Bridge: 7 No Trumps baby!

The Game Room
541

Yeah, if 2C is artificial and 2C-2D-2NT shows a hand that’s “NT shaped but even better than opening 2NT directly”, the default norm is to play “systems on” as if you’d opened 2NT, except that you’re “even better than opening 2NT directly” in strength.

A better question that partnerships usually leave unexplored is: what are your responses to 2C on the 2 level supposed to show, if you don’t bid 2D?

Also, what if they interfere over 2C, like 2C-(2S)? What does pass, double, or bidding over 2S indicate to partner?

I can give you my preferred treatments, but the only really important thing is that you have an explicit agreement with partner - these are critical areas of bidding that can have dramatic impact on a result that are not necessarily “standard”, as in “covered by the bidding books you learned from”, and what you think is natural/obvious may not be to partner.

542

And if you play 2C - 2D - 3NT as 25-27, are systems on over that? With one of my most freqent partners, we played in a 3-2 fit after one assumed 4H was a transfer and the other didn’t.

543

For the above, I’m with robardin and amarone - normal practice is to play the same responses over 2C-2D-2NT as over a straight 2NT. (For the record, I play 2H/2S/3C/3D over 2C as showing 7+ points with a 5-card suit and 2NT as showing 7+ without a 5-card suit, but there are many other systems).

To finish up the story of the pre-empt:

robardin has it right, I think, though I also like OldGuy’s analysis.

The hand might actually have been A AQx Jxx QJ9xxx, but it makes little difference.
4C was the choice at the table, and after Pass-4NT(undiscussed)-Dble, the men’s room is looking pretty attractive.
I don’t think there’s much alternative to taking your medicine in 5C. Pass-Pass-Dble and:

I was the doubler, sitting opposite the 3S bid with S x H xxx D Axx C AKTxx.
Double-dummy I think 5C can get out for 2 off, at the table it went 4 off, though the difference between -3 and -4 didn’t count for any matchpoints
It’s been a long time since I’ve had the chance to double opponents at the five level holding AKTxx of trumps

544

You kind of have to do that, yes.

There is a special treatment called the Kokish Relay meant to reduce the level of such auctions, which is kind of convoluted, but it solves problems like this. There are extensions of it, but the simplest version (the one I play) is that after 2C-2D, 2H by opener relays to 2S (both are artificial bids), and now opener can bid 2NT to show the NT shaped hand that’s too good to bid 2C-2D-2NT (22-24), which is itself too good to open 2NT directly (20-21). Meaning, it’s 25+ - an open-ended plus.

How is that playable? Well, really, it’s “25-27”, but when partner chooses a game, you keep bidding. That means you had more than 27 HCPs. And when is the last time that ever happened?

It does mean if you have a strong hand with hearts you can’t show them until 3H, since 2C-2D-2H relays to 2S. You now bid 3H to show the strong hand with hearts. Annoying, but worth simplifying the Very Strong NT hands, IMHO.

The side effect is that it gets easier to bid a very strong hand with hearts and a second suit, since 2C-2D, 2H-2S, 3x where you don’t rebid 2NT, shows 5+ hearts and a natural holding in “x”. That has actually worked out well for me at least once.

Here’s a more basic Frequently Confused Topic:

1NT-2D, 2H-4NT - is that (Key Card) Blackwood for hearts, or quantitative invite of NT? “I transferred to hearts and jumped to 4NT, how is that not Blackwood?”

Well it can be, if you’ve discussed it. But in typical “expert practice”, as they say, it is quantitative with a 5 card heart suit. Jumping to 4C becomes Keycard Gerber (Blackwood for hearts).

OTOH a “Texas” 4-level transfer with a 6+ card suit followed by 4NT is definitely Blackwood for the transferred suit: 1NT-4D-4H-4NT, that’s Blackwood, my friend.

545

More “standard defaults” that aren’t as standard as you might imagine:

Q: Are transfers on over double of 1NT / any other bids over 1NT? Ex., 1NT-(Dbl)-2H, is that natural hearts, or a transfer to spades?
A: Yes, it’s definitely one of those.

By default (IMHO), undiscussed, all bids are natural after a double of 1NT, a presumed runout from playing in 1NT doubled.

But most of the time I play transfers are on, or something even more crazy which I won’t get into. (The best one is where passing the double is alerted as forcing the 1NT opener to redouble if passed around; “we systemically have no way to play in 1NT doubled”.)

This makes life much easier because if partner has a good hand, he isn’t going to be afraid of partner passing his 2-level bid.

That’s why that’s one of the first things I discuss with a new partner. “Transfers on over double of 1NT? - what about interference, 1NT-(2C), is 2D still a transfer to hearts and double is Stayman?” etc.

546

Ha, I originally gave an example of a very likely hand where the partner of the 3S bidder could well have his “about a 10 count” with a singleton spade that would not only make life very sad for you in 4C (or higher), but also be where 3S was going down. Like that one, if the 3S bidder had opened with

KQTxxxx
xxx
Qx
x

You could be taking 2 trumps (partner having Jxxx) and three hearts (though he does have to find a heart or spade lead - not easy if he has KJTx of hearts).

More to the point, opponents being in 3S making 3 may be a normal result. Just because LHO opened 3S doesn’t mean they aren’t entitled to make 3S, or that you have more than 3S. Don’t go looking for action on every board… Just play the hands as they’re dealt.

547

I play systems off after any interference - including doubles. And you can bid on zero points after a double.

548

You may say that you like pass/4C (robardin and Old Guy’s favorites, if I remember correctly), but based on what actually happened, my double is certainly looking better than 4C. We end up in 4H (or possibly defending 3SX, dependng on partner’s spades - the 4NT bid over 4C suggests that partner has a decent spade holding, in which case 3SX could be in trouble) and nobody is doubling 4H and it even has prospects.

549

I normally play systems on over 2C (double=Stayman) and double, except when 2C = majors, in which case playing a double as Stayman is pointless.

550

I have played Kokish, but none of my current partners are familiar with it. It works well when the situations come up, but that is not very often for casual partners.

Indeed, in which case there is no need to play a transfer followed by 4C as KCGerber. I prefer it to be a splinter, which I believe to be more in line with expert practice than its being KCGerber.

551

You might want to reconsider that when double is conventional (e.g. if playing DONT). Why let them destroy your constructive bidding sequences by throwing in a random conventional double?

552

A conventioal double of 1N is for penalties around here, so escaping into a suit with - hopefully - an 8 card fit is going to be a better contract.

553

Over a penalty double I play systems on, plus redouble with a 5+ card minor - opener bids 2C and responder corrects to 2D with diamonds. This allows us to right-side all the 5-card suit escapes except 2D.

With one partner I also play that a pass by responder demands a redouble from opener. Responder will then either pass or start to bid 4-card suits up the line to try escape.

Note that I play a 15-17 NT, whereas I imagine you play 12-14. I don’t need to escape from being doubled as often as you will.

This reminds me of a hand Andrew Robson held on vugraph. He had a balanced 22-count, I think, and RHO opened 1NT (15-17). What did he bid?

554

Heh. That happened to me holding 20 HCP against 12-14. I doubled, and when it came back round, I doubled again. They made their contract. Next time I’ll pass the second time around.

555

I would like that, TBH, but for some reason all my partners have insisted on 4C being KCB

I’ll bring it up again

556

It was key to Robson’s decision that opponents opened a strong NT. He passed. His reasoning was a) they probably do not have a game on their way, and b) if he doubled, his partner was bound to pull it as he would have a maximum of 3 points.

557

My line about liking OldGuy’s approach referred to sneaking off to the men’s room rather than bidding 4C.
I agree that as the cards lay, doubling could work out well - 3S* goes one down, assuming partner leaves the double in with his S J9xx and doesn’t pull to 4D on KTxx, but I still think that on balance it’s too risky - another day you’ll find yourself in 4 of a red suit on a 4-3 fit and opener’s partner can just as easily have 5 diamonds or hearts as 5 clubs.

558

On the subject of doubling twice, try this one (from the same session as the pre-empt)

First in hand, all vul, you open 1S on:

S KQJ9x
H x
D AKJx
C A9x

The bidding proceeds:
1S - 2H - P - P
Dbl - 3H - P - P

What now? (opponents are play weak jump overcalls, if that helps)

559

First of all, had partner passed 2H hoping to pass a reopening double for penalty of 2H, he would have doubled 3H - so he doesn’t have That Hand (the one with a heart stack).

I could have made a reopening double with much less than that monster, so I have to double a second time.

My spade suit is quite good, so at worst, he’d put me in 3S with a doubleton spade. If he has a singleton or void in spades and can’t stand defending 3H, he must have a 5 card minor for us to land in on the 4 level.

On the more optimistic side, he might well have a hand that can’t really double 3H opposite a possible minimum reopening double from me, but will pass when I show a second double.

Finally, he might have a hand where he wasn’t willing to bid 4 of a minor over 3H if I had a minimum reopening double, but after a second one, can bid 3NT - as little as:

xx
Qxx
Qxx
KQJxx

Where Qxx of hearts must surely be a stopper on this auction, and I have to have the Ace of clubs and Pointy Suit Stuff on the order of an 18+ HCP hand.

560

Speaking of “weak jump overcalls”, here was one I made yesterday I’m a little proud of (maybe you’ll find reason to knock me down for it, though?) -

My partnership style is to make sound, constructive opening preempts opposite an unpassed partner - slightly less so if RHO dealt and opened the bidding - but liberty to get creative once partner is a passed hand.

And so, the other day, none vul in third seat, I held:

x
xx
xxx
AJ9xxxx

That’s a hand I would not open 3C in first seat, though many might. Without a better suit or an outside control (A or K), it cannot reasonably play in 3NT opposite a small doubleton - that’s one of the “have respect for an unpassed partner” measures we use. (Make the club suit headed by AQJ or even AJT9 and I would do it, though with the latter, I really ought to have at least an outside Queen.)

In second seat, over a RHO dealer who opened, it’d be different - I would be bid 3C over 1 of a major and hope to get away with it, unless vul against non-vul, just to make their game-going auctions less clear. (Depending on their methods, 1S-(3C)-3S may ambiguity or have double duty as “competing to the 3 level” and “invitational raise of spades”)

But I wasn’t in first or second seat: partner had dealt and passed, and RHO opened not one of a major, but 1D.

Where are all the points? Well, if partner passed as dealer, it seems likely opponents have game values - I have only 5 HCPs.

Where are all the majors? It’s possible partner has some junky 9-10 count with 5-5 majors, but it seems pretty likely the opponents have at least one 8-card major suit fit. And look, they haven’t bid their majors yet! So this is most definitely the time to preempt with my clubs.

So why stop at 3C, which lets them have the 3 level to explore which major suit they fit best in? Let them guess at the game level. I bid 4C. Partner can’t hang me, he’s a passed hand, what’s he going to do other than maybe raise to 5C over 4 of a major?

LHO thought for some time over 4C, and then doubled. RHO then thought for a while, and bid 4S.

After all the long pauses, it was ethically hard for LHO to do much more with his hand, which was a 5431 shaped hand with 13 HCPs: with both majors he could only make a negative double, and for all he knew, partner had a minimum opener with 4 spades, and was simply choosing a game.

Meanwhile, the 1D opener had 4342 shape and an 18 count that had been intending to rebid 2NT. He wasn’t sure if his partner’s double of 4C was based primarily on shape or on HCP, much less being able to picture a 9 card spade fit, so he settled for a “heavy-ish” 4S bid.

It’s an interesting argument about which hand was too conservative in their action, but 4S made six, score it up, next board.

At the other table my hand bid the “normal” 3C, and LHO bid 3S instead of doubling, since it was forcing and he could show his 5 card spade suit while reserving his heart suit to bid at the 4 level (or opener might bid 4H). The hand with the 18 count and 4 spades now drove to slam.