January 2014 - 47

Newer Players

Upgrading Your Game
BY LYNN BERG



lberg@cfl.rr.com

Spring cleaning
Why wait for March or April to start
your bridge spring cleaning?
Many of us create unneeded stress by
playing too many conventions. I often
see this problem spoil the game for
some players.
For several years before he died, my
husband David still relished bridge,
but just didn't have the memory any
longer to play the complex convention
card he had always enjoyed. At the end
of his bridge life - not that long before
he died - he was using little more than
Stayman, transfers and weak-two bids.
While the simple card did not in any
way diminish his pleasure in the game,
it did reduce stress.
Be honest with yourself and your
partner about what you can remember.
If you use a convention infrequently, is
it worth the necessary memory work?
Don't forget that close to 90% of all bidding uses few or no conventions.
What do you need to ask to feel
confident that you know a convention
thoroughly? How about making sure
that you and your partner play it the
same way? Let's take a simple example
like the popular Roman Key Card
Blackwood.

Do you play 1430 or 3014 responses?

Do you have to have second-round
control in a suit in which partner
has not previously demonstrated
first-or second-round control in
order to bid 4NT?

What answers do you give in competition? DOPI? DEPO?


How do you show a void?

Does 5NT ask for number of kings
or for specific kings?

Do you have a way to enquire about
the trump queen?

If you have the trump queen when
asked, do you then show a specific
king?

Do you have a way to sign off in 5NT?

Are your answers to Gerber also
1430 or 3014?

If you transfer and then bid Gerber,
is it key card for the transfer suit?

Are you clear on when you use
Blackwood and when you use Gerber?

When is 4NT quantitative?

If you play a variation like minorwood or rosewood, are the answers
also keycard? 1430 or 3014?
If you had the chance to be a fly on
the wall while a top partnership was
discussing their card, you'd see that
they have page after page of notes. They
discuss their agreements frequently
and update them as necessary. They
review agreements when they change
partners - no generic card in a purse
or hip pocket will do. They talk about
what happens to them and to the opponents at the table, but the talk occurs
later, not in the heat of battle.
In competitive situations, complications seem to multiply. These days,
with lighter openings and overcalls,
your partnership should be taking
advantage of the opportunities of-

fered by opposition bidding, not being
thwarted by interference in your auction. It is competitive bidding that has
made negative doubles so popular, for
instance.
Are you bidding the same way after
overcalls as when the opponents are
silent? If so, you're not using a wonderful tool they offer you.
For instance, if 1ࡖ-3ࡖ usually
shows a limit raise, why not use a cuebid to show the limit raise in a competitive auction?
1ࡖ-(1ࡕ)-2ࡕ promises a limit raise
or better, while 1ࡖ-(1ࡕ)-3ࡖ could be
a hand with single-raise values but four
hearts. The cuebid has great advantages, not the least being that you took
it away from the overcaller's partner!
While you are doing that early spring
cleaning, you shouldn't forget defensive agreements. Have you gone over
that part of the card lately? If your
agreements are sketchy, you're forgetting that defensive play accounts for
half of bridge.
If you play some sort of coded discards (remember, they're permitted
only on the first discard), are you both
straight on how it works? How about
subsequent discards? When do you give
count and when do you give attitude?
How about suit preference?
This kind of bridge labor isn't as
much fun as talking about a sexy new
convention, but it will serve you well.
You build a partnership in bridge, and
like any structure, it needs maintenance and care.
■
January 2014 Bridge Bulletin

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2014