RESPONDING BIDS

Suits
A jump overcall shows strength, and, thought it is No-Trumps forcing, partner is expected to take action if he holds the values that would justify a response to a bid of One

An overcall should be based on a five-card poker hands or longer suit, though it is reasonable to overcall with A,K,Q,x or K,Q,J, x at the level of One. It is nearly always very unwise to overcall with a broken suit.

In general, when an opponent has opened the bidding with a bid of One of suit, it is better to counter it with a take-out double than with a weak overcall.

A double in this situation shows weakness in the suit doubled and a total of about 13 or 14 points with a balanced hand and 11 or 14 points with a balanced hand and 11 or 12 with an unbalanced one.

If the doubler’s partner has No-Trumps bid (if he has the double is for a penalty) the doublers invites partner to bid his best suit.

If South has bid One Diamond, West should double. East bids hearts and the good fit has been found. If West bids one Spade over South’s one Diamond the heart fit will never be found and a good result will be exchanged for a bad one.

If partner’s best suit is the one that has been doubled, either he bids No-Trumps or passes for a penalty if he holds length in the suit.

A double of One No-Trumps is made with a balanced poker hands and a count of about two points more than the No-Trumps bidder’s average. With a weak hand partner will take out into his best suit, but if the combined count totals 23 or more he will pass for a penalty.

The responses to opening Two bids (of suits other than clubs ) are No-Trumps so well-defined and clear-cut as the responses to an opening bid of Two Clubs. In general, if partner holds a biddable suit he should bid it at the lowest level.

If he lacks a biddable suit, but has a total of from 10 to 12 points, he should bid Three No-Trumps. If he lacks a biddable suit and insufficient points to bid Three No-Trumps, but has adequate support (i.e. x, x, x or Q, x) for partner’s suit and a count of five, he should give a simple raise in partner’s suit. If he lacks a biddable suit, insufficient points for Three No-Trumps, and insufficient support for partner’s suit, he should make the negative response of Two No-Trumps.

No-Trumps
The partner of the poker player who opens the bidding with No-Trumps raises on a very precise number of points. The number of points, however, may be reduced slightly if the responder holds a five- card suit. Over a bid of One No-Trumps, partner holds:

The hand totals eight points and nine points are normally necessary to jump to Three No-Trumps. Here, however, the jump to Three No-Trumps is justified on the length of the spade suit, and the good intermediate cards.

It is unwise to bid spades because if it is assumed that partner hold a balanced 16 point hand he is just as likely to win nine tricks in No-Trumps as the responder is to win ten in spades. If Three No-Trumps cannot be made there is no reason to suppose that Four Spades can.

A jump take out into a suit is a poker game force. It does No-Trumps, however, promise a very strong hand: rather it means that the responder, who knows the precise strength of his partner’s bid, can foresee game for the partnership but cannot tell whether the combined hands will play better in No-Trumps or in a suit.

Over West’s opening bid o9f One No-Trump (16 to 18 points) East who has 9 points has enough to jump to Three No-Trumps. He prefers Three Spades, however, which West raises to game, because online poker game in spades can hardly fail, but in No-Trumps will be defeated if a club is led.