Play of the Hand
You gotta do it
This deal from Bridge Master, a free, interactive declarer-play program on Bridge Base Online, shows how if there’s only one way to make your contract, you just gotta do it.
|
Dlr: West Vul: None |
North (Dummy) ♠ J 3 ♥ A 4 ♦ A K 5 4 3 ♣ A 7 6 5 South (You) |
| West | North | East | South |
| 1♥ | 2♣ | Pass | 2♦ |
| Pass | 2♠ | Pass | 5♦ |
| All Pass |
West leads the ♥K. South must lose the ♦A and the ♣A and now has two heart losers. The one discard on the second top spade is not enough, so South must risk the spade finesse. South wins with the ♥A and, at trick two, leads the ♠2 to the jack. When it holds the trick, the ♠A K are cashed, and both heart losers go away.
The full deal:
Best Bidding
Responding after RHO overcalls 1♠
Partner opens the bidding and your right-hand opponent overcalls 1♠. What are your options?
| Opener | RHO | You |
| 1♦ | 1♠ | ? |
1. Pass.
Responder does not need to bid with a weak hand. An overcall keeps the bidding open for partner, so don’t respond with nothing to say.
2. Double.
We’ve discussed doubles, see previous articles. A negative double promises support for the unbid suits and enough values to respond. This would be a good negative double:
♠7 4 ♥♥A J 9 4 ♦Q 7 3 ♣K 10 7 3,
especially because if partner rebids 2♦, you’re OK with that. But you would still make such a call if your spades and diamonds were reversed.
There is one exception after the 1♠ overcall: When responder has five or more hearts but not enough to respond at the two level, so about 6–9 HCP. The only option (besides pass) is to double, even without the other unbid suit. Something like:
♠8 3 ♥♥A J 10 5 3 ♦Q 3 2 ♣J 8 3.
3. Raise.
Support with support! A simple raise still promises 6–10 support points. What if you have less? Consider a preemptive raise with lots of trump and some distribution (like a singleton or void). What if you have more? See #6.
4. Bid notrump.
The notrump responses are pretty much the same: 1NT = 6–10; 2NT = 11–12; 3NT = 13–15. You must have a stopper in the overcaller’s suit.
5. Bid a new suit.
A new suit by an unpassed hand is forcing. A new suit at the one level promises 6+HCP; at the two level, it shows 10+.
6. Cuebid.
Cuebids (bidding the opponent’s suit) typically promise a limit raise or better. A true limit raise is about 11 HCP and four-card support. Many players in competition are making these types of raises with only three-card support. Discuss with your partner what to expect if one of you makes a cuebid.
