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For Junior, Intermediate, Novice players and others. It's Fri day.

Once in Everyone’s Lifetime.

Maybe more than once if you play long enough! It is not too often that you pick up a hand like the following. Yet, many did earlier this week. Did you? How successful were you in bidding it?

 

That’s right…a 10-card suit headed by the AK. Barring one opponent holding the three missing hearts, that’s 10 tricks as long as hearts are trumps. Yet, your partner has opened the bidding and even though your right-hand opponent put in an overcall, there must be chances you will make more than 10 tricks. You could be in the slam zone!

What you need to know from your partner is how many aces they have. If they have one, then you will not be making a slam. If they have two, then you will make 12 tricks and in the real once in a life-time slot where they have three, you can make all 13 and should bid to grand slam.

This hand is perfect for those who have learnt a simple ace ask. Your first bid can be 4NT and then await your partner’s response. Say they had no aces? It is possible in which case you are probably a level too high. At times, it pays to be just a little optimistic. If you just bid 4, your partner is unlikely to bid again, no matter how many aces they have. They cannot imagine you have such a freaky collection.

So, 4NT it is, ace ask. The reply is 5 which shows three aces…and yes, the sky is the limit. Your next bid will be 7. Your partner will look confused as no-one mentioned that suit. They must trust you!

 

 

All that remained was for East to make the opening lead. You win whichever suit East chooses (play an ace!) and can make an immediate claim, saying “drawing trumps” since there are only 2 hearts missing. Make sure you play the ace and then the king. 

The bidding is a little harder if one plays Key Card Blackwood where the reply to 4NT includes the trump king. Since spades was the last bid suit by your side, a reply of 5 (0 or 3 key cards) after 2might indicate 2 aces and the K.

So, we need therefore to take the bidding a little slower. Bid 2over 2 which is 100% forcing and there is a chance that your partner, with excellent diamond honours, would bid 2NT, even 3NT. If they did, you could next bid 4, Gerber, and will find out how many aces your partner has. If they bid 3 instead of no-trumps, then you are back in the same position as you were a round earlier as this time your ace ask would focus on the four aces and K, clubs being the last bid suit. No system is perfect and this time, simple Blackwood or Gerber works a treat.

So, a great hand and lovely if you can bid a grand slam with just a combined 24hcp between the two hands.

Oh, there is just one more catch even if you know your partner has three aces. You might be tempted to bid 7NT since 10 heart tricks and three aces add up to an even better score playing Pairs than 7.

However, how would 7NT go if your partner did not hold a heart? The answer is “very badly”! The opposition would be unlikely to help you out by leading a heart for you. 7 is a very wise choice even if this time, 13 tricks are easy in 7NT.

So, here’s hoping you have an opportunity to pick up another hand like the North hand above…sometime soon!

Richard Solomon

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