Friday, November 25, 2005 11:26 PM

Hand Evaluation - Overcalls ( T/O Doubles & Q Bids )

PITBULLS:

There are some bids in Bridge that imply a single suited hand. An opener with a jump rebid or a simple rebid , an overcall , an invitational jump after a T/O double & a pre-empt to name a few. A 6-4 is not a single suited hand. You open your 6 card suit , bid your 4 card suit followed by rebidding your 6 card suit. Rebidding your 6 card suit immediately gives partner the wrong impression . She thinks you hold a single suited hand !

Avoid making bids that show single suited hands when you have two suits. This is especially so as responder after T/O doubles since you play equal level conversion. The T/O doubler may be missing a suit. The auction goes 1♠-X-P- ? , you hold ♠xx ♥K ♦AJxx ♣KJ987x so what do you bid ? When you have one less diamond , you have a 3♣ bid which shows an invitational one suiter in clubs. OK , you have two suits so what would a Q bid mean ? A Q bid opposite a T/O double just means that you have two or more suits at the invitational level or a strong hand ( includes 2 suiters also) When you have only one suit with your Q bid , it means that you are too strong to jump to game or invite. The Q bid does not solely imply the unbid major(s), it just means that you want to force & you may have two suits with less than game going values. Of course , these two suits could be the majors but not necessarily . Two suiters invitational or forcing is the default understanding though.

The Q bid allows equal level conversion from the Q bidders side. You Q bid 2♠ with your 6-4 in the minors. Partner is not going to bid her highest ranking suit (hearts) but her lowest ranking suit. Partner held ♠Kx ♥AJ10x ♦KQ109x ♣10x so will bid 3♦. You have a nice hand so either bid 4♦ or try for a 9 trick game by making a western Q bid. When you make the wrong bid of 3♣ initially , partner will never convert to 3♦ as you have shown a single suited invitational hand by your failure to Q bid . Bidding a new suit after a single suited hand has been shown by jumping , should be a Q bid !! When I hold ♠x ♥AJ10x ♦KQ10xx ♣AQx , I would bid 3♦ as a source of tricks for a club contract/slam not because I am running from the club suit. When I am running from the club suit , I pass 3♣. Even playing equal level conversion , you do not convert to a new suit when partner has shown she only has one long suit anyway. That is a recipe for disaster. When partner equal level converts after an invitational jump , it is forcing.

When they open a minor , partner makes a T/O double you have an extra bid available due the rank of the major suits. A jump to 2♠/♥ shows an invitational hand. A jump to game means you think you can make it but it is not a slam try. What if you do have a slam try in a major ? Most people would trot out the ambiguous Q bid which gives the wrong impression of your hand. Partner is going to assume two suits or more for your Q bid or a strong one suited minor. I like playing a jump to 3♠/♥ as a slam try in that major rather than pre-emptive. Leap to 4 with those pre-emptive hands . This jump sets the suit immediately , so subsequent bids can be interpreted as Q bids rather than trying to grope for a fit. The spade suit has special status due to its rank. Even after a 1♥ opener with a T/O double you have 2♠ available for inviting , so why not play 3♠ as a slam try ? This means one less ambiguous Q bid to worry about. This is not standard though. Standard shows extra length & distribution.

♠AQxx ♥A10xx ♦xxx ♣xx & the auction goes 1♦-x-P-? This is a 2♦ Q bid which can show two suits with invitational values. The T.O doubler picks one of them so we will invite by raising the suit. A Q bid is not forcing to game but the Q bidder must keep the bidding open until a suit is raised or rebid.

Default understandings are very important in Bridge. A jump in a suit after a T/O double shows a single suited invitational hand so a Q bid should default to mean two or more suits & also could just be invitational . The Q bid can be a strong minor suited hand if clarified later. The more times you adhere to this understanding , the better off you will be.