October 05' Questions for Ask The Expert Panel

Question 1 : Barry Kalman, Flight C

If you are playing 2 over 1 forcing to game (or at least to 3NT or the 4
level) and during a 2 over 1 auction you discover a terrible misfit --
like you are minimum and void in partner's suit and he has not supported your suit.

A.  Is it proper from both the rules of bridge and for good
partnership to exit the bidding as cheaply as possible by passing
partner's rebid of his suit below game?

B.  Is it proper to not bid 2 over 1 if you are void in partner's suit and you are minimum for that action?

Panel's Responses

Ken Bland

A.   No

B.   No

Tom Kniest

A.   If you are playing 2 over 1 forcing to game (or at least to 3NT or the 4 level) and during a 2 over 1 auction you discover a terrible misfit --
like you are minimum and void in partner's suit and he has not supported
your suit -- is it proper from both the rules of bridge and for good
partnership to exit the bidding as cheaply as possible by passing
partner's rebid of his suit below game?

If I'm playing 2/1, I get to at least the 4 level of a minor.  Some 2/1 auctions sound like misfits, but one partner knows where he's going. Stand by your rules; partnership confidence is more important than guessing right while violating an agreement.

B.   No, partner doesn't always have a lot of wasted values in his suit. Just because I don't fit his suit doesn't mean he doesn't fit mine.

Roger Lord

A.   Passing partner in an unlimited forcing bid may cost far more damage that a loss ion this hand.   It could make partner eternally gun-shy.   On future hands, to ensure not being passed he might feel he should take unnatural actions.

B.   As for the second question, you should revalue your hand up or down depending upon fit or lack thereof for partner's suit.

Nancy Popkin

Those are very good questions.   The only time my partnership is allowed to pass below game after a 2 over 1 response is when we are trying to find a home in notrump and we discover that we don't have a stopper in one of the suits.   For example if the bidding goes 1D, 2C, 2D, 3C, 3H (asking for a heart stopper) 4D may be passed.

It is proper to not bid 2 over 1 if you think there may be trouble ahead.   But anytime I have 13 points or more I bid 2 over 1 hoping that even if we do not fit, we can play notrump.   By the way, I am more cautious at matchpoints than I am playing IMPS.   You have to get to the games at IMPS.

Ed Schultz

From the rules of bridge it is proper.   From good partnership you may be asking for trouble, although all of us who have played with a partner for many years have passed auctions that one thought was forcing. You can wreck partnership by passing a forcing bid. It is certainly permissible to evaluate a misfit conservatively as well as over evaluate a great fitting hand.

Karen Walker

A.   The rules of bridge allow you to bid anything you like, but passing a forcing bid violates the rules of almost every good partnership. Even if you find a "brilliant" pass and it works, you won't be a hero for long because you've broken partner's trust.  That's a bad investment in the future of your partnership.

B.   If you have a hand you would have opened in 1st seat, you should still make your 2-over-1.  There's no reason to mastermind the auction when you don't yet have full information.  If you unilaterally decide to devalue your hand and respond a forcing 1NT, partner may next bid a suit where you DO have a fit, and then you'll have no way to convince him of your real strength.

En Xie

A.   I think bidding is about exchange of information based on agreements.   It's very important not to break the agreements. Partner would assume you would bid again once you make a 2 over 1 auction. It's your obligation not to let partner in doubt that you might pass his/her rebid no matter how good your reasons are. Partner can still have a good hand even with a 2 level rebid. For example, 1S-2C-2N, opener can bid 2nt with as high as 19 hcp.

B.   Holding Void in opener's suit is negative. You might devalue your hand a bit. With bad 12 hcp, you might make a 1NT forcing bid (showing 6-12 hcp) and see what partner would call.

Milt Zlatic

A.   I don't think that you can tell that it is a complete misfit at a low level. That's why you can get out at the 4-level before the opponents start hitting the table with the red cards. Remember that you may not know how good partner's hand is since you've made a 2/1 call. The rules of bridge say to use good judgment and if partner can't give you a break for using it, then it's time to have a discussion about it.

B.  Whether or not you have a dead minimum, make the value bid. At the time you make your bid, you have neither an idea how good partner's hand is nor his distribution. Sometimes, partner even raises your suit!!

Question 2 : (Anonymous, Flight B)

As South your hand is,

S  XXX
H AKQX
D XXX
C KXX

N           E           S       W
            1C          P       1D

P           1N*       P       3N
            (14-15)

What do you lead ?  (Partner has HJxx)

Panel's Responses

Ken Bland

Age old problem – I lead the K to look at dummy.   With my favorite partners, I like to give count with K leads.   (Everywhere except the U.S.A, K asks for count.)

Tom Kniest

K, in my methods, asks for attitude; A for unblock or count.  (I would have overcalled 1H with this hand.)

Roger Lord

Heart king.   Without any agreement, partner will signal attitude (with Jxx, he will play the higher spot card.   Leading the ace or the queen instead would lure partner into un-blocking the jack.   That might give declarer a fourth-round stopper if his hand contains 10xxx.

Nancy Popkin

I would lead the heart queen, so if partner has the jack they will do their best to tell me they like my lead.   The lead of the ace asks partner to unblock any high honor which I don't want them to do because I don't have the ten.   The lead of the king asks partner to give attitude, and with the jack, partner should discourage because declarer would have the queen and we don't want to give him or her that trick. (Assuming that partner doesn't have the queen or he would have led it.)

Ed Schultz

I would personally lead the HK. Asks attitude, we had a discussion at the Sectional in St. Charles whether it was right to encourage with Jxx.

Karen Walker

At the table, where we don't have the convenient info that leading low will work, everyone would lead a high honor.  The one you lead depends on your agreements about attitude and count signals.  The fairly standard agreement is Ace asks for attitude, King asks for count or an unblock of the queen.  The pnemonic is "AAKK" -- Ace Attitude, King Kount.  Some pairs reverse the meanings, which has advantages (partner can unblock a queen OR a king on the lead of an ace).

 
Playing AAKK, you would lead the king to ask for count.  The ace (asking for attitude) won't tell you anything, as partner won't make a positive attitude signal unless he holds the queen or higher.

On the king lead, if partner shows an odd number and dummy has a small doubleton, you could lead low at trick 2 if you need to continue the suit (and you're fairly certain that partner has 3 cards, not 5).

En Xie

I play leading from K is asking for drop or count and A is asking attitude with some partners. With other partners I play the opposite. Either way is fine with me. So I might lead HK or HA depends on my agreements with partners.

Milt Zlatic

I lead whatever heart honor the partnership has agreed on to show count.   With your 12 points, partner has next to nothing to contribute to the defense. It's hard for him to show attitude with jack-third. By the way, I would have overcalled 1 heart just in case partner is on lead and it's not our hand.

Question 3 : Jane Schaffer (Flight A)

Your hand as dealer and NV is,

S X
H KQJ1098X
D X
C QXXX

A.  Do you open in first seat ?  If so, what do you open ?

B.  If the opening bid is 3H and partner responds 3N, what is your call ?

Panel's Responses

Ken Bland

A.   Yes.   I open 4h to shut out the spade suit.

B.   I would not pass out 3N with 2 singletons.   I would bid 4H.

Tom Kniest

A.   4H - This is clear; 7-4 is powerful distribution, and the hand is too good for 3H in my opinion.

B.   Pass; partner could be void in hearts and have 9 running tricks in diamonds and spades, with a club stop.   If partner bid a slow 3NT, I would not allow a correction to 4H if I were a director or committee member.   If partner bid 3NT and you bid 4H in tempo, then I would allow it, although I wouldn't do it.

Roger Lord

A.   I open 4 hearts.   The hand is worth seven-plus playing tricks, which meets the trick total expected for a sound non-vulnerable preempt, within three tricks of the bid.   With so little defense, I start high to preempt opponents' bidding space.

B.   After a conservative opening of 3 hearts and partner's 3 notrump, with a suit playable opposite a singleton or void, I retreat to 4 hearts.

Nancy Popkin

A.   Yes, I would open 4 hearts in first seat, not that I think I will make it, but to shut out the opponents.   I am too good for 3 hearts.

B.   If partner responds 3NT to my 3H bid I would correct to 4H.  (The danger of leaving it in 3NT is that partner may never be able to reach my hand.

Ed Schultz

I would open 4 hearts not vulnerable. This is much better than I would ever have to open 3H not vulnerable. If partner bid 3NT over a 3H opening, I wouldn't know whether we belonged in 4H or more.

Karen Walker

A.   I'd open 4H.  By losing-trick-count, this hand has only five losers, and that's too much playing strength for a non-vul. 3H opening.  Red vs. not, 3H is about right.

B.   There's a temptation to pull to 4H, since your hearts are so strong and your side-suit holdings suggest that it's not critical to protect partner's hand from the opening lead.  It's also difficult to come up with hands partner might hold that will make 3NT but not 4H. However, I would still pass, as partner could hold something like:   K32, void, AKQJ9876, K2.

En Xie

A.   I would open 3H.   4H is too much for me unless I desperately want a high score near the end of a match.

B.   I would pass. It's time to trust partner's judgment. Once I make a

preemptive bid, I usually let partner decide the final contract.

Milt Zlatic

A.   At favorite vulnerability, I would open with 4 hearts, I'm a heart short but the heart suit is a one-loser suit and I have that 1-7-1-4 pattern. At equal vulnerability, I would be content with 3 hearts.  A one or two heart opener is out of the question.

B.   I pull to 4 hearts. Again, it's a one-loser suit and partner is not going to like the two singletons. I'll pay off if partner is bidding 3NT on a long suit but if he is bidding it to protect his kings, then the pointed suit kings will probably be worthless to me but I have a good filler for his club honors.  I know you should trust your partner on this but I still believe the right bid is to pull.