Our website is www.pattayabridge.com Club News Sheet – No. 288

Our blogsite is www.pattayabridge.wordpress.com

My home phone is 038 422924 and my mobile number is 083 6066880 18^th May 2008

It is best to use my home number to contact me unless I am at the bridge club.

My e-mail is terry@pattayabridge.com or pattayabridge@yahoo.com

My MSN messenger ID is tj_quested@hotmail.com

Mon 12^th 1^st Ian W & Terry 63% 2^nd Sean & Terje 62%

Wed 14^th 1^st Sean & Terje 64% 2^nd Ivy & Terry 61%

Fri 16^th 1^st Bob & Jean-Francois 68% 2^nd Sean & Terje = Harry & Philip 54%

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Bidding Quiz

Hand A Hand B With Hand A RHO opens 1♦, what do you bid?

♠ KJ73 ♠ J

♥ KQ974 ♥ J4 With Hand B it’s favourable vulnerability. LHO opens 1NT

♦ A2 ♦ 109754 and RHO transfers with 2♥, what do you do?

♣ J9 ♣ AQ753

Hand C Hand D With Hand C you are playing Benjamin twos. Do you open

2♣ (8-9 playing tricks) or 2♦?

♠ AQJ ♠ K7

♥ AKQJ1042 ♥ KQ98 With Hand D it’s unfavourable vulnerability, you open 1NT and

♦ K6 ♦ AJ8 partner transfers with 2♥, RHO then bids 3♣, what do you do?

♣ Q ♣ K964

Hand E Hand F With Hand E you open 1♠ and partner bids 2♣, what do you do?

♠ J8743 ♠ K1076

♥ A94 ♥ 864 With Hand F partner opens 1♣ (could be short) and you choose

♦ 4 ♦ A7532 to bid 1♠. Partner raises to 2♠ and this is passed round to LHO

♣ AKQJ ♣ 4 who bids 3♣; this is passed round to you, what do you do?

Hand G Hand H With Hand G LHO opens 1♣ and partner overcalls 1♦, what

do you bid?

♠ A765 ♠ Q102

♥ J853 ♥ AQ9 With Hand H RHO opens 1♣ and you bid 1♦. Partner responds

♦ 94 ♦ AJ1053 1NT, what do you bid?

♣ K85 ♣ Q2

Bidding Sequence Quiz

J 1♥ 1♠ 2♠ What is 2♠? Is it (a) asking for a ♠ stop or

(b) showing a sound raise to 3♥ or better?

K 1♣ 1♦ pass 1NT How many points is 1NT?

L 1♠ pass 2♣ pass Is 3♣ forcing?

3♣

Don’t Abuse Michaels and the UNT Board 2 from Monday 12^th

I have said it dozens of times; Michaels and UNT are pre-empts (or else extremely strong). Dave, however, disagrees with this and will use them with a two suiter of any range. This, of course, leads to problems for partner as he has no idea how strong you are.

Dealer: ♠ Q9862 Table A

East ♥ J6 West North East South(A)

N-S vul ♦ KQ - - 1♦ 2♦ (1)

♣ 10762 3♦ (2) 3♠ (3) pass 4♠ (4)

all pass

♠ 105 N ♠ A4

♥ 10852 W E ♥ A3 Table B

♦ 10763 S ♦ J9854 West North East South(A)

♣ A43 ♣ KQ85 - - 1♦ 1♥ (1)

♠ KJ73 2♦ (5) dbl (6) pass 3♠ (7)

♥ KQ974 pass pass (8) pass

♦ A2

♣ J9

Table A: (1) What did you bid with this South hand A in this week’s quiz? This was Dave’s partner and so she bid what Dave would expect. A Michaels cue bid showing both majors but any strength whatsoever.

(2) There is no need to bid ♥’s when South has shown them and this weak pre-emptive raise to 3♦ is a good bid, especially when the opponents have no idea how strong the Michaels bid is.

(3) North has to show is 5-card ♠ suit of course.

(4) If N-S were playing Michaels sensibly then South would have either a very strong hand (so bid 4♠) or more likely a weak hand (pass). With this medium strength hand South has no idea whether to bid on or not and decided to bid. She has my total sympathy - there is no way of knowing what to do with this wide-ranging treatment of Michaels cue bids that this North insists upon..

Table B (1) This is the answer to question A – a simple 1♥ overcall. I don’t like to double with a 5-card major and also I don’t like to double with two-suited hands.

(5) Again West should raise pre-emptively with 3♦ and make it difficult for N-S.

(6) A responsive double. showing the two unbid suits and tolerance for partners suit, this hand is just about good enough. 2♠ is an alternative.

(7) With a good overcall, South makes an effort.

(8) But North has already said enough.

And what happened? Just one pair stopped in 3♠ making exactly. One East somehow bid 3NT (!) and went two down, The other two N-S’s overbid to 4♠ but one North made it when the opponents set up the ♥’s for him.

The bottom lines: -

- Michaels cue bids (and the UNT) are weak pre-emptive bids. If you use them to show any range from 6 to very strong then partner will have no idea what’s going on.

- More experienced players play Michaels and UNT as either weak or very strong, this is what I played with Chuck and is what I play with Lewis.

- With a two-suiter and intermediate strength, simply overcall in the longest suit.

An UNT Board 22 from Monday 12^th

Dave usually gets on better with unfamiliar partner that I do, that’s because I assume that my partner bids correctly and also understands my bids. Dave is less trusting. Dave and I were both North on this deal and with the same partner (I was calling for dummies and Ivy came over).

Dealer: ♠ J Table A

East ♥ J4 West North(B) East(D) South

E-W vul ♦ 109754 - - 1NT pass

♣ AQ753 2♥ (1) 3♣ (2) pass (3) pass (4)

3♠ (5) all pass

♠ Q98543 N ♠ K7

♥ A765 W E ♥ KQ98 Table B

♦ 32 S ♦ AJ8 West North(B) East(D) South

♣ 8 ♣ K964 - - 1NT pass

♠ A1072 2♥ (1) 2NT (2) 3♠ (6) 4♦ (7)

♥ 1032 4♥ (8) 5♦ (9) 5♥ all pass

♦ KQ6

♣ J102

Table A: (1) It’s up to you if you transfer or bid Stayman with this hand type. I prefer Stayman and if I got a 2♦ response I would then bid 3♥ (a Quest Transfer showing an invitational hand or better with 5-6 ♠’s and 4 ♥’s).

(2) What did you bid with this North hand B in this week’s quiz? This was Dave, he wanted to bid 2NT but did not trust his partner Ivy to understand the bid.

(3) What did you bid with this East hand D in this week’s quiz? This pass is correct, there is no need to complete the transfer when RHO has overcalled and you should only do so with a hand worth a super accept (i.e. 4 trumps).

(4) South has no idea that North also has ♦’s and so passes.

(5) 3♥ here would be forcing and so West settled for 3♠.

Table B (1) This West again chose to transfer.

(2) But this time I was North and had complete confidence in my partner. 2NT is the answer to question B, an UNT showing both minors.

(6) This seemed to confuse East. This is a similar situation to (3) above and East should pass. This 3♠ bid shows a maximum and 4 ♠’s the way I play it.

(7) Ivy understood the 2NT (indeed she alerted it) and, with an eye on the vulnerability, bid 4♦.

(8) West was under the illusion that partner was maximum with a fit and so showed his 2^nd suit at the game level.

(9) North thought that E-W knew what they were doing, and also with an eye on the vulnerability he bid 5♦.

And what happened? 3♠ made exactly for a top to E-W. 5♥ went -2 for a top to N-S.

The bottom lines: -

- Trust your partner?

A Benjamin 2♣ or 2♦ Opener? Board 11 from Monday 12^th

E-W missed an easy slam on this deal, who would you blame?

Dealer: ♠ K85 Table A

South ♥ 98 West North East(C) South

Love all ♦ J82 - - - pass

♣ J9753 pass pass 2♣ (1) pass

2♦ (2) pass 3♥ (3) pass

♠ 1043 N ♠ AQJ 4♥ (4) all pass

♥ 53 W E ♥ AKQJ1042

♦ A95 S ♦ K6 “Expert” Table

♣ A10864 ♣ Q West North East(C) South

♠ 9762 - - - pass

♥ 76 pass pass 2♦ (1) pass

♦ Q10743 2♥ (5) pass 4♥ (6) pass

♣ K2 5♣ (7) pass 5♠ (7) pass

6♦ (7) pass 6♥ (8) pass

pass (9) all pass

Table A: (1) What did you bid with this East hand C in this week’s quiz? This East evaluated the hand as 9 playing tricks and so opened 2♣ rather than the stronger 2♦. This is a poor choice, the hand is actually 10 playing tricks with the ♣Q as an extra bonus if partner has something in ♣’s. The playing tricks of this hand are: ♠’s = 2½, ♥’s = 7, ♦’s = ½ and ♣’s = 0.

(2) It’s best to play 2♦ as an automatic relay opposite a Benjamin 2♣ opening.

(3) Showing 9 playing tricks in ♥’s.

(4) With two tricks opposite 9 that makes 11 and so West did not investigate slam.

“Expert” (1) Our Experts also play Benjamin twos and East correctly opened 2♦, the strongest

Table: bid in the system and game forcing.

(5) It’s best to play 2♥ as an automatic relay opposite a Benjamin 2♦ opening.

(6) This jump, in a game forcing auction, shows a self-sufficient solid suit and invites partner to cue bid.

(7) A cue bid, showing the ace here.

(8) East has nothing more.

(9) West also has nothing more, with a king anywhere he would bid the grand.

And what happened? Just one pair bid 6♥. 13 tricks made at every table when the ♠K was on-side.

The bottom lines: -

- If you play Benjamin twos, then open 2♦ with 9½ or more tricks.

- Playing tricks are defined on the website: General bridge topics > Playing Tricks.

- To answer the question, East was clearly to blame.

Don’t double with nothing in trumps Board 19 from Monday 12^th

Dealer: ♠ K1076 Table A

South ♥ 864 West North(F) East South

E-W vul ♦ A7532 - - - 1♣ (1)

♣ 4 pass 1♠ (2) pass 2♠

pass pass 3♣ (3) pass

♠ Q5 N ♠ A84 pass dbl (4) all pass

♥ J9732 W E ♥ 10

♦ J84 S ♦ Q6 Table B

♣ K103 ♣ AQJ8762 West North(F) East South

♠ J932 - - - 1♣ (1)

♥ AKQ5 pass 1♦ (2) pass 1♥

♦ K109 pass 1♠ (5) 2♣ (6) 2♠

♣ 95 pass (7) pass 3♣ pass

pass 3♠ (8) all pass

Table A: (1) Playing a short ♣.

(2) It’s up to you if you bid 1♦ or 1♠ here, I would bid 1♦ unless playing Walsh.

(3) This is natural (2♣ last go would have been artificial).

(4) What did you bid with this North hand F in this week’s quiz? I prefer the bid chosen at (8) at Table B. This North’s ‘excuse’ for the double is that partner had opened ♣’s. That does not hold water with me,

if partner has decent ♣’s then he would have doubled.

Table B (1) This pair also play a short ♣.

(2) But this North chose to bid his ♦ suit.

(5) This is natural and forcing (2♠ would be 4^th suit forcing).

(6) Again, this is now natural.

(7) With ♣K10x I would raise partner, but perhaps this West did not totally believe his partner’s bid or else he was afraid of the vulnerability.

(8) This is virtually the same as at (4) except that North knows that partner is 4-4 in the majors and so he is very likely to be 4432. This 3♠ bid is the answer to question 8, with 3♦ or pass being reasonable. Double with just one ♣ is very dangerous. The 3♠ bid is one above the Law but it looks like 3♣ is making and the N-S hands should play well in ♠’s especially with a probable 5-3 ♦ fit.

And what happened? 3♠ made +1 for a top to N-S; 3♣ doubled made for a top to E-W. Other contracts were 3♦+2, and 4♣-1

The bottom lines: -

- Doubling with a singleton in trumps is not usually a good idea, especially if partner has had a chance to make a penalty double.

The wrong slam Board 3 from Friday 16^th

Dealer: ♠ K962 Table A

South ♥ J87 West(E) North East South

E-W vul ♦ 765 - - - pass

♣ 872 1♠ pass 2♣ pass

5♣ (1) pass 6♣ (2) all pass

♠ J8743 N ♠ A10

♥ A94 W E ♥ KQ3 “Expert” Table

♦ 4 S ♦ AKQ West(E) North East South

♣ AKQJ ♣ 106543 - - - pass

♠ Q5 1♠ pass 2♣ pass

♥ 10652 3♦ (1) pass 4NT (3) pass

♦ J109832 5♣ (4) pass 5♦ (5) pass

♣ 9 5NT (6) pass 6NT (7) all pass

Table A: (1) What did you bid with this West hand E in this week’s quiz? This really is quite awkward unless you play 2/1. 3♣ is not forcing in some people’s style (certainly not in Acol) and a 4♦ splinter goes past 3NT which may be the best spot. This 5♣ bid is reasonable I suppose but it does demonstrate why 2/1 is such a good system (See Expert Table).

(2) East clearly has enough for slam. There’s no room to ask for aces/keycards and so this East simply bid 6♣.

“Expert” (1) Our experts play 2/1 and West has no problem whatsoever. In fact he has a choice

Table: of good bids. He can bid 3♣ which is forcing after partner has responded 2♣ which was game forcing. Also, playing 2/1, 2♦ is natural and forcing and so you can play that 3♦ is a splinter, which is what our expert chooses to do.

(3) To keep it simple, let’s suppose that our experts play 4NT as RKCB here (I like to play 4♦ as RKCB – Kickback – when ♣’s are trumps).

(4) 3 keycards

(5) Do you have the trump queen?

(6) Yes, but I do not have an outside king.

(7) I can count exactly 12 tricks then.

And what happened? Nobody bid 6NT but one pair did manage to bid 6♠ which goes one down. The third table bid a modest 3NT+3. The bottom lines: -

- Two-over-one works like a dream on big hands – there is so much bidding space and you do not have to thrash around trying to find a forcing bid as at (1) at Table A.

- It’s best not to use 4NT as Blackwood with a minor suit as trumps as you may get too high (there was no problem with these two powerful hands). Many top players play 4 of the minor as RKCB and some others play Kickback.

Dave’s Column Here is this week’s Dave input involving the best play for the contract.

North South You are North, declarer in 3NT. East leads a low ♠, you play

♠ A2 ♠ Q3 the ♠Q and West produces the ♠K. You win the 2^nd round

♥ J65 ♥ Q1072 of ♠’s, how do you continue?

♦ AKJ1098 ♦ 2

♣ 62 ♣ AKJ1043.

Dave’s Column answer Board 17 from Wednesday 14^th

Dealer: ♠ A2 West North East South

North ♥ J65 - 1NT pass 3NT

Love all ♦ AKJ1098 all pass

♣ 62

♠ K1097 N ♠ J8654 East leads a low ♠ and you play the ♠Q. This

♥ K98 W E ♥ A43 is covered by the ♠K and you duck. A ♠ is

♦ Q65 S ♦ 743 continued and you win with the ♠A perforce,

♣ Q75 ♣ 98 how do you continue?

♠ Q3

♥ Q1072

♦ 2

♣ AKJ1043

You have two powerful minor suits and if you can bring home either one for six tricks you make your contract. But which one should you try the finesse in?

Back to basics, when you are missing a queen in each of two suits and bringing in either suit will bring in you contract, play the A-K of the longer suit (♣’s) and if the queen has not dropped take the finesse in the shorter suit (♦’s).

Terry’s Comments. I do not consider this deal to be ‘basic’ at all and would like a mathematical explanation from the author, Eddie Kantar. I was North and at trick two I had a long think about how to play the minors (I was told off by Sean for this – apparently I should have played the ♠A quickly and then had my long think) Anyway, my thoughts were that I need to find a queen onside. If the ♦Q is onside then that’s no good if it is Qxxx (more likely that any other holding). However, if I try the ♣ finesse and the ♣Q is onside I still have a ♦ entry to be able to pick up ♣Qxxx with East. My line (and apparently everybody else’s line) was to finesse a ♣ at trick three. This works when the ♣Q is onside as Q, Qx, Qxx, Qxxx. Eddie Kantar’s line is only better if the ♣Q drops doubleton or singleton or the ♦Q is onside as Q, Qx or Qxx. So basically the mathematics boils down to: -

(a) Missing ♦Qxxxxx is playing for Qxxx onside (The Pattaya bridge club line) better than

(b) Missing ♣Qxxxx playing for the Q to drop in two rounds (Eddie Kantar’s line).

I cannot be bothered to work out the exact odds (and there was certainly no time at the table) but by gut feeling is that it’s quite close. Either way it is not ‘basic’. Eddie says that line (b) is ‘back to basics’, I strongly disagree with this statement unless he comes up with the mathematics to convincingly prove it.

In my opinion this whole deal is a piece of baloney, swap the E-W hands and the mighty Eddie Kantar will go down when all of the Pattaya bridge club is making, even if the ♣Q is covered thee times. And what happened at the Pattaya Bridge Club? Everybody quite sensibly finessed ♣’s and gracefully went 3 down.

Dave’s 2^nd Column Here is Dave’s 2^nd input involving the best play for the contract.

West East You are East, declarer in 5♦ and South leads the ♠A and shifts

♠ J107 ♠ Q to ♥J. Plan the play.

♥ K73 ♥ A54

♦ K1043 ♦ AQJ987

♣ A75 ♣ KJ2

Dave’s 2^nd Column answer Board 18 from Wednesday 14^th

Dealer: ♠ 852 West North East South

East ♥ Q962 - - 1♦ 1♠

N-S vul ♦ 62 3♦ (1) pass 5♦ all pass

♣ 9843

(1) This is the bid in Dave’s book. Many would

♠ J107 N ♠ Q play this bid as pre-emptive these days and

♥ K73 W E ♥ A54 bid 2♠ with this hand

♦ K1043 S ♦ AQJ987

♣ A75 ♣ KJ2 South leads the ♠A and shifts to the ♥J. Plan the play.

♠ AK9643

♥ J108

♦ 5

♣ Q106

You have lost a ♠ trick and you have a ♥ loser and a possible ♣ loser. On the plus side you have the ♠J10 in dummy with only one ♠ outstanding, the ♠K.

If, after you draw trumps (ending in dummy) you lead the ♠J and discard either a ♥ or a ♣ you will have then established the ♠10 for a discard of your other loser.

Instead of losing a ♠, a ♥ and possibly a ♣, you lose only two ♠’s.

And what happened at the Pattaya bridge Club? 3NT+2, 5♦= and 6♦-1.

Another play problem Board 26 from Friday 16^th

This is a random deal that was generated by the computer for the Friday session.

North South You are North, declarer in 4♠. The opponents cash the ♣A,K

♠ K9872 ♠ A1064 and continue with a 3^rd round of ♣’s which you ruff. You

♥ A8 ♥ KQ10432 decide to play up to the ♠A and the ♠3 appears from West

♦ AK7 ♦ 8 and the ♠Q from East. You lead the ♠10 and West plays the

♣ 1074 ♣ Q8 ♠5, do you finesse or play for the drop? Are the odds roughly evens or is one line far superior to the other?

Another play problem answer Board 26 from Friday 16^th

Dealer: ♠ K9872 West North East South

East ♥ A8 - - pass 1♥

Both vul ♦ AK7 pass 1♠ pass 2♠

♣ 1074 pass 4♠ all pass

♠ J53 N ♠ Q East leads a ♣ to West’s ♣A,K and a 3^rd ♣ that you

♥ J W E ♥ 9765 ruff. The ♥’s are good for 6 tricks but how do you

♦ 109432 S ♦ QJ65 play the ♠ suit? You decide to play up to the ♠A,

♣ AK65 ♣ J932 East plays the ♠Q and West plays the ♠3.

♠ A1064 You lead the ♠10 from dummy and West plays the

♥ KQ10432 ♠5, do you play to drop the ♠Q or finesse? It’s pairs

♦ 8 so the overtrick is important.

♣ Q8

You should finesse. This is a classic case of the theory of restricted choice. The odds are NOT the usual 52-48 that says shat you should play for the 2-2 split (eight ever nine never). The situation when you are missing QJxx and an honour appears on the first round is different and the mathematics state that the odds are 66-33 in favour of the finesse. One distinguished club member disputes this – saying that he once lost a teams match in the UK because he took the finesse and the suit was divided xx opposite QJ. Tough luck, you will indeed lose 33% of the time and that was just an unlucky day. As Scotty (Star Trek) would say, “ye canna argue with the laws of physics”.

And what happened at the Pattaya Bridge Club? 4♠ +1 twice and 4♠ +2 once.

The bottom line: -

- Actually, this has all been written up on the web for a year or so:

General bridge Topics > Eight Ever Nine Never or Restricted Choice?

1NT opposite a 1-level overcall Board 21 from Monday 12^th

I have mentioned this a few times, a bid of 1NT opposite a 1-level overcall is NOT 6-9, it is 10-12. Some players in the club refuse to believe this.

Dealer: ♠ K43 West(H) North East(G) South

North ♥ 76 - pass pass 1♣

N-S vul ♦ 872 1♦ pass 1NT (1) pass

♣ J10743 3NT (2) all pass

♠ Q102 N ♠ A765 (1) What did you bid with this East hand G in

♥ AQ9 W E ♥ J853 this week’s quiz? Pass is correct, this 1NT

♦ AJ1053 S ♦ 94 bid promises 10-12 points.

♣ Q2 ♣ K85 (2) What did you bid with this West hand H in

♠ J98 this week’s quiz? 3NT is correct, it should

♥ K1042 make even opposite a minimal 10 count

♦ KQ6 because of the great intermediates.

♣ A96

And what happened? 3NT went -1 for a joint bottom.

The bottom lines: -

- 1NT opposite partner’s 1-level overcall is not 6-9, it is 10-12.

- One prominent club member disputes this, saying ‘back in the UK I always played 1NT as 6-9 opposite an overcall’.

So, what did they play in the UK 20 years ago? Eric Crowhurst’s “Acol in Competition” was (and probably still is) the bible for competitive bidding in Acol. On page 227 Crowhurst clearly states: -

The fact that a simple overcall is essentially limited means that there is no longer any need to use a 1NT response as a ‘courtesy’ bid, designed purely to grant partner another chance if he has a strong hand. This in turn allows any No Trump response to be a constructive maneuver and preliminary analysis suggests the following basic table of responses to an overcall at the one-level.

1NT 10-12

2NT 13-14

3NT 15+

This was all written up on the web a long time ago,

General bridge Topics > Responding with No trumps to partner's overcall.

A director call Board 2 from Friday 16^th

Dealer: ♠ 76 West North East South

East ♥ KJ98654 - - pass 1NT

N-S vul ♦ A 2♣ (1) 4♥ (2) all pass

♣ A92

(1) Showing both majors in their system.

♠ QJ3 N ♠ 8542 3♣ is of course the correct bid.

♥ 10 W E ♥ 732 (2) North asked East what 2♣ was and was

♦ KJ8 S ♦ 96542 told ‘both majors’ so he settled for 4♥.

♣ K108764 ♣ J

♠ AK109 At the end of the hand the director was called.

♥ AQ North said that without the incorrect call he

♦ Q1073 would have asked for aces and bid 6♥.

♣ Q53

The rules are very clear here (please look then up if you don’t believe me). If the call was correct but the explanation incorrect then N-S would be entitled to an adjusted score. If the call is incorrect but the explanation is correct (as here) then there is, unfortunately, no penalty unless the director considers that the perpetrator purposely psyched.

And what happened? 4♥ made +2 for an average. Had Dave (North) bid 6♥ then he actually would still have got an average as one pair bid 6NT+1. Dave said that he would have appealed has he got a bad score, but rules are rules!

The bottom lines: -

- Incorrect bids are not penalized (unless partner suspects/knows that it is incorrect and acts accordingly or if the culprit is doing it intentionally, i.e.psyching). Incorrect explanations may well be penalized.

Bidding Quiz Answers

Hand A: 1♥. Double is not a good bid with a doubleton ♣. A Michaels cue-bid is incorrect as it’s about 5 points above the upper limit for the bid. If you play that Michaels is either weak or very strong then this hand is nowhere near the very strong variety.

Hand B: 2NT, unusual showing a pre-emptive hand with both minors.

Hand C: 2♦, this hand is 10 playing tricks and is much too strong for 2♣ followed by 3♥.

Hand D: Pass. RHO’s overcall means that you no longer need to complete the transfer. You should only do so with a hand that would super-accept.

Hand E: 3♣, provided you agree that it is forcing. I cannot see a good bid if it is not forcing (as when playing Acol). I guess that a 4♦ splinter is possible but it’s a bit of an overbid and goes past 3NT. 5♣ and 4♣ have the same problems. If you play 2/1 then there is no problem whatsoever and a forcing 3♣ (or 3♦ if you play that as a splinter) are options.

Hand F: 3♠. It’s looking like LHO has a good ♣ suit and partner may well be 4432, in which case 3♣ may well be making and 3♠ should play well. Pass is the reasonable alternative but double is very speculative (partner would have doubled if he had ♣’s).

Hand G: Pass. You have reasonable ♦’s and not enough points to bid 1NT.

Hand H: 3NT. Should be an easy make opposite partner’s promised 10-12 points.

Bidding Sequence Answers

J 1♥ 1♠ 2♠ 2♠ is normally used by more experienced players to show a

sound raise to 3♥ or better

K 1♣ 1♦ pass 1NT 1NT opposite a 1-level overcall is 10-12.

L 1♠ pass 2♣ pass This is an interesting one. In Acol it is not forcing. Playing

3♣ Standard American it’s probably best to play it as forcing –

most SA players play that responder promises another bid after giving a two-level response (except over 2NT) but this needs to be agreed. Playing 2/1 it’s game forcing of course.