Coral Gables Historical Archive
The Coral Gables Times
Thursday, April 5, 1962, page 36 (of 60)
The page
The text of this pageRead by computer from the scan, so some words may be wrong. The page picture is the original.
Bridge Continued from page 15
guarantees five cards or more in the suit bid. One of the main goals in bridge is reaching good major-suit game contracts, and for these contracts to be sound and playable at least eight cards in the suit should be held by you and partner. An immediate awareness of a proper trump suit is important. The responder to the opening one-heart or one-spade bidder now has an advantage. He can handle even weak hands with greater confidence. Play-ers—even experienced ones—who open four-card majors have their problems. The responder always has doubts during the auction as to his proper bid—whether to raise his partner at some point, bid no trump or a new suit. The more doubts that can be eliminated, the more confidence you will acquire in your playing. If, then, a hand qualifies for an opening bid of one in a suit but contains no major suit of five cards or longer, it must be opened in a minor suit—if necessary, a three-card minor, preferably headed by an honor. 3. Lower-suit Response at Two-Level to Partner's Opening Bid. For example: Partner You | Partner You | Partner You 1♣ 2♦ | 1♦ 2♣ | 1♥ 2♣ For this two-level response you should have a minimum of 10 points in high cards. This is probably very similar to what you have been playing. Where we differ is in our second and perhaps more important requirement: The two-over-one responder, whether a passed hand or not, guarantees that he will bid again (unless opener bids game or slam directly). Here again we feel the strength of this rule lies in the confidence it inspires. No longer does the opening bidder have to make unnatural and unwarranted jumps and forcing bids in fear that partner may pass in the middle of the auction. 4. Overcalls. We advocate sound overcalls, based on: (a) the equivalent of opening bids; (b) five-card or longer suits. (These requirements should be increased or reduced slightly depending on the vulnerability and the level of bidding. However, at all times the overcall must be made with a game in mind, and it must be able to stand an invitational response by partner.) (c) Overcall an opposing suit bid with one no trump when you have the equivalent of an opening one no-trump bid, with strength in the opponent's bid suit. 5. No-Trump Openings. These require 16-18 high-card points in a balanced hand, i.e., a hand distributed 4-3-3-3 or 4-4-3-2 or 5-3-3-2 with stoppers in at least three suits. As additional help, we'd like to pass along these tips to help communications: Plan your second bid before you make your first bid. The opening bid is generally the easiest; the rebid may present problems. If you choose wisely at the start, partner's responses should leave you with a convenient rebid. Try to anticipate partner's likely response and decide on your first bid accordingly. Don't lie about your point-count. Too many bids spoil the broth. Don't be slam-happy. The majority of bridge players, and specifically husbands, get their greatest thrill from bidding and making a slam, especially a grand slam. Indeed, the temptation is so great that far too many slams are bid. DON'T BE A declarer hog. Good partnerships seek the best contract, regardless of who plays the hand. Part-scores are important. When the opponents have a partial, players go to great lengths to prevent the conversion of that part-score into a game. It is far more intelligent to compete against the establishment of that part-score, i.e., not to let the enemy make two clubs or the like simply because "they're not bidding game, and you don't want to take the slightest risk with a bid of two spades, or whatever." By competing properly your side will often buy the hand and make the part-score for yourselves, or perhaps drive the opponents overboard. No bridge article is really complete without a quiz. We think it may be fun for reconciled (we hope) partners to score themselves on the following questions, based on the points introduced in this article.
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