Hand of the Fortnight

Number 19

Theme: Do I support partner’s opening bid or bid a new suit?

You are sitting East and playing 5 card majors. The bidding has gone

W N E S

1H / ?

Q: What do you bid with

S: A K 9 4

H: Q 6 5

D: 7 2

C: K 8 4 3 ?

A: 1S

While you know partner has a minimum of 5 Hearts, you do not know if partner has a 2nd biddable suit (whether a 4 card suit or a 2nd lower-ranked 5 card suit).

If partner has a 4+ card Spade suit and assuming the quality of your combined Spade and Heart fits are similarly good, if Spades are trumps you may have the chance to discard on partner’s Hearts (once they are established).

If however you end up in 4H with a 4+4 Spade fit missed, you won’t be able to discard anything on Spades.

After you bid 1S, if partner bids 1NT, 2C or 2D, you are ready to JUMP TO 3H for your next bid.

Notes:

1) The occasional bad trump split may make either 4H or 4S difficult or impossible but that can’t stop you from bidding the hand based on what you see and partner’s bids.

2) What would I do if I had a minimum 6-8 HCP hand with Heart support?

e.g. S: A J 6 5

H: 9 7 5

D: 8 6

C: J 6 3 2

I would simply bid 2H to avoid the bidding escalating. When you bid 1S, partner expects something like 6-12 HCP and (if holding 16-18HCP) may jump to 3D or 3C in search of game.