Saturday, April 28, 2007 8:21 PM
Hand Evaluation -
Responder ( Patterning Out )
PITBULLS:
The
knock against 4th suit forcing is that it is not natural in a natural bidding system. When you use 4th suit forcing , partner has no idea about your distribution or where you live, The bid is a meaningless
noise designed just to force to game.
The godfather 2NT bid as a one round force after opens 2 level rebid is a much
more natural bid as it shows
stoppers , length & values in the 4th suit. Does the bid have to
be balanced ? Usually , but
not necessarily. You can actual pattern out with 2NT where you cannot with 4th
suit forcing.
The
godfather 2NT encourages proper hand evaluation. You “pattern out” as opener so
you know how hands fit through natural bidding. What is really nice about this
bid is you can “pattern out’ as responder also !!
Warned about serious duplication of value , you can stay out of bad slams.
Nancy
Cook opened 1♦ with ♠x ♥xx ♦Axxxx ♣AKQxx , partner responded 1♠.
Nancy rebid 2♣ so partner bid the 4th suit 2♥ . Nancy bid 3♣
so partner now bids 3♦. Do we have any idea
about responders distribution ? Not a chance . He could hold ♠AKxx ♥xx ♦KQJx ♣xxx or just about any
combination of diamonds & spades. We have no idea about responders hand.
What if partner bid the new suit 2NT followed by
supporting diamonds? Partner promises
length & stoppers in the 4th suit with the godfather 2NT. With
this inference , responder
has actually patterned out when
she supports diamonds. Made a response
, showed the 4th suit & supported partner. Nancy’s partner
actually held ♠K10xxx ♥AJ109 ♦KJxx ♣void so with the new suit
2NT he maps out the shortness in clubs. Warned about this duplication of value they stay
out of a bad 6♦ .
This hand shows the importance of a
Bridge fundamental. Supporting partner
at the earliest possible opportunity. Do not make fancy Q bid’
s first to confuse the issue. Taking
control without knowing the severe duplication of value in clubs is
just guessing & not bidding.
At Nancy’s table , her partner took control by bidding
4♦ KCB which means you luck out or you do not. Change Nancy’s HCP’s to ♠Ax ♥K ♦AQxxx ♣J1098x , 7♦ is easy. By bidding
new suit 2NT , this hand knows you are very short in clubs so she can take
control. 4th suit forcing is really a
terrible bid in a natural bidding
system. Most of the time , the bid just causes
confusion. Good players use XYZ at the one level & godfather 2NT at the two level
to minimize using the awful 4th suit forcing bid.