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INTROCUE.CBA
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1995-09-09
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INTRODUCTION
In the early days of contract bridge, the cue bid was narrowly
defined. It had only one meaning: first round control of the suit
and a very strong hand. If the partnership had previously agreed
on a trump suit, the cue bid was an information giving (and
seeking) slam try:
South West North East
1S Pass 3S Pass
4C - slam interest, ace or void in clubs
The bid of an opposing suit could implicitly agree on a trump suit,
force to game, and suggest a slam:
South West North East
1C 1H 1S Pass
2H - agrees spades, suggests a slam
South West North
1H 1S 2S - suggests a heart slam
In either case, the cue bidder showed first round control of the
opposing suit, implied strong four-card support for partner's suit,
and invited slam.
The cue bid was also used to force a bid from a partner who had not
yet bid:
South West North East
1C 1S Pass Pass
2S
South showed a powerful hand, perhaps with 0-4-4-5 distribution.
South West
1D 2D
This immediate cue bid overcall was forcing to game and showed
first round control of the suit. Players came to make the bid with
a singleton loser, and to play it as not quite game-forcing.
And that was all there was to cue bids, in the old days.
In going over cue bids as they are used today, we might as well
include those non-forcing bids in a denomination first bid by the
opponents:
South West North East
1C Pass 1S Pass
2C Pass Pass 2S - natural, not forcing
East has S-QJ9873 H-AQ D-Q87 C-63. While the 2S bid is not really
a cue bid, we shall have to discuss such hands here anyway, if only
to differentiate them from forcing cue bids.
"Forcing to a limit situation" is a phrase that will be used often
in connection with cue bids. After a bid that is forcing to a limit
situation, the partnership must continue bidding until one of the
following occurs:
-- The same suit is bid twice in succession by one partner.
-- The same suit is bid twice in succession by the partnership
(i.e., a raise).
-- Game is reached.
-- A suitable penalty double is imposed on the opponents.
-- Either partner bids notrump, thereby limiting his hand. (Excep-
tion: a cue bidder may not pass a 2NT response by a partner who has
not previously acted--and a double/redouble is an "act"):
South West North East
1C 2C Pass 2NT - forcing
South West North East
1C Dbl Pass 2C
Pass 2NT - not forcing
-- The person who made the force has inferentially given partner
a final chance to show any values. For example:
South West North East
1H 2H Pass 3C
Pass 3H
The repeat cue bid asks East to pick another suit. South probably
has a diamond-spade two-suiter. If West can only bid 3S or 4D (or
4C), he denies any useful cards. East can pass any such minimum
second bid, even though 2H was forcing to a limit situation. Since
this is a limit situation, East should jump to 4S with as little
as Kxx in spades and nothing outside. A 3 bid would also imply a
diamond-spade two-suiter, but that would be forcing. Michaels cue
bid, you say? Only if you play that as very weak or very strong,
nothing in between.
South West North East
1C Dbl Pass 1S
Pass 2C Pass 2S
West's cue bid gives East a chance to show a second suit, or some
extra strength. The 2S bid denies a useful hand, and a limit
situation has been reached. South can pass. A new suit bid by East
would have been forcing, a 2NT bid not forcing.
Note that a delayed raise below game is forcing under the above
conditions:
South West North East
1S Dbl Pass 2H
Pass 2S Pass 3D
Pass 3H - forcing
The 2S cue bid was forcing to a limit situation. Hearts have been
bid twice, but not in succession by the partnership, or by the same
person, so a limit situation has not been reached and East must bid
again. No doubt West has a very powerful hand with three-card heart
support, and wants to find out if East has five hearts. Had West's
last bid been 3S or 4D instead of 3H, East could pass with no
useful values.
Also note that the definition of "forcing to a limit situation"
says that a 2NT response to such a force cannot be passed if 2NT
is bid by someone who has not previously bid, or doubled/redoubled:
South West North East
1C 2C Pass 2NT - forcing
West cannot cue bid and then pass a 2NT bid by East, who has not
previously acted. However:
South West North East
1C 1S Pass 2C
Pass 2NT - not forcing
If West has good values for a notrump bid, she must jump to 3NT.
See the chapter COMPETITIVE CUE BIDS.
When a Cue Bid Gets Doubled
See COMPETITIVE CUE BIDS for appropriate actions when a "compet-
itive cue bid" gets doubled. The following applies to doubles of
standard cue bids:
-- A pass is the weakest action the next hand can make. It denies
a useful hand.
-- A bid made directly over the double is a "free bid," showing a
hand that is at least slightly promising.
-- A jump bid is normal, as if the double had not occurred, as is
any notrump bid (which tends to warn of duplication).
-- A redouble indicates a good hand for the circumstances, but no
good bid that is available. It indicates nothing about the cue bid
suit.
Incidentally, when a player opens the bidding and later doubles a
cue bid in his own suit, he is showing a strong suit only--not
necessarily a strong hand.