Kaleidoscope Series Lesson #1
Bidding Light
-------------
In discussing the topic of bidding with
subminimal values we must distinguish between
a "light" bid and an outright psychic bid. For
our purposes here, we will define a "light"
bid as any bid which is within a King of
legitimacy. If we normally open with 13 points,
an opening bid on 10, 11 or 12 would be considered
"light". Anything LESS would be deemed "psychic".
Another distinction is that a "light" opening bid
always has within one card of the minimum length
in the bid suit. For example, one may open a FOUR
card major with 10-12 points in 3rd seat, even
though we are explicitly playing FIVE card majors.
A psyche, on the other hand, may or may not include
4+card length in the bid suit. Light openings have
a number of purposes. Psyches have only one raison
d'etre: confusing the opponents at the risk of
baffling Partner as well.
Do not confuse a psyche with a "temporizing"
bid. Playing SAYC, we cannot respond 2NT to 1C
with 3=3=2=5 distribution and 10-12 points. Instead,
we will "mark time" or "temporize" with a bid in
a 3-card suit BEFORE bidding 2NT to invite 3NT. Our
purpose is to keep the bidding open in order to get
to our "destination" call of 2NT. Were it a pscyhe,
our sole purpose would be to trick the opponents.
Remember, too, that we usually cannot make such
temporizing bids when we are a passed hand.
S- Kxx H- Kx D- Qxx C- K10xxx
Opposite Partner's 1C opening bid, if we
were NOT a passed hand we might bid 1D en
route to 2NT, since an immediate 2NT reply
would show an opening hand. If we ARE a
passed hand, we CANNOT bid 1D since Partner
might pass it! The good news is that as a
passed hand we CAN reply 2NT here to show
10-12 flat.
In this lesson we will discuss light bids and
psyches.
"But I don't WANT to psyche!" some may protest.
That is okay. Learn when OTHERS will be likely
to be psyching AGAINST you, then...and what you can
do about it!
-------- Third (and Fourth) Seat Openings --------
There are MANY schools of thought on third
seat openings. Consider these four hands, not
vulnerable at IMPs, in third seat after two passes:
1. S- KJx H- A10x D- Kxx C- QJ10x
2. S- Kxx H- Axx D- Kxx C- QJ10x
3. S- Kxxx H- xx D- Jxx C- AKxxx
4. S- xxx H- xx D- xxx C- AQJ10x
Everyone will open Hand #1. If Hand #1
is the ONLY hand of these four that you would
open in third seat, count yourself as a member
of the Ultra Conservative camp. This school
of thought argues that we will NEED 14 HCPs
opposite partner's maximum of 12 to make a
game, and without any chance of game we are
willing to throw the hand in at IMPs. One of
the advantages of this Ultra Conservative
approach is that Responder bids exactly as if
replying to a first or second seat opening.
New suits are forcing and jump shifts (on 12
points by a Passed hand) promise either a
semi-solid 1-suiter or a 5+card suit and good
support for Opener's suit.
MOST will open the 2nd hand with its
13 HCPs in 3rd seat. No, game is not on
our horizon but we are a favourite to make
a part score. Those who will open ONLY these
first two hands (#1 and #2 but NEITHER #3 nor #4)
would comprise the Conservative school.
MANY will open hand #3 "light" in third
seat. The idea is that we *may* be able to
steal a part score. Equally likely, though, we
hope to bluff the opponents out of a possible
game. Those players who will open on
hands #1 through #3 but NOT #4 constitute
the mainstream or "Orthodox" group.
Opening Hand #4 would constitute an
outright psyche. Some will open this hand
at equal or favourable vulnerability for the
lead directing value of the 1C opening and to
bluff the opponents out of game. Consider
yourself among the "Aggressive" if you would
open 1C on ALL of the above hands in third seat.
A very small minority belong to the "Good-Bad"
or "Sound or Psyche" school; they will tend to open
with holding #1, #2 and #4 but NOT with #3! In other
words, such players will PSYCHE but will NOT open
"light". In this way, the only time Responder can
invite us "past our limit" is when we have psyched.
In such cases we can be assured that the opponents
DO have at least a part score. Few things are more
frustrating than opening light (but not psychic) in
third seat and hearing Partner drive to 2NT or the
3-level, down one, with the opponents silent. :(
In FOURTH seat EVERYONE will open Hand #1
while MOST will open holding #2. Again, some very
conservative players will NOT open ANY hand that
does NOT have the possibility of game in it. We
do NOT psyche or open light in fourth seat. We will,
however, open an INTERMEDIATE (note: not weak, but
INTERMEDIATE) 2-bid with 12-13 points and a good
6+card suit.
S- AQJ10xx H- Kx D- xx C- Qxx
Not wanting to hear a raise to 3S from
Partner, we open 2S in 4th seat in an
attempt to make a part score there.
-------- Responding to Third Seat Openings --------
The FIRST rule of responding to a third seat
suit opening is that, unless we have 12 points opposite
an ULTRA conservative player, we CANNOT force to
game. Partner may have 13 points--a sound opening
bid--and game will STILL not make. Simple new suit
bids which WOULD be forcing were we NOT a passed
hand (e.g. 1D:1S) are now NON-forcing.
To force for one round we must jump shift
(e.g. Pass:1D:2S). Such a jump shift by an UNPASSED
hand would show (16+ points and) a semi-solid suit
OR a good suit and support for Opener's. Responder
CANNOT be 2-suited for a jump shift by an UNPASSED
hand unless one of those suits is Opener's. This
is NOT so for the passed hand. With an exceptional
2-suited hand we MAY jump shift as a passed hand.
S- AQJxxx H- K109xx D- x C- x
When Partner opens 1C or 1D in 3rd seat, we
may JUMP to 2S and bid 3H later. Natural.
3H will NOT be forcing, of course. Were we
NOT a passed hand we could force with 1S here.
The Jump Shift response to a third seat
opening bid is an exception to our general
rule: unless Opener makes an unforced rebid, a
Passed Hand Responder should try to Pass at either
hir FIRST or SECOND opportunity after Partner opens
in third seat. Try to describe your hand in ONE bid
wherever possible. Be especially cautious about
going to the three level. For example, if Responder
makes a negative double Responder should be very
careful about raising a simple preference by Opener.
Pass Pass 1S 2C
Dble Pass 2H Pass
??
Do not bid 3H here unless you have a solid
12-count. If Opener were interested in YOUR
strength here, Opener might have JUMPED to 3H.
Always try to "cut Partner some slack" after
s/he has opened in 3rd seat.
A good general rule is that after a third
seat opening "Responder underbids, Opener overbids".
With 10 points, SAYC Responder will often bid 1NT
rather than force to 2NT. Without Drury at our
disposal, Responder will often raise to the two
level with 10 points rather than make a limit
raise to the 3-level. Third seat Opener, then,
must often bid aggressively with a good 16 points
once a fit is established.
------ Reverse Drury and GRAPH -------
A very useful convention for bidding
opposite a MAJOR suit third seat opening is
DRURY. Responder bids an ARTIFICIAL 2C, implying
support for Opener's major. In the original form
of Drury, Opener would now rebid an artificial 2D
(i.e. P:1H:2C:2D or P:1S:2C:2D) to show a minimum
or subminimum opener. Modern players tend to
prefer REVERSE Drury, where the rebid of the major
(i.e. P:1H:2C:2H or P:1S:2C:2S) shows the weak
opening hand.
RESPONDER: S- KQx H- AJx D- J109xx C- xx
Opposite 1H or 1S by 3rd seat Partner, bid
2C. Opener will rebid hir major if weak.
Some SAYC pairs will play Good (i.e. "inverted")
Raises As Passed Hand or "GRAPH". While 1D:2D
retains its normal range of 6-9 points, Pass:1D:2D
will show 10-12 points, inviting Opener to proceed
with anything more than a minimum hand. The above
hand, then, would bid 2D opposite a 1D opening.
As always, when the single raise is strong,
the double raise (e.g. Pass:1C:3C or Pass:1D:3D)
is weak and pre-emptive.
RESPONDER: S- xxx H- xx D- J109xxx C- xx
Opposite Partner's 3rd seat 1D opening, jump
to 3D to warn hir of weakness.
What, then, do we do with the 6-9 point hand
when playing our raises as either weak or strong?
Reply 1NT.
RESPONDER: S- xx H- xxx D- xx C- AQ10xxx
After Pass:1C we would normally bid 2C. If
playing GRAPH, though, respond 1NT.
While Reverse Drury is very popular, "GRAPH"
is an idea which would require some discussion
with Partner. "Inverted Raises in the minors by
a passed hand, Pard?" may suffice.
------- Optional Styles: TENT TOP --------
Being in third chair has a subtle effect on
some players' 1NT and 2NT openings. With 15 HCPs
and four Spades, for example, some will tend to
open in a 4-card suit rather than 1NT.
S- KJxx H- A10 D- Q10x C- KQxx
If you open 1NT with this hand Partner will
raise to 2NT with many 9-10 point hands. As a
matter of good form, many try to avoid provoking
any invite that they intend to decline. Consider
this: 1C will likely allow Opener to show hir
4-card Spade suit at the one level. Now, if
Responder cannot jump to 2NT to show 11-12
points, Opener can remove 3NT from consideration.
This works well because we have that 1S
rebid available. But what if we don't?
S- A10 H- Q10x D- KJx C- KQxxx
Now, after P:1C:1D, P:1C:1H or P:1C:1S,
we must rebid 1NT, risking 2NT from Partner.
Some pairs will get around this by passing ANY
such response with 13 points (even if Partner
responds in our doubleton) and rebidding 1NT
only with 14. This "Thirteen? Open. Pass."
approach we will call "TOP". The effect it
has on our 1NT rebid is that we will now be
playing "Top End No Trumps" (i.e. "TENT"),
rebidding 1NT only when we are maximal.
When VULNERABLE, many "TOP" players will
PASS a flat 13-point hand that contains a doubleton
in a suit HIGHER ranked than the one we'd open.
They would pass the above hand, but would open
1C with 13 points and 3=3=3=4 distribution so that
they can pass any response in comfort. Similarly,
they will open a 3=3=5=2 13-pointer via 1D when
vulnerable, but might PASS if the distribution
were 3=2=5=3 or 2=3=5=3.
If we are inclined to rebid 1NT only with
14 points, we might consider expanding the range
of the 1NT rebid to 14-15. In this way, our 1NT
OPENING bid in third seat takes on the effective
range of 16-17, not 15-17. Again, "Top End No
Trumps" or "TENT". THIS one aspect would require
discussion with any new partner, though. Without
such agreement, 1NT will usually be EITHER 14
points OR 13 flat, doubleton in Responder's suit.
With THREE card support for Responder's suit and
only 13 HCPs, Opener will PASS the initial reply.
Similarly, holding 20 points and balanced
distribution some will NOT risk a 2NT opening.
After all, slam is no longer a consideration.
Why risk going down in 2NT opposite a yarborough
from Responder? Since Responder WILL reply with
the 6 points we need for game, we can open in
our longest suit and JUMP to 3NT if Responder
peeps. A 2NT opening bid in 3rd seat, then,
would show a GOOD 21 points for such pairs.
To recap, with flat hands in third or
4th seat, lacking prior discussion with
Partner, we may have:
13 points = Open and Pass.
14 points = Open and rebid 1NT.
15-17 points = Open 1NT.
18-19 points = Open and jump to 2NT.
20 points = Open and jump to game.
21 points = Open 2NT.
After discussion with a steady Partner,
some will tell their opponents that in third and
fourth seat if holding flat hands they play:
13 points = Open and Pass.
14-15 points = Open and rebid 1NT.
16-17 points = Open 1NT.
18-19 points = Open and jump to 2NT.
20 points = Open and jump to game.
21 points = Open 2NT.
A quick and easy way to denote this on
our convention card is to write: "1NT = 15-17,
16-17 in 3rd/4th" and "2NT = 20-21, 21 in
3rd/4th".
--------- Questions --------
1a. S- KQxx H- Kxx D- Qxx C- Kxx. IMPs, none vulnerable.
After Pass-Pass-Pass, what would an ULTRA-CONSERVATIVE player do?
1b. S- KQxx H- Kxx D- Qxx C- Kxx. IMPs, none vulnerable.
After Pass-Pass-Pass, what would an ORTHODOX player do?
2. S- KQxx H- Kx D- Kxx C- KJxx. 15 HCPs, 4=2=3=4. IMPs,
none vulnerable. After Pass-Pass, what would you open?
----- Four Card Majors -----
It follows logically that for many pairs
4-card major suit openings are quite common in
third seat--even if playing a 5-card major system.
S- AKx H- AKxx D- Kxx C- Kxx
In third seat, fearing a pass from partner,
many players will open our longest suit, 1H...in
case that becomes the final contract!
Even a strong ONE No Trump opening bid can
pre-empt us out of a 4-4 major suit fit whenever
Responder has less than the 9 points required
for a Staymanic invitation.
S- Q109x H- AJ9x D- xx C- 10xx
Partner's 1NT opening here may cost us
a fit in either or both majors. Had
Partner only opened 1-of-a-suit... :(
To cater to this, many will open a 4-card
major in third or fourth seat. This is especially
true of 1H openings because, with 4=4=3=2 or 4=4=2=3
distribution, many will balk at opening a 3-card
minor.
If you will often open a 4-card major in
third or fourth seat, just change "5 card majors"
on your convention card to read: "5 card majors
in 1st/2nd seat".
-------- When Players Psyche --------
Whenever Partner passes or opens a weak
2-bid in first or second seat we are often able
to assess the opponents' chances of making game.
With a yarborough, for example, we should be
fairly confident that our adversaries can make
at LEAST a game. This, then, gives us "carte
blanche" to psyche, knowing that, depending on
the vulnerability, the first one, two or three
doubled undertricks will be "on the house".
S- xxx H- xx D- xxxx C- xxxx
After 2S-Pass we should be certain that
the enemy can make at LEAST a game and
that slam will not be out of the question.
Hence, we might raise spades briskly to
3S or 4S unless vul versus not. Or, we
might psyche a strong-sounding 2NT reply.
Under these "carte blanche" conditions
pre-empts can be EXTREMELY light.
S- xxx H- 10987xx D- xx C- Qx
A certain Kaleidoscope teacher (who
shall remain nameless) jumped to THREE
Hearts after P-1D against vulnerable
opponents at MPs. LHO doubled happily
and collected 1400. This was worth
81% for the pre-emptor, since most other
opponents chalked up 1430 or 1460 in 6S.
Similarly, when Partner passes our LHO's
opening bid (e.g. 1D-P-any) or makes an overcall
(e.g 1D-1H-any), we should conclude that the
opponents PROBABLY have a game if we have a
very poor hand. Such a situation gives us
"carte beige" to try to sew some confusion into
the enemy ranks. Our only concern is that
Partner *may* have passed LHO's opening bid
or overcalled with a 13-16 point hand which
*might* prevent them from making game. With
this in mind we may wish to force to the level
just BELOW game in order to make it tough for
the opponents to double us.
S- xxxx H- xx D- xxx C- xxxx
After 1D-1S-Dble we might jump to 3S
unless vulnerable versus not.
Our actions are always tempered by the
vulnerability. Unfavourable vulnerability
is a "red light". Equal vulnerability is an
"orange light", suggesting some degree of
caution. When NOT vulnerable versus vulnerable
opponents we have the go-ahead "green light".
These conditions apply not only to pre-empts
(as above) but to psyching as well.
S- xxx H- xxx D- xxx C- xxxx
If Partner opens 2D in 1st seat and
RHO passes, we might force to 3D if
the vulnerability is favourable. But
some devious souls will bid 2H or 2S
*en route* to Diamonds, in order to
deprive the opponents of their suit.
If you *do* decide to psyche there is one
absolute rule: Do NOT rebid! Even if Partner
cuebids, Blackwoods or splinters, we should
PASS! Bidding again--especially freely--is
known as "double pumping" Partner, and should
be avoided. The truism "one psyche...per hand!"
applies here. :)
--------- Exposing Psyches -----------
We must start by recognizing WHEN our
adversaries are liable to psyche. 90% of psyches
come in "carte blanche" situations, usually by a
third seat hand or by a player whose partner has
just pre-empted. Most will come at favourable
vulnerability, some at equal vulnerability. One
tell tale sign of a psychic opening bid comes when
Opener passes a forcing response. If this happens
at your table, it may be a good idea to ask
Responder PRIVATELY:
"What kind of hand will your partner usually
have for a psychic bid here?"
The idea is to determine whether the psycher
tends to have or not have length in the bid suit.
If your opponents are a steady partnership, they
must tell you about any of their partner's
tendencies that they may have observed in the past.
Our first weapon against psychers is the
direct cuebid when the opponents have bid two
suits. Such a cuebid is ALWAYS natural, showing
a GOOD hand and length in the bid suit. Bear in
mind that if we had the OTHER two suits we could
double or bid an unusual no trump.
Pass Pass 1D Pass
1S Pass Pass ??
Both 2D and 2S in the above auction would
be NATURAL, promising the bid suit. Double
(strong), 1NT (weak, distributional) and 2NT
(stronger, distributional) would both show the
OTHER two suits: Clubs and Hearts.
Another powerful antidote to psyches is a
pass of any bid which is forcing. After 2D-P-2H
we might double for PENALTY with a LOT of Hearts,
but with 4 or 5 of them we might PASS for now to
see what develops. With luck, we will be able to
double something for penalty later. This is
consistent with the Steinitz Rule: "Never interrupt
the opponents while they are making a mistake!" :)
Such a pass can often be followed up by
a Penalty double. This is especially so if
RHO repeats an unsupported suit.
2D Pass 2H Pass
3D Pass 3H Dble
The double in direct seat here is PENALTY.
Otherwise, we may need to rely upon PARTNER
to balance with a double.
LHO Pard RHO You
--- --- 2D Pass
2S Pass 3S Pass
Pass Dble
In the above example, we could not double 3S
for penalty because it was a supported suit. A
double would be takeout here. Little does 2D
Opener know that Responder's 2S bid was phony! :)
---- Ethical Considerations of Psyching ----
Many people believe that there is something
underhanded about psyching. Some even go so far
as to conclude that it is not a legitimate part
of the game. While this may be true of some
Novice events (including Novice-Mentor tourneys
on OKBridge) where psyching is expressly forbidden,
it is NOT true of bridge as played in open
competition. Psyching is as much a part of this
game as falsecarding is. In fact, "bidding 'em
where they ain't" (an old expression which predates
the use of the word "psyche") is as old as bridge
itself. Indeed, the expression "psyche", like
"Grand Slam" and "finessing", is a term which
bridge has been "exported" to general use among
NON-bridgeplayers.
There is also a misconception that we are
only allowed a certain number of psyches per
session. Again, untrue. If a player happens
to encounter an unusual number of situations in
which psyching is appropriate, blame the Dealer! :)
Psyches should always be "recorded" by reporting
them to the Tournament Director if they should occur
during tourney play. This is particularly true if
you feel that there may be SOME evidence of the
psycher's PARTNER "fielding" (i.e. becoming aware of
the psyche and bidding presciently) the psyche before
YOU and/or your PARTNER became suspicious of the call
yourselves.
There are two pertinent ethical considerations
that touch upon this issue:
1. We must NEVER make a frivolous bid or play.
Even if we are having a terrible game, we
must continue to play as well as we can. We
must NOT start making rash bids (including
but not limited to psyches) or plays simply
because we "don't care anymore". That is
not fair to the "field" (i.e. to those who
played these hands against more serious
opponents) or to team mates (in team games).
2. We must ALWAYS practice full disclosure.
If we have played with this particular partner
long enough to know that s/he will psyche in
certain instances we MUST tell the opponents
of this tendency. This may begin with a
pre-alert mentioning our tendency to psyche
more often than most. During the auction, we should
advise the opponents PRIVATELY when we suspect
that Partner's bid may be bogus: "Based on
past experience, I can tell you that Partner
may have psyched here." There should NOT be
any problem as long as the opponents are kept on
the same footing as you are. In essence, this
is no different from alerting an artificial
call in F2F bridge. The opponents have a right
know everything what we know about Partner's bids
ONCE WE KNOW IT. If Partner's SECOND call hints
that their first one may be bogus, a warning to
the opponents after this second call IS considered
timely.
----------- Discussion Points -----------
It is a good idea to discuss Drury (most likely
REVERSE Drury) with any new partner. If you like it,
add it to your stats and to a "plain vanilla" card
that you can post for new partners.
A brief discussion of third seat light openings
may be in order. This will usually focus on what to
do with the FLAT minimum hands.
"Do you open a flat 12 points in 3rd or 4th seat?"
"After opening in a suit, will you PASS a 1-level
suit response or rebid 1NT with a flat 13 HCPs?"
Should the topic get around to psyches, bear in
mind that ANY agreement you have MUST be disclosed to
all opponents. The best way to do this in tourney
play, where we meet new opposition every second hand,
is to use an OKScript macro. This will allow you to
pre-alert all of your opponents privately as you sit
down. To illustrate, with one touch of a button each
of Kaltica's tourney opponents are greeted with the
following private message:
Fair warning: I make light 4+card overcalls,
pre-empts, 3rd seat openers, takeout doubles
and the occasional outright psyche. :)
For more information on OKScript, contact Colin
at: cpw@escape.ca OR go to Colin's OKScript site at:
http://www.escape.ca/~cpw/okscript.htm
Colin holds seminars on OKScript every second
Sunday at 5:00 P.M. PST.
-------- Final Quiz -------
1. On Board #9 of the 1999 Turkiye Celebrity Auction game,
over RHO's 1S Zia Mahmood bid 1NT holding:
S- J H- 73 D- KJ9853 C- 9653. Slightly less than
the expected 15-18! This psyche has a name. What is it?
2. An "Exclusion" Psyche is the most dangerous of ventures.
But what is an "Exclusion" Psyche?
3. One of the safest times to psyche is when making a "FIB".
And what is a "FIB"?
 |
|
|
The KaleidoScope Series, at 8:00 A.M. and either 3:00 P.M. (Monday and Wednesday) or 7:00 P.M. (Tuesday and Thursday) PST from Monday to Thursday, is a lecture program on a variety of subjects: Bidding Light, Maximum Flexibility, Defensive Doubles, LOTT versus "Got More, Bid More" and Squeezes. Unlike the FireSide and 5th Chair sessions mentioned above, the Kaleidoscope Series is a semi-private lesson program for our students. Nevertheless, you are invited to stop by and participate. The KaleidoScope Series, directed more at that intermediate player than the Rainbow and Spectrum, has quickly become one of our most popular. For $60 for five invaluable lessons ($100 for two series, $150 for all three series) this may be the best bridge instruction available anywhere!  CLICK HERE to email your registration. In the meantime, why not click on the lessons below and start learning now ? |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |