Secrets of Good Bidding #3
By Mike Lawrence

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Q1 What is East's 2S bid all about?
Q2 How many high card points does it promise?

A1 It is a strong jump shift.

A2 East can jump shift with as little as twelve high card points if he has a good fitting hand. AK10873, 3, KQ104, 93 is good enough for a jump shift given the good support and the fine spade suit.

WEST'S 2NT BID

Q1 Should West do anything else?

A1 No. West needs another spade to raise them. 3D is a possible rebid but with the poor suit and all suits stopped, 2NT is more descriptive.

EAST'S 3D BID

Q1 How many diamonds does East have?
Q2 What would it mean if East bid 3C instead of 3D?

A1 East has at least four diamonds. Do not jump shift unless you are sure you know what the trump suit is going to be. East should not jump shift, for example, with AQJ73, 5, AKJ, KJ32. East knows a game or slam exists with this hand but he can't tell when he bids 2S whether the final contract will be spades, diamonds, notrumps, or even clubs.

A2 This is an unfair question. I stuck it in here to make this point. When you jump shift, you promise that the final contract will be opener's suit, your suit, or notrump. Responder should not jump shift with something like AKQJ7, KJ, 4, KJ1084. Therefore, if responder jump shifts and then bids a new suit, he is not showing a new suit. He is showing a singleton and is at the same time promising support for opener's suit. On this hand, East raised diamonds instead of bidding a new suit. West knows already that East doesn't have a singleton.

WEST'S 3H BID

Q1 Do you agree with this bid on such a minimum hand?

A1 Absolutely. West has a couple of excellent assets. The AK of hearts are quite nice, but West also has a fifth diamond which is a big bonus.

EAST'S 4C BID

Q1 Is there any chance that this could be Gerber?
Q2 If not, what is it?

A1 4C is not Gerber. It is true you can define it so, but that is a waste.

A2 4C is a cue bid. Cue bids are crucial in slam bidding because they let you find specific control cards. I'll stop this discussion now before it goes to two or three pages.

WEST'S 4H BID

Q1 Is West's hand worth a second cue bid?

A1 Yes. Since the 4H bid is cheaper than any of the alternatives, it is acceptable. In general, once you have made one cue bid, further cue bids do not show additional values UNLESS they take the bidding higher than your logical game contract.

EAST'S 4NT BID

Q1 Does your partnership use regular Blackwood or Key Card Blackwood?
Q2 Why didn't East bid 4NT the round before?

A1 It is up to you. You do have an agreement, don't you?

A2 It is possible that East was looking for you to show a spade honor. It is also possible that the king of hearts helped East's hand. If East has the Qx of hearts and the Ax of clubs, he knows the club loser can go on the hearts.

WEST'S 5H BID

No questions here. The point is that this partnership is using Key Card Blackwood. 5H shows two aces or an ace and the king of trumps and it denies the queen of trumps. If West had the queen of trumps too, he would bid 5S.