Aces on Bridge
Dear Mr. Wolff: I tend to pass over my opponents’ openings of one heart or one spade when I am 4-3-3-3 with length in their suit and around 1214 points, but it sometimes works out badly, especially when the next hand raises and partner lacks the strength to act. What is your style in these spots? — Continental Congress, Muncie, Indiana
ANSWER: I also pass in such scenarios. If you change the opening bid to a minor, I double as my best chance to get into the auction. There are fewer shape constraints over minor-suit openings, especially when the opponents could be short in the suit bid. This style requires partner to exercise restraint with his drives to game — not a bad thing.
Dear Mr. Wolff: I saw that you advocated passing with this hand at your third turn in a bidding contest: ♠ A-QJ-4, ♥ ---, ♦ K-10-4-2,
♣ K-Q-10-5-2. After you opened one club and rebid one spade over partner’s heart response, you gave up when partner advanced with one notrump. I must admit I would have invited game. — Dilatory Daniel, Sunbury, Pennsylvania
ANSWER: I think I am the club nine short of an invitation. The suit might not come in opposite a small doubleton, and although partner has shown a smattering of values, the potential misfit argues for caution. If I were to go on, I would bid two diamonds, assuming it would be interpreted as a natural, shape-showing bid. This way, we might get out into a diamond partial or even play five diamonds when partner has a wild shape.
Dear Mr. Wolff: Say partner forgets to alert your conventional bid. Are you allowed to give him a nudge in the right direction? — Ethics in Question, Schaumburg, Illinois
ANSWER: You must alert and explain his calls as if he had remembered, but you cannot help your partner remember your methods. You can neither wake him up nor take advantage of the unauthorized information you gain from his failure to alert. Bid as you normally would, and take your bad result with good grace.
Dear Mr. Wolff: Some people think that computer dealing makes for more wild distributions. What say you? — Daring Duplicator, Fredericksburg, Virginia
ANSWER: In short, yes, but only because the cards used for handdealt boards are often not shuffled properly. If shuffling were given more attention, there would be little difference in the number of “freak” hands dealt by each method. The key is that people tend to notice and remember the computer’s freak deals, forgetting the rest.
Dear Mr. Wolff: I held ♠ A-Q-7-6-3, ♥ K-10-5-2, ♦ J-5, ♣ 10-4 at game all. A weak two diamonds was opened on my right and passed around to my partner, who bid three clubs. What do I do now? — Put to It, Wichita Falls, Texas
ANSWER: I’d bid three spades. The hand is not quite good enough for a three-diamond cue-bid, though that call may get us to game in either major. If I had a filler in partner’s suit, I would bid more aggressively. We may miss a heart fit, I admit, but this should keep the auction under control.