Bidding is competitive if both teams are struggling to find a suit and play a contract. This section discusses a few issues concerning competitive bidding. (Note on "standard" bidding.)
In a competitive auction, the length of your suit matters much more than the strength of your hand.
EXAMPLE: Suppose your partner opens 1 and the opponent makes a takeout double. You hold the following hand:
5 Q642 T974 8542 |
Without the double, you should probably pass the 1 opening. After the
double, however, I recommend jumping to 3!
Why? Well, you
have 4-card heart support, so you and your partner have a nice 9-card
fit. Furthermore, your spade singleton
suggests that the opponents might have a very nice spade fit. By
jumping to 3, you
make it very hard for them to compete effectively.
|
NOTE: The jump to 3 is not a limit raise, and you don't have to worry about your partner raising to game. Hopefully, your partner is aware of the following rule:
In a competitive auction, any jump-bid is preemptive. |
EXCEPTIONS: There
are two exceptions to the above rule:
1. When
your partner makes a takeout double and the next
opponent passes, a jump-bid does show some
strength:
(1) Dbl (Pass) 2: 4 or 5 spades and 10 or 11 points. |
2. If the opponents made a preemptive opening, or are otherwise known to be bidding with weak hands, then a jump-bid shows strength:
(2) 2 (3) 4: Shows 3 spades and enough strength for game. |
Unlike the
bidding of uncontested auctions, competitive bidding does not
seem to have a "standard" approach. Though many players
bid as described here, many others follow a more traditional
approach where any jump to the 3-level show game-invitational
values. In fact, weak jump-rasies after an overcall are
classified as an alertable convention by the ACBL!
If you intend to
play bridge with a partner who has not read this document, you
should make sure that the two of you are on the same wavelength
regarding competitive bidding. For example, whenever I play with
someone new I warn them of my style as follows: "I like to
jump in competition with a weak hand and good support. If I
actually have an invitational hand, I'll either bid a new suit or
cuebid to show my values."