(287) Bidding Slam with a Void
(271) Smother Plays
(249) Giving Declarer an Ace-Queen Guess
(247) Recognizing Danger on Defense
(246) Trump Suit Management - Strip and Endplay
(214) Defense: Always Return Partner's Lead?
(211) Defense: Getting Your Ruffs
(192) Competitive Bidding: Dealing with Inference after a 2C Opening
(189) Notrump Interference: Bidding Over Weak Notrump
(141) Bidding Philosophy: Transfers in Competition
(138) Bidding Philosophy: Steps vs. Specific Bids
This month we return to discussions of Bidding Philosophy. We begin by examining the differences in natural auctions (also called specific auctions) and step-based auctions. In doing so, we try to understand how we communicate with partner and why we have different approaches for different situations.