January 2012 - 54

Bidding Matters

Karen Walker
www.kwbridge.com

The 12 Habits of Highly
Effective Bidders
10. They allow their opponents to
make mistakes.
My friend and partner Colby Vernay
of Lacon IL is fond of telling bridge
stories that feature the Last Buffoon.
I don't know the origin of the term,
but Colby uses it to describe a player
who makes the final costly mistake
in a competitive auction. He admits
that he sometimes risks assuming that
title, but always with a reasonable expectation that an opponent will wrest
it away from him.
The idea is that an aggressive,
potentially dangerous bid can be a
good gamble if it gets you to your best
contract or pushes the opponents into
a bad one. Ideally, your bid will be
bold enough to give the opponents a
legitimate problem, but not so reckless that they have no choice but to go
for a penalty.
That's the strategy you use every
time you preempt. You bid the full
limit of your hand at once and try
to force the opponents to make the
last guess. The Rule of 2, 3 and 4 and
the Losing Trick Count can help you
determine the bold-but-not-reckless
level for your bid, but they're not foolproof. If you don't want to be "caught
54 Bridge Bulletin January 2012

speeding," you need to recognize the
situations where it's wise to pull in a
notch.
One is when the opponents bid
notrump. After a strong 1NT on your
right, what's your call at favorable
vulnerability holding:
J  - 9 8 4 3 A Q J 10 9 8 7 6?
The Rule of 4 suggests that it's safe
to overbid by four tricks at this vulnerability. With seven (perhaps eight)
playing tricks, you might choose a 5
overcall.
The classic way to make the last
- and only - mistake in an auction
is to preempt so high that the opponents won't even consider taking your
bait. Here, 5 doubled will almost
always be the final contract. Your
LHO already knows his partner has
defensive strength, so unless he has a
long suit and slam values, he won't be
motivated to do anything other than
take the money.
A 4 overcall will create more of a
dilemma for your opponents. Bidding
will be more attractive to your LHO if
the four level is available, and sometimes, he'll stretch too far or choose
the wrong suit. If 5 is a good sacrifice, partner may be able to bid it. And
sometimes, you'll be doubled at 4
and save 200 points.
Discretion is also advised when you
have the right suit length and playing
tricks for a preempt, but not the right
suit quality. What's your call in first
seat, vulnerable vs. not, holding:
K 9 8 6 5 4 3 2 7 2 K Q 4?

Using the Losing Trick Count, this
is technically six losers and seven
playing tricks, which qualifies for a
3 bid. That level should make you
nervous, especially because you know
your opponents will look for any excuse to penalize a vulnerable-vs.-not
preempt. Trust your instincts and
open 2. There's no rule that a weak
two has to be exactly six cards, nor
that you can't have extra playing
strength when vulnerable.
The trademark strategy of the Last
Buffoon is to pass up an early opportunity to give the opponents a problem, then try to play catch-up later.
What's your call in first seat, both
vulnerable, holding:
8 6 3 2 K J 10 6 4 3 Q J 2  - ?
Purists object to a weak two-bid
with a side void or four-card major
and would consider it heretical to
have both. For many players, though,
this hand is a 2 opener in any seat,
at any vulnerability.
If it's not your style to open 2, you
have to accept that you may be muzzled for the rest of the auction. If you
do get a later chance to bid, it could
be awkward. After 1 by partner, 1
by RHO, is this the hand partner will
expect for a 2 free bid?
What you cannot do is let the opponents exchange information, then
barge in at a high level. If you pass
and the auction goes 1-Pass-3,
a vulnerable overcall with this hand
rates to earn you a starring role in one
of Colby's stories.
r

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2012