Polling You #62, Jacoby Transfer – Part 2, Contract Bridge

Comments

1. warrenwolff says:
   April 20, 2011 at 7:48 am

   Different vein:

   Good question for future poll.

   What is the recommended action with the following hand, after RHO opens 1 ♥:

   S A K J 8 7
   H Q 10 8 x x
   D J 10
   C 8

   I was taught that I should not make overcalls with that many minor cards in RHO’s suit.

   Facing this question, I checked in the ACBL Encyclopedia of Bridge. Apparently “experts” are in sharp disagreement in this subject.

   Thanks, Warren

   Reply
   • Charles says:
     April 20, 2011 at 10:06 am

     I’m for overcalling 1Spade if not vulnerable. If opponents get the bid, I probably want a spade lead from partner. If vulnerable, it’s too risky to overcall with that hand.

     Reply
   • BridgeHands says:
     April 21, 2011 at 8:24 pm

     Hi Warren, . Yes, you’ll find when it comes to overcalls even the experts are divided on bidding styles. What’s most important is partnership style, with one approach or the other having advantages and disadvantages. For instance, with something like a 9-12 point hand some experts demand good suit quality for lead direction while others are merely looking for shape to compete in a higher ranking suit (e.g. Spades). . Certainly the value of the Heart Queen is poor – an Ace or even a King would be much more helpful since partner does not rate to hold enough Hearts to setup the Queen. Also, it’s quite possible LHO will ruff Hearts before the Queen is setup. A few items to consider are: – What actions might you expect from partner? (who obviously is short in Hearts) – At what bidding level would you leave in partner’s takeout double (2H? 3H?) . It’s always a good idea to consider factors like this when considering a bid. And as Charles aptly points out, consider the benefit to have partner lead Spades (such as when LHO makes a 1/2/3 Notrump call). . Good luck, Michael

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   • Jeff Holst says:
     May 2, 2011 at 6:52 am

     In Mike Lawrences book on overcalls, it would seem that the heart length is a virtue, While certainly the heart queen is of questionable value on offense, you are quite likely to find partner with a fit for your spades, He is likely short in hearts (there are at most 3 help by partner and responder). That leaves plenty of room for spades in his hand.

     Reply
     • BridgeHands says:
       May 4, 2011 at 2:34 am

       Hello Jeff, . Well, *someone* is likely to have Spades but it could just as easily be LHO and you’ll end up with a big misfit with partner who is long in the minors. To validate the point, here’s the results of a 100 hand simulation: . RHO: 12-21 HCP, 5+ Hearts South: Hand above Spade Tricks and Percentage: 7 = 72 percent 8 = 51 percent 9 = 30 percent 10 = 14 percent . Constraining North’s hand to a lucky 3+ Spade and 6-10 HCP, the results are: 7 = 99 percent 8 = 78 percent 9 = 50 percent 10 = 24 percent . So while the lower set of numbers (partner having some supporting points and 3+ Spades) would be nice, the first set of numbers better reflects reality and are significantly lower than our optimistic wishes. And looking at some of the 100 hands, there are enough hands that only make 4-5 tricks which should make us take pause. . Looking through some of the hands (first run representing reality), I find that even when partner North has 4 Spade and 8 HCP, West is of course short in Hearts and gets in a ruff or two. Regarding the Queen-fifth in opponents suit, the Queen is much harder to score tricks than a King since partner North will not have enough entries to promote the suit. Thus, the only way to score tricks in Hearts would be an endplay on East – not impossible given East’s opening hand but not the type of suit to count on for a source of tricks. . At the table, I’ve found it’s not at all uncommon to find that when holding 5 cards in opponents major suit, partner is obviously short in the suit and eagerly bids my other 5 card suit. And if the LHO has 3 card support (3 Hearts), then partner is void and will bid again and again figuring we simply must have a fit! Unfortunately, all to often the opponents eventually double. So I tend to be careful when holding 5 cards in opponents 5+ card major suit when I do not have primary honors in the suit. . FYI – running another 100 hands, here’s how East/West score in Hearts or Notrump: 7 = 52 percent in Hearts, 53 percent in Notrump 8 = 31 percent in Hearts, 29 percent in Notrump 9 = 8 percent in Hearts, 5 percent in Notrump . Warm Regards, Michael

       Reply
2. BridgeHands says:
   April 26, 2011 at 8:24 pm

   Greeting Bridge Pollsters, . Over the weekend the results kept coming in and we now have a clear consensus. Thank you for sharing your views and we’re ready to take a peek at the results: . When faced with a close call to bid a major suit game after a Jacoby Transfer, in addition to High Card Points what else is important? 3 percent – Trump suit length 0 percent – Working honors in trump suit 8 percent – Both of the above 8 percent – Overall shape – length in side suits (unbalanced) 81 percent – All of the above . So to a varyiny degree, most of our crowd sees trump suit length, trump honors, and more shapely hands as important “extras” to consider when pondering a close game call. And as we’ve seen in our hand evaluation exercises using a Bridge simulation program to deal and play a large number of hands, we’ve seen the positive impact these attributes can make when pursing a critical extra trick. . Happy Trails, Michael

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