Friday, October 15, 2004 6:00
AM
Hand Evaluation - Jump Cue Bids
PITBULLS:
There
are not enough bids in Bridge to describe
solid suits. The gambling 3NT opening or overcall is a good descriptive bid. If
opened , there is a solid suit with no outside controls. If overcalled there is a solid suit with a stopper in the opponents
suit. What are some other bids
that show solid suits ? At unfavourable
vulnerability ( vul vrs nv ) a normal pre-empt shows a solid or semi-solid suit
or else bidding to the 3 level would be suicidal against nv opponents.
What
if you had a solid suit but no stopper in
the opponents suit ? This is where the jump Q bid comes into play. In the balancing , direct or
sandwich position , a jump Q shows a solid suit & asks
partner to bid 3NT if he holds a stopper in that suit. Partner can have outside
cards for this bid and quite often does. If you do not have a stopper in that
suit & a natural major to bid , you can introduce that suit. The reason is
that you are forced to the 4 level anyway so you might as well describe your hand along the way. The jump
Q bid is extremely helpful in making your T/O
doubles disciplined. You never make a T/O double with a very strong single
suiter.
Part of
this jump Q bid treatment is to play “coded minors” to show controls in responders hand. Since you
are not playing this hand in 3NT & are forced to the 4 level in a minor
anyway ( sometimes even a major)
the lower ranking minor
shows zero or one controls and
the higher ranking minor 2 or more controls. This assists the jump Q bidder in making a game
or slam decision. It is like a “pre
Blackwood” so sets the stage for partner to use Blackwood.
1♠-3♠-P-?
♠xxx ♥Axxxx ♦xxx ♣xx You bid 4♦ to show your 2 controls so partner with ♠x ♥Kx ♦AKQJxxxx ♣Kx bids 5♦ or even Blackwood. Over 4♣ showing zero controls he just retreats to 4♦ .
When
the opponents open a weak 2 bid ,
a Q bid at the 3 level follows the
same principles directly or in the balancing. Bid 3NT with a stopper but if you
do not have a stopper show
your controls via coded minors.
Showing
a solid suit is the best way to
get to 3NT . The auctions goes 1♥-P-1♠-? And you are in the sandwich position with ♠QJx ♥x ♦AKQJxxx ♣Jx . You have a choice of jump Q bids. Make a jump Q
in the suit that you require the stopper
so partner will bid 3NT . The make
quite often or end up being a cheap sacrifice. In the balancing spot , the jump
Q bid can be a very good hand with 9 tricks available , if partner has a
stopper in openers suit. Vulnerability dictates how close to 9 tricks the jump
Q bidder has. If favourable vulnerability , the jump Q bidder can just be
describing a solid suit for pre-emptive reasons. At unfavourable
vulnerability , there is usually 9 tricks available if partner has a stopper in
the opponents suit.
If
partner has initially bid a suit , the opponents have bid a suit , a jump Q bid
is of course a splinter. 1♦-1♥-3♥ is a singleton heart . If we had wanted to grope for
3NT, the western Q bid would be used after making a
natural bid of some sort. The THRUMP double is another way of showing a solid suit . 1♥-3♠-X
♠x ♥xx ♦AKQJ10xx ♣Jxx . The 3NT double ( Thrump ) invented by Bergen asks partner to bid 3NT
with a spade stopper. A 4♦ bid with
these hands is lame by driving you to an 11 trick contract going down when 3NT
is cold.
Bridge is a game of suits . A solid long
minor equates to excellent 3NT games making. The more bids you have that
describe solid or semi-solid suits
the better off the partnership will be. Sometimes the opponents open and you
have a long solid major too strong
to pre-empt to 4 of a major. Having a jump Q bid as natural in a major is a
waste of a good bid. You need a bid to describe a super jump to game in a
major. I held ♠AKQ1098xxx ♥x ♦Kxx ♣void , they opened 1♣. Leaping to 4♠ pre-emptive is a silly bid. You bid 3♣ , partner
bids 3NT. You bid 4♠
and that describes a NAMYATS type 4♠ bid.
What
are jump Q bids after a T/O double either at
the one level or two level ? The same thing as the bid describes a solid suit somewhere.
Experts add a wrinkle that the jump Q bid denies
a control in the bid
suit. 1♠ by the
opponents , you double with ♠Ax ♥QJxx ♦xxx ♣AKxx . Partner holds ♠xx ♥Ax ♦AKQJ10x ♣QJx so she bids 3♠. Partner bids 3NT with a stopper so you try
6NT.