December 05' Questions for Ask The Expert Panel

Question 1:   Mark Ziegelman (Novice)

This situation once came up when searching for slam.   I had a void and did not know how to relay that info to my partner.   If I attempted to follow the suggestions on page 198 of Commonsense Bidding by William S. Root, then I would have to give up the RKC convention.

What is the best way to search for Slam with a void after (a) your partner has bid game of 4 of a major or 5 of a minor or (b) your partner uses RKCBW ?

Panel's Responses

Ken Bland

a.   Cue bidding is the acceptable method to show a void

b1. After 4 NT, to show 1 control and void - bid six in the void suit

i.e., hearts is the contracted suit 4 NT (keycard) - 6 clubs shows 1 control and void in clubs

b2. With 2 controls and a void bid 5 NT after partner asks with 4 NT

i.e., 4NT (keycard) answer 5 NT

Tom Kniest

a.   When you bid over partner's strength showing game bid, it should be a first round control; if he's looking at the A, then he knows you're void and he has a wasted value.  He may still elect to show a control of his own, but if he has too much in your control, like AQ, he might sign off.

b.   When responding to RKC, usually 5NT shows 2 controls and a void; a jump to six of your void shows an odd number of controls...1 or 3, and partner should understand based on the auction to date.  If you have a void in a higher ranking suit, bidding 6 of the agreed suit shows the same thing, and partner should be able to figure out the void.

Roger Lord

a.   After partner's game bid, you could make a control-showing bid in the void suit if that is the cheapest suit in which no previous first-round control has been shown.   Alternatively, if you believe-or hope-that your void is in the right place, you could make a gambling leap to slam.

b.   There are several methods of responding to RKC, or to any kind of Blackwood, when holding a useful void.   My method is: Show one keycard fewer than you actually possess (provided that this bid is not five of the trump suit).   If partner signs off below slam, your next bid will be either six of the void suit if that is below six of the trump suit, or six of the trump suit if the void suit is above the trump suit.   However, if partner goes to slam directly over your initial reply, then you can feel free to bid a grand slam.

Tom Oppenheimer

Earlier in the auction, an unusual jump to 5 of a suit would be exclusion Blackwood, asking for keycards excluding the suit named.   If that is no longer possible I feel that cue bidding is your only shot to find the information that you need.

Nancy Popkin

I am not sure if I understand part (a) of your question.   If you mean your partner opens 4 of a major, if I have enough points I would cue bid the void.    For part (b) you can still respond to RKCBW by using different step responses--after 4NT (assuming that 5clubs is 1 or 4 [1430]):

5 clubs = 1 or 4

5 diamonds = 0 or 3

5 hearts = 2 without the queen

5 spades = 2 with the queen

5 notrump = 2 keycards with a working void (Meaning that it is not in

partner's suit)

6 clubs = 1 keycard and a working void in clubs

6 diamonds = 1 keycard and a working void in diamonds

6 hearts = 1 keycard and a working void in hearts

6 spades = 1 keycard and a working void in spades

Fran Schiefler

My partners and I play that, after RKC 4NT, a response of 5NT shows 0 or 2 controls with a useful void. (To be deemed "useful" the void must be in either the only unbid suit or in a suit bid by the opponents.)   A bid of 6 in a new suit over 4NT shows 1 or 3 controls with a void in that suit.

Ed Schultz

a) Hopefully in the auction you have had a chance to show shortness,

i.e. a splinter, the b) in response to RKC standard is to bid 5NT with 2

keys and a useful void and 6 of void with 1 or 3 keys and a useful void (6 of

suit with void above our suit).

Karen Walker

(a) The answer depends heavily on your hand and your previous auction.   Ideally, you would have begun the slam search before game level, but if that was impossible, then your only try is a cuebid of your cheapest control (an ace or void).   Your hope is that partner can make a return cuebid in the one suit where you need a control.

If you have the type of hand where you need to find more than one control in partner's hand, you'll probably run out of room at the 5-level.   If you cuebid and partner cuebids and you then retreat to 5 of your trump suit, you've shown slam-range values and implied that you need another ace.   If partner has the "extra" control he hasn't yet shown, he'll be convinced to bid on to slam.

If your suit is a minor and there's no room at all to investigate, then you're stuck with Plan C, which is just making a seat-of-your-pants decision to either pass or bid slam.

(b) If partner bids 4NT and you have a void, your responses are:

     5NT = EVEN number of keycards and a useful but unidentified void.

     Jump to 6 of a suit below your trump suit = ODD number of

keycards and a void in the bid suit.

     Jump to 6 of your trump suit = ODD number of keycards and a void in a higher-ranking suit.   (For example, if your agreed suit were diamonds, the auction 4NT-6D would show one or three keycards and a void in either hearts or spades.)

En Xie

a.  You can use cue bid or Exclusion Blackwood to further explore the final

contract.

b.  There are many conventions available to show void when responding to

RKC. here is one I use.

    Optional Void Showing Responses:

    5NT = even number of keycards (0-2-4) + unspecified void

    6 of a lower ranking suit = odd number of keycards (1-3) + void in bid suit

    6 of agreed suit = odd number of keycards (1-3) + void in higher ranking suit

Question 2:   Alan Lemley (Flight C)

My regular partner and I play that the primary signal by partner of the opening leader against a suit contract shows attitude (low = discouraging). Is that also desirable against a NT contract or is it better to show count ? Our leads against NT are standard except that we play Jack denies 9/10 implies.

Panel's Responses

Ken Bland

My partners and I use standard signals against no-trump

a.   Ace asks for highest card you hold in a suit

b.   King asks for attitude (do you like it or not)

c.   Queen asks for count or unblock of Jack (if you have it)

Tom Kniest

If you can't beat the dummy, you give count.  If you can cover the dummy's card, you need to do that.  Then your subsequent play in the suit should show count;  that is, if you started with 3, you would lead your highest; lead low if you started with 4.  If following to your partner's lead, you would show current count, starting an echo if you have 2 left.  Many, in fact most good players play a form of Smith Echo showing attitude by either (both) after the opening lead.  It takes awhile to get all the nuances down, but it's a powerful tool.              

Roger Lord

Attitude is the best signal on the first round, unless an attitude signal could not be helpful to partner.   In other words, if the location of significant high cards in the suit led would be obvious without a signal, an attitude signal would be unnecessary, in which case a count signal or a suit preference signal could be employed.   For example, suppose a low card is led, and dummy with Kx wins the king.   Third hand should play high (if that encourages) from the queen, or low from only small cards.   But if dummy's 10 wins trick one, third hand's attitude is known (he can't cover the 10), so a count signal or sometimes a suit preference signal would be more useful.

Tom Oppenheimer

I believe that attitude is best, but it is essential to play Smith echo.   If declarer wins the first trick and attacks another suit, an echo by either defender asks for a continuation of the suit led.   Against notrump I recommend leading second highest from worthless holdings and low from jack or better to help partner.   For honor leads, I believe that it is best to play that a lead of the ace or queen asks for attitude, and the lead of the king asks for the unblock of an honor or count.   This way, you always know what to do when you hold the jack.   I have a write-up in greater detail on this.

Nancy Popkin

I usually give attitude at my first opportunity defending notrump.   The main exception is when partner leads the ace of his suit--he is asking me to unblock my highest honor (Jack or higher) and if I do not have an honor to give count.

Fran Schiefler

My partners and I employ an attitude signal to the opening lead at both suit and notrump contracts.   However, versus notrump, if partner of the opening leader cannot beat the card played by dummy, he then gives count.

Ed Schultz

My partners and I have this agreement. If partner leads an Ace, if dummy has 0-2 cards, third hand gives attitude. If dummy has 3+ cards third hand gives count.

Karen Walker

If partner leads low to a notrump contract, your attitude is often implied if you can't beat partner's or dummy's card, so you should show count in most of these cases.   The exception would be when dummy wins with an ace or a king.

If partner leads an ace or king to a notrump contract, you give count or attitude based on your agreement.   The "standard" agreement is that an ace asks for an attitude signal and a king asks for a count signal (or an unblock of your highest card).   Many players, however, choose to reverse these meanings.

En Xie

I am not going to be an advocate of either attitude or count as primary signal. If you want to know what I do I will tell you. With most partners I play attitude but with a few partners I play count.

Question 3:   Arbha Vongsvivut (Flight A)

Both Vul, MPs:

West                            East

S 7                                           S Kxx

H AQxx                             H KJxx

D AKxxxx                             D QJx

C Qx                                           C Axx

W           N             E              S

-              -               -               P

1D          P            1H             P

3S*/4D** ??

*3S = splinter with 4 card H support and good enough to be in game at 4H, opposite 6 HCP with 4 card H suit.

**4D = impossible splinter, with ?? solid 6 card D suit   + 4 card H support.

1.   How should the bidding continue for West – East after 1H by East ?

2.   Who is the captain, to start cuebidding or RKC ?

3.   Is West hand good enough for double jump to 4D after 1H, as an Impossible splinter ?

Panel's Responses

Ken Bland

With Qx clubs I would be reluctant to bid anything but 3 Hearts

West can bid A club on way to 4 Hearts

No, west should hold classic anti-fragment bid

X

Aqxx

AKQ10xx

Kx

Note better texture diamonds extra control K clubs

Tom Kniest

1.  I would bid 4D; more descriptive, and partner knows there is shortness somewhere.

2.  W has gotten his hand off his chest; E must now either bid game, RKC, or cuebid.   If E bids a slow 4H, W is barred from further bidding for ethical reasons.

3.  Yes, it shows this type of hand, although the diamonds could be better.  It shows a 6-4 hand with good trumps and a source of tricks in the 6-card suit.

Roger Lord

The double-jump is diamonds is the outstanding rebid.   Four diamonds should deny either black ace, and that stipulation, along with the space-consuming but descriptive bid, makes responder the Captain (he knows whether the partnership is missing two aces).   Yes, the West hand is good enough for four diamonds, and the East hand is good enough to jump to six hearts.

Tom Oppenheimer

I like the splinter over 1 heart.   After all, you do not have a solid diamond suit.   I do agree with forcing to game.   Either way, east should be the captain and has an easy Blackwood bid over either a splinter or a 4 diamonds bid.

Nancy Popkin

I would bid 4 diamonds rather than splinter because it lets partner visualize a source of tricks.   He can play game opposite the trump king!   The 1 heart bidder can now Blackwood since he has every suit under control and a great fit with partner.

Fran Schiefler

1. With a five loser hand, 3S seems an acceptable bid.

2.  Since responder has more than the possible 6 points, as well as a nice diamond fit, he can cooperate by cuebidding the club ace.

3.   I prefer the bid of 3S.

Ed Schultz

If partner bid 4D over 1H, I would bid RKC with Kxx KJxx QJx Axx. If partner bid 3S (splinter) I would control bid 4C. As far as is the hand x-AQxx-AKxxxx-Qx good enough to bid 4D, it is certainly within the J of diamonds good enough. I like 4D better than 3S.

Karen Walker

It's easy to say opener's hand is worth a game force when you see the perfect holdings in responder's hand, but at the table, I would deem the West hand borderline.   The doubleton queen is a dubious value, and no matter how you count the hand, it evaluates to at most 17 points, which is pushy for a game force -- especially since most partners will accept an invitation with just about any 8-count.

The West hand does, however, have only 5 losers, which IS in the range for game.   That's enough of a red flag to goad most people into "rounding up" their 3.5 heart bid into a game force.

If you decide to force, I'd choose 4D.   This auction used to show 4-card support, a solid diamond suit and an unidentified void.   However, this convention has been subjected to "values inflation", and most people these days play it as a "near-solid" suit.   Over 4D, partner can use Keycard Blackwood and get all the

information he needs.

If you decide the West hand is an invitation, you'd rebid only 3H, but you'd still get to slam.   Partner's hand is worth one lukewarm try (4C), and that should convince you to use Keycard Blackwood.   There's no point in giving partner a return cuebid of 4D, as you know you have control of all the suits and the only

information you need is about the heart king and/or spade ace.

En Xie

1.  There are several ways for E-W to reach slam. West might bid 3H/3S/4D/4H

based on partnership agreements. East should not have any problem bidding 4NT to ask for keycards after hearing 3S/4D/4H from West. East might cue bid 4C after West bid 3H, then use 4NT after West cue-bids 4D.

2.   East should be the captain if there is one.

3.   West hand is a perfect example of the Impossible Splinter bid. With more

HCP (18+), it's better to splinter.

Question 4: Grant Baze (Grand Poohbah), submitted by Ed Schultz

West hand:

S x

H Kxxx

D xx

C KQ10xxx

Bidding:

N               E                 S               W

1D            1S              1N              2C

2D            3D               X               3H

P               4H               P               P

5D               P               P               ?

What would you, as West, bid with this hand and why ?

Panel's Responses

Ken Bland

4 Hearts was voluntarily bid by our side east's pass is forcing

West holds single spade (good defense) doubleton diamond (bad for

offense)

Double

Tom Kniest

I bid 5H - partner's pass after forcing to game indicates interest in bidding more.  RHO didn't make a negative X, and showed a somewhat balanced hand, so hearts are breaking for you.  Partner has a club fit - he was willing to play 3NT if you could bid it, so he has a hand like 5413.  If he doesn't have the SA, you still might be cold for 5H and might not beat 5D on a day when RHO is 4234.  I expect to make this.              

Roger Lord

The question did not specify vulnerability or form of the game.   In any case, East's pass over five diamonds is forcing (West may double or bid, but he may not pass), due primarily to his previous cuebid during an ongoing auction.   My bid would be five hearts.   I believe partner has good trumps and good controls, while my hand provides a source of tricks.   If partner holds two losing diamonds, he should have doubled five diamonds to discourage West from bidding, whereas the pass invites West to bid.

Tom Oppenheimer

I am wondering why I passed 4 hearts to begin with.   I would have preferred 5 clubs immediately.   I do not like to defend with no semblance of a trump trick.   I would bid 6 clubs to give partner a choice of spots.   In hearts we might be beaten in the trump suit.   Partner overcalled spades, cue bid for clubs and raised hearts.   Not many diamond losers over there. I think we have a good shot to make it and we might be saving.   Might make a difference if we knew if it was match points or IMPs.

Nancy Popkin

I would double because all north could do at his second opportunity was bid 2d and south although he doubled 3d passed over 4h not believing that their side had game.   Also partner showed a lot of steam when he bid 3d, so he probably has extra values.   Also I am short in spades so I may get a ruff.   (I would have liked to know the form of the game, Matchpoints ? And the vulnerability, too.)

Ed Schultz

When given the problem I bid 5H. 6C is odds on as partners hand is J109xxx AJ10x void AJx. 6C needs 3-3 spades or finding the HQ.

Karen Walker

Double.   I don't want to play in a 4-4 fit (or could it be 4-3?) at the 5-level.   No matter how partner intended 3D (club support and/or looking for a stopper for notrump), he's shown a big hand.

Someone is obviously lying about their values in this auction, and in these cases, I never assume it's partner.   If it is, though, I've given him a pretty good idea of what I hold, so he's in charge.   He knows I can't have a diamond stack, so if he can't beat 5D opposite a hand with scattered values and 9 or 10 cards in clubs and hearts, he can pull.

En Xie

Partner overcalled 1S, then cue-bid 3D. It's reasonable to assume partner has about 14-16 HCP. With more HCP, partner probably should start with double. With less HCP, partner probably shouldn't cue-bid 3D. Partner only mentioned spades once. So he probably has 5 or 6 spade. With 3D bid, we know partner has at least 3 clubs.

With 4H bid, we know partner has 3 or 4 hearts (most likely, 4 hearts). Can partner's hand be 5=4=0=4?   Not likely, because he probably would start with a double or would bid 4D with 4C support. Can partner's hand be 5=4=1=3? Also, unlikely. I would start with a double with 5=4=1=3 and 14-16 HCP.   Furthermore, with 5=4=1=3, I think partner should double 5D instead of passing.   In conclusion, partner most likely holds 6=4=0=3.

With partner's HCP and shape in mind, I would rule out Pass. So we have two choices left: double or 5H.   Which one is better ?   It mainly depends on what you think of partner's pass of 5D.   I think it should be a forcing pass, showing either good controls or good trump suit, or both.   Also, it implies willingness to bid on. Partner knows it is our hand by hearing 2C and 3H bids from me. He would double if he thinks he has nothing else to tell. With a singleton S, HK, CKQ, and 6 clubs, The chance for making 5H is great. I would vote for 5H bid.

It's interesting to figure out more about partner's hand and opponents' hands. You might skip the following explanations if you don't think partner has 14-16hcp and 6=4=0=3.

  a) Assuming partner has only one Ace, then, he must hold either

KQJxxx -QJXX -Void- AJX or KQJXXX- AQJX -Void- Jxx. I would double with both holdings instead of pass of 5D as there is nothing more to say. I won't complain if partner did choose to Pass though. So let's say those are the worst hands partner might hold. More likely, partner holds at least 2 Aces.

  b) RHO first overcalled 1NT. It's not unreasonable to assume he doesn't

have 4Hs (not 100% though). We can also assume he has a balanced hand. Why did he double 3D? He was trying to show his four diamonds to suggest sacrificing. It's very unlikely for a good player to double with 4-3-3-3. Therefore, RHO likely holds 4-4-3-2.

  c) LHO can't have 4 hearts since RHO bid 1NT. LHO likely has opened light.   (I would trust RHO's 1NT bid more). He bid 5D because he has seven diamonds. Can he has 7-4-2-0 or 7-4-1-1? With the great shape, I think he wouldn't pass on 3H. Therefore, he probably has 7-3-2-1 or 7-2-2-2.