Wednesday, September 10, 2003 6:09 PM

Hand Evaluation - The Heart Game ( Fragments )

PITBULLS:

Missing 4♥ games for +620 hurts. Established partnerships modify their system to make sure that it does not happen . One preventative understanding is how to handle 1-3-5-4 hands with 5-4 in the minors . When you open one minor , rebid the other , partners heart bid after a spade response is 4^th suit forcing to game not a natural one round force. When opener has advertised 9 or more minor suit cards , insisting on a major with an invitational hand is futile. With ♠Axxxx ♥KJxxx ♦xx ♣x partner will just give diamond preference after 1♦-P-1♠-P 2♣-P-? rather than bid 2♥ . If opener just rebids her minor , 2♥ is a one round force with hearts as there still is a chance for a heart game . The other minor is 4^th suit forcing to game in those auctions.

O.K. how do you bid 1-3-5-4 hands that have a 3 card heart fragment ? It depends on where your points are concentrated that determines your rebid . If your 3 -1 is x xxx then you just bid your other minor . If you have points concentrated in hearts , forget your other minor and rebid 1NT ! Why ? This bid gets you to your tight 4♥ games . It is easy for partner to show an invitational hand in hearts after a 1NT rebid . Now partner will invite in hearts with ♠Axxxx ♥KJ10xx ♦Jx ♣x where she would just give diamond preference otherwise.

What if you hold a 1-4-4-4 , open 1♦ with partner responding a spade ? Same thing . With heart values it’s better to rebid 1NT so your 4♥ game will be found . One time Tom opened 1♦ , I bid a spade with ♠Axxxx ♥xxxx ♦AQx ♣x . Tom rebid 2♣ so I jumped to 3♦ invitational. Tom had a 1-4-4-4 so we missed our 620 in hearts . We both rebid 1NT with those hands now holding a nice heart suit. Also 2-4-5-2 hands with 5 of a minor & 4 hearts . Bend over backwards to rebid 1NT with these hands as you can find your heart fit easier . Rebidding your minor will lose the heart suit quite often.

The forcing NT is another bid where you have to be careful not to lose your heart suit . If you have ♠AKxxxx ♥Q10xx ♦Ax ♣x , partner responds a forcing 1NT bid 2♥ not 2♠ . Partner will pass 2♠ with her 4 hearts ,so 620 in hearts might be missed.

Subash Gupta has introduced me to a bid to combat the “heart game “ problem after a 1NT response. He plays a 3♥ jump bid as invitational over 1NT so 2♥ is always a minimum most likely with just 4♥ . This bid prevents blowing partials when the 1NT bidder stretches to bid 3♥ because she fears missing the 4♥ game . With a strong jump shift in hearts , Subash bids 3♣ which is a relay to 3♦ . After 3♦ , the 3♥ bid shows a strong jump shift. Truly a clever way of solving the problem.

A 3NT jump after a forcing 1NT bid quite often pre-empted your side out of a 4♥ game. Simple solution , do not bid 3NT after 1NT forcing. Play 2NT as a game force unless partner escapes with a relay sequence. This allows you to explore for your heart fit at the 3 level or bail out to hearts at the 3 level.

1♠-P-1NT-P

2NT-P-3♥ probably only a 5 card heart suit & exploring for the best game or rarely a slam. After a 3♣ relay , 3♥ can be dropped with an unsuitable hand .

After a 1♠-P-1NT

2♣ sequence , use 2♦ as a one round force to you can explore for your 5-3 heart fit.

Some partnerships play 1♠-P-1NT-P

2♦-P-2♥ as a one round force so they can show the 5 card heart suit invitational sequence.