Help With Competitive Auctions

[vin1990]

I've just started playing club bridge near where I go to school with a local 'expert' as partner - having been taught by my father and gran both of whom are as far as I can tell good players.

 

In this new partnership we play 2/1 with as yet very few toys. So as yet nothing like maximal overcall doubles or other common agreements that might help in competitive auctions.

 

We are getting into trouble in competitive auctions - my partner tells me I have been taught incorrectly. My gran just suggested I ask here (she plays here a lot).

 

Here's a few of the sorts of auctions where we got into trouble (sorry I havent looked up how to use hand layout)

 

a) 1c(opps)-dbl-1h-1s

2h-2s..

 

Questions

i) Does the 1s bid show 4+sp and values or can it be just noise and 0-7?

ii) Should 2s show above minimum here or is it just confirming a fit

iii) what about 2s if the opener had passed (1c-dbl-1h-1s

pass-2s..). Does 2s show extras now?

iv) If instead it goes 1c-dbl-1h-1s-2h-pass-pass-? what sort of hand do I need to have to rebid my spades?

 

b ) (This bidding mishap cost us 12 imps and first place)

1s-pass-1nt(forcing)-pass

2c-dbl-2s-3h-

3s-pass-?

 

Does 3s show a strong hand?

What would you now bid with

 

♠xx-♥KQxx ♦KQxx ♣xxx?

Should I have bid 2nt instead of 2s?

 

Is there a generic agreement about the strength of a rebid or raise in the non-balancing position once you have an agreed (or implied) suit?

[inquiry]

Welcome to the BBO forum.

 

Let me start by suggesting you check out the following document, it is on line and free so you can't go too wrong...

 

Partnership bidding at bridge... that is a zipped file but it is jsut a plain text file when unzipped.

 

This in on Daniel Neill's webpage, you can find that at http://www.geocities.com/daniel_neill_2000/

 

Now to your questions. I like to play....

 

(1C)-X-(1H)-1S as showing about what

(1C)-X-(P)-1S but with all the weaker holding removed. So 0 is not right, but seven is ok, as a matter of fact, I play it up to 10 hcp and four card suit, or up to 7 hcp and a five card suit. I would bid 2@S with 8 to 10 (ish) wiht a five card suit.

 

partners 2@S raise over opponents 2@S bid is competitive, don't go bidding again yourself. If opener passes, and partenr bids 2@S, it is invitational, bid on with maximum (feel free to count distributional values here).

 

On passing 2♥ back to you, you need a fifth spade to bid again, or 9 to 10 hcp and then maybe double should be considered.

 

Note, my use of up to 10 points here for 1♠ is not standard, most jump with 8 to 10 points, and I do too, but I require a fifth spade for that which is clearly non-standard. Few people separate the number of cards with the jump, they jsut go on points. So don't pull this on an unsuspecting partner or they will never take you for as much as 10 hcp for a non-jump. Playing this way affects how light doubler can be to raise.

 

As for your second question, you have to answer this question first...

 

When will your parnter bid clubs instead of rebidding a long spade suit over your forcing 1NT. The answer should be something like, with 6+ spades and a weak hand, partner will bid 2♠ not 2♣. Since your 2♠ raise did not show spades, and in fact, did not show values, your partner 3♠ bid shows a six card suit, and by inference, a good hand (if you agree with the outllined premise from above). So this is not one of those 3♠ is competitive and double of 3♥ is competitive situations. Your partner has a good hand here and has some game aspirations. If he didn't he would not have bid 2♣.

[cherdanno]

Ben gave a good, but fairly non-standard answer. (The book he linked to is good but also not everything in there is mainstream.) Let me add to Ben's answer by stating what I believe are the standard treatments.

 

i) The 1S bids does show values, maybe 4-8. With 4 hcp you would bid only if you are happy to play 2S over their 2H when partner has a minimum takeout double with 4 spades. It can have 4 or 5 spades (with 6 you would often preempt to 3/4♠).

 

ii) The 2S bid is automatic with 4 spades (ok, with ♠xxxx ♥KQJT I would pass, but you get the idea) and does not show extras.

 

iii) The styles for this 2S seem to differ, some play it as requiring mild extras, others as just confirming the fit (not that responder is still unlimited, so there is still preemptive value to that bid). Saying it is invitational seems an overbid, but with hands that get improved opposite 4-card support you may bid again (think distributional hand with 5 spades).

 

iv) Here you just bid 2S with any hand that is willing to play there opposite a takeout double with 3 spades. I don't think it matters what it shows, partner won't bid again.

 

As for your other question, if partner can bid 2♣ with a 6-4 minimum, then 3♠ is just to play. With your hand I would have redoubled btw, not bid 2♠.

 

These are all good questions (in fact several of your questions have been posed for the latest Bridge World Standard poll), it seems your father and grand taught you well.

[vin1990]

Thank you for the detailed answers.

 

That free book looks interesting. There seems to be a lot on fit jumps in the parts I've skimmed over. I've never heard of them - except in the system I play with dad we play over 1M opened in 3rd or 4th seats that a jump to 3 new suit shows a good 5card suit with 4M - but I didn't know that was a fit jump.

 

On the first hand we went wrong the actual auction was

1c-dbl-1h-1s-

pass-2s-pass-4s-

dbl-all pass.

 

It was me who bid 4s. With my dad we play 1s is 0-7 - he has this desire to always find spade fits (he is a matchpoints player) - which means in this auction 2s is usually a really good hand. I was max for my 1s (something like AKxxx x xxxx xxx). Guess I need to learn common standard meanings fast if I venture beyond my family bridge.

 

In the 2nd hand (the 3s bid) I'd always been taught that bidding 6-4 in the order 64 then 6 showed a strong hand but bidding 664 showed a much weaker hand.

Partners hand was KQ10xxx x x AJ9xx. I bid 3nt he bid 4s - dbld - trumps split 5-0.

(yes he has a 2s bid instead of 2c but I guess he liked 6511).

 

Most of my dads bridge books (Ive read a lot of them) are >15 years old. I know there is no primer on 'standard' bids and agreements (too many possibilities and variations) but has there been some sort of core text that's been published in the last ten years you would recommend?

[cherdanno]

In my opinion the best source for expert-level bidding standards are The Bridge World's Master Solver Club discussions.

 

With your dad's hand it seems much better to be able to bid 2♣. I hate losing 5-5 fits :) That's also why I don't like the agreement that you cannot have 6 spades and a minimum after bidding 2♣.

 

Why did you go wrong on the first auction? From your agreement about 2♠ it sounds like 4♠ should be a good contract!

[vin1990]

These hands weren't with my dad... I have started playing at a club close to where I go to school (where I currently have limited internet access sadly). So I went wrong in that hand because partner had a sad flat minimum for his 2s bid and he plays that a raise in that auction just confirms a 4 card fit.

[Hanoi5]

When opening distributional hands it is easy to get overboard. Your partner could have passed your 3NT and let YOU go down and I guess 4♠ would have gone down less if spades hadn't been 5-0 so it is also a matter of bad luck.