[Kaitlyn S]

Disclaimer: I almost labelled this problem set a beginner's set but I have seen many Advanced players in the Main Bridge Club show a lack of knowledge of this issue, so I promoted it to Beginner/Novice/Intermediate.

Hi - these problems should be very easy for experienced players but an B/I/N player needs to think about the right things in an auction. If you get them wrong, don't feel too bad as long as you understand the rationale for the answers. I'll provide the answers later but I'll put a hint as a spoiler. Try to solve the problem without the spoiler. Also, let me know if you would be interested in seeing more of these from time to time. (Material in blue might be advanced or confusing for some beginners and novices.)

Assume you are playing Standard American (a natural system with 15-17 1NT openings and 5-card majors), IMPS, and nobody is vulnerable.

Let's look at an auction. What is North saying?

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If you play a convention called inverted minors with all your partners, this problem set is not for you, but you should be aware that if your 1C opening bid is overcalled, partner's 2C bid is no longer "inverted"; it reverts back to its standard meaning although since partner's 1NT bid now implies a stopper in the overcalled suit, partner will now bid 2C on some hands with only four clubs that would have bid 1NT if the overcall didn't happen.

The SAYC system booklet implies that this auction shows a minimum responding hand (6-10) with five clubs. That is the standard meaning for a raise to 2C. North could have responded 1H or 1S with a four-card or longer major (a higher priority) so North should not have a four-card major. North can also respond 1NT with a weak hand but with five clubs, it is preferable to show support to allow partner to compete if the opponents get active.

While the 2C raise tends to show five, there are times when 1NT is unpalatable and you might choose 2C.

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The "textbook" bid may be 1NT but if notrump is going to be played by our side, I would greatly prefer that partner declares as I have no stoppers. Since partner's clubs are weak, it's not likely that bidding 2C will cause partner to overcompete in clubs.

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1NT seems wrong with no stoppers in the majors and one of the majors being a small doubleton. You could respond 1D, but what do you do when partner bids 1H? 2C now sounds like you have a lot of cards in the minors. 1NT isn't advisable with no stopper in the only unbid suit. You might not get that lucky - West might overcall a major and East might raise. Do you want to compete to 3C now? You are extremely likely to have more clubs as a partnership than diamonds. I would raise to 2C on this hand also.

These hands are exceptions - the vast majority of the time, the raise to 2C without competition will show five cards.

Now, let's come back to opener. You opened 1C and your partner raised to 2C. What do you do now?


1.

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Spoiler

Do you have a game? Do you have a better fit than clubs?

2.

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Spoiler

Do you have a game? What is your most likely game if you do?

3.

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Spoiler

Do you have a game? What is your most likely game if you do?

4.

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Spoiler

What is the best way to help partner determine the best contract?

[Kaitlyn S]

Answers: (more advanced material in blue)

1.

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Hint: Do you have a game? Do you have a better fit than clubs?

Answer: Partner has 6-10 points and you have 14. You do not have a game. Partner rates to have five clubs so you have an eight-card fit there. Partner shouldn't have a four-card major so you have no major suit fit. A club partscore is your best contract and you should pass.

What about 2NT? Two minimum hands should stay below 2NT, and as we shall see, 2NT is a game try. In fact, anything you bid here would be a try for game. Some pairs, by partnership agreement, say the 3C is preemptive trying to make it harder for the opponents to come in. Undiscussed, I wouldn't assume partner plays this. In any event, you wouldn't want to bid more clubs holding only three clubs even if you were sure it was signoff. Since you know there is no game, you pass.

2.

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Hint: Do you have a game? What is your most likely game if you do?

Answer: If partner has a decent 2C response, 3NT is a good bet. Invite game by bidding 2NT. There is no reason to bid the hearts as notrump is the game you are trying for and partner can't have four hearts. You are showing a balanced 18-19 point hand. You don't bid 3NT since you don't really want to be in game opposite 6 points. If partner bids 3C over 2NT, partner is suggesting that there is no game and that clubs is the better partscore, and you would respect his decision and pass.

3.

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Hint: Do you have a game? What is your most likely game if you do?

Answer: On this hand, with an excellent source of tricks, you want to be in game opposite 6 points and the game I want to be in is 3NT. (18 HCP plus 2 for length suggest that you want to be in game opposite any response.) The suggested call is 3NT.

4.

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What is the best way to help partner determine the best contract?

Answer: Here you want to be in 3NT if partner has values in spades and diamonds, but in clubs otherwise. Even though partner doesn't have four hearts, you want to bid 2H here. (2H is forcing; there is no reason to bid 3H which some pairs might play as a splinter bid showing a singleton or void in hearts.) If you held a decent hand with 5 hearts and 6 clubs, you would intend to bid the hearts again - but on this hand your intention in bidding hearts is to show a shapely hand that needs help in spades and diamonds to consider 3NT. Despite the fact that you wish to drive to game if partner has those stoppers, partner is going to treat your 2H bid as a game try, and will bid 2NT or 3C with a minimum 2C bid. You'll raise 2NT to 3NT. I think this hand is worth another move over 3C as you make 5C opposite an ace (or the ♦K) and a doubleton heart.

[sfi]

Kaitlyn S, on 2017-April-23, 15:44, said:

3.

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Hint: Do you have a game? What is your most likely game if you do?

Answer: On this hand, with an excellent source of tricks, you want to be in game opposite 6 points and the game I want to be in is 3NT. (18 HCP plus 2 for length suggest that you want to be in game opposite any response.) The suggested call is 3NT.

Another way to state this, and one even good players forget at times, is with a minor fit your expected game is 3NT unless you have strong evidence suggesting otherwise. A 5m contract should rate a distant second in the options.

[JLilly]

Thanks for the exercise, Kaitlyn.

#1. Responder could have bid 1NT but didn't, so the clubs are real and with my short diamonds a partscore in clubs is fine. Pass.

#2. NV maybe jump straight to 3NT. Maybe bid 2NT inviting ptr with maximal values.

#3. I'm used to inverted minors, but, absent that, I guess they could have K♠ and K♣ and no other honors, but with that I think responder should pass. So I'll bet that they have at least one of the red suits stopped in combination with my red-suit values, so 3NT is likely but I'd probably bid 2NT conservatively, but it depends on our 1m-2m understanding. In any case, this should be a bid that communicates interest in 3NT game that can be vetoed only by a very weak hand.

#4. Principal issues are whether ptr has stops in the pointy suits and absent that whether they have the HCPs such that 5C is feasible. 2H can't mean proposal for a H contract since a heart fit has already been denied, so it must indicate stops, and denying D stops. Ptr can retreat to 3C with minimal values and spades unstopped.

[Kaitlyn S]

JLilly, on 2017-April-23, 19:42, said:

#2. NV maybe jump straight to 3NT. Maybe bid 2NT inviting ptr with maximal values.

I specified IMPs. You should be more willing to jump to 3NT vulnerable because of IMP odds.

Say you bid 3NT and your counterpart bids 2NT and plays there.

Vulnerable, if you make it, you get 600 and your counterpart got 150, in any event you pick up 10 IMPs.
If you went down you'll lose 6 IMPs. Of course, if not even 2NT makes, you'll only lose 3 IMPs for the extra undertrick. A double is unlikely since the person on lead couldn't overcall your 1C opening.

Those are some pretty good odds for the blast - even if game is less than 50-50 opposite a 6-count, the IMP odds are good enough to try for it.

But I specified that nobody is vulnerable.

So you only get 400 against 150 giving you 6 IMPs.
Let's say that you go off 1, giving up 50 against your opponents' 120 at the other table. You lose 5 IMPs.
You're getting 6 to 5 odds to try to make the game which would be against the odds if partner wouldn't have raised 2NT to game.

Again, if you were vulnerable, you'd be getting 10 to 6 odds. Which seems like the better time to blast a game at IMPS?

[Kaitlyn S]

JLilly, on 2017-April-23, 19:42, said:

#3. I'm used to inverted minors, but, absent that, I guess they could have K♠ and K♣ and no other honors, but with that I think responder should pass. So I'll bet that they have at least one of the red suits stopped in combination with my red-suit values, so 3NT is likely but I'd probably bid 2NT conservatively, but it depends on our 1m-2m understanding. In any case, this should be a bid that communicates interest in 3NT game that can be vetoed only by a very weak hand.

Inverted minors are good - if you play them, stick with them.

If your partner has only the ♠K and the ♣K, you have nine tricks unless partner has only a doubleton spade. This isn't likely as this would give silent opponent who hold only two clubs and nine spades (albeit crummy ones.) Even if partner has only the king-doubleton of spades, you still have a 50-50 shot on a spade lead by winning in dummy and leading toward the ♦K. Maybe even better since West didn't overcall or make a takeout double with short clubs, so East should be favored to hold the ♦A. Of course, West might get cute and hold up with the ♦A thinking he's going to surprise you later when you lead to your supposed ♦Q. The only thing that might surprise him is if his partner stays calm (as a good partner should) after the hand.

However, playing Standard American, I would never pass with two kings as the 1C opener could have as much as 21 points and really needs to get another turn when I have 6 points.

JLilly, on 2017-April-23, 19:42, said:

Thanks for the exercise, Kaitlyn.

You're welcome!

[JLilly]

"I specified IMPs. You should be more willing to jump to 3NT vulnerable because of IMP odds.

Say you bid 3NT and your counterpart bids 2NT and plays there.

Vulnerable, if you make it, you get 600 and your counterpart got 150, in any event you pick up 10 IMPs.
If you went down you'll lose 6 IMPs."

Thanks, Kaitlyn. Thinking in IMP terms is something I need to bolster. I'm used to thinking in "score a coup" versus "embarass myself" terms, which are nice for club play and somewhat for matchpoints but not for IMPs.

[JLilly]

"I specified IMPs. You should be more willing to jump to 3NT vulnerable because of IMP odds.

Say you bid 3NT and your counterpart bids 2NT and plays there.

Vulnerable, if you make it, you get 600 and your counterpart got 150, in any event you pick up 10 IMPs.
If you went down you'll lose 6 IMPs."

Thanks, Kaitlyn. Thinking in IMP terms is something I need to bolster. I'm used to thinking in "score a coup" versus "embarass myself" terms, which are nice for club play and somewhat for matchpoints but not for IMPs.

[JLilly]

"playing Standard American, I would never pass with two kings as the 1C opener could have as much as 21 points"

I know this isn't the point of the thread, but a bid that could mean a crappy opener that is obliged to bid and could also mean the majority of the points in a single hand probably is overloaded and the system should relieve it, no?

[NickRW]

JLilly, on 2017-April-26, 19:47, said:

"playing Standard American, I would never pass with two kings as the 1C opener could have as much as 21 points"

I know this isn't the point of the thread, but a bid that could mean a crappy opener that is obliged to bid and could also mean the majority of the points in a single hand probably is overloaded and the system should relieve it, no?

Well, arguably you're right. It is one of the factors which strong 1 club systems address. But it is not as simple as that. Strong 1 club systems have their own issues for a start off. Plus the wide ranging openers that "natural" systems employ appear to be hair raising, but are much more workable in practice than one might suppose.