Polling You #63, Jacoby Transfer to Minor Suit, Part 3

 
Using Jacoby Transfers in the major suits is straight forward enough.  Partner opens 1 Notrump and regardless of the suit quality or strength, we begin by transferring to 2 Hearts or 2 Spades.   Unfortunately, things are not quite so simple when holding a minor suit.

Visitors – Click here to view Part 1 of the video commentary

Is the suit at least 6 cards in length?  Is the hand weak, invitational or slam going?  What about the suit quality – are the honors in the 6+ card suit?  Should we be playing in the minor suit or a Notrump contract?   After opener bids 1 Notrump, when responder makes a transfer bid the bidding level is getting a bit lofty – 3 Clubs or 3 Diamonds.  This, along with the fact that it requires 11 tricks to make a 5 level minor suit contract, requires us to use different bidding strategies when transferring in major and the minor suits.

Okay, if we haven’t scared you away and you’re ready to sink your teeth into minor suit transfers, we have a special treat for you!  Unlike other somewhat dry Bridge instruction that just tells you “what,” our instruction includes statistical percentages to illustrate the odds and benefit of makes transfer or Notrump bids with a variety of hand patterns!   So if nothing else, please tune in to Part 2 and 3 where we “crunch the numbers.” In our commentary we illustrate how to effectively evaluate assorted hand patterns with minor suit length.  We think you’ll be surprised how after partner opens 1 Notrump, certain 13 HCP hands can make a slam contract!

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