Reference: 25 Bridge Conventions You Should Know, Barbara Seagram and Marc Smith, Chapter 13.
This lesson is focused on auctions with a simple bid and raise of a major suit, either from responder raising opener’s major suit opening, or opener raising responder’s major suit response. Examples: 1H-2H and 1C-1H-2H.
When you first learned bridge, you were taught that it takes _________ to bid a game. After that you learned that when you find a ______ you can count your ___________ points to get to that number.
After a while when you were playing you noticed two things:
- You would stay out of game because you “didn’t have enough points” while your good opponents were bidding and making games on 20 or 21 points.
- You were bidding your games with the right number of points but going down when the opponents cashed the first _______ tricks.
So how come some 20 point games make and some 28 point games go down? It’s not always ____ _______ points you have, it’s ______ those points ______.
Example:
North Hand: S: Jxx H: AQJxx D: AQxx C: x
South Hand 1: S: xxx H: Kxxx D: Kxx C: QJx
South Hand 2: S: KQx H: Kxxx D: xx C: xx
South Hand 3: S: x H: Kxxx D: Kxxx C: xxxx
Opposite South Hand 1 there’s no good chance to make 4S. You’re off 3S tricks and the Club Ace. Opposite South Hand 2, which has one fewer HCP you have a 50% chance for game if the Diamond King is onside. Opposite South Hand 3, which has the least HCP of all, you have a good chance to make 5 and you are almost certain to make 4.
What are the differences among South hands 1, 2, and 3 as they fit with the North hand?
South Hand 1 has no _____ and has the “death” holding of 3 small opposite North’s weak suit.
South Hand 2 has slightly better shape and fitting ______ opposite North’s isolated Jack.
South Hand 3 has _________ matching a weak suit in North and a weak suit matching shortness in North.
South Hands 2 and 3 are “______” to North, South Hand 1 isn’t.
Definitions:
A game try is an ___________ bid proposing game but allowing the partnership to ____ _____ of game.
A help suit game try asks about the holding in a specific ______, with the objective being to make sure there aren’t _______ losers in that ______ .
Examples of “help”:
- __________ (singletons, doubletons, and voids) and sufficient trumps.
- __________ honors.
If you have “help”: Bid ____.
If you don’t have “help”: Bid ___.
Other Implications
Auctions like 1H-2H-3H can be used in two ways, depending on partnership agreement:
- “1-2-3 Stop”: Keeping opponents out of the auction.
- “Do you have help in trumps?”
The other new sequence you can use is 1H-2H-2NT to invite on basic strength, suggesting 3NT as a possible alternative to a 5-3 fit.
Copyright Peter Haglich, 2014