M J Bridge
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Responder root page
Bidding
Partner opened three of a major
One of those mantras which you will frequently hear bandied around the clubroom in a variety of contexts is
‘put up or shut up’.
Never does this principle apply more than in the present context.
First of all, let us be clear about the nature of partner’s holding.
As a general rule:-
he will have a maximum of about ten points;
he will have a seven-
his hand will probably be worth about six tricks in its own right. When he bid he was quite prepared to go down;
he is quite likely to have two immediate losers in any one of the other three suits;
it is quite possible that there will be no entry to his hand outside the long suit.
Each of the above is subject to any specific partnership agreement regarding vulnerability -
Your options are:-
raise partner’s suit preemptively;
pass;
raise partner’s major to the four-
bid something else.
Raise partner’s suit preemptively
With three-
This is no more than ‘bidding to the level of the fit’ in the same way that you would when responding to partner’s overcall.
Note that neither your partner nor your opponents will know whether this is preemptive or a realistic try for a making game.
Pass
This is likely to be your most common action.
And when do you pass?
Answer -
Note that having a void in partner’s suit is not a good reason for bidding something else -
Raise partner’s suit constructively to the four-
This is the bit about which not enough is written.
First of all, it’s got more to do with counting ten tricks than with adding up points.
The basic guidelines are:-
you need to be able to see about four potential tricks in your hand before you even think about it -
with the real possibility that partner has two immediate losers in any given side suit you should not attach much weight (if any) to Queens and Jacks in the side suits (Quacks as Andrew Robson calls them) -
minimum trump support for a realistic raise is 0 (ZERO) -
A basic guideline for a realistic raise to game is ‘if you have an opening bid not counting the Quacks then raise to game’. This is almost the same as saying ‘if you can count at least three tricks…’.
Two alternative approaches to assessing the potential of the hand are given below, but the guidelines just given will serve you well.
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T 8
T 8 7 4
Q 8 5 4
J 7 5
Partner opened 3♥.
Bid 4♥.
If you play 5♥ as preemptive (I don’t) then make this bid non-
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T 8
K 8 7 4
A K 5 3
A 8 5
Partner opened 3♥.
Bid 4♥. This time you have every intention of making. Partner is likely to be about three tricks short for his preemptive opening and you are offering four. 6 + 4 = 10. End of discussion.
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W
3 2
A K Q J T 4 2
3 2
3 2
This totally made up and ludicrously exaggerated example serves to illustrate a point.
West opened 3♥.
East must raise in hearts -
7♥ is almost laydown -
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E
A K 5 4
A K 6 5 4
A K 5 4
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Q J 7 4
A 8
Q J 5 3
Q J 5
Partner opened 3♥.
Pass. Very pretty, but there is no good reason for doing anything else.
You can count just one trick, and there is every possibility that you have six immediate losers outside hearts.
Bid something else
Bidding no trumps
Very rarely the right bid facing partners major suit preempt.
First of all you must have good support for partner (I’ll suggest Qxx as an absolute minimum) to ensure communication, and secondly you must have more than a flimsy stop in each of the other suits.
It will usually be a flat hand (4-
New suit
Whatever I may write below:-
this should be a very rare bid, and
it will not just be in search of a safe escape.
Traditionally this bid was always played as forcing.
Modern expert opinion appears to be split on the matter. I tend towards the ‘forcing’ interpretation, but I must admit that in so doing I am setting myself at odds with some members of bridge royalty.
If played as non-
If played as forcing you might be suggesting an alternative game contract with poor support for partner, or you might be making some sort of cue-
Thoughts of a slam
As often as not your best option will be just to bid it.
4NT will be RKCB, particularly if your main concern relates to partner’s trump honours holding.
Opponents overcalled in a suit
A raise of partner’s suit shows trumps (level of fit) -
double -
Intermediate and above
Context -
This page last revised 17th Sep 2020
Identifying the good raise
I promised you above two alternative ways of assessing the potential of your hand.
I have only found anything of this nature from Andrew Robson, and he offers two.
Whether they are his own or represent a wider standard I cannot be certain.
In the first he uses the concept of UP’s (useful points).
This is the point-
You will find the relevant article at andrewrobson.co.uk/article/articles/648
The second also comes from a newspaper article which may well exist in the same folder as above on Andrew’s site.
However, I have failed to find it and have only the cutting to fall back on, so I shall attempt to do it justice.
This one features Preempt Points -
Count 2 points for each of the 5 Aces (including the King of trumps) in your hand, and 1 point for each secondary honour (King of a side-
Raise to the four-
I must admit that I like this one, but the outcome will only occasionally differ from that determined by following the basic guidelines at the top of the page.
Thoughts of a slam
In addition to the direct bid of the slam, or RKCB, you might prefer to identify specific controls through some sort of cue-
If you play a lowest-
If you do not play the simple change of suit as forcing then you will have to come to an agreement concerning a jump to five of a minor. I will suggest that it is probably more useful as some sort of control-
Considerations of vulnerability
You will only rarely be doubled for penalties at the two-
Your action at this point will depend on your partnership agreement regarding partner’s opening bid.
If your agreement is that partner will open at the three-
If vulnerable you will need an excellent reason to bid again -
If not vulnerable you will certainly bid to the level of the fit. You might even raise to the four-
In either case you must of course be aware of the danger of pushing them into a making game.
However, if your agreement is that partner has already made an adjustment according the vulnerabilities -
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K Q 7 4
4
A K 6 5
A K 5 3
Partner opened 3♥ and the opponents overcalled 3♠.
Double. Double is for penalties. You hope to take at least three minor suit tricks along with two trumps behind the overcall on your right.
3NT is tempting, but doomed if partner’s hearts don’t run. 4♥ is also possible.
The opponents doubled
a raise to game can either show additional preemptive value, or can be a realistic shot at the contract -
(redouble might be tempting in the second case but it risks the opponents finding a lucrative save).
A bid of a new suit is most easily played as either forcing or non-
Post-
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