Bidding Discipline Guidelines Jim Berglund’s Bridge Lesson 8 1

Bidding Discipline Guidelines ♠ Opening bids have values & defense measured in quick tricks ♠ Opening bids are not based on totaling HCP’s. They qualify for an opener based on Playing Points. ♠ 1 st & 2 nd seat pre-empts should never contain outside controls (Aces or Kings.) ♠ Suits for weak two’s are constructive - eg Q10xxxx or worse. They should only be bid if only if you will not be embarrassed when partner leads the suit. ♠ Overcalls at the one or two level do not have bad suits, (except in passout position, where much lenience is given) ♠ Vulnerability is respected; more values are expected when vulnerable. 2

Bidding Discipline Guidelines ♠ Psyches or tactical bids are only done when partner is a passed hand & only at favorable vulnerability. ♠ Disciplined take out & penalty doubles are basic partnership assumptions ♠ 1NT overcalls always have a stopper in the bid suit and no singletons. ♠ In competitive auctions, bids have meaning other than “just pushing them up“ ♠ Competitive doubles have defense not just distribution for the unbid suits. You hold ♠ K ♥ xx ♦ QJxxx ♣ Qxxxx and the auction goes 1 ♥ - 1 ♠ - 3 ♥ - ? Don’t Double! Partner will invite you to take action, if appropriate, if you pass 3

Responding to Opener ♠ If partner Opens a minor and you have a minimum hand: ♥ Bid 1 ♦ with 4+ diamonds and no 4-card major ♥ Bid a 4-card major if you have one ♦ Bid hearts first with a poor hand ♦ Bid spades first if you have both and 8+ HCP (this will give you a chance to bid Hearts later – assuming you have the values to do it.) You should find a 4-3 fit often with this. ♥ Over a 1 ♣ opener, bid 1NT if and only if you don’t have 4 ♦ / ♥ / ♠ ♥ Pre-empt, if it best describes your hand (weak with a single Major suit) ♠ With a better hand – bid the same, unless: ♥ You can make an inverted minor game force (GF) bid ♥ You can make another GF bid ♥ You can bid 2NT or 3NT (Both deny a 4-card major*) ♥ Splinters are never bid over minor-suit openings *See my later lesson on using Check-back Stayman with these hands 4

♠ Never make a bid without first deciding on what you are trying to accomplish, or about what you will bid over the worst possible response by partner. ♠ Once you have fully described your hand, you do not need to bid again. You hold ♠ QJ765 ♥ K32 ♦ K32 ♣ A9. ♥ Pass. You have fully described your hand. ♠ If partner makes a game-invitational bid, ♠ accept it and bid game, or pass. ♥ Never invite an invite. ♠ Don’t make bad overcalls. ♥ Hand A: ♠ Q8 ♥ K2 ♦ KJ983 ♣ KJ43 ♥ Hand B: ♠ A3 ♥ 2 ♦ AQ983 ♣ KQ943 ♥ Hand C: ♠ QJ2 ♥ 64 ♦ K65432 ♣ AQ2 ♠ Bid with hand B only. The others aren’t good enough to bid at the 2-level. WNES 1♦1♦ P1♥1♥ 1♠1♠ 3♥3♥ P ? Bidding Discipline Guidelines WNES 1♠1♠ P 1NT 2♥2♥ ? 5

♠ Don’t give away information unnecessarily ♥ With ♠ Q ♥ 75 ♦ QT643 ♣ KT765, ♥ Don’t bid 2NT; The auction is not over, but partner has not made an effort to overcall, and your hand is pretty weak. The best you’ll do is tell them how to play their hand. ♠ Balancing: it is sometimes safer to bid at the 3-level than at the 2-level. ♥ Although you wouldn’t bid 2 ♣ over 1 ♠ with ♠ 97 ♥ A32 ♦ KT4 ♣ QJT84 You have to bid 3 ♣ over the auction given WNES 1♥1♥ P1♠1♠ ? WNES 1♠1♠ P2♠2♠ PP? Bidding Discipline Guidelines 6

Pauses Pause over opponents jump bids whether or not they pull out a stop card. Long pauses followed by a Pass cause ethical problems for partner. Start planning your bids before opponents have bid or passed. A pause, indicating a difficult decision when there is not one is unethical and against the Rules. Don’t try to trick the opponents in this way. 7

Questions: ♠ You are only allowed to ask questions if it is your turn to bid or lead. ♠ Never ask a question if it is to alert partner to something you know, but that they might not. It’s unethical. ♠ Always accept the answer given. Don’t offer a better or alternate answer to show off or possibly give your partner more information. Be courteous! ♠ When someone alerts and an explanation is given, Never argue with them or tell them they’re wrong. ♠ Never give lessons at the table. ♠ It’s Nice to be Good. It’s Great to be Kind 8

Don’t be an Ass at the Table! ♠ You only have a game because three other people agree to play it with you. Treat them well. ♠ Never offer advice to the opponents, unless asked. ♠ Never criticize partner. Never say “you should have…” ♠ Avoid embarrassing partner. Try not to start a sentence at the bridge table with “You” or “Why” ♠ (my face is RED writing this one. ‘Sorry pard… again) ♠ Don’t offer to tell the opponents what they could have done to get a better result, or gloat that you got a good one at the table. If they want to know, they’ll ask. 9

♠ Never say ‘I have no idea what she’s doing…’ ♠ If the opponents ask what the bid means, do not say ‘I think it may be…’ Say ‘Un-discussed’, and leave it at that. ♠ Assume she does not have a better bid to make, and that she’s trying to tell you something. Give her the courtesy to do your best to figure it out. ♠ Remember that she will not have a hand that she could have bid earlier to describe. ♠ Never pass your partner in a Q-bid (a bid of opponent’s suit), or in a Minor suit if a Major suit fit has been found. Q-Bids & Feature/Control bids are always forcing. (Exception: if partner has passed the suit previously and then bid it as his first bid, it likely shows the suit. Eg:) When Partner Makes a Bid you Don’t Understand… WNES 1♣1♣ P1♦1♦ P 1NT2♣2♣ P 10

Avoid Slow Play When you are Declarer: ♥ Review the bidding ♥ Evaluate the opening lead ♥ Deduce what you can about distribution and missing values ♥ Count your tricks ♥ Plan your play ♥ …before you play from dummy. Only change your plan if you are ‘surprised’ 11

Avoid Slow Play When you are on lead Review the bidding Deduce what you can about distribution and missing values Count your tricks Determine your best lead After all this, make your opening lead Evaluate the Dummy and re-evaluate your trick count Plan the defense 12

Avoid Slow Play When you are defending ♥ If there is an alert, don’t inquire about it unless there is some response they could make that would possibly cause you to change your bid. ♥ Never inquire about alerts or the opponents’ bidding unless you don’t understand what their meaning was. Your best bet is to look at their card before play begins or during the bidding. ♥ If you are not on lead, hold your questions until partner places their lead on the table, face-down 13

Avoiding Slow Play Don’t be late for the session. It annoys the directors as well as your partner and all other players. It’s inconsiderate at best. Plan to leave home earlier. If you have to be late, call and let people know. They can buy your entry, and will tend to make more allowances than if your arrival is a surprise. 14

Pass. Partner’s hand could be as bad as ♠ 1032 ♥ ♦ 5432 ♣ He would have bid at the 1-level, or made a 2 ♥ pre-empt over 1 ♣ with more values. East’s hand is very limited, and partner knows you have values, but can’t bid them. When you and your partner have both passed, when you have each had opportunities to overcall, and partner bids, DO NOT BID, unless he specifically asks you to with a Double or a Q-bid (an ‘impossible’ bid of one of opponents suits. He has already bid the values he hopes are in your hand. You, South, hold: ♠ AQ10 ♥ A5 ♦ K10 ♣ WestNorthEastSouth 1♣1♣ P1NTP 3♣3♣ 3♥3♥ P? 15

East has made a game force with 2 ♣ and therefore, a forcing pass over 3 ♥ (It basically says, ‘I can’t double or bid 3NT; I don’t have a good raise for you. You decide.) West is at least 5-5 in the pointed suits. They don’t appear to have a fit and may think that a double Is their best chance for a good score. Pass. You do not want them to know that you have this good a fit, and you have high confidence that if they bid any game, they won’t make it. (Please double if they bid one!) Partner’s hand: ♠ 6 ♥ J ♦ 532 ♣ 54 Another example: EW are Vulnerable. You, South, hold: ♠ AQ87 ♥ A752 ♦ K109 ♣ 87 WestNorthEastSouth 1♠1♠ P2♣2♣ P 2♦2♦ P3♣3♣ P 3♦3♦ 3♥3♥ P? Note by JB These are the types of bids that many players (and most bridge teachers, it seems) think are ‘undisciplined’, or are ‘psyches’. In fact, they are made with careful thought after suitable analysis. The bids are frequently ‘right’, but sometimes wrong. They’re never made to confuse new or weaker players; in fact, I far prefer to use them against stronger opponents, as it’s far more satisfying when they work, but I do not believe in apologizing for making them, as I honestly think they are the right thing to do. Note by JB These are the types of bids that many players (and most bridge teachers, it seems) think are ‘undisciplined’, or are ‘psyches’. In fact, they are made with careful thought after suitable analysis. The bids are frequently ‘right’, but sometimes wrong. They’re never made to confuse new or weaker players; in fact, I far prefer to use them against stronger opponents, as it’s far more satisfying when they work, but I do not believe in apologizing for making them, as I honestly think they are the right thing to do. 16