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COMPETIT.CBA
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1995-09-14
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COMPETITIVE CUE BIDS
The principles of competitive cue bids apply when the opponents
have bid only one suit, the cue bid is not a jump, and one of the
following applies:
-- The partnership has previously made a total of three or more
bids:
South West North East
1C 1D 1H Pass
1S Pass 2D
South West North East
1D 1S 2H Pass
3C Pass 3S
-- A non-jump new suit response has been made at a higher level
than two of opener's suit (possibly giving opener a rebid problem).
South West North East
1D 1S 2H Pass
2S
South West North East
1S 2D 3C Pass
3D
-- The partnership has raised a suit:
South West North East
1C 1S 2C Pass
2S
South West North East
1D 1H 1S Pass
2S Pass 3H
-- The partnership has overcalled an opening bid and opener's
partner has passed or made a negative double:
South West North East
1C 1S Pass 2C
South West North East
1H 1S Dbl 2C
Pass 2H
-- The cue bidder previously made a takeout or negative double,
received a response, and is now cue bidding the suit doubled:
South West North East
1D Dbl Pass 2C
Pass 2D
-- The cue bidder's partner opened the bidding and then passed on
the second round (rather than make a free bid):
South West North East
1C Pass 1H 1S
Pass Pass 2S
-- Both partners have previously bid, and an opponent has made a
jump overcall during the auction:
South West North East
1H 2S 3D Pass
3S
-- The cue bid is made by a negative doubler:
South West North East
1C 1S Dbl Pass
2C/2D Pass 2S
The following are normal strong cue bids, not "competitive cue
bids" as defined above:
South West North East
1C Pass 1H 1S
2S (partnership has bid only twice)
South West North East
1D 1H 2C Pass
2H (2C not higher than partner's suit)
South West North
1C 1H 2H
See CUE BID RESPONSES TO OVERCALLS and chapter RESPONDING TO SIMPLE
OVERCALLS in the book "Defensive Bidding."
Competitive Cue Bids at the Two Level
Competitive cue bids at the two level are not forcing to game,
although the cue bidder must have a strong interest in game,
probably in a major suit or notrump. If it is a notrump game he is
looking for, the cue bidder must have one or both of the following:
-- Reason to believe that the combined hands of the partnership
have nine fast tricks at notrump if entry can be gained in time
(i.e., if the opposing suit is stopped by the partnership)
or:
-- Some sort of strength in the opposing suit--a partial stopper
(K, Qx, Jxx, 10xxx) or a full stopper (usually Ax or Axx, wanting
partner to bid the notrump so that the lead will come up to her
possible Qx, Jxx, etc.)
Responses:
The partner of the cue bidder makes the call that will best
describe his hand, remembering that a simple bid of any suit not
be passed unless the cue bidder has no strength in the cue bid suit
and is willing to risk the loss of the first five tricks in that
suit. The cue bidder must not pass 2NT, however, if partner has not
previously limited his hand in some way (i.e., by a limit bid or
a pass).
When a notrump game is the probable goal, there are two situations:
1) Cue bidder is over the opposing suit.
2) Cue bidder is under the opposing suit.
Situation 1) is the better position:
South West North East
1H 1S 2C Pass
2H Pass 2S
Cue bids are more frequent in situation 1) because any notrump bid
should be played from the other side, making the opposing bidder
lead away from his strength.
In the above auction, opener can now bid 2NT with any one of the
following:
-- More solidity in the partnership's long suit(s) than partner
might expect. South could bid 2NT with S-87 H-AKQ1083 D-QJ3 C-92
or S-642 H-AQ1083 D-Q103 C-KQ
-- A sure stopper in the opposing suit (with solidity too, bid 3NT)
-- A partial stopper in the opposing suit (K, Qx, Jxx, 10xxx)
South doesn't have to bid notrump with any of these requirements,
but she may do so if no other call describes her hand better. The
primary aim is to describe the hand in general. Lacking any of the
above requirements for a 2NT bid, or not wishing to bid notrump
because of the nature of her hand, South makes the call that will
best serve to further describe her hand. Any minimum bid in a suit
previously bid by the partnership may be passed.
The cue bidder continues by taking one of the following actions:
-- He bids 3NT over 2NT if any one of the three requirements for
a 2NT bid are sufficient for chancing that game.
-- He makes a minimum bid in one of the partnership's suits if he
doesn't mind being passed there.
-- He can make any other call that serves to describe his hand,
including a (forcing) bid in a new suit.
-- He can repeat the cue bid when partner has bid 2NT, warning her
that she needs a sure stopper (vs a partial stopper or suit
solidity) for a game in notrump.
-- He can pass 2NT with perhaps three small cards in the opposing
suit, if partner has previously made a limit bid and he has a hunch
that 2NT is better than any other spot.
-- He can repeat the cue bid when partner has refused to bid
notrump, asking that she please do so regardless of her holding in
the opposing suit:
South West North East
1D 1H 1S Pass
2D Pass 2H Pass
3C Pass 3H
The 3H bid is equivalent to a 3NT bid, wanting South to play the
hand. North has S-A7632 H-A84 D-A93 C-Q6 South has not denied
holding something like Qx in hearts, despite his failure to bid
2NT. Besides, there is no reason for South to play the hand.
After the cue bidder has made his follow-up call, it is his
partner's turn to bid again:
-- If she had two of the three requirements for a 2NT bid, she can
bid 3NT even if the cue bidder signs-off:
South West North East
1D Dbl Pass 2C
Pass 2D Pass 2NT
Pass 3C Pass 3NT
East has S-873 H-643 D-Q8 C-A10873. She has both a partial stopper
and more suit-running ability than West could expect. With two
reasons for bidding 2NT, she now bids 3NT. West has S-AK4 H-AQ3
D-J83 C-KQ94.
-- She can pass a minimum bid in one of the partnership's suits if
she sees no game. In the preceding auction, East would have passed
3C without the queen of diamonds.
-- She can repeat the cue bid herself to show a good hand that
unfortunately has none of the requirements for a 2NT bid. In the
preceding auction, East would have bid 3D instead of 2NT with S-Q52
H-K85 D-7 C-J87532, with the intention of driving to game some-
where.
-- She can make some other appropriate bid.
An implied assumption in all of the foregoing is that one sure
stopper plus one partial stopper will provide a double stopper when
the opponent must lead away from her suit. This is not always so,
but is true often enough to justify the assumption. The other
assumption is that two partial stoppers will produce one sure
stopper, which is almost always true.
Here is an example from actual play:
South has S-J53 H-A1072 D-A83 C-A54, North S-K H-763 D-KQJ1092
C-K85
South West North East
1C 1S 2D Pass
2H Pass 2S Pass
2NT Pass 3D Pass
3NT
North would not have made the cue bid if the spade king and heart
seven were exchanged. South knows that responder must have some
spade strength, since he can see that her diamonds are not solid.
He bids 3NT because he has two of the requirements for the 2NT bid:
a partial stopper and solidifying strength (in diamonds). Lacking
either, he would pass 3D with a minimum hand.
Situation 2) has the adverse suit sitting over the cue bidder. This
is the worse position:
South West North East
1C 1S 2H Pass
2S
In this situation the partner of the cue bidder cannot profitably
bid notrump and have the opening lead come through the cue bidder's
hand. The bidding flexibility is considerably reduced by this
factor. On the other hand, the person contemplating a cue bid can
more readily bid notrump instead, since the lead will be coming up
to his hand. Accordingly, with many hands that would call for a
cue bid if the suit had been bid on the right, a player will bid
notrump when the suit has been bid on the left.
The following guidelines apply in this situation:
-- Partner of the cue bidder raises the cue bid instead of bidding
notrump, holding one of the features supposedly being sought by the
cue bidder (solidity, stopper, partial stopper). With only a
partial stopper and a doubtful hand, it may be better to sign off
rather than raise the cue bid. The purpose of raising the cue bid
is to get the lead in the right place--making the opponent who bid
the suit lead away from it.
-- In this situation a repeat cue bid asks for a partial stopper,
since the cue bidder would seldom have any reason to insist that
partner play the notrump:
South West North East
1C 1S 2C Pass
2S Pass 3C Pass
3S - asks for a partial stopper
East would not raise the first cue bid with a partial stopper and
a weak raise, so South inquires about that possibility. South has
S-J64 H-A65 D-A C-AK9876
Another: West has S-Q3 H-A8 D-K96 C-QJ9632, East S-J54 H-9642 D-AQ8
C-AK6:
South West North East
1S 2C Pass 2S
Pass 3C Pass 3S
Pass 3NT
West did not raise the cue bid even though she has a partial
stopper, because her clubs are not very good. With the partial
stopper and a normal hand, however, she is able to bid 3NT after
the repeat cue bid.
-- Rather than raise the cue bid, the cue bidder's partner can just
bid 2NT with a holding that can be safely led up to (e.g.,
doubleton A10, AJ). Bidding 2NT in this position implies a
potential double stopper, and a jump to 3NT implies a double
stopper.
-- If the cue bid gets doubled, the cue bidder's partner can
redouble to show at least a partial stopper in the opposing suit.
This is a weaker action than raising the cue bid.
When a major suit game is the probable goal -- If the partnership
has not bid a minor suit before the cue bid, it can be assumed that
the cue bidder is pointing toward a major suit game rather than a
notrump game. One of the most common cases is the cue bid response
to a major suit overcall:
South West North East
1C 1S Pass 2C
Chances are that East has spade support and is going to try for a
spade game (a jump to 3S is not particularly invitational).
However, he could have something else in mind. Perhaps he has a
strong hand with little in spades, but has no readily available
bid that would describe the hand adequately (a new suit bid is not
encouraging, and a jump in a new suit is only invitational). He
therefore seeks more information about West's hand with a cue bid.
In response to the cue bid, West makes the bid that will best serve
to further describe her hand. With a minimum overcall and no other
suit to show, she will probably just bid 2S:
South West North East
1C 1S Pass 2C
Pass 2S - minimum overcall, no second suit
2NT - club stopper, likes notrump okay
3C - good hand, club stopper
2D/2H - second suit, forcing
3S - good suit, good overcall, forcing
4S - very good suit and hand
The 2NT bid tends to show a short club holding (e.g., AQ, Kx).
With a holding like Qxx, Kxx, or Axx, it is better to raise the
cue bid in order to show a stopper and maybe get the lead coming
up to partner's hand (which may include Kx, Qx, or Jxx in clubs).
The 3C bid shows a club stopper, but West can make this bid with
nothing but a partial stopper and solid spades. East won't dare
bid 3NT with no partial stopper and no high card in spades (as the
cue bid tends to imply).
South West North East
1C 1H Pass 2C
Pass 2D Pass 2H - forcing
A limit situation has not been reached, so West must bid again. The
same suit has been bid twice by the partnership, but not twice in
a row by either the partnership or by one partner.
South West North East
1H 1S Pass 2H
Pass 3C
The 3C bid implies a little extra, either in distribution (5-5) or
high cards. If West has weak spades, he no doubt has extra high
cards to justify the overcall.
Competitive Cue Bids at the Three Level
If both opponents have bid the same suit, a competitive cue bid at
the three level requests a notrump bid from partner if she has a
sure stopper:
South West North East
1S 2C 2S 3S
East is suggesting that West bid 3NT with a sure spade stopper,
but not with a partial stopper. The reasoning: Two partial
stoppers, one in each hand, do not occur very often when both
opponents have bid the same suit. It therefore makes more sense for
a cue bid in this case to ask for a full stopper.
If only one opponent has bid the suit, however, the cue bid
suggests that partner bid 3NT with a partial stopper (K, Qx, Jxx,
10xxx) or better. There are occasions when partner can bid 3NT
opposite such a cue bid when he has no strength whatsoever in the
cue bid suit--when he is sure that the cue bidder must have a
stopper herself. For instance, when holding the ace of a suit in
which partner has shown good length--and she could not suppose that
you have that ace--then you can bid 3NT without the partial
stopper. She won't dare pass 3NT without a stopper, because she
will suppose the partnership needs to have the opposing suit
stopped twice.
Suppose South has S-A4 H-AJ D-KQJ953 C-Q107 and the bidding goes:
South West North East
1D Pass 1H 2S
3S Pass ?
North has S-106 H-96432 D-A976 C-A8. Unless South has great heart
support, she is probably looking for a notrump game with just such
a hand as the one shown above. Holding the ace of diamonds, North
can bid 3NT without a partial stopper. He knows that South, lacking
that ace, will not dare pass without a sure spade stop. In actual
play North missed this implication and bid 4C instead of 3NT. The
final contract was 5D, down one (I was North).
If the cue bid gets doubled, and both opponents have bid the suit,
a redouble by either partner shows a partial stopper (bid 3NT with
a sure stopper). If only one opponent has bid the suit, go ahead
and bid 3NT with a partial stopper, as requested. A redouble in
that case shows a "partial-partial" stopper (e.g., Q, Jx, 10xx).
A redouble by the cue bidder shows a sure stopper and asks partner
to bid 3NT if he has the key card(s) that will provide solidity to
the partnership's suit(s):
South West North East
1C Pass 1H 2S
3S Dbl Pass Pass
Rdbl - sure stopper, asking for solidity
Other examples of competitive cue bids at the three level:
South West North East
1C 2S 3D Pass
3S - asks for a partial spade stop
South West North East
1C 1S 2D 2S
Pass Pass 3S - asks for a sure spade stop
South West North East
1D 2C 2S Pass
3C - asks for a partial club stop
Take the last auction: North is not required to bid 3NT with
something in clubs if he thinks some other bid is more appropriate.
In this case responder has S-K10762 H-AK3 D-965 C-Q5, so 3NT is the
best bid. Opener has S-A4 H-Q7 D-AKQJ72 C-J42.
The following is not a competitive cue bid:
South West North
1C 2S 3S
A jump overcall has been made, but both partners have not bid
before the cue bid. This is a standard strong cue bid.
Also see chapter CUE BID RESPONSES TO OVERCALLS.