Partner, that's super!

Here’s a simple and useful tool that should be part of your bidding arsenal.

In this example, you and your partner are playing 15-17 HCP for a 1 NT opening. After a 1 NT opening, your agreed responses include Stayman and Jacoby transfers.

♠ K Q x x   ♥ A K x x   ♦ Q x x   ♣ K x

You	Partner
1 NT ??	2 ♦

Partner’s 2♦ bid is a transfer to hearts. Your call?

ANSWER: Bid three hearts, a “super-accept” of the transfer to hearts.

THE PRINCIPLE:  A “super-accept” of a Jacoby transfer – accepting the transfer, but one level higher – tells partner that you have a "super" hand for playing in the transfer suit. Specifically, you should have very good four-card support, and be at the upper end of your notrump range. Partner can take it from there based on her hand.

When I held that notrump opener recently, my partner had a weak hand with an unimpressive six-card heart suit. He was planning to pass after a routine heart transfer:

♠ x x   ♥ 10 9 7 6 x x   ♦ K x   ♣ Q x x

But after my super-accept 3♥ bid, partner realized that four hearts was now within reach. The heart suit split 2-1, so we only lost the obvious 3 aces, making four. Other pairs, who didn’t play the super-accept bid, were only in two hearts.

So the super-accept can help you find skinny game contracts, but where it really pays off is slam bidding. Recall that responder, holding game-going values but only a five-card major suit, usually bids 3NT after opener accepts the transfer. If opener has a three- or four-card fit, opener can correct to four of the major. But the correction to four of the major doesn’t show extra values, and opener has no way to know if responder has extras.

For example, suppose partner holds a decent hand for game but not quite enough to push for slam:

♠ A x   ♥ Q 10 x x x   ♦ K x   ♣ A x x

Without the super-accept, your auction will probably go

You	Partner
1 NT 2 ♥ 4 ♥	2 ♦ 3NT Pass

Partner is stuck after your bid, knowing you might have three baby hearts and a minimum 15-point hand. If that’s really the case, you’ll be lucky to make four, much less five or six.

But look what can happen when partner knows you have good four-card support and a maximum. Now she knows the heart suit has, at most, one loser. From there it’s just a matter of making sure we have enough aces, either by Blackwood or a cue-bidding sequence. Partner’s hand again:

♠ A x   ♥ Q 10 x x x   ♦ K x   ♣ A x x

You	Partner
1 NT 3 ♥ 5 ♦	2 ♦ 4 NT 6 ♥

Super-accepts are also on after a 2NT opening and a Jacoby transfer at the three-level; in this case, opener jumps to four of the major.

Shapes in the fog

Some hands are easy to bid: a straightforward opening, a raise, a pass. Others are more complicated. This hand came up last week; play along with me while we sort out the puzzle.

 ♠ x    ♥ x x   ♦ A K 10 x x x   ♣ K Q 10 x

Both sides vulnerable, against silent opponents, partner deals and passes. My plan is to bid diamonds, diamonds again, and then clubs if necessary to show the 6-4 shape in the minors.

Partner	You
Pass 1 ♥ 2 ♠	1 ♦ 2 ♦ --

How many spades does partner have? How many hearts?
Partner has at least five hearts, and at least four spades. She knows that I don’t have four spades, else I would have bid 1♠ over her 1♥. So with 4-4 in the majors, there isn’t much reason for her to bid spades. By bidding spades, she’s strongly indicating at least five hearts. Her major suit shape could be 4-5 or 5-5 or 4-6 or even 5-6.

How could partner hold 4-6 in the majors when she didn’t open a weak 2♥?
Two possible reasons: (1) her heart suit is lousy, not good enough for a weak 2♥ opening, or (2) she’s following conventional wisdom of not opening a weak two with a side four-card major, particularly in first or second seat.  

How strong is partner’s hand?

She passed originally, so she holds less than an opening hand. Since she’s willing to bring in a new suit at the 2-level, she probably has at least invitational values; but she might be looking for a safe landing place with a weak 4-5-0-4 hand. With a weak 4-6 hand, she would have tried to sign off in 2♥.

I’m sticking with my original plan, bidding 3♣ to indicate my 6-4 shape. It’s tempting to bid 2NT, but I’m worried about transportation problems in a misfit no-trump contract.

♠ x    ♥ x x   ♦ A K 10 x x x   ♣ K Q 10 x

Partner	You
Pass 1 ♥ 2 ♠	1 ♦ 2 ♦ 3 ♣

How many hearts have I shown partner?
I just denied a three-card heart holding. Her 2♠ bid indicated five hearts, so I would have raised hearts with three.

♠ x    ♥ x x   ♦ A K 10 x x x   ♣ K Q 10 x

Partner	You
Pass 1 ♥ 2 ♠ 3 ♥	1 ♦ 2 ♦ 3 ♣ ??

Uh-oh, a whiff of disaster. I’ve shown partner a hand that is most likely 3-0-6-4, 2-1-6-4, or 1-2-6-4. It’s also conceivable that I hold seven diamonds for this auction.

• If partner holds 2 diamonds, she would correct my 3♣ to 3♦, an eight-card fit. Any port in a storm! 
• If she has only 1 diamond, she could have passed 3♣ if she held three clubs. Correcting to 3♦ would be okay as a desperation move, a 6-1 fit might be the safest landing if she’s 5-5 in the majors. 

So it looks like her minor suit holding is at best 1-2

What is partner’s shape?
Most likely 4-6-1-2. Second most likely is 5-5-1-2. In either case, she doesn’t want to put me in a 6-1 diamond fit, and she knows I will correct to 3♠ if I hold three spades and a heart void.

What is your call after 3♥?
ANSWER: Pass. Partner’s shape is 5-5-1-2 or 4-6-1-2. We’ve found at least a seven-card fit, maybe even an eight-card fit. With hands that don’t seem to fit together very well, and less than game-going values, any port in a storm!

THE PRINCIPLE: In a complicated auction, try to visualize possible hands for partner that are consistent with her bidding and yours. The shapes of the two hands and how well they fit together is usually more important than combined point count.

Passing the buck, again

In this example, you and your partner are playing the modern bidding system “2/1 Game Force.” After an opening of 1 heart or 1 spade, a new suit response at the two-level shows at least an opening hand and is forcing to game.

Vul: Both

You hold:

♠ Q 9 x x 

♥ J x

♦ A Q J 10 x x x 

♣ --

North	East	You	West
1 ♥ 2 ♥	1 ♠ 3 ♣	2 ♦ (a) ??	Pass

 (a) 2♦ is forcing to game

ANSWER: PASS, forcing partner to either double or bid again.

THE PRINCIPLE: When our side is in a game-forcing auction, either we bid game or the opponents buy the contract doubled. Period. No exceptions. A game-forcing auction creates forcing pass situations just the same as if we had bid all the way to game.

Yes, it is very tempting to rebid the diamond suit. But there’s no way to tell whether partner has any diamonds at all. Partner’s 2♥ rebid might only be a five card suit, temporizing without taking up any bidding space from you. East is doing a lot of bidding, who has all the clubs? What if partner has a fistful of clubs and would like to double? By passing, you indicate that you don’t have a strong preference whether to defend or keep bidding, and want to hear partner's opinion. Maybe the opponents will bid some more, clarifying the situation for you. Because it is a forcing pass situation, partner cannot allow 3♣ to be passed out; she must bid or double. 

The auction continues... you still hold:

♠ Q 9 x x   ♥ J x   ♦ A Q J 10 x x x   ♣ --

North	East	You	West
1 ♥ 2 ♥ Double Pass	1 ♠ 3 ♣ Pass Pass	2 ♦ (a) Pass Pass ??	Pass Pass 3 ♠

ANSWER: Double. This is a fun game, eh? Partner doubled 3♣ for penalty, but her pass over 3♠ is forcing because you are still in the game-forcing auction that your 2♦ bid created. Now you have to either bid or double. It looks like the opponents have wandered in where they don’t belong, solving your side’s misfit problem.

The complete hand:

	North
	♠ A ♥ K Q 10 9 x x ♦ 9  ♣ K 10 9 x x
West		East
♠ x x x  ♥ x x x ♦ K x x x ♣ x x x		♠ K J 10 x x ♥ A x ♦ x ♣ A Q J x x
	South (you)
	♠ Q 9 x x ♥ J x ♦ A Q J 10 x x x  ♣ --

It’s a tricky hand to play in any contract in either direction, but I think careful defense will set 3♠ by three tricks for +800.

Protecting partner's pass

We’re playing negative doubles, a standard bidding method in this century. After an overcall of an opening bid, a double by responder is not for penalty; it instead shows some values without the right shape or strength for a free bid, and strongly suggests a useful holding in an unbid major suit. But that’s not all there is to playing negative doubles…

Vul: E-W

Dlr: South

You hold:

♠ 8 

♥ A K J 8 4

♦ K 10 9 6 

♣ A J 7

South (you)	West	North	East
1 ♥ ??	1 ♠	Pass	Pass

ANSWER: Double. Nominally your double is for takeout, you have a good hand with good support for the unbid suits. But what you’re really hoping for is that partner has a fistful of spades!

THE PRINCIPLE: Playing negative doubles, responder has no way to make a penalty double of an overcall. In an auction that goes opening-overcall-pass-pass, the opening bidder must protect responder’s hand by keeping the auction alive – preferably with a double. Particularly with shortness in the overcalled suit, opener must double because responder can’t. Of course, responder won’t always have a stack in the opponents’ suit; sometimes she’ll just have a weak hand and bid 1NT or take some other weak action.

The complete hand:

	North
	♠ Q J 7 2 ♥ Q 3 ♦  A Q 3  ♣ Q 4 3 2
West		East
♠ A K 9 5 4  ♥ 9 7 2 ♦ J 8 4 2 ♣ 9		♠ 10 6 3 ♥ 10 6 5 ♦ 7 5 ♣ K 10 8 6 5
	South (you)
	♠ 8 ♥ A K J 8 4 ♦ K 10 9 6  ♣ A J 7

At the table, 1♠ doubled was set two tricks for NS +500 -- a better result than making four or five notrump. Take a look at North’s hand. With game-going values, she made a very disciplined decision to Pass after the 1♠ overcall, trusting you to protect her by keeping the auction alive. Bravo! She’s really really hoping you can double; don’t let her down!

Declarer's Arch

Photo: Jonathan Zander

Yes, that's Delicate Arch in southern Utah, but today we're talking about Declarer's Arch. Or more accurately, Declarer's ARCH; it's not in Utah.

Playing matchpoints, nobody vulnerable, you are the dealer.

♠ K Q J 10 x x   ♥ --   ♦ K Q 10 x x   ♣ Q x

S (you)	West	North	East
1 ♠ 3 ♦ 3 ♠	2 ♥ Pass Pass	Pass Pass 4 ♠	Pass 3 ♥ All pass

West leads the ♦7. 

North

♠ 9 8 x ♥ x x ♦ A 9 8 x x x  ♣ x x

South (you)

♠ K Q J 10 x x ♥ -- ♦ K Q 10 x x  ♣ Q x

West leads the ♦7. Your play?

ANSWER: Which card you play here doesn't matter much. But did you remember to ARCH ?

THE PRINCIPLE: Before playing to the first trick, take a few moments to think the hand through.  A handy checklist is the acronym ARCH: Analyze, Review, Count, How.

• ANALYZE the lead; Is it from an honor sequence, or fourth best from length, or a doubleton, or a singleton, or something else? 
• With only the J and 7 of diamonds missing, it looks like a singleton ♦7.
• REVIEW the bidding: Did the opponents bid or not, and what does that suggest about the shape and values of their hands? 
• West overcalled hearts at the two-level, and East raised only under duress. West didn't bid 4♥. Most of the missing high cards (and there are lot of them!) must be in West's hand. East has long hearts and almost nothing else.
• COUNT your tricks: At suit contracts, it's usually more effective to count losers; at notrump, count your winners. 
• I have a spade loser, two club losers, and maybe a diamond loser but only if West led the 7 from J 7, which doesn't seem likely. Making four looks good, and there's a chance for five.
• HOW will you play: Plan at least a general strategy before playing to the first trick. Will you draw trumps, postpone drawing trumps in order to cross-ruff, try to set up a side suit, or ?? That strategy may affect your play to the first trick. 
• I will lead spades to punch out the ace, when I get back in I'll draw the remaining trumps and run the diamonds. If they don't take both of their club tricks right away, I'll discard a club loser on dummy's sixth diamond. If I play the Q♣ smoothly to the first club trick maybe they'll be persuaded to switch to hearts instead, and I make an overtrick.

So before playing from dummy at trick one -- even if it's a singleton -- remember Declarer's ARCH. Analyze the lead, Review the bidding, Count your tricks, and plan How to play the hand. It wouldn't hurt to arch your back, too; being hunched over all the time is bad for your posture :)

Druid Arch, photo: J. Benjamin Wildeboer

opinion on 12-point openers

WARNING: This article contains my opinions on bidding style, rather than a description of generally-accepted bridge wisdom. Some of what follows is contrary to normal expert opinion. Use at your own risk!

Recently a friend commented that she was getting a lot of bad results opening 12-point hands, and asked for my thoughts on one hand in particular. I've tried to stay away from judgment and style issues on the blog, but I'll wander in here... You are vulnerable:

♠ A J 10 4  ♥ J 4  ♦ A 8 7 5   ♣ Q 9 7

Most experts would open this hand without a second thought, but I probably would not. By modern expert standards I am a deliberately conservative bidder.  As a general rule I'll open "good" 12s and try to pass all the "bad" 12s and most of the mediocre 12s. Most experts will open all 12-point hands, or all but the very poorest.

So what makes a "good" 12?

• a decent five-card (or longer) suit
• a three-suited hand
• two four-card suits with good texture

and a "bad" 12?

• a square hand (4-3-3-3 distribution)
• two four-card suits with poor texture

At matchpoints I use the Rule of 20 (high card points plus length of two longest suits) to assess whether or not everybody else in the room will open. My reasoning is that they all will either open any 12-count or use the Rule of 20, and I just have to decide whether I know something they don't.

♠ A J 10 4  ♥ J 4  ♦ A 8 7 5   ♣ Q 9 7

Reasons to open:

• most of the field will open (Rule of 20)
• the spade suit is nice, and spades is the master suit
• two aces are nice
• is partner a superb declarer?
• is the field strong (Regional Flight A players)?
• are the opponents poor defenders?

Reasons not to open:

• I think the doubleton jack is worthless
• honors are scattered rather than supported
• we are vulnerable
• is partner a weak declarer?
• is the field weak (not Flight A)?
• are the opponents expert defenders?

If the hand contained the same honors but with better texture, for example... 

♠ A Q J 10  ♥ 5 4  ♦ A J 8 7  ♣ 9 7 4

I would gladly open 1♦. 

One thing to keep in mind: if you bid like an expert, you must also play like an expert! Modern experts want to be in all 25-point games, most 24s, and some 23s (especially vulnerable at IMPs). The traditional "26 points for game" is too conservative because the general level of expert declarer play is so much better than it was fifty or sixty years ago. And if you want to be in 24-point games, then you must open 12-point hands. Players like Larry Cohen and Bobby Wolff and most Flight A players will all recognize the sophisticated or perhaps obscure line of play needed to bring home a skinny contract, when you and I are going down without a prayer. My declarer play isn't as good as theirs, so I don't open as light as they do.

This got a little long-winded, sorry. It's all opinion, no hard and fast rules here. My opinions on this are at variance with most experts. Your mileage may vary. Good luck!

SIDE NOTE: This discussion illustrates why I object to the custom of re-shuffling a passed-out hand if the board has not been previously played. I think my decision to pass is the winning decision; others will rush in to bid and live to regret it :)  And that decision deserves a good (or bad) result just as much as if other tables had already bid and played the hand before we passed it out at our table. We don't re-shuffle a board if it appears to be a totally routine flat board, 3NT making 3; why should we re-shuffle if it appears to be a totally routine Passed-Out instead?

Passing the buck

Matchpoints, nobody vulnerable, you are East

♠ J 9 5  ♥ 9 8 6 3  ♦ K 9 4 3   ♣ A Q

North	East (you)	South	West
Pass 2 ♠* 5 ♣	Pass 3 ♠ ??	Pass 4 ♥	1 ♠ 4 ♠

*hearts and a minor, at least 5-5

What do you do over  5♣?

ANSWER:  Pass, forcing partner to choose between declaring or doubling.

THE PRINCIPLE: When our side has bid game intending to make (rather than sacrificing), we will not let the opponents win the contract undoubled. Period. Full stop. Otherwise the opponents will rob us blind at every opportunity. Our side must either bid one more time, or double the opponents. If the choice is clear from your hand, act accordingly; if the choice is not clear, then Pass and let partner decide.  Passing the buck, if you want to think of it that way. The same principle applies if our side has not yet bid game, but has established a game-forcing auction: we will not let the opponents win the contract undoubled.

With only three-card spade support, and two probable defensive tricks in clubs, it is tempting to double for penalties. On the other hand, those club tricks will probably be just as useful in dummy, and the diamond king can be useful either way. More importantly, partner is obviously short in hearts and might want to keep bidding if she has a fistful of spades. So with values that are useful on either offense or defense, leave it up to partner by making a forcing pass, forcing her to choose between bidding or doubling.

But wait, it’s not over yet…

♠ J 9 5   ♥ 9 8 6 3  ♦ K 9 4 3   ♣ A Q

North	East (you)	South	West
Pass 2 ♠* 5 ♣ Pass	Pass 3 ♠ Pass ??	Pass 4 ♥ 5 ♥	1 ♠ 4 ♠ Pass

Your call?

ANSWER: Double. You can’t pass, because the opponents don’t get to win the contract undoubled. Partner could have bid or doubled, but she instead made a forcing pass; passing the buck to you. Well, the buck stops here. You don’t have any extra values for a spade contract, so you must perforce double.

The complete hand:

	North
	♠ K 7 ♥ K J 7 5 2 ♦  --   ♣ K J 9 8 5 3
West		East (you)
♠ A Q 10 8 3 2  ♥  -- ♦ A Q 6 5 ♣ 10 6 2		♠ J 9 5 ♥ 9 8 6 3 ♦ K 9 4 3 ♣ A Q
	South
	♠ 6 4 ♥ A Q 10 4 ♦ J 10 8 7 2  ♣ 7 3

Note: I think West has a clear 5♠ bid over 5♥. With North having shown a club-heart two-suiter, West’s pointy-suit values aren’t likely to be useful on defense. East’s pass of 5 ♣ indicated a hand suitable for either offense or defense, so offense it should have been.