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Trial bids


I have included this topic here, not so much because it represents an all-pervading body of abstract bridge theory, but rather to create a central reference point for a category of bid which will be considered at various points in the auction.

The alternative would be to repeat much the same content each and every time it arises.


A trial bid


is any suit bid in search of the best contract following suit agreement.


Not infrequently the term is used in a more restrictive sense, but the above is a useful general definition.


Typical of a more restricted usage would be to refer specifically to a bid in a new suit following partner’s raise of your opening one of a major to the two- or three-level.


In general a suit will be deemed to have been agreed if it has been bid or implied by one member of the partnership and raised either directly or indirectly by the other.  Note that the fact that a suit has been agreed will not invariably mean that the final contract will be in that suit.


The general definition above includes the raise of the agreed suit - e.g. 1, 2, 3 - inviting partner to pass or raise to game.


Although it is not uncommon to see this route used in club play you will not find a more advanced partnership assigning this meaning to the sequence - it is not a recommended method.

I shall limit my analysis of the possibilities to bids in new suits.


The trial bid will always be forcing - for at least one round - and may or may not promise a holding in the trial suit depending on the partnership agreement.


Purpose


If at any point in the auction following suit agreement either member of the partnership is able to determine the final contract with some accuracy then he should bid it.


If on the other hand the final contract is still in doubt the next player will in general either rebid in no trumps to tell partner about his strength and shape, or make a trial bid which will either tell partner something more about his hand or will ask for more information regarding partner’s hand (or both).


The underlying principle is that


the first bid in a new suit following suit agreement is always forcing and shows at least some interest in a potentially more lucrative contract (i.e. a game, a slam, or a contract in no trumps).


It always carries the message - ‘I am interested in something better - can you help?’.


Frequently it will be based on additional strength in the hand of the trial suit bidder, but it might also be used when the trial-suit bidder is allowing for the possibility of additional strength in his partner’s hand following un unlimited bid.


What level is it aspiring to?  (or ‘to what level does it aspire?’ if you are in pedantic mode)


and how is partner to know if you are aspiring to a game or a slam?


Simple really.

If the partnership is not yet committed to a game contract then the trial bid will be, in the first instance at least, a game-try trial bid. Partner will either sign off in a part-score with nothing extra or bid on with a bit more.

Occasionally the trial bid will subsequently turn out to have been a first step in a slam-try, but partner should assume the game-try interpretation for the time being.


If the partnership is already committed to game then the trial bid will be either a slam-try, or a try for a better contract in no trumps.


Types of trial bid


In addition to the underlying message the trial bid will usually also carry either some specific information about the hand, or ask partner for further information about their hand.  The precise information given or requested will depend on the type of trial bid used  This is a matter for partnership agreement, and will probably be dependent on the auction up to that point.


Note that all of the above refers to the first bid following suit agreement.

Subsequent bids in a new suit by either member of the partnership will also be trial bids - usually of the cue-bid variety - whether or not the first trial bid was a cue-bid.


On the pages which follow I shall give a brief account of each of the most common styles:-


natural and shape showing


long suit


short suit


no trump stop


cue-bids


how good are you? (including ‘last train’)


Mathe asking bids


Which type to use


It is up to the partnership to agree which style of trial bid is used in any given situation.


They may for simplicity pick one particular style and use it in all relevant situations.

Equally, they may assign a different style specific to each different context.


Most commonly the trial bid will be made by opener on his rebid after partner has raised (either directly or indirectly - e.g. a splinter bid) his opening one of a suit, but it can also occur after opener has raised partner’s response in a new suit, and the situation might also arise following some other opening bid such as an artificial strong opener, or perhaps by the overcalling side particularly following a good raise of an overcall.


The following link takes you to the pages on opener’s rebids, in which the choice of trial bid is discussed in the context of various types of raise by responder.


opener’s rebid


The principles will not differ when the bids arise in other situations although the exact allocations of particular styles may well do so.


The particular case of slam-try trial bids is discussed separately on the page trial bids.

This page last revised 1st Feb 2021

Context  -  Acol bidding - conventions.