Monday, February 22, 2016

Distribution - Counting Shortness with Honors

This post continues the discussion started on Distribution Points. You can read the first post here: http://heidisbridgeblog.blogspot.ca/2016/02/distribution-points_16.html

Let's talk in more detail about Dummy Points. Here is a reminder of what we count for Dummy Points:

Dummy Points:
Shortness Points
Useful void 5 points
Useful singleton 3 points
Useful doubleton 1 point


Seems pretty straightforward. What's so difficult with that? Well, the word "useful" for one thing. What happens if partner opens the bidding 1♠ and you have a ♠ void. Is this a good holding for your side or not later on in the auction when you've found a fit in some other suit?

Let's look at this hand:

♠---
AK93
Q43
♣AKJT82

Partner opens the bidding 1♠. You bid 2♣ and partner responds 2. Terrific! You have a 4-4 fit! Now you count up your HCP points (17) and your Dummy points (5) and come to 22 points! Plus partner opened the bidding so they should have about 13. That's enough for a small slam at least! So you bid 6.

Partner's hand:
♠AKQ92
QJ75
J9
♣73

Notice you are off the first 2 tricks. Down at least 1.

Now notice that the problem occurs because partner is counting points for their AKQ♠ and you are counting points for your ♠ void. This is called double counting. You are both counting points for the same control of the ♠ suit.

However it's not wrong to envision a slam with your hand. You just need partner to hold this hand:

♠J9642
QJ75
AK
♣Q3

Both hands partner would open the bidding 1♠. On the first hand you make game only in and on the second hand you would make 7. This works because partner is NOT counting points for the ♠ suit and you are. Partner's points are in the minor suits which is where you need them to be.

How do you get to slam one one but not the other?

The experts have ways of figuring this out. You don't. In a few years you will have more experience and know more bids so you can change your bidding system to allow you to get your partnership to the good slam but stay out of the bad slam. But that's in the future. Right now you will just have to work on what the most likely scenario is. Right now if your partner bids a suit and you have a void you probably shouldn't count any points for it. Sorry. It's even taking a bit of a chance to count 3 points for a singleton but this is less likely to get you into trouble if you do. Or you can just take a chance and bid the slam hoping partner has the right cards. There is no problem with that except newer players tend to take going down in a slam very personal. They are devastated. (They shouldn't be because after all they did had the guts to bid the slam!) So if you feel bad going down in your contract don't take the chance. If you don't mind taking a few chances bid the slam. You might actually make it and then you have a story to tell to all your friends.

Another thing to think about is singleton honours. Should you be counting 3 HCP plus 3 Dummy points for a singleton K? No. Again this is going to get you higher in the bidding than you should probably go.

Shortness with Honours:

Holding Points
A This is tough. Not really worth 7 points but better than just 4 points. Count 5 or 6 depending on how much you like a bit of risk.
K Count 3 points for your singleton only
Q Count 3 points for your singleton only
J Count 3 points for your singleton only
A3 You should be okay counting for shortness here – 5 points for this holding
K3 You should be okay counting for shortness here – 4 points for this holding
Q3 Count 2 points for the Q only
J3 Count 1 point only
AK You should be okay counting for shortness here – 8 points for this holding
AQ You should be okay counting for shortness here – 7 points for this holding
AJ Count for the high cards only. Don’t count for shortness – 5 points for this holding
KQ Count for the high cards only. Don’t count for shortness – 5 points for this holding
KJ Count for the high cards only. Don’t count for shortness – 4 points for this holding
QJ Count for the high cards only. Don’t count for shortness – 3 points for this holding. On a bad day this might not be any better than a useless doubleton.


Sunday, February 21, 2016

Responding to 1 Spade with 6-9 Points

With 13 HCP you should open the bidding. If you have 5 cards in a major suit you want to open 1 of that major.

Therefore to open the bidding 1♠ you need 13 HCP and 5♠. That's it.

When partner opens 1♠ we no longer need 13 points to make a bid. Since partner opened the bidding they have the opening hand. We just need 6 HCP to respond. With 6 HCP we need to respond. To support partner's ♠ suit we should have 3 cards in the suit. (Partner needs 5 cards in the suit to open remember. So to get an 8 card fit we only need 3.)

If partner opens 1♠ and you have a fit you should probably tell partner about it right away.

The only bids that limit your hand are 1NT and 2♠. Both these bids limit your hand to 6 to 10 points and partner can pass both those bids.

If you respond with a new suit at the 2 level you must have at least 10 HCP. Therefore sometimes you might have a hand with a long suit that you can't tell partner about because you don't have enough points. You might get stuck bidding 1NT with an unbalanced hand. Such is life.

Therefore if your partner opens the bidding 1♠ here is a table that states your only possible responses if you have 6 to 9 points:
Bid Points Number in suit
1♠ 6 to 10 points and at least 3 ♠
1NT 6 to 10 points and No 3 card ♠ suit


This is actually easy since there are not very many choices as to what to say when partner opens 1♠ and you have between 6 and 9 HCP. You either bid 2♠ with a 3 card ♠ suit or 1NT if you have fewer than 3♠. Pretty easy when you think about it.

With that in mind what do you respond when your partner opens 1♠?

Hand 1

♠JT
Q5
654
♣KT8652



Hand 2

♠QT8
KJT6
3
♣T8654



Hand 3

♠943
AT
T6542
♣Q98



Hand 4

♠43
42
AQ432
♣Q743



Hand 5

♠J83
K95
JT3
♣J965



Hand 6

♠T54
AJ754
T3
♣A32



Hand 7

♠52
K76
QJ732
♣943



Hand 8

♠K642
52
A75
♣QT42



Hand 9

♠K4
K72
T982
♣QJT6



Hand 10

♠4
KJ9832
J7
♣Q932



Hand 11

♠952
K7
T6
♣QJT532



Hand 12

♠K98
97
AQ985
♣765



Hand 13

♠KJ2
T9432
T5
♣Q52



Hand 14

♠KT8
JT2
Q43
♣J542



Hand 15

♠Q742
86
Q853
♣Q63



Hand 16

♠2
75
J942
♣AJT765



Hand 17

♠QJT4
Q5
J763
♣QJT



Hand 18

♠T76
954
AKT42
♣T9



Hand 19

♠QT5
AQT8
T953
♣76



Hand 20

♠Q865
K7
AT7
♣9642



Hand 21

♠Q743
AQ7
9864
♣87



Hand 22

♠6432
K754
JT
♣AJ3



Hand 23

♠T5
QT754
A32
♣QJT



Hand 24

♠Q63
Q94
K65
♣J732



Hand 25

♠QT2
K864
63
♣QJT2



Hand 26

♠J82
83
AQT965
♣T4



Hand 27

♠K95
72
K97652
♣52



Hand 28

♠J9
J9
865
♣AJ9642



Hand 29

♠J93
KQT7
K652
♣83



Hand 30


QT5
KT9532
♣QJ96



Hand 31

♠K754
3
543
♣KT542



Hand 32

♠QT98
J75
63
♣A653



Hand 33

♠KT5
A7
965432
♣83



Hand 34

♠732
J53
876
♣AJ82



Hand 35

♠K95
Q3
Q9432
♣J73



Hand 36

♠97
JT642
AQ865
♣9



Hand 37

♠J842
QT974
K6
♣85



Hand 38

♠KJ4
KQ63
8652
♣93



Saturday, February 20, 2016

Responding to 1 Heart with 6-9 Points

With 13 HCP you should open the bidding. If you have 5 cards in a major suit you want to open 1 of that major.

Therefore to open the bidding 1 you need 13 HCP and 5. That's it.

When partner opens 1 we no longer need 13 points to make a bid. Since partner opened the bidding they have the opening hand. We just need 6 HCP to respond. With 6 HCP we need to respond. To bid a new suit we just need 4 cards in that suit. To support partner's suit we should have 3 cards in the suit. (Partner needs 5 cards in the suit to open remember. So to get an 8 card fit we only need 3.)

If partner opens 1 and you have a fit you should probably tell partner about it right away.

The only bids that limit your hand are 1NT and 2. Both these bids limit your hand to 6 to 10 points and partner can pass both those bids.

If you respond with a new suit at the 1 level you might only have 6 points, but you could have 13 points -- or even 20 points. Partner MUST bid again. But we can let partner worry about that.

If you respond with a new suit at the 2 level you must have at least 10 HCP. Therefore sometimes you might have a hand with ♣ or that you can't tell partner about. You might get stuck bidding 1NT with an unbalanced hand or you might have to bid a shorter major suit rather than a longer minor suit. Such is life.

Therefore if your partner opens the bidding 1 here is a table that states your only possible responses if you have 6 to 9 points:
Bid Points Number in suit
1♠ 6 or more points and at least 4 in the suit
1NT 6 to 10 points and No 4 card ♠ suit and no 3 card suit
2 6 to 10 points and at least 3 cards in the suit


With that in mind what do you respond when your partner opens 1?

Hand 1

♠K9542
A2
T63
♣JT2



Hand 2

♠JT
Q5
654
♣KT8652



Hand 3

♠QT8
KJT6
3
♣T8654



Hand 4

♠943
AT
T6542
♣Q98



Hand 5

♠43
42
AQ432
♣Q743



Hand 6

♠J83
K95
JT3
♣J965



Hand 7

♠52
K76
QJ732
♣943



Hand 8

♠K642
52
A75
♣QT42



Hand 9

♠K4
K72
T982
♣QJT6



Hand 10

♠952
K7
T6
♣QJT532



Hand 11

♠K98
97
AQ985
♣765



Hand 12

♠KJ2
T943
T5
♣Q852



Hand 13

♠KT8
JT2
Q43
♣J542



Hand 14

♠Q742
86
Q853
♣Q63



Hand 15

♠Q92
75
94
♣AJT765



Hand 16

♠QJT4
Q5
J763
♣QJT



Hand 17

♠T76
954
AKT42
♣T9



Hand 18

♠T9532
KQ4
74
♣K94



Hand 19

♠QT5
AQT8
T953
♣76



Hand 20

♠Q865
K7
AT7
♣9642



Hand 21

♠8743
AQ7
9864
♣87



Hand 22

♠6432
K754
JT
♣AJ3



Hand 23

♠T52
Q754
A32
♣QJT



Hand 24

♠Q63
Q94
K65
♣J732



Hand 25

♠QT2
K864
63
♣QJT2



Hand 26

♠J82
83
AQT965
♣T4



Hand 27

♠K95
72
K97652
♣52



Hand 28

♠J9
J9
865
♣AJ9642



Hand 29

♠983
KQT7
K652
♣83



Hand 30

♠K754
3
543
♣KT542



Hand 31

♠K7432
87
KJT
♣Q75



Hand 32

♠T982
J75
J63
♣A653



Hand 33

♠KT5
A7
965432
♣83



Hand 34

♠732
J53
876
♣AJ82



Hand 35

♠K95
Q3
Q9432
♣J73



Hand 36

♠KJ4
KQ63
8652
♣93



Friday, February 19, 2016

Responding to 1 Diamond with 6-9 Points

With 13 HCP you should open the bidding. If you have 5 cards in a major suit you want to open 1 of that major. If you do not have a 5 card major but do have 13 HCP you still need to open the bidding. Since you don't have a 5 card major open the bidding 1 of your longest minor. This might only have 3 cards in it.

Therefore to open the bidding 1 you need 13 HCP and 3. That's it.

When partner opens 1 we no longer need 13 points to make a bid. Since partner opened the bidding they have the opening hand. We just need 6 HCP to respond. With 6 HCP we need to respond. To bid a new suit we just need 4 cards in that suit. To support partner's suit we should have 5 cards in the suit. (Partner only need 3 cards in the suit to open remember. So to get an 8 card fit we should have 5.)

If partner opens 1 and you have a fit but you also have a 4 card major, bit the major suit. You want to try to find a fit there. If you do not have a fit in the major you can always bid later on.

The only bids that limit your hand are 1NT and 2. Both these bids limit your hand to 6 to 10 points and partner can pass both those bids.

If you respond with a new suit at the 1 level you might only have 6 points, but you could have 13 points -- or even 20 points. Partner MUST bid again with any of these bids. But we can let partner worry about that.

If you respond with a new suit at the 2 level you must have at least 10 HCP. Therefore sometimes you might have a hand with ♣ that you can't tell partner about. You might get stuck bidding 1NT with an unbalanced hand or you might have to bid a shorter major suit rather than a longer ♣ suit. Such is life.

Therefore if your partner opens the bidding 1 here is a table that that states your only possible responses if you have 6 to 9 points:
Bid Points Number in suit
1 6 or more points and at least 4 in the suit
1♠ 6 or more points and at least 4 in the suit
1NT 6 to 10 points and no 4 card major suit or 5 card suit
2 6 to 10 points and at least 5 cards in the suit with no 4 card major suit


With two 5 card suits bid the higher ranking one first. With two 4 card majors bid them up the line so first.

With that in mind what do you respond when your partner opens 1?

Hand 1

♠K9542
A2
T63
♣JT2



Hand 2

♠JT
Q5
654
♣KT8652



Hand 3

♠QT8
JT86
3
♣KT654



Hand 4

♠93
AT
T6542
♣Q984



Hand 5

♠43
42
AQ432
♣Q743



Hand 6

♠J83
K95
JT3
♣J965



Hand 7

♠T54
AJ754
T3
♣A32



Hand 8

♠52
K76
QJ732
♣943



Hand 9

♠K642
52
A75
♣QT42



Hand 10

♠K4
K72
T982
♣QJT6



Hand 11

♠4
KJ9832
J7
♣Q932



Hand 12

♠952
K7
T6
♣QJT532



Hand 13

♠K98
97
AQ985
♣765



Hand 14

♠KJ2
T9432
T5
♣Q52



Hand 15

♠KT8
JT2
Q43
♣J542



Hand 16

♠Q742
86
Q853
♣Q63



Hand 17

♠Q92
75
94
♣AJT765



Hand 18

♠QJT4
Q5
J763
♣QJT



Hand 19

♠T76
954
AKT42
♣T9



Hand 20

♠T9532
KQ4
74
♣K94



Hand 21

♠QT5
AQT8
T953
♣76



Hand 22

♠Q865
K7
AT7
♣9642



Hand 23

♠Q743
AQ7
9864
♣87



Hand 24

♠6432
K754
JT
♣AJ3



Hand 25

♠T5
QT754
A32
♣QJT



Hand 26

♠Q63
Q94
K65
♣J732



Hand 27

♠QT2
K864
63
♣QJT2



Hand 28

♠J82
83
AQT965
♣T4



Hand 29

♠K95
72
K97652
♣52



Hand 30

♠J9
J9
865
♣AJ9642



Hand 31

♠J93
KQT7
K652
♣83



Hand 32

♠K754
3
543
♣KT542



Hand 33

♠K7432
87
KJT
♣Q75



Hand 34

♠QT98
J75
63
♣A653



Hand 35

♠KT5
A7
965432
♣83



Hand 36

♠732
J53
876
♣AJ82



Hand 37

♠K95
Q3
Q9432
♣J73



Hand 38

♠97
JT642
AQ865
♣9



Hand 39

♠J842
QT974
K6
♣85



Hand 40

♠KJ4
KQ63
8652
♣93



Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Responding to 1 Club with 6-9 Points

With 13 HCP you should open the bidding. If you have 5 cards in a major suit you want to open 1 of that major. If you do not have a 5 card major but do have 13 HCP you still need to open the bidding. Since you don't have a 5 card major open the bidding 1 of your longest minor. This might only have 3 cards in it.

Therefore to open the bidding 1♣ you need 13 HCP and 3♣. That's it.

When partner opens 1♣ we no longer need 13 points to make a bid. Since partner opened the bidding they have the opening hand. We just need 6 HCP to respond. With 6 HCP we need to respond. To bid a new suit we just need 4 cards in that suit. To support partner's ♣ suit we should have 5 cards in the suit. (Partner only need 3 cards in the suit to open remember. So to get an 8 card fit we should have 5.)

If partner opens 1♣ and you have a fit but you also have a 4 card major, bit the major suit. You want to try to find a fit there. If you do not have a fit in the major you can always bid ♣ later on.

The only bids that limit your hand are 1NT and 2♣. Both these bids limit your hand to 6 to 10 points and partner can pass both those bids.

If you respond with a new suit at the 1 level you might only have 6 points, but you could have 13 points -- or even 20 points. Partner MUST bid again with any of these bids. But we can let partner worry about that.

Therefore if your partner opens the bidding 1♣ here is a table that states your only possible responses if you have 6 to 9 points:
Bid Points Number in suit
1 6 or more points and at least 4 in the suit
1 6 or more points and at least 4 in the suit
1♠ 6 or more points and at least 4 in the suit
1NT 6 to 10 points and no 4 card major suit or 5 card suit
2♣ 6 to 10 points and at least 5 cards in the ♣ suit with no 4 card major suit


With two 5 card suits bid the higher ranking one first. With two 4 card majors bid them up the line so first.

With that in mind what do you respond when your partner opens 1♣?

Hand 1

♠K9542
A2
T63
♣JT2



Hand 2

♠JT
Q5
654
♣KT8652



Hand 3

♠QT8
KJT6
3
♣T8654



Hand 4

♠943
AT
T6542
♣Q98



Hand 5

♠43
42
AQ432
♣Q743



Hand 6

♠J83
K95
JT3
♣J965



Hand 7

♠T54
AJ754
T3
♣A32



Hand 8

♠52
K76
QJ732
♣943



Hand 9

♠K642
52
A75
♣QT42



Hand 10

♠K4
K72
T982
♣QJT6



Hand 11

♠4
KJ9832
J7
♣Q932



Hand 12

♠952
K7
T6
♣QJT532



Hand 13

♠K98
97
AQ985
♣765



Hand 14

♠KJ2
T9432
T5
♣Q52



Hand 15

♠KT8
JT2
Q43
♣J542



Hand 16

♠Q742
86
Q853
♣Q63



Hand 17

♠Q92
75
94
♣AJT765



Hand 18

♠QJT4
Q5
J763
♣QJT



Hand 19

♠T76
954
AKT42
♣T9



Hand 20

♠T9532
KQ4
74
♣K94



Hand 21

♠QT5
AQT8
T953
♣76



Hand 22

♠Q865
K7
AT7
♣9642



Hand 23

♠Q743
AQ7
9864
♣87



Hand 24

♠6432
K754
JT
♣AJ3



Hand 25

♠T5
QT754
A32
♣QJT



Hand 26

♠Q63
Q94
K65
♣J732



Hand 27

♠QT2
K864
63
♣QJT2



Hand 28

♠J82
83
AQT965
♣T4



Hand 29

♠K95
72
K97652
♣52



Hand 30

♠J9
J9
865
♣AJ9642



Hand 31

♠J93
KQT7
K652
♣83



Hand 32


QT5
KT9532
♣QJ96



Hand 33

♠K754
3
543
♣KT542



Hand 34

♠K7432
87
KJT
♣Q75



Hand 35

♠QT98
J75
63
♣A653



Hand 36

♠KT5
A7
965432
♣83



Hand 37

♠732
J53
876
♣AJ82



Hand 38

♠K95
Q3
Q9432
♣J73



Hand 39

♠97
JT642
AQ865
♣9



Hand 40

♠J842
QT974
K6
♣85



Hand 41

♠KJ4
KQ63
8652
♣93



Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Distribution Points

Take a look at this hand:

♠AJ9842


♣8765432

Not the best looking hand is it? How about if I tell you your partner's hand has no high cards in it at all. You probably wouldn't get too excited. Here it is:

Dummy:
♠T7653
5432
5432


Your hand:
♠AJ9842


♣8765432

Turns out each opponent has 1 ♠ and 3 ♣. This means that if ♠ are trump you can take ALL the tricks. That's right, all of them. You can trump 3♣ and by then all the ♣ in your hand are good. They are little but still good once you have taken all the opponents trump away from them.

So even though you only have 5 HCP between the two hands, you still make 13 tricks because of the distribution in the hands. It's because of hands like this that we can now start to give ourselves extra points if we have either length or shortness in our hands.

You should only count distribution points once you and your partner have found a fit. Shortness does not help you if you don't have a fit with partner. Don't believe me? Look at this hand:

Your hand:
♠AQ65432


♣AQ5432

This seems like a wonderful hand and it is -- IF partner has either ♠ or ♣. But what happens if partner has:


AKQJT98
AKQJT9


You end up in ♠ at some high level. Partner puts down dummy and you can't help thinking that you should probably be playing in one of partner's suits. But you do remember partner kept bidding them but you stuck to your suits and at the end partner had to back down because ♠ were higher. Okay, this can't be that bad can it? Well you can't get to dummy. You have to play everything from your hand and the opponents never lead a red suit when they get in. You are down quite a few. All this because you got a little excited with those red suit voids and partner got a little excited with all their points in the red suits.

Anyhow those were both extreme examples which will probably never come up in your lifetime. The thing to remember is that distribution is great and we can count extra points for it when we have found a trump fit with partner.

What do we count?

If we are dummy we get to count Dummy Points:

Shortness Points
Useful void 5 points
Useful singleton 3 points
Useful doubleton 1 point


If we are declarer we get to count Length or Declarer Points:

Count 1 extra point for every card in a suit longer than 4 cards. So if you have a 5 card suit give yourself 1 extra point. If you have 6 cards in a suit give yourself 2 extra points. The suit does not have to be the trump suit. This also includes every suit, not just the trump suit. So with two 5 card suits you get 2 extra points.

Let's see this in action.

First let's review the point count needed to support partner's major.

So when partner opens 1 of a major and we respond
Points Number of Trump
2 of that major this shows 6-10 points and at least 3 trump
3 of that major this shows 11-12 points and 4 trump


Your partner opens the bidding 1♠. You have a fit. Right away you get to count Dummy points since you will be dummy.

♠KT63
KT52
4
♣KT65

You have 9 HCP (3 Kings are worth 3 points each) and 3 Dummy points for a total of 12 points. You now get to respond 3♠ to show partner you have 11 or 12 points with 4 trump.

Your partner opens the bidding 1♠. You have a fit. Right away you get to count Dummy points since you will be dummy.

♠KT63
T852
4
♣KT65

You have 6 HCP (2 Kings are worth 3 points each) and 3 Dummy points for a total of 9 points. You respond 2♠ to show partner you have 6 to 10 points with at least 3 trump. Now partner bids 3♠ asking if you have a minimum for your bid (6 or 7 points) or a maximum for your bid (8 to 10 points). You can now bid 4♠ to show you have a maximum response. You only have 6 HCP but you can count points now which includes Dummy points and you have maximum points for your original bid.

With that in mind what do you respond when your partner opens 1?

First state your HCP and then how many Dummy points you have to come up with your total points. Then state if you would bid either 2 or 3. If you decided to respond with 2 then state what you will bid if partner comes back with 3?

Hand 1

♠QT3
AQ54
92
♣K976



Hand 2

♠KT6
J95
KJ754
♣94



Hand 3

♠65
KQ93
JT642
♣93



Hand 4

♠QT2
K32
8643
♣Q97



Hand 5

♠Q73
AT64
A63
♣J82



Hand 6

♠KJ2
Q754
82
♣AT54



Hand 7

♠93
A53
JT6
♣KT982



Hand 8

♠963
AQ7
64
♣JT765



Hand 9

♠AT5
J765
KQ85
♣97



Hand 10

♠A43
T863
Q8742
♣8



Hand 11

♠KJ8
KT42
J98
♣J75



Hand 12

♠Q62
J763
A987
♣72



Hand 13

♠94
J643
K943
♣Q93



Hand 14

♠2
QT92
AT63
♣T976



Hand 15

♠85
KT3
T74
♣AJ652



Hand 16

♠AK3
KT43
83
♣T984



Hand 17

♠Q32
QJT9
54
♣KT76



Hand 18

♠6
JT5
A6543
♣JT32



Hand 19

♠3
KT83
K987
♣KT95



Hand 20

♠K86
J832
62
♣QT62



Hand 21

♠Q97
K842
85
♣Q983



Hand 22

♠94
J962
JT82
♣A73



Hand 23

♠543
KJ63
QT842
♣5



Hand 24

♠62
J94
K972
♣Q953



Hand 25

♠98
A87
A865
♣T963



Hand 26

♠A65
J843
J9532
♣6



Hand 27

♠84
AK97
QT873
♣94