Odds and  ends

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Responder's second bid

By the time this stage of the auction has been reached, much water will have passed under the bridge, and many factors are liable to influence your bid---if you have one!

Let us distinguish first between an opening bid of one no-trump and one of a suit. The first case is pretty straightforward and the second can then be broken down into situations subsequent to your three possible first responses ie S Y N, which---just to remind you---stand for

• S---Support your partner

• Y---Your own suit--bid it

• N---Bid one no-trump

PARTNER OPENED ONE NO-TRUMP

The only circumstances under which you would want to bid for a second time as responder is:-

• If you have a strong hand with slam aspirations, or

• If you have used Stayman as your first response, or

• If your first bid was ace-asking

Let's look at these in turn.

Slam aspirations

Holding the hand below:-

Your first bid opposite a one no-trump from partner might have been three spades. You are looking for a slam in spades if partner has three with you. If she only has two, you will sign off in four spades. If it is good news, you might ask for aces but even with two missing, there could still be a play for six spades, so, most experienced players after 1NT-3S-4S would bid six direct.

Having used Stayman

If you have used Stayman, your second bid will clearly depend upon partner's answer to your question. Take this typical hand:-

You do not have the strength for a slam, and you have a major suit game in mind if partner comes up with four hearts or four spades. If this is the case, your second bid will be this game-call. If you hear the dreaded 'two diamonds', you will risk the clubs and settle for three no-trumps.

Asking for aces

Suppose you have asked for aces on your first response as you might on the hand below:-

Your second bid will now depend on partner's response. With one ace missing, you would want to sign off in 5NT, doing so via 5H or 5S ( dangerous! ). With all four aces, six no-trumps must be a fair bet.

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