August 2007 - 56

ADVANCED PLAYERS

Bidding Matters

Karen Walker
kwalker@insightbb.com
The 12 Habits of Highly
Effective Bidders
7. They strive to be sensible, not
brilliant.
Here's an auction where you may
(or may not) pick up subtle inferences
from partner's calls. You hold:
A J 10 4 2 A 7 5 5 2 Q 6 3.
West
1
Pass

North
Pass
2

East
Pass
Pass

South
1
?

If you passed, as most would,
you've landed in a 4-2 fit, as partner
held:
Q 6 K 10 4 3 K Q 10 6 J 5 2.
No, he didn't have a heart in with
his diamonds. He chose 2 after
indulging in some fairly complex
reasoning:
"Partner will know I have values
to be advancing the auction, but that
I don't have primary spade support.
With a club stopper, I'd bid notrump,
and with a five-card diamond suit,
I'd have overcalled 1. Therefore,
he should read me for a notrump-ish
hand with two spades, four diamonds
and probably four hearts."
His logic may make sense when he
explains it later, but should you have
gotten it right at the table? Or should
partner have chosen a clearer, less
"thoughtful" advance?
56

A good partner should realize
that no matter how insightful his
analysis, it's unwise to act on it unless
he expects you'll follow the same
thought process. You won't normally
be looking for deep inferences in such
a simple auction, so partner shouldn't
be surprised when you take 2 as exactly what it sounds like: a long suit.
That's the thinking that should have
convinced partner to bid an imperfect
but sensible 1NT. It's not nearly as
clever as 2, but it won't be misread
and it rates to be a reasonable contract.
Brilliancies can backfire even when
you believe you'll be able to clarify
your strategy. For example:
West

North

East

1

Dbl

2

South
Pass
?

What's your call as South holding:
Q J 6 2 A 10 7 6 3 K 10 4 3?
South evaluated his hand as a bit
heavy for a 2 free bid, but too
pushy for 3. He was concerned
that his passed-hand status may have
encouraged partner to make a light
double, perhaps with only three
spades. Then again, partner could
have a good hand with four spades or
a heart stopper.
South decided to invent a "2-1/2"
spade bid by starting with a responsive double to show minor-suit
length, then bidding 3 over partner's 3 or 3. He hoped partner
would take this "delicate" auction
as encouraging, but showing doubt
about the trump suit and level.
Perhaps it would even keep clubs and
notrump in the picture.
Whether partner would have read
this was never discovered, as West
jumped to 4. North passed (at least
he didn't bid 5) and our hero blind-

ly guessed to double. His creativity
took its final toll by getting partner
off to a diamond lead, which allowed
4 to make.
South was guilty of treating competitive bidding as an exact science,
where you can paint subtle shades
of meaning into your bids without
the opponents (or partner) thwarting
your plan. He worried so much about
catering to all of partner's possible
spade holdings that he never showed
his own. He had a tough choice
between 2 and 3, but he should
have chosen one while he had the opportunity.
South's greater offense, though,
was inventing a new bid at the table
and pressuring his partner to figure
it out. It can be fun to play with a
partner who has such imagination,
but only if he chooses his battles. If
he over-thinks every auction - and
if you're constantly forced to field his
gambits - it exhausts both of you.
That mental fatigue can be costly
when you need to solve a problem
that partner didn't manufacture.
This freelancing can also destroy
partnership trust. If you're always
wondering what partner is up to, you
won't be able to bid normally. Should
you decode an arcane meaning in his
"penalty" double? Is it safe to bid the
suit he showed, or should you wait for
him to clarify what he really has?
If you're asking yourself those
questions, your partner has crossed
the line between genius and mastermind. He's also created an ethical
dilemma, where you suspect he's
innovating - and perhaps you even
alter your bidding to accommodate it
- but your opponents don't. Ask him
to save his inventions for later discussion, and the multi-layered logic for
auctions where you need - and are
ready to process - the information.
r
Bridge Bulletin
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of August 2007
