Wednesday, September 24, 2003 3:28 PM
Hand Evaluation –Q Bids ( XX )
PITBULLS:
The U.S. style of Q bidding is very simple. Coupled with the principle of
fast arrival , it is also very dangerous. This style of Q bidding allows Q bids at the 5 level which quite
often put the contract at jeopardy
when the hands did not fit well. U.S. style Q bidding means that 1st
round controls had to be bid first
, 2nD round controls bid second right up & thru the 5 level.
This bidding avoided Blackwood as
we knew the Aces and Kings by Q bidding anyway. Also implied with the U.S.
style of Q bidding was that you had extra
values because you were Q bidding.
The famous Italian Blue team
invented the Italian style of Q bidding where as long as you obeyed the rule
that lowest rank was bid first , you could bid 2ND
round control before 1St round. This style was way more accurate for slam bidding but necessitated Blackwood as you did not know
how many Aces you had. Improvements in KCB Blackwood over the years made that style advantageous anyway. Q bidding 2Nd
round controls make slam
tries far easier & more accurate. The Q bidding inferences that
you do not have 2Nd controls
avoids dangerous ventures to the 5 level
as a one last chance for a slam . This rarified atmosphere
of the 5 level often leads to a
disaster.
The principle of fast arrival entailed jammed Q bidding room when one hand was still unlimited. With the majors ,
the principle of fast arrival has been replaced
by the “serious 3NT” among world class experts. Also adopted was the Italian
style of Q bidding rather than the U.S. style. With this style of Q bidding , you do require extra
to Q bid if you were opposite
an unlimited hand. 3NT was put in the Q bid repertoire as a Q bid saying I have serious slam
interest as opposed to just Q bidding.
Q bidding at the 5 level is just not done with these methods
. This understanding leads to the complication of “last train” Q bids . “Last Train means you have lower ranking Q bids
you could not Q bid below game
level . You make a bid just below game
to tell partner that you are still interested with that lower ranking control
but can not take control of the hand with Blackwood
because you have that flaw.
Experts like Fred Gittleman say that Q bidding at the 5 level is a sign of
something has gone wrong with the
auction. He even goes so far as defining a 5
level Q bid as Exclusion Blackwood ! Playing Italian style Q bids
, Q bidding at the 5 level is dangerous as you do not know how many Aces
you have and you may end up in a grand off the trump Ace. The 5 level is
definitely for the opponents , when you subscribe to Serious 3NT theory !
When the opponents double your Q bids ,
the meaning of XX , pass & bid must
change. With American
Q bidding the XX says I have 2nd round control. With the Italian style , the XX says I have 1st round control. The pass
says I lack a control as that
gives partner a chance to XX to show the next control also. Bidding something
freely shows partner the opponents cannot cash two tricks in the suit.
Tom Gandolfo & partner had a bidding misunderstanding based on the
above interference over their Q bids . Tom held ♠Qxx
♥KJ1098xx ♦Ax ♣x & opened 1♥ . His partner
bid 2♣ , Tom using “fast arrival” bid 4♥ to show a hand that he would have otherwise
pre-empted but he has an outside Ace. His partner held ♠Kx ♥AQx ♦Jxx ♣AQ10xx so even with this pre-emptive auction, there is still a chance of slam. Therefore, he Q bid 4♠ & the opponents doubled. Since partner forced Tom to the 5 level anyway , a Q bid of 5♦ is a courtesy so does not
show extra. However , with the double, the Q bid also
tells partner that do not worry about the spade
suit or I would have passed telling you that I have nothing in spades. Toms
partner bid 6NT to protect the spade king so a 24 IMP swing occurred. 6♥ is cold &
was not reached at the other table ( they pre-empted
at the 3 level with an outside Ace ) , 6NT went down at Toms table.
My partner was in a Q biding auction with ♠Ax ♥10xx ♦Kx ♣A10987x when the opponents doubled partners Italian
style Q bid of 3♥. He passes as
per the above theory to show no control
so partner bids 3NT with heart weakness & one stopper which ends the auction. Thank you
opponents, for
keeping us out of a bad slam. J