[Alibar10]

My p bids 1h. I have 6pt and 3 small hearts, so my response is 2h. P then bids 3d. I pass and p is upset, saying I should have rebid hearts. Please tell me if that's what I should have done?

[Zelandakh]

After the start 1♥ - 2♥, a new suit by Opener is usually played as a trial bid, that is your partner is asking if you are maximum or minimum for your 2♥ response. If you are maximum then bid 4♥, if minimum then 3♥. If you are somewhere in-between then you should look at your holding in the suit that partner bid. If you have few losers in the suit then bid 4♥; if many losers in the suit then bid 3♥. If you are somewhere in-between again you can consider bidding a new suit yourself if this is below 3♥ (not available here) which throws the decision back to partner. On this occasion it sounds like you were a minimum for 2♥ so yes, your partner is correct that 3♥ was the right bid.

[Alibar10]

Zelandakh, on 2012-September-06, 08:50, said:

After the start 1♥ - 2♥, a new suit by Opener is usually played as a trial bid, that is your partner is asking if you are maximum or minimum for your 2♥ response. If you are maximum then bid 4♥, if minimum then 3♥. If you are somewhere in-between then you should look at your holding in the suit that partner bid. If you have few losers in the suit then bid 4♥; if many losers in the suit then bid 3♥. If you are somewhere in-between again you can consider bidding a new suit yourself if this is below 3♥ (not available here) which throws the decision back to partner. On this occasion it sounds like you were a minimum for 2♥ so yes, your partner is correct that 3♥ was the right bid.

Thanks so much.

[Stephen Tu]

You should sometimes accept the game try (bid 4h instead of 3h) even when minimum. The usual method is "help suit" or "long suit" game tries, where opener bids a suit where he has length and honors. Having honors in that suit is good, it solidifies the suit. Holding like xxx is bad. And you want your queens and jacks either in the trump suit, or in the trial suit, not in suits partner skipped over. If partner skipped over a suit, usually he has shortness there, and Qs/Js in that suit aren't as useful, since they won't win an early round trick and partner will be ruffing later tricks. They would be more useful solidifying his long suit. Aces on the other hand are useful anywhere, although you'd still prefer them to be in partner's suits in borderline cases.

So if your points are so called "working", you should accept even when minimum. If your points are "not working", you might not accept even if a bit stronger than minimum. So say you only had an ace and a Q, if the game try was 3d after 1h-2h, you should probably accept if you had AH Qd. But if you had AH Qs, you'd decline.

[kenrexford]

Alibar10,

I can sympathize with your question. Suppose, for example, that your exact hand was something like this:


♠Qxx ♥xxx ♦Qxxxx ♣Qx

Your partner open 1♥, and you feel obligated to raise to 2♥ because you have a fitand 6 HCP, even if this is about as lousy a hand as you could imagine. Dsciplined bidding means raising.

Partner then bids 3♦ as a game try, which you assume (surely correctly without discussion) to be a natural game try, meaning a second suit. So, you assume something like maybe ♠xx ♥AKJxx ♦AKJx ♣Jx. 17 HCP, plus 1 for the doubleton = 18 poiints, so he needs about 8-9 points from you for game and really wants those points in hearts diamonds, or side Aces.

You then think through that hand type. If that is what partner actually has, you will lose four tricks in the blacks suits immediately, which means that game is not making. So, not bidding game makes sense. You also then realize that even 3♥ or 3♦ needs the heart hook coming in, which is bad news. If you think even further, you realize that 3♦ would be a much safer contract, because you make 3♦ even if hearts are 4-1 as long as the hook works (and hold it to only -1 if the heart hook fails).

Thus, there are lots of reasons for you to think, if you have only three hearts but (four?) five or more diamonds, that 3♦ is a safer contract. So, the temptation to pass is very strong. It would be even stronger at IMP scoring. In fact, there is nothing inherently wrong with thinking along those lines.

There are several problems with the pass, however:

1. If both contracts make, 3♥ scores better.
2. If you pass, the opponents will know that you have a double fit, and a really great diamond fit, and should now take the opportunity to jump into the auction. For example, with the hands described above, 3♠ probably makes for the opponents or is down only one trick.
3. Every so often, partner actually bids 3♦ as a SLAM try (believe it or not -- it is possible)
4. Partner might even be "faking" a 3♦ game try as the "practical" call.

and, most importantly,

5. Partner will eventually kill you if you pass new suit game tries; and trying to explain all of what I have just said at the table is too much for him to handle.

[Quantumcat]

kenrexford, on 2012-September-06, 12:21, said:

Alibar10,

I can sympathize with your question. Suppose, for example, that your exact hand was something like this:


♠Qxx ♥xxx ♦Qxxxx ♣Qx

I don't think that was what he was thinking. He probably just thought, "I have a bad hand and want to get out as quickly as possible". He didn't think about the fact you should probably play in your fit if you have one. An auction from my club that happens sometimes: 1♣ P P 1♥ 2♦ P P P. Dummy has one diamond and three clubs.