AUCTION BRIDGE.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 241, 11 October 1929, Page 6

AUCTION BRIDGE.

QUICK TRICK SYSTEM OF BIDDING. (By A. E. MANNING FOSTER.) Several correspondents have asked me to explain "fully" the quick trick system of bidding, and in this and succeeding articles I shall do so, and give my reasons for my belief in it and deal with the objections. First, for the benefit of the novice, a quick trick is a card which will win on first or second round. Thus an Ace is a quick trick, which will win on first round. A King guarded by a Queen is a quick trick on the second round. An unguarded King or a Queen guarded is not a quick trick. The basis of the quick trick system of bidding is that you must never bid your hand as dealer or first caller unless you have as a minimum two quick tricks in it, no matter how the bidding goes. Bid one of a major suit holding five with two honours. If the two quick tricks are not in the major suit, you must, in the event of holding only one in it, have one outside quick trick. If your major suit has no quick trick (that is, if it is. headed by King, Jack, or Queen, Jack, 10) you must have two quick tricks outside to justify you in bidding it. First of all—the minor suit bid. On the quick trick system length in a minor suit does not matter provided you have two quick tricks in it or one in it and one outside. Here are a few examples:— No. 1. No. 2. No. 3. No. 4. S —x x x S—x x x S —x x x S—x x x H—x x x H —x x x H—A x x H—x xx x D—A x x D —x x x D—x x x xD—x x x C—A xxx C—A Kx x C—K QlO C—A K Q On all these hands you should bid originally "One Club." Of course, you must remember that these represent the barest possible minimum. Under the old system of bidding, on all these hands you would pass. But the experience of practised players has shown that to do so is . to miss, in many cases, a golden opportunity. Suppose you pass on these hands and your left hand adverary makes a call, you have neglected the one and only opportunity you will ever have of telling your partner you are worth something. The fact that you tell him that you have at least two quick tricks in your hand may make all the difference to him. It may enable him to make an overbid, which he would otherwise hesitate to do (fearing from your "No bid" that you may not have a trick in your hand), or it may enable him to save the game by indicating a lead, or it may enable him to bid a No Trumper, which otherwise he could not have ventured. As for the hands themselves. No. 1 has two Aces. Most players bid No Trumps on three bare '■ Aces without outside cards. And, if it be right to bid No Trumps on three Acea, it cannot°be very far wrong to bid one of a minor suit ou two Aces. No. 2 has two sure tricks in the suit called. No. 3 is weaker because, instead of two Aces, you have only King, Queen, 10 and one Ace outside, but it just comes up to the standard. No. 4 is the best of the lot, as it has a certain threo tricks if your partner goes No Trumps and a probable three tricks if the game is played in a suit. Now for the objections to this system: (1) It is argued by the opponents of it that you should never make a call of a suit unless you are prepared to play the hand in the suit you name. I do not agree. This is a relic of the old game of Bridge where you made a declaration which was bound to stand. At Auction there is no such thing as a declaration, only a lid —all the difference in the world! You never know when you call whether the game is going to be played in the suit you mention. It i 3 essential that your first bid should be informative. A first bid that informs your partner that you hold at least two sure tricks has big advantages, and must be more helpful than saying "No bid."' (2) A second objection is that the bid may deceive your partner and lead him to suppose you have length in your suit. He may support you unduly and bring about disaster. This is a possibility, but in my experience it never occurs with an intelligent partner. Even if he does not play the quick trick system himself he will not go too far in a minor suit if the opponents a're bidding a major. (3) But I have heard it argued, "What if you are left in with your bid? You have called One Club or One Diamond with two tricks only, in your hand, and you may find your partner with nothing—five tricks down, and a penalty of 250 undoubled. Can that be right?" The answer is that you never are left in with the bid in j these circumstances. Your opponents are not I going to leave a One Club ,bfd if they have good cards themselves and a chance of game. Nor is there much fear of a One Club bid being doubled and the double left in.