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TWiB Lesson #567 (1 of 9)
Most partnerships who play Support Doubles have had a conversation about when they apply and when they do not. Hopefully, we will have a conversation with partner about the follow-up bids as well. But one thing that many partnerships forget to discuss is how high support doubles apply and what a double at a higher level shows. Let’s look at support double auctions in detail to make sure we are on the same page with partner.
TWiB Lesson #568 (2 of 9)
Bridge players keep finding more and more ways to use doubles, especially in low-level competitive auctions. But when Left Hand Opponent (LHO) opens the bidding with a suit, partner overcalls a second suit, and Responder bids a third suit, then a double by Advancer is not a responsive double. It is a different kind of competitive double called a Snapdragon Double – a fancy name for another double that wants to compete in the bidding.
TWiB Lesson #569 (3 of 9)
Traditionally, a redouble in a competitive auction shows a strong hand (10+ points), but with everyone bidding it is not likely that Advancer is too focused on showing values. Instead, we want to design our agreements to let us best describe the most common kinds of hands. Here, we will see how using redouble as a conventional bid, called a Rosenkrantz Redouble, can be more effective than this traditional value-showing redouble.
TWiB Lesson #570 (4 of 9)
The modern game continues to create interesting auctions and we need to make sure to discuss how to respond to new situations with partner. Some of the most interesting (and useful) competitive bids are when we use a suit that the opponents have bid – called a Cuebid. There can be many different meanings for bidding the opponent’s suit. Let’s take a look at cuebids of the opponent’s suit in a variety of different auctions and make sure we are on the same page with partner about the meaning of these calls.
TWiB Lesson #571 (5 of 9)
When the auction begins 1m – 1NT (both bids by the opponents), it’s rare to compete in a minor suit. Usually opponents have the minors, since Responder has denied a 4-card Major. In these auctions, it is effective to play a system geared towards the Major suits where we are most likely to have a fit. Spear is an artificial system that uses all the bids at the 2-level to show different Major suit hands. This gives more options for competing in the bidding. Let’s see how it works.
TWiB Lesson #572 (6 of 9)
When responding to partner’s 1-Major opening bid, Responder tries to apply the Law of Total Tricks (LOTT) – getting to the size of the partnership’s fit as quickly as possible. This LOTT bidding is especially effective when our side has a 9+card fit. Bergen Raises are a set of conventional bids Responder can use when responding to a 1-Major opening bid with 4+card support (at least a 9+card fit). Let’s see how this system works.
TWiB Lesson #573 (7 of 9)
One of my favorite sayings is “2NT is a convention, not a contract.” In specific situations, Responder can use 2NT as conventional raise of Opener’s suit. Sometimes we need to choose between several different conventional methods for competitive auctions. Here we look at our options for how to best use 2NT. If you like conventional raises of partner's suit, then make sure you discuss these auctions with partner.
TWiB Lesson #574 (8 of 9)
Jumping in the auction eats up a lot of bidding space, which is likely to make communicating with partner more difficult. Since our jump bid may make future communication more difficult, it should have a specific meaning. When partner opens the bidding, Responder’s jump shifts can be used to show a variety of different types of hands. We need to decide, as a partnership, which ones we want to use. We will choose different agreements for different situations.
TWiB Lesson #575 (9 of 9)
When partner makes a bid, and we choose to bid a suit of our own, this is called a freebid. In most normal situations freebids show values (called positive freebids) and are often forcing 1-round. We’ve all heard the saying -- a new suit is forcing by an unpassed hand. Unfortunately, this is not always true, but it is often our agreement. Let’s look at freebids made by a passed hand and see how the fact that we are passed changes these situations.