The 12 Habits of Highly Effective Bidders (December 2008)
Last month, we looked at situations where partner makes a bid that “sounds like” a minimum, but actually comprises a fairly wide point range. When his values are near the top of the range, partner has to hope you have enough strength to bid one more time, allow him to show his extras and, ideally, bid on to game.
This type of accommodation can also pay off in auctions where you’ve already identified a game or slam contract, even those where you’re certain your choice will be right opposite 95 percent of partner’s possible hands. The most successful players think about that other 5 percent, and they look for ways to cater to them.
These opportunities often arise in competitive auctions. Suppose partner
opens 1S, RHO overcalls 3H and you hold
♠K1085
♥42
♦AK73
♣J102
Bidding 4S will put you in the right spot on most deals, but it costs nothing to cuebid 4H on the way. This isn’t a slam try and it doesn’t promise a heart control. It simply tells partner you have a high-card raise to game rather than a weaker stretch. That can be essential information if he has slam-going values or if the opponents compete to 5H.
Trusting partner is at the heart of many of these decisions. How much control are you willing to offer him on this deal?
You LHO
Partner RHO
1H 2S 5H Pass
You hold ♠A4 ♥Q8763 ♦42 ♣AJ64 .
Partner’s jump to 5H asks you to bid slam with first- or second-round control of the opponent’s suit. At this point, you may be regretting your decision to open this marginal hand, but it would be a partnership felony to pass. And although it doesn’t violate your system, a meek 6H is a misdemeanor at best.
The more obliging player will bid 5S to accept the slam invitation and confirm a first-round spade control. This doesn’t express any enthusiasm about other features of your hand. Partner had other ways to investigate your overall strength and trump quality, so you have to trust that he’s asked the right question and will do the right thing with your answer.
He’ll appreciate your cooperation,
which will make it easy for him to bid 7H with
♠62
♥AK952
♦AKQ873
♣Void
Blackwood auctions offer one of the more common – and often ignored -- options for soliciting a final opinion from partner.
Partner You
1H 1S
4C 4NT
5C ?
What's your call holding ♠Q10942 ♥63 ♦A76 ♣A54 ?
Partner’s 4C was a splinter (spade support and club shortness) and his 5C response to Blackwood showed 0 or 3 keycards. That’s one of the answers you were hoping for (he certainly has three keycards), and if you think you’ve already been aggressive enough with your 10-count, you might be inclined to end the auction with a jump to 6S.
Partner’s hand is limited by his failure to open a strong 2C, but you really don’t know how powerful it became after you bid spades. Give him a chance to tell you by extending the auction one more round with 5NT. This asks for kings, but its main message is that your side has all five keycards.
That confirmation gives partner the
option of bidding a grand slam if he has extra high-card or playing strength.
That’s just what he’ll do holding
♠AK73
♥AKQJ5 ♦983
♣2
Partner has no reason to add yet another round to the auction (by showing the heart king), so he'll jump directly to 7S over your 5NT.
© 2008 Karen Walker