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 #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.
TWiB Lesson #577 (2 of 9)
When Opener makes a jump shift into a new suit with their second bid, it is a strong bid that creates a game forcing auction. This is a good bid because it ensures we reach game, but it is a bad bid because it eats up a lot of bidding space without fully describing our distribution. This is a problem. One of the most difficult opening hands to describe to partner is the unbalanced single-suited (one 6+card suit) hand with 18-19 HCP. This is one of the strongest hands that does not open the bidding 2♣. Let’s look at a system that helps us improve our jump shift methods.
TWiB Lesson #578 (3 of 9)
When partner opens the bidding with a 2-level or 3-level preemptive opening bid then Responder may have a struggle to find the best final contract without getting the auction too high. One of the natural pressures is whether Responder risk going past 3NT to look for a fit or a better fit. Given the variability of modern preempts it can be dangerous to reach the 5-level when partner has taken an aggressive action. Here we look at a tool, called Preempt Keycard, for Responder to ask for Keycards after a preempt, but still keep the auction at a low level.
TWiB Lesson #508 (3 of 9)
If you auction goes 3 passes around to you then you have a choice to open the bidding or pass the hand out. If you choose to open the bidding, you have some different bidding tools in the 4th seat. Here we look at our options and how to help us make this decision.
TWiB Lesson #509 (4 of 9)
When we are at favorable vulnerability we have a lot of different options for how to get into the auction. When we are in the 3rd seat, this is even more true. Here we look at how we can use this situation to give us a license to attack.
TWiB Lesson #510 (5 of 9)
We start out the auction seeing if we have a major suit fit. But after that, we try to get to 3NT. When the opponents bid in our auction we have a good idea of what they are going to lead. We can use the Western Cuebid to help find out if we can get to NT. Let’s see how it works!
TWiB Lesson #511 (6 of 9)
When we respond to opener’s bid we have a priority of finding major suit fits. Opener also have a priority of showing their hand type if they do not find a major suit fit. The Walsh style of bidding and rebids are an important improvement in modern bidding.
TWiB Lesson #512 (7 of 9)
Jump Shifts by Responder have a variety of different meanings in different situations. Their means can change based on the level they are made at and if they are in competition. Make sure you have good agreements with your partner about the meaning of these jump shifts.
TWiB Lesson #513 (8 of 9)
When we open the bidding partner often responds with 1NT. It is important for us to have good agreements about common auctions. Here we look at auctions that start with a minor and hear partner respond 1NT. We look at what to expect and how the auction might continue.
TWiB Lesson #514 (9 of 9)
When partner jumps to 2NT after our 1-minor opening we don’t have a lot of space to communicate below 3NT. It is important to have good agreements about the follow-up bidding.
TWiB Lesson #498 (1 of 8)
Here we look at defensive situations in the middle of the hand - we start with a look at covering the opponent's honors -- which one to cover?
TWiB Lesson #499 (2 of 8)
When you can ruff one of Declarer’s tricks it is extremely satisfying. Here we work on techniques that will allow us to do so as often as possible!
TWiB Lesson #500 (3 of 8)
Here we look at how we defend in the middle of the hand, with a focus on leading a new suit -- how and when to do so!
TWiB Lesson #501 (4 of 8)
Should we return partner’s lead? Show we shift to a different suit? This is always a difficult decision! Here we look at how to make this decision and help our partnership take the tricks we are entitled to.
TWiB Lesson #502 (5 of 8)
Here we look at how to play when we have multiple touching honors. How to we play these different sequences in different situations can e very confusing.
TWiB Lesson #503 (6 of 8)
When you are behind the dummy and attack it you should be able to do so in ways that show your partner a very strong holding. These surround plays and power shift help partner know the strength of your holding.
TWiB Lesson #504 (7 of 8)
When we are defending a hand there are many important situations that we need to know about when to attack a suit and when it may cost to do so. These card combinations and how to play to get the most out of them are vital.
TWiB Lesson #505 (8 of 8)
Discards are an important way to communicate with partner. But not just the first discard, every discard matters. Here we look at discards later in the play.
TWiB Lesson #489 (1 of 9)
Finding the best line of play as Declarer is always a challenge. Instead of trying to determine the better of line of play A and line of play B the best play is often to choose a combination of the two. Here we look at how to improve you declarer play by combining your chances.
TWiB Lesson #490 (2 of 9)
Having the right mindset is an important part of approaching a declarer play problem. When you are in a good contact start to consider “What could go wrong?!?” and when you are in a bad contract start to make assumptions that good things are going to happen for you!
TWiB Lesson #491 (3 of 9)
When we are defending and the Declaring side holds the King and the Jack in a suit then they will often have to guess the layout of the suit in order to take their most tricks. Here we look at the art of giving them the most difficult guesses we can!
TWiB Lesson #492 (4 of 9)
Finding a fit makes declaring a hand much easier. When we are playing a hand without a fit it is much more challenging. Here we look at some strategies for playing hands that have less than an 8-card fit.
TWiB Lesson #480 (1 of 9)
When the opponent’s open the bidding and we have two long suits it is useful to be able to show them both immediately. This is especially true when we have a weak hand. Here we look at Michaels Cuebids and see how they help us do this!
