Keep this safely in your folder
so that you can refer back to it.
|
Afraid,
me?! …Never !
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With the abandoning of "useless" contracts that we studied in the preceding lesson, the sequences where both sides bid are much more frequent. Looking at the score one can see that it is sometimes better to fail one's own contract if the opposition would make theirs. Therefore one is led into bidding contracts which are slightly too high according to the Decision Table when the opponent pushes into it (and only then!)
Be careful not to fail by too much, especially when you are vulnerable!
In reality, it is permissible to bid a contract:
| - | if it is one point short of the Decision Table when you are vulnerable: it's a small risk |
| - | if it is one or two points short of the Decision Table when you are not vulnerable: it's a medium risk |
In fact failing by two, non-vulnerable, is still generally a good move if the opponents would have made their contract …
An example illustrates this:
The opponent announces 1
;
after studying my partner's little paper, I see we have 23 DH points and
a nine card fit in Hearts: no problem to bid 2
:
then I hear 2
… What should I do? Let them play and "pay" perhaps 110 points? Or maybe
risk ….3? Well:
| - | if I'm not vulnerable:
I say 3
and I can afford to go down by two (for a score of 100 against 140);
if the opponent bids 3,
too bad; he will have to make nine tricks instead of eight, that's
his problem … |
| - | if I'm vulnerable: I say
nothing because going down by two (that's possible!) - for a score
of 200 - would be more expensive than the contract of 2
- for a score of 110. |