Sunday, October 22, 2006 9:23 PM
Hand Evaluation - Bidding the Table
PITBULLS:
One
of the ways to combat terrorism
in Bridge is to “bid the table” & make the most constructive bid you
can make towards game .
The opponents with “modern bidding” are trying to impede your progress &
use every tactic they can to keep you out of your rightful game. One of the
weapons to use when they
do this ,
revert to using NT as
natural.
When
they are nv & you are vul , I prefer to use a NT
bid in the sandwich as 16-18 but on this one vulnerability only. Why ,
because the opponents are deliberately opening light & responding light as
a tactic. Describing your distribution & HCP with one bid gets your side
off to the best start possible. A doubled vulnerable set is rare because the NV
opponents do not trust their openers
or responses.
The
2NT bid should be natural as the
most constructive bid towards game
when weak 2’s , weak jump shifts or weak jump overcalls are flying around. Again , this is because the natural
2NT gets your message in immediately.
My partner & I had some good auctions to counter act the opponents when
they were trying to talk us out of our vul game.
Barry Pritchard nv vrs vul opened 1♥ & Faith bid 2♠.
I held ♠K10x ♥J10x ♦KQx ♣AK10x so bid 2NT directly. Partner
bid 3NT & I made a baby +630. At the other table ,
my hand passed so they bought the contract for 2♠ . Yes
, I took a risk by bidding but they took a risk by not bidding.
Another
hand, my RHO
passed with everybody vul so in 3rd seat
they opened 2♠. I held ♠AJ10 ♥Q10x ♦K10987x ♣Q & “bid the table” . RHO could not open so partner must have something. If I bid 3♦ that is not very
constructive. I announced my two spade stoppers by bidding 2NT so we
reached 3NT. This was worth 12 IMPS as they played a partial at the other
table. In another match , they opened 2♠ nv
vrs vul & RHO bids 3♠ nv.
I crawled in with a double to which partner must give leeway. Why , because I am “bidding the table” . I hit partner with
a good hand & he bid 4♥ with a 3 card heart
suit to the Ace hitting my 5 card suit so we made +650.
My partner
held a 5-5 in spades & diamonds but only a King & a jack in HCP’s. Vulnerable , I opened 1♣ & the NV opponents
interfered with 2♣ natural. My partner
passed & they bid 2NT which I doubled so they scampered to 3 ♣. I show
a huge hand so he now has enough to compete but in what suit
? His diamonds are better Kxxxx as opposed to Jxxxx in spades but what is the most constructive bid towards game
? You bid 3♠ because there might
be a chance of a vul 4♠ game whereas an 11
trick game in diamonds is far off.
The
most common meaning for bidding
the table is
taking into consideration passed hand
& the vulnerability. By
bidding the table you know when it is safe to enter the auction & how high.
A simple example came up recently. My partner held ♠x ♥AKxx ♦AKJ10xx ♣Qx & his RHO passed nv
. He opened 1♦ , they pre-empted 2♠.
Partner passed & the passed hand NV blasted to game. The opponents
have told you it is your hand & most likely they own all 10 HCP in spades
opposite your stiff. This gives you the green light to choose your contract. A
4NT bid describes your 6-4 nicely as you pull partners 5♣ to 5♦ so she realizes you
are 6-4 in the reds. You make 6♦ but the opponents
may not let you play it there.
Homeland
Security has colour coded
terrorist actions in Bridge. You must fight back or they will kill you. Make
the most constructive bid towards game
when they the terrorist alert system is yellow
or higher. Your teammates will
approve of this message.