This page will hold a collection of instructive hands played at the Club or hands about which you have asked questions.  So feel free to ask about a specific hand from each week's game and one will be chosen for inclusion here.

I guess that I can’t avoid looking at a slam hand for two weeks in a row without a major revolt taking place. So here’s a slam hand which does NOT involve a 2 Club opening, and keep in mind that this analysis is simply one way in which a Grand Slam might be bid.

South opens 1 Club with a nice 17 points and North, with 20 total points of their own, immediately begins thinking in terms of slam. But first things first. A 1 Spade bid by North is absolutely forcing for one round, so there’s no need to take up bidding space with any other bid.

South’s hand revalues to about 19 in support of Spades and for those of you who play it, a Splinter bid of 4 Diamonds shows Spade support, a singleton or void in Diamonds, is forcing to game in Spades, and indicates some slam interest.

After a Splinter the rest, as they say, is history. North should check for Aces and then Kings after finding that the partnership has all four Aces. And after then finding the partnership with all four Kings, I think that a bid of 7 Notrump is in order. At the very least, N-S should bid the Grand Slam in Spades.

Apologies to those of you expecting one of the slam hands (Boards 18-22-23) here. Responses to opening 2 Club bids are simply too varied (2D Waiting, 2D Negative, Steps) to give a comprehensive analysis which suits all of your systems. But feel free to ask about these boards with respect to your particular system whenever I have a free moment.

Instead, I offer Board 19, a type of hand you’ll encounter much more frequently than slam hands and for which I think you should arrive at game in Spades.

I really like a 1 Club opening here. N-S are non-vulnerable and 12 HCP is close enough to 13 with that being the case. There’s an old bridge maxim that says "bid more on the first round." Get it out of your system sooner rather than later. This fits the bill, I think.

After West’s pass, North shows the four-card Spade suit which ought to silence East from making any 2-level overcall. South confirms the 4-4 Spade fit by bidding 2 Spades, and the only question is whether North settles for 3 Spades or game? Still unaware that South opened a bit light, I would opt for 4 Spades.

Game makes easily, losing a Diamond, a Heart, and a Spade.

OK,  enough of you have asked about this board so here goes. The bidding should be fairly simple so let’s spell it out here and then discuss. After North passes, East opens 3 Clubs, South passes, and West considers 4 Clubs but passes. Here’s why.

A preemptive opening bid is a bid at the three level or higher which is designed to deprive the opponents of a lot of bidding space. But unless you enjoy self-punishment, preempts should be among the most disciplined of your bids. So let’s talk about the “Rule of 2 and 3.”

At favorable vulnerability (you non-vulnerable and the opponents vulnerable) you must be able to guarantee yourself your bid minus three tricks. In other words, in order to open with a three-bid requiring nine tricks, you must have exactly six in your own hand. Or to open at the four-level you must have seven tricks in hand. At unfavorable vulnerability (which I take as any other combination of vulnerabilities), you must be within TWO tricks of your bid.

The reasoning is that you do not want to be down more than 500 points if doubled, which preemptive bids are likely to be. Down two doubled non-vulnerable is 300 points as opposed to an opponent’s non-vulnerable game worth 400 or 420, for example, and down two doubled vulnerable is 500 as opposed to an opponent’s vulnerable game of 600 or 620. In this case you have eight Clubs which ought to yield six tricks with any kind of reasonable distribution, and the King of Diamonds might provide a fall-back sixth trick if the Clubs fail. So I value this hand as an honest six tricks with Clubs as trump.

The nice thing about scrupulously following the Rule of 2 and 3 in this case is that West could add their sure tricks to yours (namely, 4 sure tricks) and raise the preempt to 4 Clubs. But since that merely increases your contract without getting to game, I’d just pass.

On the other side of the coin, South should not venture a 3 Heart bid. Never "preempt a preempt," bidding over a preempt only with a very, very strong hand which South does not have. Three Hearts should be down about three tricks doubled against proper defense, for a minus 800 and serving as a case in point.