Bidding.
1. Values for an Opening Bid.
Given the values of 4 3 2 1 for A K Q J of each suit, the total number of points shared between all 4 hands is 40. Therefore each players fair share is 10. The bidding starts with the dealer and proceeds clockwise around the table. The first bid made (other than Pass), is called the opening bid since it opens the auction. Generally speaking you need about 12 points.
2. Distribution of the hand.
The way in which the 13 cards are divided between the 4 suits is called the Distribution of the hand. It is customary to describe distribution as follows: 4333, 5422, 6331 etc. 4333 would describe a hand which has 4 cards in one suit and 3 cards in the others; 5422 describes a hand with a 5-card suit, a 4-card suit and two 2-card suits, and so on.
3. Opening Bids of 1 No Trump. 1NT
An opening bid of 1NT has TWO essential requirements:
(a) Strength. To open the bidding with a bid of 1NT you need, as we have seen, a minimum of 12 points. But this bid also has a maximum limit of 14 points. Thus, if your point count is not in the range 12 - 14 you MUST NOT open 1NT.
(b) Distribution. The hand must have a balanced distribution, i.e. one which has no very long suit and no suit of less than 2 cards. This means that only hands in which the 13 cards are divided between the 4 suits in the following 3 patterns : 4333, 4432, 5332, may be opened with a bid of 1 NT.. The last-mentioned distribution (5332) should be opened 1NT only if the 5-card suit is a Minor suit. If the 5-card suit is a Major you must not open 1NT.
ALL HANDS that fulfil BOTH these requirements MUST be opened 1 NT. Any other bid will tell your partner that your hand does not conform with these 2 conditions.
4. Responses to opening bids of 1NT.
To make a contract of
1NT the partnership normally requires a combined count of 20-22 points.
2NT 23-25
3NT 25-27
You will notice some ambiguity about the prospects of a combined 25 count. This is because hand valuation is not a precise science.
Often 25 points will produce game, but 26 is much safer. Sometimes even 27 points is not enough, so treat 25 point counts with care.
Since partner has declared a MAXIMUM of 14 points, the responder will need 11 points to give a good chance of a making a game contract.
Therefore:
a) With 10 points or less he should pass.
b) With 11-12 points he may invite opener to bid 3 by raising to 2NT.
Opener will raise to 3NT on 14 points but will pass on a bare 12.
c) With 13-15 points he may bid an immediate jump to 3NT himself.
Play.
Elementary play in NT contracts.
The first thing to do when Dummy is revealed is to count your top tricks. Unfortunately we often need more tricks for our contract than we see in top tricks.
We need to establish tricks with cards that are not immediate winners. There are two main ways of doing this.
(i) Driving out opponents high cards.
Consider the following card holdings :
(a) K Q J opposite 4 3 2 (b) Q J 10 opposite 7 5 3
(c) K J 10 opposite Q 4 3 2 (d) Q J 5 3 opposite 10 9 5
None of these holdings offer an immediate top trick. However, how many tricks can be made in each case?
(a) after the K has forced out the Ace, the Q and J will each take a trick, so count 2 tricks in the suit.
(b) the Q and J will force out first the Ace, then the King, leaving a trick for the 10.
(c) the K will force out the Ace then the J and 10 will take tricks. The lead must then be transferred to the other hand to cash the Q.
(d) it is best to allow the 10 and 9 to drive out the Ace and King so that the Q and J will take 2 tricks.
(ii) Exhausting opponents cards in a suit.
Consider the following:
(a) 8 7 5 (b) 8 7 5
J 2 10 6 3 Q 9 J 10 6
A K Q 9 4 A K 4 3 2
(c) 7 5 3 2 (d) 10 8 3
K J Q 10 A J K Q
A 9 8 6 4 9 7 6 5 4 2
(a) the A K Q will draw all opponents cards in the suit so that the 9 and 4 will both win tricks!
(b) after the A and K have been played, the opponent's are left with the J which will win the next trick in the suit. However, that leaves the 3 and 2 as winning cards.
(c) after the play of the Ace, the next lead in the suit will drop K and Q, leaving 3 more tricks for the low cards
(d) two leads of the suit will drop the A K Q and J, leaving 4 tricks for low cards.
In all except (a) it is necessary for declarer to give up a trick in the suit [2 in the case of Example (d)], before he establishes his extra tricks. This is a disadvantage, since sometimes opponents have already established tricks of their own - even enough to defeat the contract, so declarer must take this into account.
(iii) Finally, two general principles:
1. When dummy is revealed you should count your top tricks, i.e. the tricks you can make without losing the lead. Then look for others that you can establish to fulfil your contract.
2. Tackle first the suit(s) in which you can establish tricks. You can cash your own top tricks (i.e. Aces and Ace/Kings combinations whenever you like. If you use these top cards up first you will be establishing tricks for the opponents! This usually means that you have to lose the first trick in the suit as you drive out an opponents winning card. Don't be afraid of losing the lead if it establishes tricks for you in the suit when the opponents top card has been forced out
How many tricks (i.e. tricks that are not immediately available) can you establish from the following holdings?
a) A K Q 2 b) K Q J 3 2 c) A Q 9 7 4 2 d) K Q e) A K 2
7 6 4 7 5 3 K 6 A 8 6 5 3 2 9 7 6 5 4
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