June 2014 - 58

Advanced Players

Bidding Matters
BY KAREN WALKER

 www.kwbridge.com

12 habits of highly effective bidders

11

They	visualize	the	play	(continued).

There	are	many	uses	of	"pattern	
bidding,"	but	the	most	common	is	by	
an	opener	who	has	the	opportunity	to	
make	natural	bids	in	three	suits.	For	
example:
Partner
1♦
2♣
2♥	
	

You
1♥
2♦
?

As	responder,	you	now	have	to	communicate	your	preference	for	strain	
and	level	of	the	final	contract.	You	can	
start	with	the	assumptions	that	partner	has	1=3=5=4	distribution	(possibly	
0=3=5=5 or 0=3=6=4) and extra values
(a	good	14	to	16	high-card	points).	
From	there,	your	thinking	should	focus	
not	just	on	your	fits	and	combined	
strength,	but	on	your	expectations	of	
how	the	play	might	develop.		
Here	are	some	tips	for	evaluating	
your	options	after	a	pattern	bid:	
With a minimum response
(6-8 points), choose the safest
partscore.		Partner's	pattern	bid	is	not	
forcing,	so	you	can	pass	in	the	auction	
above	if	you	judge	2♥	to	be	a	reasonable	spot.	With	three	or	more	diamonds	and	four	weak	hearts,	though,	
you'll	probably	do	better	in	partner's	
long	suit,	especially	if	you	have	a	ruffing value. Your retreat to 3♦	will	end	
the	auction.	All	other	bids,	including	
2NT,	show	interest	in	game.	

58 Bridge Bulletin June 2014

Try to predict the opening lead.
By	"patterning	out,"	partner	has	provided	valuable	information	to	you	and
your	opponents,	and	they'll	put	it	to	
good	use.	If	you	play	in	partner's	suit,	
they	may	try	a	forcing	defense	by	leading	spades	to	shorten	his	trumps.	If	you	
declare a heart contract, a spade lead
will	be	their	last	choice.	Most	often,	
they'll	lead	trumps	to	cut	down	on	
spade	ruffs	in	dummy.	
Be wary of notrump.	You	won't	
have	to	think	too	long	about	what	
opening	lead	is	coming	when	you	
choose	a	notrump	contract.	Unless	you	
have	good	fillers	in	partner's	long	suits,	
you'll	seldom	want	to	suggest	notrump	
with	just	one	stopper	in	his	short	suit.	
Don't overvalue partner's shortness.	Partner's	bidding	should	give	you	
a	good	idea	of	what	line	of	play	might	
be	successful	in	different	contracts.	
If	you	declare	hearts,	be	conservative	
in	estimating	how	many	ruffing	tricks	
you	can	score	with	dummy's	three	
trumps.	The	expected	trump	lead	will	
remove	one	potential	spade	ruff	(or	
more,	if	they	win	and	continue),	and	
you'll	have	to	give	up	the	lead	again	if	
you	don't	have	the	♠A.
When planning on ruffs, look at
your entries.	After	you	ruff	a	spade	
in	dummy,	you'll	need	to	cross	to	your	
hand	-	usually	with	an	ace	or	king	-	to	
negotiate	a	second	ruff.	Quick	entries	
will	also	be	required	if	you	envision	a	

full	or	partial	crossruff.
Focus on your holding in partner's first two suits.	Partner's	singleton	limits	your	immediate	losers	in	
that	suit,	but	it	doesn't	offer	many	winners.	Developing	tricks	in	one	or	both	
of	his	two	long	suits	will	be	critical	if	
you	hope	to	make	a	game.	Upgrade	your	
hand	when	you	have	honors,	high	or	
low,	in	partner's	suits.	Downgrade	with	
low	honors	in	his	short	suit.	
If you're considering a 4-3 fit:
A	"Moysian"	partscore	can	be	a	good	
spot	when	you	have	decent	trumps	and	
opener	has	some	quick	tricks.	Even	
with	a	weak	hand,	you	may	scramble	to	
a	plus	score	by	cashing	outside	tricks,	
taking	a	few	ruffs	in	each	hand	and	
then	a	natural	trump	trick	or	two.	
At	the	game	level,	though,	you	need	
more	tricks	from	the	side	suits,	so	your	
success	often	depends	on	trump	control	and	perfect	timing.	A	common	line	
of	play	is	to	establish	a	side	suit	first,	
draw	some	but	not	all	of	the	trumps,	
then run the long suit and pitch losers
while	the	opponents	ruff	in.	
You	may	want	to	consider	a	Moysian	game	when	you	have	solid	values,	
honors	in	partner's	long	suits	and	the	
"right"	trump	fit.	You'd	like	to	have	
strong	trumps	in	the	four-card	hand,	
but	holding	the	top	honors,	especially	
the	ace,	is	more	important	for	controlling	when	and	how	often	trumps	are	
led.
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of June 2014
