Chat log of Bridge Base Online session at: Thu Sep 30 18:27:31 2010 hondo717: ok. let's get started hondo717: welcome to my 2nd class on Fundamentals of Constructive Bidding hondo717: the purpose of these classes is to teach you the fundamentals behind most popular bidding systems hondo717: many people memorize rules of bidding but do not understand why those rules were invented hondo717: hopefully, after these classes, you will understand the whys and therefore will be able to figure out what to bid, rather than memorizing a bunch of rules hondo717: tonight's lesson is on auctions starting with 1NT hondo717: ok, lets get started hondo717: auctions when the opening bid is 1N are usually pretty straight forward hondo717: those who attended the last lesson remember the concept of the "captain of the bidding" hondo717: to briefly review, in every auction, one person is "captain", the other is "subordinate" hondo717: it is the job of the captain to determine the final contract, both level and strain hondo717: the captain does this by asking his or her partner "questions" about their hand hondo717: it is the job of the subordinate partner to answer those questions hondo717: on many auctions, responder is the captain hondo717: on hands where the opening bid is 1NT, this is particularly true hondo717: once you open 1NT, your partner is responsible for placing the final contract hondo717: because 1NT is such a descriptive bid, that is usually pretty easy to do hondo717: so, remember, if your partner opens 1NT, you are in chargge of making sure you get to the right contract hondo717: because 1NT is such a descriptive bid, you should open it whenever possible hondo717: most people play a 1NT opener shows 15-17 HCP, and one of 3 distributions: 4-3-3-3 4-4-3-2 or 5-3-3-2 hondo717: another way to say this is your hand can have at most one doubleton hondo717: there is a tendency by some people to stretch the distributions on occasion and open 1N with 6-3-2-2 and perhaps 5-4-2-2 hondo717: but I personally don't care to do that hondo717: however, one thing that I highly recommend is that you open 1NT even with a 5 card major hondo717: most experts agree with that hondo717: when you have a 15-17 point balanced hand, it is very difficult to get your points across if you open 1H or 1S hondo717: the auction will often go 1H/1S-P-1N hondo717: you could bid 2N, but that will often get you too high hondo717: so because 1N is so descriptive, opening 1N with a 5 card major is preferable hondo717: some people worry about missing a major suit fit hondo717: the only time that is even an issue is when partner has exactly 3 card support in the 5 card major hondo717: with 4 card support, partner would bid stayman hondo717: so, it is possible to miss a 5-3 fit, but most of the time NT plays as well as the 5-3 fit hondo717: ok, now let's talk about responder hondo717: if you remember from last time, responder can classify his hand as one of three categories hondo717: minimum response, medium response, or maximum response hondo717: the only difference from the last lesson is the point counts for these classifications is different hondo717: a minimum response hand is 7 points or less hondo717: if responder has a minimum hand, game is not possible, so the idea is to stay as low as you can hondo717: you will either play in 1NT or 2 of a major hondo717: so with a min hand, the idea is to get out asap hondo717: a medium hand is 8 or 9 points hondo717: if responder has a medium hand, game is possible, but only if opener has a max NT opener hondo717: I will define what a max NT opener is in a few minutes Dianne0516: How about minor transfers on min hand? hondo717: but the point is, with a medium hand, responder invites game, and opener accepts with a max hondo717: if responder has 10 or more points, then he or she has a max response hondo717: in that case, responder is responsible for making sure their side gets to game hondo717: with a max hand, responder must NEVER make a bid that opener can pass hondo717: ok, now let me talk about opener's hand categories hondo717: for NT openers, since the range is so narrow, there are only two categories hondo717: a min NT opener, and a max NT opener hondo717: and the only time it is important for opener to distinguish is when responder makes an invitational bid hondo717: if responder makes an invitational bid, opener goes to game with a max NT hand hondo717: a max NT hand meets one of the following criteria hondo717: -- any 17 point hand hondo717: -- any 16 HCP hand with a fit for partner's major hondo717: -- any 16 HCP hand with a 5 card suit hondo717: -- any 16 HCP with at two or more 10s and 9s and not 4-3-3-3 distribution hondo717: ok, now we know when we should bid game MikeJ: Please repeat critereon #4 hondo717: criteria 4 for a max hand is as follows: hondo717: 16 HCP, at least 2 10s and 9s, and not 4-3-3-3 hondo717: ok, now that we know when we should bid game, let's talk about what strain (suit or NT) to choose hondo717: one important rule to remember is, it is fairly rare that you would rather play 5 of a minor than 3NT hondo717: I won't say it never happens that you want to play 5 of a minor, but too many people bypass 3NT when they should be there hondo717: it is usually much harder to take 11 tricks than 9 tricks hondo717: so your mindset should be, you want to play either 3NT or 4 of a major hondo717: you almost never want to play 5 of a minor tashmore: My last remark received many responses that I was to direct ?s to you hondo717: therefore, responder's job in defining which suit to play in is simply to determine if there is the possibility of a major suit fit hondo717: if there is no possibility of a major suit fit, then responder should place the contract in the appropriate level of NT hondo717: responder should look for a major suit fit if he or she has 4 or more cards in at least one of the major suits hondo717: otherwise responder should assume the contract will be in NT hondo717: so, as responder, if you do not have a 4+ card major, your choices are simple hondo717: with a min hand, pass hondo717: with a medium hand, invite by bidding 2N hondo717: with a max hand, bid 3N hondo717: pretty simple hondo717: don't worry about shortness or long minors hondo717: if you have the right # of HCP bid 3NT or 2NT hondo717: you will occasionally be wrong, but most of the time you will do fine hondo717: ok, so what does responder do if they have a 4+ card major hondo717: there are two conventions that take care of finding out whether or not to play in a major hondo717: they are Stayman and Jacoby Transfers hondo717: you should bid Stayman under the following circumstances hondo717: a) You have a medium or maximum hand hondo717: (I will talk about a possible exception to this later, but for now, assume you cannot bid stayman with a min) hondo717: you have one 4 card major, 2 four card majors, or one 4 card major and one 5 card major hondo717: those are the only distributions where you should bid Stayman hondo717: basically, Stayman is defined to find a 4-4 major fit hondo717: if you have more than 4 cards in a major, you generally should use Jacoby Transfers hondo717: the only exception being when you are exactly 5/4 in the majors hondo717: as most of you know, I am sure, a 2!C response to 1NT is the Stayman convention hondo717: when responder bids 2!C, he or she is saying nothing about clubs hondo717: responder is simply asking if opener has a 4 card major hondo717: if opener has a 4 card major, he or she bids that major hondo717: if opener does not have a 4 card major, the response is 2!D hondo717: with two 4-card majors, most people play that opener bids 2!H hondo717: ok, let's first talk about what responder does with a max hand hondo717: if opener does not show a one of responder's 4 card majors, then responder simply bids 3NT hondo717: if opener shows one of responder's 4 card majors, then responder bids 4 of that major hondo717: that's it hondo717: opener almost always respects responder's final decision hondo717: there is one exception hondo717: if opener has two 4 card majors, then opener knows that there has to be a 4-4 major fit hondo717: responder should never bid Stayman without a 4 card major hondo717: therefore, if responder bids Stayman, and opener has 2 4 card majors, there has to be a 4-4 fit hondo717: so, if the auction goes 1N-2C-2H-3N hondo717: opener knows that responder must have 4 spades hondo717: opener bid stayman showing a 4 card major hondo717: sorry I mean responder bid stayman hondo717: so responder is showing a 4 card major hondo717: if the 4 card major is not hearts, it has to be spades hondo717: so, if opener has two 4 card majors, he or she is allowed to override responder's decision to bid 3N, and bid 4S hondo717: that is the only case where that is true, when opener has two 4 card majors hondo717: ok, with a medium hand, responder does one of the following hondo717: if opener bids a 4 card major that responder has, responder raises to 3 of the major hondo717: otherwise, responder bids 2N hondo717: opener should bid game with a max hand, as I defined before hondo717: if responder invites in 3 of a major, opener should go with 16-17 points hondo717: if responder invites with 2N, then opener should go with a max hand, using the criteria I defined before hondo717: and, if opener has 2 four card majors, and the auction goes 1N-2C-2H-2N hondo717: then opener should correct to 3S with a min hand (15 HCP) and bid 4S with a max hand hondo717: ok, that's it for stayman hondo717: I said a lot, but the principles are pretty simple hondo717: responder invites with a medium hand, bids game with a max hand hondo717: and opener accepts an invitation with a max hand hondo717: ok, finally, let's talk about Jacoby transfers hondo717: Jacoby transfers are used by responder when he or she has a 5+ card major hondo717: pretty much any time responder has a 5 card major, responder should bid a Jacoby Transfer, regardless of strength (even with a min) hondo717: the only exception (and it is fairly rare) is if responder has exactly 5/4 in the majors and a medium or max response hondo717: then responder should use Stayman hondo717: but virtually all of the time, responder should use Jacoby with a 5+ card major hondo717: so, when partner opens 1N and you have a 5+ card major, your first instinct should be to use a Jacoby transfer hondo717: now, let me briefly review the mechanics of the convention, although I am sure most of you know it hondo717: if you have 5+ hearts, you, as responder, bid 2!D hondo717: this obligates opener to bid 2!H hondo717: you have "transferred" the heart contract from your hand to opener's hand hondo717: even though you have hearts you want opener to be declarer hondo717: there are a number of theoretical reasons why this is a good thing hondo717: but don't worry about them for now. just remember you have to use a transfer with a 5+ card major hondo717: similarly, if you have spades, you, as responder bid 2!H hondo717: this obligates opener to bid 2!S hondo717: that's it for the most part hondo717: there are extensions to Jacoby Transfers, but for this lesson I am not going to worry about them hondo717: I am going to stick with the simple 2!D forces 2!H and 2!H forces 2!S hondo717: on most hands, that is what should happen hondo717: ok, now, once responder forces opener to accept the transfer, what should responder do? hondo717: with a minimum hand, the answer is easy hondo717: just pass hondo717: if responder has a weak hand, playing in responder's 5 card suit (even with a 5-2 fit) is almost always better than playing in 1NT hondo717: so if you have a weak hand and a 5 card major, make a jacoby transfer intending to pass opener's forced response hondo717: ok, now let's talk about what you do with a max hand hondo717: if responder has a max (10+ HCP), their side must be in game hondo717: the only question is, which game hondo717: if responder has a six card major, then their side must have at least an 8 card fit (opener must have at least a doubleton) hondo717: so responder should just bid 4 of the major hondo717: with a 5 card major, responder is not sure whether to play 3N or 4 of the major hondo717: so responder bids 3N hondo717: some people claim this is a "shut out" bid hondo717: those people are wrong, lol hondo717: 3NT by responder, after a transfer, is giving opener a choice of games hondo717: with a doubleton in the major, opener passes hondo717: with 3 or more in the major, opener bids 4 of the major hondo717: so remember, the auction 1N-2H-2S-3N is not a shut out hondo717: it is a choice between 3N and 4S hondo717: ok, what about with a medium hand hondo717: the choices are similar to what you do with a max hand, but at a lower level hondo717: if responder has a six card major, responder should invite by bidding 3 of the major hondo717: opener should accept with a max hand, or 3 or more cards in the major hondo717: even with 15 HCP, if opener has 3 cards in the major suit, with a known 9 card fit, opener should accept hondo717: so, for example, if the auction goes 1N-2D-2H-3H hondo717: opener should bid 4H with any hand that has 3 or more hearts hondo717: and should also bid 4H even with a doubleton heart, with a max hand, as defined before hondo717: one good general bidding principle to remember is hondo717: 9 card fits are very powerful hondo717: so you should tend to be more aggressive with a 9 card fit hondo717: if partner invites game (in any auction) and you know you have a 9 card major suit fit, you should accept the invitation hondo717: similarly, you should be conservative with an 8 card fit hondo717: if partner invites and you know you only have an 8 card fit, you should tend to not bid a close game hondo717: that principle applies to all auctions not just NT auctions hondo717: ok, back to Jacoby transfers hondo717: the only thing left is when responder has a medium hand and a 5 card major hondo717: in that case, responder bids 2N over the transfer hondo717: so, for example, the auction 1N-2D-2H-2N says the following hondo717: responder has exactly 5 hearts and 8 or 9 points hondo717: opener can now easily figure out what to do hondo717: with a doubleton and a min hand, pass hondo717: with 3 card support, and a min hand, correct to 3 of the major hondo717: with a min hand and 4 card support, bid 4 of the major (known 9 card fit) hondo717: with a max hand and a doubleton, opener bids 3N hondo717: and with a max hand and 3+ card support, opener bids 4 of the major hondo717: that's pretty much it hondo717: you can have some complicated auctions with transfers hondo717: but for now, I suggest you keep things simple, until you get the basics down hondo717: most of the time, you will do fine wth the simple approach hondo717: one small comment about Texas Transfers hondo717: most people on BBO play that with a max response and a 6 card major, you transfer at the 4 level hondo717: in other words, the auction 1N-4D means responder has 6+ hearts and a max hand hondo717: responder is tellingn opener to bid 4H hondo717: similarly, the auction 1N-4H shows responder has a max with 6+ spades hondo717: there is nothing wrong with playing Texas, but it is also unnecessary hondo717: experts differentiate between the following two auctions: 1N-2H-2S-4S and 1N-4H-4S hondo717: but most non-experts do not differentiate hondo717: if you do not differentiate between those 2 auctions then there is no reason to play Texas hondo717: but there is no reason not to play it either, unless partner forgets the convention :) hondo717: ok, lets do a few quiz hands hondo717: assume partner opens 1NT hondo717: I will give you a hand hondo717: you need to determine two things hondo717: the first thing is: is the hand a min, medium, or max response hondo717: the second thing is: what do you bid, both initially, and after hearing opener's rebid hondo717: on any auction where partner opens 1N, this is what your thinking process should be hondo717: first, determine your hand strength hondo717: second, figure out not only your first bid, but the followups to opener's possible rebids hondo717: ok, here is hand 1 hondo717: !SKxxx !HKxxx !DJxx !Cxx hondo717: what kind of response -- minimum hondo717: remember, only bid stayman with a medium or max hand hondo717: otherwise partner will often overbid hondo717: ok, here is hand 2 hondo717: !SKxxx !HKxxxx !Dxx !Cxx Sunrise4U: before my time....... hondo717: what type of hand? min hondo717: therefore, you want to get out asap hondo717: but, you would rather play in a 5 card suit than 1N hondo717: so, you bid 2D, transfer to hearts, and plan on passing the forced 2H bid hondo717: dont worry about the spade suit hondo717: ok, next example hondo717: !SKxxx !HKxxx !DQxx !Cxx hondo717: what kind of hand? hondo717: med, since you have at least one 4 card major, you should bid stayman hondo717: so you bid 2!C hondo717: if partner shows a major suit you raise to 3, asking him or her to bid 4 with a max NT hondo717: if partner bids 2!D over 2!C, you bid 2N, asking partner to bid 3N with a max NT opener hondo717: ok, example 4 hondo717: !SQxx !HKxxxx !DKxx !Cxx hondo717: what kind of hand? hondo717: med, you also have a 5 card major, so Jacoby is appropriate hondo717: bid 2!D hondo717: over partner's forced 2!H response, bid 2N hondo717: remember, that shows you have exactly 5 hearts and a medium hand hondo717: it is giving partner a choice of contracts hondo717: with a min hand and a doubleton, pard passes hondo717: with a min hand and 3 hearts, pard bids 3!H hondo717: with a min hand and 4 card support, pard bids 4!H (9 card fit) hondo717: with a max hand and a doubleton, pard bids 3N hondo717: with a max hand and 3+ hearts, pard bids 4!H hondo717: again, if you understand the concepts, figuring out what to bid is a matter of deduction, not memorizing rules hondo717: ok, example 5 hondo717: !SKQxx !HKxxxx !Dxx !Cxx hondo717: what kind of hand? hondo717: this is the rare hand where, because you are exactly 5/4 in the majors, and have a medium or max hand, you bid stayman hondo717: so you bid 2C hondo717: if partner responds 2D,, you bid 2H. that shows 5 hearts and 4 spades hondo717: if partner bids 2H, I would bid 4H (9 card fit), although that is aggressive hondo717: and if partner bids 2S, I would bid 3S, inviting pard to bid 4S with a max hondo717: ok, here is hand 6 hondo717: !SKxx !HKxx !DQxxxx !Cxx hondo717: what kind of hand? hondo717: medium, no 4+ card major hondo717: so simply invite with 2N hondo717: pard will bid 3N with a max NT opener, as I defined before hondo717: ok example 7 hondo717: !SQxxxx !SQxxxx !Dxx !Cx hondo717: what kind of hand? hondo717: ok, you want to play in one of your majors with minimum hondo717: you can transfer to either one hondo717: so you either bid 2!D planning on passing 2!H, or you bid 2!H planning on passing 2!S hondo717: your choice hondo717: ok hand 8 hondo717: !SKxxx !HQxx !DKQxxx !Cx hondo717: max, you want to see if you have a 4-4 spade fit hondo717: so bid 2C hondo717: over a 2S response, bid 4S hondo717: over any other response bid 3N hondo717: remember, if partner responded 2!H and also had a 4 card spade suit, partner can correct 3N to 4S hondo717: ok hand 9 hondo717: !Sx !HQxx !DKQxxx !CKxxx hondo717: what kind of hand hondo717: max, no chance of a major suit fit hondo717: so just bid 3N (and hope pard has spades stopped :) ) hondo717: ok example 10 hondo717: !Sx !HKQxxx !DQxx !CKxxx hondo717: indeed this is a max hondo717: and you have a 5 card major hondo717: so bid 2!D hondo717: over the forced 2!H response, bid 3N hondo717: this tells partner you have exactly 5 hearts and a max hand hondo717: remember, 3N is a choice of games. it is NOT a shutout bid hondo717: partner should correct 3N to 4H with 3+ hearts hondo717: ok, last hand hondo717: !SKxxxx !HKQxxx !Dxx !Cx hondo717: this is a slightly trick question hondo717: yes officially you only have 8 HCP hondo717: but you must have at least one 8 card major suit fit hondo717: partner cannot have doubletons in both majors hondo717: so you are entitled to count your shortness bobottawa: to you hondo717: which gets your hand up to 11 points using classical point count (2 for singleton, 1 for doubleton) hondo717: so I would consider this a max hondo717: and I would bid it as follows hondo717: I would first transfer to spades, by bidding 2!H hondo717: and then over the forced 2!S response, I would bid 4!H bobottawa: I sent it as a BBO email hondo717: this gives partner a choice of games hondo717: with better hearts, partner passes hondo717: with better spades, partner corrects to 4!S hondo717: there are some advanced topics in the tutorial hondo717: I did not have time to cover them hondo717: but, if you have questions about them, feel free to email me hondo717: the next lesson is 10/28 hondo717: this is the end of tonght's lesson