Two Suiters

Friday, August-08-08

Hand Evaluation – Two Suiters ( Q bids )

PITBULLS:

Bidding is describing your hand pattern & HCP's to partner so that a joint decIsion can be made to arrive at the correct contract. Poor bidders , as a rule , hide their hand from partner. They bid two suited hands as if they held a one suited hand thus bypassing a bidding basic. There are many toys invented to describe two suiters. The Q bid itself usually implies two suits as it begs the question why is partner not just bidding or jumping in her suit. Equal level conversion was invented to show a hand with two suits. The rank of suits assist bidders to pin point the two suits in their hand . If you convert to your cheapest suit after a T/O double , you must have that suit & another higher ranking one. Equal level conversion is a concept invented to describe your two suits in crowded or pre-emptive auctions after a double.

Equal level conversion can also be used with Q bids to describe two suiters. Kiz Fung held ♠AKQxxx ♥KQ ♦AQJ10x ♣void & opens 2♣ . There is a 5♣ overcall to her left so back to her. Bidding 6♠ is putting all "your eggs in one basket" . A 6♣ Q bid allows equal level conversion to work at the 6 level ! Partner holds ♠x ♥xxxx ♦Kxxx ♣xxxx so 6♦ makes & 6♠ fails. This is equal level conversion in action. If partner bids 6♥ , you convert to 6♠ so you given partner a choice of contracts with your powerful two suited hand.

Both Tom Gandolfo & Kiz Fung held this hand ♠QJxxx ♥xx ♦J10xxx ♣x . Partner opens 2♣ & you show your lack of controls with a 2♦ bid. Partner bids 4NT showing a balanced 28 HCP. Now what ? The bid you can not make is to treat your two suited hand as if it were a one suited hand & leap to 6♦. What this does is set you up for "suit reliance". Partner could hold ♦Ax of diamonds so you have found the only slam that can not make. Transfers were invented to assist in showing two suiters. You transfer into one , followed by bidding the other . Tom Gandolfo took out insurance against suit reliance with this hand by keeping the contract in NT. Tom bid 6NT . There was a method in his madness. He has 4 HCP so a grand slam would need a miracle fit & probably is not biddable. By bidding 6NT, you preserve options that if one of your 5 card suits does not assist partner , the other one will. It turns out , I fit both his suits so we won 7 IMPs by getting to 6NT.

A two suiter is beneficial to describe to partner because with the proper fit, one suit can be used for pitches & the other suit trump. Here is a hand where the bidding shows this concept. Partner was in too much of a hurry to take control of the hand re Q bidding as opposed to describing his hand to partner. The auction goes with everybody vul 1♣, partner overcalling 1NT. You hold ♠KQJxxx ♥xx ♦AQ10xx ♣void so you transfer to spades & opener bids 3♣. Partner passes so you have the first inference that partner does not like spades or she would have accepted the transfer freely. When you have a 6-5 hand pattern it is usually good bidding to let partner in on the secret. Partner could hold 5♦ or 4♦ so the best spot is a diamond contract & you use your 6 card spade suit for discards rather than the trump suit. Partner can easily have a doubleton spade on this auction so trumps are now subject to a 4-1 trump break ♠A109x will doom 6♠. Partner could hold ♠Ax ♥Axx ♦KJxxx ♣KQx & 7♦ is cold but 7♠ can not make as there are no pitches in a spade contract. There are many configurations where diamonds will be the superior contract in 6 level contracts. Why insist on spades as the contract ? Partner does not like spades !

Anyway you bid a calm 3♦ (obviously forcing) & partner likes diamonds with a 3♥ bid. Partner held ♠xxx ♥AKx ♦KJxx ♣KQx so dislikes her hand in support of spades due to nothing in spades & 5 wasted HCP's in their suit. Diamonds is a different story though. Having found your fit , you can make a clear & unambiguous leap to 5♣ ( exclusion) with diamonds as the agreed suit. You get to 6♦ for +1370 with a clear & simple auction. This is because you took the time to describe your hand to partner rather than racing to control the auction with the wrong suit as trumps. Bidding a two suiter as if it were a one suiter is not the way to go.