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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.