{"id":1318,"date":"2011-01-11T23:17:22","date_gmt":"2011-01-12T07:17:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/?p=1318"},"modified":"2013-02-08T23:25:16","modified_gmt":"2013-02-09T07:25:16","slug":"poll-26-cuebidding-slam-bridge-contracts-lead-directing-doubles-01122011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/?p=1318","title":{"rendered":"Poll #26, Cuebidding slam Bridge contracts, lead directing doubles, 01\/12\/2011"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Learn cuebids in slam Bridge contracts, make\u00a0lead directing doubles<\/h2>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/survey.constantcontact.com\/poll\/a07e39yob7ygituyjnz\/start.js?v=1&amp;w=300\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\n\n\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><\/p>\n<p><noscript>JavaScript needs to be enabled for polling to work.<br \/>\n<a href='http:\/\/www.constantcontact.com\/survey\/index.jsp?cc=ViraWidPOL'>Online Surveys<\/a> by Constant Contact.<br \/>\n<\/noscript><br \/>\n<a class=\"twitter-share-button\" href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/share\">Tweet<\/a><strong> <\/strong><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong>On today our poll, we offer everyone a diversion from our usual quantitative question to seek a more qualitative philosophical perspective.\u00a0 And we all know Bridge players each have a perspective, right?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/bridgehands-videos.s3.amazonaws.com\/Poll_26\/Poll_26.html\" target=\"_blank\">See our online video commentary of bidding with card animation.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Premium\/ULTRA Members &#8211; please login and scroll down for more video<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Most opening lead situations are difficult; at least the professionals seem to think so.\u00a0 So when the opponents have bid up, up and away to a 6 level slam contract, most likely your lead is \u201call or none.\u201d\u00a0 So carefully review the bidding, weigh all the inferences, evaluate the opponents bidding tempo.\u00a0 Mix this all together with your knowledge and it\u2019s time to face your opening lead. You are sitting West and it\u2019s your lead with the following auction:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><!-- Board 1: Auction --><\/h2>\n<table class=\"bchd\">\n<colgroup span=\"1\">\n<col span=\"4\" width=\"64\" \/> <\/colgroup>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<h2>West<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<h2>North<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<h2>East<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<h2>South<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>\n<h2>2 \u2663<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<h2>Dbl<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<h2>Pass!<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<h2>Pass<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<h2>2 \u2660<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<h2>Pass<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<h2>3 \u2660<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<h2>Pass<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<h2>4 \u2663<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<h2>Pass<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<h2>4 <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2666<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<h2>Dbl<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<h2>4 <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2665<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<h2>Pass<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<h2>4 \u2660<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<h2>Pass<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<h2>Pass<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<h2>Pass<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>Without looking at your hand, do you have a lead in mind?\u00a0 Well, since:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>1. We aren\u2019t letting you go wayward by looking at your hand<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Bridge is a partnership game<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>So leading a Diamond should keep you in good graces with your partner.\u00a0 But we are jumping ahead of ourselves &#8211; let&#8217;s go back and kibitz the bidding by North\/South.\u00a0 Here are their hands.<\/strong>\u00a0<!--more--><!-- Board 1: Diagram --><\/p>\n<table class=\"bchd\" cellpadding=\"4\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"left\" valign=\"top\"><\/td>\n<td colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\">\n<h2>\u2660 10 9 8 7<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2665<\/span> Q 10 8 6 4<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2666<\/span> A 4 2<br \/>\n\u2663 2<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"left\">\n<h2>\u2660 \u2014<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2665<\/span> \u2014<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2666<\/span> 9<br \/>\n\u2663 \u2014<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<table class=\"bcct\" width=\"64\" border=\"0\" frame=\"void\" rules=\"none\" bgcolor=\"#008000\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"3\" align=\"center\">\n<h2>N<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"left\">\n<h2>W<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">\n<h2>E<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"3\" align=\"center\">\n<h2>S<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<td align=\"left\">\n<h2>\u2660 \u2014<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2665<\/span> \u2014<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2666<\/span> \u2014<br \/>\n\u2663 \u2014<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\">\n<h2>\u2660 K Q J 6 5 3<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2665<\/span> A K<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u2666<\/span> 6 5 3<br \/>\n\u2663 A K<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>South is the dealer with unfavorable vulnerability.\u00a0 With 20 High Card Points plus 2 distribution points for the excellent self-sustaining Spade suit, open a strong 2 Club bid. \u00a0Even when partner only holds a poor Spade or two, South should hold 9 tricks in hand (4 losers).<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>North should refrain from bidding 2 Hearts \u2013 that suit is \u201cmoth eaten\u201d with holes between every card!\u00a0 Most players agree that after a strong 2 Club opener, responder should not be a \u201creal suit\u201d to show slam interest without a very good 5+ card suit.\u00a0 \u201cVery good\u201d is typically defined as 2 of the top 3 honors in the suit, values the responder values to quickly take tricks on the road to slam.\u00a0 For sure, North\u2019s hand simply doesn\u2019t qualify for a 2 Heart call &#8211;\u00a0 bidding 2 Diamonds waiting is a better call for now.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>East gets in the action, doubling North\u2019s 2 Diamond artificial bid.\u00a0 Looking at the opener\u2019s hand, South is not surprised and continues with 2 Spade.\u00a0\u00a0 North had intended to show Hearts on the second bid but South\u2019s 2 Spade bid stops the responder.\u00a0 Now North reevaluates the hand as 6 HCP plus at least 3 for the singleton Club.\u00a0 With South opening 2 Clubs with 22+ total points plus North\u2019s 9 playing points, North has visions of grandeur \u2013 aka slam territory.\u00a0 Using modern \u201cslow shows\u201d (extras) and \u201cfast denies,\u201d North responds 3 Spades to show extra values.\u00a0 With lessor values North would bid 4 Spades \u2013 fast arrival shows minimum values with no interest in slam.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>South likes the 3 Spade call but wisely does not make a Blackwood Ace-asking call for two reasons:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>1. A player should not bid Blackwood when missing 2 controls (both the Ace and King) in a suit.\u00a0 With 3 losers in Diamonds, South should instead begin cuebidding controls.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Declarer South should not be tone deaf to the opponents bidding.\u00a0 Hearing East double partner\u2019s 2 Diamond artificial call, South is expecting an opening lead of a Diamond.\u00a0 And if there\u2019s one suit South does not want led, it certainly would be Diamonds.\u00a0 Back to cuebidding, South cuebids controls \u201cup the line,\u201d beginning with 4 Clubs.\u00a0 North&#8217;s responds in kind bidding 4 Diamonds \u2013 typically showing an Ace but in this auction it might be a King since both can be worthy controls to quickly take tricks (South may hold an Ace or Queen).<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Not wanting to signoff in 4 Spades, South rebids 5 Clubs, showing a second control \u2013 this time the Club King.\u00a0 \u00a0This is bad news for North who already has a second round of control in Clubs (the singleton).\u00a0 With wasted values and also mindful of East\u2019s double of 2 Diamonds with \u201cAce and out\u201d to say nothing about a 5 card Heart suit that\u2019s full of holes, North elects to bid 4 Spades in-lieu of making a 4 Notrump Blackwood Ace-asking call.\u00a0 Thinking long and hard, a wise and conservative South will pass.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>However, in our so-called modern times, the words \u201cBridge\u201d and \u201cconservative\u201d are seldom mixed in the same sentence \u2013 certainly not in the context of slam bidding!\u00a0\u00a0 For our more aggressive bidders, South would give the bidding one more try, rebidding 5 Hearts to show one more control \u2013 the Heart King.\u00a0\u00a0 While considerate and pondering a wide range of scenarios, a considerate North will still signoff in 5 Spades.\u00a0 Remember that the foundation of a solid slam contract is predicated on suit controls as well as strength and fit.\u00a0 Earlier, North evaluated a hand with great Spade support and 2 controls.\u00a0 But then reality struck hard when South bid 3 Clubs, later followed by 4 Clubs to show both the Ace and King.\u00a0 Suddenly, one of responder North\u2019s controls fizzled into thin air \u2013 bummer.\u00a0 Back at the bidding box, even if our aggressive South bidders try a 5 Heart rebid to induce responder into 6 Spades, it\u2019s simply not going to happen with North\u2019s cards.\u00a0 Okay, let\u2019s look at the hands, add a few more comments on how East\/West would participate in the auction. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>But before diving in, let\u2019s cover today\u2019s poll. We tend to:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>1. Aggressively lead away from a useful honor (King or Queen) when opponents are in a suit contract at the 5 or 6 level<br \/>\n2. Make passive leads when opponents are in a Notrump slam \u2013 let them find your honors.<br \/>\n3. Lead partner\u2019s double of opponents\u2019 artificial suit call \u2013 a safe lead bound to pay dividends (if not by setting the opponents, at least keeping harmony with partner).<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Free, Premium and ULTRA Members &#8211; please login for lesson details<\/strong><\/p>\nPlease login or register to view this content.\n<p><strong><br \/>\nPremium and ULTRA Members &#8211; please login for advanced lesson on tips, tricks, and traps as well as download files of BridgeHands materials for your use.<br \/>\n<\/strong><br \/>\nPlease login or register to view this content.<\/p>\nPlease login or register to view this content.\n<p><strong>Thank you for attending our online Bridge virtual training class. We appreciate your support and look forward to supporting your Bridge instructional needs.<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong><br \/>\n<strong>Warm Regards,<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Michael<br \/>\n<em>BridgeHands<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn cuebids in slam Bridge contracts, make\u00a0lead directing doubles JavaScript needs to be enabled for polling to work. Online Surveys by Constant Contact. Tweet On today our poll, we offer everyone a diversion from our usual quantitative question to seek a more qualitative philosophical perspective.\u00a0 And we all know Bridge players each have a perspective, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[39],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1318"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1318"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1318\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1320,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1318\/revisions\/1320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}