematic for bidding over nt, and another one that has a lot of minor emphasis (thus wrong).

X=a one suiter (No, no penalty double...sigh)
2C=Clubs and a major(oh, wonderful, let's bid them clubbies)
2d=Diamonds and a major(see comment above)
2h=Majors
2s=a better spade one suiter
2n=both minors

The theory weakness is even worse...x doesn't do any "preemptive" work at all. The only thing to be said for DONT is that it keeps you at the 2 level on all two suiters but minors. If you are going to scramble in with 4-4's and crap all the time, maybe this is best????

TO DEFEND DONT:

XX to force pard to bid 2c then you can pass or bid 2D, both to play
all systems on from there (notice how it didn't get in your way, at all?)

2d and 2d, use Lebensohl

2H, use the same defense you use against Michael's Q bids. If you haven't discussed this, I'll give you a quick and easy defense...it will come up a lot. 1. bid either of the other two suits (minors) to play. 2. Q bid a suit you have stopped with a game going hand, trying to get to 3N. 3. Bid 2N as a one round force, (not necessarily a good hand), showing either a game force in one minor, both minors, or both minors, merely competitive. Pard will pick a minor. On your next bid, pass if you just wanted to compete...bid your minor if a game forcing one suiter (regardless of whether your pard bid it, or the other minor), and Q bid again with both minors and a game force.

2S..back to Lebensohl

What I have written looks complicated. It is a little, but if you see the principles, and your partner knows anything too, you can fall back on principles. They are:

If defending against a known 1 suiter, use Lebensohl
If defending against a two suiter where the suits are known, use Q bids to show stops, new suits to play, and 2N to show the other two suits. With 2N, you can quit when partner chooses, or you can make a game force by now bidding your one suiter or make a game force with both suits by Q bidding again.
If defending against 1 known suit, 1 unknown suit, use Lebensol against the known suit, and ignore the other suit (best you can do, not perfect, but a lot better than nothing).

For you analytical types, there is one more thing to stick in these principles. If your side starts with 1N, the first objective is to get to game (3N) safely. Use the principles above. If you are in a suit bidding war, like a Michaels Q bid situation or unusual nt situation, one change needs to be made: Use the Q bids differently. You can turn their own bidding on them, use what is called "higher-to-higher, lower-to-lower". Q bid their highest suit to highlight interest in your highest suit, and Q bid their lowest suit to highlight your lowest suit (the two other suits). An example: 1c(by your partner), and they make a Michael's bid of 2c. You Q bid 2S...that's their suit, but you are saying you have a good D suit and a good hand. 1c-2c-2H...you have Q bid their lowest suit, the one pard opened, and are saying I have a good hand with clubs in support. This works for when you open 1 of a major and the opponent bids the unusual 2N bid...same principle...higher to higher, lower to lower.

I promised you a GOOD tool to use over their nt opener. In theory, a GOOD tool gets you into the bidding over 1N with: decent major one suiters, very long one suiters of any kind, decent major two suiters, or extreme two suiters. It does not tempt you to bid with moderate minor holdings of any sort. That is proper theory and also a GOOD tool is easy to explain and easy to remember (forgetting stuff is like shooting yourself in the foot).

RIPSTRA(slightly modified from the original)

2C is a double major takeout. Clubs is your longest minor. 5-4 in the majors is a risk, but you use it there at your own discretion. 5-5 is a lot safer.

2D is your longest minor, again...and still a double major takeout.

2H is natural, I suggest something like a good weak two bid or better

2S is natural, too.

X is penalty, not a balanced hand, a suit you want to jam at them and a lot of entries (how about: KQJTxx Axx x Axx?). That's my kind of double..partner will leave the double in with almost anything..and be happy to leave it in with two Queens. If he can't leave it, he pulls to 2C unless he has a 7 card suit.

2N-both minors

3 of anything is just real long. Note that you cannot bid a minor in this unless you are very, very long in it?

Why bid your longest minor even if it is maybe only 2? Your poor old partner might have a 6511 pattern with minors. You are in deep water. He can pass and play that minor at the 2 level. It just may not be in the opponent's best interest to start doubling you at the 2 level when you are 6511, you see?

RIPSTRA BALANCING SCHEME: 1N-p-p-?

Different objectives here. First, the only two suiter you want to bid is, again, majors. X with that. You need 9 points, preferably in your suits, and if only 9, preferably 55. With a little more points, 5-4 works just fine.

The problem with other two suiters is the same as in immediate seat...if you have minors involved in your two suiter, you push them out of nt, where you have a chance at them, into majors where you don't. A different problem exists when you have a one suiter.

With any one suiter and a moderate amount of points, if your pard is alert at all, he knows you have some points, and he'll lead his long suit hoping at least some of your points are in his suit. If you have a good suit, but only moderate points, he is going to give a soft trick to the declarer and maybe the contract along with it. Don't let him do that. Bid all suits, even minors, naturally here. It is always better to have a major, but even if you have a minor, your partner will never guess your minor to lead, and you aren't going to do well against 1N. Push them out of it.

Question: Why is it safe to bid on so few points? Answer: Their third seat passed. They have between 15 and 24 points (at the most). Also, your partner's points are sitting on top of their points. Your finesses are working, theirs are not. If you have 9, your pard will average 11. Once in a while, responder will have his max, 8. You can be in trouble here. However, he's going to be real leery about doubling you for penalty...you could have AKJtxxxx or something. So, the theory is: (and this works in practice), you will get in trouble a lot less than you ought to. On the other hand, if you use the re-opening X to show majors, and promising at least 9 points, anytime your pard has 13 or 14 or more, he can leave the double in, and he knows what to lead. Remember the declarer is in a world of trouble, he can't get to dummy and it wont do him any good if he could, his finesses arent working.

You can explain Ripstra quickly: 1. in immediate seat, bid your longest minor for a major suit takeout. 2. All other bids are natural, except for 2N, a minor take out. 3. Balance with natural suits or X with the majors and at least 9 points.

It's right, in theory. It's impossible to forget. There is never any confusion. What more can you ask for?

[bobh2]

Being a mentor/teacher in the world of bridge has some interesting aspects. Maybe it's kinda like raising children (except the bridge players will actually talk to you). It's still hard for our fledgling players to realize that all of this "stuff" happened to their expert/experienced player/teacher/mentor 4 or 5 decades ago, and in exactly the same manner, sometimes worse...(grin).

Lately, I have run into a bunch of newer players who soak up bridge knowledge like a sponge does water. I am not saying they learn how to apply it that quickly, but they suck it up. I have never seen anything like this, except when you try to wash your car in Las Vegas and before you have time to put a soapy rag down and pick up the water hose, the soapy water has dried on your finish. Washing cars in Las Vegas is a two person operation if you want your car to stay shiny. I am not kidding about these folks...I go sit down to chat with somebody about bridge, or go to the bidding practice rooms and in a few minutes, there's a crowd. This sure has nothing to do with my skills at the game, but maybe a little with the fact that I can explain stuff clearly, to one degree or another. I wouldn't bar them from sitting and listening for anything...they are addicts to the game, same as me, the only difference is I've been hooked for half a century.

I need to address something and what I just wrote pertains to it. The latest problem to come up is that the discussion at the table (among our newer "addicts") is both continual and blame-setting. This isn't real new, folks. It might have been a little more restrained "in the old days" when the kibitzers (we called 'em lurkers) couldn't see all of the hands and perhaps a little more polite since a punch to the nose was a reasonable possibility if a player got enough of being second-guessed. Still, it went on all the time, and most of it then was from partners who were irritating themselves (if the truth were known) by playing badly, and then taking it out on partner. In my younger and more hot-headed days, I had a partner off his feet and up against a wall, because he was such a continual grump at the table. Wasn't one of my better days in terms of partner-to-partner relations.

You need to understand....bridge is a game where you are trying to outhink the opponents or the game. If you don't accomplish that, you don't lose your life, your bankroll, or a limb. However, your self-image gets battered. Your ego takes a pounding. You know you are as smart as somebody like me (aint' too hard to get there) and it's just not reasonable that I should pound on you at bridge. It makes you want to just scream. Then, you are already seething, and your partner starts on you, and the opponents chip in, and even the "lurkers". Aaaarrrrgggghhhhhh! Kiddo, this ain't new. It may be a hair worse when everybody can see every dumb card you play or every bid you ever make with all the online tools, but not a lot. And, I agree, it gets real old, real fast.

So, how to get a grip on this, where you can have a good time and learn something?

1. Understand that all of that is not (usually) somebody working out their frustrations with life on you. Almost all of your parners, opponents, and even lurkers are trying to learn the game, in their own special style. What they are doing is thinking outloud, putting what they can see and what they think they know out there to see if it fits. They are (usually) not trying to be mean to you...they are stretching their minds around the game. Think back...grin...I raised a daughter. She'd cop an attitude, a different one almost every day, trying it on like a dress, to see how that attitude fit her. She'd try on a new persona, a new way of presenting herself to the world and change all of that on a whim. If you are related to the human race, you'll identify with this. All of the bridge players are doing the same thing, exactly. I don't care how nice you are, you do it too. Some are a lot worse that others, and I will assume that you don't do it much because you are real nice, but let me assure you, there are times, or will be times, that your partner is doing all he/she can not to punch you in the snoot.

2. Understand that there is a way, even with us humans being the way we are, to slow this stuff down, a lot. What you do is just tell the people that you don't want to discuss the hands, hand-by-hand because it slows down the game. The only thing that you are willing to discuss is pure bidding misunderstandings. (An example of that would be: over (1S)-1N-p-2c, by you...you thinking that was stayman and your pard passing it, thinking it was a suit). Offer to review the hands when the session is over with your partner, if he wishes. Explain sweetly to your opponents, regardless of whether or not they are friends, that they are welcome to "tend to their own knittin'". Now, for you to get this courtesy, and courtesy it certainly is, you have to keep your own fat mouth shut...grin. You cannot analyze partner's play or the opponent's play (out loud) and expect them not to do the same. One nice thing about BBO is that there are a lot of players. You can always go open or join another table if you ask nicely and they won't stop.

3. Another thing to understand. Beginners/intermediates/Advanced players simply are not qualified to teach other Beginnners/Intermediates/Advanced players. I strongly suggest you and anyone you are playing with remember this. Your job, right now, is to learn, and there is a ton of that on your plate. If one of your pals asks you about something, tell him, "Here's what I think I know about that, but you might ought to dig it out yourself". This thinking will keep you from passing out advice (that is probably not wanted, and maybe be off-base) and will keep you from listening much to the same advice from somebody else and using it as "The Word". If you want to know something, go read a book or go pick some real good player's brain. Dig it out of the Encyclopedia of Bridge.

Now that you understand what's going on around you, let's talk about the other of your two jobs here (the primary one of staying sane while learning the game). This is keeping your partner happy. So why is that so important? Do you like to win? Do you like to keep friends friends? Concerning winning, let me ask you a question: When do you play your very best game? When you are fully aware that your pard is working with you, on your side, and no matter what, there is going to be no yammer or blame-finding, right? Guess what? That's when your pard plays the best too. So how do you get your pard to play his very best? Be a wonderful partner, remember to have fun, and concern yourself with how you can do better and not worry about your partner's game. If you even comment when something goes up in smoke, the only thing you can say is,"Gee, pard, I could have done better". If you think you are blameless, just shuddup. That works just fine.

Now, here's some advice for you. If your object is to win at bridge, play with partners who are playing winning bridge and keep them playing that way. This is a simple fact. Bridge is a partnership game and a huge factor of winning has to do with taking good care of your partner. They do best when they are chirping along, not stressing out. Your behaviour and style at the table matters a lot. This is not hard to accomplish, you just have to be aware of this, and do it. What I have just said applies to the game regardless of your skill level or anything else. It is a universal truth.

I have one more tip for you, and this is nothing but my own opinion. Another part of keeping partner happy is his willingness to trust what you bid and play. Trust is a big thing. Try to make sure your bids are in the range they are supposed to be, and remember, it's nice if you have the top of your range, not the bottom. Your pard will love that. Stay solid...it pays, long term.

Last thing. You will generally make friends with the bridge partners you play with. Treat them as such. I have friends from the bridge world that I have had for 50 years. Their kids think I am blood-related..."Uncle Bob". These folks are part of who I am, and I cannot express how much I cherish them. You will have the opportunity to make the same kind of friends. Make sure you take advantage of that opportunity...simply, it is your best interests.

Recap: Don't discuss errors at the table. Think about your own game. When reviewing, work on partnership problems, not individual problems. Work on individual problems by yourself or with some kind of mentor. Enjoy the game and your partner's companionship. Hard to ask for much more of a card game, huh?

[bobh2]

PICKUP PARTNERS

I have made last minute partnerships, particularly for tourneys, and in this circumstance, two things just have to be addressed.

1. Over 2C, there seems to be no standard(?) for a supernegative. There has to be. I suggest:
2D waiting, and over a suit rebid, "cheapest 3 level bid is supernegative". This bid is completely artificial. This takes no discussion, best part of it. Example: 2c-2d-2h/2s...then 3c is super negative. 2c-2d-3c....3D is super neg. 2c-2d-3d....3H super negative.

2. There are so many variations of bidding structure over 1N, this needs quick agreements. I suggest, for speed:
(a) 2S, minor stayman, game force, can be a one-suiter, too, but is always game force
( jump to 3 level, light invite (6 card suit, 2 of the top three honors, nothing else)
© Stayman, followed by 3 of a minor is signoff
(d) normal major transfer and normal stayman auctions

No this isn't fancy and doesn't cover some types of hands, but is playable. Smolen fits right in, if you like Smolen but not necessary. This does let you know what's going on with almost no discussion and it lets you sign off, force to game, or invite game with a minor hand.

[bobh2]

MORE ON THE CARE AND FEEDING OF PARTNERS

Having played bridge for some 5 decades, almost all of it f2f, you might figure that I have either seen (or sigh....committed) most of the anti-social activities that happen at or around bridge tables. Being well-educated in this department, and hopefully, reformed, I have helped newbies handle things like:

A (supposedly) very good player playing with a medium level player was being very, very mean. I explained (in an indirect fashion) to the medium level player that it was not necessary, under any conditions, to have to take this abuse to learn/enjoy the game and exactly how to handle it.

An intermediate level player got their nerves frayed by being nitpicked, by partner, opponents and kibitzers. Again, there is no reason for this, and I showed this player how to stop it (and maybe to understand that a bunch of that is enthusiasm in learning, a lot like a 5 year old, forgetting social graces in the heat of brainstorming). Yes, at that stage, they get excited...grin.

Soooooo.....I try to pass some of this stuff to those who have the patience and warped curiosity to push through some of my ravings, and I have something to explain to you, something I think important.

Under the heading of taking care of and keeping partners you want to keep, there is one thing you must never, never do. Two recent occurrances lately led up to this. One, in a f2f tourney, having just finished 2nd overall in a big Swiss team event, I sort lost my temper with my partner and we haven't spoken since. What happened was, through the event, my partner, who is a fine player made some strange bids. It took until the last match for me to snap to what was going on......my partner was playing "client bridge" with me. A simply goofy bid in the last match was what gave me the picture, and I thought back about the other strange bids...by the end of the round my slow burn was pretty hot and and I had some words to say about this. I was only at Defcon 2 until he said that I had been playing badly all day (wanna take some bets on that one?) and he admitted to (trying to) covering for me. I lit up like a Roman candle and when that conversation was through, so was the partnership.

In the last few days, this same sort of thing occurred again, but not on 10 or 15 hands, just one. I made an opening lead of a side suit when all three of my dogs would have led my partners re-bid suit on this particular bidding. It was clear that I should have led pard's suit, but didn't and led a suit that was both risky and maybe ill-advised. My partner got in with the A of trumps and played some side suit back. Partner was seething because the dummy held the Ktx of pards suit and pard held AQJxxx. We did not discuss the board at the table (I try not to do that, even with students), but in a conversation later, I pointed out that there was a reason I didn't lead partner's suit...I HAD A VOID, and without heat, opined that it shouldn't have been terribly difficult to figure that out from all the clues. (This was not a student). My partner tried the excuse of, "Well, I have seen you make a lot of strange leads....(that part may be partially true...grin)". I got a little warmed up. The reason might not be entirely clear to newbies so let me walk you through it. My partner tried to excuse a very bad mistake (for an experienced player) by saying that it was because my pard decided I had made a mistake on the opening lead, a pretty goofy one, in fact, and that was the reason my pard now made a mistake.....that mistake now being all my fault.

This is intellectually dishonest, insulting to me, and defines an emotional reaction rather than critical thinking. The biggest problem is the unwillingness to say, "I made a huge mistake"...anything else is just wrong. Here's why: If you make a mistake, just own up to it. Honesty is admitting it, worrying about what you do, not what your partner does. Further, to be a real player, you have no choice.....you have to assume your partner did right. The game makes no sense at all if you don't. If you haven't figured it out yet, the two people to your left and right are ENEMIES. The one in front of you is your ALLY. And yes, this is war! (grin). If you are suspicious that pard made a mistake, and you can cover, by all means do so (that's one job of a partner) but if you have to believe the opponent or your partner, there is no choice in the matter. Bet your life (figuritively) on your partner. Play the game with the thought in mind that your pard is on your side. THAT is the only way to play, no other way. Make the right bid and make the right play, and if you have conflicting information from your partner and from an opponent, trust your partner.

That said, the lead I referred to was not properly analyzed. Frankly, it was clear to the street sweeper outside that I had a void. My partner make a mistake not getting that right. Frankly, I don't care. Mistakes are part of the game. For me, they are irritating when my partner makes them, to one degree or another, but when I make them, I get furious at myself. It has taken a lot of time for me not to get upset with myself, and so tempermental that I mess up the next board. In poker, they call that "being on tilt". Considering how fast and how hot my temper can burn, I have done well learning to control this...not at my partner, at myself. So, I was not hot about the mistake...I got a little warmed up because my partner violated a basic principle of being a partner, that being making a play or a bid, based on thinking your partner made a mistake. I got a lot hotter because of what I am about to tell you.

This is a RULE. If you ever mess up (and you will) and make the mistake of believing the opponents rather than your partner, or mess up by making a play that gets you killed, based on the concept that partner did wrong, rather than right, it is time to LIE. Never, never, never admit that, outloud. Admit to stupidity or confusion (I have an easy excuse....senior moments), but never that you did not trust your partner....either his judgement or his skills. My partner told me, by admitting to that, that in my partner's considered opinion, I couldn't find the right lead when, as I said, all three of my dogs and the gopher they chase could....rather than thinking about why I didn't lead that suit. It would have been far better for my pard to stuff a sock in the mouth than ever said that. The point is, take credit for your mess ups...get in the habit of that...if you vary off of that path, you need to take up something as intellectually challenging as....er....slot machines. The other point is, keep your partner happy, he'll chirp right along and and if a reasonably forgiving sort, will overlook your (unfortunately) regular errors, too. There is just no profit in making sure your partner does the same thing, take credit for errors even if you think it wasn't your fault. A reputation as a partner builds on technical skills, to be sure, but also on people skills. If you like to play with people who you know are better at this game than you are, work on your game skills, but add to that your social skills. A good way to get and keep real good partners.

Never, never, admit that you made a play based on thinking your partner made a mistake. Lie like a dog...far better to have "stupid" moments or "confusion" or "Senior moments".

Bob Holmes

[bobh2]

Opening bids:

I had an adventure today. My world is pretty stable and I pretty much understand what happens and why, and have learned to ignore the things I really don't care about very much. No, I have no idea how or why my remote controls work when sometime I have to use one to get a picture on the TV and other times another. I have memorized the sequences of button pushing to get it to work and from there, I don't know and don't care.

I had a student tell me today that he's never played bridge f2f (face-to-face). I thought about that a minute and my world just tilted. Aaaarrrrggghhhh, how can that be? All he's done is watch little flickerings on the monitor and was able to see what a hell of a game this is? I was dizzy with the thought. I learned to play when 3 of my college pals sat me down at a table in the dorm, handed me 1/4 of a deck of cards, and said, "Holmes, we're gonna teach you to play bridge". All those memories....playing all night and sleeping through classes...going to Dallas to a tournament and getting drunk (college days, after all) and playing in a side game and not knowing where I even was until the 4th round....playing against the Dallas Aces (the world champions) in a small tournament, and tieing the round with them, still a rookie....getting screamed at for doing something beyond stupid....not taking the setting trick because my pard (and one of my best friends) hesitated a guy into taking a finesse...tournament after tournament, playing all day, staying up late and trying to figure out the hands of the day...HE'S NEVER PLAYED FACE TO FACE?????????

No wonder some of my rookie pals don't know anything...all the chance they've had to learn is to watch the game played. Never a chance to go play in the local club, then go out with a crowd to the local pub, drink beer and hash over hands. Some of them have discovered that there are a lot of books written on the game, a lot. But they have missed the learning experiences I had, the verbal debates on bidding systems, the heated arguments about who screwed up...or who screwed up the worst. No wonder every time I sit down with a student, I look up and there are "birds on the wire"....watching, soaking stuff up. Ok, I've got it now...a better picture.

One of the things they've never learned is hand evaluation. I have tried to fix that with notes on this Forum space. Another is just exactly what constitutes an opening bid. People are feeding them "Rule of 20" and "Losing Trick Count" and they think those things are going to tell them what to do. Perhaps I should outline that, is a good place to start.

When I started, back in the days of King Arthur, an opening bid was 13 high cards. I won't even discuss 4 card majors with you, but I promise you, 5 card majors was an innovation. Twelve point hands were only opened with extreme distribution and 11 counts were an AUTOMATIC pass. Things changed....and boy did they.

Now, every 12 count is opened, and with decent stuff 11's are common and some 10's. That stuff is fine for people who can play the insulation off the wire, but it doesn't work too well for my rookies. We need to discuss normality. We need to discuss this so we can see what we are trying to accomplish.

First, the objective of offensive bidding is to go plus. Let me repeat that: PLUS. Bidding is just an estimate of the trick-taking capacity of your hand. Read what I wrote about hand evaluation to get a picture of how to do that, how to estimate that accurately. Some facts for you: Aces take tricks, Jacks don't...unless supported by bigger hands. Trump fits take tricks and if you have a big fit and short suits, you can take a ton of tricks. Only thing is, you can't know all of your trick taking capacity until you bid some and find out. Does that suggest that the value of your hand goes up or down, depending on the bidding? Of course, a lot. So where to start?

Background: The basic theory of standard bidding (as opposed to a lot of big club systems and even wierder systems) is that an opening hand opposite another opening hand should produce game. This has been the operating idea for even more decades that I have been playing, and it still works pretty well. That should give us a clue to what an opening bid has to have.

More background: Have you ever opened a 20 point hand, caught partner on zero and never got close to making? Have you ever played a game with 12 points opposite 12 (only an Ace difference than the first situation) and made it? That's because 12 points opposite 12 will have some communication between the two hands. You can take finesses, a way to make cards get better. You will find that as the points become more and more unbalanced between the two hands, it is harder and harder to score the tricks your point count says you should be able to take.

Another thing to think about: There is a huge difference between flat hands, major hands, and minor hands. Majors are in a class by themselves. If a major hand finds a fit, game is not out of range (only 10 tricks) with a combined 22 points, given the right situation. Flat hands are going to require more in high cards....by defination, there are not length tricks to compensate for a lack of high cards...game is going to require something like 26 high cards to bid to go have an edge in the objective of going plus. Minor hands are in a whole different world. You know slams are rare...so games, when holding a minor hand, is more likely by a whole lot, and...this is the peculiar thing, probably 85%, maybe 90% are played in 3N. If 3N is on the horizon, length compensates for high cards to a degree, but that is another part of the game to work on. If you are aiming for a minor game, that's 11 tricks, one trick short of a slam, and you need a lot of points to have a good shot...closer to 28 or so.

Now that we know all of that, let's see what we can come up with. First, perhaps we can open majors a little lighter than minors, we don't need quite as many points from pard to make a game if we have a fit. So, what would be the kind of hand in a major we could open, find the same kind of hand by partner, assuming a fit, and have a good shot at game, day in and day out? Remember we have to factor in the real possibility of not finding a fit, and end up playing in nt, or worse, 5 of a minor. If we have a huge possibility of finding a playable fit, the requirements could drop down a decent amount. Example: AJ9xxx AJtxx x x. That hand is a powerhouse, all you have to do is to find a fit in either major and almost anything will make game in a major. A lesser hand, but still good odds is my favorite example of the weakest hand in high cards I open is AQxxx Axxxx xx x....again, with a fit, a little bit more and a well-placed 8 points in partner's hand may well make a game. So, we are, with both majors opening a bit light. How about a 1 suiter? Then we don't need the fit so much, but our losers need high cards to cover them...maybe that's not such a good idea. Flatter major hands? Remember, with those, you may end up in nt or a minor...very light probably won't be real good. So the final conclusion? How about a "good" 12? That would work opposite a "good" 12 a lot of times. What is "good", go read the notes I have mentioned.

Now, flat hands: We are going to need 13 opposite 13 with these to have a shot at game. Opening less, and you are simply taking the short odds. Try passing 12 flat...the sky wont' fall. Another thing about doing this, you can bid aggressively later, but if you open, you are going to have to run scared the rest of the hand. It's far more comfortable to pass and bid aggressively than open and hope your partner doesn't hang you for it.

And last, minor hands: Remember your objective is almost always going to be nt. Barring extreme distribution, the only thing that compensates is a reasonably long, very good suit. So, while this hand: xx Kx Kxx AJt9xx might be a potential opener, Kx Qx Axxx Kxxxx is simply not. Remember the probablilities, and where you are likely to play...nt. Don't forget about the potential trick-taking possibilities on defense...much better to have your your cards in Aces and Kings than Q's and J's. So maybe, most minor hands should have a full 13????

There is another type of opening 1 bids that need consideration...the major/minor two suiter. That is a harder hand to classify. On one hand, you might find a fit for the major and then your hand goes way up...example: AQxxx x KQxxx xx. You just can't ignore that possibility. I suggest opening that hand, but you gotta do what you can to soft pedal that if you don't find a fit for the major.

A last thought on opening light: Don't do it just because it was your turn to bid. Something like KJxxx Qx J Axxxx just won't do. You need a "working" hand to take a stab at it. That hand is simply not an opener.

Think......"good" 12....you'll be ok

Bob Holmes

[bobh2]

**********Responsive Doubles****************

Time for some more competitive bidding theory. We have discussed negative x's and had a lot of drill sessions on them. I guarantee you a lot of you haven't got a handle on them yet. I strongly suggest reading and rereading the section on neg x's and make sure your favorite partners have too, so you can practice the proper use for them. If one comes up at the table, come talk to me and give me the hand. I will help as much as I can.

Time to move on.

This double, the responsive double, deals with exactly one situation in competitive bidding, but it is so common that you'll find it extremely useful. The simple mechanics of the responsive double come from the theory (and it's a good one) that you have almost no business doubling the opponents in a part score when they seem to have a real good fit in a suit. The people who violate this tend to be "high card point" doublers and they find that, upon occasion, they have 23 or 24 points or more between them and the opponents just made a game...2 of a major or 3 of a minor, doubled, making, due to lots of trumps and lot of short suits. There are some "Cardinal Sins" at bridge and maybe only one is both worse and more expensive. (That one is doubling a slam on something like KQJ of trumps and out, running them into 6N and them having enough high cards outside to make it...boy, is that expensive). I have preached that doubling part scores is something you only do when you are convinced that you have a 2 trick set coming, and you don't have a game, or a 3 trick set or more coming if you do have a game. Yes I know, there are other considerations at matchpoints, but we are talking about all other forms of the game. (Matchpoints is a game for second-story burglers, con men, and poker players who have run their bankroll into the ground).

Only one thing in bridge is more expensive to do wrong (see above) and nothing will irritate the socks off of a partner than doubling part scores and them making it.

With those warnings, maybe.....just maybe...if the opponents bid and raise a suit, you ought to not be trying to beat them doubled? Maybe, just maybe, you ought to be thinking about bidding your own fit???? So how to do that? Overcalls? Yep, thats one way. Michael's q bids? Yep. Unusual Nt bids? Yep. Takeout doubles? Yep. All of the above. So the question comes up:

What if partner makes a takeout double and raises? With enough hand, you can stick your nose in the auction, that's easy. You say, "Well, thats fine if I have a 5 card suit, but partner is only guaranteeing to hold at least 3 in the other suits." Now what? Some people get feeling so put upon by this situation that they agree to play that a takeout double guanantees 4 of the other major. Don't fall into this trap. It straps your competitative bidding. The opponents will steal you blind. That said, then over a raise, with only 4 card suits, and enough to bid, you should do something else.

Note that we decided that playing 1H-x(pard)-2H-x(you) to be penalty is a road to ruin. That means that that double is available for something else, and it seems to be put to good use by having it say, in English, "Pard, I have enough points that, opposite a takeout double, I think we can play at least at the 2 or 3 level, but I don't have a 5 card suit, let's dig". Really, it's kind of a takeout double of their suit, after pard made a takeout double of it, too. (I guess that seems a little funny, but it is exactly that). What do you need for a responsive double, in terms of distribution? The kind of distribution that won't get you in trouble. Support for all of the other suits is best, but maybe a 4 card holding in the other major and a 4 card suit in one of the other suits. What kind of points do you need? You have every chance in the world of being at the 3 level...to make that, you need to know for sure what your pard will double on. Mine double on a perfect 10 (4441) and the requirements go up as the distribution gets flatter. Ordinarily, partner will have a moderately distributed 12. Seems to me that you might ought to have a "good" 10 or better. Good meaning Aces and Kings, compared to all Q's and J's and maybe some spot cards.

So....1h-x-2h-x is takeout. Cool. Pard will bid his best suit and you will have found your fit. All's right with the world. There's a hitch (Does that surprise you?) What if you have this pattern? 3S, 2H, 4D and 4C and 11 highs? You shouldn't be passing, you're letting them steal, pard can't be on a whopper, and he might well pass 2H if you keep your mouth shut.

(I need to stick something in here: That is the simple truth that if the opponents bid and raise a suit, playing 2N for a partscore contract is just stupid. They get the first lead and they have almost as many points, at least as you do and they know what to lead)

That said, a 2N bid by 4th seat, not a double, needs to be part of the whole responsive double gadget. We know that a double is not penalty, and we know that 2N is not smart to play natural here, so, what we can do is make the x (responsive) show precisely 4 of the other major, plus some kind of workable support for the minors, and 2N show both minors, fewer than 4S. That allows us to find definative fits...bid the open major with 5, x with 4, and bid 2N with minor length. The odds become greater and greater that you will avoid 4-3 fits (or worse) in competitative auctions. So.....a quick review: (Using the auction, 1h-x-2h-?)

1. A suit here should be 5
2. A double here should be 4 Spades and at least one more 4 card suit (one of the minors)
3. A 2N bid should be both minors, equal length, either 44 or 55

Why does this work? Because if doubler is short in hearts (that's what the double implies), and only has 3 spades, he has to be at least 44 in the minors, and can be 54, easy. If responder bids spades, the 8 card spade fit is there, if he x's, either way, he finds at least a 44 fit. If he bids 2N, he finds a 44 or better minor fit (with one exception, a very rare one)

That exception is that opener has a nasty 5 card spade suit and an exact pattern of 5233 and makes a takeout double rather than overcalls. If responder has 3s 2H and 44 in the minors, he is going to bid 2N over 2H and now, yes, you'll fall into a 4-3 fit in a minor. The good news is that this is very, vary rare. You have to have a sorta odd shaped take out double and find the responder with 3s and only 4 card minor holdings for this to happen. Very rare, but can happen.

Oh, I forgot one thing, and it's important. That odd 2N bid? Which is a minor takeout? The doubler can use it too. Here's how:

1H-x-2H-x.....remember that shows specifically 4s and some reason to be in the auction, probably shortness in hearts too, to a degree, certainly at least one 4 card minor, as well.

1H-x-2H-x-p-2N....that is no more natural that the 2N bid from the other side...responder has shown exactly 4s and now opener has only 3. Opener knows he has a minor fit since he has to have at least 44 in the minors, to go with the 3s, leaving a doubleton heart of course, and responder's nightmare distribution would be 4S, 333. With a good 10 or 11 and that pattern, I'd downgrade and just bid 2s (showing something like 8 or 9...which is about all the hand is worth, frankly). With 4S and a hand he opts to use a responsive double on, he's gonna have a 4 card minor, and that 2N bid by the original doubler will steer him into a good fit.

1H-x-2H-x-p-3c...the original doubler does not have 4s, he's short in hearts, so he has to have 8 cards in the minors or more. If they were 44 or 54 or even 55, he'd have bid 2N. So, he has to have a semi-one suiter...a 3235 pattern.

That's it for the classic responsive double.

There is a little more, a different situation but still much like above. That is, this auction:

1H-1S-2H-? You have the minors. You heard the overcall. You have either 44 in the minors with a very good hand, or you have 54 with a little bit lesser hand or maybe 55 in the minors will a little bit less....all of which are good enough to get into the auction and you have 2 Spades or fewer. If you bid one of the minors, you might miss the right fit...it's irritating to play a 5-1 fit when you had a 5-4 fit to play. So, yes, a x here is "responsive". It shows a pretty good hand and those types of distribution listed above. If you have only 44 you really need a big hand...because now, this whole hand is sounding like a pinochle deck. If pard is on a bare minimium, you probably need at least 13 or 14 (pard is supposed to be on a serious overcall for 1h-1s, by the way). And yes, that old friend, the 2N bid is available too. No, it's still not smart to play a partscore in NT. The difference in the two bids, x and 2N? I play the x is a good hand, the 2N bid is not. Why would I want in the pot with a bad hand? Since I'm not suicidal, lots and lots of distribution. 55 is "iffy". I tend to be 65. Distribution makes up for high card points, but it takes a lot of it, a word to the wise.

Oh, and that 2N bid by doubler, after he doubled? It's still available on this auction:

1H-1S-2H-X-p-2N It says "I have equal length in the minors, you choose".

I know this seems like a lot to remember. It's really not. You can work out the meanings from principles if you just remember:

1. When they bid and raise a suit, over either a takeout double or an overcall, a X is not, I repeat, not penalty.
2. When they bid and raise a suit, with either a takeout double or an overcall in between, a 2N bid is not to play.
3. The hardest thing to remember is that over a takeout double of a major, then a raise, the x shows exactly 4 of the other major.

To complete this discussion, a couple of things:

1. 1H-x-2c-x is not responsive. That is, no questions asked, penalty. Why? Doubler said he has at least 3 of those. 4th seat has at least 4 pretty decent clubs. The most clubs 3rd seat can have is 6 and he's about to find his pard void of those. If he has 5, his pard might, maybe, have one. The guy is in a mess. You might be about to collect 1100 here...grin.

2. 1H-x-2H-2S is not a 10 point hand...it is only competitive. Since he didn't have to bid, he has to have something, enough to play opposite a decent 12...like a real good 7 up to a moderate 9 or so. With a 5 card spade suit and 10, 4th seat should jump to 3S. Yes, normally jumps in competition are weak, not here. A Q bid (1H-x-2H-3H) says "I have enough for game and I know where we are going". If you have enough for game and still need to find out where to play, use the responsive x and keep bidding.

Enough on this. That's all I know, anyway.

[bobh2]

How to take advantage of Capp and DONT and an introduction to Ripstra

****How to Deal with Interference After Partner Opens 1N******

Frankly, when partner opens 1N and the opponents interfere, this is an irritating situation. It is less so if we know what to do, but still a pain. Some bids and some methods are worse than others but we need to learn how to deal with this. Some background first.

At matchpoints, there are some players who just dive in, all the time. They do this on 4-4 patterns, all kinds of crazy stuff. On one hand, they are risking huge numbers, but on the other hand, they can get huge payoffs by messing up the bidding. Matchpoints is a knife fight in a dark room. If you are playing IMP pairs or teams, the risk/reward isn't nearly so great for the "scramblers"...they have a lot better chance to be handed their head. You can apply the methods below but if you know your are playing against matchpoint oriented loonies, just keep your doubler out.

Interference bids in sane situations are usually on lengthy one suiters or serious two suiters. Most people adopt one of the common methods and use it. You ought to know how to counter these bids. It is helpful to have some tools to work with before starting discussions on countering specific methods. The first tool you need to have is Lebensohl. This is, as far as I know, the best tool to use to counter 1suiters. You also need to think about playing neg x's over 1 suiters. In general, it is not productive to play immediate x's of one suited bids as penalty, regardless of what we were taught when we started playing bridge. For sure, look up Lebensohl, learn how to play it. It is hugely useful in this situation and even more so dealing with weak two bids. If you don't play it over weak two bids, aggressive weak two bidders will drive you nuts.

Before we discuss how to beat the methods, let's see what the strengths and weaknesses are.

Capp is the "default", it seems on BBO. On one hand it is a programmed way to get into the bidding on both one suiters and two suiters. With all due respect to Mike Cappelletti and Freddy Hamilton, I sincerely believe it has a theoretical weakness. In theory, a bid over an opening nt has a fairly high degree of risk. Their responder knows opener is on a lot of points and has a flat hand, more or less. If you walked in when you are unlucky, you can just get killed. So what are you trying to accomplish with a bid here? Theory again, you should have two objectives..one, to compete for the part score, and two, to throw a monkey wrench in their well-ordered offensive bidding machinery. The second is getting more important all the time. People, even rookies, are bidding so well that leaving them alone and letting them use their tools, is getting expensive. So, perhaps you need to be bidding, and having a schematic is a good idea. The only problem is, Capp does a poor job of getting in their face. Why? Because the one-suiter of Capp doesnt' cause any pain. Any bidding over 1n should have two qualities, one, it is major oriented, exclusively, and any 1 suiter should make 3rd hand's life difficult. Why so much emphasis on majors? Because if you have minor orientation, and bid, you shove them out of nt and into a major where they belong, and worse if you both have fits, they can outbid you....maybe you ought to defend nt when you have minors?????

CAPP (Short for Cappelletti...and also called Hamilton...two claims on inventing this, I think)

X is penalty
2c is a one suiter
2D is both majors
2H is Hearts and a minor
2S is Spades and a minor
2N is both minors

To deal with this:

Over X:
XX to relay to 2c, and pass with clubs, or correct to D.
From here "all systems on"...stayman and transfers..but I recommend that 2S is a double minor takeout, weak

Over 2C...the biggest weakness of their system...
X is Stayman...commonly called "stolen" for "He stole my bid"
again, "all systems on" but now, 2S is your normal stuff, Minor Suit Stayman or 4 way transfers

Over 2D(Majors)
You now know both suits...if you have interest in penalizing them, X
if you have both minors, but no interest in game, pass, let them pick a major and bid 2N at your next turn (2N is not a good place to play partscores...use it in competitive auctions for takeout).
Q bid a major if you have a stop and a game going hand. Your most likely game is 3N. If you have a game going hand in one minor, Q bid either major, preferably one with a control and over partner's next bid, bid your minor. With both minors, game going, no interest in 3N, Q the preferred major, and over partnters' next bid, Q bid again.
bid either minor to play

Over 2H or 2S(that major and an unknown minor)

Use Lebensohl. It's hard to deal with an unknown suit, ignore it.

The most common bid from Capp is the one suiter. The 2C bid accomplishes nothing as far as making you work if you play what is outlined above. A better tool is called for for them, but now you can deal with Capp. (A better tool is outlined below)

DONT:

Another fairly common schematic for bidding over nt, and another one that has a lot of minor emphasis (thus wrong).

X=a one suiter (No, no penalty double...sigh)
2C=Clubs and a major(oh, wonderful, let's bid them clubbies)
2d=Diamonds and a major(see comment above)
2h=Majors
2s=a better spade one suiter
2n=both minors

The theory weakness is even worse...x doesn't do any "preemptive" work at all. The only thing to be said for DONT is that it keeps you at the 2 level on all two suiters but minors. If you are going to scramble in with 4-4's and crap all the time, maybe this is best????

TO DEFEND DONT:

XX to force pard to bid 2c then you can pass or bid 2D, both to play
all systems on from there (notice how it didn't get in your way, at all?)

2d and 2d, use Lebensohl

2H, use the same defense you use against Michael's Q bids. If you haven't discussed this, I'll give you a quick and easy defense...it will come up a lot. 1. bid either of the other two suits (minors) to play. 2. Q bid a suit you have stopped with a game going hand, trying to get to 3N. 3. Bid 2N as a one round force, (not necessarily a good hand), showing either a game force in one minor, both minors, or both minors, merely competitive. Pard will pick a minor. On your next bid, pass if you just wanted to compete...bid your minor if a game forcing one suiter (regardless of whether your pard bid it, or the other minor), and Q bid again with both minors and a game force.

2S..back to Lebensohl

What I have written looks complicated. It is a little, but if you see the principles, and your partner knows anything too, you can fall back on principles. They are:

If defending against a known 1 suiter, use Lebensohl
If defending against a two suiter where the suits are known, use Q bids to show stops, new suits to play, and 2N to show the other two suits. With 2N, you can quit when partner chooses, or you can make a game force by now bidding your one suiter or make a game force with both suits by Q bidding again.
If defending against 1 known suit, 1 unknown suit, use Lebensol against the known suit, and ignore the other suit (best you can do, not perfect, but a lot better than nothing).

For you analytical types, there is one more thing to stick in these principles. If your side starts with 1N, the first objective is to get to game (3N) safely. Use the principles above. If you are in a suit bidding war, like a Michaels Q bid situation or unusual nt situation, one change needs to be made: Use the Q bids differently. You can turn their own bidding on them, use what is called "higher-to-higher, lower-to-lower". Q bid their highest suit to highlight interest in your highest suit, and Q bid their lowest suit to highlight your lowest suit (the two other suits). An example: 1c(by your partner), and they make a Michael's bid of 2c. You Q bid 2S...that's their suit, but you are saying you have a good D suit and a good hand. 1c-2c-2H...you have Q bid their lowest suit, the one pard opened, and are saying I have a good hand with clubs in support. This works for when you open 1 of a major and the opponent bids the unusual 2N bid...same principle...higher to higher, lower to lower.

I promised you a GOOD tool to use over their nt opener. In theory, a GOOD tool gets you into the bidding over 1N with: decent major one suiters, very long one suiters of any kind, decent major two suiters, or extreme two suiters. It does not tempt you to bid with moderate minor holdings of any sort. That is proper theory and also a GOOD tool is easy to explain and easy to remember (forgetting stuff is like shooting yourself in the foot).

RIPSTRA(slightly modified from the original)

2C is a double major takeout. Clubs is your longest minor. 5-4 in the majors is a risk, but you use it there at your own discretion. 5-5 is a lot safer.

2D is your longest minor, again...and still a double major takeout.

2H is natural, I suggest something like a good weak two bid or better

2S is natural, too.

X is penalty, not a balanced hand, a suit you want to jam at them and a lot of entries (how about: KQJTxx Axx x Axx?). That's my kind of double..partner will leave the double in with almost anything..and be happy to leave it in with two Queens. If he can't leave it, he pulls to 2C unless he has a 7 card suit.

2N-both minors

3 of anything is just real long. Note that you cannot bid a minor in this unless you are very, very long in it?

Why bid your longest minor even if it is maybe only 2? Your poor old partner might have a 6511 pattern with minors. You are in deep water. He can pass and play that minor at the 2 level. It just may not be in the opponent's best interest to start doubling you at the 2 level when you are 6511, you see?

RIPSTRA BALANCING SCHEME: 1N-p-p-?

Different objectives here. First, the only two suiter you want to bid is, again, majors. X with that. You need 9 points, preferably in your suits, and if only 9, preferably 55. With a little more points, 5-4 works just fine.

The problem with other two suiters is the same as in immediate seat...if you have minors involved in your two suiter, you push them out of nt, where you have a chance at them, into majors where you don't. A different problem exists when you have a one suiter.

With any one suiter and a moderate amount of points, if your pard is alert at all, he knows you have some points, and he'll lead his long suit hoping at least some of your points are in his suit. If you have a good suit, but only moderate points, he is going to give a soft trick to the declarer and maybe the contract along with it. Don't let him do that. Bid all suits, even minors, naturally here. It is always better to have a major, but even if you have a minor, your partner will never guess your minor to lead, and you aren't going to do well against 1N. Push them out of it.

Question: Why is it safe to bid on so few points? Answer: Their third seat passed. They have between 15 and 24 points (at the most). Also, your partner's points are sitting on top of their points. Your finesses are working, theirs are not. If you have 9, your pard will average 11. Once in a while, responder will have his max, 8. You can be in trouble here. However, he's going to be real leery about doubling you for penalty...you could have AKJtxxxx or something. So, the theory is: (and this works in practice), you will get in trouble a lot less than you ought to. On the other hand, if you use the re-opening X to show majors, and promising at least 9 points, anytime your pard has 13 or 14 or more, he can leave the double in, and he knows what to lead. Remember the declarer is in a world of trouble, he can't get to dummy and it wont do him any good if he could, his finesses arent working.

You can explain Ripstra quickly: 1. in immediate seat, bid your longest minor for a major suit takeout. 2. All other bids are natural, except for 2N, a minor take out. 3. Balance with natural suits or X with the majors and at least 9 points.

It's right, in theory. It's impossible to forget. There is never any confusion. What more can you ask for?

[bobh2]

EXACTLY WHAT IS AN "OPENING HAND"?

I had an adventure today. My world is pretty stable and I pretty much understand what happens and why, and have learned to ignore the things I really don't care about very much. No, I have no idea how or why my remote controls work when sometime I have to use one to get a picture on the TV and other times another. I have memorized the sequences of button pushing to get it to work and from there, I don't know and don't care.

I had a student tell me today that he's never played bridge f2f (face-to-face). I thought about that a minute and my world just tilted. Aaaarrrrggghhhh, how can that be? All he's done is watch little flickerings on the monitor and was able to see what a hell of a game this is? I was dizzy with the thought. I learned to play when 3 of my college pals sat me down at a table in the dorm, handed me 1/4 of a deck of cards, and said, "Holmes, we're gonna teach you to play bridge". All those memories....playing all night and sleeping through classes...going to Dallas to a tournament and getting drunk (college days, after all) and playing in a side game and not knowing where I even was until the 4th round....playing against the Dallas Aces (the world champions) in a small tournament, and tieing the round with them, still a rookie....getting screamed at for doing something beyond stupid....not taking the setting trick because my pard (and one of my best friends) hesitated a guy into taking a finesse...tournament after tournament, playing all day, staying up late and trying to figure out the hands of the day...HE'S NEVER PLAYED FACE TO FACE?????????

No wonder some of my rookie pals don't know anything...all the chance they've had to learn is to watch the game played. Never a chance to go play in the local club, then go out with a crowd to the local pub, drink beer and hash over hands. Some of them have discovered that there are a lot of books written on the game, a lot. But they have missed the learning experiences I had, the verbal debates on bidding systems, the heated arguments about who screwed up...or who screwed up the worst. No wonder every time I sit down with a student, I look up and there are "birds on the wire"....watching, soaking stuff up. Ok, I've got it now...a better picture.

One of the things they've never learned is hand evaluation. I have tried to fix that with notes on this Forum space. Another is just exactly what constitutes an opening bid. People are feeding them "Rule of 20" and "Losing Trick Count" and they think those things are going to tell them what to do. Perhaps I should outline that, is a good place to start.

When I started, back in the days of King Arthur, an opening bid was 13 high cards. I won't even discuss 4 card majors with you, but I promise you, 5 card majors was an innovation. Twelve point hands were only opened with extreme distribution and 11 counts were an AUTOMATIC pass. Things changed....and boy did they.

Now, every 12 count is opened, and with decent stuff 11's are common and some 10's. That stuff is fine for people who can play the insulation off the wire, but it doesn't work too well for my rookies. We need to discuss normality. We need to discuss this so we can see what we are trying to accomplish.

First, the objective of offensive bidding is to go plus. Let me repeat that: PLUS. Bidding is just an estimate of the trick-taking capacity of your hand. Read what I wrote about hand evaluation to get a picture of how to do that, how to estimate that accurately. Some facts for you: Aces take tricks, Jacks don't...unless supported by bigger hands. Trump fits take tricks and if you have a big fit and short suits, you can take a ton of tricks. Only thing is, you can't know all of your trick taking capacity until you bid some and find out. Does that suggest that the value of your hand goes up or down, depending on the bidding? Of course, a lot. So where to start?

Background: The basic theory of standard bidding (as opposed to a lot of big club systems and even wierder systems) is that an opening hand opposite another opening hand should produce game. This has been the operating idea for even more decades that I have been playing, and it still works pretty well. That should give us a clue to what an opening bid has to have.

More background: Have you ever opened a 20 point hand, caught partner on zero and never got close to making? Have you ever played a game with 12 points opposite 12 (only an Ace difference than the first situation) and made it? That's because 12 points opposite 12 will have some communication between the two hands. You can take finesses, a way to make cards get better. You will find that as the points become more and more unbalanced between the two hands, it is harder and harder to score the tricks your point count says you should be able to take.

Another thing to think about: There is a huge difference between flat hands, major hands, and minor hands. Majors are in a class by themselves. If a major hand finds a fit, game is not out of range (only 10 tricks) with a combined 22 points, given the right situation. Flat hands are going to require more in high cards....by defination, there are not length tricks to compensate for a lack of high cards...game is going to require something like 26 high cards to bid to go have an edge in the objective of going plus. Minor hands are in a whole different world. You know slams are rare...so games, when holding a minor hand, is more likely by a whole lot, and...this is the peculiar thing, probably 85%, maybe 90% are played in 3N. If 3N is on the horizon, length compensates for high cards to a degree, but that is another part of the game to work on. If you are aiming for a minor game, that's 11 tricks, one trick short of a slam, and you need a lot of points to have a good shot...closer to 28 or so.

Now that we know all of that, let's see what we can come up with. First, perhaps we can open majors a little lighter than minors, we don't need quite as many points from pard to make a game if we have a fit. So, what would be the kind of hand in a major we could open, find the same kind of hand by partner, assuming a fit, and have a good shot at game, day in and day out? Remember we have to factor in the real possibility of not finding a fit, and end up playing in nt, or worse, 5 of a minor. If we have a huge possibility of finding a playable fit, the requirements could drop down a decent amount. Example: AJ9xxx AJtxx x x. That hand is a powerhouse, all you have to do is to find a fit in either major and almost anything will make game in a major. A lesser hand, but still good odds is my favorite example of the weakest hand in high cards I open is AQxxx Axxxx xx x....again, with a fit, a little bit more and a well-placed 8 points in partner's hand may well make a game. So, we are, with both majors opening a bit light. How about a 1 suiter? Then we don't need the fit so much, but our losers need high cards to cover them...maybe that's not such a good idea. Flatter major hands? Remember, with those, you may end up in nt or a minor...very light probably won't be real good. So the final conclusion? How about a "good" 12? That would work opposite a "good" 12 a lot of times. What is "good", go read the notes I have mentioned.

Now, flat hands: We are going to need 13 opposite 13 with these to have a shot at game. Opening less, and you are simply taking the short odds. Try passing 12 flat...the sky wont' fall. Another thing about doing this, you can bid aggressively later, but if you open, you are going to have to run scared the rest of the hand. It's far more comfortable to pass and bid aggressively than open and hope your partner doesn't hang you for it.

And last, minor hands: Remember your objective is almost always going to be nt. Barring extreme distribution, the only thing that compensates is a reasonably long, very good suit. So, while this hand: xx Kx Kxx AJt9xx might be a potential opener, Kx Qx Axxx Kxxxx is simply not. Remember the probablilities, and where you are likely to play...nt. Don't forget about the potential trick-taking possibilities on defense...much better to have your your cards in Aces and Kings than Q's and J's. So maybe, most minor hands should have a full 13????

There is another type of opening 1 bids that need consideration...the major/minor two suiter. That is a harder hand to classify. On one hand, you might find a fit for the major and then your hand goes way up...example: AQxxx x KQxxx xx. You just can't ignore that possibility. I suggest opening that hand, but you gotta do what you can to soft pedal that if you don't find a fit for the major.

A last thought on opening light: Don't do it just because it was your turn to bid. Something like KJxxx Qx J Axxxx just won't do. You need a "working" hand to take a stab at it. That hand is simply not an opener.

Think......"good" 12....you'll be ok

Bob Holmes

[bobh2]

RESPONSIVE DOUBLES

**********Responsive Doubles****************

Time for some more competitive bidding theory. We have discussed negative x's and had a lot of drill sessions on them. I guarantee you a lot of you haven't got a handle on them yet. I strongly suggest reading and rereading the section on neg x's and make sure your favorite partners have too, so you can practice the proper use for them. If one comes up at the table, come talk to me and give me the hand. I will help as much as I can.

Time to move on.

This double, the responsive double, deals with exactly one situation in competitive bidding, but it is so common that you'll find it extremely useful. The simple mechanics of the responsive double come from the theory (and it's a good one) that you have almost no business doubling the opponents in a part score when they seem to have a real good fit in a suit. The people who violate this tend to be "high card point" doublers and they find that, upon occasion, they have 23 or 24 points or more between them and the opponents just made a game...2 of a major or 3 of a minor, doubled, making, due to lots of trumps and lot of short suits. There are some "Cardinal Sins" at bridge and maybe only one is both worse and more expensive. (That one is doubling a slam on something like KQJ of trumps and out, running them into 6N and them having enough high cards outside to make it...boy, is that expensive). I have preached that doubling part scores is something you only do when you are convinced that you have a 2 trick set coming, and you don't have a game, or a 3 trick set or more coming if you do have a game. Yes I know, there are other considerations at matchpoints, but we are talking about all other forms of the game. (Matchpoints is a game for second-story burglers, con men, and poker players who have run their bankroll into the ground).

Only one thing in bridge is more expensive to do wrong (see above) and nothing will irritate the socks off of a partner than doubling part scores and them making it.

With those warnings, maybe.....just maybe...if the opponents bid and raise a suit, you ought to not be trying to beat them doubled? Maybe, just maybe, you ought to be thinking about bidding your own fit???? So how to do that? Overcalls? Yep, thats one way. Michael's q bids? Yep. Unusual Nt bids? Yep. Takeout doubles? Yep. All of the above. So the question comes up:

What if partner makes a takeout double and raises? With enough hand, you can stick your nose in the auction, that's easy. You say, "Well, thats fine if I have a 5 card suit, but partner is only guaranteeing to hold at least 3 in the other suits." Now what? Some people get feeling so put upon by this situation that they agree to play that a takeout double guanantees 4 of the other major. Don't fall into this trap. It straps your competitative bidding. The opponents will steal you blind. That said, then over a raise, with only 4 card suits, and enough to bid, you should do something else.

Note that we decided that playing 1H-x(pard)-2H-x(you) to be penalty is a road to ruin. That means that that double is available for something else, and it seems to be put to good use by having it say, in English, "Pard, I have enough points that, opposite a takeout double, I think we can play at least at the 2 or 3 level, but I don't have a 5 card suit, let's dig". Really, it's kind of a takeout double of their suit, after pard made a takeout double of it, too. (I guess that seems a little funny, but it is exactly that). What do you need for a responsive double, in terms of distribution? The kind of distribution that won't get you in trouble. Support for all of the other suits is best, but maybe a 4 card holding in the other major and a 4 card suit in one of the other suits. What kind of points do you need? You have every chance in the world of being at the 3 level...to make that, you need to know for sure what your pard will double on. Mine double on a perfect 10 (4441) and the requirements go up as the distribution gets flatter. Ordinarily, partner will have a moderately distributed 12. Seems to me that you might ought to have a "good" 10 or better. Good meaning Aces and Kings, compared to all Q's and J's and maybe some spot cards.

So....1h-x-2h-x is takeout. Cool. Pard will bid his best suit and you will have found your fit. All's right with the world. There's a hitch (Does that surprise you?) What if you have this pattern? 3S, 2H, 4D and 4C and 11 highs? You shouldn't be passing, you're letting them steal, pard can't be on a whopper, and he might well pass 2H if you keep your mouth shut.

(I need to stick something in here: That is the simple truth that if the opponents bid and raise a suit, playing 2N for a partscore contract is just stupid. They get the first lead and they have almost as many points, at least as you do and they know what to lead)

That said, a 2N bid by 4th seat, not a double, needs to be part of the whole responsive double gadget. We know that a double is not penalty, and we know that 2N is not smart to play natural here, so, what we can do is make the x (responsive) show precisely 4 of the other major, plus some kind of workable support for the minors, and 2N show both minors, fewer than 4S. That allows us to find definative fits...bid the open major with 5, x with 4, and bid 2N with minor length. The odds become greater and greater that you will avoid 4-3 fits (or worse) in competitative auctions. So.....a quick review: (Using the auction, 1h-x-2h-?)

1. A suit here should be 5
2. A double here should be 4 Spades and at least one more 4 card suit (one of the minors)
3. A 2N bid should be both minors, equal length, either 44 or 55

Why does this work? Because if doubler is short in hearts (that's what the double implies), and only has 3 spades, he has to be at least 44 in the minors, and can be 54, easy. If responder bids spades, the 8 card spade fit is there, if he x's, either way, he finds at least a 44 fit. If he bids 2N, he finds a 44 or better minor fit (with one exception, a very rare one)

That exception is that opener has a nasty 5 card spade suit and an exact pattern of 5233 and makes a takeout double rather than overcalls. If responder has 3s 2H and 44 in the minors, he is going to bid 2N over 2H and now, yes, you'll fall into a 4-3 fit in a minor. The good news is that this is very, vary rare. You have to have a sorta odd shaped take out double and find the responder with 3s and only 4 card minor holdings for this to happen. Very rare, but can happen.

Oh, I forgot one thing, and it's important. That odd 2N bid? Which is a minor takeout? The doubler can use it too. Here's how:

1H-x-2H-x.....remember that shows specifically 4s and some reason to be in the auction, probably shortness in hearts too, to a degree, certainly at least one 4 card minor, as well.

1H-x-2H-x-p-2N....that is no more natural that the 2N bid from the other side...responder has shown exactly 4s and now opener has only 3. Opener knows he has a minor fit since he has to have at least 44 in the minors, to go with the 3s, leaving a doubleton heart of course, and responder's nightmare distribution would be 4S, 333. With a good 10 or 11 and that pattern, I'd downgrade and just bid 2s (showing something like 8 or 9...which is about all the hand is worth, frankly). With 4S and a hand he opts to use a responsive double on, he's gonna have a 4 card minor, and that 2N bid by the original doubler will steer him into a good fit.

1H-x-2H-x-p-3c...the original doubler does not have 4s, he's short in hearts, so he has to have 8 cards in the minors or more. If they were 44 or 54 or even 55, he'd have bid 2N. So, he has to have a semi-one suiter...a 3235 pattern.

That's it for the classic responsive double.

There is a little more, a different situation but still much like above. That is, this auction:

1H-1S-2H-? You have the minors. You heard the overcall. You have either 44 in the minors with a very good hand, or you have 54 with a little bit lesser hand or maybe 55 in the minors will a little bit less....all of which are good enough to get into the auction and you have 2 Spades or fewer. If you bid one of the minors, you might miss the right fit...it's irritating to play a 5-1 fit when you had a 5-4 fit to play. So, yes, a x here is "responsive". It shows a pretty good hand and those types of distribution listed above. If you have only 44 you really need a big hand...because now, this whole hand is sounding like a pinochle deck. If pard is on a bare minimium, you probably need at least 13 or 14 (pard is supposed to be on a serious overcall for 1h-1s, by the way). And yes, that old friend, the 2N bid is available too. No, it's still not smart to play a partscore in NT. The difference in the two bids, x and 2N? I play the x is a good hand, the 2N bid is not. Why would I want in the pot with a bad hand? Since I'm not suicidal, lots and lots of distribution. 55 is "iffy". I tend to be 65. Distribution makes up for high card points, but it takes a lot of it, a word to the wise.

Oh, and that 2N bid by doubler, after he doubled? It's still available on this auction:

1H-1S-2H-X-p-2N It says "I have equal length in the minors, you choose".

I know this seems like a lot to remember. It's really not. You can work out the meanings from principles if you just remember:

1. When they bid and raise a suit, over either a takeout double or an overcall, a X is not, I repeat, not penalty.
2. When they bid and raise a suit, with either a takeout double or an overcall in between, a 2N bid is not to play.
3. The hardest thing to remember is that over a takeout double of a major, then a raise, the x shows exactly 4 of the other major.

To complete this discussion, a couple of things:

1. 1H-x-2c-x is not responsive. That is, no questions asked, penalty. Why? Doubler said he has at least 3 of those. 4th seat has at least 4 pretty decent clubs. The most clubs 3rd seat can have is 6 and he's about to find his pard void of those. If he has 5, his pard might, maybe, have one. The guy is in a mess. You might be about to collect 1100 here...grin.

2. 1H-x-2H-2S is not a 10 point hand...it is only competitive. Since he didn't have to bid, he has to have something, enough to play opposite a decent 12...like a real good 7 up to a moderate 9 or so. With a 5 card spade suit and 10, 4th seat should jump to 3S. Yes, normally jumps in competition are weak, not here. A Q bid (1H-x-2H-3H) says "I have enough for game and I know where we are going". If you have enough for game and still need to find out where to play, use the responsive x and keep bidding.

Enough on this. That's all I know, anyway.

[bobh2]

MINOR SUIT RAISES, SOLID AND SIMPLE:
by Bob Holmes

I have been playing so long......(How long have you been playing, Bob?)....that I remember when 1 of any suit, pass, 3 of any suit was a game force. LoL. Not kidding.

We have all kinds of major suit wiggles and squirms, but the minor suits get far less attention, since most game-going minor hands are played in 3N. It's not hard to see why, since game in a minor is one little bitty trick short of a slam.

My intent here is to help my Intermediate and Advanced level friends to more solid bidding and it's time to talk about minor raises for a while. To see where we are now, probably some history would be a good idea.

Whenever it was that limit raises came about (back in the days of King Arthur and the Round Table, I'm sure most of you think), all of us well-read players started playing limit raises in majors and minors both. While limit raises worked well in the majors, we started noticing that there was a decided lack of accuracy over auctions of 1minor-p-3minor-p-? The reason why was that a huge percentage of opening minor hands were the same kind of hands that the weak nt'ers were opening 1N.....12-14 balanced. So what was happening? 1minor-p-3minor-p-3N, day in and day out. Accuracy suffered.

Somebody a lot more astute than I came up with the idea of turning the raises around...and called it inverted minors (Al Roth invented about everything, might have been him). So, all of us readers shifted gears again....and now 1minor-2minor was a limit raise or better, and 1minor-3minor was a 6-9high card raise on 5 of that suit. What this accomplishes is to put a lot of pressure on the opponents who have every chance in the world of having a major suit fit and about equal high cards. This is a prime time headache, and when somebody does this to you, you'll see how much fun it is. On the other hand, a 1-2 raise leaves all kinds of investigation room, when you have one hand with a normal opener, and the other hand with a 10-12 point hand and at least an 8 card fit, lots of room to try for game or slam, both in nt and the suit. A huge improvement over limit raises.

Since bridge theorists never sleep, there have been several "tweaks" which you should be aware of. The first is just pushing the ranges around a little, sometimes a lot. I have seen people playing 1minor-p-3minor as a real bad hand....like 3-7...or lighter, and responding 1N with what would normally be a sound raise. This is simply just more pressure on the opponents, but has the effect of going minus with some frequency. You pays your money and takes your choice.

The other "tweak" I have seen is a lot like the Bergen raises. A jump shift in the other minor becomes a raise, and unless you are a firm advocate of strong jump shifts (and they do have some serious merit), you can do some interesting things with this concept. It is called "Criss-Cross" raises, because 1D-p-3C and 1C-p-2D are the raises. The interesting thing to do with these is to combine them with inverted raises, making one a game investigation only, and the other a potential slam investigation. My regular partner and I play 1-3 as a decent, normal raise, 1-2 as game range investigation, and CrissCross as a serious digging effort toward slam. We don't play 1-3 as a really bad hand, but we are IMP players, and intend to try to plus a lot. If we played matchpoints, at all, we might have to reconsider that position.

That's the background. For my students, I recommend learning to play inverted raises (leaving the complexities of CrissCross alone, since you need a partner who is tuned in to get that complex) and expect almost every experienced or well-trained partner to be able to handle the inverted raises.

I'll outline the mechanics of this in a minute, but a word on tactics. The more high cards you have as a responder, the less you have to worry about the opponents bidding and making game...that stands to reason. With that in mind, if you hold 5 card support and the top range of the 6-9 point raising range, and...a balanced hand, bidding 1N will be right a lot of times. If you regularly bid 3 of the minor, you are going to go minus enough times to be irritating because you could have made 1N. If you are more towards the bottom end of the range, the 3minor bid becomes a preemptive bid, and going down a little might not be such a bad thing. That's with more balanced hands. With unbalanced hands or even semi-balanced hands (54 patterns) where you have at least 2 ruffing values, remember you have a known 8 card fit, maybe more. You are about as likely to make 3 of a minor as 1N and have the benefit of causing migraine headaches for your opponents holding the majors. Once in a while, you blow the opponents out of the bidding when your partner has a minimium opener with a big minor fit and a minimium and the opponents can make a game due to their big fit, if they ever uncover it. That is a huge win for inverted minors.

Now, the mechanics:

We start with assuming a minor opening as a good 12 or better. Playing standard, we assume 3 cards for the opening bid. That means to have a playable fit, responder needs to have 5, not 4, 5. Both suits. We don't play "short club"...it's not standard and messes up your bidding anyway. (The biggest thing is that there is just no real advantage to knowing your partner has 4, not 3 diamonds)

Let's dispense with 1-3 raise. Very simply, the best agreement to have is that it is a "gambling/preemptive" bid, always with 5 of the suit, and if balanced, a 6 or 7 or not-too-hot 8 points...or anything in the 6-9 point range if unbalanced. You might ask: "But what if partner has 16 or 17? How is he going to know what to do?" Stop and think. Partner doesnt have an opening nt...that is what you are worrying about. He didnt open that. If partner has extra values and a nt hand, he's going to have 18 or more. He can bid 3N with that, anytime. So, what if he has extras but too unbalanced to open 1N? Nobody is keeping him from bidding another suit to show that. Responder's bids are easy...just rebid the suit with the nasty raise and bid a control or something with a good, unbalanced 3-of-the-minor raise. Examples:
(leaving out the opponent's passes)
1d-3d-3h-4d...4d says "I have a really bad hand over here, pard, move on at your own risk"
1d-3d-3s-3s....3s says "I don't have a bad hand, considering my raise and I have something in spades you might like to know about.

So, do you do this playing sit-down with a stranger? Of course, if the stranger actually knows what he is doing, he'll work it out, easy stuff.

Remember, bid 1N rather than 3 of the minor with a decent-to-good balanced hand and minor support. If partner bids 2N, accept gleefully.

Now, to the heart of the matter...the 1-2 raise

A point: Some people will try to tell you that the 1-2 raise can be done on a good 8, some will try to tell you 9 will do, and others will try to tell you that it shows 11...or 12 and up. Tell them "no" in clear bell-like tones....a good 10 or better, end of statement. There is a good reason for this. Just as limit raises in the majors should be a good 10 to 12, since you will make game a lot if you have a good 13 or 14 opposite that limit raise (and you should look at a limit raise as an "invitation), you will make 3N a lot when you have the top side of the normal 12-14 minor opening opposite a 10-12 inverted raise. Actually, in my experience, the only time you will not get to a nt game is if both sides are on the bottom or middle bottom of their bids. Remember, you have an edge over the point count, you have a known 5 card fit on the responder's side, with a known fit in the opener's hand. So, an ordinary 13 point opener opposite anything off the bottom in responder's hand will have some kind of decent play for 3N, if both are balanced. That fit makes the difference.

The first thing you need to know is how to describe a dog, a real bad opener, after 1-2 minor raise, by either side. This is sooooo simple. If opener had a "I just barely cranked this open" hand, he re-raises. 1d-2d-3d. That sends the message to responder who can have from 10 to 28 points (you wish) that responder is now the captain and not to expect anything extra. On the other hand, if responder has only a good 10, or not too good 11, he should make the 1-2 raise, but over anything showing forward motion, do the same thing, run back to the bid minor. Of course, if partner bids 1-2-3, he passes. Example: 1d-2d-2h-3d or 1d-2d-2n-3d...on both auctions, we know responder is flat on the bottom for the inverted raise. Opener can do what he wants. New suits are forcing of course, but opener is warned.

That's soooo easy, and is the way to stay out of game when you are just a little bit short.

The second thing you need to know is that 1minor-2minor-2N is a flat 12-14 and might be closer to 12-13.5, since with any self-respecting 14, opener should bid 3N, knowing a good 10 with a 5 card suit is partner's minimium. Remember this isn't going to cause problems for responder worrying about opener having 15-17, he didnt open 1N, duh. With 18 or more, opener will investigate...scroll down to see that. So, if 1m-2m-2N, responder, with a good 12 or better, flat will raise to game. That's all there is to that and that will be a common auction.

The third and last thing to know is how to investigate. So simple, bid a new suit. Even a 3 card suit. It doesnt matter, the raised minor is the trump suit. What does this do for us? Responder will run back to the raised minor with a dog, and bid anything else with an opener or virtual opener. 2NT is a possibility with a balanced hand and say, 12-14 in responder's hand. (He can do that because if opener doesn't have a dog and responder doesn't have a dog, this is now a game forcing auction). If opener bids a new suit, and responder does too, responder is again, showing a full opener, approximately, and probably a control card. Opener can have a distributional hand and be thinking about 5 of the minor, as opposed to 3N or can be thinking about a slam. Responder can be doing exactly the same thing. There is a lot of room left to investigate.

That's it. Once you understand the concept, it goes pretty smoothly. There is a little memory work, but only a little. Let me set in out in short form:

After 1-2 minor raise:

Opener's next bid:
1. 3 of the suit...somewhat unbalanced, dead minimium opener
2. 2N...nt pattern, 12-13.5 in points
3. Any new suit, not a dead minimium, unbalanced to some degree, or a big nt hand, investigating
4. 3N...a very good 13 or any 14, balanced.

Responder's Second bid:
1. over opener's 1-2-3 auction, can bid 3N to play or a new suit to force
2. over opener's 2N bid, can pass or bid 3 of the suit to play or a new suit to force or 3N to play
3. over opener's new suit (forcing), can bid 3 of the minor to show dead minimium, anything else to show "not-a-dead-minimium".

That's all...super simple if you have the concept. Should you take this approach playing with a knowledgeable stranger, assuming you have agreed to play inverted minors? Absolutely. All of these bids after the 1-2 raise are just exactly like they sound. Should you play exactly this with your regular partner? I do and if you ever watch us practice, we have stuff wired up like a Christmas tree, but we do this this way...nice and simple.

******POST NO REPLIES, PLEASE....THIS IS NOT THE PLACE.....THIS IS FOR STUDENTS TO "QUICK READ" CONCEPTS....OR TO PICK UP NOTES FOR CLASSES/LECTURES....IF YOU WANT TO DEBATE...GRIN...ANY TIME! SEND ME AN EMAIL AT bob@spectrumpest.com OR FIND ME ON BBO...ALWAYS WILLING TO SET UP A CHAT ROOM, ROUND UP A GROUP OF STUDENTS AND GO AT IT! THE STUDENTS WILL PROFIT, REGARDLESS OF ANYTHING ELSE IF THEY LISTEN. IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION, SEE ME ON BBO.**************************

[bobh2]

*********Comments on opening 1NT**************

I know we all think we know what a 1NT bid looks like, but maybe we ought do some thinking about that. Below are some thoughts about what kind of hands fit into that "box" and some that don't.

First, assuming standard, we are playing a 15-17 opening 1NT range.

(an aside: there are a lot of hands that standard bidding is geared to this range. A jump rebid is that exact range. A jump raise of a response is that exact range. The reason why these semi-power bids have that exact range is that that exact range is hard to deal with. I guess I would call that range a "lesser" power bid, and reverses or jump shifts "big power bids". You might think of these bids as an opening hand with about a King better than a normal opener. )

Second, we need to talk about patterns for the opening 1NT.

The "no-brainer" patterns are 4333 and 4432. There is only one posssible exception to either of these and I'll cover it in "Exceptions" below. So, 15-17 and those patterns, with one possible exception, open 1NT. If your agreements are in place, pard has an easy time. Bidding over an opening nt is "bread-and-butter" bidding and should never come unwound.

Other patterns are more open to question. The first thing we ought to do is understand that an opening nt implies some sort of "balanced hand" and some hands are semi-balanced, and we ought to discuss those to see if they fit in that box.

The next most balanced hand is the 5332 pattern. This is easy if the 5 card suit is a minor, just shut your eyes and open 1NT with 15-17. Again, pard should have no problem bidding his hand opposite this. The problem comes when the 5 card suit is a major. A common question: "Should I open with the major or with 1NT?" This is one of those bridge questions that can get a good arguement started at the pub after the game. Many people will take either side and give you a ton of reasons why they are right. Here's my thinking: If you have a 5332 pattern with spades, you can easily open 1S and over 1n, bid 2n to define this. Over a 2/1, you can raise or bid 3NT with ease. No real problem on the rebid. So, I recommend that a 5332 pattern with 5 spades be opened 1S. Hearts are simply different. The same thing works, over a 1N response, you could bid 2N, and over a 2/1, you could raise or bid 3N. All the same. What is different is if you open 1H and pard responds 1S. You cannot rebid 1N....that shows 12-14. It seems silly to rebid a 3 card suit...I just won't do it. You are a heart short to jump rebid. You cannot bid 2N...that shows 18-19. The point is, you don't have any bid over 1H-p-1S-p-? that makes any sense whatsoever. To avoid this trap, I open 1NT on 5332 patterns when the 5 card suit is hearts. This is as good of a solution for as good a reason as I know.

The next most balanced hand is a 5422 pattern. This exact pattern is called "the stepchild" pattern, because it can be a suit hand or a nt hand. No certain home (thus "stepchild). When should you open this 1NT and when not? Here are my recommendations:
1. When the 5 card suit is a major, bid it as a suit hand, regardless of the relative strengths of the suits.
2. When the 5 card suit is a minor, look at the location of the high cards. If a majority of your high card points are in the suits, this hand will bid and play better as a "suit" hand, but if about half of your values are in the doubletons, it will bid (and probably play) better as a NT hand. Think about it this way, if your doubletons are weak, your suits will be strong and probably will do better bid as a suit hand.

This is certainly open to debate, but I have been doing this for a long, long time and cannot remember when it got me in trouble.

The next most balanced hand is 6322. If the defination of "balanced" is not having a singleton or void, this qualifies. The good news is that if you have a very good 6 card suit, you can jump rebid it and pard will know what's up. The bad news is when your 6 card suit isn't very good but you have a bunch of points, say, 15-17. No matter what happens (stayman, transfer), your pard shouldn't be upset since you do have at least two in every suit and your points are within the 15-17 "box". He'd be a lot more upset if you jump rebid a cheesy suit and he bid to a slam that got beat by trump honors. I would open 1NT on this pattern if my 6 card suit isn't close to solid.

The only other "balanced hand" is a 7222 pattern, and no, not a good idea to open that 1N. Yes, I would be tempted if I had this hand....Kx Kx AQxxxxx Kx. If you open that 1N and it turns out wrong, your pard will complain for a month.

There are a couple of "odd" situations we ought to address, just to cover all the bases:

This hand: AQxx KQxx Axx xx.
I have an opinion, and I am not sure what percentage of the expert community shares it with me. So, just assume this is my opinion, not necessarily "middle-of-the-road" standard. I think this hand is so major oriented that opening 1N is not best. If pard has either 4333 (which he will not bid stayman on), or a 4432 pattern with not enough points to move, you miss the 4-4 major fit when you should be playing it, enough that opening 1NT is, on the long haul, counterproductive. Just my opinion.

The other "odd" situation concerns opening 1N with a stiff A or stiff K. This stirs up the discussion pot a lot, it seems. There was a big debate in the Forums about this, and the point was made that Bob Hamman (if you don't know who he is, you might ought to read some on the history of bridge...If I remember right, Bob held the #1 world ranking longer than any other player in history) has been known to do it on a stiff K and so have a lot of other players a lot better than I. Maybe this is a thing you have to think about and make up your mind if there are times when you should do it, a reasonable position, or maybe you should make up your mind that it will always make you uncomfortable and just not do it. It's always a little uncomfortable to me to take a position counter to players of that level, but I am uncomfortable with that and I dont' think I'll ever be, so for me, I just won't do it. Moreover, for my students, I feel even more strongly that you shouldn't, either. I think us mortals should perhaps rein in our creativity and try to keep pard comfortable as well as ourselves.

Last comment:

All of you know I try to teach you to bid on "evaluated points". What you will find is that high card point count is very accurate in NT bidding. Of course, more controls compared to having your points in Q's and J's is a factor, but that factor lessens if playing NT. That's a real big thing in suit bidding. There is one common thing that does make a re-evaluation necessary, perhaps. That is the presence of a 5 card suit. Point count cannot properly evaluate that, so I suggest that if you have 17 good working points and a pretty decent suit, your best evaluation might be a point up, and bid that hand like an 18-19 point hand. I think you'll find that, if you do, the accuracy will increase enough to be noticable. The same thing applies to a 14 high card point hand with a 5 card suit. If your hand is a "super" 14 and has a 5 card suit, open it 1NT. It will play like a 15-16 point hand.

Since we are discussing opening 1NT hand, perhaps a simple clarification might be a good thing. This has to do with what it takes to raise 1N to 2N. Here's my recommendations:

Raising 1N to 2N with flat hands and 8 highs is not a useful thing. This was taught when the norm for an opening 1N was 16-18, and nobody ever bothered to correct this in the beginning books, so everybody does it and wonders why they don't make those "tight" games. Let me point out....if pard has a 17 point hand with a pretty decent 5 card suit he wouldn't have opened 1N (see above). If he has 17 flat opposite your 8 flat, he is going to have to be lucky to make, I wouldn't bet on making. If he has 16 with a 5 card suit and accepts, you are working on 24 highs, and it's gonna be close. If he upgrades his 15 plus a 5 card suit, and you have 8, you are simply taking "the short end of the stick". Don't raise 1N to 2N on 8 flat. It is not productive in the long run.

9 high cards or 8 with a 5 card suit is a better invitational raise. It's still close, but now you are usually at worst a coin-flip. That is worth a shot.

9 with a 5 card suit is not an invitational hand. Jam it into game and see if pard can make it. Pard probably will, 75% of the time.

That's it for NT hands and their raises. See you next time.

Bob Holmes

******POST NO REPLIES, PLEASE....THIS IS NOT THE PLACE.....THIS IS FOR STUDENTS TO "QUICK READ" CONCEPTS....OR TO PICK UP NOTES FOR CLASSES/LECTURES....IF YOU WANT TO DEBATE...GRIN...ANY TIME! SEND ME AN EMAIL AT bob@spectrumpest.com OR FIND ME ON BBO...ALWAYS WILLING TO SET UP A CHAT ROOM, ROUND UP A GROUP OF STUDENTS AND GO AT IT! THE STUDENTS WILL PROFIT, REGARDLESS OF ANYTHING ELSE IF THEY LISTEN. IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION, SEE ME ON BBO.**************************

[bobh2]

************BIDDING MINORS OVER PARTNER'S OPENING 1N BID******************

This is one of the area of bidding that you can make as complicated as you have the capacity for memory-work and patience for. (The other primary area is "Responses over 2C Openers"). Eddie Kantar said that a bad agreement is better than no agreement at all, and I say that there is so much to learn about the bidding game that a functional, simple agreement is a ton better than blowing up hands because you cannot remember all the sequences you agreed on or havent had time to discuss. In the interest of just having a functional agreement, that will cover most of the minor hands, here is what I played for a long, long time and still do over the big nt openers. It is called MINOR SUIT STAYMAN, MSS, for short.

1. to sign off in a minor, bid stayman and then either pass the 2D response, or bid your minor at the 3 level.
2. to invite in a minor, with a good suit (two of the top three) but nothing else, jump to 3 of the minor. Example: xx xxx xx AQxxxx. Pard can pass, a playable spot (and has the added chance of ripping off the opponent's major partscore...heh, heh) or bid game with exactly one honor in your suit, all of the other suits stopped, including 3 outside tricks. Example: AKx Jt9x Axxx Kx ----open 1NT and over 3c, bid 3N.
3. with a 6 card minor and a little better hand, shut your eyes and bid 3N. Example: xx xxx xx AKJtxx. On the good days, you make those.
4. with a game forcing minor hand, a one-suiter or two-suiter, bid 2S. Opener will either bid 2N without a 4 card minor, or 3D or 3D with a 4- or 5-card minor.

This method does not handle 5+5+weak minor hands or the specific game-forcing pattern of (1345, 1354, 3145, 3145) well. There are methods that do, if you have time to discuss those methods and want to commit to the memory work. Having several decades experience using MSS, I can assure you, I never felt deprived not being able to bid these two types of hands pinpoint accurately. On the 5+5+ weak minor hands, just pass 1N. This is a danger hand anyway...if the opponents find out that they have a double major fit and all of the rest of the high cards, this might be one of those very rare hands where your side opens 1N and the opponents have a major game. If the opponents double your partner at 1N, run. The other hard-to-deal-with pattern, 3-1 in the majors, 5-4 in the minors, game forcing? With game strength only, shut your eyes and bid 3N. When slam is possible, bid 2S. If pard bids 2N, showing no 4 card minor, bid 3N and quit or 4N Quantitative. If pard bids a minor, move toward slam (see below). This recommendation will handle, reasonably accurately, about 95% of the hands that I don't think MSS handles well. This will work plenty good until you have the need for a notebook for your bidding system and a regular partner who you play with constantly. There is simply a limit on the need for pure science for normal people (those who are trying to play well, and reasonably accurately, compared to the "I-have-nothing-else-to-think-about-and-want-to-complicate-my-life" crowd, which line I personally, have been known to cross.

THE KEY TO THE MATTER:

A 2S, in response to an opening 1NT opener, says exactly:

I have a game forcing hand and am interested in either one minor or both minors.

Opener's responsibilities are simple: Bid 2N with no 4 or 5 card minor, or bid a 4 card minor at the 3 level. With both, just like stayman, bid 3c, the lower, first. With 54 in the minors (a rare 1N bid), bid the 5 card suit. This is easy, and that's all opener has to do.

Responder's next bid:

This is really all the memory work you have to do to use MSS. Simplified, responder's second bid will tell opener what kind of hand responder holds...either a one suiter or a two suiter. Responder merely bids his own minor, as cheaply as possible to define a one suiter. Very simple. If Responder has a two-suiter, over any response by opener, Responder bids his short major at the 3-level. Sorta like a splinter bid. That's all there is to the memory work. No, it does not matter what response opener made. Responder just takes one of those two actions. Nothing else.

What happens a lot is that opener bids 3N, because that looks right. Other times, opener Q bids. Other times opener does not Q bid, but raises to game. You see, opener and responder both, know the fit, and opener takes normal bridge action. (Q=I like my hand for controls, Raise, but no Q, I dont' like my hand much and I am worried about NT, or cheapest NT=I have stuff stopped). This is more complicated to write about than actually bid, so examples follow:

1N-2S-2N (no 4 or 5 card minor by opener)

1N-2S-3C (I have 4 or more clubs, maybe D, too)

1N-2S-3D (I have 4 or 5 D, but not clubs)

NEXT STEP:

1N-2S-2N-3C or 3D by responder (I have a game forcing 6-card minor and this is it)

1N-2S-2N-3H or 3S (I have a game forcing double minor hand, and I am short in the suit I just bid)

1N-2S-3C-4C (I have a game forcing Club hand and it's nice to hear you have 4 card support)

1N-2S-3C-3D (I have a game forcing Diamond hand, one suiter)

1N-2S-3C-3H (I have a game forcing 5+5+ minor hand, with a stiff heart, it seems we have a huge trump fit...how does my stiff heart sit with you?)

1N-2S-3D-4C (I have a big one-suiter in clubs)

NOTE: Every time, regardless of the second bid by opener, responder either showed the one-suiter by bidding the suit or the two suiter by bidding the short major. Every time. (And yes, if you have 5+5+ in two suits, you have to have a short suit)

At this point, both partners know what kind of hand responder has and have a good chance, using q bids with good hands, or slowing down by not q bidding, to arrive at a good level.

This is all there is to it. This set up takes the pain out of minor bidding over opening NT hands. My regular students will drill with me on this, I have hands already set up for this for the partnership bidding rooms. If you want practice this, see me on BBO.

Bob Holmes

******POST NO REPLIES, PLEASE....THIS IS NOT THE PLACE.....THIS IS FOR STUDENTS TO "QUICK READ" CONCEPTS....OR TO PICK UP NOTES FOR CLASSES/LECTURES....IF YOU WANT TO DEBATE...GRIN...ANY TIME! SEND ME AN EMAIL AT bob@spectrumpest.com OR FIND ME ON BBO...ALWAYS WILLING TO SET UP A CHAT ROOM, ROUND UP A GROUP OF STUDENTS AND GO AT IT! THE STUDENTS WILL PROFIT, REGARDLESS OF ANYTHING ELSE IF THEY LISTEN. IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION, SEE ME ON BBO.**************************

[bobh2]

******************DIRECT RAISES OF MAJOR OPENINGS****************************
by Bob Holmes

Assuming the object of what I work on (currently, anyway) is to bring bridge players from somewhere in the intermediate stage to a good solid advanced level, I keep putting these notes here. I honestly believe that if you play what I propose (along with good hand evaluation...dig through here, notes on that, too), you will find yourself bidding solidly and accurately in the areas I get to cover. Here are my recommendations concerning direct major raises...one of the "bread-and-butter" parts of bidding at bridge.

First, the ranges:
1Major-2Major=6-9 (essentially in high card points)
1Major-3Major=good 10-bad 12(essentially in high card points, but there are factors...)
1Major-? When you want to make a game forcing raise.
1. Splinter bids-game force
2.Jacoby 2N-game force
3. A good long side suit and game strength

The 6-9 Raise:

This is easy to define and game tries over this are worked in detail in another paper on this site...I suggest you read it. The 1-2 raise in a major is fairly simple...it promises at least 3 card support and at least 6 points at the bottom end. (Yes there is one exception I think is right, and that is if you have 3 card support and an Ace) Other than that, I strongly recommend having some discipline and passing with 4 or 5 points. On the top end, the maximium is 9 highs, with another exception. With a very balanced 10 points, and mostly in Queens and Jacks, I recommend downgrading that to count as 9 and bid 2 of the major, not a limit raise. (See the papers on hand evaluation).

The "good 10 to bad 12" Raise.

People play limit raises with different ranges, all along in here. I use this range and I think most do, because it accomodates what is a normal minimium opening bid....12-14. If you play a good 12 is the normal minimium, this range for a "limit raise" works well. As opener, if your partner bids, say 3S over your 1S opening bid, you pass only with a not shapely, minimium, and bid game with any excuse....a singleton, all control cards, 13 or 14 points...any excuse. If your partner is disciplined about having a good 10 to bad 12 for the bid and you pass if you have to, but bid game if there is a reason, you'll make a high percentage of these games. Limit raises are not much science...just good evaluation by both sides.

The "Game forcing Major Raises"

The idea here is to have all of the types of hands you might want to make a game forcing raise on covered. You will find that there are basically 3 types: one, a hand with a very short suit, 4 card support, and game going values, two, a flat hand with game going values and support, and three, a hand that contains a good 5 card side suit as well as support and game values. Every hand will fall into those three catagories, the hands you know you want to play game in partner's opened major.

So, let's explore them.

SPLINTER RAISES:

This is the simplest to define and to work with. Splinters get a lot more complex used in multi-bid auctions, but we are talking about direct and immediate major raises.

The technical defination of a splinter bid is "an unnecessary jump", "unnecessary" relating to the concept of being forcing. If you play strong jump shifts, an easy example, 1s-3d would be forcing, so 1s-4d is "unnecessary", therefore a splinter. As far as the direct bids over an opening major, you also could define it as a "double jump shift".

What it means is: "Partner, I have a game forcing hand, and the primary thing in my hand is that I have a short suit (the one I just bid) and I have enough trumps to ruff losers/score tricks here".

A classic example: Over a 1s opener: Axxx x KQxx Axxx Your partner opens 1S, pass, you bid 4H. Your partner can almost paint a picture of your hand. The thinking method to evaluate further is "THE THIRTY POINT DECK", and you will find how to use that in another paper I have written, concerning short suit game tries over 1s-2s. It's here posted, and you'll just have to poke around, but that method works with short suit game tries, and splinters, as well.

The only other thing I want to point out is: Again, people use various ranges for splinters. My thoughts are: Using the hand above....you have no idea if the short heart is helpful or harmful to your partner's hand. If not helpful, in order to go plus on this hand, you still are going to have to have a full opener to make game. If you restrict the bottom end of your splinter bids to being a full opener, you go plus even if the singleton/void is not real good, and you have to draw the bottom line somewhere so that partner can properly evaluate his hand. I suggest "A full opener, 4 card support, and the short suit is a bonus". Last thing: Is there a top limit on splinters? No. Your partner will cooperate or not, if you have a huge hand, you can now just start q bidding or keycard asking....so there is no reason to think you cannot use a splinter with a huge hand to glean information.

JACOBY 2NT: (The flat forcing raise)

Most of the game forcing raises of your partner's opened Major will be of this variety. It will look flattish (not singletons or voids) and won't have a good, long side suit. The "thrust" of this type of hand will be trump support and enough points to play in game. What you have just encountered is the classic Jacoby 2N bid. The mechanics are: 1Major-p-2N. This replaces the ancient natural 2N response which showed roughly 12-14 highs and denied support. I would estimate that in the US, virtually everybody but real system addicts play this bid, and due to online bridge and the heavy American influence, most of the rest of the world does too. As close as anything gets, Jacoby 2N seems to be "standard".

There are a set of responses that opener's hand falls into...the exact same kind of hands we are discussing in this paper. Flat hands, hands with a short suit, and hands with a good, long side suit. (I told you all hands, once a fit is established, can be defined this way). This means that opener is going to define his hand, and responder is essentially in control. Here are the opener's rebids that are in normal use today:

1. Opener rebids a good, long suit at the 4 level
2. Failing to have that, opener bids a short suit at the 3 level
3. if Opener has neither of those, meaning a semi-flat hand, he bids the following:
a. with a minimium, 4 of the Major
b. with 17 or more, 3 of the Major
c. with the "middle" hand, 15-16, 3N

Several comments: Notice that the first responsibility is to show a side source of tricks. This is of primary importance to slam bidding, even more so than the short suit, due to the concept of "a source of tricks". I suggest the same evaluation method over this bid as we use with long suit game tries (see the paper on game tries over majors). The second responsibility, failing to have a side source of tricks is the short suit response. Responder will evaluate and bid his hand with that information in mind. I suggest using the concept of "The Thirty Point Deck" here (read the paper here concerning short suit game tries). Notice that both bids are distribution-showing. This is a key factor since the 2N bidder will not have much in the way of distribution, and in fact, will hold, at the most, a 5422 pattern, and probably not even that distributional. An important note: the two distributional responses are completely unknown from a standpoint of high card strength, other than the opener considered his hand good enough to open. Responder can find that out by initiating a q bidding auction if he is interested.

If opener has a "flat" hand, without a good side 5+ card suit, or without shortness, he reverts to a three-step response system, outlined above. This works reasonably well since high card point count functions fairly well when both hands are balanced....and on these auctions, they are.

That is the way Jacoby 2N works, and the paths of logic I think best to put the information received to work. There is one issue that needs to be addressed, though. I get the same blank question from virtually everybody and I get it all the time. "You use Jacoby 2NT with only 3 trumps?"

Evidently, everybody who teaches falls into little lines on this, like ants or worse, lemmings. It would be a rarity, I suppose, for someone to actually think about what they teach. In the interest of clarity of thought and some help for the newer players who are sooooooo trusting thinking they are being taught "the right way", here's a path down Logic Lane.

1. Having a 9 card trump fit is nice. It helps the play of the hand in a number of ways. The most obvious is the responder (we'll call him that for ease of discussion) having 4 trumps and a short suit. Less obvious is that the absolute need for middle trump honors (and even spot cards in trumps) is lessened and sometimes by a lot. Another bonus is that declarer can play the hand on a dummy reversal line, ruffing in hand, and using dummy's trumps to pull trumps.

All that said, the smaller bonuses are just that, smaller. The big bonus, the capacity for ruffs, disappears when playing Jacoby 2N, since Jacoby 2N is used on flat hands. As flat as 4333 patterns. (another small bonus, but the operative word is small...4th round ruffs).

Note that with the bid incentive gone, requiring 4 cards for the bid is of only marginal value. With deference to Marty Bergen and his attachment to 9 card fits, all of standard bidding is geared to 5 card majors...and why is that? Because this enables partner to freely support with 3 cards...which means that the partnership has a seriously playable fit...8 cards total. Through your own experience, you will know that only rarely, when a partnership holds an 8 card fit in a major, it is better to play NT. Jacoby 2N was originally designed to steer the partnership to these 8 card fits...5 in opener's hand and 3 in responder's. This convention has stood the test of time because it works and the reason it works is that the flat hand has no screaming need for a 4th trump. Sure, 9 is more "comfy" but just not a big deal. So why worry about it, one way or the other? The answer to that is, you haven't asked the right question. The right Question is, "What does requiring 4 trumps for Jacoby 2N do to the rest of your bidding....what is the cost of that?"

I my opinion, the gain is minimiumal, as I have stated...a little, but not a lot. On the other hand, what you lose is a huge, huge loss. If you have been following along and have thought about all of this, you should realize that sometimes responder is the guy with the "source of tricks" and opener needs to know that. The easiest type of hand to play and perhaps the hardest to bid, for slam is when the partnership holds a 5-3 (or 5-4) trump fit that scores 5 tricks, a good long side suit that scores 5 more tricks, and the two side aces. We have addressed this within the Jacoby 2N bid, by the response of a new suit at the 4 level when the second suit is held by opener. How do we address this when responder has that side source of tricks?

If you require the responder to have 4 trumps in support to use Jacoby 2N, you just can't cover this hand. Why? Because to make a 3 card forcing raise in a major, you have to bid a 2/1 on a potentially scruffy 4 card suit and then raise the major to some degree or another. Your partner learns quickly not to count on that 2/1 bid as anything else. On the other hand...if you have the Jacoby 2N only require three for support (we have already discussed that, and determined that there is not huge advantage in making Jacoby 2N promise 4), you can restrict the auction of 1Major-2 bid, any suit by responder-next bid, then a strong raise in the Major to mean a good, long side suit and a source of tricks. This is just critical to accurate slam bidding to be able to handle this kind of hand. Let me give you a couple of comparative examples:

1S-2c-2d-3S...assuming 3s is forcing...what kind of hand does responder have? Answer: Either Axx KJxx Kx Axxx....or Axx xxx Kx AKJxx. Almost the same hand, with exactly the same high cards, but....not the same playing strength by a long shot. Here is the bottom line on this logic path: If you require 4 trumps for Jacoby 2N, you have to bid each of these hands exactly the same way. If you only require 3 trumps, you bid 2N on the first hand and a 2/1 on the second hand. Think of this this way, hand #1, above has 15 fairly good points, but is going to need at least 17 from pard to make a slam. Hand #2 needs something like KQxxx Axx Ax Qxx (a 15 count) to make a GRAND slam. All because of the good, long side suit. You have to be able to bid these, and this is what you lose requiring 4 trumps for Jacoby 2N. It is just not worth the price you have to pay.

And, now, the last of the "direct game forcing Major raise auctions":

2/1, FOLLOWED BY A RAISE TO THE THREE LEVEL OF THE OPENED MAJOR:

We are talking about any of the following auctions: 1S-2C-2D-3S 1S-2C-2S-3S 1S-2C-2N-3S

The point of all of those auctions is that responder bid to the two level, and on his next bid, bid the opened major at the 3 level...and more to the point, it was clearly not a "forced preference". This auction is, if you haven't thought about it, sorta strange. As a practical matter, assuming you open "good 12's" and make 2/1's on "good 10's or better", you almost never pass this 3 of the major bid. Why? It's technically, in standard, not forcing! Er....the practicality of the matter is that you usually make game. I haven't seen someone I consider a good player pass that bid in a decade, maybe longer. (Maybe 3 or 4 decades....lol). So, does it stand to reason, that if this never gets passed, you might as well make it forcing? It does to me.

I am convinced that this single auction was the leading reason why 2/1-style became so popular. People could make a 2/1 and have time to investigate slam below the 5 level. The most likely situation for that use was when responder had a good suit, game forcing values, and support for the opened suit. This is a tweak for standard bidders that not only should be done, but should have been part of the bidding system at invention. Another thought...if I am playing standard with an unknown expert, I am going to bid my hand this way, even without discussion. What if it gets passed? Not going to happen. Nobody passes those. See what I mean?

Once you determine that making that little "fix" to standard is the right thing to do, you simply now can use that specific auction to communicate to partner that you have at least three of his suit, at least a full opener, and most important, a good 5+ card side suit, a "source of tricks" if you will. But in order to do that, you need to make up your mind that having Jacoby 2N only require 3 cards for support (see above). If you make this auction on either Axxx of Clubs or AKJxx of Clubs, your partner will never know and never know what to do, for sure. (Have you noticed a recurring theme? Jacoby 2N should only require 3 trumps for support).

There you have it, all three types of game forcing major raises. If you want your game bidding dead accurate, adopt this thinking. It's as close as I know how to get to expert thinking anyhow, and if you were to sit down with any expert worthy of the name, and handled majors this way, that expert would feel right at home....very comfortable.

Bob

[bobh2]

***********SLAM BIDDING TECHNIQUES**************
by Bob Holmes

There are a lot of intricate techniques one uses bidding slams. I will, as time goes by, dig into them, but we will start with the ones you just have to know first.

When do I use Blackwood (Gerber)?

This is the very first thing anybody ought to learn about bidding slams. People get told, "You ought to ask for Aces there, but nobody explains about why. This should help.

#1....The very most important thing...and I want you to understand this and remember it like the names of your children: Blackwood is NOT a slam bidding tool. (I know....blink?...what?). Blackwood is a tool that is designed to keep you out of BAD slams...those missing 2 Aces. If you understand this, you have hopped the first big hurdle towards bidding slams at bridge. Before Blackwood, all the old guys just knew that they had a lot of hand, their pard had a lot of hand, so they bid slams. Bang, bang...two aces cashing....down one. All conventions are invented to solve problems and this was a big one. It is named after Easly Blackwood, who may or may not have invented it to stop this.

#2....How to think when considering using Blackwood:

Get in your mind that Blackwood is an "anti-slam" tool. This means that if you are thinking about using it, you have to be thinking, "I am pretty positive we have a slam and I am going to bid it". With that mindset, you check on aces and if you have enough, you bid the slam. Sometimes you are right, even. You do not say, "I think maybe perhaps we have a slam and if we have enough aces, I guess I'll try it". If you intend to be any good at the game, you will adopt this thinking.

#3....Responses to Blackwood:

The old set of responses (0 or 4, 1,2,3) work just fine. Roman keycard works even better. Read Eddie Kantar's 4th edition on RKC for information...I suggest it.

#4...Points to think about:

If you ask for Aces, get a response, and ask for Kings, you are no longer on a small slam hunt, you are looking for a grand slam. You are guaranteeing all of the Aces, and if you are playing KeyCard, not only do you have all of the aces, you have all of the trumps, too. Why is this concept important? If pard has a good hand, you have a good hand, and you have taken control of the auction by asking for aces, and now ask for Kings.....and pard has a source of tricks he hasnt had time to show...like AKQJxx of a side suit, he should be able to count on you having all of the aces, and he should know you just dont need Kings...you can pitch trash on his huge suit. He can bid the grand over your King ask. This is why 5N guarantees all of the Aces.

#5...on of the easiest ways to blow up a good hand is to get to slam off a cashing AK. To help this nasty situation, a good rule of thumb. If you have a suit that is not headed by an A or a King, do not use Blackwood. Keep q bidding if you want to bid more.

QUE BIDDING PRINCIPLES:

There are two types of Que (Q) bids. One would think they would have different names because of the potential confusion, but they don't. One type is a Q bid in competitative bidding, where your bid your opponent's suit for whatever reason. These are usually bids designed to get to game. We are not dealing with that type here. We are discussing the other type of Q bids, the ones used on slam hunts.

First, understand that the key factors in slam bidding are: Trump fits, short suits, controls, and tricks. "Controls" refer to Aces and Kings outside the trump suit, and that is what Q bids are all about.

Q bids tell controls. They also convey more message than that, by implication. Example:

1S-p-3S-p-4C

This is a classic, simple Q bid. Using old methods (we will discuss that), that 4C bid says, in the language of bridge, translated to English, "I heard and understand what your 3S bid meant. My hand is powerful enough to think we might have a slam. I have the A of Clubs and interest going higher."

Let's pursue that auction. Now: 1S-p-3S-p-4C-4S. In English, 4S says, "I hear you, I am glad you have extra values, but I don't". Whatever 3S meant, the responder is on the bottom. And, no, the responder didn't deny a red suit A, just denied any extras. The point is, the failure to q bid when it was available either says "I don't have it" or I am minimium for my bidding so far. There are going to be times when you know partner has to have a control/A to q bid, but he skips it. He is telling you he's on bottom. Not decent, on bottom.

On the other hand, 1S-p-3S-p-4C-p-4D. Responder heard his partner attest to extra values of one degree or another, and now, he is showing at least solid values. Not necessarily anything wonderful, but good values or better, and of course the A of D.

To keep on going, on the same auction: 1S-p-3S-p-4C-p-4D-4S. Opener has q bid once then run back to the trump suit. He probably has about a King better than his dead minimium. He showed that with the first Q bid, and now he's outta gas. All depends on responder now. If responder has no more to say, the auction ends. If responder has enough to think that knowing what he knows, they still might have a slam, he now takes a push with another q bid.

1S-p-3S-p-4C-p-4D-4S-p-5H...a good example

If opener takes a second q bid, he's even stronger....like this:

1S-p-3S-p-4C-p-4D-4H.

All of this is not nearly as hard as it looks. All you have to understand is that once trumps are established, a new suit shows a side A and is showing some interest in slam. Retreats to the trump suit by either side define a minimium. This works on the same concept as a lower auction: 1s-2s-3d. That is a game try of some kind or another, and a q bid is a slam try, same idea.

Last area for discussion here:

Q bids that show Aces or that show either Aces or Kings.

The old way was to q bid Aces first, then Kings. That's real clear, but has a problem..sometimes, you don't get to show all your values, you run out of room. People are slowly moving to what is called "Italian Q bids" or "King-value Q bids", meaning to q bid them up the line, regardless. The biggest reason for this movement is that it really saves space and you sometimes can show everything you have to partner. I tried these a long, long time ago and just terribly confused. I never knew what cards pard had. The increasing use of KeyCard has cleared up a lot of confusion. You can q bid at lower levels then check on "Aces" and get a wonderfully clear picture. I have a couple of suggestions about using this method, though.

First, if the q bidding starts on the 5 level, make sure your q bid is an Ace. This works for me pretty well, and I could be wrong, but I am easy to confuse.

Second, I have had people tell me wierd things like "if you bypass one suit, and q bid a higher one that your partner has bypassed too, you have to have a control in that suit". Do what??????? They may be right, and could explain that to me in a week or two, but this is too complicated. Keep your bidding straightforward so partner can understand it. Implied stuff, controls or suits or whatever...all it gets you is post-hand arguments. I have heard "Only a moron wouldn't know I had to have" or "How could you be so stupid?????". Enjoy the game, stay out of that stuff.

Much more to come on slam bidding.

Bob Holmes

[bobh2]

This note is from Kevin Hopton(samene on BBO), my systems engineer/computer guru. He has been kind enough to help a lot of people fix problems so they can listen to discussions while I am teaching. I have had to go to this, due to oncoming carpal tunnel syndrome, stemming from hours of rapid fire typing. My one-on-one lessons are open to everybody as long as you just sit and watch and not try to participate. My student-on-the-hot-seat and I are focusing on learning, and frankly, bridge requires full concentration. (My wife, daughter, and three dogs simply do not understand that but you should). I try to have time for questions when we end on these sessions, if you have questions, write them down and ask them then. I will try to have "open forum" lessons for both BIL and for I-ABC from time to time and if you want to hear what I have to say, you will need to deal with Skype, for now. (I am going to test "teamspeak" at jillybean's suggestion down the road, as well). This is fun and far faster than typing, and Skype is easy for most to load and use. If you have a problem with it, Kevin will help.
----- Original Message -----
From: khopton
To: bob holmes
Sent: Wednesday, July 05, 2006 3:02 PM
Subject: Something to post regarding Skype


Bob,
I think it would be a good idea to post this with your 'ramblings.'


How to get set up to use Skype with Bob's lesson Skypecasts

First, check to see if your computer is running Windows XP, Windows 2000,
MacOS X or one of the versions of Linux listed on the Skype web site.
Those running Win98. Win98SE or Windows Millennium Edition may
encounter problems because those operating systems are not
officially supported by Skype. Some people have succeeded with Win98SE
but many have had problems.

You can listen to broadcasts without even having a microphone connected,
although some form of speakers is absolutely required so that you can hear
sound from your computer.

Second, go to www.Skype.com and download the version of Skype for your
computer's operating system. Do not download it from anywhere else as
older versions are still available and can be problematic.

After you have downloaded the Skype Setup program, run that program to
install Skype on your computer. This is usually where the Win98SE users
run into trouble. The installation program will ask you to create a username
and choose a password. Keep these as you will need them often and soon.

The Skype program should now be ready to work on your computer and you
should be able to call other people at this point if you know their Skype
usernames.

To connect to Bob's shared lessons, open your browser and go to
www.Skypecast.com. This is not the web site you downloaded the Skype
program from, it is a special site that automatically takes you to a secure
location for broadcasts. You should see a page that says "Find a Skypecast"
and has a field for searching below it. Enter "BobH2" in the search field and
click the search button next to it. This should take you to a list of currently
running broadcasts which, hopefully, includes one about bridge lessons.

The entry for Bob's broadcast will have a link to join and may require you to
login and then come back and hit Join again.

A window opens showing a waveform and then, once you are connected, it
shows the Skype usernames of all the broadcast participants. An icon to
the right of your name shows whether the moderator (Bob) has turned off
sound from your computer. This is common as during a broadcast it can
get very noisy when ten or more microphones are all open with their
accompanying background noise. If your microphone has been muted
by the moderator, the icon will have a line through it and an "Ask for
Microphone" button will be available if you want to ask to be heard. Generally,
you should type questions unless you have a special need to speak your
point.


Hope this helps people get started, especially when I don't happen to be online.
-Kevin

[bobh2]

A DIRECTION TOWARDS PLAYING THE HAND

When I got really serious about learning to play bridge, I started reading books. I found that there were few books that could really help me on bidding, but the books on card play were of tremendous help. I am firmly convinced now, that I was right then, and still right. There is still not much in the way of books on hand evaluation and offensive bidding that I would recommend, although a lot on conventions and gadgets, like Bergen's on his gadget over major openings. There are some exceptions like Lawrence's book on overcalls, a must read. Good bidding is learned by experience and perhaps training like I do with the drilling on BBO. However, I am also convinced that if you have enough books on dummy play on a desert island and can absorb them, you can make yourself into a very, very good declarer.

I did it more or less that way, and since it's the only way I know, maybe you can follow the same path. I read Watson's Play of the Hand, and others, then eventually read Clyde Love's book on Squeezes (the driest book in captivity) trying to learn about counting tricks, counting losers, counting opponent's hands down, when to pull trumps, when not to, entry management, all of that stuff. I got that down ok, and knew it was time to learn how to set up a squeeze and execute one, so I tackled Love on Squeezes. I spent most of a month, at night, after work, trying to absorb Love's concepts and it was a headache but a big help too. I am not sure there is an easier way to learn about squeezes...maybe it's one of those things where there is no shortcut???? I strongly recommend waiting on Love until you know you have to learn squeezes, then you'll have the necessary motivation to get all the way through it.

The real key, though, is practice. Practice at the table is ok, but requires you go back to every hand you play and see if you could have done better. This is kinda hard. I have a better path, faster and more accurate, and is the one I took. Once you learn most of the techniques from say, Watson's Play of the Hand, there are a ton of books that have play of the hand quizzes. The ones I really found useful have a hand displayed on one page, and tells you the bidding, then the opening lead or a trick or two, then says, "What now"? You do your best to figure out what to do, and when you have done all you can do, you flip the page and the author gives you an analysis. What I did with those is to put a date on the first page and put a + or a -, denoting if I got it right or not. When I went all the way through the book, I would put that book on a shelf and not look at it for a long time, maybe a year. I had to do that because I remember what I read pretty well. I would then get that book back out and start looking for minuses(-) and try the problem again. Lots of times, I would have learned the technique and/or my game had improved, and I'd get it right that time. Usually, I would still miss some, so....back on the shelf for another year. I kept looking for more quiz books, and there are a lot of them. After I had improved considerably, I attacked Reese's Master Play the same way. What a good book! That book really solidified my techniques, I think.

In the beginning, I found a lot of this type of book by Kantar. The key is to keep buying these books and keep hammering on them. Hand after hand, meanwhile, reading the books on techniques, and re-reading them. Persistance pays.

At the Las Vegas Regional, a guy I know showed up and had a huge display of bridge books. Thinking of all of you, I pulled up a chair, and started writing down titles. That list is below. I made a deal with him...in my student's interests. I told him that I would put any of you in touch with him via email and you could buy what you wanted. He has no way to accept credit cards, but if he gets a lot of response, I can probably get him to set up a PayPal account. If getting money to him gets to be a problem, let me know and I'll fix it.

Here is the list:

Watson's Play of the Hand
Declarer Play the Bergen Way
Monster Book of Declarer Play

These books should all have the techniques for declarer play in them.

The following books are quiz books, and was all that I had time to write down:

Test Your Play As Declarer(vol. 1 and 2)....Lukacs and Rubens
Test Your Bridge Play(vol. 1 and 2).......Kantar

When you get your declarer play up to speed, try Master Play, by Terrence Reese. Am not sure it is still in print.

I will try to add to this list as time goes by.

Bob Holmes (Bobh2 on BBO)

[bobh2]

*********NEW MINOR FORCING***********

When I "coach" in the partnership bidding rooms on BBO, one of the things I work hard on is New Minor Forcing (aka: NMF). The reason why is that it is a "bread-and-butter" auction, it comes up all the time. Example: 1ding-pass-1dong-pass-1N-pass-? What next? All the time.

I may have learned this wrong, but this is the way I know to play it, and having used it for decades and having put some thought into it, I am pretty comfortable that my students can learn it, and that if they play this with an unknown partner, they are not going to get into much trouble. Also, it seems to work well, a big plus for any gadget.

Like almost every "convention", I am sure NMF was invented after some smart bidding theorist messed up a hand, hated the result, and sat down and did some thinking. Here is what the problem is:

You have 5 spades, or 5 hearts, or maybe even 5 spades and 4 hearts. Your partner opens a minor, so you bid 1 spade, and he bids 1N. You can bid 2s, is easy, but if you have an invitational hand, what do you do? If you bid 3s as invitational, partner will reasonably expect you to have 6 spades with an invitational hand. So do you bid 2N? You may not have a NT hand. If you have a side singleton, you are asking for trouble. Maybe you can bid the other minor? Pard might think it's forcing, but what if you have 5-5 and a weak hand? Even worse, if pard opens a red suit, you respond 1 spade with 5, he rebids 1N, and you have 4 spades, as advertised, a singleton in the unbid red suit and 5 or even 6 clubs and 6 points? You know clubs is the place to play...how do you get your partner to quit bidding? With a regular partner, you can make some agreements, maybe, to cover all of this, but with a stranger? This is such a common auction, it ought to be easy, but it is not. Want another example? 1d-1s-1n-2n-3s (Opponents are silent). Is that 3s bid acceptance of the invite or not? Lots of problems needing lots of agreements.

The way to solve most of this is to play NMF. I will show you the positives, and let you know there is one negative, that is sorta solvable. The negative is that you cannot sign off at 2 of the unbid minor over a 1N rebid. Frankly, that is not much loss compared to the ease of handling all the rest of the hands, I think. See what you think when you have read the rest of this:

The first thing you need to understand is that NMF applies specifically to the common auction of 1minor-1major-1N. (We'll address another application later). Also, it is specifically invitational in strength (or could be better). NMF searches for major fits, that is it's prime purpose. Using NMF in these auctions allows jump rebids to be invitational, and allows a jump raise of the opened minor to be invitational as well. That is, as opposed to being forcing. This fits with good theory (which says, you ought to have a way to show a minium hand plus support...you ought to be able to invite...and you ought to be able to make a game force). There are specific responses that are not hard to remember, but you need to know what they mean, so let's look at some auctions:

1d-1s-1N...the base auction
1d-1s-1N-2c....NMF...invitational or better in strength, nothing about clubs, completely artificial
Responses by opener:
First responsibility is to show support:
Opener shows 3 card support with a minimium by bidding 2S
Opener shows 3 card support with a maximium by bidding 3S
(Note: Opener has "accepted" the invitation, and is showing spades)
Second Responsibility of Opener is to show 4 Hearts if he doesnt have 3 spades:
Opener bids 2H with 4 hearts and a minimium
Opener bids 3H with 4 hearts and a maximium
Third responsibility of Opener if he doesn't have either 3s or 4h:
Opener bids 2N with a minimium
Opener bids 3N with a maximium

Note that responder has dug out all possible major fits using this. As long as responder has an invitational hand, he also has the information he needs to decide to bid game or not.

This allows these auctions:

1d-1s-1n-2s, not forward going
1d-1s-1n-2h, not forward going
1d-1s-1n-3s, invitational, with specifically 6 spades
1d-1s-1n-2d, not forward going
Note that opening 1c does not change any of these auctions, except 2d is now the NMF

That is the basics of NMF. There are a few other auctions that need discussion.

Question: What if the auction goes 1H-1S-1NT-?
My suggestion: Play 2c as an invitational hand, and artificial. Again, you give up the natural bid to gain in major bidding accuracy. You already know opener has 5 hearts, and doesnt have 4 spades, but you can find a 5-3 spade fit, and find out if opener has a minimium or maximium, much the same way as listed above.

Question: How do you differentiate between a game forcing hand with 5/5 in the majors and an invitational hand with the same 5/5?
My suggestion: With a non-forward going hand, you bid 2H over the 1N rebid. Opener returns to spades with 3, knowing there is an 8 card fit. He passes with 2s and 3h, knowing that he might be playing a 4-3 fit, but also might be playing a 5-3 fit. Now, the other two? Under the theory that jumps are invites, not forces, I would play 1d-1s-1n-3h as invitational, only. This means that 1d-1s-1n-2c(NMF)-2N-3h is forcing. Note that you have two ways to show 5/5 in the majors, and it would be silly to have both auctions mean the same thing. So, you assign one to be invitational, one to be forcing. I suggest you discuss this with a regular partner.

Question: How do you retreat to the other minor and stay out of game?
My suggestion(and my thinking): The auction of 1d-1s-1n-3c or 1c-1s-1n-3d is available. You have two needs (sign-off and invitational). If you have a forcing hand, you can use NMF and bid the minor over any NT response. This is awkward over a 3N bid by opener, but can be done. You only have one auction for two needs. My thinking is that it is going be very rare you have an invitational hand that only is invitational in a minor, and cannot stand playing nt. Moreover, stretching to an 11 trick game is not a serious priority. So, I think you should give up on these auctions being invitational, and use them for sign-offs. It is not uncommon, especially over a 1 Diamond opener to hold: Jxxx x xx KQxxxx or Jxxx x x KQxxxxx. You have to bid, and you have to bid 1s. When partner bids 1N, you know you want to play clubs, no question, and at as low a level as you can. 2C is NMF, so you cannot bid that. I would play 1d-1s-1n-3c as a sign-off...to play right there. With the minors the other way around, it is far easier. The auction goes: 1c-1d-1n-2d. (I cant help it if you play 2/1, and you skip diamonds to bid a 4 card major, you will have to work that problem out yourself).

This is about the best I can do for you. This is a good tool, and one that seems to work well. I suggest you need to use this or something much like this. (I am certainly willing to listen to anybody who thinks I have some of this wrong, too...I like discussing bidding theory).

Bob Holmes

[bobh2]

***********POWER BIDS IN EXPLORATORY AUCTIONS******************

Jump Shifts by Opener:

These are the big hand bids in natural systems (standard and 2/1) that are just below 2C openers or maybe as good as some of the 2C openers. Basically, the jump shift denotes a hand that is about 19 (evaluated) points up, and usually is some kind of two suiter. A big percentage of good players don't like opening 2C on two suiters, so these can be very, very good hands, and certainly denote a game force. The risk of opening huge two suiters with a one bid is that the one bid can get passed out, but a lot of times, even if partner passes, your opponents (bless their aggressive, pointy little heads) will come to your rescue and bid. If you trust your partner to respond on any 6 points or more, it seems to help (grin).

I reserve jump shifts for freaks. I usually find other ways to bid big hands that are not so wildly distributional. Specifically, maybe this will help: If you are 5/5, you really need about 19, maybe 20, and if partner responds, you can jump shift, forcing to game. The top is just short of "game-in-hand". I recommend if you have game in hand, even with a two suiter, open 2c. It gets awkward with the two suiters, but you don't miss games.

Jump Shifts by Responder:

The old-fashioned strong jump shifts by responder are still played by a lot of exceptional players, Mike Lawrence heading the list, I think. He plays them as 16+ with a fine suit, usually 6 long. I think that that is part of the reason he doesn't seem to like Marty Bergen's major raise structure, because he has to give up the strong jump shifts.

Weak jump shifts are pretty common. You need to know how to handle them, because you will run into a large percentage of players who like them. Essentially, they show hands with long suits that are very weak, too weak to respond to an opening one bid. If you play all weak jump shifts, you might consider that a weak jump shift to the 3 level is "being out there" with a very bad hand, and you need to think about having a 7 card suit with some interior solidity (KJtxxxx) before you dive into the deep end.

My recommendations: I play Bergen with most partners, so the jumps to the 3 level are part of that system. I very strongly like weak jump shifts to the 2 level. I do not respond to a one level bid with less than 6 points (only exception is with a big major fit and "almost" enough values to raise, then, I raise, hoping my partner doesnt hand me my head for it). I do not like to pass, say, 1C with two small clubs and 6 hearts to the KJ, and nothing else. My shifty-eyed opponents seem to pass on that hand, when only a part-score is available and my partner takes about 3 tricks, meaning we lose about 400 vul on a partscore hand. Most irritating. My teammates aren't real appreciative of a 10 Imp loss on a partscore hand, either. So, I bid 2H and duck for cover. For now, I think that I will teach my students to play weak jump shifts all the way through and they can modify that as they choose, later. The rest of the story is, we can deal with the strong jump shifts with responder's reverses and 4th suit forcing.

Opener's Reverses:

Reverses are named that because the normal bidding bids a higher suit, then a lower one, facilitiating taking a preference at the same level. In a reverse, you open the bidding and after a response, you bid a higher ranking suit than the opened one, forcing partner to go up a level to make a preference to the first bid suit. Thus, a "reverse". Example: 1d-1s-2h Reverses are commonly 17+ in high cards, and all the way up to a 2C opener. There is an overlap with jump shifts in strength, and the reverse can also be wildly distributional, but on the bottom end, is generally a little less strong than a jump shift and can be a lot flatter. The first suit is always 5 or more, and the second suit is always shorter. The flattest pattern is a classic of 5422, with the 5 card suit being lower in rank and the first bid. The second suit of a reverse is "suspect", meaning that the reverse, being a power-showing bid, can be made on a three card suit, and I have even made them on 2 card suits. Responder should raise normally but he should be on his toes if the reverser rebids the first bid suit after a raise...probably, the second suit is not a "true" suit. This requires some "touch" and can get messy. A good reason to play this style is evident when you pick up a hand that is a one suiter, not quite good enough to open 2C and too good to jump rebid (about 15-17 points). You might have to reverse into almost anything to "force" the auction. No, partner cannot, repeat, cannot, pass a reverse. It is a 1 round force. A reminder: Reversing on a 5/5 pattern is not a good action. I strongly recommend that you either just make a simple rebid or make a jump shift. Reverses are supposed to be that the first suit is longer than the second.

There is something commonly called a "high reverse". It sorta fits the defination of a normal reverse in that you end up at the 3 level, but is a bit different. An example auction: 1s-2d-3c. Note that there were no jumps but the auction got to the 3 level real quick. This is commonly played that it shows extra values, but maybe not quite as much as a normal reverse...say, 15 or more in strength. It also is usually played that it shows a 5/5 pattern (or weirder). Because opener showed a 15+ hand and responder showed a 10+ hand by the 2/1 bid, it is a game force. If you use this tool, and most of the good players I know do, this can mean that 1s-2c-2s certainly doesn't have to show 6. It just says, "I couldn't find a better bid".

Responding to reverses can get messy. One of the reasons is that you sometimes don't find out what kind of hand opener has until the 3rd bid. The other reason is that without a very valuable tool, you are guess whether or not you belong in game. Here's why: Reverses can be as light as 17. One level responses can be as light as 6 high cards. That simply doesn't reach game. What happens is the bidding goes: 1c-1h-2d-3c and we all know opener has 17+ and responder has 6+ in points, but should opener bid on? Just guesswork unless you are using a gadget called (I am going to misspell this) Ingberman. It means that after a reverse, responder can bid 2N (artificial), which makes the reversing opener bid back to 3c (some play back to the first bit suit). Opener can override the command with 19 or more, but with the bottom of a reverse, he has to follow instructions. Here's an example auction: 1d-1s-2h-2n-3c-3d....a diamond signoff. If opener has 19 or more, it might go: 1d-1s-2h-2n-3S (showing 3s and 19 or more) or maybe 3N(showing a balanced 19 or so with a club stop. Here's the rest of the story: 1c-1s-2h-3c....the failure to use the 2N bid shows 8 or more, becoming a game force. (17+8-25, thus the game force). The point is, you can stay out of unmakeable games if you have to, and reach games when you have enough strength, and know the difference. Reverses are hard enough to deal with without having to guess what to do. I strongly recommend you add that 2N bid to your bag of tricks.

One last note on opener's reverses: One problem auction is this:

You hold x AKxx Jxx AKQxx. You open 1c and pard bids 1 inconvenient Diamond. You can bid 1H but what are you going to do next? Partner might bid 1N and you might be reduced to bidding the only force you have, 2S...on your singleton. How descriptive! A much easier, neater, and more descriptive way to handle this is to bid 2H over 1D. Technically, this is a jump shift. However, it works a lot better to consider it a "reverse" since if pard had responded 1N, that is what it would be. It is forcing 1 round, so you can control the action and not get messed up. Try this, you'll like it.

Responder's Reverses:

Responder can reverse, too. For example: 1d-1h-2d-2s....the normal way to bid spades and hearts is to bid spades first, then hearts. This auction is out of order, and note too, the responder bid a suit opener said he didn't have. This is a responder's reverse and is a game force. Like opener's reverse, the first suit is, by definition, 5 long and the second is shorter. It can be, like opener's reverse, a lot shorter. You should consider the 2s bid in that auction as simply "white noise", telling opener that game is here, maybe more. Opener should bid anything that looks "descriptive" and let responder finish the information-telling. Note that it can take 3 bids to describe what a strong jump shift shows with 1 bid. Remember, on this auction, the one above, responder can have a bid D raise, (which might mean he only really has 4h), a true two suiter, or a game forcing one suiter in hearts. Here's some examples of that:

1d-1h-2d-2s-2n-3h. (2N is just staying out of the way...3h might show this hand: Axx AKJtxx Kx xxx)

1d-1h-2d-2s-2N-3d...responder might have: x KQxx AJxxxx Ax

1d-1h-2d-2s-2N-3S...responder might have AQxxx AKJxxx x x

You don't really know what's going on until responder gets to make his 3rd bid. What you do know is that he has a game force.

4th Suit Forcing:

This is the last of the exploratory "power auctions". It works a lot like responder's reverses and sometimes either definintion will fit the auction. The basics are: Opener bids, responder responds, opener rebids a second suit and responder bids the last suit. Example: 1D-1s-2c-2h 2H is a "fourth suit forcing" bid and means for sure, a game force. Opener, if he has 4 Hearts, will raise, because the 4th suit can also be natural. If you play, as almost everybody does, "4th suit forcing", you have to be careful not to bid the 4th suit unless you have a game forcing hand. I told you it works a lot like responder's reverses...the 4th suit can be not only artificial, but very artificial. Opener finds out what is really on responder's mind on the next bid. The most common auction will be this: 1d-1s-2c-2h-2n....and now, responder bids his real heart-throb, any of the suits. The only bad thing that can happen is that opener has a 4441 pattern or 5440 and raises the 4th suit, but responder has something else in mind. This gets messy. It's responder's responsibility to correct and hope partner is on the ball. Other than this mess, 4th suit works real well.

A note about 4th suit. 1c-1d-1h-1s is NOT 4th suit forcing. Those are all natural bids and are by the theory of standard bidding, forcing to 1N. I have seen people pass 1h, on this auction, especially, but it's not good bridge...it means responder has bid on less than 6 high card points...a practice I simply do not agree with and I think usually infuriates your partner. So, what do you do if you have a very strong hand, game forcing, and the bidding goes: 1c-1d-1h-? If you have 4s, you don't have to jump around, just bid 1s. If you don't have 4s, you can bid 2S, a completely artificial bid and a game force. Why mess with this? This allows every and all jumps over 1c-1d-1h- to be invitational, every last one of them. It is of paramount importance to have a way to get to the right suit with a weak hand, an invitational hand, and a game forcing hand. 4th suit allows this in this manner, so you put up with the occasional problem hand.

Bob Holmes

[Maslow]

hey Bob
nice lectures

[bobh2]

**********SERIOUS 3N******************

In every area of bidding, you will find one little gadget, one little technique that just really helps. Example: The Ingberman 2N bid...the relay over opener's reverses...a critically needed tool that keeps opener's reverses from being moon shots.

The "Serious 3N" is a little technique that really facilitates slam bidding in the majors. Here's the problem:

If you get into a game forcing major position, particularly at the 3 level, and now Q bid, you sometimes burn up a ton or Q bidding space. Before you know it, you can be at the 5 level and STILL have inadequate information. The "Serious 3N" bid is a huge "space-conserver".

The first thing you have to get your head around is that once you find a major fit, only about twice a year is is right to play 3N rather than 4 of the major. Since that frequency is sorta silly, you need to consider that a natural 3N bid in this situation is a waste of a bid. One of the "hot-shot" bidding theorists came up with the idea of using 3N here as this: 1. a slam interest bid, and 2. a Q-bid, in terms of slam interests, but unspecific about any card. I find it particularly helpful in locating club controls. I have seen some hands where you had AQx of clubs and Q the club A but maybe never find out if pard has the K of Clubs...there is just no room. Here is how it works:

Assume: 1S-2c-2d-3S is forcing. (If not, it should be)

Now, opener can bid 3N, saying, "I have some slam interest...what about you?" (You dont have to have a whopper, just some extras)

Now, opener can find out about minor controls easily, assuming responder isnt right on the bottom of his "force" and fails to Q bid because of that.

There is really nothing more to this, the only thing is that you have to have the understanding that when you find a major fit, you are not going to play NT.

Bob

********PLEASE DON'T POST HERE...THIS IS NOTE STORAGE FOR MY STUDENTS*********