Thursday Tips 07

These questions arose at X-Clubs on Thursday 31/7/25

Board 4. This is your hand as South, Dealer W All Vul

964

AT83

AJ87

Q8

After three passes, what would you bid?

The ‘rule of thumb’ is that you add your high card points to the number of SPADES and if that comes to 15 you might CONSIDER bidding rather than passing. There is good rationale for this ‘rule’, based on spades being the master suit. The South who ignored this and opened an intrepid 1NT scored 0% for down two. Those Souths who were more careful and opened 1D or 1H, with the intention of passing anything partner bid, were a little better off, but allowed West to come in with a 1S overcall, which resulted in NS scoring about 30% when 1S or 2S made eight tricks. Those Souths who followed the recommendations and passed the hand out, scored 70+%

Board 9. Dealer N EW Vul
Your are South once more, and your hand is:

AQJ2

8

A94

Q9862

North opens 1D and East overcalls with 1H. What is your call?

The natural impulse would be to bid 1S but that would be wrong for two reasons: a) it is not your longest suit and b) you have enough points to bid 2C and then follow up with 2S, which is a “responder’s reverse”. To bid 1S invites later problems: if you later bid clubs partner will be supporting spades with only a three card suit, expecting you to have five spades and fewer clubs. As it happens, 3NT makes four because the overcaller has both the ace and king of clubs, whereas 4S fails. Some players play a double of a 1H overcall as showing only four spades and that also solves the problem, but with a 13 count there is no need for anything but a normal approach to what is normal bidding.