Saturday, April 10, 2004 1:00 AM

Hand Evaluation - Jump Shifts ( Two Level )

PITBULLS:

When you open a minor , partner responds & you bid a major there are a number of understandings & treatments. We do not subscribe to the normal treatment that one of a major is non forcing . Bidding one of a major is completely forcing to 1NT so cannot be passed . Since we bid 1NT or 2NT with all flat hands which can contain a four card major , we always have a longer minor by bidding a major. The rare 4-4-4-1 auctions can be shown with a 1NT rebid depending on the location of the HCP’s. If you a 5-4-2-2 or 5-4-3-1 you rebid one of a major regardless of your HCP’s . Jumping to two of a major just to show HCP’s is not very descriptive so just jams the auction . A jump to the two level should be reserved for good hands with two suits.

Splinters at the two level do not exist with these hands. Edmonton Standard has been misguided in thinking that a splinter is more important to show than suits with extra HCP’s . They are not . Bridge is a game of suits so it far more useful to show a good hand with two suits . Therefore , a jump to two of a major is a natural bid showing a strong distributional hand.

♠AKxxx ♥x ♦AKQxxx ♣x I had this hand the other day . I opened a diamond , partner responds a heart . Bidding 2 spades describes your hand in one bid . If you had

♠AJxxx ♥x ♦AJ109xx ♣x you would bid 1 spade , rebid spades to show your 6-5.

This does not mean you need to have a 6-5 to jump to two of a major . ♠AKJx ♥Ax ♦x ♣AKxxxx can be described by a jump to 2 spades also . Look at the quality of your suits , how the HCP’s are dispersed before choosing to jump to the two level. There is a lot to be said for letting partner in the picture that you have a huge two suited by the two level. Tom Gandolfo use good hand evaluation recently ♠AKQx ♥xx ♦AKxxxx ♣x opened 1♦. I responded 1♥ so what is your rebid ? Tom chose 1♠ but if the ♠Q was switched to the ♦Q , he had a 2♠ rebid. Same HCP’s but the hand would be promoted due to the location of honours in his long suit.

A jump shift reverse is a different animal all together . My partners & I play them as specifically a natural 6-5 with values under a true reverse. This again follows the axiom that suits are more important than splinters. The old “Standard Edmonton” way of interpreting jump shift reverses as splinters are extinct. ♠x ♥KQ10xx ♦AKxxxx ♣x With this hand , I open a diamond so if partner responds at the one level with 1NT or 1 spade , I bid 3♥ . This is non forcing & pre-emptive which is ideally suited for a 6-5 hand. Karen Walker has written a nice article on these bids which can be found on her site or in this sites Library..

Since a jump in a major is natural at the two level , you can jump to the 3 level to splinter. This deprives you of a non game forcing mini-splinter , but it’s a very small price to pay for being able to show a strong hand with two suits by the two level. ♠x ♥AKxx ♦AKxxx ♣Kxx 1♦-p-1♥-p 3♠ , not 2 spades describes this hand.

This structure determines how you open your distributional hands. You hold ♠AKxxx ♥x ♦x ♣QJ109xx which some schools of thought open 1♠ because you are so weak . We open 1♣ with this hand because you can bid & rebid spades. Partner will have the inference you did not jump to 2♠ so you must have a hand in the range below that. Same thing with 6 diamonds & 5 spades with a marginal opener . Open 1♦ , bid & rebid spades so you do not lose your 6 card diamond suit.

As Garozzo says , Bridge is a game of suits . Edmonton has been so “splinter happy” over the years you would think Bridge is a game of singletons. I am not saying that splinters are not useful because they are. I just am saying that suits are more important to show than singletons in the scheme of things.