2/5/23 (60 min)
In the balancing seat we usually “borrow a king” from our partner. Since NT bids are precisely defined this point change to our hand dramatically affects our bidding. Here we look at our balancing NT bids and the followup bidding that partner makes.
12/5/22 (65 min)
The modern system for bidding when we have a fit for partner's minor, called inverted minors, works on improving our ability to look for game or slam in a minor suit -- which is the most common time we want to support a minor suit. Make sure you and partner have a good grasp of these methods, both for playing them and playing against them.
12/12/22 (66 min)
One of the most powerful tools we have in competitive bidding is the preemptive raise. When we have a minor suit fit the opponents will often have a major suit fit. We want to make it as difficult as possible for them to find that fit and using preemptive raises is one the best ways to make their life difficult.
12/19/22 (69 min)
There are certain minor suit hands that can play extremely well in NT contracts. If evaluated correctly these hands can be bid in a way that makes the auction relatively simple. Let's make sure that you do not torture your partner with these hands when you could keep it simple and get to the right contract.
12/27/22 (63 min)
When we have a good hand and a minor suit fit then we may want to explore a minor suit slam. Part of the art form of minor suit slam bidding is using tools to explore slam while keeping a NT contract in the picture. Here we look at how to use these tools and better judge our minor suit slam.
6/27/22 (61 min)
One of the most common uses of conventional bids is to show a raise of partner's Major suit --- Jacoby 2NT, Splinter Bids, Bergen Raises, Drury. If we choose to play these, it is important for us to have good agreements about how they change when the opponents come into our auction. Here we look at how to make sure we have good agreements with partner for these often disturbed conventions.
7/4/22 (65 min)
The opponents often compete in the bidding when we have a fit. That means auctions where we plan to use Inverted Minors, Feature Ask, or Help Suit Game Tries often get disrupted. When this happens we need to have good agreements with our partner about when and how our systems change. Make sure you watch and discuss with with your partners.
7/11/22 (60+ min)
When we ask for Aces or Keycards we are interested in bidding slam. It is extremely frustrating to have the opponents get in the way and force us to guess about bidding slam. We need to be able to communicate with partner about our holdings even after the opponents get in the way. Here we look at the standard methods for doing so.
7/25/22 (63 min)
When partner opens the bidding 1NT we have lots of conventions that we use, primarily to search for a Major suit fit, like Stayman, Jacoby Transfer, and Texas Transfer. When there is competition some of these conventions change and others do not. Here we look at what changes and against what level of interference these bids change.
7/31/22 (63 min)
Some of the most useful conventions for Responder are used on the 2nd round of the bidding - New Minor Forcing, 4th Suit Forcing, etc. Here we look at how these conventions change when there is interference, both just before we bid or earlier in the auction. Having a mix up in these auctions can be very painful!
