Sunday, January 29, 2006 8:26 AM

Forcing Passes - Game Force Auctions

PITBULLS:

Do not forget when partner makes a strong bid like a reverse , strong jump shift or a 2NT rebid , this action turns on forcing pass theory when the opponents interfere. Forcing pass theory takes precedence over D.S.I.P. theory as this is not a competitive auction, you just have an intruder in your midst. This is the classic example of switching modes from D.S.I.P. to forcing pass theory.

NV vrs vul I opened 1♣ and BJ responded 1♠ . I rebid 2NT and LHO entered the auction with 3♣. Even if you are light for your response , the 2NT bid turned on forcing passes. BJ Trelford held 1098xxx Kxx A10xx void so what are his options ? A double is penalty saying that I have club values or I just think this is the best spot to get a plus. A pass says that I prefer offensive action , but if you do double I will abide by your decision. A bid says I strongly prefer offensive action so we are ignoring the intruder. Of course , pass and pull is the slam try as is a Q bid.

With BJ’s hand I would make a forcing pass and abide by partners decision. They are vul vrs not and he has 1 ½ defensive tricks and they just bid partner’s suit at the 3 level. I have an easy decision . AKx AJ10x Kxx K109 since I have 7 HCP’s and length in spades and minimum length in clubs with a finessible honour , I will abide by partners preference to take offensive action. Partner prefers offensive action so I will use his judgment in making my decision. I will bid 3♠ and partner will bid 4♠ which gets us +450. 3♣X only gets us +200 and a zero on the board. Do not forget that a forcing pass is a bid that is conveying information to me re partners hand type.

Change BJ’s hand slightly just by taking away one spade and adding a club. 1098xx Kxx A10xx x with this hand I would double 3♣ as there is no guarantee of a game and the spades could be breaking very badly. We have a club loser , a diamond loser and a possibility of 2 spade losers with a bad spade break. Victory for +200 and thank you opponent !

Change BJ’s hand to Q1098xx Kxx AQxx void and he has a pass and pull slam try. With a lesser hand he could have made a direct Q bid as a slam try. Do not forget the “step responses” in forcing pass theory. The opponents have given you an opportunity to describe your hand within 5 levels of strength as per forcing pass theory. Take advantage of forcing pass theory on which to base your Bridge decisions and watch your bidding accuracy improve immensely. You even will prefer to have Steve Willard , Ray Grace and Osama in your auction so you can describe your hand better J