Author: Help Suit Game Tries
Date of publish: 12/13/2023
Level: Beginner
Here's a tough auction for the responder (playing old fashioned standard). With no interference, 1
--2--3. That's invitational, but say you have
KQ5
97643
K2
765
?
You're in the middle of your range with decent shape and trumps. Game would be good opposite, say
AJ1093
AJ
AJ43
82
. You would be able to ruff two diamonds and might make an overtrick if the heart finesse is onside. If you switch partner's suits around so that partner has:
AJ1093
AJ
82
AJ43,
Now the game is terrible with a heart loser, one or two dimond losers, and two likely club losers (or even three if you're not careful). Having your honors fill in your partner's missing values goes a long way to making this hand better. Describing these invitational hands is
Once we have a major suit fit, we don't go looking for another fit. As a result, if a major has been bid and raised, none of the bids of new suits need to be natural. We can't play in diamonds if the auction starts (unimpeded) 1--2, then 3 (or, for that matter 3 or 3) can not be non-forcing. We don't want to play there. If those bids are forcing, we can use them to describe our hand to partner without fear of ending up there.
