Saturday, April 26, 2003 1:58 AM
Suit Asking Bids
PITBULLS:
Suit
asking bids should be
in the established partnerships repertoire
. There are six situations where these bids can be very useful . 1) When the opponents have bid a suit and you want to know what partners
holding is in that suit . You leap to 5 of
your own suit and partner must pass
with a doubleton or worse , bid 6 with a singleton , bid 5NT with
the king and bid 6 of their suit with 1st round control . This does
not show extra values , you are just following orders.
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4♦ pass |
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3♦ |
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pass |
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1♥ 5♥ |
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KQx QJ10xx xx KQJ10 This
suit asking bid keeps you out of 6H .
AJx AKxxxx xx Ax If the opponents are not in the auction then the suit ask is in
Trump following the Grand Slam rules . Pass with queen or less trump
honours , bid 6 with Ace or King and bid 7 with 2 out of 3. You use this bid if
you are afraid Blackwood will get you too high with two trump losers or more .
2)
When partner pre-empts 4♥/4♠ and bid by partner is a suit asking bid
. Partner opens 4♠
and you have Axx xxxx AKQ AKQ . You
bid 5♥ as a suit ask in that suit . Partner signs off in 5♠ with a doubleton , bids 6 with a singleton , bids
6NT with the king and bids 6♥ with a
void or Ace .
3) Strong 2♣ auctions with a self
sufficient suit . Tom and I play relays to show the strong two suiters or
normal one suiters hands so a jump by the 2C opener sets the suit . Responder
must bid their control(s) . After that a suit bid is a “suit ask” in that suit
. The responses are real easy on the memory
as they are just logical up the line steps . Return to your trump suit with the worst holding xxx
, 1St step shows Q or doubleton , next step x or King and the next step Ace or
void .
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K |
K |
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K |
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Q |
x |
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J |
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d |
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x |
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x |
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You open 2♣ and
partner bids 2♥ showing her nothing . You bid 3♠ which sets the suit and forces controls . Partner
bids 4♠ showing no
controls( as expected ) and you bid 5♥ which is a suit ask . Partner bids 5NT showing the
queen of hearts ! Victory !
4) The opponents double an artificial bid
or transfer . Tom Gandolfo opened 1NT and I held Ax AQJ10xx Qx Axx and bid 4♦ which got doubled and Tom bid 4♥ . You have 17 HCP’s and partner averages 16 HCP’s with
his bid so 6♥ should make. Wait a minute ! There is a way to check back and ask if you are off two
diamond tricks. Bid 5♥ and Tom
will read that as asking in the diamond suit as it has been essentially “bid”
in this auction. Tom passes and the opponents cash the diamond AK . Everyone in the room was in 6 down one !
5) When you have Q bid or naturally bid two of the other
suits . A jump to 5 of the trump suit asks do you have a control in the unbid
suit ? Same rules apply as in other suit asking bids. If no other suit bids or
Q bids have been made the jump to 5 of the trump suit asks for the quality of
your trump suit. This is a rare bid as KCB has improved so much over the years.
6) Eddie Kantar recommends suit asking bids as part of
the KCB structure for getting to grands.
Since you are looking for a grand in these auctions , the steps are a little
different then above. You are generally looking for a queen or a king holding
in a suit . Kantar as invented his responses around that goal.
The Specific Suit Ask (SSA)
(Majors)
After an RKB response, 5NT asks for specific kings. However
the RKB bidder may not be interested in specific kings, he may be interested in
what the responder has in a specific suit. The asker may have
losers in only one suit. That suit may be headed by the
AKx(x)(x). If so, the ask is looking for third round control,
a doubleton or the queen, to play in a grand slam.
The asker may have Axxx(x) looking to play in a grand facing a singleton,
Kx or KQ(x). The asker may have Kxxx (x) looking to play in a
grand facing Ax, or AQ(x).
In order to ask partner about a specific suit, called the specific suit ask
(SSA), you must first go through 4NT.
After the response, a new suit by you that is NOT the queen-ask is
the SSA. In other words, you have decided to forego the 5NT
specific king ask to make a SSA. A SSA promises at
least the ace or king of the ask suit, frequently both. It also confirms joint possession of the four
aces as well as the KQ of the
agreed suit. The
SSA cannot substitute for the queen-ask, the queen-ask takes
precedence.
Consider this sequence:
Opener
Responder
1H
1S
3C
4H
4NT
(1)
5C
(2)
5D
(3)
5S
(4)
6D (5)
(1) RKB
(2) 1
(3) Queen-ask
(4) Yes, with SK
(5) SSA (5NT would ask for another king)
Responses to the
SSA are listed below. To facilitate memory problems, the return to
the trump suit is the death response. It denies
2nd or 3rd round control in the ask suit and shows (xxx, xxxx, xxxxx).
RESPONSES TO THE SSA IN WHICH
THE KING OF THE ASK SUIT HAS NOT BEEN DENIED.
A return to trump suit, as ever, denies 2nd or 3rd round control. it is the
weakest response and does not count as a step.
1st step= 3rd round control ( xx or the queen)
2nd step= 2nd round control (specifically Kxx or longer)
3rd step= Kx
Raise of the ask suit =KQ (x)(x).
Jump in the trump suit = singleton
Say the SSA is 6D, hearts agreed, and responder has D Qxx, 3rd
round control. The proper response is 6S, a 1st step response
(excluding the trump suit, the denial response). Yes, the
response bypasses the six level of the agreed suit, but the SSA bidder is
supposedly prepared for that. He should have the Ace and King of
diamonds to make the ask.
LOOKING
FOR GOLD AND FINDING DUST
West
East
S.
AQxxxx
S.
KJxx
H.
A
H.
xx
D.
AKxxx
D.
xxx
C.
x
C.
AK10x
West
North
East
South
1S
4H
4S
Pass
4NT (1)
Pass 5H
(2)
Pass
6D (3)
Pass
6S (4) Pass
(1) RKB
(2) 2 without
(3) SSA in diamonds
(4) Denies 2nd or 3rd round diamond control
NOT
WHAT YOU WANTED, BUT NO SO BAD EITHER
Opener
Responder
(you)
S
AJx
S.
Kx
H.
Kxx
H.
AQJ10xx
D.
AJx
D.
x
C.
QJxx C. Axxx
Opener
Responder
1NT
4D
(1)
4H
4NT
(2)
5C
(3) 6C (4)
6D
(5) 6H (6)
Pass
(1) Transfer
(2) RKB (0314 responses- weak asking strong)
(3) 3
(4) SSA in clubs
(5) 1st step response showing the queen or a doubleton
(6) No grand today
Change opener's hand a bit: Say opener has: AJx
Kxx AJx
Kxxx. The response to 6C is 6H, a 2nd step response
showing Kxx(x) of clubs. Opener, appraised of a club loser, settles
for 6H.
Now give opener: Axxx Kxx
AJxx Kx. Now a 3rd step response of
6NT shows the Kx leading to a grand in hearts. Of course you
may have to ruff two clubs in dummy. In my book I gave the
opener the K9x of hearts to make things happier for the paying customers.
Here, since you are getting a freebie, realism has set in and opener doesn't
have the H9.
IF THE
RESPONDER TO THE SSA HAS ALREADY DENIED THE KING OF THE ASK SUIT (AFTER A QUEEN
ASK AND A KING SHOWING RESPONSE) THESE ARE THE RESPONSES:
A return to trump suit denies 3rd round control.
1st step response shows the queen or a doubleton.
A raise shows the queen-jack.
A NEAT
FIND!
Opener
Responder
(you)
S.
QJx
S.
AKxxx
H.
QJ
H.
AKxx
D.
AKJx D. x
C.
xxxx C. AKx
Opener
Responder
1D
1S
2S
(1) 3H
3S
4NT
(2)
5C
(3) 5D (4)
6D
(5)
6H(6)
7H
(7)
7NT
(8)
Pass (9)
(1) Some would rebid 1NT
(2) RKB 1430
responses-strong hand asking weak-opener limited by the single raise
(3) 1
(4) Queen-ask
(5) Yes with DK, but no HK (would have bid 5H over 5D).
(6) 3rd round heart control? (I know you don't have the king).
(7) The QJ
(8) Wait till we tell them about this one
(9) You tell them, I'm too exhausted
NOT AS EASY
Returning to the previous hand, If we exchange the queen and king of spades, we
have this:
Opener
Responder
(you)
S.
KJx
S.
AQxxx
H.
QJ
H.
AKxx
D.
AKxx
D. x
C.
xxxx
C.
AKx
Opener
Responder
1D
1S
2S
3H
4S(1)
4NT
(2)
5H
(3)
?
(1) Too much hand to rebid 3S
(2) RKB
(3) 2 without
At this point you have to decide whether it is more important to look for
the DK via 5NT or 3rd round heart control via 6H. There
is not room to do both.
If you bid 5NT and get a 6D response, a follow up bid of 6H asks for the HK as
it has not been denied. YOU CANNOT USE THE SSA ONCE YOU BID 5NT
ASKING FOR SPECIFIC KINGS.
If you bid 6H over 5H, the SSA, you
will get a 7H response showing the QJ. So partner has the DA, the SK and the H
QJ, 10 HCP and 12 tricks. If you want to gamble that partner
has the DK or the CQ (HIGHLY likely) bid 7NT.
If you want to play it closer to the belt,
bid 7S. Perhaps partner has a doubleton club and a club ruff
in dummy will be trick 13. At tournament bridge in a strong field, chance 7NT;
otherwise 7S.
AN SSA CAN ALSO BE MADE IN A
PREVIOUSLY BID SUIT
The responses are the same except responder cannot have shortness.
Return to trump suit denies 2nd or 3rd round control.
1st step= The queen
2nd step= The king
A raise of the ask suit= the KQ(x)
LOOK
WHAT I FOUND!
Opener
Responder
(you)
S.
Qxxx
S.
Ax
H.
Axxx
H.
KQxxx
D.
A
D.
xxx
C.
AQxx
C.
KJx
Opener
Responder
1C
1H
3D
(1)
4NT
(2)
5C(3)
6C
(4)
6D
(5)
7H
(1) Nobody likes to splinter with a singleton ace, but that's what they dealt
you. If you want to treat this as a balanced hand, jump to
4H.
(2) RKB (0314) weak asks strong
(3) 3
(4) You don't have room to ask for the SK and the CQ. Since finding
the SK won't ensure a grand, but finding the CQ will, you trot out
6C. (If you had any desire to play in clubs, you should have bid 4C over
3D.) More on asks in previously bid suits in chapter XXI (Second Suit
Options).
(5) 1st step response showing the queen. (Opener must have at
least four clubs so a spade can go off on a club).
Another SSA to keep in practice:
I NEED
A NEW PARTNER!
West
East
S.
x
S.
Ax
H.
AQxxx
H.
Kxxx
D.
Ax
D.
KQJ
C.
AKxxx
C.
xxxx
West
North
East South
1H
Pass
2NT(1)
Pass
4NT (2)
Pass
5H (3)
Pass
6C (4)
Pass
6H (5) Pass
Pass Pass
1) Jacoby
(2) RKB
(3) 2 without
(4) SSA
(5) Zilch
Hate to end with a signoff response but look at how
many slams you have already bid and made!