Sorry…I promised you 20 but forgot to post the last one! Anyway, it’s less of a bidding rule and more of an overall recommendation. Anyway, here’s the final “Rule of the Week.” What should I write about now???
20. If you and your partner have a bidding misunderstanding and/or disagreement, make a note of it on your card and discuss it later. Don’t ruin the rest of your game by arguing over something that has already happened!
19.Don’t be afraid to double the opponents if you think the hand belongs to your side and you don’t have a better bid – even if they sometimes make their bid.
18. Try to use the same tempo when making all of your bids. Don’t bid quickly and don’t hesitate a long time before making your call. In a tournament, either of these actions could warrant a “Director!” call from your opponents.
17. Make sure your defensive bidding tools include ways to show as many 2-suit combinations as possible and in as many different situations as you can account for. (e.g. Michaels over majors and minor suit openings, unusual NT, Cappelleti over 1NT are only some of your alternatives) It’s important to be able to show two suited hands with one bid; you’re twice as likely to find a fit with partner when you have 2 five-card or longer suits.
16. Don’t ever ask for aces unless you have at least second round control of all suits yourself. If you need to know about specific aces, blackwood (or gerber, for that matter) won’t tell you what you need to know.
15. Always follow the KISS principle of bidding…i.e. keep it simple. Don’t try to conjure up the perfect bid for a hand unless you’re 100% positive your partner will know what you mean.
14. Don’t bid the same values more than once. Once you’ve shown your hand, it’s up to your partner to take any further action.
13. Don’t count distribution to open the bidding unless you have a long self sufficient suit or a hand with two five-card (or longer) suits. Then count extra for suit length, not shortness in other suits.
12. When partner makes a forcing bid, BID. Don’t get creative and decide that since you have a terrible hand you’re going to save partner and pass his forcing auction. Even if you are right on a particular occasion, partner will lose trust in you and next time might try to compensate by masterminding a (wrong) game bid because he’s afraid you’ll pass his forcing bid again.
11. Against strong opponents, pre-empt as often as you can. Even the best of players often have problems handling pre-empts and are forced to guess at a high level.
