Cambridge University Bridge Club Beginners' Lessons 2011 Lesson 7. Conventional Bidding

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Cambridge University Bridge Club

Beginners Lessons 2011


Lesson 7. Conventional Bidding
Jonathan Cairns, [email protected]

Introduction
We have now developed a complete bidding system that will work for almost all hands
that you are dealt (assuming you use it correctly!!). Today we will look at how we can
improve on this simple system with four conventions: blackwood, fourth suit forcing,
stayman, and transfers. From now on, it is a matter for you and your partner to decide
how to develop a system, but I would suggest that you keep it simple! Success in Bridge
is much more about how well you play your system and not how complex your system is.

What is conventional bidding?


A convention is, essentially, a series of artificial bids use to show details about your hand.
We have met one convention so far (artificial strong 2C opening) and a few other
artificial bids (unassuming cue-bids, 2NT negative after strong 2 opening). Here we will
look at a few more. Details of others you might like to play are also added, but will not
be discussed in lessons.

When to introduce conventional bids


We introduce conventional bids for two reasons:
1.
To make use of otherwise meaningless bids, or those that come up so rarely in
natural auctions (for example, the use of unassuming cue-bids, or what about 1 3; 4NT?)
2.
To increase the number of hands that we can show to fill holes in the current
system (see responses to 1NT opening).

Alerting conventional bids


In proper tournament play, when your partner makes a bid that you have agreed is
conventional, you are supposed to alert it. This is done by waving the blue alert card at
your opponents. They are now allowed to ask you what your partner's bid means.
There are two exceptions to this rule. Stayman is not alerted - you merely say
"Stayman". Transfers are also not alerted - you instead state the suit being transferred
into (e.g. after 1NT, 2 is announced as "Hearts").

Blackwood Convention
As 4NT is rarely used naturally, a common use for this bid is to enquire about the number
of aces held by partner when trying to find a slam. Usually a suit should be agreed first,
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but a sequence such as 1-2; 2-4NT implicitly agrees spades (the last suit bid). So, for
example, after 1-3, 4NT is Blackwood asking responder how many aces he holds.
Responses are:
5
0 or 4 aces
5
1 ace
5
2 aces
5
3 aces.
Blackwood bidder can then use 5NT to ask for Kings (responses as above but at the 6
level) if they want, but this is normally only a good idea when looking for a Grand Slam.
Rebidding the agreed trump suit at the 5 level is signoff. (To signoff in 5NT, bid a
suit at the 5 level that has not been agreed as a trump suit this forces Blackwood
responder to bid 5NT.)

Use of Blackwood
Blackwood is used to keep you out of bad slams (if you are missing 2 aces, the slam
will often fail) and not to get you into them! One example of a good use for Blackwood:
North: KQ9, KQ96, AKT7,
K3
South: JT,
A2,
QJ9864,
A95
North opens 2NT (20-22), S responds 4 (slam try in Diamonds). North is minimum but
has excellent Diamond support, so wants at accept the Slam try but is concerned about
missing aces. Without guaranteeing 33 HCP, it is very possible 2 are missing. If N uses
Blackwood by rebidding 4NT, S rebids 5 (2 aces) and N can safely bid the small slam.
If S had only shown 1 ace (by bidding 5), N can pass.

When not to use Blackwood!


Blackwood is arguably the most overused convention in Bridge. There are many
situations where Blackwood should be avoided:
When you hold a void and a suit missing an ace. If partner shows an ace, you
cannot tell if it is opposite the void (bad) or in the suit missing the ace (good).
When any response that means Slam cannot make will take the auction
beyond that suit at the 5 level. If, in the example above, the minors are
reversed:
North: KQ9, KQ96, K3,
AKT7
South: JT,
A2,
A95, QJ9864
then after 2NT-4, 4NT for Blackwood is not a good idea since the 5 response
(1 ace) tells North that Slam cannot make, but they can no longer sign off in 5.
As N will be Dummy here, EW will have more information about the potential
success of this Slam. Better just to bid 6 directly (or sign-off immediately in 5
depending on judgement). The lower the rank of the suit, the more careful you
have to be when using Blackwood.
When you are not sure it is safe to play at the 5-level. A small doubleton is a
side suit is always a worry.
There are certain circumstances when 4NT is not Blackwood because a natural NT is
required. Essentially these are:
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After a NT opening (1NT-4NT and 2NT-4NT are quantitative Slam invites). 1


In a clearly no-trump oriented auction (e.g. after 1 - 2; 2NT).
When it is not freely bid, for example, after a 4 level pre-empt or sacrifice (when
NT has been agreed) by opponents. E.g. 1NT (4) 4NT is to play.

Fourth Suit Forcing


A sequence such as 1-1; 2-2 has little meaning. It is unlikely that you want to
pursue a fit in the forth suit, since if responder has this suit (or a stop), they can bid NT.
As a result, bidding the 4th suit is used as an artificial bid. It is nearly always game
forcing2, and asks for more information about openers hand - usually to decide
which Game is best. The sequence should only be used when deciding between games don't make partner sweat, if you already know what game to bid!
The rule of thumb for responding to 4th Suit Forcing is:

bidding NT shows a stop in the 4th suit.


bidding one of your suits shows an extra card in that suit.
bidding partner's suit shows support for that suit.

To take a specific example, after 1-1; 2-2:

2NT (if available) shows a partial stop or better (K, Qx, Jxx) in Diamonds
3NT shows a good stop (A, Kx, Qxx, Jxxx) in Diamonds
2* (openers first suit) shows 5+ cards
3* (jump in openers first suit) shows at least a good 6 card suit, preferably 7.
3* (openers second suit) shows 5+ cards, so implies 5+ hearts (with longer
than , opener would have opened 1)
4* shows a 2-suited hand unsuitable for play in NT (such as a 6-6 shape)
3* (responders suit) show 3 card support (opener would have raised earlier with
4 card support)
3 (raise of forth suit) shows 4 cards, hence a 1-4-4-4 shape, but do not take the
auction past 3NT!!

* Your top priority is to show stops looking for 3NT and this should be done in
preference to rebidding your own, or partners suit.

Conventional Responses to 1NT (and 2NT)


Looking back to our responses to a 1NT opening, responder has no way to show 4 card
major suits at all or a 5 card major suit and an invitational hand (11-12HCP). This
will means that a lot of 8 card fits in the majors are missed. Two modifications to the

Consider using the Gerber convention in these situations.

The only circumstances under which 4th suit forcing does not force to Game are (a) when the hands
appear to mis-fit or (b) when 3NT and 4/ look unlikely and there is not enough strength to go to 5/.

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system allow us to find these major suit fits, but this is at the expense of weak takeouts
into 2/.

Stayman Convention
After 1NT, 2 is the Stayman convention, asking opener to show 4 card (or longer)
major suits. This bid promises a 4 card major. Opener rebids:
2 with no 4 card major. Responder bids 2/3NT as appropriate.
2/ with 4 cards in that major. With 4-4 in the majors, bid 2. Responder can
then invite (2NT, 3/ with 8 card fit) or bid Game (3NT, 4/ with 8 card fit).
Opener can correct a NT bid to Spades if 4-4 in the majors.
Example 1: 1NT - 2; 2 - 3 invites game in Hearts. Opener bids 4 with a maximum,
otherwise passes.
Example 2: 1NT - 2; 2 - 2NT invites to game, but responder has now shown a 4-card
spade suit. If opener has a maximum, then they can bid 4 with a 4-card Spade suit, or
3NT without. If opener doesn't have a maximum, they can pass.
Stayman can also be used as a weak takeout with a 4-4-5-0 (or similar shaped) hand
where any response is guaranteed to find an 8 card fit. Do not do this unless you can
tolerate playing opposite 4 cards in both majors or opposite a doubleton diamond.

Transfer bids
In addition to Stayman, we can modify the use of 2//. We use 2/ as transfer bids
(showing the suit directly above the suit bid 2 shows Hearts, 2 shows Spades) and
this asks opener to bid that suit at the 2 level. So, after 1NT, 2 asks opener to bid 2.
Now, responder can:
Pass. As a weak takeout (i.e. to play).
2NT. Invitational (11-12), with a 5 card suit.
3. Invitational, 6 card suit
3NT. 13+, 5 card suit (asks opener to bid 4 with 3-card support)
4. 13+, 6 card suit
Bid another suit: Shows 5-4 between the 2 suits and is usually game forcing.
This leaves the 2 response unused. There are many uses of the bid, but the most useful
is to use it to show 5 spades and 4 hearts with Game Invitational values (this gives us
a Game Force and invite when both majors are held).
Opener will nearly always complete the transfer. i.e. after 1NT - 2; opener must bid 2.
There is one exception to this rule: opener can super-accept the transfer, by jumping to
3, to show an ideal hand. This is done with a maximum hand (14 HCP) and 4+ card
support.
When playing transfers, we no longer have weak takeouts in the minors, we have
dramatically increased the number of hands we can show. Remember that if the
opponents bid over a 1NT opening, all bids revert to being natural.
Additionally, 3/ responses to 1NT no longer need to be game forcing with 5-card suits
(since we can transfer and bid 3NT to show these hands). Therefore, these bids can be
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used as slam tries (in the way that 4 and 4 were previously). You can also make a
Slam try by transferring and then using Blackwood.
You can also play Transfers over 2NT, if you wish - here, it is particularly useful, since
the strong hand will declare and thus be hidden from the defenders view. Additionally,
this allows the weak takeout bids to be made over a 2NT opening.

OPTIONAL: Other conventions


I wont go into detail here. If you are interested in finding out more about these then
there are many internet resources or bridge books. Some good pages are (but be careful
some of these are American so base their conventions on a different basic system):
http://www.bridgeguys.com/
http://www.blakjak.demon.co.uk/brg_menu.htm

OGUST - Responding to Weak 2s


In response to 2//, 2NT is used to enquire about the strength of the pre-empt. Typical
responses are: 3 shows bad hand, bad suit, 3 shows good hand, bad suit, 3 shows
bad hand, good suit, 3 shows good hand, good suit, and 3NT shows that the suit is
headed by AKQ. Good/bad suit indicates how many of A, K, Q are held: Good means 2,
bad means 1 (with 0 you should not be pre-empting!) Good/bad hand indicates the HCP,
e.g. Good = > 8 HCP, Bad = < 7 HCP

Control cue-bids
After a major suit has been agreed, there is little point in bidding another suit naturally.
A common use of this is to use it to show a first round control of that suit and Slam
interest. So, after 1-3, 4 would show the A (or void) and slam interest. Responder
can then show the D or H ace by cue-bidding them (cheapest first). Second cue-bids in
the same suit show second round controls (Kings and Singletons).

Splinter bids
The sequence 1-4 (or any other double jump) has little natural meaning. Often this is
used to show a: good 4+ card support for spades, slam interest, a hand strong enough
(including distribution) to force Game and singleton (or void) in clubs. Further bids are
usually cuebids, 4S from opener shows no slam interest. This allows opener to assess
slam chances. Holding xxx (or Axxx) opposite the singleton is useful (the losers can be
ruffed), but KQxx opposite a singleton is devalued.

Roman Key-Card Blackwood


This is a variation on Blackwood where the trump K is counted as an ace and you can
also show the trump Q in certain circumstances. Useful, but can lead to problems as to
which the agreed trump suit is.

Two suited 1NT overcalls


Overcalling 1NT can be done more aggressively when showing 2 suited hands. I dont
recommend using this too soon, but it is pretty useful for serious duplicate players. Astro
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is common (2 shows Hearts and a minor, 2 shows Spades and another, 5-4 or better).
Continuations are complex and need discussion!

Jacoby 2NT
Suppose partner opens 1 of a major. After interference, e.g. 1 (2) we have made a
distinction between the pre-emptive bids 2/3/4 and the constructive cue-bid 3. We
can use a similar system even when there is no interference: in response to 1, 2/3/4
are used pre-emptively, and 2NT is an artificial bid, showing a constructive raise in
Spades. With Jacoby 2NT, this bid is game-forcing - although one can use 2NT as
showing 10+HCP instead.

Trial bids (less common)


A change of suit after a single limit raise (e.g., 1-2; 3) is Game invitational and
shows a weak long suit (typically xxx or Jxx) when opener is worried that losers in that
suit might hinder his Game chances. Responder bids 3 (reject), 4 (accept) or can
make a second trial bid in his own weak suit after re-evaluating his hand based on that
knowledge. If these are being used in combination with control cue-bids then discussion
is needed, but generally a bid is a trial bid when the agreed suit can be rebid below
Game, and cue when it cannot.

Key Points from Lesson 7


We have seen when we might want to add conventions to our bidding system and
discussed a couple of useful ones. I would suggest not making your system too
complicated until you have established a partnership. All conventions have the drawback
in that they can lead to misunderstandings and this always has to be weighed up against
the advantage the convention offers.

Bidding Summary
Blackwood (4NT to ask for aces, not after a 1NT or 2NT opening). Responses are:
5C 0/4 aces; 5D 1 ace; 5H 2 aces; 5S 3 aces.
Blackwood bidders rebid:
Agreed trump suit at 5 level: signoff
Suit not agreed as trumps at 5 level: forces responder to bid 5NT, signoff
5NT
asking
for
kings,
responses
as
above
It is the Blackwood bidders job to place the contract.

but

at

level.

After a bid in the fourth suit (Fourth Suit Forcing, illustrated for 1H-1S; 2C-2D)
2NT (if available) shows a partial stop (K, Qx, Jxx) in the forth suit
3NT shows a good stop in the fourth suit (Kx is OK; Qxx, Jxxx questionable)
2H (openers first suit) shows 5 card suit
3H (jump in openers first suit) shows at least a good 6 card suit, preferably 7.
3C (openers second suit) shows 5 cards in that suit, so implies 5+ hearts (with C longer that H, opener would
have opened 1C
4C shows a two suited hand (usually 6-6)
3S (raises of responders suit) show 3 card support (opener would have raised with 4 card support earlier)
3D (raise of forth suit) shows 4 cards, hence a 1-4-4-4 shape, but do not take the auction past 3NT!!

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Conventional responses to 1NT (12-14). After interference, bids revert to natural


Responder
Openers rebid
Responders rebid Openers 3rd bid
Pass 0-10, no 5cM
2C Stayman, has a 4cM
This also applies at a
higher level over 2NT
but there are no invitational
bids, only signoffs and FG

2D transfer to H
This also applies at a
higher level over 2NT
but there are no invitational
bids, only signoffs and FG

2H transfer to S
2S 5S 4H 13+ invG
2NT 11-12, invites G
same as natural system
denies 4/5cM
3C/D natural, FG
3H/S nat, slam try
3NT 13+, no 4/5cM
4NT 19-20, inv slam

2D no 4CM

2H 4H, maybe 4S

Pass used as weak takeout


2NT 11-12, invG
3NT 13+, to play
Pass used as weak takeout
2NT not 4H, 11-12, invG
(implies4S)

Pass/3NT
-

Pass 12-13
3S 12-13, 4S
3NT 14HCP, to play
4S 14, 4S, to play
3H 4H, 11-12, invG
Pass 12-13
4H 14HCP to play
(3NT 14HCP 3433, p/c)
2NT not 4H, 13+
Pass
(implies 4S)
4S 4S, to play
2S 4S, denies 4H
as over 2H but opener will not correct to H over NT bids
2H forced response
Pass used as weak takeout
(12-13 any shape or 14
2NT 11-12, invG, 5H
Pass 12-13, 2H
w/o 4+ H)
3H 12-13, 3+H, singoff
3NT 14HCP, 2H
4H 14HCP, 3H
3H 11-12, invG, 6H
Pass12-13, 4H 14
3NT 13+ 5H
Pass 2H, 4H 3H
4H 13+ 5H
2S 5+H, 4S, invG
logical
3C/3D/3S 5+H, 4cs, FG
logical
4C/4D/4S 5-5 or better, FG logical
2S/3C/3D 14HCP 4H 4cs 3H used as weak takeout
Others nat, FG
2NT 14HCP 4H 3433
3H used as weak takeout
Others nat, FG
3H 14HCP 5H
Pass used as weak takeout
Others nat, FG
same pattern as after 2D as transfer to H, but 5-4 S-H game invite does not use transfer
Logical
Pass 12-13
3NT 14, no 5cM
3H/S 14, 5cs, FG
3N / 4H/S to play
Responses as in natural system
3NT 4H/S 5C/D to play
Others accept slam try
Pass/6NT

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