June 2008 - 54

ADVANCED PLAYERS

Bidding Matters
the type of situation that offers this
opportunity:
You
1
2

Karen Walker
kwalker@insightbb.com

The 12 Habits of Highly
effective Bidders
7. They strive to be sensible, not
brilliant. (continued)
All of us occasionally alter our bidding styles to conform to the type of
event or opposition we're facing. We
also do it in response to the state of
our score. We have a tendency to be
careful when we're winning and more
daring (or sloppy) when we're losing.
If you've fallen behind in a matchpoint event, you may feel that your
only hope of catching up is to "loosen
up": Bid aggressively, take chances
and hope for luck. Risk-taking can
pay off at matchpoints, but you have
to choose your battles. The key is to
evaluate each decision on its merits,
not to make a blanket change in your
bidding style.
These decisions often involve
playing different contracts than the
rest of the field. When considering
a deviation from "normal" bidding,
be realistic about its chance of success. If other pairs are bidding game,
you're hoping for too much if you
push to a 25% slam.
The best prospect for a top is a contract that may score higher than the
field's choice if it makes and whose
odds of making are not appreciably
worse than the field contract. Here's
54

Partner
1
3NT

K Q 7 5 3 7 6 2 A K Q 10 5
With partner holding only four
spades, almost every table should
end in 3NT. Your red-suit weakness
could be a problem, though, and
there are some layouts where a trump
contract will be superior. If you aren't
willing to settle for average (or even
average-plus), bid 4.
If partner holds a hand such as:
J 10 6 3 A 10 8 A K 5 J 7 2,
you're in position for a near-top. On
the likely heart lead, the field's 3NT
contract will either go down or score
630 at best, while you're making 650
in 4.
Lower-level decisions aren't always
as final, but they can send auctions
in different directions. Suppose you
open 1 with:
9 4 K Q 6 5 3 A Q J 5 Q 10
and partner responds 1. The field
will rebid 2, and that would probably be your choice if you weren't
desperate for matchpoints. A 1NT
rebid, though, is a reasonable alternative with this semi-balanced hand.
You don't yet know if or how this
rebid will impact the final contract,
but it has good potential. It may keep
you out of a weak 5-2 heart fit or
4-3 diamond fit. Or, if 1NT or 3NT
becomes the final contract, you could
score an extra trick by playing it from
your side.
The big reward
Ideally, you'd like to avoid blind
guesses. If you face one, though -
and if there's no evidence to support

one action over another - then go
for the big reward. Make the bid that
the field will consider too risky, but
that rates to be a top if it's right.
You open 1 with:
K J 10 6 4 K 7 A K J 6 4 A
and partner makes a forcing raise.
Key Card Blackwood shows he holds
two aces without the Q. The field
should find it easy to bid this slam,
but the missing trump honor, plus the
possibility of a diamond loser, will
talk most pairs into stopping at 6.
A successful comeback requires
some luck, so try the grand slam.
The defense might lead a trump and
partner might have the Q (or a
doubleton), which will make it virtually laydown. If not, you'll still have
chances to guess and finesse your
way to 13 tricks.
What's your choice in this auction,
both vulnerable?
Partner
1
Pass

RHO
Dbl
1

You
Redbl
?

LHO
Pass

10 9 4 2 A Q 10 5 4 K J 9 2
The safe rebid is 1NT (or a
non-committal pass), which may
or may not lead to a game that may
or may not make. With all those
maybes in the mix, try for the big
score by doubling. If you can't make
3NT, down one may collect all the
matchpoints. Even if your game
makes, an 800-point set isn't inconceivable.
The double is bold but not unilateral because partner still has a
bid. His pass suggested a balanced
hand or extra values, but if he holds
a singleton spade, he'll usually pull
the double. If that happens, you'll be
willing to settle for the mainstream
contract and resume your search for
tops on later boards.
r
Bridge Bulletin
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of June 2008
