Tuesday, September 02, 2003 2:36 AM
Hand Evaluation – Suits ( Jump
Bids )
PITBULLS:
The original inventers of Bridge thought that it was a good idea that jumping in a suit should be “quantitative”
, in other words , show more than average HCP’s & definitely better than
making a simple rebid
. This concept applies with rebids
, overcalls , responses to take out doubles , balances , jump rebids after 2/1 & jump
rebid responses . Modern bidding
is an “approach forcing” system. What does this mean ?
This means that whenever responder bids a new suit , it is forcing. Before “approach forcing” became in vogue , you had to jump to force. Strong jump shifts by responder , strong jump preferences & jumps after 2/1
bidding were needed to force
& show a good hand.
The modern style means jumps or fast arrival to
game should mean something altogether
different from strength.
In a 2/1 auction , since it is forcing to game , a jump in a suit does
not show strength but suit
quality. I like to generalize & play all jumps in a single
suited hand to
show good suit quality rather than strength. Jumps to a new suit in a 2/1
auction are splinters.
Jumps to 3NT show specifically hands that evaluate to a strong NT. Fast arrival
to game in a Q bidding auction or otherwise says I have nothing extra but more
importantly, I lack a
control to Q bid.
We disagree with the HCP
concept that jumping should be
quantitative & show a good hand with
HCP’s in all Bridge auctions. As
Garozzo say “Bridge is a game of suits “
. Suit quality & length
are far more important attributes to show than
HCP’s for partner to make an informed decision .
Taking each situation in turn . A jump rebid according
to standard methods is invitational 16-18 HCP . I
think a better way of handling those one
suited major suit hands at the top level of HCP’s is a 3♣ rebid which always forces partner
to bid 3♦ . You now bid 3♠/♥ which says I
have lots of points but my suit
is not so good . This leaves 3NT or other game
contracts possible. The suit could be good but not necessarily as you might
have leapt to 4 of a major after the 3♦ relay. I think the direct
3♠ jump should just show a good or long suit with a good opener . ♠AKQxxx ♥Axx ♦xx
♣xx is a 3♠ rebid not a 2♠ rebid as is ♠AJ109xxx ♥AQ10 ♦Qx ♣x . Suit quality & length are more important hand evaluation concepts
than HCP’s for a jump
rebid. If you do have a good
suit with 16-18 HCP, I feel it is too strong for an invitational bid anyway.
There are other rebids other than a jump
to show invitational hands with HCP’s. Bid a 3 card minor for instance with invitational values in HCP’s but lacking
good suit quality.
With opening bids & the opponents in the auction , jumps especially should not be strong in the HCP sense. You have the double
to show HCP’s with defense & the Q bid to show a fit. Allow jump bids to
show distribution & good suits. Goren & standard bidders do not have it quite
right in my opinion. They over emphasize HCP’s at the expense of suit quality
& distribution. Standard bidding is for HCP “bean counters”.
1♠-P-1NT
4♠ is a silly way to show a
20 HCP spade hand.
1♦-P-1♠
4♠ is also a silly way to
show 20 HCP’s with a fit. Jumps are “fast arrival” so it should show
distribution or a long suit. Since you are pre-empting partner
, you are not interested in slam.
With overcalls you have many other choices ( belated doubles or Q bids ) to show good hands. Jumps should always be suit & length
orientated.
1♦-1♠-DBl-pass
2♦-3♠. The 3♠ jump bid hand should not show HCP
strength but playing strength
♠AKJ1098 ♥xx ♦Axxx ♣x . If you have more HCP , you should overcall & double to show the strength.
Jumps in the balancing seat show intermediate hands with good suits not a
HCP showing bid . 1♦-P-P-2♥ ♠xxx ♥AKQxxx ♦Q109
♣x is a 2♥ balance . If you are stronger in HCP’s with
that suit , double & bid hearts . A 3♥ balance is
length & distribution so describes a hand that you would like to bid 4♥ but you need
some help from partner.
When partner has bid 2/1 or 4th
suit forcing a jump rebid to show HCP’s is a waste of time and bidding space . Your jump should show a good suit but not necessarily extra HCP’s .
♠AKQJxx ♥Kxx ♦xx
♣xx is a 3♠ rebid after a 2/1 . Ditto for 4th suit
forcing auctions.
With the minors ,
we like the fact that a jump rebid is quantitative 16-18 but you have an extra
inference with which to work . A rebid of 3NT shows the solid suit with a good
opener so a jump rebid in the minors can not
show a good solid suit !! 2NT openers & 2NT rebids quite often can
have a hand with a long minor too good to rebid 3 of a minor or 3NT.
Jump rebids by responder should be suit orientated . In fact
, recovering the strong jump shift in this manner makes the
jump a very useful bid . 1♣-P-1♦-P , 1♠-P-3♦ shows a solid suit with a
game force. Ditto for jumps by responder in her suit after a
1NT rebid. Erase the
notion that jumps in a suit shows HCP but rather they show a good long suit with
values. This will clarify many many auctions. HCP’s are very over rated when compared to suit quality & length.
My partner used this understanding
recently with a good defensive hand.
He held ♠AQx ♥x ♦Kxxx ♣AKxxx against the Cabays. He opened 1♣ , Stan bid 1♥ which I
doubled. Lisa bid 2♠ which shows hearts & a stiff club in their
system. Partner doubles showing a
strong defensive hand rather that an offensive suit oriented hand. They bid 3♥ , pass around to
partner who now bids 4♦ which I pass as I have some idea of the nature of his hand. We gain 12
IMPS as everybody is in 5♦X for 800 or 500. We play jump shift reverses as 6-5 so if he had a
distributional hand at the top range he would have jumped to 4♦. Reserve jumps for suits & distribution &
leave doubles for HCP’s.
The hand
evaluation concept that doubles
show HCP’s with defensive strength & jumps show suits & distribution
should define your bidding.
Doubles are flexible & jumps to show suits or distribution paint a better picture of your hand. Ambiguity is horrible in the game of Bridge
& jumps to show either a good hand with HCP’s or a good suit with
distribution cannot co-exist. Jumps showing HCP’s are virtually eliminated from my system. The
double has replaced
jumps to show a defensive hand with HCP’s.
Here is a hand that lost a K/O match
in a 4 board overtime recently. 2♥-P-P-3♠ . The jump in the balancing chair
shows a good distributional
hand. Partners choice is to play a suit contract as she
did not double first & then
bid spades leaving the door open for NT or an alternative contract. So what do
you bid with responders hand ♠xx ♥Q987 ♥10xxx ♣KQJ ? You should not be fixated on your own hand as partners
intentions are to play a suit contract
in spades. Why should you over rule her ? You bid 4♠ & win the match ( +620 ) rather than
3NT ( -200 ) & lose the match