Bridge Venue

• Question 1
  
  Your partner, North, opens 1H. You have all the other suits covered, and you have 9 points. Sounds as if you could play in NT ? Do you agree ?

• Answer 1
  
  Your partner, North, opens 1H. You have all the other suits covered, and you have 9 points. Sounds as if you could play in NT ? Do you agree ?
  
  Answer
  
  Definitely do NOT bid no trumps. You are void in your partner's suit, so expect severe transport problems in NT. What ’s more, the opposition could have lots of them, and make your life hell. You should choose a suit.

• Question 2
  
  So, which suit should you bid ? You've got two 5-card suits to choose between, one a Major and one a minor.

• Answer 2
  
  So, which suit should you bid ? You've got two 5-card suits to choose between, one a Major and one a minor.
  
  Answer
  
  You need to think about your eventual second bid. Of course, other things being equal, it would be better to offer the Major suit, since that gives you a better chance of game. But what if your partner then rebids his heart suit, as is likely given your void ? You would then bid diamonds of course. But you'd have to bid at the 3 level, which would signal having 12 points or more, as you would need to go through your "barrier".
  
  So, bid your diamonds first, and plan to rebid spades. This also has the benefit of showing your strength. . . you'll have to bid 2 diamonds, and you just have the power to do it with your 5-card suit.

• Question 3
  
  Take a look at North's hand. Seems as if you have to rebid your suit, having 8 of them ! But at what level ?

• Answer 3
  
  Take a look at North's hand. Seems as if you have to rebid your suit, having 8 of them ! But at what level ?
  
  Answer
  
  4 Hearts. Your partner's bid tells you he has 9+ points and good diamonds. Maybe you'd have preferred to hear Spades to improve your singleton King, but his extra HCP, your 5 loser hand and his presumed 8 loser hand should encourage you, with your 8 Hearts, to go straight to 4 and hopefully collect your game bonus points.

• Some subjects to follow up on

  1 Bidding Objectives = "8 and 25" 43 After 1 Suit, 6 points, nothing to bid 62 Responders reverse 1 Bidding Objectives = "8 and 25"