Real Life Hand

Hi Heidi,

In the hand below, South considered three possible bids, 2♠, 2NT and 3♦, each had its shortcomings. What is your analysis and recommendation?

EW vulnerable, East is dealer:

	North ♠432 ♥T92 ♦62 ♣QJ982
West ♠JT8 ♥KQ6 ♦T98743 ♣7		East ♠K9 ♥J8543 ♦J ♣AK653
	South ♠AQ765 ♥A7 ♦AKQ5 ♣T4

N	E	S	W
	1♣	1♠	Pass
Pass	2♥	???

Heidi's Answer

First of all I don't really like the auction so far. I don't like any of the bids. But we can discuss that later.

I think at this point South should be bidding 3♦ if they are going to bid. Give Partner a choice of suits.

I don't want to rebid my ♠ suit since I already told Partner I had five of them. I don't want to bid 2NT with no stopper in ♣ plus if Partner is very weak (which they should be in this auction!) NT will not be a fun place to play!

So if South bids 3♦, North will bid 3♠. They prefer that suit.

South knows that Partner couldn't even raise their 1♠ bid to 2♠ showing 6 to 10 points. They either don't have a fit or don't have any points. They will "Pass" 3♠.

The Result?

On this hand North/South can take 8 tricks in ♠. They should go down in 3♠.

On this hand East/West can take 8 tricks in ♥. They should go down in 3♥.

How should the bidding go?

If East is going to open the bidding they should open the bidding 1♥. Yes their ♣ suit is much better but with two five card suits you bid the higher ranking suit first always. Always always always. Both Opener, Responder and even Overcaller!

With 19 HCP South can start with a "Double". This is the "BIG Double" to show a hand too strong to overcall! (But no one at the table knows this yet! Right now it just looks like a normal Take Out Double!)

West will bid 2♥. They have 6 to 10 points and a fit for Partner's major.

North would have had to bid over South's Take Out Double but West bid and took them off the hook. They are quite happy to "Pass".

East will "Pass".

South will now bid 2♠ to show a hand TOO STRONG to just overcall 1♠.

West will "Pass".

North will probably just "Pass". I like to raise Partner (if I can!) when they Double and bid their suit with not many points at all but this hand is too weak and balanced for me to want to say anything.

Will East compete to 3♥? With two five card suits they just might.

South will probably Double to show a very strong hand. They have lots of tricks.

Will North leave the Double in? Or will they bid 3♠ since they have support? Who knows. I would say with no tricks in their hand and support for Partner they will probably bid. But with these colours (E/W are VULNERABLE!) they might "Pass" and hope they go down.

Question for Heidi

Hi Heidi,

In the hand below, South recognized a slam possibility with partner's opening 1NT bid. However, with a singleton Spade, how should South continue to explore slam in this auction? Would you change the plan and the bidding if South's hand is of the same distribution and HCP but the singleton Spade is not an Ace?

All vulnerable, N is dealer:

	North ♠K4 ♥Q965 ♦AQ9 ♣AT43
West ♠J96532 ♥743 ♦T53 ♣5		East ♠QT87 ♥J82 ♦642 ♣QJ2
	South ♠A ♥AKT ♦KJ87 ♣K9876

N	E	S	W
1NT	Pass	???

Heidi's Answer Part 1

This is what South should be thinking:

Hmmmm. Partner opened 1NT. They have at least 15 HCP. I have 18 HCP. We have enough for a small slam.

Partner opened 1NT. They have at most 17 HCP. I have 18 HCP. At most we have 35 HCP. This is not enough for a grand slam.

So no matter what my Partner has we have enough for 6NT and 6NT only.

A major suit would be safer but we don't have a major suit fit. I don't have a five or even a four card major. So I cannot bid Stayman or make a Jacoby Transfer. My bid is 6NT.

Am I worried about my singleton?

Not really. It is the A♠. I should be fine.

The Result?

My recommended auction playing nothing fancy.

N	E	S	W
1NT	Pass	6NT	Pass
Pass	Pass

	North ♠K4 ♥Q965 ♦AQ9 ♣AT43
West ♠J96532 ♥743 ♦T53 ♣5		East ♠QT87 ♥J82 ♦642 ♣QJ2
	South ♠A ♥AKT ♦KJ87 ♣K9876

On this hand North/South can take 12 tricks in NT.

North will try to set up the ♣ suit. They will give East a ♣ trick but can easily take the rest.

Heidi's Answer Part 2

Would you change the plan and the bidding if South's hand is of the same distribution and HCP but the singleton Spade is not an Ace?

Good question. Let's change South's hand to this:

South
♠4
♥AKT
♦KJ87
♣AK876

The experts might be able to explore whether or not you belong in a grand slam in one of the minors or a small slam in the minors rather than NT. You are not an expert. You are going to just bid the same thing (6NT) and hope for the best. After all the only way you will go down is if the Opponents have both the AK♠ and lead a ♠. That would be unlucky.

Question for Heidi

Hi Heidi,

In the hand below, North noticed Partner had just made a reverse and would like to explore a slam. What would be the plan and how to continue the bidding?

EW vulnerable, S is dealer:

	North ♠AJT ♥95 ♦J9 ♣AKQT63
West ♠98643 ♥T7 ♦Q65 ♣952		East ♠K75 ♥J8632 ♦T ♣J874
	South ♠Q2 ♥AKQ4 ♦AK87432 ♣

N	E	S	W
		1♦	Pass
2♣	Pass	2♥	Pass

Heidi's Answer

It is good that North recognized the fact that South's bid IS a reverse. In THIS auction the reverse would be GAME FORCING. This means that, no matter what, neither Opener nor Responder are allowed to "Pass" unless a game is reached.

Are all reverses game forcing?

No. Opener normally needs 17+ HCP to make a reverse and the reverse would not be game forcing if North had responded at the 1 level. But North responded at the 2 level. They have more points.

Since North is promising a good 10 HCP, South only needs 16 HCP to make a reverse. Also their reverse would be game forcing since North responded at the 2 level.

So North can now safely bid 3♣ to show extra length in their suit knowing South will NOT "Pass". They are NOT in game.

South can also safely bid 3♦ knowing North will NOT "Pass". They are NOT in game.

What will North do?

They don't have a fit for either of South's red suits. They DO have a very nice ♣ suit and the ♠ well stopped. They will probably bid either 6NT OR maybe 4NT asking for Aces.

6NT shuts down the auction so I feel North will bid 4NT. When they find out the partnership holds all the Aces they will bid 5NT asking for Kings.

The partnership is off one King so North will settle for 6NT.

The Result?

My recommended auction playing just straight Blackwood -- nothing fancy.

N	E	S	W
		1♦	Pass
2♣	Pass	2♥	Pass
3♣	Pass	3♦	Pass
4NT	Pass	5♥	Pass
5NT	Pass	6♥	Pass
6NT	Pass	Pass	Pass

	North ♠AJT ♥95 ♦J9 ♣AKQT63
West ♠98643 ♥T7 ♦Q65 ♣952		East ♠K75 ♥J8632 ♦T ♣J874
	South ♠Q2 ♥AKQ4 ♦AK87432 ♣

On this hand North/South can take 12 tricks in NT as long as North is playing the hand. East cannot lead ♠ safely.

North will try to set up the ♦ suit since they have more ♦ than ♣. They will give West a ♦ trick but can easily take the rest.

What if we play Roman Keycard Blackwood?

That's a tougher auction to predict.

Playing Keycard Blackwood with no agreed upon suit, 4NT would be keycard on the last suit bid -- Diamonds.

South has three keycards with a void! How do they show that?

I would suggest you forget about showing your club void. Since Partner bid that suit (twice!) your void more than likely is not all that great. It's not going to help Partner set up their suit.

So you would show 3 keycards in whatever way your agreement tells you.

North will now ask for the Q♦ in whatever way your agreement tells you.

South does not have the Q♦ but they do have extra length. Can they show that instead?

Some people with extra lentgh say they have the Queen because they are sure with their extra length the Queen will drop. Here we are not sure if Partner even has Diamonds. I suggest erring on the side of caution and deny having the Q♦.

North will end up in 6NT.

Follow Up Question

If North does not bid 3♣ and goes straight to 4NT Keycard Blackwood what would the assumed trump suit for South to respond to the 4NT Keycard Blackwood be? Is it the last suit South bid, ♥, in this case?

Follow Up Answer

Yes it would be. I don't suggest North doing that. When you have the points go as SLOWLY as the opposition allows you to explore ALL the possibilities. Over 2♥ North has no idea where the contract should be played. They should rebid their suit (♣) just in case South can support them.

Follow Up Question 2

What if North bid 3NT instead of 3♣? Would this jump to 3NT signal to partner that North has at least an opening hand to encourage South to use Gerber to ask for Ace to explore slam, which would allow South to stop the bidding at 4NT or 5NT?

Follow Up Answer 2

3NT is a shut down bid by North. They are saying they have no interest investigating any sort of slam. They shouldn't have a fit for either of South's suits. They should have the black suits stopped but not much else. They should have a MUCH WEAKER hand than they have. They could make this bid with 10 HCP. 3NT is NOT an option with these cards!

Now over 3NT South can always bid 4♦ since they are very strong and very distributional but on the majority of hands South will just pass 3NT. It is a very discouraging bid.

Over 3NT a bid of 4♣ would NOT be Gerber. It would say "I DON'T want to play in NT" and "I have some tolerance for ♣" and certainly at matchpoints I would play it as a slam try. But South would have to be very strong or very distributional to make this bid. North has shown NO INTEREST in any sort of slam by signing off in 3NT. Think of it. They could not support either of South's suits, they could not rebid their suit. They did not look for any other possibilities. They just bid 3NT to play. They have no interest. (This is why North shouldn't make this bid with this hand!)

With these two hands it is up to North to drive this auction further to slam. South has done a good job of showing a distributionally strong hand. They have to trust North to take it further.

Signing off in 5NT

Question

Is there a way to signal to partner to not continue the Blackwood and close the bidding at 5NT after starting the 4NT Blackwood?

Answer

There IS a way!

After a partnership starts to ask for Aces with 4NT, a bid of 5NT then asks for Kings. Which is great on the majority of auctions where we want to explore further possiblities. We want to play at the 7 level perhaps.

But what about those auctions where you got too high? You find out your partnership is missing two Aces! Now you CAN'T play at even the 6 level! You instead want to SIGN OFF at the 5 level.

This is all sunshine and unicorns IF you have agreed to play in a suit contract. You just sign off in (say) 5♠ or 5♥ and Partner says "Pass".

But what happens if you wanted to play in 6NT and NOW (since you discovered you were off two Aces!) you want to sign off in 5NT? 5NT would be asking for Kings. You can't do that.

No you can't. So what do you do?

You "sign off" in a suit at the 5 level that you DO NOT want to play in.

Partner is now supposed to know to bid 5NT and now you can "Pass".

Hmmmmmm.

Sounds a little complicated.

Let's see this in action:

N	E	S	W
1♦	Pass	1♠	Pass
2♣	Pass	4NT	Pass
5♣	Pass	5♥	Pass
???

What does this auction mean?

North opened 1♦ and rebid 2♣ to show at least an opening hand with the minors.

South first showed ♠ and then got a little excited and asked for Aces.

North told South how many Aces they had. Playing normal Blackwood they have no Aces.

South has discovered they are missing two Aces!

What can South do?

South should learn a valuable lesson about taking things a little slower so they don't get into this perdicament again.

But that is for a later time. RIGHT NOW South has to get them out of the trouble they are in!

South wants to sign off in 5NT. But bidding 5NT right now asks for Kings! Ahhhhhhh!

So here's where the trick comes in. South bids 5♥.

5♥?!?!? What the heck is that?

Can South want to play in 5♥?

No. This is the first time anyone in the partnership even suggested ♥. That can't be where South wants to play.

So THAT is the tip off to North. North should know NOW to bid 5NT. South will breathe a sigh of relief and "Pass".

Auction to "Sign Off":

N	E	S	W
1♦	Pass	1♠	Pass
2♣	Pass	4NT	Pass
5♣	Pass	5♥	Pass
5NT	Pass	Pass	Pass

How often does this bid occur?

If everyone is bidding properly this bid does not occur often.

However I do play with one Partner who likes to overbid. I haven't quite figured out why since I like to bid slams and then I get excited and we get too high.

This happens quite a bit with him.

Here's an example. Your hand:
♠K983
♥AQJ3
♦Q2
♣AQ2

You hold 18 HCP! Nice! Partner opens the bidding 1♦! Even nicer!

So you respond 1♥. It's a forcing bid.

Partner now bids 3♦! Holy Smokes! This is supposed to show 16 to 18 HCP. (We do play a good 15 HCP with a really good suit.)

So I get excited. I bid 4NT. Partner shows me zero Aces.

How is that even possible?!?

So right now I could just sign off in 5♦. That would be the safe thing to do.

But it's matchpoints. Playing 5♦ and making 5♦ is going to get me a big fat zero matchpoints.

I want to get us to 5NT. Now we will be tied with all the people in 3NT making 11 tricks.

So I bid 5♠. It seems like I am signing off in 5♠ but I can NEVER want to play in ♠. Neither of us have bid ♠! That CAN'T be the place to play.

Partner should get tipped off and bid 5NT.

I will "Pass".

So our auction would be:

N	E	S	W
1♦	Pass	1♥	Pass
3♦	Pass	4NT	Pass
5♣	Pass	5♠	Pass
5NT	Pass	Pass	Pass

P.S.
Turned out Partner overvalued his 14 HCP with no Aces because he had seven ♦.

We made 5NT.

Hand 9 -- 1NT vs 1 Major

This is chapter 9 in the story of my attempt to determine if it is better to open 1♠ or 1NT with 15 to 17 HCP and a five card ♠ suit.

The journey started with this post:
Later On

Here is the ninth hand I generated:

Dealer: North	North ♠KQT93 ♥AJ6 ♦KT ♣QJ3
West ♠AJ85 ♥KQT ♦A87 ♣864		East ♠6 ♥9432 ♦J943 ♣KT92
	South ♠742 ♥875 ♦Q652 ♣A75

Dealer is North and East/West are vulnerable.

Double Dummy:
2♠ can make by N/S
1NT can make by N/S

Analysis

If North opens up 1NT I think they will play it there. South does not have enough to respond and the Opponents don't have a suit they can play in.

What happens if North opens 1♠?

Most newer players do not play constructive raises. They will get too high. South will respond 2♠ and North with their better than minimum hand will try for a game. They will stop in 3♠ but 3♠ goes down easily. There is only one Dummy entry. Sadness.

Even if you do play constructive raises it is hard to play this hand for the eight tricks needed to make 2♠.

I'm going to say this is a hand better off if North opens the bidding 1NT.

To see the table where all the hands are listed click HERE!

Hand 8 -- 1NT vs 1 Major

This is chapter 8 in the story of my attempt to determine if it is better to open 1♠ or 1NT with 15 to 17 HCP and a five card ♠ suit.

The journey started with this post:
Later On

Here is the eighth hand I generated:

Dealer: West	North ♠84 ♥A97532 ♦QJ ♣963
West ♠AJ973 ♥KQ ♦AK3 ♣752		East ♠Q2 ♥J864 ♦T9865 ♣AJ
	South ♠KT65 ♥T ♦742 ♣KQT84

Dealer is West and everyone is vulnerable.

Double Dummy:
4NT can make by E/W

Analysis

If West opens up 1NT, North will pass and what will East do? Do they have enough to invite?

I think they do. They have 8 HCP and a five card suit. If you use the Rule of 16 it will tell you to go.

So East will bid Stayman. South might "Double" to get a ♣ lead.

West will probably bid 2♠ since they do have a five card suit.

East will now either bid 2NT (which West will raise to 3NT since they are MAXIMUM) or bid 3NT themselves.

What happens if West opens 1♠?

East will respond 1NT and West with their 17 HCP will raise to 2NT. East will bid 3NT.

South will lead the K♣.

So this one I think the result will be the same. 3NT will be reached no matter what West opens. They will get a ♣ lead no matter what.

To see the table where all the hands are listed click HERE!

Real Life Hand

Hi Heidi,

In the hand below, how should West bid? 1♠ or 1NT? What is your analysis and recommendation?

All vulnerable, East is dealer:

	North ♠T8543 ♥83 ♦982 ♣K64
West ♠AKJ9 ♥A752 ♦J6 ♣QT7		East ♠762 ♥94 ♦AQT54 ♣J52
	South ♠Q ♥KQJT6 ♦K73 ♣A983

N	E	S	W
	Pass	1♥	???

Heidi's Answer

I don't hate overcalling on a strong four card suit but I do try to avoid it so on this hand I probably would overcall 1NT to show my 15 to 18 HCP with a balanced hand. 1NT just gets across my strength and balanced shape. I would bid 1♠ with a much worse, much more distributional hand. So that would be my choice on this hand.

The Result?

On this hand North/South can take 7 tricks in ♥ and ♣.

East/West can take 9 tricks in ♦ and 7 tricks in ♠.

If West makes a 1♠ overcall North will "Pass" and East will raise to 2♠. The auction will likely end there. If North/South want to try to bid they will get too high and go down too many!

If West makes a 1NT overcall North will "Pass" and East will "Pass". Will South let them play in 1NT? They should at these colours.

East/West can go down 1 trick in 1NT. I think they will. North will lead a ♥. West will try the ♦ finesse which will lose. After South takes all their ♥ winners they will switch to their next best suit -- ♣ -- and take the next two tricks. Down 1.

Hard for East to bid ♦ on this hand.

So unless South does something crazy when vulnerable, E/W will get the contract and go down no matter what West bids.

Question for Heidi

Hi Heidi,

Do you have any recommendations or guidelines on how to overcall opponent's preemptive opening, particularly when the hand doesn't fit the criteria to do a takeout double? How to indicate to partner that the bidding is competitive versus one round forcing versus game forcing?

As an example, with the hand below, West at some tables opened with 3♠, how should N/S bid?

All non-vulnerable, W is dealer and opened 2♠:

	North ♠AK ♥AJT85 ♦K ♣K8543
West ♠JT87543 ♥94 ♦A7 ♣QT		East ♠62 ♥Q732 ♦Q943 ♣J76
	South ♠Q9 ♥K6 ♦JT8652 ♣A92

N	E	S	W
			2♠
???

Heidi's Answer

The purpose of a preempt is to mess up the opponents. This works most of the time. Works especially well when the preempt is a little less disciplined because now other tables might not be in the same situation.

There really is no way to say to Partner that you are just competing because you yourself have a weak hand with a long suit. Once the Opponents preempt, overcalling shows a nice hand. Jumping to game shows an even stronger hand. (You don't preempt a preempt!)

So you do show values when you overcall after a preempt. What kind of values are we talking?

I would recommend you stretch your bidding a little more when you are distributional. Especially if you have shortness in the opponents suit. Maybe make bids you might be a little uncomfortable with.

Here North has a clear cut 3♥ overcall. If you have ways to show a two suited hand you could also do that. Note that even overcalling 2NT would work on this hand. You won't get to 4♥ but you will get to 3NT and that will make. So as long as North bids things will work out.

Now South has to stretch a little. They have 10 HCP (admittedly the Queen of ♠ isn't worth much) but do not have three card support. Whatever. Just raise partner to 4♥. You've got to take a call. Doubleton honour is good and partner might have a six card suit. If not the 5-2 fit could play just as well.

The Result?

Here 4♥ will make even with a 5-2 fit and a 4-2 trump break.

So make bids you are not entirely comfortable with. Sometimes you get to a good contract. Sometimes you don't and the opponents misdefend. Sometimes you'll go down but the sacrifice will be worth it.

Sure, sometimes you will get a bad board. But learn from the bad boards. Why were they bad? Was it just unlucky? Or should you maybe have had a better suit? Or more distribution? Over time you will develop a better sense of when to come in and when not to come it.

If you get one bad board but three good boards from stretching in the bidding it will be well worth the effort.

Over 3♠?

If West had opened 3♠ what could North have bid? Well they can make whatever bid they want -- 3NT, 4♥ -- and it will work out. South will "Pass" any bid and both contracts make. So as long as North bids things end up magically wonderful!

Short Club OR Better Minor -- What's the difference and how do I know what I play?

To sum up IF you open the bidding 1♦ and you promise FOUR ♦ then you play the "Short Club" and must alert each and every time you open the bidding.

You do NOT play "Better Minor" if you promise four ♦. You can't. End of story.

I do think it's cute when my novices fill in the Convention Card and do the following:

That's actually impossible. You can't guarantee four ♦ when you open the bidding if you also guarantee three ♣ and five in a major. The numbers just don't add up.

If you play "Better Minor" your Convention Card will be filled out like this:

If you play "Short Club" your Convention Card will be filled out like this:

Let's go through this in more detail...

Better Minor

Better Minor is normal Standard American playing five card majors. It is what most people are taught from the very beginning.

If you have the values to open the bidding but do not have a five card major you still have to open the bidding but now you must open 1 of a minor.

Since you could have a hand with two four card majors that you cannot open 1 of the major you would therefore only have five minor suit cards. You will now open your LONGEST minor. But if those five minor suit cards are split evenly (three in one suit and two in the other) you could easily have only a THREE card minor when you open the bidding 1 of a minor.

So therefore with 4=4=3=2 shape you would open 1♦.

With 4=4=2=3 shape you would open 1♣.

Note that in both cases you only have a three card minor when you open the bidding.

If both minors are of equal length you do the following:
You open 1♣ with three ♣ and three ♦
You open 1♦ with four ♦ and four ♣
You open 1♦ with five ♦ and five ♣
You open 1♦ with six ♦ and six ♣

So you will only ever open 1♦ with a three card suit IFF you have two four card majors.

For more information on that see this post:
Opening 1♦

So when a player opens 1♦ they do NOT guarantee having four ♦. However because of the fact they will only ever open 1♦ with a specific 4=4=3=2 shape they DO have four ♦ 97% of the time. If you find out that Opener does NOT have a four card major then you know for a fact (100%) they have FOUR ♦ in their hand.

You do NOT have to alert any minor suit opening bid if you play "Better Minor".

Short Club

The Short Club can also be played as part of a normal Standard American system. It is not much differnt.

If you have the values to open the bidding but do not have a five card major you still have to open the bidding but now you must open 1 of a minor.

If you want to absolutely guarantee Partner four ♦ when you open the bidding you now need five of a major to open 1 of that major and four ♦ to open 1♦. So if you are 4=4=3=2 shape you MUST open 1♣. Note that with this hand you only have TWO ♣ in your hand.

So now:
You open 1♣ with two ♣ and three ♦

But you still obey these rules:
You open 1♣ with three ♣ and three ♦
You open 1♦ with four ♦ and four ♣
You open 1♦ with five ♦ and five ♣
You open 1♦ with six ♦ and six ♣

So you will only ever open 1♣ with a two card suit IFF you have two four card majors and a three card ♦ suit.

You do MUST alert the opening bid of 1♣ if you play "Short Club". According to the ACBL (American Contract Bridge League) your Partner must state "Could be short as two" EACH and EVERY time you open the bidding 1♣. Similarly if Partner opens the bidding 1♣ YOU must now say "Could be short as two". Right now most people are online. Online you SELF ALERT. So EACH and EVERY time you open the bidding 1♣ you MUST type in "Could be short as two" in the Message box when you make your 1♣ opening bid.

How do I know what I play?

Here is your hand:

♠Q853
♥KJ64
♦A85
♣A5

What will you open the bidding?

If you will open the bidding 1♦ then you are playing "Better Minor". No alerts are necessary.

If you will open the bidding 1♣ because you do not have four ♦ in the hand then you are playing "Short Club". You or your Partner MUST ALERT the Opponents each and every time one of you opens the bidding 1♣.

Is it worth it to play Short Club?

I would say "No!"

Especially now when you have to do all that typing. It's just not worth the effort. 97% of the time your Partner will have a four card ♦ suit playing Better Minor. Assume they do and bid accordingly.

However some people really like the Short Club for whatever reason. It's not a convention I would say stop playing if you like it -- I'm pretty easy going that way. You have to do the typing -- not me.