Blogs

Bidding Q&A 04

Now we can have a look at real life, not just theory, and see what everyone at X-Clubs did given the monstrous and quite unbelievable deal that the computer threw up.

The full deal was:
Board 3 . Dealer S EW Vul

73
AJT2
T3
QJT64
JT
Q973
97
AK872
965
K8654
42
953
AKQ842
AKQJ865

Bidding Q&A 03

Bidding Q&A 03
This unbelievable deal comes from X-Clubs on 10/11/25. It was also unbelievable from the point of view of the results across all of the clubs so is definitely worth investigating and reporting. I presented the South hand to a number of players across different levels and asked how they would deal with it. The answers were quite an eye opener! Here is the South hand only, and some questions and answers that South might ask, and answer, before bidding after recovering from the shock of seeing the hand and thinking the human dealer had been playing funny buggers with the dealing machine!

Board 3 . Dealer S EW Vul

AKQ842
AKQJ865

You are South and pick up this hand. What are your thoughts?

Bidding Q&A 02

This deal also comes from X-Clubs on 14/11/25

Board 19 . Dealer S EW Vul

Q
KJT987532
A
AT
AT754
4
82
Q9642
J9863
6
QT75
J87
K2
AQ
KJ9643
K53

South opens 1D. West passes

Q1. As North, what thoughts occur?

Bidding Q&A 01

We start this series with a deal that poses many questions, and also answers that the reader may or may not agree with. The deal comes from X-Clubs on 14/11/25

Board 18 . Dealer E NS Vul

QJ63
A
T7642
653
7
KJ986
85
AK974
82
7532
QJ93
QJ2
AKT954
QT4
AK
T8

You sit West: South opens 1S
Q1. Would you bid 2S (Michaels) or 2H?

Thursday Tips 15

This week’s tip comes from Thursday 23/10/25: Don’t be a smarty. It may well backfire on you!

Board 1
Dealer W EW Vul

KJ6
K85
AQ752
Q9
Q754
2
964
87542
T2
JT64
KT8
AKJT
A983
AQ973
J3
63

Thursday Tips 14

This week’s tip comes from Friday 17/10/2025: Always try and make sure you make your contract. And count your tricks. This is a great example of when making sure of your contract can have an unexpected, and very positive, side effect. Virtue was its own reward for the careful declarers.

Board 13
Dealer N All Vul

752
Q4
KQ873
653
JT9
AJ96
JT942
T
A6
K87
A65
AQJ74
KQ843
T532
K982

Thursday Tips 13

This week’s tip is: Learn the ‘Dummy Reversal’. No, that has nothing to do with transfer bids, but often it is an easy way to create another trick when you have lots of trumps in the two hands. Normally, you would have more trumps in your hand as declarer and fewer in dummy, and you would use dummy’s trumps to ruff any losers you have in your own hand whenever you can.You would use your own trumps to draw out any trumps the opponents might hold. The ‘dummy reversal’ in effect reverses this process, and can thus create the extra trick (or tricks) in certain layouts. This deal, from Monday afternoon play at X-Clubs (Monday 13/10/25), gives us a typical and easy to follow example of a “Dummy Reversal”

Board 14 . Dealer E Nil Vul

AKJT7
KQJT3
J3
9
842
875
KJ65432
8632
975
KQT9
QT
Q954
A6
A642
A87

Thursday Tips 12

This week’s tip is: Even when you think something is impossible, don’t just give up and concede. The following deal gives us a great example of why. The deal comes from Tuesday 30/9/25. It also gives us a very easy to understand example of when the seemingly impossible is possible if you know the basics of the “Trump Coup”.

Board 25. Dealer N NS Vul

AK8
AK
AQ73
AQ92
76542
4
J4
JT853
QT3
J863
T965
76
J9
QT9752
K82
K4

Thursday Tips 11

This week’s tip: Count your tricks. Not just your certain top tricks but your potential tricks. There are actually EIGHTEEN highly likely tricks for NS in the following deal, so getting to 7NT should be easy wouldn’t you think?

Board 5. Dealer N NS Vul

J52
A
AQT7653
A4
K8632
94
T87632
83
J9754
J82
Q95
AKQT9764
QT
K
KJ

Thursday Tips 10

Another one that does not come from a Thursday, but from Tuesday 26/08/2025. Very much worth discussion. What is YOUR understanding of ‘fourth suit forcing”? Whatever it is, I would wager that is different to mine, and that you have no clear understanding with your partner about it. But let’s see.

Board 5. Dealer N NS Vul

AK42
AQ3
AT62
82
985
86
J9873
KQ4
QT76
K42
KQ4
T96
J3
JT975
5
AJ753

Syndicate content