Aces on Bridge

Dear Mr. Wolff: There were differing opinions in my circle of friends as to how to bid this hand:

♠ A- Q-7-6-5-3, ♥ K-10,

♦ K- Q-10-3-2, ♣ - --. At unfavorable vulnerability, you hear partner pass and your right-hand opponent open one heart. What would you do?

— Michaels Man,

Dover, Delaware

Answer: It is one spade for me, followed by a diamond call. A Michaels cue-bid here should deny a sixth spade, in a decent suit. The logic is that partner will assume I have five spades in a competitive auction and may prefer to play my minor at a higher level. With a worse hand worth only one action (say, this hand with a low spade instead of the ace), I’d bid two hearts and stay silent thereafter unless a fit emerges.

Dear Mr. Wolff: Should the two members of a partnership agree on a preempting style? And do they have to follow it if they do?

— Pogo Stick, Twin Falls, Idaho

Answer: It makes sense to agree on a common style so that you know what to expect. But individuals do have their own styles — and as long as you stick to what partner anticipates and tell the opponents what they should expect, I do not see why those styles have to be identical.

Dear Mr. Wolff: How light do you think third-hand openers can be? I have seen some players open 7- counts, but this seems more like a psych to me.

— In the Action, Concord, New Hampshire

Answer: It is a sound principle that since partner is a passed hand, he does not have enough to go flying to the moon when you open light. Most pairs even employ measures, such as

Drury, to help them stay low with a fit, but I do not think it wise to open at the one-level with fewer than 9 points. The main reasons to open light at the onelevel are to direct the lead or to compete the partscore. Your partner should be allowed to assume a decent minimum in order to help him judge when to compete.

Dear Mr. Wolff: Some of my frequent opponents play intermediate jump overcalls. What are these? — Game in the Game, Little Rock, Arkansas

Answer: These show a good suit and around 10-13 points. I tend to believe weak jumps are more useful and more frequent. Some pairs limit the use of intermediate jumps to specific sequences, such as at unfavorable vulnerability. Note that jumps in the balancing seat should be played as intermediate, and jumps over a preempt at the three-level should be strong.

Dear Mr. Wolff: My partner and I had a disagreement about this hand. I held ♠ A-10, ♥ K-J-9-7-6,

♦ 7-4, ♣ Q-9-7-3. With no one vulnerable, I saw my right-hand opponent open one heart and my left-hand opponent respond one notrump. Partner overcalled two spades. Would you make a move?

— Up the Ante, Atlanta, Georgia

Answer: It depends on my partner’s style. If he is solid, then I would raise to three spades, expecting him to have a good hand with five spades or a fair one with six. If he is the sort to pre-protect aggressively and get the spades in with the slightest excuse, I think a pass is best.