What should I bid? (January 2022)
The best submission for January came from Ben. He wins a voucher of $30 funded by TBIB, toward any purchase made at the Bridge Shop or Paul Lavings Bridgegear.
NS Vul
S Dlr
South
♠ K 3
♥ A 5 3
♦ A K Q 9 8 5 2
♣ 5
| West | North | East | South |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1♦ | |||
| Pass | 1♥ | Pass | ? |
Opener rebid problem. A lot of playing power but what to rebid?
Hi Ben,
This is a common problem that is frequently asked, and if you read The Bridge World magazine, they call this the “Bridge World Death Hand” as there is no perfect solution (e.g. 3D is a huge underbid, 3NT may lose the hearts, raising hearts may play in a 4-3 fit, etc.). To ‘solve’ this problem, it requires some system rework. Some possible ideas:
– If responder’s major was spades, play 1m-1S-3H as the 6-3 (H splinter hands can just raise to 3S or 4H if stronger) though this has to be a strong hand (17+) since you can’t stop at 3m now
– If responder’s major was hearts, you could make 1m-1H-1S as 100% forcing, thus freeing up 1m-1H-2S for the good 6-3 hands (14+ so you can still stop in 3m)
– Some play 2C or 2D opening as 18-19 Bal (Mexican 2D for example), so 1m-1M-2NT can be used for various hand types including the 6-3
Without any of the above suggestions, then you are at a total guess, and one guess isn’t really better than another (I might ‘gamble’ on 3D since if partner doesn’t pass, then I’m in good shape! The other gamble would be a 3NT rebid and that would be very reasonable as well).
Kind regards
Andy
