Brian Davies
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Reg, surely 3D shows an unbalanced hand with five hearts and four diamonds? and denies club support? How does that help?
There is a Windows accessory called snip. If you open this utility, you can then open the hand from you bbo history, select a new snip and draw around the hand. This can be saved somewhere (e.g. your desktop). You then select the Image icon in the forum and navigate to the saved picture.
This is straying from the topic, but I have often heard good players state that they want to bid “with the room”, expecting their card play technique to win the boards. I have never been entirely convinced by this argument and would judge that experts win boards in the auction as much as in the play (or maybe more than in the play).
Is there any validity in the idea that you should bid with the room?
Great, we are all opening a major rather than a minor with 4-4. This supports my contention that opportunities for Support Doubles will be rare, because you have either opened 1NT or 1M with many of the hands where the bid would be common in a Five-card Major / Strong NT context.
This isn’t me being awkward, it really is standard advice that Support Doubles are not useful in a weak NT context. Jeremy Dhondy wrote a short article in the February 2014 edition of English Bridge P57. This included:
- Rating ***** (with a strong no-trump system, but only * in a weak no-trump system).
Hi Charles, your link doesn’t seem to work?
Support doubles are high frequency bids in a strong NT system. Let me see if I can show that they are occur less often in a weak NT system and they use a bid that has a better alternative use playing a weak NT.
Consider the auction 1♦-(Pass)-1♥-(1♠) with four hands:
(a) ♠9784 ♥KQ9 ♦A654 ♣KJ
(b) ♠9784 ♥KQ9 ♦AK54 ♣KJ – same as hand (a), but three points stronger
(c) ♠9784 ♥K9 ♦A654 ♣KQJ – same as hand (a), but with a doubleton heart
(d) ♠9784 ♥K9 ♦AK54 ♣KQJ – same as hand (c), but three points stronger
Playing a Strong NT / 5-Card Major system:
- Hands (b) and (d): You will open 1NT and there will be no problem.
- Hand (a): You will open 1♦. You plan to rebid 1NT to show your balanced shape and 12-14 HCPs. You can’t rebid 1NT, when your opponent over-calls 1♠, but there is no reason to want to rebid 1NT when you are not even guaranteed to have the majority of the points. It is likely to be a part-score auction and you would like to compete to 2♥ – a 4-3 fit often plays ok at the two-level and partner might have five hearts. The worry is that partner might bid higher, hoping that you have four-card support. This is where Support Doubles are useful.
- Hand (c): You will open 1♦. Again you planned to rebid 1NT. After the 1♠ over-call, you can simply pass – you are happy to defend with a minimum opener, no fit for partner a four cards in the opponent’s suit. Passing denies three-card support.
Playing a Weak NT / 4-Card Major system (such as Acol):
- Hands (a) and (c): You will open 1NT and there will be no problem.
- Hand (b): If you follow Bernard’s advice, you will open 1♠ and the situation will be avoided. But some prefer to open a minor with two four-card suits and they will plan to rebid 1NT. Now, after opening 1♦ and the over-call, you would still like to rebid 1NT because even after the over-call, you know that you have the majority of the points. Given the choice, you would prefer to tell partner that you have a balanced 15+ with a spade stop than tell partner that you have three-card support. Partner can always ask later about three-card support through Check-back or similar. But on this hand you are unfortunate and don’t have a spade stop. If playing Support Doubles, you can double to tell partner about the three-card support, but it doesn’t tell partner that you have additional values and a balanced shape.
- Hand (d): Again, it is better to open 1♠. If you choose to open 1♦, you will be really stuck after the 1♠ over-call if playing Support Doubles. You can’t bid 1NT (no stop), you can’t double (only two hearts) and you don’t want to pass with extra values. Maybe pass is the least bad option? Partner will strain to protect with a double, but I still wouldn’t know what to bid. I could make it even more challenging and strengthen the hand and make it 18 HCPs! My choice would be to double on both Hand (b) and Hand (d) – with the message that we have (at least) a strong NT type hand.
I am not suggesting that Support Doubles will never work with a weak NT. But they are lower frequency and use a bid that can have other uses.
Ian, here is a good link to an article by Neil Rosen:
Hi Ian, there are various approaches and this is one that you should discuss with partner.
- It is common if you live in the US, or if you play a strong no trump to play that this double is something called a Support Double. The double shows three-card support for responder’s heart suit. The idea is to distinguish between a three-card raise (double) and a four-card raise (bid 2♥). I do NOT recommend this approach with Acol or any weak NT system, but I mention it for completeness.
- A standard approach is that the double shows four cards in the unbid suit (spades here) and bidding spades shows five. This works well in this sequence because the 2♣ overcall has taken away your room to bid 1♠. But it is less necessary if the auction were: 1♦-(Pass)-1♥-(1♠)-X, do we really need a double to show the club suit? Why can’t we simply bid clubs if we have them?
- A third approach, which I favour when playing a weak NT, is that the double shows a Strong NT type hand without a stop. So in the sequence 1♦-(Pass)-1♥-(1♠)-X, the doubler might hold ♠1076 ♥AQ ♦AKJ95 ♣Q109. This hand is very difficult to cope with. You were about to rebid 1NT and the overcall has made this impossible. A double is the perfect solution for this gap.
I think that either option 2 or 3 works well with a weak NT system. If you happen to play a strong NT then the first option works well.
Charmaine, you would like to have a five-card suit but you will not always be dealt five! Yes, I also heard Bernard mentioning that there was something new about responding at the two level on a four-card suit and I thought that comment a little odd. In fact, you might sometimes respond 2♣ with a three card suit and my 1969 Acol text book gives an example: ♠KJ8 ♥AK109 ♦643 ♣QJ4 where it recommends the auction 1♠-2♣ rather than responding 2♥ with a four-card suit!
With the Prize Quiz hand you could reasonably respond 2NT with the North hand. Unfortunately, many more experienced players do not play that a 2NT response is natural and will have to respond 2♣ instead – planning to bid 2NT at their next bid. For them, the 2NT bid is often a convention called Jacoby – which shows spade support in a hand that wants to play in at least game.
For those interested, the full hand is discussed in the forum topic 6-5 Come Alive.
The opening lead is discussed in the forum topic Lead Against a Slam.
The full hand was:
The contract will fail of course on a spade lead. But can you blame East for choosing to lead the ♣10? My 3♠ cue bid might have been a void, or the ♠K. I don’t think that I would have led the ace of spades if I had sat East and no one picked this card when I posted the lead as a question to the forum.
With hindsight, I think that the cue bid followed might have helped, if partner bids 4♦, but the 4♣ cue bid has told me nothing useful. I now have to guess whether to bid Blackwood and find out about aces or cue bid 5♣ and find out whether partner has a diamond control. Unfortunately, I can’t do both. So maybe I should sign off with 4♣ and leave it to partner?
Hi Reg, the question “how often will I use it?” is a good one. I bid a Multi 2D, twice as often as I would bid a Weak Two Hearts and twice as often as I would bid a Weak Two Spades”! 🙂
“Will me and partner be able to remember it?” is an even better question. I am not buying or selling on this. To be honest, the post was aimed mainly at players who are already playing it. But the more you understand about a system, the easier it is to defend against it. I posted another comment, expanding on some of the defence ideas that Bernard suggested in today’s seminar.
Sorry for the confusion Geoff. I cue bid three spades. Partner cue bid four clubs. The symbol got lost (although included in next paragraph).
I think that David has identified the dilemma. Neither 4NT nor 3♠ tell me the answer with any certainty. Unfortunately, 4♣ doesn’t really work either – partner might sign off with the Ace of Clubs and KQJ of Diamonds, because she doesn’t have a spade stop. I bid 3♠, as Geoff suggested, but found that I hadn’t really learnt anything when partner replied 4. I shrugged my shoulders and bid 4NT, thinking “I should have bid 4NT” last time”.
But what about a 3♠ cue bid and then 5♣ over partner’s 4♣ cue? That would surely focus partner’s mind on the diamond suit? But maybe we end in six missing two aces?!
I will give it a few days, then post the full deal.
Another great seminar from Bernard. Here are a few further thoughts if anyone is wanting further ideas on defence against a multi:
- They are not playing a Multi because it offers any advantage over Weak Two bids. They are playing the Multi because it frees up the 2♥ and 2♠ bids for other uses (e.g. Lucas Twos). But once you understand that even they don’t think the Multi 2D offers an advantage, you can feel less intimidated.
- Most of the time they have a simple weak two hand. If you are sitting in second seat over a 2♦ opening, you can expect another chance to bid.
A double:
- A double in second seat (2D)-Dbl: Bernard suggests a balanced 12-14. I agree, but prefer to stretch this a bit – say 12-15. This should also be the first action on any very big hand (at least 20+). A double and then bidding (or doubling) again tells partner that you have this big type.
- But if you pass then double (2D)-P-(2H)-P-(P)-Dbl you are showing a take-out double, short in hearts. Similarly (2D)-P-(2H)-P-(2S)-Dbl is a take-out double short in spades.
Bidding 2NT
- 2NT in second seat (2D)-2NT: I like to play this as a balanced 16-18, much the same as over a weak two. You would like to have a stop in each major, but you definitely want a stop if you are short in a major. If you have (say) four small hearts, you are expecting their suit to be Spades and you need a good spade stop. Stayman and transfers are on over 2NT.
- But if you pass then bid 2NT: Say (2D)-P-(2H)-P-(P)-2NT shows an unusual 2NT, 5-5 in the minors. When Bernard discussed defending against Weak Twos he emphasised that a 2NT overcall is natural and you can’t bid an Unusual NT over a Weak Two. But when they open a Multi, you have the chance to play both a natural 2NT and an Unusual 2NT!
Over-calling 2♥ / 2♠
- These bids are natural, but they should always promise a good six-card suit. As long as you promise 6+, you would have to be very unlucky to bid opener’s suit!
- Again you can pass and then bid your suit – once the opponents have clarified things. This typically shows a five-card suit.
Over-calling at the three-level
- These bids should be very strong (at least a 17 HCPs and a good six or seven-card suit). Remember you are expecting the opponents to have a weak hand and you never pre-empt over a pre-empt.
Actions in the 4th seat are more complicated if you have a strong hand. You are not now guaranteed another chance to bid and you still don’t know which suit the opener has.
- 2NT and over-calls will be the same as in 2nd seat
- Double cannot operate the same as in second seat. One good scheme is to play (2D)-Dbl- (2H)-Dbl = take-out of hearts (i.e. 3 or cards in spades) and (2D)-Dbl- (2S)-Dbl = take-out of spades (i.e. 3 or cards in hearts). The same scheme will apply if second hand passes, but more strength is needed.
