Feb 9-12 -- Resort Follies Part III -- more lessons

More Help

The pros were knocked out of their bracket Sunday morning, and while waiting for me they went to see a movie. On their return, one of them kibitzed me in our final Swiss match. We discussed some of the hands on the long auto ride home.

Keep bidding

No one vulnerable, West deals

West	North	East	South
Pass 1 ♦ 2 ♠	Pass 1 ♥ Pass	Pass 1 ♠ Pass	1 ♣ Pass Pass

North can afford to keep the auction going by doubling West's 2 ♠ bid. For South to open in fourth seat without a spade suit, South must have at least 13 HCP. Instead, I gave South no encouragement by passing. WHEN IN DOUBT, BID!

Don't make undisciplined bids

Another hand: East deals, no one vulnerable. North holds:

       ♠ Q   ♥  A Q J 9   ♦ Q x   ♣ A Q J 10 8 x

East	South	West	North
1 ♣ 2 ♠ 3 ♠	Pass Pass Pass	1 ♠ Pass Pass	Pass 3 ♣ 4 ♣

I was right to bid 3 ♣, but why did I bid 4 ♣? South heard the auction and chose not to take action over my 3 ♣ bid. My 4 ♣ bid was UNDISCIPLINED. I was doubled, and went down 1 on the play. We can set their 3 ♠ contract. South's hand:

       ♠ A x x x   ♥  10 x x x   ♦ K 10 x x x   ♣ (void)

Listen more carefully to the opponents' bidding

Finally, a losing bid on a doomed hand. Both vulnerable, North deals. North's hand:
       ♠ K J 10 x x x x   ♥  9   ♦ A J x x   ♣ K

North	East	South	West
1 ♠ 2 ♠ 4 NT 5 ♠	Pass Pass Pass Pass	2 ♦ 4 ♠ 5 ♦ Pass	2 ♥ Pass Double Pass

I did not recognize that West's bid guaranteed a Diamond void. Through a haze of optimism, I thought West might be showing the K ♦ sitting over South's presumed A ♦. The kibitzing pro, however, was sure. He also saw that North-South could make neither 5 ♦ nor 5 ♠. Still, his suggestion was to Redouble . This puts East-West to the test; they may flee to 5 ♥, or may mis-defend the hand. To set 5 ♦, West must get the A ♠, give East a ♠ ruff, and get the A ♥ before South gets in to pitch North's singleton 9 ♥ on the A ♣.

South's hand:

       ♠ Q x x   ♥ K 10 x   ♦ K Q x x x   ♣ A x

The hand went down 1, of course, as I lost the ruff on the opening ♦ lead and the two major suit aces. On an interesting note, the other team took eleven tricks in their ♠ game. The difference? Our 4 NT responses were 3014, requiring South to bid 5 ♦ to show one Ace; they were using 1430 responses, allowing South to bid 5 ♣ to show the one Ace. Of course, our West didn't have the lead-directing double available over their South's 5 ♣ bid.

Am I really this bad?

I'd like to think not. In my blog, it seems I'm showing mostly the hands where I erred, and where I can learn from those errors. Perhaps I have some bridge players at my own level reading; they too may be able to learn. Retelling the mistakes and lessons learned is part of the learning process for me -- the repetition of the lessons should reinforce them. Perhaps in future entries I'll be able to record that I have cut down on the kinds of mistakes I'm now relating. This will show that I am indeed learning the lessons and improving as a Bridge player. That's the goal, anyway.

Final Words

Thanks very much to the two pros who listened to my tales of woe, showed me what I needed to do, and gave me tips and encouragement. If circumstances allow us to make similar arrangements at future tournaments, be sure I'll jump at the opportunity!