September 2021 - 58

Advanced Players
Bidding Matters
Relearning bridge - part 18
O
ne of the reasons that 1NT is
a desirable opening bid is that
the responses are so welldefined.
Even if you play nothing more
than Stayman and transfers, you have
clear ways to show your hand and ask
opener about his. Bidding misunderstandings
aren't impossible, but they're
rare.
The longer we play, the more
challenging these auctions become
because we find more to think about.
New gadgets and agreements can
improve the basic notrump system -
and increase the difficulty level - but
they aren't the main contributors
to our success. Getting to the right
contract depends more on judgment
than a filled-to-the-margins convention
card.
Good bidding judgment is largely
the product of playing experience.
We see what works and what doesn't,
learn new ways to evaluate our hands
and pick up advice from experienced
players. The result is that we start rethinking
some of the rules we learned
as beginners and become better at
recognizing exceptions.
The pancake dilemma
Stayman is often the first artificial
bid taught to new players. For simplicity,
your teacher or mentor may
have said it should be used any time
partner opens 1NT and you have at
least 8-9 points and one or both fourcard
majors.
Then a partner or an expert at your
club told you that " no one " uses Stayman
with a 4-3-3-3 pattern, so you
changed your approach. Did you get
good advice?
When partner opens a 15-17 1NT
and you hold a hand such as:
58 | Bridge Bulletin | September 2021
10 5 4 kA 9 6 4 lK J 6 'Q 8 2,
you have a choice between 3NT and
2' to search for a heart fit. Called a
" pancake " because it's so flat, this pattern
looks right for notrump because
it has no ruffing value. Even if you
have a heart fit, this might well be a
deal where there are only nine tricks
available in hearts or notrump.
Another downside of Stayman is
that the opponents will be listening to
your exchange of information. It also
gives your LHO the opportunity to
double 2' for a lead.
The argument for Stayman is that
although you're flat, partner probably
isn't. He's 3.5 times more likely
to have a 4-4-3-2 or 5-3-3-2 hand
than any 4-3-3-3. There's only a
2.6% chance that you'll have identical
3=4=3=3 patterns (sometimes called,
erroneously, mirror distribution).
If partner has four hearts and a
doubleton, the ruff in his hand could
result in plus 620 instead of plus 600
in notrump. Overall strength can be
an issue, too, since it's likely you have
only 25 combined points. If you have a
weak or unstopped suit, you may need
BY KAREN WALKER
kwbridge.com
the control offered by a trump suit.
The experts speak
In bidding quizzes and polls, experienced
players typically vote heavily
for 3NT with hands similar to the one
above. The mathematicians among
them have run numerous simulations
that tend to support this choice, but
there are many variables that affect
the conclusions.
One is that opener will make subjective
decisions about which hands are
right and wrong for 1NT, so it's difficult
to specify his hand. The simulation
has to predict how often he'll have
a five-card heart suit or four hearts
and a five-card minor. And with the
new ACBL rules that allow opening
1NT with a singleton honor, there's
the possibility that your spade stopper
will be 10 5 4 opposite a stiff Q.
So the answer to, " Did you get good
advice? " is yes and no, but it's not just
a blind guess. Even an unremarkable
pancake hand offers plenty of clues
that can help you make a good choice
between 3NT and 2'. More about
these in the next issue.
2022 HONORARY MEMBER OF THE YEAR
SELECTION PROCESS
The ACBL Honorary Member Committee is charged with the annual selection of
a member (or pair of members) who is widely known throughout the membership
and who has given freely of time and ability, without thought of reward and in the
interest of the League as a whole.
The committee invites members in good standing to nominate one person or pair
for the committee's consideration. The nominee(s) may come from any district, as
long as they are not currently serving on the ACBL Board of Directors.
To propose an Honorary Member of the Year candidate, email Tracey Yarbro at
tracey.yarbro@acbl.org by Oct. 15, 2021. Nominations should include a short
explanation (up to 500 words) as to why you believe the candidate should be
selected. Please include your contact information.
Visit acbl.org/honorarymembers for a list of previous ACBL Honorary Members of
the Year.
http://www.kwbridge.com http://www.acbl.org/honorarymembers
September 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2021
