Aces on Bridge — Daily Columns

The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, May 26th, 2013

Holding ♠ A-Q-4-3,  A-J-6-4-3-2,  5, ♣ J-4, I heard the auction start with one club by my LHO, raised pre-emptively to three clubs on my right. Should I pass, double, or bid?

Silent Treatment, Manning, S.C.

I am sure it is right to act. The problem with doubling is that if partner bids three diamonds and you correct to three hearts, it shows a better hand. Still, I'd want to get both majors into the act, so I'd double and keep my fingers firmly crossed — below the table.

I try to track your columns down when I am in my home state, but I often travel and would like to catch up with the columns on my return. Any ideas?

Sideshow Bob, East Brunswick, N.J.

The bridgeblogging.com site runs the column 14 days late. If you go to my page there and run down the columns, it should be in the "older" segment.

I held ♠ A-Q,  J-7-4-3-2,  Q-J-3, ♣ K-5-3 and heard one diamond on my left and one spade on my right. What are the merits of passing, doubling, and bidding two hearts?

Entry Charge, San Antonio, Texas

I hate to pass, but would certainly do that rather than bid two hearts. Two-level overcalls promise a decent hand or a good suit. Here you have neither, and bidding might lead to a heavy penalty, or persuade partner to attack the wrong suit against West's final contract. Double is acceptable, but you should really have four clubs or better values to make that call.

What are the issues I should consider when deciding what to open with ♠ A-Q,  9-7-5-4,  K-Q-J-8-3, ♣ A-5?

Pondering Pete, Park City, Utah

You should open one no-trump. Your point-count is right for that opening bid and you are not strong enough to reverse by opening one diamond and then bidding two hearts. With high cards in your short suits, opening one no-trump with this shape is acceptable – if not entirely desirable. Switch the majors and I think it is very close as to what to do.

I recently purchased a book called "Winning No-Trump Leads" by Bird and Anthias. This seems to argue strongly for passive as opposed to active leads, and for major leads as opposed to minors. How does this apply when you or your partner has overcalled or opened, and the opponents still play no-trump?

Take Me to Your Leader, Newport News, Va.

I don't think the book you mention deals so much with the competitive as opposed to noncompetitive auctions. It is more about what to lead from majors or minors or what to lead from length or honors if you have no external clues. Once your side has bid, don't follow those arguments so much as deciding whether to trust partner or to pursue an equally attractive alternative.


For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact theLoneWolff@bridgeblogging.com. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2013. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact reprints@unitedmedia.com.


13 Comments

ClarksburgJune 8th, 2013 at 6:33 pm

Mr. Wolff,
From a recent Club Duplicate game:
Unfavourable VUL, second seat after RHO’s Pass, you hold:
S K87543
H 83
D AK 10
C J 10
Would you open this hand? In a flash? Or after some careful evaluation?
Thanks

Bobby WolffJune 8th, 2013 at 11:42 pm

Hi Clarksburg,

Yes, I would definitely open 1 spade. While I would always open this hand, regardless of vulnerability, being vulnerable, at least to me, is more reason to open it, particularly at IMPs because of the value of vulnerable games.

I realize that you are playing matchpoints, but what everyone does not realize is by opening the bidding you make it more difficult for the opponents to be able to value their hands and also remember that aces and kings are worth more than 4 and 3 with quacks (queens & jacks) worth less in comparison. Also the two tens are together with honors upgrading their value.

The original evaluation of a hand is just a guess, making the initial salvo somewhat speculative, but bridge has always been a bidder’s game, even if sometimes a bidder winds up sleeping in the streets.

ClarksburgJune 9th, 2013 at 12:26 am

Thanks
Here’s the reason why this was of interest:
Partner had a great hand:
S AQJ
H AKQJ
D Q85
C A62
We had some discussion about auction(s), by ordinary Club players, that find the cold 8NT. More specifically, about other cases where the big hand needs to find out that Partner’s Spades are six long to count to thirteen tricks.

David WarheitJune 9th, 2013 at 8:21 am

Clarksburg: assuming partner opened 1S, I would bid 2C with the monster. When partner rebids 2S, Blackwood will easily get you to 7NT. 2C can even be viewed as an asking bid, although partner won’t know it, but so what. Of course, there is a problem with my bidding: since monster won’t know whether partner’s other king (besides the spade king, which is certain) is in diamonds or clubs, he has to settle for 7NT instead of 8NT.

jim2June 9th, 2013 at 12:37 pm

David –

You may laugh about bidding 8-somethings, but IIRC Our Host was once involved in something of precisely that sort.

Again IIRC, it was many years ago and the venue was a bridge experts versus bridge-playing athletes/celebrities match ….

ClarksburgJune 9th, 2013 at 2:43 pm

The point of my question, of course, was about how the auction would go when Opener’s Spades are only five long.

Bobby WolffJune 9th, 2013 at 3:32 pm

Hi Clarksburg,

There are expert ways, particularly now when when two aspects of longer ago have been, at the very least, modified, to suit high-level tastes:

1. Some partnerships play a rebid of one’s suit, even at the 2 level usually promises 6 rather than 5 and since the “monster” holds AQJ, even when not playing that treatment, the weakness of the suit would probably make partner shy away from not finding some other bid than rebidding his suit.

2, The 5NT in Blackwood which used to ask for number of kings now, in many cases, asks for specific kings, which opposite your hand would, at the very least show the 13th trick available.

And even without such bidding aids (not always advantageous) sometimes some educated risk needs to be taken. The key word is educated which merely means that again experience dictates that with several possible 13th tricks available, (including an unlucky opening lead from the opponents) 12 tricks sometimes grow to 13.

To repeat an oft told story, bridge is not always an exact science, more often it is an exercise in percentages, not in certainty, and the judgment involved by a wannabe great player needs to ascend to that level, before he should be considered among the best.

Bobby WolffJune 9th, 2013 at 4:04 pm

Hi Jim2 & David,

Rather than refer to the experts vs. sports stars (1972, Host Farm, Pennsylvania, The Aces vs. Jim Bunning, Tim McCarver, Richie Ashburn, all baseball celebrities and Frank Beard, great pro golfer, with the legendary Eddie Kantar as their coach) where our match was more of a spoof than a legitimate bridge contest.

I would prefer discussing a bridge happening where Al Sobel, (the former husband of undoubtedly in my view the greatest woman bridge player of all time, Helen Sobel), a late and great American bridge tournament director, who was chief director of many WBF tournaments 40+ years ago.

I was playing in the finals of a Regional KO which was viewgraphed to an audience when a hand was brought to me which had already been played in the other room, but when I counted my cards I had 14 and so called Al, our chief director, to take it back and right the wrong. A few minutes later he returned, saying that unfortunately it was played that way at the other table, so that we had to play it that way also in order to get a result on the board (one of the other players, of course had only 12 cards).

I, of course, knowing my dictatorial ways, refused, saying, that is not bridge and I will not attempt to so do. Al then threatened me, and since I was relating this story to a large group of bridge enthusiasts at the time, they became interested in what happened, since my story was intended to lionize what great leadership Al had.

I then related that his threats triumphed and I did acquiesce and go on and play the hand. When they then insisted on knowing the result, I sheepishly replied, that my partner and I had bid and made 8 clubs.

Judy Kay-WolffJune 9th, 2013 at 4:39 pm

Bobby Dear:

Though that was 41 years ago — here is some information we never exchanged. It was I who helped put on the tournament at The Host Farm (featuring my musical — “The Keystone Follies”) and also I was involved in arranging the match with the sports stars. What does surprise me is that you succumbed to Uncle Al’s threats — knowing how strongly you despise the compromising of bridge standards. Glad you weakened and it produced such an amusing story — to be repeated four decades later — and with such a clever retort.

Love,

Judy

ClarksburgJune 9th, 2013 at 4:59 pm

Thanks Mr. Wolff,
You wrote, in part:
” The 5NT in Blackwood which used to ask for number of kings now, in many cases, asks for specific kings, which opposite your hand would, at the very least show the 13th trick available.”…

That’s what I was looking for, to apply in the case partner’s Spades were only five-long

jim2June 9th, 2013 at 6:19 pm

I know I date myself, also, but I remembered the sports-bridge match because I pretty much followed it as it happened.

The Al Sobel story, OTOH, is one I had never heard of before!

Bobby WolffJune 9th, 2013 at 7:23 pm

Hi Jim2,

I didn’t mean to short shrift the match against the sports stars, all of them with at least some bridge talent, but not close to what they brought to their favorite sport.

They, as a group, were quite glamorous, both with their personalities,especially Tim McCarver, and with their modesty and respect for others.

The sportsmen were given a slight handicap, they were allowed to see their partner’s hand before the bidding and then, of course, before the defense. Also Eddie was there to both council them, but equally to taunt us psychologically during the play.

It was all done in good faith, with the idea of entertainment first, not scintillating bridge.

I do not remember who won, but maybe that is because we lost, and I am showing a convenient memory.

On another slightly different subject, bridge was often (and probably still is, although I am not sure) played in the PGA’a tour locker rooms. Because of that, I hosted in Dallas, probably in the early 1980’s whenever the PGA tournament came to Preston Trail in early Spring, some bridge games at my house among some of the better players (and they, as a group were much more experienced than the famous match at Host Farm). We, of course, invited kibitzers who were almost certainly more interested to meet the famous golfers than they were to watch the bridge.

It surprises me how long ago the above happened, I guess a testament to how fast time goes by, but really how short life can be. We should all appreciate being part of life’s passing parade.

You will be interested in reading Judy’s upcoming blog (“Just another Sunday afternoon”) which will be appearing on http://judy.bridgeblogging.com. in a few days.

jim2June 9th, 2013 at 9:47 pm

I shall look it up!