Wednesday, September 10, 2003 6:09 PM

The Heart Game

 

PITBULLS:

 

        Missing 4♥ games for +620 hurts. Established partnerships modify their system to make sure that it does not happen . One understanding is how to handle 1-3-5-4 hands with 5-4 in the minors . When you open one minor and rebid the other , partners heart bid after a spade response is 4th suit forcing to game not natural and a one round force. When opener has advertised 9 or more minor suit cards then insisting on a major with an invitational hand is futile. With ♠Axxxx ♥KJxxx ♦xx ♣x partner will just give diamond preference after 1♦-P-1♠-P  2♣-P-? rather then bid 2♥ . If opener just rebids her minor then 2♥ is a one round force with hearts as there still is a chance for a heart game . The other minor is 4th suit forcing to game in those auctions.

 

          O.K. how do you bid 1-3-5-4 hands that have a 3 card heart fragment ? It depends on where your points are concentrated that determines your rebid . If your 3 -1 is x xxx   then you bid your other minor . If you have points concentrated in hearts then forget your other minor and rebid 1NT ! Why ? This bid gets you to your tight 4♥ games . It is easy for partner to show an invitational hand in hearts after a 1NT rebid . Now partner will invite in hearts with ♠Axxxx ♥KJ10xx ♦Jx ♣x  where she would just give diamond preference otherwise.

 

          What if you hold a 1-4-4-4 and open 1♦ with partner responding a spade ? Same thing . With heart values its better to rebid 1NT & your 4♥ game will be found . One time partner opened  1♦ and I bid a spade with ♠Axxxx ♥xxxx ♦AQx ♣x . He rebid 2♣ and I jumped to 3♦ invitational. Partner had a 1-4-4-4 and we missed our 620 in hearts . We both rebid 1NT with those hands now. Also 2-4-5-2 hands with 5 of a minor and 4 hearts . Bend over backwards to rebid 1NT with these hands as you can find your heart fit easier . Rebidding your minor will lose the heart suit quite often.

 

          In 4th seat do not lose the heart suit if that is where you live. Partner held ♠K ♥KQJx ♦A10xx ♣Kxxx in 4th . Opening 1♦ will give you a rebid problem if partner responds the expected 1♠. In my mind , you should open 1♥ promoting the suit to a 5 card major or open 1NT with your 4-4-4-1. Opening a diamond and rebiding 2♣ shuts out your KQJx of hearts and your 16 HCP’s simultaneously.

 

          The forcing NT is another bid where you have to be careful not to lose your heart suit . If you have ♠AKxxxx ♥Q10xx ♦Ax ♣x  and partner responds a forcing 1NT bid 2♥ not 2♠ . Partner will pass 2♠ with her 4 hearts and 620 in hearts might be missed.

 

          Subash Gupta has invented a bid to combat the “heart game “ problem after a 1NT response. He plays a 3♥ jump bid as invitational over 1NT and 2♥ is always a minimum most likely with just 4♥ . This bid prevents blowing partials when the 1NT bidder stretches  to bid 3♥ because she fears missing the 4♥ game . With a strong jump shift in hearts , Subash bids 3♣ which is a mult purpose SJS & a relay to 3♦ . After 3♦ , the 3♥ bid shows a strong jump shift. Truly a clever way of solving the heart problem.

 

          BJ Trelford used the above invitational heart jump inference to stay in a nice heart partial. He held ♠J ♥Jxxx ♦K10xxx ♣Kx  I opened 1♠ and BJ bid 1NT . I bid 2♥ so what is BJ’s bid ? He has 8 HCP’s,  a stiff in my first suit , no Aces and bad hearts. So he does not have to stretch to 3♥ knowing that I can not hold invitational values. He passes 2♥ and that is cold for +110.