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TWiB Lesson #594 (1 of 9)
There are two general categories of systems against the opponents 1NT opening bids – ones that use a Double as Penalty and others that use a Double as conventional. When the opponents open the bidding with a weak 1NT we need a good method for dealing with their unusual opening bid. The most common range for a weak NT is 12-14 points, but we define 1NT to be weak if the range does not contain 16 points. Some examples: 10-12, 11-13, 11-14, 12-14, 12-15, or 13-15 points. Against these opening bids we use a system that has a penalty double. Let’s look at one of the most interesting of these systems, Landy with Transfer bids.
TWiB Lesson #595 (2 of 9)
Transfers have become a larger and larger part of both competitive and constructive bidding. They help with playing the contract from correct side, but they are also effective in searching for a fit while keeping the auction at a low level. One auction where transfers by Responder can be helpful is after Opener has started with a suit opening bid at the 1-level (1X) and then made a jump rebid of 2NT – showing a balanced hand with 18-19 points. See how transfers by Responder in this auction can help our side describe our hands in the limited space below 3NT. This replaces Modified Wolff Signoff after a 2NT rebid.
TWiB Lesson #596 (3 of 9)
Responding to 1NT is a balancing act of showing both strength and shape while keeping the auction at a low enough level. With a game forcing hand (10+ points), the goal is usually to be able to describe our hand below 3NT, particularly with hands that are strong enough to be interested in slam. This is not a problem with relatively balanced hands, but with distributional hands it may be more difficult for Responder to show their shape and explore slam without getting the auction too high (going past 3NT). After a transfer bid, Responder often gets a second bid without raising the auction much — one of the key benefits of transfers.
TWiB Lesson #597 (4 of 9)
When our LHO opens the bidding, partner makes a simple overcall, and Responder makes a negative double, then we are in the position of the Advancer. We can choose to play transfers in this position as well. By doing so, we give ourselves an additional step and we often allow ourselves more ways to raise partner. These transfer bids also cause some more difficulty for the opponents – making the meaning of their bids less clear. This approach keeps the auction flexible and helps partnerships describe their hands more accurately and efficiently. Let’s see how they work.
TWiB Lesson #598 (5 of 9)
When partner opens the bidding with a Major suit and right-hand opponent makes a takeout double, the modern approach for many expert partnerships is to play transfer bids by Responder. When Responder transfers to the suit with length instead of bidding it, we gain many advantages in these competitive bidding auctions. Let’s look at how we use these transfers by Responder and what they gain for us — improving both clarity and flexibility in our partnership communication, and helping us find the best fit even when opponents interfere. We’ll also see how these methods can simplify auctions and lead to more accurate, confident contracts.
TWiB Lesson #599 (6 of 9)
When partner opens the bidding with a minor suit and right-hand opponent makes a takeout double, the modern approach for many expert partnerships is to play transfer bids by the Responder. By Responder transferring to the suit with length instead of bidding it directly, we gain many advantages in these competitive bidding auctions. These transfers help clarify hand strength, improve accuracy in finding major-suit fits, and allow the partnership to describe shape efficiently while keeping bidding space available. Let’s look at how we use these transfers by Responder and what they gain for us.
TWiB Lesson #600 (7 of 9)
When partner opens the bidding with 1-minor and our RHO makes an overcall of a suit, then we need a way to describe our hand to partner. The traditional Responder tools are negative doubles and positive freebids, but in some auctions, there are other approaches that use transfers to give us a better and more flexible way to compete as Responder. Unfortunately, we don’t have a transfer structure in every auction (when they overcall 1♠, we have very few good systems available), but hopefully there will be more and more interesting developments in this fascinating area of bidding theory.
TWiB Lesson #601 (8 of 9)
Transfers are an extremely useful tool for competitive bidding. So are relay bids, like the way we use 2NT in a Lebensohl auction. We can play a useful system, like Transfer Lebensohl, in a variety of different situations. Let’s see how we can use these methods after partner opens the bidding and the opponents take away our bidding space with a Weak Jump Overcall, giving us structured ways to compete without guessing while still keeping partner fully informed. These agreements help us navigate tough auctions with confidence and clarity.
TWiB Lesson #585 (1 of 9)
The concept of having a conventional bid like Drury available to show a limit raise in support of partner’s Major suit when we are a passed hand is a regular part of most partnerships’ passed hand bidding structure. Given that making a 2/1 bid into a minor suit is not that attractive (or even possible!) by a passed hand, it makes sense to allocate both 2♣ and 2♦ as artificial raises of Opener’s third seat (or fourth seat) Major suit opening bid. Many partnerships that play Drury play 2-Way Drury, using one bid to show a 3-card limit raise and the other a 4-card limit raise. But a more sophisticated structure can allow us to describe even more hand types in the same bidding space.
TWiB Lesson #586 (2 of 9)
New Minor Forcing is an excellent convention for continuing the auction when Opener has shown a balanced hand that is weaker than opening 1NT. But after a New Minor Forcing bid, the auction often gets complicated if we don’t go straight to game. It can be confusing whether we are inviting game or trying to make a slam try – which bids are forcing and which bids are non-forcing? 2-Way New Minor Forcing is an upgrade to New Minor Forcing that allows Responder to better describe their hand and simplify and clarify the rest of the auction. Let’s take look at how this works to make your bidding smoother and more precise.
TWiB Lesson #587 (3 of 9)
When the auction begins 1X – 1Y – 1NT (where X and Y are different suit bids), the modern treatment is to play Two-Way New Minor Forcing. This approach uses both 2♣ and 2♦ as artificial and forcing bids by Responder. 2♦ is an artificial game forcing bid, while 2♣ is generally used to start invitational bidding sequences. XYZ is a convention that is an extension of this approach in other auctions that start with three bids at the 1-level. By learning these tools, players gain greater flexibility, clearer communication, improved accuracy, stronger control of the auction, and better partnership understanding. Let’s look at the details of how this can improve our bidding.
TWiB Lesson #588 (4 of 9)
When we find a Major suit fit and are interested in game (1M – 2M), we need a good way to explore or invite game. The traditional method is the Help Suit Game Try (HSGT), where Opener asks for help in a side suit. We also have 2NT as a general game try (some use it as a trump suit try) and a raise to 3-Major as 1-2-3 Stop or a quantitative try. This structure works but has two main problems: 1) both players must guess about wasted values opposite shortness, and 2) Declarer’s side-suit description helps the opponents defend. Kokish Game Tries upgrade HSGT, giving up very little while solving these issues. Let’s see how they work in real auctions and practical play.
TWiB Lesson #589 (5 of 9)
When partner opens the bidding in a suit at the 1-level and the next player overcalls 1NT, we want to have a system that allows us to deal with this interference effectively. With a good hand (which is somewhat rare in this auction), we make a penalty double. With a poor hand that is relatively balanced, we likely want to stay out of the auction and simply pass. It is the distributional hands with some values, but less than 10 HCP, where we are likely to want to compete in the bidding. One way to make bidding these distributional hands easier is to use a system like the one we use over a 1NT opening.
TWiB Lesson #590 (6 of 9)
Another approach for using 2♥ and 2♠ responses to 1-minor suit opening bids is to use these bids to show a variety of problematic hands that have length in both Major suits. This method, called Reverse Flannery, is particularly effective after a 1♦ opening bid. It originally comes from Precision, where 1♦ is the only “natural” 1-minor opening bid. By using Reverse Flannery, partnerships gain a clearer, more precise way to describe hands, reduce misunderstandings, and improve their chances of reaching the best contract. Let’s look at how this works and see what types of hands these agreements can help us bid better.
TWiB Lesson #591 (7 of 9)
When we use Inverted Minors to raise partner’s suit, the traditional approach is to show Major suit stoppers and determine whether we can play a notrump contract. A more sophisticated approach is to use an artificial structure that allows Opener to show their hand type and strength and allow Responder to determine where to play the final contract (and who should be the declarer in notrump). This framework provides flexibility and often uncovers better game or slam contracts that standard methods might overlook. A similar approach to this structure can be used in 1♦ – 2♣ auctions as well.
TWiB Lesson #592 (8 of 9)
When partner opens the bidding 1-minor (1m), a jump shift to 2-Major (2M) by Responder can be used for a variety of different hand types. Both the standard approach of a strong jump shift and the common approach of a weak jump shift leave a lot to be desired. The modern style is for good hands to go slow, which makes a strong jump shift less appealing because it eats up valuable bidding space. With players responding to a 1m opening bid with 1M more and more aggressively, this makes using a weak jump shift less common…
TWiB Lesson #593 (9 of 9)
When our side opens the bidding 2♣, we need an agreement about how we handle our responses. There are a variety of ways to handle this -- 2♦ waiting, Steps, Controls, 2♥ Bust. People have strong opinions about 2♥ for showing a bust. The players who dislike it are worried about “wrong siding” a ♥ contract. The players who like it like knowing that 2♦ is game forcing, determining if we are going to game or not immediately. I personally like the idea of setting up the GF immediately, making the auctions after a 2♦ response less ambiguous. When I have a “positive response”, I basically always bid 2♦ and leave…
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.
TWiB Lesson #563 (1 of 4)
The Ace is the most powerful card in each suit. It almost always wins a trick (especially in a notrump contract), but the Ace does much more than simply win one trick. The Ace controls the suit. When we hold the Ace of a suit, we get to not only win a trick in that suit, we get to decide when we take our trick and gain the lead. Holding the Ace gives us the power to choose how the play is going to go.
TWiB Lesson #564 (2 of 4)
We usually win tricks with little cards (other than in the trump suit) by setting up our long suits. To establish these little cards in our long suits into winners, we need to play the hand well. This requires using our large cards in the best way possible to establish our little cards. That means we need to play our combinations as best as we can, manage our transportation, and have some good luck in the way the cards divide.
TWiB Lesson #565 (3 of 4)
It is essential to stop the Declarer's attempts to take tricks with small cards in order to properly defend the contract. That means that suits that have potential winners, threat cards, must not be allowed to grow into winners. We attempt to prevent this by covering an honor with an honor (to prevent promotion) and by holding onto our cards in the opponent’s long suits – called guarding the suit.
TWiB Lesson #566 (4 of 4)
Active opening leads attempt to "go out and get" our tricks. Passive leads, on the other hand, attempt to just not give anything away or help Declarer. There are many different types of passive leads for many different situations. Here we take a look at several lead types and hands where a passive lead may or may not have the intended effect!