COM
Robert Todd
COM Landing Set 1 - 411
COM
Robert Todd
COM Landing Set 2 - 412
COM
Robert Todd
COM Landing Set 3 - 413
COM
Robert Todd
COM Landing Set 4 - 414
COM
Robert Todd
COM Landing Set 5 - 415

NT and Balancing Set 5 - 562

NT and Balancing Set 5 - 562

Other Balancing Auctions

When our left-hand opponent opens the bidding and the auction passes around to us, we have a big decision to make – should we get into this auction, or should we leave the opponents to play at the 1-level? We have a variety of bidding tools to help us compete in the bidding, but we need to use our judgement about when to compete in the bidding and when to keep quiet.  Here we look at some of the classic bidding situations where we have a difficult decision and then overview some of bidding tools in these auctions.

NT and Balancing Set 4 - 561

NT and Balancing Set 4 - 561

Jump Overcalls in Balancing Seat

One place that we do not need a jump bid to show a weak hand is in the passout (PO) seat, also known as the balancing seat.  In this seat with a weak hand, say 5-8 HCP, and a long suit, we would not bid; we would simply pass the hand out.  Bidding here with so few HCP may give the opponents a chance to reach a better partscore or game that they may not otherwise reach.  Since we will not bid in the PO seat with a weak hand and we could make a simple overcall with 9-10 HCP and a long suit, then a Jump Overcall in the PO seat is free to be used to describe a different type of hand that can otherwise be difficult to show. 

NT and Balancing Set 3 - 560

NT and Balancing Set 3 - 560

Range Stayman

A balancing 1NT bid can be a wide-ranging action, about 11-15/16 points.   This 5-point range is much larger than most Notrump bids and leaves partner with a more difficult bidding situation.  Range Stayman is a tool that can help Advancer better determine the values of our hand and if game is a possibility.

NT and Balancing Set 2 - 559

NT and Balancing Set 2 - 559

Balancing NT and Other Bal Bids

When LHO opens the bidding and the auction passes around to us, we are the last line of defense against the opponents buying the contract at a low level.  Traditionally, when we bid in this seat it is called balancing.  When we balance we “borrow” some of partner’s values and add those points to our hand – usually about 3 points.  Let’s see how this works for balancing auctions where we bid NT.

NT and Balancing Set 1 - 558

NT and Balancing Set 1 - 558

14-16 1NT Opening Bids

There are certain auctions where we have made a bid that has “fully described our hand” and we leave the bidding up to partner.  In auctions like these, for example when we have opened the bidding with a preempt at the 2-level or 3-level, then we usually are not very sure of what partner has for their bid and we want to leave any further decisions up to them.  But sometimes we have more shape than partner expects or our instincts tell us that is right to bid on.  When that is the case we do NOT want to just take over and bid again – we told partner we would not bid anymore after our first bid.  In an auction like this we can use a Double as a conventional bid saying “I want to bid more”.  This is called an I Want to bid Double and it applies in very specific situations

Adv Comp Bidding Set 8 - 557

Adv Comp Bidding Set 8 - 557

I Want to Bid Doubles

There are certain auctions where we have made a bid that has “fully described our hand” and we leave the bidding up to partner.  In auctions like these, for example when we have opened the bidding with a preempt at the 2-level or 3-level, then we usually are not very sure of what partner has for their bid and we want to leave any further decisions up to them.  But sometimes we have more shape than partner expects or our instincts tell us that is right to bid on.  When that is the case we do NOT want to just take over and bid again – we told partner we would not bid anymore after our first bid.  In an auction like this we can use a Double as a conventional bid saying “I want to bid more”.  This is called an I Want to bid Double and it applies in very specific situations

Adv Comp Bidding Set 7 - 556

Adv Comp Bidding Set 7 - 556

Anti-Lead Directing Doubles

Lead-directing doubles can be helpful in getting partner off to a good opening lead. These lead-directing doubles are common when the opponents make an artificial bid. But when the opponents make a cuebid of our suit, then a lead-directing double is also very common. Here we focus on this situation in detail in order to structure our agreements to allow us to communicate in the most effective way we can.

Adv Comp Bidding Set 6 - 555

Adv Comp Bidding Set 6 - 555

Scrambling 2NT

In competitive auctions where the opponents have found a fit, we will compete aggressively – especially at matchpoints. We will frequently use double (for takeout) with three-suited hands and sometimes with two-suited hands. To handle these situations, we want partner (Advancer) to have a tool to help us find our best fit. As usual, in competitive auctions our choice of convention will be 2NT. This gadget is called Scrambling 2NT.

Adv Comp Bidding Set 5 - 554

Adv Comp Bidding Set 5 - 554

Good/Bad 2NT

Good/Bad 2NT gives Opener two ways to compete to the 3-level – by bidding directly with a “Good Hand” or by bidding 2NT first with a “Bad Hand”. By using 2NT as a relay bid, instead of a natural call, this allows for a more precise description of Opener’s hand. Let’s see how it works through examples.

Adv Comp Bidding Set 4 - 553

Adv Comp Bidding Set 4 - 553

4NT in Competition

When the opponents stay out of our auctions then we usually have clear agreements about the meaning of a 4NT bid – usually Quantitative in a NT auction and Keycard in a suit auction. But in a competitive auction we are more likely to use 4NT as a bid showing 2 places to play. Let’s look at some of these auctions so we know what partner is trying to do to when they use 4NT in a competitive auction.

Adv Comp Bidding Set 3 - 552

Adv Comp Bidding Set 3 - 552

Non-Leaping Michaels

When the opponents open the bidding with a 3-level preempt then much of the tension in our decision-making process comes around “Should we bid beyond 3NT?” This is especially true when the opponents open the bidding with a 3-Major preempt. Because when we have one long minor suit then we likely want to play in 3NT or 5-minor. This allows us to use 4-minor in some interesting conventional ways, just as we do vs. a 2-level preempt.

Adv Comp Bidding Set 2 - 551

Adv Comp Bidding Set 2 - 551

DEALING WITH 4-LEVEL PREEMPTS

When the opponents open at the 4-level they put a lot of pressure on us to make difficult decisions without much room to maneuver or describe our hand. This preempt will force us to either double or overcall at a very high level – we will not have many of the options that are available to us at lower levels. Let’s look at each of these options and see how we need to adjust our thinking and bidding because of the lack of space and options available to us.

Adv Comp Bidding Set 1 - 550

Adv Comp Bidding Set 1 - 550

LEAPING MICHAELS

When RHO opens a 2-level preempt, they have started eating up our valuable bidding space. But this is just the start of their attack on us. LHO may join in the attack and raise the preempt, making our life even more difficult. When we are bidding over RHO’s 2-level preempt we should keep this in mind. We need lots of tools to deal with this situation. Let’s look at these options.

NT Ours and Theirs Set 9 - 549

NT Ours and Theirs Set 9 - 549

SLAM TRIES AFTER STAYMAN

One of the most common gadgets that we use when partner opens 1NT is Stayman. We primarily use Stayman to search for a 4-4 Major suit fit. After Stayman sometimes we want to have a way to raise partner’s suit where they cannot pass. We will want a “Forcing Raise” (similar to Jacoby 2NT or Inverted Minors) in order to find out more about Opener’s hand. This is missing from a standard bidding system. It is a valuable tool for making a slam try while keeping the auction from getting too high.

NT Ours and Theirs Set 8 - 548

NT Ours and Theirs Set 8 - 548

TRANSFER AND MODERN LEBENSOHL

Lebensohl is an excellent system for dealing with interference over our 1NT opening bids. But Lebensohl has some flaws. In Lebensohl auctions we will often play the hand from the “wrong” side (Responder’s side.) Another flaw in Lebensohl relates to Responder’s strength. Responder often has three strengths (buckets) let’s see how Transfer Lebensohl is an upgrade to this.

NT Ours and Theirs Set 7 - 547

NT Ours and Theirs Set 7 - 547

DONT RUNOUTS

When we open the bidding with 1NT, showing 15-17 points, if an opponent makes a penalty double, we are less likely to be looking to invite or bid game. We are usually looking to escape from a 1NT contract and attempt to find some safer place to play. This safe place will hopefully be our largest fit or a long suit in the weak hand (in Responder’s hand). In order to find this place to play we need to look at how Responder’s bidding options change after a penalty double.

NT Ours and Theirs Set 6 - 546

NT Ours and Theirs Set 6 - 546

DEALING WITH 3-LEVEL INTERFERENCE

There are many systems the opponents play in order to interfere over our 1NT opening bid, but almost all of these systems use the 3-level (actually 2NT+) for the same meanings – 2NT as a weak bid showing both minors and 3-level bids as weak with a long suit, preemptive. It is important that you and partner are on the same page for how to deal with this higher-level interference.

NT Ours and Theirs Set 5 - 545

NT Ours and Theirs Set 5 - 545

LEBENSOHL

After partner opens 1NT, we have a good structure for using our bids efficiently to describe our hand to partner. But when the opponents interfere in our auction, we lose some of this valuable bidding space and need to change our approach in order to deal with their interference.

NT Ours and Theirs Set 4 - 544

NT Ours and Theirs Set 4 - 544

LANDY & TRANSFERS+

When the opponents open the bidding with a weak 1NT we need a good method for dealing with their unusual opening bid. The most common range for a weak NT is 12-14 points, but we define 1NT to be weak if the range does not contain 16 points. When constructing a system to allow us to bid over these weak 1NT openings we need to take a different approach than bidding over a strong 1NT opening. We frequently may have a powerful enough hand to be interested in exploring game when the opponents open a weak 1NT. Thus, we construct our bidding system to allow us to explore game and make constructive bids, not just be destructive.

NT Ours and Theirs Set 3 - 543

NT Ours and Theirs Set 3 - 543

PENALTY DOUBLE SYSTEMS

When the opponents are playing a “Weak 1NT” opening bid (for example, 12-14 points), we need to bid only when we have a decently valued hand. We tend to bid with hands that would normally have overcalled at the 2-level, hands with about opening values. Here we are primarily bidding constructively because when the opponents open a “Weak 1NT” our side may still have game. If we bid destructively (with only shape and without much strength) then if partner has values, they may push the auction too high. It is common to use a different bidding system against the opponents’ Weak 1NT opening bid than the one you use against a strong 1NT opening. These systems usually contain a penalty double that allows us to show a very good hand as well, and thus penalize the opponents when partner also has some values.