Bidding Judgment & Understandings

(Courtesy of Bob Crosby)

Bidding judgment comes from years of experience playing the game. Sometimes it can just be a result of partnership understandings . Game tries are a good example of partnership understandings . I tend to cheat on my jump raises if I have a close decision.

1D-P-1S-P-3S can be a little lighter then the Goren 16-18. I do this so that partner does not feel obligated to be pushy with game tries that quite often can lead to bad games and blown partials. The Cabays have a different partnership understanding. They can have a healthy simple major raise so responder is quite often obligated to make pushy game tries.

In the recent Edmonton IMP pairs competition, Lisa held this hand

xxxx x Kxx AQ10xx and Stan open 1H. Lisa bid 1S and Stan raised to 2S. Lisa now made a game try despite a stiff in partners suit and weak trump and 9 HCP’s. She hit Stan with Kxxx Axxxx AJ10 K 15 HCP in controls and zero wasted in hearts so he bid game which made for 620 and we lost 8 IMPS as many pairs did not get to game. I would have stretched and bid 3S with Stan’s hand but they were on the same wavelength in accordance with their methods.

Understandings on what constitutes a penalty double of 1NT is a partnership understanding. I held KQJ9xx xx AKJx x with everyone vul RHO opened a strong NT. I doubled which shows a strong NT equivalent or a hand too strong to overcall. LHO passes and partner passes and the 1NT bidder redoubles which is alerted as systemic. I pass the redouble as does LHO. What do you do with xxx Kxxxx xx Qxx ? Giving you opponent some credit for holding some HCP’s they have clarified partners double for you. It can not be a flat 18 HCP type of hand because the points do not add up. It must be a good single suited double. You were willing to gamble 1NTx out as it is not game. The redouble changes the situation so you take out insurance in IMPS by bidding 2C. Partner bids 2S and they bid 3C which ends the auction. Looking at the results later, two pairs played it in 1NTXX making for 14 IMP losses for the doublers !!

Opening light is a matter of Bridge judgment. It is a well known “pigeon shooting “ tactic to open light all the time because there is a certain advantage in firing the first shot. Weaker players have more problems in bidding competitively because they have not yet built up all the requisite understandings.

I only open light with a purpose. The suit must be good or I have quick tricks or a 5-5 or 6-4 distribution. I do not open flat hands just for the sake of opening light. I pass bad 13’s and most flat 12 HCP hands. For example I would not open Qxxx KJxx Qxx Ax. One diamond can not stand the opening lead or bidding competitively. A belated double can introduce my majors and I need an opening bid by partner to produce game. Yet I would open xxx x Kxx AK109xx as I have a suit and some defense with my controls. I would choose to pass KQxxx xx KJ K10xx as it is Ace less, the KJ is frozen and I have no spade spot cards. This hand is borderline so I have no qualms if partner decides to open that one.