What’s your call?
| 1♣ | 1♦ | 1♥ | 1♠ | 1NT |
| 2♣ | 2♦ | 2♥ | 2♠ | 2NT |
| 3♣ | 3♦ | 3♥ | 3♠ | 3NT |
| 4♣ | 4♦ | 4♥ | 4♠ | 4NT |
| 5♣ | 5♦ | 5♥ | 5♠ | 5NT |
| 6♣ | 6♦ | 6♥ | 6♠ | 6NT |
| 7♣ | 7♦ | 7♥ | 7♠ | 7NT |
| Pass |
Rigal calls this a silly problem and he’s probably right. It comes from The Common Game, where the percentage of freak deals seems to run unusually high. IYC doesn’t often feature hands like this because they are so abnormal, but readers wrote in after this game wondering what the experts would do.
Half of the panelists take a wait-andsee approach.
Rigal is one. “Pass. But I can’t guarantee I’ll pass at my next turn… ”
Meckstroth, too. “I’ll get busy bidding later.”
Here’s Hampson: “Pass. My hand is too useful for clubs to preempt in hearts, and I will just be guessing if I preempt and partner doubles the opponents. So I will attempt to show this freak later in the auction.”
Benedict invokes Kit karma. “Didn’t Woolsey say that with two flaws, you shouldn’t make a questionable bid? Opening preemptively in hearts has two flaws – a weak suit and a side sixcard club suit. I may be able to show both suits later with a single bid.”
Cohen: “Pass. It will be easier to describe this hand later.”
Ditto Boehm: “My hand is indescribable for now, but if the opponents bid the pointed suits, boy, do I have an unusual notrump! Probably all plans will involve guesswork. Holding a freak, I’ve found it best to listen.”
Pass by Weinstein. “I don’t mind 4♥, but my suit is so bad. I really want to get both suits in, and I will at virtually any level.”
Cue the experts who like action.
Pavlicek, for example: “2♥. This is not your everyday weak two-bid, but I’d like to show my suits without overstating my values. I’ll bid clubs next at whatever level necessary. Well, maybe not seven. Opening 3♥ with the same plan is also fine by me.”
Robinson opens 2♥. “I hope to bid clubs next.”
Falk: “2♥. And, if they compete, 5♣ if necessary. If someone knows a 100% foolproof way to bid this hand, I’m listening. I’m also skeptical like you couldn’t imagine.”
2♥ by Stack, too. “What a freak! My thought is to get both suits into the auction, and it will surely be possible to do that by starting with a low preempt, intending to bid clubs on the next round. It would be so frustrating to open 4♥ and go down when partner had a heart void and ♣K x x x x, making a grand slam in clubs odds on.”
Lawrence gambles on 4♥. “I’m willing to bid 5♣ next if feasible. I have only one person I have to explain this to.”
Korbel is one of the 4♥ guessers. “Who knows? There’s a pretty good likelihood I will bid 5♣ all by myself if the opponents bid 4♠.”
Sanborn, too. “Freaks are purely a guess. But I do know that preempts are annoying. I haven’t necessarily stopped bidding.”
4♥ by the Sutherlins. “That’s high enough to start with our extreme distribution.”
Colchamiro checks in with 3♥, “and then I bid as many clubs as I have to bid. 1♥ is possible, as is 2♥ and then many clubs. Pass just ain’t me, and 3♥ probably ain’t the panel. I expect a score of 30 or lower.”
The online top scores for April appear on pg. 73.
