Wednesday, May 05, 2004 3:07 PM
Hand Evaluation - Serious 3NT ( Theory )
PITBULLS:
One of the worst bidding crimes is showing your values to
partner but essentially
“bidding them again”. The “serious 3NT” is a tool designed to get to
slams from both sides of the table
by showing your intentions early. The rule for
“serious 3NT” theory is that either side
Q bids as a courtesy in case the
other side in unlimited &
might have slam aspirations. When one side does not bid 3NT when they have the chance , there is no “serious” slam aspirations. That lack
of Q bidding should be a signal to stay in game unless exceptional
distributional hands exist. Q bidding , of course ,
does not show any extra values with “serious 3NT” theory. Serious 3NT only applies with a major suit fit & at least a 4-4 fit in
trump.
Once you do make a “serious 3NT” bid , you have shown your intentions that you want to go to slam.
Once you have got that bid off your chest
but do not have any extra ,
you can bid game with impunity knowing that you have “done your duty” .
When partner does not carry on , there must be
a reason so the hand probably belong in game .
A partner & I had a “serious 3NT
auction” where the principle of “ bidding your hand
the 2nd time” came up.
Partner opened 1♠ , I bid 2♥ which brought 3♦ from partner . I
bid 3♠ so partner made a serious slam
try with 3NT . I had ♠xxx ♥AK10xxx
♦x ♣AQx so as ordered I bid 4♣ , partner
bid 4♦ . I complied with 4♥ so partner bid Blackwood. With all the aces, we contracted for 6♠ which was a hopeless slam & went down one. Why was the slam so bad ? The main reason was that it was bid from only
one side of the table. Partner
had a nice hand for his serious 3NT bid but nothing
really extra for the serious slam try bid that he already showed. He was “all in” ( to
borrow a poker expression) with his 3NT
bid so he can bid 4♠ over my 4♥ with impunity. Now my judgment comes into play
. I have exactly zero HCP’s in his two suits. I have nice controls outside
which I have showed him . I will drag my feet &
pass 4♠ so that’s the limit of this hand . Both sides
contributed to the final game contract
thus avoiding the bad slam.
There is no such thing about being embarrassed about your
opener & not show controls when asked by the “serious 3NT “ bidder . An unlimited hand demands a Q bid just as much as a “serious 3NT” bid. Say you open 1♠ with this bow wow ♠A109xxx ♥xx ♦Qx ♣KQ10 , partner bids 2♥ . You choose 2♠ ( maybe
2NT would be better ) , partner bids 3♠ . This
shows that partner is unlimited so demands a Q bid. You cannot refuse to do so because your hand
is bad . The reason will become obvious later in this
auction. You bid 4♣ , partner bids 4♦ so you retreat to 4♠ .
Partner holds ♠xxx ♥KQJ1098 ♦AKJ10 ♣void , gives up as you have shown duplication of value in clubs with
also a failure to make any serious slam try yourself . You win 12 IMPs as the
spades do not behave so 5♠ does not make ! The
opponents were in 5♠ down one on an aborted slam
try !
OK. See what happens when you do not Q bid 4♣ as asked by the unlimited hand but bid 4♠ . Partner now knows that there
is no duplication of value in clubs ! In order to have an opener ,
your points must be in spades & possibly the heart Ace
. Knowing that you do not have the ♣ Ace or King partner now bids 4NT but you are too high .
The “serious 3NT” philosophy is
supposed to allow the partnership to explore slam below game level. When you break the rules , you end up like
the “standard” bidders with the ignominy of a 5
level contract going one down.
There are a number of unique
& useful inferences playing “serious 3NT” theory
. The jump to game is a picture bid showing no outside controls. This
means that partner has good trump or an opener does not exist. ♠AKQxx ♥Qx ♦QJxx ♣xx
1♠-p-2♣-p
2♦-p-2♠-p
4♠ . Partner has ♠109x ♥Kx ♦AK ♣AKxxx , so knows
that you do not have the heart Ace. You points must all be in spades for your opener . He bids 6♠ after your 5♠ Blackwood response
because the slam is better than 50-50 with the known AKQ of trump over there.
The heart Ace can be onside or partner can hold the heart queen which makes the
slam very very good..