Friday,
February 11, 2005 1:10 AM
Prepared Bids
PITBULLS:
There
are many hands in Bridge that “fall through the cracks” due to the rank of suits or severe distribution that makes them unbidable.
Knowing that , a good partnership makes prepared
bids and tell the “best lie” . You hold AKJx
Axxxx xx xx and are in 1st
seat. Opening 1♥
and partners most frequent response is 1NT or the opponents overcall in
a minor and get to 3NT. Partner dutifully leads a heart and spade lead would
have beat the contract. Another scenerio is the auction takes off and partner
doubles them with a stiff heart and Qxxxx
of spades for a double swing. After a forcing 1NT , you must rebid 2♣ or 2♥ with that hand yech ! I open 1 spade with
those hands. It was good enough for Charles Goren so its good enough for me.
Flannery was invented for these type of fix hands but if you do not play that
toy, 1 spade is the best
alternative.
Hearts
and diamonds are a trouble hand . Whether I open my 4 card heart suit depends
on the texture of the suits. xx AKQx Axxxx xx
is an automatic one heart opener for me in any
seat. You open 1♦
and partner bids a spade and what
is your rebid ? 2♥
Moyseans usually play quite nicely and you have shown where you live for lead
and defensive purposes. Of course there is the diamond/club combinations where
you have xx xx AKJx KQxxx and
the prepared bid is one diamond and rebidding 2♣. Rebids in these hands again
depend on the quality of the two suits.
There
are other prepared bids with distributional freaks. If you have
distribution , they have
distribution so anticipate them in the auction. Two hands came up Thurday nite
and both follow the same idea that the opponents will never leave you alone. KJ1098x
x void AKQJxx This hand in my mind is a
prepared 1♣ opener. Anticipate the opponents bidding 4♥ and you backing in 4♠. Opener 1♠ and you could “lose” the
club suit altogether ! Another of those freaks came up tonight. You have KQ1098x
void AKQJxx x which
is an unbiddable hand in any Bridge system . You need a reality check to think
that the opponents are not going to interfere in this auction. I open 1♦ and back in any number of spades that it
takes . I have anticipated the opponents action before I have even opened. Even
partner might give you a rough time. You open 1♠ and partner bids 2♥ so your bid ? . Partner gets the message
across if I open 1♦
and he responds a heart and I rebid 4♠. Distributional freaks are
described by leaping as many levels
as you can.
There
are some hands that you should not open prepared bids.
6-5’s with 6 of a minor and 5 of a major should never be opened one a major in
my opinion. With 6-5’s bid your longest suit first and do not make a prepared
bid. This is not the best lie with these hands because you lose a 6 card suit !
. AJxxx x
AKxxxx x
I have seen people open 1 spade with those hands . That is silly as you are
never going to lose the spade suit but you may lose the diamond suit with the
opponents bidding. 1♠-2♥-P-4♥ ? and partner has x
xxxx QJxx Axxx and you are cold for 6♦ and you may never get into the auction .
With weak 5-5’s in the blacks , I have a partnership understanding that they
are opened 1♣ . You will not lose the “boss suit”. This makes a spade opener
and a bid of clubs at the 3 level later a stronger hand. With the 6-5 hands under a reverse range
, Tom & I play a toy of “jump shift
reverses” to describe those hands in one bid.
Make
sure you are on the same wavelength as partner with all the above hands. It
will save you a great deal of IMPS.