ASKING QUESTIONS AND EXPLAINING CALLS AND PLAYS

Additional detail and examples can be found in the relevant sections.

Here are the three most important things about asking questions:

(1) YOU MAY ASK ONLY WHEN IT IS YOUR TURN TO CALL OR PLAY

(2) During the auction, if you are intending to Pass, just Pass.  Don’t ask then Pass.  You do not need to know the meaning of a call if you are going to Pass

(3) You may not ask questions for your partner’s benefit.  It is up to partner to ask his own questions

And four things for giving an explanation:

(1) The call is explained by the caller’s partner, not by the caller (but see 4).

(2) The opponents are entitled to a full explanation of what a call or a play (e.g., a lead or a discard) means

(3) If you have no partnership agreement for the call or play, say so but DO NOT SPECULATE ABOUT ITS MEANING.  Doing so will give your partner unauthorised information and you might be wrong, thereby misinforming your opponents

(4) If you can’t remember what a call or play means, say so but DO NOT SPECULATE ABOUT ITS MEANING (see 3).  To resolve this problem, the director might ask you to leave the table so that your partner can explain the call or play during your absence

DEFINITIONS

The Auction Period starts for your side when either partner withdraws his cards from the board.

The Auction ends when:

(1) All four players pass.  The hands are returned to the board without play.

or

(2) One or more players having bid, there are three consecutive passes in rotation subsequent to the last bid.

The Auction Period ends when the opening lead is faced.

The bit between the end of the Auction and the end of the Auction Period is called the Clarification Period.

The Play Period starts when the opening lead is faced.

ASKING QUESTIONS

This falls into two separate sections:

(1) During the Auction Period, which includes both the Auction and the Clarification Period.

(2) During the Play Period

(1) During the Auction Period

You can ask the meaning of any call, whether it has been alerted or not and you ask the caller’s partner what the call means.

EXAMPLE (E/W are using the multi-2D)

W        N         E          S

2D^{*                                                      *} = Alert

Only North can ask now about this call.  South must wait until it is his turn to call before asking.

North should ask ONLY IF HE NEEDS TO KNOW because he is thinking of making a bid or double; if he is going to Pass regardless, North should not ask.

North asks and receives an explanation from East of what the bid can mean.  In the case of a multi-2D, this is quite a lengthy explanation.  The auction continues:

W        N         E          S

2D^*      P         2H^*       P                      ^* = Alert

2NT      P        3C^*       P

3D^*       P        3NT      P

 P         P

The Auction is over and the Clarification Period has started.  North is now on opening lead against 3NT by West.  If North needs any further information about the auction, he can ask questions before selecting the opening lead.  Note that it is North’s turn, so South must not ask any questions during the Clarification Period until North has placed his lead card face down on the table.

North decides not to ask anything further about the auction, selects his opening lead, places it face down on the table and says to his partner, ‘Any questions?’

South has a poor hand but refrained from asking about any of the calls during the auction because was not going to bid or double.  However, he wants to know about the other calls and asks about them.  2H is a relay bid which West would pass if he had a weak 2 in hearts, 2NT shows 20-22 points, 3C is Stayman and 3D shows no 4-card major. South signals that he is ready and the Clarification Period finishes.  North faces his opening lead, the Auction Period finishes and the Play Period starts.

Note that North has asked about the 2D bid and Passed.  When South is on lead, he needs a good bridge reason to lead a diamond.  Furthermore, the fact that North has asked means that he has a hand that was thinking of taking action, i.e., he has some points/length.  South is not allowed to use this fact during the play, BUT DECLARER CAN, so asking and Passing helps only the opponents.

WHAT TO ASK

If you decide to ask about the meaning of a bid, you should ask a question such as, “What does that mean?”  This might seem obvious, but........

EXAMPLE (E/W are using Lucas Twos)

W        N         E          S

2S^{*                                                       *} = Alert

If you (North, obviously) ask something specific like, “Is that weak?” East can answer, “Yes.”  If you ask, “What does that mean?” East will tell you that West has 5+ spades, 4+ cards in another suit and between 5-9 points.

Another question to avoid is the naming of a convention:

W        N         E          S

1S       P        4C^{*                              *} = Alert

South asks, ‘Is that Gerber?’ and West replies, ‘No.’  None the wiser, South asks, ‘What does the 4C bid mean?’ and is told, ‘It shows at least an opening hand with at least four trumps and either a singleton or a void in clubs.’

WHAT TO EXPLAIN

When explaining the meaning of a call, do not just give the name of a convention; the asking player is entitled to a full explanation of the meaning of the call.  There are two reasons for this:

(i)         W        N         E          S

            2H^{*                                                                          *} = Alert

You (North) ask, ‘What does that mean?’ and are told, ‘It’s a Muiderberg two.’  You are probably none the wiser than before you asked the question.

(ii)        W        N         E          S

           1D      2NT^{*                                                     *} = Alert

You (East) ask, ‘What does that mean?’ and are told, ‘It’s the Unusual No-Trumps.’  Most people know what this is, but there is more than one way to use this convention.  Some play that it shows the two lowest ranked unbid suits; here, that would be clubs and hearts.  Others play that it shows the other minor and one of the majors; here, that would be clubs and either hearts or spades.

When appropriate, your explanation should include distributional constraints and high card points.

(2) During the Play Period

The defenders and the declarer (but not dummy) retain the right to request explanations of bids and cards played throughout the play period, each at his own turn to play.  For declarer, his turn includes playing from dummy.

Before you play your first card, you can request a review of the auction.  Once you have played a card, all you can ask regarding the auction is what the final contract is.

The most common question during play is asking what a discard means.  As when explaining a call, the explanation given must provide details of your system; it is not enough to say, e.g., ‘We play odds and evens.’  This means different things to different people.

AND FINALLY

I’m going to finish with a cautionary tale.  Years ago, I played in a tournament.  With me sitting South, we had the following auction:

W        N         E          S

          1C        P          1S

P        3S        P          4S

West’s opening lead, a club, was faced and I made 9 tricks.  ‘So what?’ I can hear you thinking.  Well, what actually happened is that after the 1C bid, East asked me if it was natural.  I had neither alerted nor announced the 1C so, obviously, it was natural.  I sent for the director.  The director ruled that other leads were available to West and that the lead of a club had been influenced by East’s question.  He also cautioned East/West about their future conduct.  East was sitting with AKxxx in clubs and was desperate for a club lead!  The score was adjusted to me making 10 tricks, one of my club losers being discarded on a long suit in dummy.

The moral of the story is, “DON’T ASK QUESTIONS DURING THE AUCTION IF YOU ARE NOT THINKING OF BIDDING OR DOUBLING BECAUSE YOU MIGHT MAKE LIFE AWKWARD FOR YOUR PARTNER.”

ANNOUNCEMENTS

A bid is natural if it shows a willingness to play in that denomination and does not promise another denomination as well.  If another denomination is promised, the bid must be alerted, eg, if your system is that a 2S opening shows spades and a minor, the 2S bid requires an alert because a second suit is promised.

No announceable bid is ever alerted and vice versa.

Here is the complete list of bids which should be announced:

NATURAL 1NT AND 2NT OPENING BIDS AND

THEIR STAYMAN AND RED SUIT TRANSFER RESPONSES

NATURAL 2-LEVEL SUIT OPENING BIDS

PREPARED OR SHORT NON-FORCING 1C AND 1D OPENING BIDS (used commonly with 5-card majors)

That’s all!  It a short list, so not much scope for any confusion!  Any bid that is not on this list is NOT announced.

Note that there are no overcalls on this list, so if your partner overcalls 1NT showing 15-18, it is NOT announced and the Stayman and red suit transfer responses (if you use them) require an ALERT.

Note also that there are no 3-level or higher opening bids on the list, so if your partner opens with a 3-level pre-empt, it is NOT announced.

1NT OPENING BIDS

Announce the point range, eg, ‘12 to 14’; ‘15 to 17’ etc.

If you have agreed that you might have a singleton, this should be included in the announcement, eg, ‘12 to 14, may include a singleton.’

If you upgrade, say, 11 point hands and/or downgrade 15 point hands regularly, you should announce, ‘a good 11 to a poor 15’ and so on as appropriate to your point range.

2NT OPENING BIDS

Announce the point range, eg, ‘20 to 22’; ‘18 to 19’ etc.

If you have agreed that you might have a singleton, this does NOT need to be announced.

STAYMAN IN RESPONSE TO 1NT/2NT OPENING BIDS

This applies only to the appropriate 2C/3C bid with the following constraints:

a)  You are asking opener if he has a 4-card (or longer) major.  If you are asking opener something else, eg, ‘do you have a 5-card major?’ the bid is NOT announceable; it requires an alert instead.

b)  There has been no intervention by the opposition

It is announced by saying, ‘Stayman.’

RED SUIT TRANSFERS IN RESPONSE TO 1NT/2NT OPENING BIDS

These apply ONLY to the appropriate 2D/3D and 2H/3H bids with the following constraints:

a)  You are promising 5+ cards in the major suit concerned

b)  You are not promising another suit as well as the 5+-card major

c)  There has been no intervention by the opposition

All you announce is the relevant major suit, so say either, ‘Hearts’ or, ‘Spades.’  You do not have to announce, ‘Transfer to hearts’ or, ‘Transfer to spades,’ and do not just say, ‘Transfer.’

NOTE THAT NO OTHER RESPONSES TO 1NT AND 2NT OPENING BIDS ARE ANNOUNCEABLE

Here are three common bids that require an ALERT (there are many others):

2S showing 11 points

2S as the start of a transfer to a minor suit

3S showing 5 spades and 4 hearts in response to a 2NT opening bid

NATURAL 2-LEVEL SUIT OPENING BIDS

These promise a minimum of 5 cards in the bid suit

Announce them by stating the range from the following categories:

‘Strong, forcing’

‘Strong, not forcing’

‘Intermediate’ (between weak and strong, so this is quite a wide range)

‘Weak’ (less than an opening hand; 6-10 is very common)

It is possible to play a wide-ranging opening that covers more than one category, in which case the announcement should say so, eg, a 6-12 opening would be announced as, ‘Weak to intermediate.’

If your natural opening 2-level bid does not promise 5+ cards in the suit bid, it is not announceable and requires an alert.

PREPARED OR SHORT NON-FORCING 1C AND 1D OPENING BIDS

These are 1C and 1D openings which are non-forcing but may be made on two cards

or fewer. They are announced as, ‘may be’ followed by the minimum number of cards, eg, ‘May be one.’

If the bid suit promises at least 3 cards, it is considered natural and does NOT require an announcement or an alert.

Strong and artificial 1C and 1D opening bids are alerted, as are forcing 1C and 1D opening bids.

ALERTING

PROCEDURE

When an alertable call is made, the caller’s partner removes the Alert card from the bidding box and places it on the table.  He is responsible for ensuring that BOTH his opponents have seen the alert.  Once this has been done, the card is replaced in the box.  Note that you NEVER alert your own calls.

Unless they are asked the meaning of the call, neither the caller nor his partner should say anything about the meaning of the alerted call.  I have seen 2C opening bids alerted and accompanied by a, ‘That shows at least 23 points.’ or some such statement.  This is wrong, 2C showing 23+ points is not announced.

WHAT REQUIRES AN ALERT?

Unless it is announceable, a BID or PASS (see below for Doubles) must be alerted if it:

(a) is not natural

or

(b) is natural but has a potentially unexpected meaning.

A bid is natural if it shows a willingness to play in that denomination, does not promise another denomination as well and does not promise any unexpected values.  If another denomination is promised, the bid must be alerted, e.g., if your system is that a 2S opening shows spades and a minor, the 2S bid requires an alert because a second suit is promised.

Here are some examples:

Most people play that a 2C opening bid shows a strong hand, however, you are not necessarily willing to play with clubs as trumps.  Therefore, the bid is not natural and requires an alert.  Similarly, in response to a 2C opening bid, lots of people play that a 2D response is either a negative bid or a relay bid.  Again, you are not necessarily willing to play with diamonds as trumps, so the bid must be alerted.

W        N         E          S

1D       P         2D      

This looks natural.  Indeed, it is natural if East’s 2D response shows the expected 6-9 points.  Some partnerships play that this 2D response promises at least 10 points.  Although the bid is natural as far as the suit is concerned, the fact that at least 10 points are promised gives the bid an unexpected meaning.  Therefore, if at least 10 points are promised, the bid would require an alert.

W        N         E          S

1NT     X         P

This Pass looks natural, however, lots of people use it as the first part of an escape manoeuvre to get out of playing 1NTX.  When they are doing this, the Pass is forcing and opener is expected to bid.  This is an unexpected meaning and the Pass must be alerted.

DOUBLES

Doubles fall into three categories:

(1)  Doubles of no-trump bids.

ALL doubles of no-trump bids are expected to be for PENALTIES.  If you double a no-trump bid for penalties, no alert is required.  If you double a no-trump bid for another reason, e.g., you are asking your partner to bid, the double MUST be alerted.

W        N         E          S

1S        P         2C       P

2S        P         2NT     X

If South’s double is for penalties, no alert is required.  If South’s double is for any other reason, e.g., take-out into a red suit, an alert would be required.

(2)  Doubles of suit bids that are NOT NATURAL, i.e., doubles of conventional bids.

All doubles of conventional suit bids are expected to show the bid suit.  If you make a double of a conventional suit bid, no alert is required.

W        N         E          S

1NT     P         2H¹        X      1 = Announced, ‘Spades.’

The 2H bid is conventional so South is expected to be showing hearts.  If this is your agreement, no alert is required.  If you double a conventional suit bid for another reason, e.g., you are asking your partner to bid, or you are showing an opening hand but not necessarily with hearts, the double MUST be alerted.

(3)  Doubles of suit bids that are NATURAL.

If you double a natural suit bid, the double is expected to be for TAKE-OUT, asking your partner to bid his best suit.  If you make such a double, no alert is required. Usually, take-out doubles show:

Points (usually enough to open the bidding)

Shortage in the bid suit (two cards or fewer)

Tolerance (usually at least three cards) in the other suits

If you do not have shortage in the bid suit, you would be expected to have significant extra values (say, at least 16+ points)

W        N         E          S

1S       X

The doubler is expected to be showing an opening hand, shortage in spades and tolerance for hearts, diamonds and clubs.  Such a double would not require an alert.  If your double is for another reason, e.g., penalties, the double MUST be alerted. 

More Examples

W        N         E          S

1S       X         3S        X

North’s double is expected to be for take-out as explained.  If it is for take-out, no alert is required.  If South’s double is also for take-out, no alert is required.  However, if your agreement is that South’s double is for penalties, it MUST be alerted.

W        N         E          S

1NT     X         2S        X

North’s double of a no-trump bid is expected to be for penalties.  If it is for penalties, no alert is required.  South’s double is a matter of partnership agreement: if it is for take-out, no alert is required; if it is for penalties, an alert is required.

Note that all PENALTY doubles of naturally bid suits should be alerted, (but see CALLS ABOVE 3NT below).

Doubles come in many shapes and forms (If you play any of the following, you should know what to do):

Negative and responsive doubles do not require an alert

Support, co-operative and optional doubles require an alert

REDOUBLES

A redouble to show general strength, which partner will normally pass if the next hand passes, is not alertable.  All other redoubles are alertable.

CALLS ABOVE 3NT

Once the auction is above the level of 3NT, NOTHING IS ALERTED except:

(a)  Artificial bids above 3NT made before the opening bidder’s second turn to call (i.e. the first bid and the next three calls) e.g.

(i)         W        N         E          S

            1S        P         4NT¹                     1 = Blackwood

(ii)        W        N         E          S

             P        P        1S         P

           4NT¹                               1 = Blackwood

In both cases, 4NT is alerted.  In (ii), although the 4NT bidder (West) passed initially, the opening bidder (East) has not had a second turn to call.

(iii)       W        N         E          S

            1S       P         2C        P

             3S      P        4NT¹     P          1 = Blackwood

Here, the opening bidder (West) has had a second turn to call so no alert is required.

(b)  Lead-directing passes

(c)  Doubles or redoubles that are lead-directing but ask for the lead of a suit other than the suit doubled (or redoubled)

(d)  Doubles and redoubles of no trump contracts that call for a specific suit to be led.

Of this rather intimidating looking list, (a) applies in Danetre.  If anybody is playing a system that requires an alert for (b), (c) or (d), they should know to alert anyway.

WHEN IT ALL GOES WRONG

There are two ways problems can arise during the auction period:

1.   If you or your partner fail to alert a call that is alertable, or alert a call that is natural in your system, nothing must be done to draw attention to the fact.  One of you seems to have forgotten the system and is not entitled to know that he has forgotten.

    

   If a natural call is alerted, or if a non-natural call is not alerted, there is an infraction of law because the opponents have been MISINFORMED about your system.  If the player becomes aware of his error, he should send for the director immediately.  At the end of the hand, the score may need to be adjusted by the director. 

    

   If, however, the alert and the explanation are correct but the bid was wrong, there is no infraction of law because the opponents have received the correct explanation of what the bid should mean.  This is a MISBID and the director will not adjust the score.

    

2.   If you or your partner are asked to explain a bid and explain it incorrectly, nothing must be done to draw attention to the fact.  One of you seems to have forgotten the system and is not entitled to know that he has forgotten.  Your opponents have been MISINFORMED about your system.

    

   For both problems (1) and (2), the following applies at the end of the auction:

1.  If your side is DECLARING the hand and your opponents have been MISINFORMED, you explain what has gone wrong BEFORE THE OPENING LEAD IS MADE.  It would be normal for your opponents to reserve their rights because they might want to call the director at the end of the play.

    

   Note that you are not obliged to say that you have MISBID.

    

   (b)  If your side finishes the auction as the DEFENDING pair, you must DO NOTHING UNTIL THE END OF THE PLAY (your partner is still not entitled to know that he has forgotten your system) when you must call the director and explain what has happened.  The director will look at the hand and might adjust the score.

    

   AND FINALLY

   If you are not sure whether to alert or not, it is best to alert.  Having done so, DO NOT SPECULATE WHAT THE CALL MIGHT MEAN IF YOU ARE ASKED.  Say you don’t know or can’t remember.  Your opponents are entitled to have you sent away from the table so that your partner can tell them what he intended without you gaining any unauthorised information.

RESERVING YOU RIGHTS

Pity the poor director.  A busy person at your club who has to decide what movement is going to be played, keep time to make sure you finish in time and deal with matters of law.  Oh, and at most bridge clubs he has to play too!

When something clear goes wrong, for example a revoke, or a lead or call out of turn, the director’s play is interrupted and he goes to resolve the issue.  Imagine how difficult the director’s life would be if he was also called to the table when something MIGHT have gone wrong.

This is why people sometimes ‘Reserve their Rights’.  All they are saying is that they think there MIGHT be a problem which the director MIGHT need to look at later and they are reserving the right not to call him immediately.  Nobody is being accused of any malpractice; nobody should feel intimidated in any way.  All that is being done is making the director’s life easier because, at the end of the hand, the people who reserved their rights often decide that the director does not need to be involved.  As such, reserving your rights should be standard practice at all bridge clubs which have playing directors.

Suppose, for instance, that you hesitate during the auction and pass, then your partner bids.  It is perfectly permissible for partner to bid after a hesitation, but partner must make every effort not to take advantage of the hesitation.  Your opponents should reserve their rights in case, at the end of play, they think the director needs to look at the hand.  At the end of the hand, they might decide not to involve the director, however, if they do call the director, they are not accusing anybody of doing anything wrong.  What they are doing is asking the director if, in his opinion, most people would bid with partner’s hand.  If the director decides they would, nothing further is done; if the director decides some people would pass rather than bid, he might adjust the score.

Obviously, a system that avoids calling the director immediately for POSSIBLE problems is desirable because the director’s time is saved and he can carry on playing instead.

Here are a couple of easy things that you can do that will help save time during the evening.

1)   If you are on opening lead, get on and make the opening lead.DO NOT FILL IN YOUR SCORECARD FIRST.If you do, you are keeping three players waiting, including declarer who is keen to see the dummy.The time to fill in your scorecard is when dummy is being put onto the table and declarer is making a plan (see Terry’s Tip, 23^rd December ’15) of how the hand might be played.

                 Suppose it take 30 seconds to fill in a scorecard.  If everybody makes the opening lead first, 12 minutes will be saved during the evening.

2)      If you are playing a Howell movement, take the time before round 1 starts to see where you are going to move to.  When you know this, make a note of who is sitting there: you will be following this pair round the room.  Wherever they are sitting, that is where you are going for the next round.  I am always surprised by people who have to check the guide cards every round to see where they are going: it’s much easier and quicker to follow a pair round the room.

Below is the schedule of Directors. (Personal committments may cause changes to this planned schedule.)

1st Wednesday - January, April, July and October Cfp - Dick Earley.      Other months -  Chris Malthouse .

2nd Wednesday  - Jane White

3rd Wednesday -  Richard Holland

4th Wednesday -  Peter Baines

5th Wednesday( where applicable) -  Jim Shoesmith