Aces on Bridge

Dear Mr. Wolff:

I have heard my bridge friends discussing mixed raises. What are they?

— Mix-up, Newark

Answer: A mixed raise is a four-card raise between an unassuming cue-bid (10 or more) and a preemptive raise. It applies after your left-hand opponent opens one of a suit and partner overcalls at the one-level. Then, a jump cue-bid in left-hand opponent’s suit shows around 7-9 points with four-card support. After your partner opens a major suit and the next hand doubles, it is also helpful to have a call to show this precise hand. The jump raise remains preemptive, with two no-trump being at least a limit raise.

Dear Mr. Wolff: With ♠

- --, ♥ K-Q-J-10-9-5-4, ♦ Q-9-4, ♣ 8-6-5, you see partner bid the inevitable one spade over your lefthand opponent’s one club. You bid two hearts, which you play as non-forcing, but partner rebids two spades. Would you repeat the hearts?

— Bidding War, Madison, Wisconsin

Answer: I would repeat the hearts, as this hand will be nearly useless for play in spades. Partner may not have a completely inappropriate hand for hearts. He could have some values (indeed, this is suggested by the fact that he did not bid a weak two spades directly over one club) but feared missing a game by passing two hearts.

Dear Mr. Wolff: How would you bid when holding ♠ Q, ♥ 3, ♦ A-QJ-7-6-4-3, ♣ A-Q-J-8 after you open one diamond, your left-hand opponent overcalls one spade, partner bids two hearts and your right-hand opponent bids two spades?

— High Roller, Hartford, Connecticut

Answer: I would bid three clubs, forcing. Three diamonds is an underbid, since you need little more than the club king to make five diamonds a fair prospect. If partner corrects to three diamonds, you can come again with four diamonds, or make a last try of three spades. Double would be lopsided with nothing in hearts.

Dear Mr. Wolff: How much do you think one should have for a positive response to a strong twoclub opening? I’m starting a new partnership, and we disagree on this point.

— Top Five, Denver, Colorado

Answer: Suit quality isn’t absolutely critical at the two-level. You want at least 6 high-card points for the action, and responder should consider bidding two hearts with queenjack-sixth and an outside king; otherwise, the hand becomes too hard to show later. You should strain to bid a decent five-card major, especially if that is where you live, but the suit should be better for a three-level response.

Dear Mr. Wolff: My partner had this hand: ♠ K-Q-4, ♥ J-10-8-6, ♦ A-9-7-6-3, ♣ A. At unfavorable, I passed as dealer, and his righthand opponent opened one diamond. That was passed around to me, and I doubled. My partner passed now and conceded 140 with three games on our way. What went wrong?

— Agony Aunt, Little Rock, Arkansas

Answer: Your partner should not have passed the double. His diamonds were not strong enough, and there was still some potential for making a game your way, which probably would have been more profitable. I would cue-bid two diamonds to start with and raise a heart response to game. Over a two-spade response, I might cue-bid three diamonds or even raise spades.