Bidding Basics

“An opening bid opposite an opening bid equals game”. Keep that in mind when you play, because it will make your bidding and decision making easier. Just knowing that of course does not make bidding to game easier unless you have a proper structure that you and partner work to. Witness this hand from Wednesday 22nd:

Board 20 Dealer W All Vul

	AK54 965 K93 KJ9
QJ98 KT QT2 QT42		632 QJ4 J764 876
	T7 A8732 A85 A53

North has an opening bid: 1NT. South also has an opening bid therefore the combined hands should be bid to game. How to do that? If you're playing basic Acol with a weak NT and no transfers then the answer is: South bids 3H which says to partner: “I have FIVE hearts exactly and enough for game. Please raise to 4H if you have at least THREE of them, or bid 3NT”. North does as asked and bids 4H.

If you are playing TRANSFERS, then South should bid 2D as a transfer to hearts and when North bids 2H, as requested, South next bids 3NT which says: “I have enough for game and five hearts and a balanced hand.” North should now bid 4H, with the actual auction being little different to the basic Acol one, except that North has a bit more knowledge about South's hand (ie. that it is a balanced 5332) and North might choose to play in 3NT because of the poor hearts. But I always prefer a 5-3 major suit fit to 3NT so let's say that NS should end up in 4H.

Only one pair bid to 4H on the night and they made an overtrick thanks to poor defence but 4H was always there as long as declarer knew how to take a simple club finesse.

Two Souths were in 2H, no doubt because they did not know that 2H over 1NT is 'to play' and fewer than 11 HCP, so the Norths of course passed. A very common problem with newcomers to the game. Then, we had four pairs in 3NT, with one making an overtrick (bad defence again) but three failing to make. One in 2NT made four and ONE North was in 4S! I wonder if that was a result of some sort of muck up with a transfer system? I hate to think.

Get the simple bidding well understood. Basic Acol and the 1NT opening with continuations is the cornerstone of Acol so do ensure that you get that simple part of the game right.