Thursday, July 26, 2007

Notrump Games ****good cuebid example

A couple of the notrump games we played last night at handicapped teams had some interesting bidding aspects.

1. I opened 1D with this attractive collection:

AQJ
xx
AKQJxxx
x
LHO bid 1H and Frank bid 2C. Now I need to be careful about my rebid--to be certain that we get to game, and the correct one, at that! Three diamonds is an underbid with this 4 loser hand, so I settled on 2H. It is game forcing and generally asks partner to describe his hand. Frank bid 2N--the bid I hoped to hear and I bid 3N--hoping that we weren't underbid. My hand was a pleasant sight for him and he had to lose two hearts--making 5.
2. As dealer vulnerable, I found myself looking at:
AJ9
9x
Qxx
KJ10xx
I hate these hands. If I open, then I worry that we'll get too high so I keep the brakes on. If I pass, then I worry that we'll miss game so I get overly aggressive! I decided to pass and Frank opened 1H. Now I can't bid 2C because that is Drury, so I temporize with a forcing NT. He bids 2D and I start wondering whether he has a full opener because he is in 3rd seat. Nevertheless, since we can't afford to miss a vulnerable game I jump to 3NT.
Dummy isn't bad:
xxx A10xxx AKx Qx
I duck the H lead and RHO thinks for a while before returning the SK.
AJ9 9x Qxx KJ10xx
This is encouraging. I win the Ace, knock out the club ace, the SQ is indeed on my right, the clubs break well and I score up 630. Win 10 imps. I know I must sound like a broken record, but this is what imps are all about--bidding games!
In retrospect I think I should have opened the hand because as 11 point hands go, this is a good one. I have a good 5 card suit, my honors are in my suits and I have good spots.

See you at the table!

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