Finding the right call in competitive auctions by Bobby Wolff

Finding the right call in competitive auctions can prove tricky sometimes...

But even in standard auctions you need to make sure you don't forget your basics.

Try yourself on these five deals to get a little bit of both!

Question 1

Your Hand
♠ A 10 9 6 3
♥ K
♦ J 9 4 2
♣ 9 7 3

Q: 1 - What do you bid next as South?

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♣	Pass
1♠	Double	2♠	4♥
?

A: Pass: You were not planning to compete beyond the two-level. You can be pushed up one level, but no more, so you should not bid four spades. Can you beat four hearts? I'd expect the contract to be close, but if it does make, four spades will likely fail by at least two -- and probably doubled, to boot. Pass out four hearts and take your chances. (If partner had opened one diamond, you might want to bid on, though.)

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠ A J 9 4 2
♥ J 10 7 3
♦ J 4
♣ 7 2

Q: 2 - What do you bid as South?

South	West	North	East
-	Pass	1NT	Pass
?

A: 2♣: There are two schools of thought here. One transfers to two spades, and the other uses Stayman, planning to rebid two spades over two diamonds to show a shapely invitation with five spades. That is a fractional overbid, but I would be prepared to follow that route to make sure we reached the best major suit for part-score or game.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠ Q 8 6
♥ 10 9
♦ Q 10 3 2
♣ Q 10 9 2

Q: 3 - What do you bid next as South?

South	West	North	East
Pass	Pass	1♦	Double
2♦	2♥	3♣	3♥
?

A: 4♣: You may not have much of a hand, but what you have seems to be working for your partner -- and you have already showed a poor hand on your first two turns. I'm guessing that if partner wants to bid five of a minor to make or as a sacrifice, you have a good hand for him. I would bid four clubs to let him in on the double fit.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ Q 9
♥ J 9 6 5
♦ J 9 8
♣ J 8 7 2

Q: 4 - What do you bid next as South?

South	West	North	East
-	Pass	1NT	Pass
Pass	2♦	Double	Pass
?

A: 2♥: My simple agreement with all my partners about what doubles mean after our side opens one no-trump is as follows: If the only call our partnership has made is to pass, the first double is takeout from either player, whether over or under the suit bid or shown. So here, the double of two diamonds is for takeout, and you have a painless call of two hearts.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ 8 4 3
♥ K Q J 9
♦ A J 9
♣ 9 7 5

Q: 5 - What do you bid next as South?

South	West	North	East
-	Pass	1♣	Pass
1♥	Pass	1♠	Pass
?

A: 2NT: It never does any harm to go over the basics once in a while. A jump to two no-trump is natural and invitational, and it describes your values perfectly. In fact, with none of your values in partner's suits, I would not be surprised to discover that if partner passes, we may be too high already. But you cannot afford to do less. If you wanted to force to game, you would use the fourth suit or jump to three no-trump.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Play this Hand

Now that you've bid five hands, let's see how your play goes.

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Overall Results

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What next? You may enjoy playing our prepared hands series.
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