Monday, August 15, 2005 3:46 AM

Hand Evaluation - Forcing NT ( Doubleton Trump )

PITBULLS:

Playing forcing 1NT after a major , there is one hand type that comes up time & time again & is impossible to describe without assistance. This is the 8-10 HCP hand with a doubleton in partners major with a flaw that prevents a 2NT bid. I held this hand playing with Bryan Maksymetz ♠Jx ♥xxxx ♦A109 ♣KQxx . Bryan opened a spade , I bid 1NT & Bryan bid 2♦ so what is your bid ? The unethical players can hesitate forever & bid 2♠ so that will show this hand . A simple preference is the weakest forcing NT sequence in the structure. Playing BART , there is a systemic way to show that hand. You bid 2♦ after the 2♣ rebid & when partner bids 2♥ you bid 2♠ which specifically shows that hand.

How do you describe these bigger hands after a major opening & a 2♦ rebid ? If you play 1♠-P-3♥ as a weak heart suit or 1♠-P-2♥ with a rebid of hearts as not forcing to game , you take many heart hands out of the forcing NT structure. You can now use 2♥ as a one round force in these auctions after a 2♦ rebid. 2♥ now has 3 meanings & is BART like. The default is a 2 card spade raise with 8-10 HCP’s . When opener rebids 2♠ , she is expecting the default unless you show otherwise. You can also play this structure if you can stand the ignominy of playing 3♥ with a long weak heart suit instead of 2♥ , the contract at the other table.

The 2^nd meaning after opener’s 2♦ rebid is invitational with 5♥ & the last meaning is a strong diamond raise. With most hands , partner will bid 2♠ with a minimum expecting that hand type ( 2 card spade raise ) after you bid 2♥. If extra , opener will describe her pattern after 2♥. Either by bidding 3♥ ( heart fragment ) or showing a 5-5 . A return to spades when given the chance by responder , always shows the 2 card support hand above. If responder actually had an invitational hand with hearts , she will bid 2NT. You can make the 2♥ bid 3 way , by bidding 3♦ to now show strong diamonds by responder. There is another possibility similar to bidding 3♦ in BART & that is now bidding 3♥. This means OOPS , I have a weak heart hand all along & we should be in two hearts . J

The negative inference that you did not describe the good hand with a doubleton spade , saves many partials. My partner held this hand. ♠KQJ10x ♥Ax ♦Q10xx ♣Kx so opened 1♠. I bid a forcing NT & a 2♦ rebid followed. I gave a preference to 2♠ so now what ? I must have the real weak preference as I did not make a game try with 2♥ , so you do not have to push with the 15 HCP. Partner passes so +110 instead of two down in 2NT. A victory for the system !

With a spade opener & a club rebid , you have a 2♦ bid you can use for this purpose ( BART like ). Opener will pattern out with a good hand otherwise bid 2♠ after the 2♦ bid. The 2♦ bid is not a relay so again the doubleton spade hand is the default for this auction. ♠Jx ♥Axxx ♦xxxx ♣KQx is a typical hand. A two heart bid can be reserved for natural hearts invitational with a 5 card heart suit rather than bidding 2♦.

Some adventurous pairs play this treatment after a 1♥ opener also. They use the 2♠ bid as a strong minor raise or a strong doubleton support.

1♥-P-1NT-P

2♦-P-2♠-P can be an either or bid. If you had 3 card support you would have jumped to 3♥ with a limit raise with 3 trump. Going this route should show the 2 card heart preference with 10 HCP’s. ♠xxx ♥Ax ♦xxx ♣KQ10xx or the like. With a 2♣ rebid after a 1♥ opener , you can use the handy 2♦ “catch all” bid to show these hand types. Again partner will bid 2♥ after 2♦ with most hands and you simply pass. If partner “patterns out” she is showing extra and you can react accordingly.

The formal version of BART is not needed playing this style of 2♦ & 2♥ bids forcing one round by the forcing 1NT bidder. This treatment improves the forcing NT structure immensely & as discussed in previous articles , this allows strong minor raises to be shown also. This understanding means a simple raise of partners minor is pre-emptive. The weakness in this structure is you cannot play a 2 level major partial. When opener rebids the major excepting the default of 2 card support with 10 HCP , she can have a wide range of HCP’s. Therefore , the 1NT responder must raise to 3 of a major. You will just have to play it better J .