Posts tagged Beginner

BASIC BIDDING REVIEW: — Competition

0
September 5, 2006
by Kitty Cooper in ,

. When the Opponents Open

Annoying, isn’t it? You had just decided that you were going to open the bidding with 1, when your opponent opens 1 in front of you. What to do?

When both sides are bidding, your objective is to get the best score possible. Game is unlikely, unless there is a good distributional fit. Finding an eight card major suit fit is still very important, since playing in a major will usually produce the best score.

Having a hand you would have opened is no reason to bid now. Your strategy has changed. There are only four reasons to bid once the opponents have opened:

  1. Balance of the Power. Our side might have most of the strength.
  2. Lead Direction. It could be important to tell partner what to lead.
  3. Sacrifice. We may have a good sacrifice versus their game, slam, or partscore.
  4. Obstruction. Our bidding may make it hard for them to get to the right spot.

The tools at our disposal for competing once the opponents have bid a suit are:

  1. The no-trump overcall
  2. The simple suit overcall
  3. The take-out double
  4. The jump overcall
  5. Various 2 suited bids

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BASIC BIDDING SUMMARY after 1 of a suit

1
September 5, 2006
by Kitty Cooper in ,

I. What Is Your Objective?

One of the primary objectives of bidding is to find an eight card major suit fit to play in. The other main objective is to determine how many points the partnership has. These are the two questions you should ask yourself every time it is your turn to bid:

  1. Do we have an 8 card or longer major suit fit ?
  2. Do we have the 26 points needed for a game ?

Once either partner knows that there cannot be 26 points, it is that player’s job to stop in a makable contract. This usually means passing, or making the cheapest bid in a previously bid suit. Conversely, if you know your side has enough points for a game, do not make a bid that your partner can pass!

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