Friday, November 25, 2005 11:26 PM

T/O Doubles - Q Bids

PITBULLS:

There are some bids in Bridge that imply a single suited hand. An opener and a jump rebid or a simple rebid , an overcall , a invitational jump after a T/O double and a pre-empt to name a few. A 6-4 is not a single suited hand. You open your 6 card suit and then bid your 4 card suit followed by rebidding your 6 card suit. Rebidding your 6 card suit immediately gives partner the wrong impression . She thinks you hold a single suited hand !

Avoid making bids that show single suited hands when you have two suits. This is especially so after T/O doubles since you play equal level conversion you may be missing a suit. The auction goes 1♠-X-P- ? and you hold xx K AJxx KJ987x so what do you bid ? If you had one less diamond you have a 3♣ bid which shows an invitational one suiter in clubs. OK you have two suits so what would a Q bid mean ? A Q bid opposite a T/O double just means that you have two or more suits. If you have only one suit and you Q bid it means that you are too strong to jump to game. The Q bid does not imply the unbid major(s), it just means that you have 10 + HCP’s and at least two suits. This is the default understanding.

The Q bid allows equal level conversion from the Q bidders side. You Q bid 2♠ with your 6-4 in the minors. Partner is not going to bid her highest ranking suit (hearts) but her lowest ranking suit. Partner held

Kx AJ10x KQ109x 10x and will bid 3♦. You have a nice hand so either bid 4♦ or try for a 9 trick game by making a western Q bid. If you make the wrong bid of 3♣ initially , partner will never convert to 3♦ as you have shown a single suited hand by you failure to Q bid. Bidding a new suit after a single suited hand was shown by jumping should be a Q bid !! If I held x AJ10x KQ10xx AQx I would bid 3♦ as a source of tricks for a club contract/slam not because I am running from the club suit. You do not convert to a new suit when partner has shown she only has one long suit anyway. That is a recipe for disaster.

If they open a minor and partner makes a T/O double you have an extra bid available due the rank of the major suits. A jump to 2♠/♥ shows an invitational hand. A jump to game means you think you can make it but it is not a slam try. What if you do have a slam try in a major ? Most people would trot out the ambiguous Q bid which gives the wrong impression of your hand. Partner is going to assume two suits or more for your Q bid. I like playing a jump to 3♠/♥ as a slam try in that major. This sets the suit immediately and subsequent bids can be interpreted as Q bids rather than trying to find a fit. The spade suit has special status due to its rank. Even after a 1♥ opener and a T/O double you have 2♠ available for inviting so why not play 3♠ as a slam try ?

Default understandings are very important in Bridge. A jump in a suit after a T/O double shows a single suited hand and a Q bid means two or more suits. The more times you adhere to this understanding the better off you will be.