MisIry Transfer Preempts: Strong 2 suiter
An opening bid of 2NT, 3♣, or 3♦ shows a preempt in the next highesuit,or a strong two suiter. A strong two suiter is defined as:
Any strong two suiter with spades is shown by
3C - 3D, opener rebids
With Heart and Diamond Two Suiter
2NT --> 3♣
After Opener's rebid, responder bids are
Denial Cue-bids: Responder cheapest rebid in a non-anchor suit at the three or four level denies a control in that suit, a skipped side suit promises a control (AK or distributional)
4NT, rather or not you skipped a non-anchor suit or not, promises the king in the highest non-anchor suit as one of the controls. Bidding past 4NT (if denial cue-bid was possible) promises the ace in the highest non-anchor suit: such that, for instance, 3♣-3 ♦-3♥-5♣ shows ♣-king and ♦-Ace. While, 5♦ on this auction shows AK A in the two off suits, it doesn’t matter which, as that will always cover any non-anchor losers. (if it was not possible to make a denial cue-bid the lower side suit at the four level, then bypassing the suit at the five level denies a control in that suit rather than shows the king. With two non-anchor aces, consider that is two covers and bid accordingly (see below). Also, responders bids in a suit ABOVE 4NT, are never denial cue-bids, but rather asking if king in that suit is useful or other conventional meaning.
Opener's Action After Denial Cue-bidAfter responder describes his non-anchor holdings, opener evaluates his hand as if the “showing” of controls by responder was a question. If responder shows no cover in one of the non-anchor suits, opener signs off in the cheapest anchor suit if:
B. Responder shows distributional queens: Sometimes it is cheaper for opener to make the ACE ask question EVEN when he knows responder holds the ACE in the non-anchor suit (say he has Kx), as it gives responder a chance to show if he has a distributional cover for the missing queen. Responder “signs off” in either anchor suit without the ace, and bids cheapest non-signoff to show one "distributional queen". Opener then uses paradox bids in response to this to show which distributional queen might be useful. For instance, if anchor suits are clubs or spades, and responders last bid was 4NT to show a distributional club control. Opener would bid 5C only if he holds the club queen (so that five clubs or doubleton club is not useful). This way no slam, or grand slam will be missed.
SIGNOFFS: The most common response is responder will complete the transfer. Opener then shows his hand at the appropriate level. Responder first decides if game, slam, or grand slam should be bid. Sometimes, he can decide these immediately, and bid to the appropriate level. For instance imagine an auction than begins 2NT-3♣ 3♥ and you hold one of the following hands:
Hand A, you have no tricks, correct to 3♠ to play or pass 3♥
♠ J 10 x
♥ x x x
♦ x x x
♣ x x x x
Hand B, you have one tricks, correct to 4♠ to play
♠ K 10 x
♥ x x x
♦ x x x
♣ x x x x
Hand C, you have three tricks, correct to 6♠ to play
♠ K Q x
♥ A x x
♦ x x x
♣ x x x x
DENIAL CUE-BIDS. Often, however, you will have questions about what to bid. Is the Ace or king in a side suit worth a cover for one of partners four (or less) losers? If you have four or more card support, does that cover for a missing queen in that suit, or if you have such length and shortness in the second suit, does it cover for a missing queen in that suit.
As you can imagine, there has to be a uniform way to investigate with such hands. We do this with “denial cue-bids” at the three and four level, a conventional 4NT bid, and some standard asking bids. The sequence of bids is to investigate side covers first, then look for distributional queens in the anchor suits, or distributional kings in the side suits (more on these below).
To discover what might be a useful cover, we start most frequently with a denial cue-bid (or lack there of). Responder, who is thinking slam can use a denial cue-bid. The idea is bid look at the cheapest (easiest to bid) side suit. If you don’t hold Ace, King, singleton, or void in that suit, bid it (at the three or four level). This says to partner, I have no cover card in this suit. The corollary is that if don’t signoff in partscore/game/slam or grand slam, and you don’t bid the non-anchor suit, you HAVE A CONTROL in that suit. Now, if you have a control in the first suit, you look towards the second suit. Again looking to see if you have such a control. If you lack a control in that suit, you make the “denial cue-bid” in that suit. IF you have convers in both suits, you skip past both. A bid of 4NT says that you have a cover in the highest suit you skipped, and some kind of control in any lower suit you skipped.
Let’s check out some denial cue-bids (opponents kindly passing, so not shown).
2NT-3C-3D-3S where 3D showed H+D, 3S denied spade cover (3NT always natural by responder)
2NT-3C-3D-4C where 3D showed H+D, 4C promised a spade cover and denied a club
3D-3H-3S-4C, where 3S showed S+D, 4C denied a club, says nothing about hearts
3D-3H-3S-4H, where 3S showed S+D, 4H promise a club cover, denies a heart cover
3D-3H-3S-4NT, where 4NT shows HK, plus some kind of club cover
3D-3H-3S-5C, where 5C shows H-Ace and a club cover (generally king, since rule is with two aces, count them as two covers).
OPENER’s REBID AFTER DENIAL. Opener has three general responses after a denial cue-bid. The first of which is the “oh no” response, which means if you don’t have a stopper in the denial suit, they can cash quick tricks there. “Oh no” response is easy, opener bids the cheapest anchor suit. Here are some oh-no bids…
2NT-3C-3D-3S-4D, where 3S denied spade, and 4D is cheapest of hearts and diamonds
3D-3H-3S-4H-4S, where 4H is denial in hearts, and 4S is cheaper (at this point) of diamonds and spades.
Opener can also use “oh no” bid even if he has a stopper in the denial suit but a cover in the other suit does no go (this is especially useful if responder bypassed a suit to show a control). The logic here is that the “oh no” bid serves a warning that the “off-suit” cover is wasted. But if responder has 3 (or however many) cover cards needed in the anchor suits, he will not accept a signoff. For instance, imagine these two pair of hands.
♠ A K 10 x x ♠ Q x x
♥ A K 10 x x ♥ x x x
♦ void ♦ A Q x x
♣ A Q J ♣ x x x
2NT – 3♣ - 3♠ - 4♣ - 4♥ - 4♠
3S = 3 loser, major two suiter. 4C = denial cue bid, 4H = oh no, warning, diamond cover will be wasted. Pass = darn, we maybe off two tricks in clubs, or you may have no use for the diamond ACE.
♠ A K 10 x x ♠ Q x x
♥ A K 10 x x ♥ Q x x
♦ void ♦ A x x x
♣ A Q J ♣ x x x
2NT – 3♣ - 3♠ - 4♣ - 4♥ - 6♠
3S = 3 loser, major two suiter, 4C = denial cue-bid, 4H = oh no, warning. Diamond cover will be wasted. 6♠ I have two covers, slam just has to be on, despite your oh no bid. I hope you see how this second “oh no” can be a very powerful weapon to add to your arsenal.
If opener doesn’t issue the “oh no” response, he is willing to cooperate in slam try. There are a couple of obvious things. First, opener has a stopper in the denial suit, second, opener generally has use for a cover in the other non-anchor suit (especially if one was “promised” by skipping it). There are several ways opener can share the good news (as opposed to the oh no). The most positive is a leap to 5NT. This says that opener 1) has first round control in the denial suit, 2) has use for cover (ace or king) in the second suit, and 3) opener is missing both queens in the anchor suits. This is the trifecta of holdings. If partner was thinking slam, he has potential covers for sufficient losers in your hand. These jumps say, it doesn’t matter what potential cover you have, it is working!! This leap leads to some nice perfect fit grand slams. A leap to the six level BELOW the cheapest anchor suit shows the same hand but with six cards in the lowest anchor suit.
The second “great news” bid is a leap to six of the cheapest anchor suit, which is exactly like a jump to 5NT but it is clear warning that the ACE of the denial suit is missing, so no grand slam. Responder just signs off in the right suit.
More often, opener will not know exactly how to continue after hearing the denial cue bid. That is, one or more potential cover that his partner might be considering may not be “working”. A frequent concern is when opener has a singleton in the “other” non-anchor suit where responder may have a control (or where he promised a control by skipping the suit). The second will partner have enough covers situation is when opener needs any kind of cover in the “other” anchor suit, but has one or more of the anchor queens. As you can imagine one or both of these situations is very common. And these lead to the most exploratory auctions using MisIry. Let’s handle the situation where only the ACE in the off-suit is useful first (this can also be when opener is void in that suit, but has Ax in the denial suit responder bid and plans on using the ace, if it exist, to cover the loser in the denied suit).
To ask if the ACE in the second non-anchor suit is held, opener makes the cheapest step bid that is not in one of the anchor suits (if they double the denial suit, the cheapest step bid is pass, and coincidentally, redouble would be the second cheapest). After this asking bid, responder usually signs off if he was relying on the KING of the off-suit to be a cover card. Of course, the signoff can be in game or slam (never grand slam for obvious reasons). Even with the ACE in the asked suit, responder often signs off in slam (or even grand slam) if the only question he has was if that ACE was working as a cover. A non-signoff bid, promises the ACE of the second suit, and questions about the usefulness of a potential “distributional queen” or perhaps a “distributional king.” The way this works, if responder is thinking just slam or no-slam, he makes a cheapest non-signoff bid in a non-anchor suit to inquire if a distributional queen is useful. If there is two such bids available below the next cheapest non-anchor suit (this could be diamonds and hearts if openers rebid was 4NT), the cheapest ask if a distributional queen is useful in the lowest suit, the higher if a distributional queen is useful in the higher suit. If there is only one such suit (for instance if opener’s ask was 4NT and the trump suits is hearts and diamonds), then the ask is paradox in nature, where opener bids the lower anchor suit whenever a distributional queen there WILL NOT HELP. If responder then pulls to the second suit, opener is expected to bid again if a distributional queen in the second suit is useful.
If either type of cover is useful in the skipped non-anchor suit, opener can show need for distributional queens immediately, if it is convenient. If room exist, opener bids the second non-signoff to show need for distributional queen in the lower anchor suit or third non-signoff bid to show need for cover card in higher anchor suit. If there is only one such suit below five of the cheaper non-anchor, opener bids that suit (the second cheapest non-anchor) to show need for a distributional queen (non-specified which). Over this non-specific distributional queen, it is generally thought responder will know which one.
The second non-signoff shows need for a distributional queen in the lowest anchor suit, the third non-signoff shows need for a distributional queen in the higher anchor suit (needing both, don’t forget the leaps to 5NT or more).
After distributional queens have been show by opener, there is only two types of questions remaining. One is if opener could not show which distributional queen he needed, the other is if opener has shown the distributional queen(s) needed, if responder is if responder has a potential “distributional” king. If responder needs a specific distributional queen, he bids the cheapest non-anchor to ask (if this bypasses 5 of the minor, it is asking if distributional queen in major works). Opener uses paradox responses bidding cheapest signoff if he holds the queen in that suit. Bids above this ask if distributional queens work (but 5NT is always for opener to pick his better suit as trumps). The distributional king ask typically shows long trump support for one of the anchors and short enough support in the second anchor and the denial suit that the denied suit can be discarded on opener’s side suit, and then openers presumed small card in the second suit can be ruffed (hence distributional king). Obviously, opener has to have ACE and a loser in the denied suit to respond positively to the distributional king ask. Here is a couple distributional king auctions. If room exist, opener can ask about distributional king in either non-anchor suit, or can ask in one, and then in the other.
The way this works is the cheapest bid ask in the denied suit, the non-cheapest asking bid ask in the other suit (and generally shows the ace of that suit). And opener can deny stopper usefulness of distributional king in first suit, but suggest that one in second suit is useful, room permitting, responder can re-ask in second suit. See the following hands.
QJT65
976
K9
A92
AK872
A
AQJ64
J6
3D - 3H
3S - 4H
5C – 6C
7D – 7S
3D = heart preempt or 2 suiter with Diamonds
3H = signoff opposite preempt
3S = four loser, diamonds and spades
4H = denial bid in hearts, shows club control
5C = I have need for one distributional, any club control works.
6C = If you have AKxxx of spades, and AQxxx of diamonds, and xx of clubs (4 losers) We have grand slam on club ruff in my hand.
7D = distributional Club-king works for me.
7S = this is our suit.
Change opener too…
QJT65
976
K9
A92
A9872
A
AQJ64
K5
3D – 3H
3S – 4H
5C – 6C
6D – 6H
6S - pass
3D = heart preempt or 2 suiter with Diamonds
3H = signoff opposite preempt
3S = four loser, diamonds and spades
4H = denial bid in hearts, shows club control
5C = I have need for one distributional, any club control works.
6C = If you have AKxxx of spades, and AQxxx of diamonds, and xx of clubs (4 losers) We have grand slam on club ruff in my hand.
6D = distributional Club-king no good.
6H = if you have AKxxx of spades, AQxxx of diamonds, and Ax of hearts, we still have grand slam.
6S = no luck, heart dist king no help
Note, if opener had singleton small club, he would have used the ACE asking bid of 4NT and the auction would have been different.
QJT65
976
K9
A92
AK872
Ax
AQJ64
5
3D – 3H
3S – 4H
4N – 5C
5D – 6C
6D - 6H
7D - 7S
pass
3D = heart preempt or 2 suiter with Diamonds
3H = signoff opposite preempt
3S = four loser, diamonds and spades
4H = denial bid in hearts, shows club control
4N = do you have club ACE?
5C = Yes, looking for distributional queens.
5D = I have queen of diamonds, (5H here would ask for distributional queen of spades)
6C = If you have AKxxx of spades, and AQxxx of diamonds, and xx of clubs (4 losers) We have grand slam on club ruff in my hand.
6D = distributional Club-king no good.
6H = if you have AKxxx of spades, AQxxx of diamonds, and Ax of hearts, we still have grand slam.
7D = Distributional heart king is great.
When opener uses a loser showing response that also shows need or lack of need for a cover in the lowest side suit, the bidding becomes “easier”. But the same rules apply. 4NT by responder shows king in the upper suit, denial bids still occur at the four level. Exceptions, a bid of 5 of the lower suit when opener showed a none-specific need in that suit ask if king in that suit is useful. If the king or ace specifically was requested, the bid of 5 of the lower non-anchor shows king and ACE of the upper suit together. If the king of the lower suit was requested. Distributional queen ask and showing bids are the same.
- -
AKT94
KQ9842
AK
JT854
7
AJT5
T75
2N – 3C
5D – 5S
6C – 7D
Pass
2NT = club preempt or two suiter with hearts and not clubs
3C = signoff opposite preempt
5D = heart/Diamond two suiter, 2 loser, no need for CLUB
5S = distributional queen ask (room available)
6C = distributional queen heart needed (5NT = dist diam needed)
7D = whoopee…
II. After responder raises the “transfer
When you open with a transfer preempt, your partner will often “raise” to game. If you have the preempt fine, pass. This is also true if partner bids 3NT over your MisIry transfer. If you don’t pass, you promise If you fail to pass, you have a strong two suiter, you will bid again. So any bid shows the strong two suiter. What basically happens here is if partner is strong, slam will be bid, if he is weak, you will stop in partscore or game. Let’s examine the possibilities. The same rules apply to all the bids, but 3 and 4 loser responses often become compressed.
2NT-4C options are:
3C-4D
III. After responder introduces his own suit
The tricky part is when responder bids his own suit (2NT-3S for instance). This is forcing, if you opened a weak hand, you must rebid your suit or raise partners suit. Period. If you opened a strong hand, and partner didn’t raise your short suit, then rebids are in NT, the opened suit, and the fourth suit (or above the simple raise). Normally if you have the strong hand, slam will be bid, but occasionally you will stop in 3NT or game in your partners suit. Let’s examine some auctions.
2NT-3S**-?
Also, remember that jumpshift by responder shows solid suit This establishes trumps even if opener is strong two suited.
Another situation is where partner bids "3NT" over your transfer preempt. If you are weak, you will pass. Of course, partner may be psyching with a weak hand of his own (especially not vul). We also use this as a way to get to play in the "transfer suit" if you are CERTAIN from your hand that partner has a strong two suiter. Your partner will bid again over 3NT only with the strong hand. If you rebid the transfer suit, this is not "exclusion" but rather to play.
This method is powerful, fairly easy to implement, and can earn a bushel of imps on lots of hands. But it is not the only thing you can do with MisIry. There is another group of hands that you can use MisIry with, that I call Miserable tricks. One trick is self correcting loser count. Be careful when you use this. Here is a typical hand.
MisIry allows a lot of hands to be bid simply on automatic. But sometimes, you have to think about how to show or find out the information you need.
Here is an example.
♠ 8 7 3 2
♥ 5 3 2
♦ 9 6 5 2
♣ J 6
♠
♥ 5
♦ A K Q J 8
♣ A K 10 7 5 3 2
3D – 3H
4NT – 5D
6D
South;s hand is 2 losers, but once partner supports diamonds, it becomes a hopeful 1 loser. Explanation, 4NT = minor two suiter, need Ace of hearts only. The theory here is if partner is short in clubs, one ruff will be enough, if partner bids clubs here, you will carry on to slam hoping to drop the queen of clubs.
That kind of “trick” is easy to rationalize. Here is one that you might not think of. Look at this “one suited” hand.
♠ A K Q 8 7 6 5 4 3
♥ A K 5
♦ 8
♣
This hand is PERFECT for a Miserable Trick, but use this one with caution. When you hold a one suiter, with two or three losers, you can sometimes “show” a two suiter, to get your partner to evaluate his hand according to the presumed fit. The long suit has to be higher than the fake second suit. This hand is an excellent example. Open 2NT then rebid 4 S showing heart/spade two suiter, with two losers, not needing a club cover. This way, your partner will count heart queen and diamond ACE. Imagine a better hand,
♠ A K Q J T 6 5 4 3
♥ A K 5
♦ A
♣
Here you find the grand slam by showing a major two suiter with one loser, not needing club cover. Partner with Queen of hearts will bid grand slam in hearts, which you correct to spades.
Use these with caution. In theory, partner can work out even if you lie. Imagine you hold this monster hand…
♠ A K Q J T 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
♥
♦
♣ 2
Imagine this auction, 2NT – 3C – 5S (heart/spade two suiter, need club cover). No matter what partner holds, if he lacks the club ACE, he knows no grand slam. If he is looking at AKQ of hearts, it should still not confuse him. Even if he has just the heart queen he should not be confused. You 5S shows a need for a club cover. But like I said, use this with EXTREME caution, and always, always show a two suiter where your real suit is the higher of the two “presumed suits”.
IV. MisIry and Competition
REVIEW OF AUCTON OPTIONS
With Multi-2D, MisIry Transfers, and the 2Club methods described, we have pulled a lot of hands out of the meaning of our one level opening bids, and have put a top on what reverses and jump rebids can show. If you start thinking about the hands that have been removed, you will see how this can greatly simplify all your "normal" auctions.
When this hand was played, only 4 of 21 tables reached six clubs, none seven. And the auctions to 6C were not that convincing. Six clubs here is automatic. Seven clubs requires slow bidding and thinking, but is possible.
- 5-5 or better in two suits, with
- FOUR or fewer losers.
Any strong two suiter with spades is shown by
- Opener rebidding in spades, or
- Opener rebidding in the opened suit (opening 2NT shows hearts), so after 2NT opening bid this means heart rebids.
Any strong two suiter without spades are shown by opener:
- Rebidding anything other than the opened suit or spades
- This is the know short suit, NT and the "other" suit.
The higher opener's rebid, the better his hand. With 2 suiters without spades, there are three bids at each level above the 3 level to show the quality of the two suiter, with spades, there are two bid at each level to show the quality of the suits.
Let's start with 2 suiters including spades. The cheapest bid shows 4 losers, the next cheapest shows 3 losers. After that, each bid shows sequentially a lower number of losers with and then without a need for a cover card in the cheapest non-anchor suit. If opener's rebid forces responder to take preference at a higher level, it shows 1 less loser. Any bid that allows responder to choose between the two suits at the same level differentiates between need for a cover card in the cheapest non-anchor suit.
Hearts and Spade two suiters
2NT-3C, opener then rebids
- 3H 4 losers, both majors
- 3S 3 losers, both majors (3S forces choice to 4H, so less losers than a 3H rebid, also shows need for club cover)
- 4H 3 loser, no need club (same losers as 3S since choice is 4 level)
- 4S 2 loser, need club (one less loser since choice changes level)
- 5H 2 loser, no need choice at a higher level for hearts,
- 5S 1 loser, need club
- 6H 1 loser, no club needed
- 6S 0 loser, better spades or equal
- 7H 0 loser, better hearts
3C - 3D, opener rebids
- 3S - four losers, Spades and clubs
- 4C - three losers, Spades and club (can afford distinction between 3 losers with and without need for diamond cover, since only one bid showed this two suiter at the three level)
- 4S - 2 losers, need diamond, spades and clubs
- 5C - 2 loser, no diamond needed, spades and clubs
- 5S - 1 loser, need diamond, spades and clubs
- 6C - 1 loser, no diamond loser, spades and clubs
- 6S - 0 loser, equal or better spades
- 7C - 0 loser, better clubs
Diamond Spade two suiter
3D - 3H, opener rebids
- 3S 4 loser,
- 4D 3 loser,
- 4S 2 loser, need Club
- 5D 2 loser, no need for club
- 5S 1 loser, need club
- 6D 1 loser, no need for club
- 6S 0 loser, equal or spades
- 7D 0 loser, better diamonds
With Heart and Diamond Two Suiter
2NT --> 3♣
- 3D 4 losers, hearts and diamonds
- 3NT 3 losers, H+D, need club King (or spade ACE)
- 4C 3 loser, H+D, need for club Ace
- 4D 3 loser, H+D no need for club
- 4NT 2 losers, H+D, need club King (or spade ace)
- 5C 2 loser, H+D, need for club Ace
- 5 D 2 loser, H+D, no need for club
- 5NT 1 losers, H+D, need club King
- 5C 1 loser, H+D, need for club Ace
- 5D 1 loser, H+D, no need for club
- 6C 0 loser, H+D, better hearts
- 6D 0 losers, H+D, better diamonds
- 6NT 0 loser, H+D equal suits
Club Heart two suiter
3C - 3D, opener rebids
- 3H 4 loser, heart plus club two suiter
- 3NT 3 loser, need diamond (no room at 4 level to differentiate between king and ace needs)
- 4D 2 loser, no need for diamond
- 4H 2 loser, need diamond king (or Ace Spades)
- 4NT 2 loser, need diamond Ace
- 5C 2 loser, no need for diamond
- 5H 1 loser, need diamond King (or Ace Spades)
- 5NT 1 loser, need diamond Ace
- 6C - 1 loser, no diamond end
- 6H - 0 loser, better hearts
- 6NT - 0 loser equal suits
- 7C - 0 loser, better clubs
Diamond Club two suiter
3D-3H, Opener rebids
- 3NT - 4 loser
- 4C - 3 loser
- 4H - 2 loser - King H useful (or spade Ace)
- 5NT - 2 loser - Ace H useful only
- 5C - 2 loser - No heart needed
- 5H - 1 loser - King H useful
- 5NT - 1 loser - Ace heart useful
- 6C - 1 loser - No heart useful
- 6H - 0 loser, hearts better
- 6NT - 0 loser, equal suits
- 7C - 0 loser, prefer clubs
After Opener's rebid, responder bids are
- 3NT by responder is natural.
- Rebids in the anchor suits are natural (a jump to 5 of a major ask for six if missing the QUEEN)
- Non-anchor suits at three level are Denial Cue-bids (see below)
- Non-anchor suit bids at four level are Denial cue-bids
- 4NT always shows King of highest non-anchor suit
- A jump to 4NT when 3S is available as denial cue-bid shows King of spades and ACE of lowest side suit.
- A four level bid in a denial suit that could have been bid at the three level shows both side suit kings
- Cue-bids above 4NT (if 4NT was available) shows rather than denies values in bid suit.
DENIAL CUE-BIDDING at the four level
To discover working cover cards, we start by determining which non-anchor cards might be useful. Opener helps when his losers are few with rebids at four and higher levels. But many of openers rebids provide no clues as to what kind of side suit covers might be needed. We explore this with DENIAL CUE-BIDS in the non-anchor suits at the three or four level.Denial Cue-bids: Responder cheapest rebid in a non-anchor suit at the three or four level denies a control in that suit, a skipped side suit promises a control (AK or distributional)
4NT, rather or not you skipped a non-anchor suit or not, promises the king in the highest non-anchor suit as one of the controls. Bidding past 4NT (if denial cue-bid was possible) promises the ace in the highest non-anchor suit: such that, for instance, 3♣-3 ♦-3♥-5♣ shows ♣-king and ♦-Ace. While, 5♦ on this auction shows AK A in the two off suits, it doesn’t matter which, as that will always cover any non-anchor losers. (if it was not possible to make a denial cue-bid the lower side suit at the four level, then bypassing the suit at the five level denies a control in that suit rather than shows the king. With two non-anchor aces, consider that is two covers and bid accordingly (see below). Also, responders bids in a suit ABOVE 4NT, are never denial cue-bids, but rather asking if king in that suit is useful or other conventional meaning.
Opener's Action After Denial Cue-bidAfter responder describes his non-anchor holdings, opener evaluates his hand as if the “showing” of controls by responder was a question. If responder shows no cover in one of the non-anchor suits, opener signs off in the cheapest anchor suit if:
- A --> He also lacks a stopper in that suit (two quick loser), or
- B --> He has no use for a cover card in the other non-anchor suit
The signoff in case “A” is obvious. But why does opener signoff in case “B”? The answer is easy. Responder is “counting” his sure covers. Your signoff simply says that his higher non-anchor covers are not working and/or you are off two quick tricks in the other non-anchor minor. However, if responder has three anchor covers, you can not be off two quick tricks in both non-anchor suits (that would be five losers). This allows responder to accurate count the usefulness of his non-anchor ACE should he have three sure covers plus that ace.
If opener does not signoff after a denial bid, then opener has a stopper in the denial suit and he has a possible use for the stopper in the other suit. Note, if responder uses denial bid in the cheapest non-anchor suit, he may or may not have a stopper in the higher side suit, but if makes denial bid in higher suit, he has stopper in skipped suit. The second suit (where presumably a stopper is held by responder), could be ACE or King. If responder needs the ACE (and not king) in the second suit, he show this as follows:
If only the ACE is working cover, opener makes a single step response (the cheapest anchor suit is not a step, but rather a signoff). This ask if the stopper in the second suit is the ACE? If it is not, responder must signoff (this can be in slam if he has three other sure cover cards so just his king in this suit is not working.) If responder does not signoff, it means he has the ACE and a "potential distributional queen" in one of the anchor suits and he needs more info (if he has the ace and no potential queen, he signoff at approriate level too).
If Opener needs either kind of stopper (that is, if opener has a small doubleton, or Kx or Ax), he is free to instead to skip the first cheapest non-signoff. The reason is two fold: first responder will know that any cover he has in the other anchor is working (and importantly, that AK in that suit is a double cover card!). Second, opener can show with his next bid what anchor queens might be missing (see next paragraph)
Part II looking for "distributional Queens"
A. Opener shows missing Queens: Over the denial cue-bid, if OPENER needs a cover in the second side suit and has a cover in the denied suit, and he has both anchor queens, he bids the second anchor suit (skipping the cheapest). A return to anchor suits are negative, the cheapest anchor rebid suggest two losers in denied suit, the second cheapest shows cover for the side suit, but need for distributional queen and so it is the second most negative bid.
Any non-anchor suit (other than cheapest step which is ace ask) shows a missing queen, the cheaper one shows missing queen in lower suit, the next cheapest missing queen in the higher. Should opener be missing both anchor queens, a jump to 5NT shows both missing but so is the ACE of the suit responder denied a stopper in (thus no grand slam is possible).
If opener has the ACE of the suit responder denied a stopper in, he jump to six of the cheaper anchor suit (pass/correct), with responder having the power to correct to seven with adequate covers.B. Responder shows distributional queens: Sometimes it is cheaper for opener to make the ACE ask question EVEN when he knows responder holds the ACE in the non-anchor suit (say he has Kx), as it gives responder a chance to show if he has a distributional cover for the missing queen. Responder “signs off” in either anchor suit without the ace, and bids cheapest non-signoff to show one "distributional queen". Opener then uses paradox bids in response to this to show which distributional queen might be useful. For instance, if anchor suits are clubs or spades, and responders last bid was 4NT to show a distributional club control. Opener would bid 5C only if he holds the club queen (so that five clubs or doubleton club is not useful). This way no slam, or grand slam will be missed.
Responders ReBids at 4NT or higher
Now assume that partner shows the king of higher suit (4NT) and an unknown stopper in the lower suit. At least one of these is usually working, and sometimes both. Opener can ask about the nature of the cheapest suit with the cheapest non-signoff (higher is king, with 4NT bid). Other than that, the other bids are the same, the second non-cheapest anchor suit shows no missing anchor queen, and the other bids show different anchor queens missing. 5NT shows ACE of highest suit missing, pick a slam, 6 of the cheapest anchor shows both missing queens, but both non-anchor suit aces held. Same rules also reply if responder bypasses 4NT with his response to show Ace of top suit and king of the lower suit. If opener shows 3 loser, and king of the side suit is useful. Cheapest non-signoff ask if king of the other suit is useful, opener tries to signoff if it is not useful, and shows missing queens if it is. Now you see why the name MisIry, but examples posted in comments or elsewhere will help you see how this works.
Responders jump to 5NT or 5 of the highest non-anchor suit. Shows both side aces, and a distiributional queen in lower or higher suit and looking for grand if the distributional queen is working.
Let's see how this works with the five possible cover hand we held earlier
♠ K x x
♥ K x x x x
♦ x x
♣ A x x
Partner opened 2N and rebid 3D over 3C. This shows a H/D two suiter with four losers. We bid 4NT to show spade King and ACE or clubs (4S would show A or K of spades and club king). If partner bids:
- 5C he is asking for club ace, he shows a missing queen
---> bid 5S to ask which queen
---> bids 5NT pick slam
---> bid 6C ask if distributional spade king is useful (with real club king can't ask in that suit) - 5D return to the lowest side suit, shows spade king not working
---> bid 6H - 5H shows holding both queens, but suggest controls working,
---> bid 6H - 5S shows black controls working, and missing diamond queen
---> bid 7H - 5NT shows black controls working, missing both queens BUT ace S too
---> bid 6H - 6D shows both black working, has spade ace, and missing both queens
---> bid 7H
Formal Rules
I. After Responder completes the “transfer”
SIGNOFFS: The most common response is responder will complete the transfer. Opener then shows his hand at the appropriate level. Responder first decides if game, slam, or grand slam should be bid. Sometimes, he can decide these immediately, and bid to the appropriate level. For instance imagine an auction than begins 2NT-3♣ 3♥ and you hold one of the following hands:
Hand A, you have no tricks, correct to 3♠ to play or pass 3♥
♠ J 10 x
♥ x x x
♦ x x x
♣ x x x x
Hand B, you have one tricks, correct to 4♠ to play
♠ K 10 x
♥ x x x
♦ x x x
♣ x x x x
Hand C, you have three tricks, correct to 6♠ to play
♠ K Q x
♥ A x x
♦ x x x
♣ x x x x
DENIAL CUE-BIDS. Often, however, you will have questions about what to bid. Is the Ace or king in a side suit worth a cover for one of partners four (or less) losers? If you have four or more card support, does that cover for a missing queen in that suit, or if you have such length and shortness in the second suit, does it cover for a missing queen in that suit.
As you can imagine, there has to be a uniform way to investigate with such hands. We do this with “denial cue-bids” at the three and four level, a conventional 4NT bid, and some standard asking bids. The sequence of bids is to investigate side covers first, then look for distributional queens in the anchor suits, or distributional kings in the side suits (more on these below).
To discover what might be a useful cover, we start most frequently with a denial cue-bid (or lack there of). Responder, who is thinking slam can use a denial cue-bid. The idea is bid look at the cheapest (easiest to bid) side suit. If you don’t hold Ace, King, singleton, or void in that suit, bid it (at the three or four level). This says to partner, I have no cover card in this suit. The corollary is that if don’t signoff in partscore/game/slam or grand slam, and you don’t bid the non-anchor suit, you HAVE A CONTROL in that suit. Now, if you have a control in the first suit, you look towards the second suit. Again looking to see if you have such a control. If you lack a control in that suit, you make the “denial cue-bid” in that suit. IF you have convers in both suits, you skip past both. A bid of 4NT says that you have a cover in the highest suit you skipped, and some kind of control in any lower suit you skipped.
Let’s check out some denial cue-bids (opponents kindly passing, so not shown).
2NT-3C-3D-3S where 3D showed H+D, 3S denied spade cover (3NT always natural by responder)
2NT-3C-3D-4C where 3D showed H+D, 4C promised a spade cover and denied a club
3D-3H-3S-4C, where 3S showed S+D, 4C denied a club, says nothing about hearts
3D-3H-3S-4H, where 3S showed S+D, 4H promise a club cover, denies a heart cover
3D-3H-3S-4NT, where 4NT shows HK, plus some kind of club cover
3D-3H-3S-5C, where 5C shows H-Ace and a club cover (generally king, since rule is with two aces, count them as two covers).
OPENER’s REBID AFTER DENIAL. Opener has three general responses after a denial cue-bid. The first of which is the “oh no” response, which means if you don’t have a stopper in the denial suit, they can cash quick tricks there. “Oh no” response is easy, opener bids the cheapest anchor suit. Here are some oh-no bids…
2NT-3C-3D-3S-4D, where 3S denied spade, and 4D is cheapest of hearts and diamonds
3D-3H-3S-4H-4S, where 4H is denial in hearts, and 4S is cheaper (at this point) of diamonds and spades.
Opener can also use “oh no” bid even if he has a stopper in the denial suit but a cover in the other suit does no go (this is especially useful if responder bypassed a suit to show a control). The logic here is that the “oh no” bid serves a warning that the “off-suit” cover is wasted. But if responder has 3 (or however many) cover cards needed in the anchor suits, he will not accept a signoff. For instance, imagine these two pair of hands.
♠ A K 10 x x ♠ Q x x
♥ A K 10 x x ♥ x x x
♦ void ♦ A Q x x
♣ A Q J ♣ x x x
2NT – 3♣ - 3♠ - 4♣ - 4♥ - 4♠
3S = 3 loser, major two suiter. 4C = denial cue bid, 4H = oh no, warning, diamond cover will be wasted. Pass = darn, we maybe off two tricks in clubs, or you may have no use for the diamond ACE.
♠ A K 10 x x ♠ Q x x
♥ A K 10 x x ♥ Q x x
♦ void ♦ A x x x
♣ A Q J ♣ x x x
2NT – 3♣ - 3♠ - 4♣ - 4♥ - 6♠
3S = 3 loser, major two suiter, 4C = denial cue-bid, 4H = oh no, warning. Diamond cover will be wasted. 6♠ I have two covers, slam just has to be on, despite your oh no bid. I hope you see how this second “oh no” can be a very powerful weapon to add to your arsenal.
If opener doesn’t issue the “oh no” response, he is willing to cooperate in slam try. There are a couple of obvious things. First, opener has a stopper in the denial suit, second, opener generally has use for a cover in the other non-anchor suit (especially if one was “promised” by skipping it). There are several ways opener can share the good news (as opposed to the oh no). The most positive is a leap to 5NT. This says that opener 1) has first round control in the denial suit, 2) has use for cover (ace or king) in the second suit, and 3) opener is missing both queens in the anchor suits. This is the trifecta of holdings. If partner was thinking slam, he has potential covers for sufficient losers in your hand. These jumps say, it doesn’t matter what potential cover you have, it is working!! This leap leads to some nice perfect fit grand slams. A leap to the six level BELOW the cheapest anchor suit shows the same hand but with six cards in the lowest anchor suit.
The second “great news” bid is a leap to six of the cheapest anchor suit, which is exactly like a jump to 5NT but it is clear warning that the ACE of the denial suit is missing, so no grand slam. Responder just signs off in the right suit.
More often, opener will not know exactly how to continue after hearing the denial cue bid. That is, one or more potential cover that his partner might be considering may not be “working”. A frequent concern is when opener has a singleton in the “other” non-anchor suit where responder may have a control (or where he promised a control by skipping the suit). The second will partner have enough covers situation is when opener needs any kind of cover in the “other” anchor suit, but has one or more of the anchor queens. As you can imagine one or both of these situations is very common. And these lead to the most exploratory auctions using MisIry. Let’s handle the situation where only the ACE in the off-suit is useful first (this can also be when opener is void in that suit, but has Ax in the denial suit responder bid and plans on using the ace, if it exist, to cover the loser in the denied suit).
To ask if the ACE in the second non-anchor suit is held, opener makes the cheapest step bid that is not in one of the anchor suits (if they double the denial suit, the cheapest step bid is pass, and coincidentally, redouble would be the second cheapest). After this asking bid, responder usually signs off if he was relying on the KING of the off-suit to be a cover card. Of course, the signoff can be in game or slam (never grand slam for obvious reasons). Even with the ACE in the asked suit, responder often signs off in slam (or even grand slam) if the only question he has was if that ACE was working as a cover. A non-signoff bid, promises the ACE of the second suit, and questions about the usefulness of a potential “distributional queen” or perhaps a “distributional king.” The way this works, if responder is thinking just slam or no-slam, he makes a cheapest non-signoff bid in a non-anchor suit to inquire if a distributional queen is useful. If there is two such bids available below the next cheapest non-anchor suit (this could be diamonds and hearts if openers rebid was 4NT), the cheapest ask if a distributional queen is useful in the lowest suit, the higher if a distributional queen is useful in the higher suit. If there is only one such suit (for instance if opener’s ask was 4NT and the trump suits is hearts and diamonds), then the ask is paradox in nature, where opener bids the lower anchor suit whenever a distributional queen there WILL NOT HELP. If responder then pulls to the second suit, opener is expected to bid again if a distributional queen in the second suit is useful.
If either type of cover is useful in the skipped non-anchor suit, opener can show need for distributional queens immediately, if it is convenient. If room exist, opener bids the second non-signoff to show need for distributional queen in the lower anchor suit or third non-signoff bid to show need for cover card in higher anchor suit. If there is only one such suit below five of the cheaper non-anchor, opener bids that suit (the second cheapest non-anchor) to show need for a distributional queen (non-specified which). Over this non-specific distributional queen, it is generally thought responder will know which one.
The second non-signoff shows need for a distributional queen in the lowest anchor suit, the third non-signoff shows need for a distributional queen in the higher anchor suit (needing both, don’t forget the leaps to 5NT or more).
After distributional queens have been show by opener, there is only two types of questions remaining. One is if opener could not show which distributional queen he needed, the other is if opener has shown the distributional queen(s) needed, if responder is if responder has a potential “distributional” king. If responder needs a specific distributional queen, he bids the cheapest non-anchor to ask (if this bypasses 5 of the minor, it is asking if distributional queen in major works). Opener uses paradox responses bidding cheapest signoff if he holds the queen in that suit. Bids above this ask if distributional queens work (but 5NT is always for opener to pick his better suit as trumps). The distributional king ask typically shows long trump support for one of the anchors and short enough support in the second anchor and the denial suit that the denied suit can be discarded on opener’s side suit, and then openers presumed small card in the second suit can be ruffed (hence distributional king). Obviously, opener has to have ACE and a loser in the denied suit to respond positively to the distributional king ask. Here is a couple distributional king auctions. If room exist, opener can ask about distributional king in either non-anchor suit, or can ask in one, and then in the other.
The way this works is the cheapest bid ask in the denied suit, the non-cheapest asking bid ask in the other suit (and generally shows the ace of that suit). And opener can deny stopper usefulness of distributional king in first suit, but suggest that one in second suit is useful, room permitting, responder can re-ask in second suit. See the following hands.
QJT65
976
K9
A92
AK872
A
AQJ64
J6
3D - 3H
3S - 4H
5C – 6C
7D – 7S
3D = heart preempt or 2 suiter with Diamonds
3H = signoff opposite preempt
3S = four loser, diamonds and spades
4H = denial bid in hearts, shows club control
5C = I have need for one distributional, any club control works.
6C = If you have AKxxx of spades, and AQxxx of diamonds, and xx of clubs (4 losers) We have grand slam on club ruff in my hand.
7D = distributional Club-king works for me.
7S = this is our suit.
Change opener too…
QJT65
976
K9
A92
A9872
A
AQJ64
K5
3D – 3H
3S – 4H
5C – 6C
6D – 6H
6S - pass
3D = heart preempt or 2 suiter with Diamonds
3H = signoff opposite preempt
3S = four loser, diamonds and spades
4H = denial bid in hearts, shows club control
5C = I have need for one distributional, any club control works.
6C = If you have AKxxx of spades, and AQxxx of diamonds, and xx of clubs (4 losers) We have grand slam on club ruff in my hand.
6D = distributional Club-king no good.
6H = if you have AKxxx of spades, AQxxx of diamonds, and Ax of hearts, we still have grand slam.
6S = no luck, heart dist king no help
Note, if opener had singleton small club, he would have used the ACE asking bid of 4NT and the auction would have been different.
QJT65
976
K9
A92
AK872
Ax
AQJ64
5
3D – 3H
3S – 4H
4N – 5C
5D – 6C
6D - 6H
7D - 7S
pass
3D = heart preempt or 2 suiter with Diamonds
3H = signoff opposite preempt
3S = four loser, diamonds and spades
4H = denial bid in hearts, shows club control
4N = do you have club ACE?
5C = Yes, looking for distributional queens.
5D = I have queen of diamonds, (5H here would ask for distributional queen of spades)
6C = If you have AKxxx of spades, and AQxxx of diamonds, and xx of clubs (4 losers) We have grand slam on club ruff in my hand.
6D = distributional Club-king no good.
6H = if you have AKxxx of spades, AQxxx of diamonds, and Ax of hearts, we still have grand slam.
7D = Distributional heart king is great.
When opener uses a loser showing response that also shows need or lack of need for a cover in the lowest side suit, the bidding becomes “easier”. But the same rules apply. 4NT by responder shows king in the upper suit, denial bids still occur at the four level. Exceptions, a bid of 5 of the lower suit when opener showed a none-specific need in that suit ask if king in that suit is useful. If the king or ace specifically was requested, the bid of 5 of the lower non-anchor shows king and ACE of the upper suit together. If the king of the lower suit was requested. Distributional queen ask and showing bids are the same.
- -
AKT94
KQ9842
AK
JT854
7
AJT5
T75
2N – 3C
5D – 5S
6C – 7D
Pass
2NT = club preempt or two suiter with hearts and not clubs
3C = signoff opposite preempt
5D = heart/Diamond two suiter, 2 loser, no need for CLUB
5S = distributional queen ask (room available)
6C = distributional queen heart needed (5NT = dist diam needed)
7D = whoopee…
II. After responder raises the “transfer
When you open with a transfer preempt, your partner will often “raise” to game. If you have the preempt fine, pass. This is also true if partner bids 3NT over your MisIry transfer. If you don’t pass, you promise If you fail to pass, you have a strong two suiter, you will bid again. So any bid shows the strong two suiter. What basically happens here is if partner is strong, slam will be bid, if he is weak, you will stop in partscore or game. Let’s examine the possibilities. The same rules apply to all the bids, but 3 and 4 loser responses often become compressed.
2NT-4C options are:
- pass = I had clubs and weak
- 4D = diamond/heart two suiter, 3/4 loser
- 4H = spade/heart two suiter, 3/4 loser
- 4S = spade/heart two loser, 2 losers, need for club cover (slam likely)
- 4NT = diamond heart two suiter, 2 loser, need club king
- 5C = diamond heart two suiter, 2 loser, need club ACE
- 5D = diamond heart two suiter, 2 loser, no need for club, etc.
3C-4D
- Pass = I had diamonds weak
- 4H = hearts and clubs, 4/3 losers
- 4S = clubs and spades, 4/3 losers
- 4NT = clubs and hearts, 2 losers,
- 5C = clubs and spades, 2 loser, need diamond honor
- 5D = clubs and hearts, 2 loser, need diamond, etc.
III. After responder introduces his own suit
The tricky part is when responder bids his own suit (2NT-3S for instance). This is forcing, if you opened a weak hand, you must rebid your suit or raise partners suit. Period. If you opened a strong hand, and partner didn’t raise your short suit, then rebids are in NT, the opened suit, and the fourth suit (or above the simple raise). Normally if you have the strong hand, slam will be bid, but occasionally you will stop in 3NT or game in your partners suit. Let’s examine some auctions.
2NT-3S**-?
- 3NT = hearts and diamond, 2 suiter, 4 losers
- 4C = just clubs, no spade support.
- 4D = hearts and diamonds, 3 losers
- 4H = hearts and spades, 3/4 losers *
- 4S = spade fit, club preempt
- 4NT = diamond heart two suiter, 2 loser, need club king
- 5C = diamond heart two suiter, 2 loser, need Club Ace
- 5D = diamond, heart two suiter, no need for club
- 5H = spade/heart two suiter, 2 loser, need club *
- 5S = spade/heart two suiter, 2 loser (since no club fit – with one bid more)
- 5NT = Diamond, heart two suiter, 1 loser, need club king
- 6C = diamond, heart two suiter, 1 loser, need club Ace
- 6D = diamond, heart two suiter, 1 loser, no need for club
- 6H = 1 loser, spade/heart need club ACE *
- 6S = 1 loser, heart/spade, don’t need club, ACE *
* don’t count spade queen as cover, presumed fit covers for queen. This is true from both sides of the table.
** A rebid of responders suit by responder over openers bids above is an attempt to play in his own suit.
Also, remember that jumpshift by responder shows solid suit This establishes trumps even if opener is strong two suited.
Another situation is where partner bids "3NT" over your transfer preempt. If you are weak, you will pass. Of course, partner may be psyching with a weak hand of his own (especially not vul). We also use this as a way to get to play in the "transfer suit" if you are CERTAIN from your hand that partner has a strong two suiter. Your partner will bid again over 3NT only with the strong hand. If you rebid the transfer suit, this is not "exclusion" but rather to play.
This method is powerful, fairly easy to implement, and can earn a bushel of imps on lots of hands. But it is not the only thing you can do with MisIry. There is another group of hands that you can use MisIry with, that I call Miserable tricks. One trick is self correcting loser count. Be careful when you use this. Here is a typical hand.
MisIry allows a lot of hands to be bid simply on automatic. But sometimes, you have to think about how to show or find out the information you need.
Here is an example.
♠ 8 7 3 2
♥ 5 3 2
♦ 9 6 5 2
♣ J 6
♠
♥ 5
♦ A K Q J 8
♣ A K 10 7 5 3 2
3D – 3H
4NT – 5D
6D
South;s hand is 2 losers, but once partner supports diamonds, it becomes a hopeful 1 loser. Explanation, 4NT = minor two suiter, need Ace of hearts only. The theory here is if partner is short in clubs, one ruff will be enough, if partner bids clubs here, you will carry on to slam hoping to drop the queen of clubs.
That kind of “trick” is easy to rationalize. Here is one that you might not think of. Look at this “one suited” hand.
♠ A K Q 8 7 6 5 4 3
♥ A K 5
♦ 8
♣
This hand is PERFECT for a Miserable Trick, but use this one with caution. When you hold a one suiter, with two or three losers, you can sometimes “show” a two suiter, to get your partner to evaluate his hand according to the presumed fit. The long suit has to be higher than the fake second suit. This hand is an excellent example. Open 2NT then rebid 4 S showing heart/spade two suiter, with two losers, not needing a club cover. This way, your partner will count heart queen and diamond ACE. Imagine a better hand,
♠ A K Q J T 6 5 4 3
♥ A K 5
♦ A
♣
Here you find the grand slam by showing a major two suiter with one loser, not needing club cover. Partner with Queen of hearts will bid grand slam in hearts, which you correct to spades.
Use these with caution. In theory, partner can work out even if you lie. Imagine you hold this monster hand…
♠ A K Q J T 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
♥
♦
♣ 2
Imagine this auction, 2NT – 3C – 5S (heart/spade two suiter, need club cover). No matter what partner holds, if he lacks the club ACE, he knows no grand slam. If he is looking at AKQ of hearts, it should still not confuse him. Even if he has just the heart queen he should not be confused. You 5S shows a need for a club cover. But like I said, use this with EXTREME caution, and always, always show a two suiter where your real suit is the higher of the two “presumed suits”.
IV. MisIry and Competition
The rules for showing strong hands in competition. If opener doubles their suit that has not been supported it shows the bid suit as one of openers (if one opponent doubles for takeout and the other bids a suit, however, double is now takeout strong, with four losers)
If opener does not double, but rather bids, he shows a strong two suiter. If the strong two suiter must be known, the rules are: Cheapest bid, 4 Losers, 2nd cheapest 3 losers, 3rd cheapest 2 losers, 4th cheapest, 1 loser, except, if the bidding is still at the three level, openers rebids are as if no-competition.
Any bid but raise or preempt suit rebid show strong two suiter, that does not include the suit bid by partner. The bids are, cheapest, 4 losers, 2nd cheapest 4 losers – partial fit for responder suit, 3rd cheapest 3 losers, 4th cheapest 4 loser – partial fit for responder suit, etc. Partial fit is two cards. A rebid of the suit by responder warns of misfit. Natural bidding after openers rebid on these auctions.
If Responder jumps in a suit, he is showing a SOLID suit (AKQJxx or better). If partner wants to play in his suit even if we have a strong two suiter, he bids his suit (forcing) then rebids it. If partner raises our presumed weak suit (raising the preempt, or bidding game to make), we simply bid our cheapest suit, or higher if the any of the bids show the right hand. In other words, if we were going to bid 4NT over partner completion of the transfer, we can still bid 4NT to show the same kind of hand.REVIEW OF AUCTON OPTIONS
- Opener first rebid shows which two suits and how many losers.
- If responder doesn’t sign off, he generally shows location of his cover cards. His first non-signoff bid at the three level or four level is a denial cue-bid (up the line).
- Responders immediate 3NT rebid is natural, his immediate 4NT rebid shows the king in the highest non-anchor suit.
- Responders initial bid above 4NT shows a stopper. Rules for these stopper are, if with jump, promises ACE in top higher non-anchor suit (since 4NT was not bid).
- After responders “denial cue-bid”, opener signs off with either no stopper in the denial suit, OR no need for a cover in the “other” non-anchor suit (Ax in the denial suit and void in the other non-anchor suit could use ACE in second suit, so don’t signoff. Singleton ACE in the other non-anchor suit and Ax in denial suit is a wonderful holding as king in other suit is useful.
- After responder’s “denial cue bid” or a cue-bid at the four level that doesn’t promise a specific control in the other non-anchor suit, opener’s cheapest non-anchor bid ask if responder has the ACE of the “other” non-anchor suit, and promises a stopper in any denied suit. (Cheapest bid would be pass if they double the denial cue-bid)
- After responder’s denial cue bid, opener might bid skip the cheapest anchor suit to bid the second anchor suit. This shows a need for a cover in the other non-anchor suit, a stopper in denied suit, but possession of both anchor suit queens.
- After responder’s denial cue bid, opener might jump to 5NT or 6 of the cheapest anchor suit. Both jumps show the queens of the anchor suits are missing, the jump to 5NT promises first round control in the denied suit, jump to six shows second round control in the denial suit. A jump to six of the suit below the cheapest anchor suit shows same hand but with 6+ in the lower anchor suit.
- After responder’s denial cue-bid, opener might make the second or in some cases, third cheapest bid (if room permits). IF there is room below five of the cheapest suit, these two bids show missing queen in the lower suit and missing queen in the higher suit respectively. If opponents double the denial cue-bid, pass and redouble becomes steps for the opener. If there is only one spot to show a missing queen, then opener bids that to show that one (non-specified) is missing. Responder, if he has queen, he knows which is missing. If responder bids the cheapest intermediate suit between the two suits, it is asking opener to bid beyond five of the top suit if he is missing the queen in that suit (paradox). If responder makes a non-signoff bid above such a cheapest non-anchor bid, it is asking if distributional king is useful (see what a distributional king is next).
- After side suit is checked and after anchor queens are accounted for, new suit bids by responder are asking if a distributional king might be useful. In general, distributional king ask are made in cheapest step. Cheapest ask if lower anchor suit distributional king is useful, second cheapest ask if distributional king in the higher non-anchor suit can help. Sometimes, you can ask in both with the third step, or asking in the cheapest. If that doesn’t work, partner can ask bid in the cheapest non-anchor (if below the top anchor) to say would be helpful in the OTHER suit. Likewise, if trumps would be clubs or spades, if 5H ask if distributinonal king in diamonds works, opener rebid 5NT to say no, but one in hearts works. If trumps is diamonds or spades, if responder bids 6C to ask in clubs, and opener bids 6D (no), responder can bid 6H to ask if distributional king in hearts works.
- 5NT by responder, always, is give us your best suit (pick a slam). If responder then pulls the cheaper suit to the higher suit, it changes the pickem to distributional king ask in the cheapest.
With Multi-2D, MisIry Transfers, and the 2Club methods described, we have pulled a lot of hands out of the meaning of our one level opening bids, and have put a top on what reverses and jump rebids can show. If you start thinking about the hands that have been removed, you will see how this can greatly simplify all your "normal" auctions.
Opener Responder
S A4 S T976 3C 3D
H A9843 H K 3H 3S
D K D AQ82 3N 4D
C AKQ96 C J875 4NT 6C
7C Pass
3C MisIry transfer
3D In case partner has D weak
3H H/C two suiter, 4 loser
3S no Spade cover, presumed diamond cover
(HK, DA = 2 covers, distribution HQ?)
3NT Asking about Diamond ACE?
4D = have ace, plus a distributional queen
4NT = missing heart Queen (both 4nt and 4S
below five of cheaper anchor)
7C = your diamond ace is a suprise
two covers
When this hand was played, only 4 of 21 tables reached six clubs, none seven. And the auctions to 6C were not that convincing. Six clubs here is automatic. Seven clubs requires slow bidding and thinking, but is possible.
♠ ♠ KQ92 3D 3H
♥ A ♥ JT7 5C 5NT
♦ KQJT954 ♦ A86 6D 7D
♣ KQ765 ♣ A92
3D = heart preempt, or Diamond + black suit
3H = you can bid 4H if judge game good shot
5C = two loser, heart control useless
if heart was useful, i bid 4D
5NT = pick slam
6D = like D's better
7D = easy
If you had bid 4H, bidding is 4NT showing
minor two suiter and extras
-------------------------
S A S T95 3D 3H
H A8 H K964 3N 4S
D KJ643 D A52 5N Pass
C AK653 C Q92
3N = minor two suiter, 4 loser
4S = denial bid, shows something in H
5N = missing both Queens, have spade A
your heart control is working
-------------------------
S A S T95 3D 3H
H A8 H K96 3N 4S
D KJ643 D A5 5N 7C
C AK653 C Q9742 Pass
3N = minor two suiter, 4 loser
4S = denial bid, shows something in H
5N = missing both Queens, have spade A
your heart control is working
7C = distribution dQ = 4th cover
-------------------------
♠ KQJ43 ♠ 3D 4H
♥ K9 ♥ AQ762 4S 6D
♦ AK753 ♦ J9842 Pass
♣ 9 ♣ 763
4H = ok, because we can play diamonds
if partner is two suited
4S = diamond.spade 2 suiter, 4 loser
6D = gamble. Easier if I bid 3H... see
3D 3H 3S = 4 loser, D+S
3S 4C 4C = denial
4NT 6D 4H = need heart ACE
Over 4C,
4D = says, off two club tricks
4H = ask for heart ACE
4S = says all ok, but i have both queens
4NT = missing DQ
5C = missing SQ
5NT = missing both Q, no club A
6D = missing both Q, i have club A
-------------------------
♠ AQJ74 ♠ 8652 2N 3C
♥ AQT86 ♥ K73 3H 5C
♦ T ♦ AJ763 5D 6S
♣ AQ ♣ 8 Pass
3H = four loser, major two suiter
5C = second round control C, first D
5D = Not missing any queens, your covers work
No need to ask for Aces here. Technical
bid is probably 5S (both queens, all go)
6S = three covers, = slam
-------------------------
♠ AKT53 ♠ Q764 3C 3D
♥ K4 ♥ J 5C 5H
♦ ♦ KT754 5S 6S
♣ AKQJ95 ♣ T76 Pass
4S = two losers, clubs/Spades
5C = 2L, no need for D
5H = does seond round heart control help
5S = no
6S = you no fun, but Spade Q works
-------------------------
Victorian Pennant SF 4 of 4, board 20
X AQx 3C 3D
AKxxx J9 3H 6C
Qx ATxxx Pass
AKQxx J9x
These are tough. Over 3NT, figure 2 covers
plus bonus "Q" of spades. Plus possible useful
jack-nines. I would just blast 6C and hope a
finesse would be enough if it is not cold.
This is a rare-hand.
-------------------------
Hand 95 from Brazilian Team Trial finals
AKQxx Txx 2N 3C
AKxxx xx 3S 4S
T A9xx
Kx Qxxx
I think i would miss this one. It needs
lucky breaks in both majors to make.
-------------------------
Hand 96, same event.
QJ9xx T87 3D 3H
Void Qxx 4D 4S
AKQJx 986 Pass
AQx KJTx
4D = S/D two suiter, 3 loser
4S = 0 to 1 covers
-------------------------
Board 73 of C_N_Echipe Diviizia A standza 5 is
interesting. Both pairs stopped in 6H. With
MisIry, grand slam is "automatic". Let's see why.
AQ9xx Kx 2N 3C
AKxxx QJxxx 3H 4D
A Qxx 4NT 5C
Qx ATx 5D 6C
7H Pass
3H = four loser, Major 2 suiter
4D = denial, shows a club control
4NT = what kind of club control?
5C = club ace, do you missing a queen?
5D = yes,
6C = Distributional king useful?
7H = great news, pick major
-----------------------------
Board 7, Icelandic championship, round 11
Jx 5 3C 3D
A9xxx KJx 3H 4NT
Void AQxxxxx 5C 5H
AKQTxx 8x Pass
3NT = heart/club two suiter, 4 loser
4NT = 2nd round S control, some D control
5C = yuck, something wasted
5H = hope not too high then.
------------------------------
Here is board 29 from Brazilian Team Finals,
semi-finals (2 of 4).
KQT87 93 3C 3D
A9 QT2 3S 4S
6 AQ98xx Pass
AQT54 J7
3S = C/S two suiter, 4 losers
4S = lets try game.
-------------------------
Icelandic Team trials, round 8, Board 5
AQxxx xxx 3D 3H
AK QTxx 4D 4S
AKxxx xxx
2 9xx
4D = 3 loser, D+S
-----------------------------
The very next hand (board 6) was
AQJT7 xx 3C 3D
Void Jxxxx 3S 4C
AQx KJ9 Pass
KJxxx xxx
3S = black 2 suiter
4C = yuck
Pass to play
--------------------------
Board 7 Icelandic Team championship, rd 3
Void AKQJx 3D 3H
KJ Txxx 4C 4H
AQJT95 xxx 5C 5D
KQxxx x Pass
4C = minor 2 suiter, 3 loser
4H = denial cue-bid
5C = responders spade control wasted
so ok to "signoff" with stopper in hearts
Responder with sufficient covers bids
on even after signoff.
5D = preference
---------------------------
Final II, deal 11, page 173
♠ AKQxx ♠ xxx 3D 3H
♥ K7 ♥ A9xx 3S 6S
♦ AJ9xx ♦ Q Pass
♣ J ♣ A97xx
3S = 4 loser, D/S two suiter
6S = count 2 ACES as two cover,
diamond Q = 3rd
--------------------------
♠ AQ9xxx ♠ K4 2N 3C
♥ AJ98x ♥ K65 3H 4H
♦ ♦ QJ9xx Pass
♣ A9 ♣ xxx
3H - 4 Loser. major two suiter
4H - I don't have enough covers even if you
missing Spade Q, as 3 hearts is not enough to
ruff sufficient spades
Maybe slam if heart queen on side with one
or two more
-------------------------
♠ KQ ♠ JT54 3C 3D
♥ AKT973 ♥ 65 4N 5H
♦ ♦ K65432 Pass
♣ AKQ72 ♣ 5
4N = C/H 2 suiter, 2 loser, no D help needed
5H = hope suits split ok, 1C ruff, lose H+S
-------------------------
♠ KT ♠ J962 2N 3C
♥ AKJ87 ♥ T65 4C 4H
♦ AKJT93 ♦ 842 Pass
♣ ♣ AT9
4C = D/H three loser, no need for Club control
4H = end, now if your black suits were reversed,
your bid would have been 4C, and slam would bid
-------------------------
♠ K ♠ 62 2N 3C
♥ AQT54 ♥ 876 3H Pass
♦ AKJ98 ♦ T42
♣ AT ♣ Q8632
Pass . Not every hand
turns to gold even with MisIry
--------------
♠ A4 ♠ T 3D 3H
♥ A ♥ 9832 4C 4H
♦ AQT86 ♦ K942 5D 5S
♣ KQT72 ♣ AJ85 7C Pass
4C = 3 loser, minor two suiter
4H = denial cuebidding
5D = any spade control working, both minor Q
7C
-------------------------
♠ AKQ65 ♠ 84 3D 3H
♥ 4 ♥ JT873 4D 4H
♦ AQT98 ♦ KJ754 5D 6D
♣ A7 ♣ 9 Pass
4D = 3 loser, diamond/spade two suiter
4H = DENIAL cue, denies heart cover
5D = i have both queens, and H control,
and any club cover works
6D = DK, Club = two covers, small slam
If you were missing diamond Queen
we could be in grand. Say you had
AKQxx A AT98x Ax, you would show
missing diamond queen.
-------------------------
♠ AKQ84 ♠ T9 3D 3H
♥ KQ ♥ 7542 4D 5D
♦ AQT64 ♦ K832 Pass
♣ 2 ♣ T73
4D = diamond/spade two suiter, 3loser
5D = could try for six with 4H bid,
denial but need to catch partner
with missing spade Q
-------------------------
♠ AKQJ2 ♠ 63 3D 3H
♥ AK ♥ J862 5S 6C
♦ AKQ94 ♦ J852 6D Pass
♣ J ♣ K74
5S = one loser, need help in clubs
6C = I have club king, is that enough?
6D = no, pick suit
Pass, ok we play 6D
-------------------------
♠ AKQJ2 ♠ 63 3D 3H
♥ A ♥ J862 5S 6C
♦ AKQ94 ♦ J852 7D Pass
♣ AJ ♣ K74
5S = one loser, need help in clubs
6C = I have club king, is that enough?
7D = yes! pick suit
Pass, ok we play in diamonds
-------------------------
S T S AKQJ9 -- 3C
H Q32 H AT 3D 4C
D 98 D A 4D 5D
C KT95432 C AJ876 6C 7C
Pass
3S = black 2 suiter, 3/4 loser
4D = denial cue bid
5D = missing club queen
6C = No way to find out about the
all the aces and solid spades
7C = too good to languish in six, a
Careful partner passes.
-------------------------
S S 872 3C 3D
H AK873 H 64 3N 4S
D A6 D KT853 6C 7C
C AKT742 C Q86 Pass
3N = 3 losers, heart/club two suiter
4S = no S control, some D control
5N = DA, missing both Q, your DK working
7C = would like one more club, maybe 6C better
-------------------------
S KQJ97 S 843 3C 3D
H K H J9832 4C 4S
D K D 53 Pass
C AKQJ84 C 763
4S = S/C two suiter, 3 loser
-------------------------
S 7 S J654 3D 3H
H 7 H A52 3NT 4S
D AKJT5 D Q976 5C 5D
C AQ9432 C 65 Pass
3NT = minor 2 suiter, 4 loser
4S = DENIAL cue, no S control, some H control
5C = if partner has 3 covers he bids on anyway
5D = like diamonds lot better than clubs
-------------------------
S J52
H QT742
D J95
S 9 C 86 S A
H AJ863 H 9
D AT7 D KQ832
C KQ52 S KQT87643 C AJ9743
H K5
D 64
C T
West North East South
3D 3S
4H Pass 5C Pass
7C Pass Pass Pass
4H = two places to play
5C = minor 2 suiter, four losers
5H = cue-bid, at five level, shows honor
5S = is ace or not?
7C = four covers,HA, CKQ, DA,
© 2005 by bboinquiry
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