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Bridge Tutorials
Here is the recent hand-out
on Competitive Bidding. The bidding system assumes you are playing
Standard English (Acol) with a weak no trump (12-14 hcp) and 4-card
majors:
Competitive Auctions
Opponents open the bidding. Here is a summary of ways to
compete and the meaning that partner will place upon these various
actions:
Suit overcall at 1-level
e.g. 1© - 1ª.
Any suit overcall promises (in principle) a good 5-card suit. To pass
the suit quality test you should ideally have two of the top three
cards in the suit or three of the top five. You do not necessarily
need lots of high card points in the hand as a whole. Vulnerability
should be taken into account. Non-vulnerable you could have as few
as 8hcp provided the suit is good. The upper limit of a simple overcall
is about 16hcp
Example 1: ªA Q 9 7
6 © 6 5 2 ¨
K 9 2 § 10 3 2 Not enough points to
open but a sound non-vulnerable overcall.
Suit overcall at 2-level
e.g. 1© - 2¨.
To overcall at the 2-level you need either extra length (six card
suit) or extra high card points. Especially at teams or rubber bridge
the opponents will try and double unsound overcalls for penalty.
Example 2: ªA 3 ©
6 5 2 ¨ A K 6 4 2 §
Q 10 3. 13hcp so bidding at the 2-level is fine with this hand. Had
opponent passed you would have opened with this hand (with 1NT). Without
say the ªA an overall would be unsound
without a sixth diamond.
No Trump Overcall
e.g 1© - 1NT. In the
direct position this shows a ‘strong no-trump’ type hand
of 15-17hcp with a good ‘stop’ in opener’s suit.
Example 3: ª A J 3
© K Q 4 ¨
Q 10 9 4 § K J 5
Double For Take Out
e.g. 1© - Dble. An
immediate double of a opening suit bid is always for ‘take-out’
ie a request to partner to bid a new suit. A take-out double shows
opening hand values (i.e 12+ hcp), shortage in the suit bid by opponents
and support for the other suits (one of which partner is at your request
going to bid). Partner will expect you to have four cards in an unbid
major suit.
Example 4: ª A 10 6
3 © 5 3 ¨
Q 10 9 3 § A K 10
With 5 cards in any unbid major prefer to bid it – see above.
A take-out double has no upper limit of strength and may be the first
move on a really big hand.
Jump Overcall
e.g. 1© - 2ª.
A ‘single jump overcall’ promises a good six-card suit.
In standard bidding (i.e. failing a specifically discussed alternative
agreement) the strength is about that of a sound opening hand, 11-16hcp.
Example 5: ªA Q 10
7 6 5 © 3 ¨
A J 3 § K 8 7
Pre-Emptive Overcall
e.g. 1© - 3ª.
A ‘double jump overcall’ is pre-emptive and shows the sort
of hand that would have opened the bidding with a pre-emptive 3-bid.
Example 6: ªA J 10
8 6 5 2 © 3 ¨
K 2 § J 10 7
Jump in No Trumps
e.g. 1© - 2NT. A jump
in no trumps of this type is not needed in its natural sense in the
direct position, as a balanced hand (18+hcp) too strong to bid 1NT
will normally start with a Take-Out Double. Instead this bid is allocated
to a hand at least 5-5 in the minors (or if a minor suit has been
bid, the lowest two unbid suits). The range may vary widely but partner
of the 2NT bidder should initially proceed on the basis that the bid
is weak. The bid is often called ’the Unusual No Trump’.
Example 7: ª10 3 ©
3 ¨K Q 8 7 6 §
A 10 7 5 4
However if the auction goes 1ª -
pass - pass and it’s your turn to bid in the ‘pass-out’
seat, the Unusual No Trump is not need and a 2NT bid here shows a
normal notrump hand with 19-21hcp and a ‘stopper’ in the
suit the opponents bid.
Example 7a: ªA J 3
© K Q 3 ¨K
Q 8 7 2 § A 10
A Bid in the Opponent's Suit
e.g. 1© - 2©
. In traditional bridge a direct ‘cue-bid’ of the opponent’s
suit showed a hand strong enough to drive to game and with first-round
control (ace or void) in partner's suit. On grounds of frequency this
bid is not efficient so the requirement to control opponent’s
suit has been relaxed.
However opportunities for the bid are still infrequent so in duplicate
bridge it has been increasingly displaced by the so-called Michaels
cue-bid. Using this convention the bid shows a two-suited hand of
at least 5-5 in the majors (if a minor suit has been bid) or, if a
major suit has been opened, 5 cards in the other major and 5 cards
in an (unspecified) minor.
Example 8: ªA J 10
4 2 © 2
¨10 3 § A 9 7 5 2
Pass
All hands not suitable for any of the above should be passed. Mostly
this is automatic as you will be too weak to bid. But you should also
pass with a balanced weak no trump type hand or with a hand with particular
strength in opponent's suit. Pass a 1©
opening bid with either of these:
Example 9: ªA J 10
© Q 8 7 4 ¨
K 10 3 § A 8 5
Example 10: ª2
© A Q J 10 9 2 ¨
10 3 § A 9 7 2
© Ned Paul 2004 - This material is published
for the personal use of bona fide bridge students. If you are a briidge
teacher and wish to use this material, please telephone Ned Paul on
07944 768643.
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