Wednesday, July 26, 2006 3:51 AM
Hand Evaluation – Minor ( Major
Responses )
PITBULLS:
Responding
your majors to a minor opening bid should not just be a reflex action. Hand evaluation dictates that rules are made to be broken.
You have ♠xxxxx ♥KQJx ♦xx ♣ xx , partner opens 1♦ so what is your bid
? The book says you bid your longer suit first. This is a time to throw away
the book & respond 1♥. You only have one bid ,so by responding a spade might pre-empt
partner from your 4-4 heart fit ! If partner has 4♠ you will find your
spade fit that way. Even if you have a very weak 5-5 it is best to respond 1♥ as you keep more
options open.
Partner
opens 1♣ , you are 4-4 in the majors so you respond 1♥ correct ? Not
necessarily so as it depends on the quality
of your suits & what you plan to
bid if partner rebids her minor. Your hand is ♠KQJ10 ♥AJxx ♦xxx ♣xx so if you respond 1♥ what do you do after
a 2♣ rebid ? I would treat this hand as a 5-4 due to the quality of the
spade suit. Partner’s hand is ♠Axx ♥Kxx ♦ x ♣ KQJxxx so +620 in spades is
a magical spot. You are in effect playing a 5-3 spade fit due the suit quality.
Hand
evaluation is a constant promotion
or demotion of hands. 4 card suits get promoted to 5 & 5 card
suits get demoted to 4. Bridge is a game of
suits says Garozzo. This means evaluate your suits in determining your bids. Rote rules & Bridge is a
very poor mixture.
Responding
with poor 4 card majors is a matchpoint ploy. In IMPs , a suit should be “biddable” (
1930’s Bridge ) . Partner opens 1♥ & you have ♠Jxxx ♥xx ♦KQxx ♣Qxx I do not respond a spade. This is a forcing 1NT as I
have a balanced hand with soft NT values. Even when partner opens a minor , I still
do not like responding a major with a “non suit” . If we miss our 4-4 major
suit fit , I will live with it. Maybe the opponents
will balance in my 4 card major ?
If
you play sound opening bids , beware of the passed hand 12-13 HCPs. If you have a balanced
hand with soft values in that HCP range, bid
2NT as a passed hand rather than your 4 card major. Partner with 13
HCP’s & a balanced hand , might pass one of your major , so you miss those Meckwell 25 HCP games. Partner in 3rd seat is more likely to open a 4 card major with a minimum hand , so trying to find your 4-4 major fit is downgraded in importance.
If partner is distributional , there is no reason why
she can not rebid a 4 card major , so possibly you
get to your major game that way.
Responding your 4 card major at any cost ,
hides your distribution & HCP count. A major at the one level is a very ambiguous bid. Passed hand bidding allows
you to describe your HCP & distribution at the expense of your 4 card
major. My partner held this hand as a passed hand ♠AJ10x ♥xx ♦Kxx ♣K109x . We have an
understanding that a spade response to a heart shows a good 4 card suit or a 5
card suit. Why not take advantage of your passed
hand status to describe your distribution & HCP strength with one bid of 2NT ? With your hand you are
right siding the NT & making the most encouraging bid towards game. If you
respond 1♠ , partner bids 3♥ so you bid 3NT .
Partner is all controls with a stiff, so thinks 3NT is
not the spot so “corrects “ to 4♠ . You belong in 3NT so you were in the wrong contract. In matchpoints , I would pull to
4NT as that should make on sheer power.
Bypassing
4 card majors as a rule is not a good idea as you do play 5 card majors . A 4-4 major suit fit is normally a good contract. However , being a passed
hand lets you get away with it as partner will open a 4 card major in 3rd
or 4th seat. Especially so , if partner has
a weak hand & just wants a lead director. This means that partner is less
likely to have a 4 card major when she opens a minor unless she is strong
enough to bid again
naturally. The odds are good that you will not miss your 4-4
major suit game in that case. With weak hands you will ,
but who cares as 1NT is only 7 tricks & a partial is a partial.