Bidding Question

Hi Heidi,

We were N/S and got this hand yesterday:

E/W vulnerable, W is dealer:

	North ♠A852 ♥9862 ♦KJ7 ♣Q3
West ♠T73 ♥743 ♦8 ♣AJT985		East ♠K9 ♥KQJ ♦Q96532 ♣72
	South ♠QJ64 ♥AT5 ♦AT4 ♣K64

Most other table East opened with 1♦, but at our table, East passed the first round then came in at the second round with 2♦:

N	E	S	W
			Pass
Pass	Pass	1♣	Pass
1♥	2♦	???

Question: What should South bid??

Heidi's Answer

Excellent question! South should PASS.

Don't let the Opponents force you into making bids you do not want to make.

Remember South has NO IDEA that North has a strong hand. North could have only 6 points.

South has no fit for North's major so can't support that.

Bidding 2NT shows a strong hand with 18 or 19 HCP.

Bidding 2♠ is a reverse showing a strong hand.

So South can happily PASS knowing that IF North has a strong hand (10+ HCP) they WILL bid again.

West will "Pass".

What will North do?

What they SHOULD do is DOUBLE.

This is NOT a Penalty Double. This is just a Value Showing Double. North is saying "Hey I have some high cards over here and I don't know what to do!"

South can't mess this up.

If they bid either 2♥ or 2♠ or 2NT North will "Pass" and they will take eight tricks.

If South Passes the Value Showing Double then East is playing in 2♦ Doubled.

N/S can take at least 6 tricks and if they defend well will take 7 tricks. That's down 1 or hopefully 2.

If you can get down 2 doubled this is much better than making 2♠.

However I think with the South hand South will probably bid 2NT. They might be worried that their ♦ aren't good enough or long enough to sit for a Double.

North will "Pass" 2NT since they are maximum for the values they have shown.

Hand 11 - 1NT vs 1 Major

This is chapter 11 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 eleventh hand I generated:

	North ♠T2 ♥KJ864 ♦Q9 ♣A876
West ♠654 ♥5 ♦JT432 ♣JT43		East ♠QJ3 ♥Q972 ♦A65 ♣Q95
	South ♠AK987 ♥AT3 ♦K87 ♣K2

Dealer is South and no one is vulnerable.

Double Dummy:
5NT can make by N
5♠ can make by N/S
5♥ can make by N/S
4NT can make by S

Analysis

If South opens up 1NT I think North will transfer to ♥ and bid 3NT. South will bid 4♥ since they have a fit.

What happens if South opens 1♠?

This depends on the system N/S are playing -- 2/1 Game Forcing or Standard American.

If they are playing Standard American North will bid 2♥ to show 10+ HCP and five or more ♥.

South will bid game since they have a fit and extras.

Same result.

What about if N/S are playing 2/1 Game Forcing?

Now North will be forced to say 1NT which is a forcing bid in this system.

South will bid 2NT to show a good 17, 18, 19.

Can North show a five card ♥ suit right now?

Would 3♦ be a transfer?

Unclear. What is 3♥ in this auction?

Since I'm not 100% confident in what my partnership has agreed I decided that you wouldn't be either.

In any case, if your partnership can show the five card major the partnership will get to 4♥. If they can't the partnership will get to 3NT.

However in THIS auction NORTH gets to play 3NT. North does better in 3NT than either North or South would in 4♥.

If North bids the NT and East is on lead they might even lead a ♥ if North didn't show their ♥ suit!

So I'm going to say it is definately close but it is better for South to open 1♠. You will probably end up in the same spot but you might end up playing the NT from the better side.

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

Bidding Question

Hi Heidi,

We came across a few hands that we don't know how to bid today:

NS vulnerable, N is dealer:

	North ♠Q762 ♥KQJ ♦ ♣KQJ542
West ♠943 ♥AT32 ♦KQ96 ♣83		East ♠8 ♥986 ♦85432 ♣T976
	South ♠AKJT5 ♥754 ♦AJT7 ♣A

N	E	S	W
1♣	Pass	1♠	Pass
???

Question: What do you suggest North bid to have the partnership explore slam?

Heidi's Answer

North just needs to show their hand. They shouldn't be exploring slam. That's what South should be doing.

Here North has support for South's ♠ suit. They can show support and also show their point count. Since they are Dummy they get Dummy points. That's 5 points for their void. Together with 14 HCP that's enough for a game. They can bid 4♠.

This is NOT a Shut Down bid telling your Partner to STOP BIDDING. Shut Down bids only occur when Partner is limited. Here South is NOT limited in their point count. They could have 6 points, they could have 13 points, they could have 20 points! North does not know.

So North just shows South they have the equivalent of about 20 points. North should let South take it from there.

Here South with 17 HCP will certainly bid again! They will probably try Blackwood and find out they are missing an Ace so will stop in 6♠.

Is it perfect bidding?

No. You are not supposed to bid Blackwood with a useless doubleton. But unless you can cuebid you are pretty much stuck on that hand. Besides Partner must have something for their leap to game.

Even if North bids only 3♠ showing 17 or 18 points, South still has enough to investigate slam by bidding Blackwood.