When can I pass? #1

Consider the following....

#You have....The bidding
1♠K73 ♥Q87 ♦J543 ♣JT3 1NT P ?
2♠J92 ♥T843 ♦Q63 ♣876 1S P ?

What's your bid (both times)?

Unless you are one aggressive bunny (or there's a mirror behind your partner), you are passing. Why?

It's pretty simple.   In both cases you know the upper and lower limits of partner's hand, 15-17 in the first and 12-19 (ALMOST always!) in the second.   It's your judgment that game is unlikely and the contracts reasonable, so, you pass.    (If it turns out that the opponents come to life, partner now knows that you have a relatively weak hand and won't do anything silly.)

Let's add a king to both hands...

#You now have....The bidding
3♠K73 ♥Q87 ♦KJ54 ♣JT3 1NT P ?
4♠J92 ♥T843 ♦Q63 ♣K76 1S P ?
Now what do you bid?

That king changes everything! You are the only one that knows there is a possibility of making game (in both cases), so, you cannot let the bidding die. In hand 3 you will simply bid game (3NT!) because you KNOW that the combined assets total at least 25 high card points (HCP) and everyone else is going to be bidding this high probability game. Hand 4 is still uncertain as to level, but, you do know that you have an 8+ card fit in spades, so, you tell partner the good news (8+ fit and 6-9 points in support) by bidding 2S.   (Note: Some might make other bids to achieve the same goal, depending on agreements. e.g. Some 2/1 players would first bid 1NT, then bid 2S on the next bid to show a minimum raise.)

What does opener do next? In hand #3 the pass should be automatic.    Opener very strongly defined her hand with 1NT, so, responder is CAPTAIN and places the contract.   As a practical matter, virtually all (non conventional) NT bids make partner CAPTAIN (who gets to decide the final strain & level, perhaps asking for more information).

In hand #4, responder is the first to limit (with 10+ points in support of spades, responder would have made a limit raise or game forcing bid), so, opener is now CAPTAIN.   What are opener's choices?

Well, assuming 6-9 points in support of spades (HCP+distribution points) AND 25 points is usually enough for game in NT or a major, opener's bids are:

Opener PointsOpener's Bid
18+4S
16-173S or new suit
15-Pass


We are now almost there. The only remaining case is opener's 2nd bid above. If responder is at the top of her bid (8-9) then opener wants 3S raised to 4 OR if responder can "help" opener's 2nd suit then responder should bid 4.

Putting it all together!    GOLDEN RULE #3 of bidding (MY list!) is:    GOOD PARTNERSHIPS LIMIT THEMSELVES ASAP!!      If you wait too long to do so, you could easily get overboard.

What bids limit my hand?

Type of BidExamplesLimits
NT Openings1NTBalanced 15-17
2NTBalanced 20-21
NT Rebids1C 1H 1NT12-15 HCP
1H 2C 2NT12-15 HCP (Assuming 2/1)
1C 1H 2NTBalanced 18-19 HCP
NT Responses1C 1NT8-10
1D/H/S 1NT6-10
1C/D 2NT11-12 HCP/No 4 card major
1H/S 2NT12-15 HCP/No more than 2 of opener's suit
1C/D 3NT13=15 HCP/No 4 card major
Rebid of Suit1D 1H 2D12-15/6+ card suit (usually:)
1D 1H 3D16-18/6+ card suit
ALL preempts!

A Few Good Issues

(Q) My partner opened 1C and I gave him a "courtesy" bid of 1 heart with ♠ T43 ♥QT752 ♦Q32 ♣62   because I was afraid that he would get killed in clubs.    Partner then jump shifted to 2S.    Now I was afraid that we were going to get too high and I passed.   Was I wrong to do so?

(A) Yup!   Once you accept an invitation to dance, you have to hang on til the music ends.   This doesn't happen until (1) you reach game or slam or (2) the CAPTAIN says so.    At this point, neither of you have sufficiently limited your hand to foreclose game, so, dance on!

(Q) My partner opened 1H.  I had ♠QJ8642 ♥4 ♦KJ42; ♣3  The bidding continued: ...1S 1NT 2S 2NT P.  Down 1!   Did partner have a 2NT bid?

(A) Partner probably was void in spades and thought he was saving the day.   If you are famous for rebidding 5 card suits then he might have a case, but, if not, he is guilty of violating CAPTAINCY and MASTERMINDING!   Even if it turned out well in this case, he frayed the bonds of partnership by not trusting partner.