What advantage is a slow-step?

Friar Lawrence, in Act 2, Scene 3, said to Romeo: “Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast.” (The modern translation is: “Go wisely and slowly. Those who rush stumble and fall.”)

When bidding, you should go slowly if unsure of either the right strain or the correct level. But if you are confident, especially if it is a competitive auction, running quickly by consuming vast amounts of bidding space will sometimes make your opponents stumble and fall.

Look at the South hand in today’s diagram. East deals and opens one diamond. How many hearts would you bid?

South should rush quickly, jumping to four hearts, nothing less.

Then, West should double, to show some values, and hope for the best. (A double by responder at this level is flexible. It just says that he has too many points to pass, but nothing better to do.) Now, though, East, who has a strong hand, will wonder about a slam. Or maybe he will pass and take the money. Here, four hearts doubled costs 300 for down two.

East-west can make one game: five diamonds. Five clubs goes down after a heart lead.

At the table, South bid only one heart. The auction continued two clubs - pass two spades - three hearts - four diamonds - pass - five diamonds - five hearts - double - all pass. Now the cost was 500, more than the value of the nonvulnerable game available to East-west.

South made life much too easy for his opponents. To use a baseball analogy, he gave them a fielder’s choice.