October 2018 - 63

Special Contributors

Dear Billy
BY BILLY MILLER

Dear Billy,
My partner and I had a disagreement over her opening lead of the
♥J against a 3NT contract. I held
♥A 7 4, and there were two low
hearts in dummy. I assumed she had
nothing higher ( jack denies, 10 or 9
implies zero or two higher honors),
but she actually had the ♥K J 10 9 6.
I played low on the ♥J, and declarer
won the queen on my left.
Partner said she was leading the
top of an interior sequence and that
I should have known she had the
king. But I would have led the 10
with her holding. When I got in, I led
back something other than a heart,
assuming the king was on my left.
Partner was angry. Who is right?
Bad Duck
Dear Quackers,
This is a case where you were each
playing a different lead convention. It's
a matter of prior agreement. Unless
you agree to play coded 10s and 9s,
you are not playing them. Her method
is considered standard, and coded
10s and 9s is not standard. You were
speaking two different languages. Not
optimum in bridge. Agree for the future
and move on.
Hi, Billy,
What are your thoughts on opening bids using the Rule of 20? I think
that I am a pretty disciplined bidder, but people are now opening
with weaker hands, so I have started

dearbilly@aol.com

using the Rule of 20 as a guideline
in order to get into the bidding. It
hasn't always worked out so well. In
the past, I always counted my highcard points plus my length points
and would only open with 13 points
(HCP + length points) unless I had a
six-card suit to rebid at the two level.
Then I would open with 10 HCP and
2 length points. Thanks for your
help.
20-20 from San Clemente
Dear Risky Business,
Not sure I am familiar with your
length points formula, but I am very
familiar with the Rule of 20. (Add your
HCPs to your longest two suits. Open
if they add up to 20 or more.) I love
the rule and use the rule. But use it
wisely. The points need to be in your
long suits when on the cusp. Singleton
kings, queens and jacks should not
carry much weight. It is best that your
high cards are working in your longest
suits. A perfect on-the-cusp Rule of 20
opener would look like:
♠A K 7 4 3 ♥A 9 8 2 ♦5 4 3 ♣2.
A no-go opener would look like:
♠K Q ♥J 7 5 3 2 ♦Q 8 5 4 3 ♣Q.
Hope this helps.
Dear Billy,
Assuming you play Jacoby 2NT
and splinter bids in response to
partner's opening of 1♥ or 1♠, is
there such a thing as a hand being
too strong for a splinter? One of our

local "experts" insists that a splinter bid is made with a hand that has
game-going values only. Opener has
to "like" the splinter and have significantly more than a minimum to
try for a slam. With a stronger hand
and slam potential, he uses 2NT,
even with a singleton. His theory
is that if opener shows more than a
minimum by bidding 3♥ or 3♠ (or
3NT - whatever your partnership
has decided that means), it is easier
to get to a slam. Your thoughts on
this approach would be much appreciated.
A Confused Canuck
Dear Connie C,
Your local expert is on to something.
As a splinter bid takes up three levels
of bidding, opener would not be able
to accurately judge whether or not
to sign off, explore or drive to slam if
it is played with a wide range. Some
perfectly fitting minimums can be
golden for slam, but some hands would
require extra values, so it's best to play
that a splinter bid be defined as specifically falling into the 13-16 playingpoints range, a very narrow range of
hand strength. When the hand does
fall into that range, it takes precedence
over a Jacoby 2NT bid. When the hand
is stronger than that, take the Jacoby
2NT route.
Happy slamming (or brilliant judgment putting on the brakes)!
◾

October 2018 Bridge Bulletin

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2018