ART OF AUCTION BRIDGE.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 70, 23 March 1928, Page 6

ART OF AUCTION BRIDGE.

FREAK HANDS.

(By A. E. MANNING FOSTER.)

The rules of bidding are based upon average hands. When you have a freak distribution of the cards it is no use applying ordinary principles. A freak hand must Lms dealt with on its merits. All the rules about quick tricks and top honours do not apply. You have to reason out for yourself what is the best way of bidding it. Examples of freak hands are where one side has all the cards of one suit, or sometimes of two suits, or all the court cards in the pack, or some other remarkable combination of cards. I have never seen a player with the whole of a suit in his hand, although there are several authenticated cases of it. But I have seen eleven Spadeß in a hand. Cases where the whole of one suit is hald by two players, while they fall rightly into the category of freak hands, are not so unusual as to .call for comment.

Personally I have never yet held more than eight cards of a suit, and the possession of eight is sufficiently exciting and intriguing. _ What are you to do when you hold eight of a suit with little or nothing outside? Are you to make a big pre-emptive bid with a view to stifling the opposition and also your partner? Or are you to bid up gradually ? The answer to these questions depends upon the character of the hand.

When your eight cards are in a major suit and headed by top honours, Ace, King, or King, Queen, I believe in bidding up gradually. Open the bidding with "One" and await events. You are probably going to bid up to four if necessary, but there is *o need to be in a hurry. Wait and see bow the bidding goes. You are far more likely by this method to be doubled than if vou make a big pre-emptive bid at the start. Take this case: Z deals and holds S., A, K. Q, JO, 8, 7, 0,,4; H., 5, 4; D., none; C., A, 3, 2. An opening bid of "Four Spades" would be justifiable on this hand. But I hold there is no reason for making it. I should start with a bid of "One."

When, however, your eight cards arc not headed by . top honours, the position is different. Then a pre-emptive bid to try to shut out everybody is right. Half-measures are no good. You must pre-empt right up to the hilt, even though you may go down on the bid. This hand occurred actually in play, and the holder, with that strange panchant which so many players have for the particular call, bid "Two Clubs." It turned out all right because his partner was able to make a Spade bid. Here are the hands:—

This is how the bidding went:—Z, "Two P-SO A ' " Tw ° Hearts'; Y, "Two Spades"; B, Three Hearts ; Z, "Three Spades"; A. "Four J- " F ? ur Spades"; B. "Five Hearts'; Z, 'Five Spades'; A and Y, "No bid"; JB, "Bix Hearts "; Z, "Six Spades"; A and Y, "No bid"; «, Double ; all pass. B opened the Ace of Diamonds and Y made six Spades, losing onlv one trick in Clubs. But this remarkable result on freak cards was not due to good bidding. Suppog) Z, as I advocate, had opened with five Clubs, neither A nor Y could have spoken. B with his three Aces would have either left in the bid or doubled. He would probably have doubled, and Z would have made * Little Slam in Clubs. I admit that this proves nothing and that one should never argue by results, lint I still hold the big pre-emptive bid in Clubs was on probability the best chahce to take.