Monday, August 15, 2005 1:58 AM
Hand Evaluation – Godfather 2NT ( Shaping Out )
PITBULLS:
The godfather 2NT can also be thought of as a
“waiting bid” for the opener to clarify his hand
under 3NT . Describing an intermediate hand at the 4
level when responder pre-empts the auction to 3NT just does not work. Hogging bidding room is one of the main
weaknesses of standard HCP bidding. You hide your hand from partner &
bidding just becomes a guessing game.
My partner & I won a number of IMPS on boards where we
played in a 4-3 major suit fit when it looked like 3NT was not the place to play it. He had ♠K10x ♥x ♦10987x
♣AKQx , opened 1♦ . I responded a spade so what is you rebid ?
I feel partner made the best bid of 2♠. Why bid 2♣ ? You are not strong enough
to “pattern out” & encourage
partner. When you rebid 2♣ with partner leaping to 3NT
, do you now pull to 4♠ ? This can be
very wrong , if there is duplication of value in
hearts. 3NT was played at the other table so we won 10 IMPs for our 4♠ Moysean making .
Rhonda Foster & Gerry McCully at the other table did not support spades & when the leap
to 3NT was made they were trapped in that contract.
How do you reach similar contracts ? We play 2NT by responder as a “new suit” forcing one round. This bid is
also called the “godfather 2NT” or an invitation you cannot
refuse. This is an excellent
addition to natural bidding that allows the opener to pattern out before 3NT is
reached. This allows you to investigate properly at the 3 level rather than the
4 level. I held ♠AK9x ♥xx ♦Axxx ♣Qxx , partner opened
1♥ . I responded 1♠ , he bid 2♣
. I bid 2NT forcing one round & partner patterned
out by bidding 3♠. I had horrible diamond
spots so with partner showing a singleton
diamond encourage me to bid 4♠ for another pickup. Partner held ♠Jxx
♥AKxxx ♦x
♣Axxx & 3NT is a hopeless contract . I made 4♠ by ruffing a number
of diamonds. Which contract would you rather be in with a diamond lead ?
A natural
system has an advantage over a forcing
club system by the ability to “pattern out” . The 2NT forcing one round by responder as
a new suit is built for this . Partner can pattern out so nice minor
suit slams can be reached after the 2NT bid. Partner opens a diamond
, you respond a spade. Partner bids 2♣ so you have ♠Jxxx ♥AQx ♦KJx ♣Kxx . In standard methods you leapt to 3NT so partner passes with ♠x ♥Kxx ♦AQxxx ♣AQJ10. With the new suit forcing bid , partner
“patterns out” to show extra by bidding 3♥ so +1370 is
reached in diamonds. A leap to 3NT , of
course pre-empts partner &
constructive bidding is halted.
Jumping to 3NT pre-empts partner so “patterning out “ at the 4 level
is risky so not recommended. When
partner leaps to 3NT,
it usually ends all contracts.
With the 2NT by responder
as the new suit concept , a leap to 3NT can be a
“picture” bid showing exactly a 15-17 NT
opener range & quantitative bidding or pulling the 3NT to a
minor from a position of strength can dictate the final contract. A leap to 3NT
with the opponents in the auction can be just a shot. Alternatively you
can have both leaps to 3NT by
responder as “fast arrival’ so nothing extra.
Playing 2NT forcing one round prevents the ugly 4th suit forcing auction
where the NT gets wrong sided. The
2NT forcing allows natural bidding
in a natural system , hence the advantage over artificiality. The range of a two
level rebid by opener
is too wide (12-17 HCP) so leaping to 3NT by responder kills slam & alternative games
exploration. In some cases you should even bail out in a partial.
Since we play 4th suit forcing to game , we
need a 2NT bid forcing one round
to cover hands that fall through the cracks. My partner held such a hand
recently. ♠Q1098x ♥A ♦K109xx
♣Jx . I opened 1♥ , a 1♠ response & 2♣ by opener so now what ? You cannot
bid 2♦ as that is 4th suit forcing
to game. This is a misfit auction so that’s the last bid you want to make. You improvise with 2NT forcing one round & partner bids 3♠ followed
by 4♠. When you bid 2♦ which grossly overstates your values , you
end up in 6♠ nicely played for 1 down. I hate 4th suit forcing &
the “godfather 2NT” really helps clarify responders bidding.
Here is a hand lately
that Culbertson would have outbid the entire field recently. ♠Kxx ♥KQx ♦AJ109xxx ♣void . Culbertson uses hand evaluation to make bids not totaling HCP’s. His auction would go 1♦ with partner responding 1♠ so he
would bid 3♦ as he
has a ♠ fit , a source of tricks ( long suit )
& a void. Partner with 14 HCP mostly in
quick tricks rather than soft values bids 6♦ & 1370 is lay down The entire field rebid 2♦ as HCP’s are the only
hand evaluation concept they know. Partner with a flat 14 HCP ( mostly quick tricks ) leaps to 3NT as they totaled their
HCP’s . Result 3NT down -200 as the opponents cashed 6♣ tricks ! Culprit in this auction is the standard
fixation on HCP’s. In my mind , HCP’s
outside of NT should take a back seat to hand evaluation from the Culbertson
era. HCP’s are useful to teach beginners how to bid until they develop their own
hand evaluation skills.
OK let’s assume you are a slave to the HCP system as the entire field was that night . You rebid 2♦
& partner bids the godfather 2NT. Opener does not have to “shape out”
completely opposite a godfather 2NT , additional
information also helps steer the auction correctly. Opener with the above hand bids
3♠ so responder with ♠AQ10x ♥Axx
♦Qx ♣Qxxx starts
thinking. Partner shows at least 9 cards in ♦’s & ♠’s & I only hold an
Ace & a queen in the two other suits of which opener is short. 3NT looks
risky & I do hold quick tricks ( 2 ½ ) with the ♦Q . I bid 4♦ & opener shapes out
with a 4♥ bid ! Opener likes her hand with a stiff or void in clubs ! 6♦ by responder should be
the next bid for a mere 18 IMPS for your side.