August 2016 - 56

Intermediate Players

Better Bridge with Bergen
BY MARTY BERGEN

martybergen.com

Bergen's best bridge tips - part 1
After my never-ending series on
slam bidding, the time has come to focus on other auctions. For the foreseeable future, I plan to look at a smorgasbord of bidding topics. Here are the
first two.

rebid 4♠ at his second turn, promising
a nice hand with a self-sufficient suit.
The bottom line: When you know
where you want to play, get there ASAP.
Or, if you prefer: "The one who
knows - goes."

You talk too much
Bidding can be defined as an exchange of relevant information. You
don't have to talk about every suit in
your hand.
West thought that his jump shift was
normal. However, the next thing he
knew, he found himself at the five level.

Practice makes perfect
Bidding from hand records is a great
way to improve your competitive bidding and fine-tune your partnership.
And best of all, it's fun.
You don't even have to be in the same
room. This works just as well over
the phone or via email. First, get two
identical hand records from a bridge
event in which you and your partner
did not play. These can easily be found
at tournaments and bridge clubs or at
the ACBL website.
One player becomes "Northeast"
and controls both the North and East
cards. The other becomes "Southwest"
and controls South and West. Each of
you should cover up the two hands that
belong to partner. Both players should
record the auction using columns:

West
♠ A K Q J 10 6
♥K
♦AJ76
♣Q5

East
♠-
♥9876
♦KQ984
♣ J 10 4 2

West
1♠
3♦
4♠
Oops!

East
1NT
4♦
5♦

West was delighted to jump-shift
with his 20 HCP. East was equally
delighted to raise to 4♦ with his great
support. When West rebid his spades
to show a six-card suit, East was justifiably not interested in that contract.
What went wrong? There was no
need for West to introduce diamonds
when he always intended to play in
spades. After the 1NT response, the
likelihood that his side had a slam was
extremely small. Opener should have

56 Bridge Bulletin August 2016

West

North

East

South

The dealer (designated on the hand
record) begins the auction, just as if
you were playing "real bridge." Observe
the vulnerability (also designated). As
the bidding progresses, focus on only
one set of cards at a time. For example,
when you are bidding North's cards,
ignore East's cards. Continue the auction until there are three consecutive
passes.

Once the auction is over, stop, see
how you did and discuss what happened. If you've ever wondered, "What
would it have meant if I bid ... ," now's
your chance to discuss it in detail.
At least one of you should also record
any new agreements. For example,
"Let's play ___ as forcing," or, "I'm surprised that you bid ___ when vulnerable. Should I expect you to be very
aggressive on these auctions?" Understanding your partner's style is even
more important than knowing which
conventions you have agreed to play.
All partnership agreements should be
recorded and saved on your computer
or in some other manner.
Regardless of your level, it's a lot
easier to play this game when you and
partner are on the same page.
Another fun way to practice
bidding
When I suggest to my students
that they practice bidding with their
partner, many of them tell me that
they relate much better to actual cards
than to hands on paper. Here's an easy
method to practice constructive bidding with a deck of cards. It is designed
for two players, but you can also do it
on your own.
Remove 13 small cards and put them
aside. If you are more interested in
practicing minor-suit bidding, remove
mostly hearts and spades.
Deal the 39 remaining cards face
down into three piles. Each partner
picks up a hand. If a player gets a weak
hand, he exchanges his cards for the ➤

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of August 2016