This week we look at the power of fit and see how the size of that fit affects our hand’s ability to take tricks. We focus on the Law of Total Tricks - when it works and when it needs adjusting!
Bidding
We define bridge hands into two general categories: Balanced and Unbalanced hands. This classification is called Hand Type. Early in the auction, one of the most important pieces of information we can communicate to partner is our hand type. It is easier for the Opener to communicate this information (as the bidding is designed more for this). Let’s look at how this is accomplished.
3NT is our favorite contract. That makes bidding it a requirement as often as we can – we cannot play there unless one of us bids it. If we are going to bid 3NT in a variety of different situations, with a variety of different hands (to allow us to play there), then we need to have good agreements about what a 3NT bid shows. Responder is most likely to be the one bidding 3NT, so let’s discuss many of these possible bids.
Constructive: Opener
One of the most common misunderstandings about Opener’s hand concerns rebidding 3NT. What does it show? As we would expect, the answer is different in different situations. It is key for us to make the right interpretation of partner’s bid and to make sure we don’t make false assumptions. These kinds of bidding mixups can lead to playing the wrong game or missing an “easy’ slam. Let’s look at some auctions and make sure we have good agreements with partner.
When partner opens the bidding 2NT then it gives us less space to investigate a Major suit fit (or any fit) and keep the auction below 3NT. That makes it important to make use of our space efficiently and determine if we have a fit and then determine if we belong in game or higher. Here we look at how to balance communicating with partner and a lack of bidding space.
More NT
When partner opens the bidding 2NT they eat up a lot of bidding space. As the Responder we need to search for a Major suit fit (or even a minor suit fit) while keep the auction from getting too high. Our most common action will be to start with a 3♣ Stayman response. Let’s take a look at these auctions in detail and make sure that we are on the same page as partner.
