Wednesday, June 22, 2005 12:41 PM

Huge Hands & the “Death Response”

PITBULLS:

Occasionally Bridge players get dealt very big hands. Without opponents intervention , these are opened 2♣ or at the one level and then making a strong jump shift , reverse or jump bid. With interference , huge hands are shown with a double and then Q bidding the opponents suit. Either way there is a right way and a wrong way to bid these hands. The wrong way we see with beginning players all the time. They just bid singlehandedly and blast to a spot that they feel is suitable because they have a huge hand. This is just straight bad gambling as partner is entirely taken out of the equation. If partner puts down suitable cards as dummy , the contract makes and if partner does not the contract goes down badly. Usually Gerald gets bawled out for putting down a bad collection of cards J. if you are not a novice, overbidding is a lack of Bridge discipline again. You are mis representing your hand and leaving partner out of the decision making process. Single handed bidding is a lack of partnership discipline which conveys the message “partner you do not exist” !

Bridge is a partnership game and this fact is emphasized with huge hands. The duty of the huge hand is to describe to the best of her ability the strength of her hand and let the small hand place the contract. This allows the partnership to determine the final contract and not just the huge hand. This treatment is best for the majority of the huge hand but some hands are “unbiddable” and blasting to what you think you can make is the only way left. After a huge hand has made a forcing bid , the little hand is the captain of the ship. The little hand is still “unknown” and the big hand is not. Q bids are the slam probes of choice but you must be aware of the methods used by partner to “drag her heels” . Failing to Q bid , bidding 3NT , just giving preference , leaping to game or the “death response” . The death response is returning to the trump suit at every opportunity. You hold Qxx Kxxx xxx Qxx and hear partner open 1♦ to which you reply 1♥. Partner bids 3♣ to which you bid 3NT. As responder you have done nothing exciting thus far. Partner has forced you to game so you have bid it Partner now bids 4♣ and you give preference to 4♦. Here is where the small hand had a choice. She gave a preference at the 4 level instead of the 5 level. Preference at the 5 level is showing the worst hand as the principle of fast arrival kicks in. Preference at the 4 level allows room for Q bidding so it is stronger. OK partner Q bids 4♠ so now what with this hand ? Again you have a choice between retreating to two games 4NT or 5♦ but do you ? You gave preference at the 4 level and you still have a choice to make the “death response” of returning to the trump suit. 4NT must be Blackwood the way you bid the hand. The small hands duty is to throw a wet blanket on the auction when appropriate. You now bid 5♦ as the death response and this ends the auction.

After a takeout double you need a “death response” if partner now Q bids to show a strong hand. You hold xx xxxx xxxx xxx and the auction goes 1♠-Dbl-P-2♥ P-2♠-p-? You suck it up and bid 3♥ as a death response. Your range is very wide on these auctions ( 0-9 HCP) . If you held the same distro but xx KJxx Kxxx xxx you now bid 3♦ after the Q bid . Since you did not make the “death response” , partner now knows you have some values. It is not changing suits to find a better spot. Partner with his Q bid is asking a simple “Yes/No” question. Do you have something or not ? The death response says sorry you have struck out partner. If you have way more than you announced initially make an unassuming Q bid or jump to game. You have x KJxxx Kxxx xxx , I would Q bid after partners Q bid because this is a super maximum in light of the original 2♥ bid.

The death response and “last train” slam tries go together. You hold A10xx AKQJx x Axx and open 1♥ with partner responding a spade you splinter to 4♦ . Partner bids 4♠ the dreaded death response so should you give up ? Yes , as that bid shows severe duplication of value in diamonds. OK how do you show mild slam interest then ? 4♥ by responder is not giving a choice of contracts as it’s a Bridge axiom once you found a fit you do not try and find another fit . The 4♥ bid is a “last train” slam try saying you do not have duplication of value but you do not have a Q bid and you can not bid Blackwood. Say a hand like KQxxx xx xxx QJ10 where you do not want to give up on slam but you need partner to take the initiative. Klimo has invented another bid in these auctions and that is a 5♠ “telling bid” . Since you are playing with a 30 pt deck in these auctions , 5♠ says I have no duplication of value , nothing to Q bid & can not bid Blackwood but I have excellent trump. You place the contract .

When systemic bids like the Grand Slam Force , Blackwood , suit or trump asking bids were first invented all the responses were up the line . Modern bidding has changed that to conserve room and make returning to the trump suit as the death response. This is a memory aid and bells should start ringing. If you open 4♠ and you play some sort of grand slam force 6♠ after 5NT says whatever you need I do not have it . If diamonds are agreed and partner bid the GSF , 6♦ says I do not have the Ace or King of trump and 6♣ says I do have it.

Kantar has defined some suit asking bids after KCB auctions . The death response is always to return to the trump suit and everything else is up the line. If the trump suit is spades and partner makes a suit ask in hearts then 6♠ is xxx and up the line shows better cards . 1^st step the Kx , 2^Nd step x and third step KQx .

If partner has opened some number of NT , the death response is 3NT . if partner is making a slam try and you return to 3NT you are answering his question with a resounding “NO” . If you are investigating a minor suit slam , 4NT is the “death response” and suggesting that we play the contract at this level. NT slows down all minor slam try auctions and is the proverbial “wet blanket” .

The principle of fast arrival is a death response. When you want to discourage partner from bigger and better things you jam her out of exploration room and leap to game. Failing to Q bid when given a chance is obviously a death response . In competitive auctions , returning to our suit as opposed to passing is a death response. A pass leaves room for exploration therefore is a stronger action. Partners quite often have visions of bigger & better things. Sometimes you need to slow her down when she holds a huge hand. Do not shirk your duty.