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

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.

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.

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.

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 ….

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

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.

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.

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

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

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!

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.

I shall look it up!