Liversidge

So if 3H is undscussed and responder does not know whether opener has Hx or xxx then he alerts? This came up a week ago with a new partner. We had agreed to play FSF. Although I had only ever bid it as responder until then, I hoped partner would recognise it as asking for a stop. Partner was unsure what my 3H meant but had a good stop so bid 3NT which made. Afterwards as we moved table an opponent expressed mild surprise at my bid of 3H as my hearts were poor and she had good hearts. I later asked partner whether she should have alerted. Neither of us knew the answer.

Suppose the bidding goes 1D 2C 2D 2S 3H and opener is asking whether partner has a stop for 3NT. Is this FSF? I have read somewhere that it is only FSF if it is the 4th bid, so 3H is not alertable.

Still mulling this over and not quite there yet after all. Under EBU regulations FSF is alertable. I presume 1D 2C 2D 2S 3H is not alertable as it is not FSF, even if it is a bid of the fourth suit and might not be natural?

Thanks everyone. That has helped a lot. Bidding the fourth suit as forcing is not always Fourth Suit Forcing. Subtle.

I have only recently started plain FSF and am still learning about it. Last week I opened 1D. I think the bidding went 1D 2C 2D 2S 3H and partner bid 3NT. I meant it as FSF and partner took it as such. Today I read an article by Larry Cohen where he says only responder can bid FSF. I then found on the No Fear Acol site an example of FSF very similar to ours. Is this apparent contradiction anything to do with 4 card vs. 5 card majors.

That is very helpful / logical and answers my question. Thanks

I may not have worded the question correctly. Responder does not have a 5 card suit so bids his lowest ranking 4 card suit to start a scramble for a 7 card fit. If opener is 5332 does he then treat his hand as 4432?

We play that after openers 1nt is doubled, a suit bid by partner is the start of a scramble bidding 4 card suits up the line and treating a 4333 hand as a 2 suiter. How does opener treat a 5332 hand?

Playing a weak No Trump, suppose I have a 15+ balanced hand. Besides having a stop, what point count do I need to have in order to rebid No Trumps after the following sequences. i) 1♥ - (P) - P - (1♠) - ? ii) 1♥ - (P) - P - (2♣) - ? iii) 1♦ - (P) - 1♥ - 2♣ - ?

We play Acol, Stayman and Transfers and are thinking about using Puppet Stayman response to 2NT. How do you suggest we should use the unused 3♠ response? I have come across two suggestions - one showing 5 spades and 4 hearts, and another showing a long minor and a hand unsuitable for 3NT (presumably weak with a void or singleton) - opener rebids 4♣ and responder passes or corrects.

A good way for me to to remember is to memorise the phrase “Horrible Cards Don’t Deliver” So with a singleton club I open 1♥, singleton diamond I open 1♣ etc.. I do understand the rationale, but in the heat of battle this comes in handy.

Don't know what he teaches at his club but his club website has sections ranging from "beginner" to "experienced" and in his book "Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them" he gives an example of a reverse and writes "a good 15 points should be held".

Ah! That makes a lot of sense. If responder has 16-17 HCP he can respond to opener's 3NT with a slam asking 4NT, which he can't do if FSF is not GF. Many thanks - it's been bugging me for days!

The NoFear site has a 'tip' called 'Never deny a 4 card major'. The example hand given is a 5432 spade suit which you are advised to bid rather than the good 5 card club suit, because you have fewer than 12 HCP. With more then you would be strong enough to show your spades on the second round.

Some 'sources' suggest that with a stop in the fourth suit then preference should only be given to supporting responder's suit with 3 cards provided it is a major. Marlowe has given one reason for having an agreement where FSF is always game forcing (except for the example you give) even if bid at the 2 level. I'd like to know if there are other reasons.

Would it make a difference if partner's suit was a minor?

Has the reason for the trend towards FSF being unconditionally game forcing anything to do with it allowing you two bites at the cherry with a game going hand? I can't quite think it through but there has to be a good reason for giving up FSF with an invitational hand.

I am studying FSF responses. Andrew Robson says: 1. Bid responder's suit with 3 card support, or, if not... 2. Bid his own second suit with 5 cards, or, if not... 3. Bid his first suit with 6 cards, or, if not.... 4. Bid No Trumps with a stopper in the bid suit, or, if not... If none of the above you have to find a bid so.. 5. Bid responder's suit with a good doubleton, or 6. Bid own first suit with a good 5 card suit. Others say that priority is generally given to showing a stop in the bid suit. What would you respond in these examples: 1. [hv=pc=n&w=sq84hkj973dacq963&d=w&v=0&b=8&a=1hp1sp2cp2dp]133|200[/hv] 2. [hv=pc=n&w=s8hkj9873dk3caq63&d=w&v=0&b=8&a=1hp1sp2cp2dp]133|200[/hv] 3. [hv=pc=n&w=sqj842hkj973dacq9&d=w&v=0&b=8&a=1sp2cp2hp3dp]133|200[/hv] 4. [hv=pc=n&w=sq9hadqj842ckj973&d=w&v=0&b=8&a=1dp1sp2cp2hp]133|200[/hv]

Just received it this morning. I have just skimmed through it but already I can see it is a great book.

The ACBL teacher's manual says: To make a takeout double, you need support for all of the unbid suits, ideally four-card support, especially in the unbid major suit(s). You also need at least the strength for an opening bid (13 or more total points). However, when valuing your hand, you use dummy points. So would you double 1♥ holding: 1. ♠AK76 ♥87 ♦AQ3 ♣832? 2. ♠AK76 ♥872 ♦AQJ ♣832? And would vulnerability affect your decision? We have been using a rule of thumb (can't remember where we got it from) that you need 15 points in total, counting dummy points, so you would not double with either of the above, but would with ♠K876 ♥- ♦AQ34 ♣J9532? Some good players at our 'intermediates' club say they would double 1 and 2. Is our rule of thumb too conservative.

Thanks Helene. I have just found an article by Jeremy Dhondy in the October 2009 issue of English Bridge, which confirms what you say. :) At any level: C. If you double an artificial bid and the double calls for that suit, then no alert is needed, but if it calls for another suit, your partner must alert.

RHO opened 1NT and LHO bid 2D (transfer to hearts). My partner doubled. I didn't know what she meant by it because we had not discussed it, though with my other partner I would have taken it to be lead directing. RHO transferred to hearts and I passed (I had 6 points). Turned out she had 18 points and wanted me to bid my best suit. A good way to make a takeout in this situation would be to cue bid 2H, the suit LHO was showing, but suppose we have an understanding that this double is for takeout with a shortage in hearts - is the double alertable under EBU regulations?

When playing Exit Transfers my understanding is that the redouble is mandatory. Responder may know exactly what he is going to do after the redouble, and opener should not try to second-guess him. I am not trying to defend Exit Transfers - after the above comments I am giving it up, and with it the XX.

As I understand it, when responder passes the double, opener does not know whether the pass shows a willingness to play in 1NT X or whether responder is weak with no 5 card suit. Opener redoubles so that responder has another bid and can clarify his position by passing or bidding his lower ranking 4 card suit.