Short Work

Today, a special treat: a seminar from the maestro on short suit game tries. Why infer lessons from hand play when you can get them direct? I pause only to note Gee’s remarkable ability to employ both short- and long-suit game tries, depending on his holding. (A closely related matter has been previously discussed.) And now I yield the floor.

G: yesterday I began explaining what help suit game try was
G: but got interrupted by someone who thought it was better to make jokes than to be respectful of you people
G: so i start it again today
Student: Someone had a good idea, hide the table Gerard that way jokers stay out
G: when you play, you hear constantly about help suit game try, short suit game try and long suit game try
G: what is it?
G: that’s what I will cover for you now
G: those who heard the beginning yesterday, I am sorry, but you will hear it a second time now
G: often you are in a situation such that you are not sure if you can play game or not
G: example:
G: you are sitting with 16 points
G: you open 1S, your partner responds 2S
G: you have game or not?
G: who knows
G: your partner shows 6-9 points traditionally
Student: well, we assume pard doesn’t have 10 points
G: and if you add your 16 points to that
G: you have a total of between 22 and 25 points
G: with 22 points, there is no game
G: with 25 there maybe a game
G: and that’s what you want to find out
G: most of the time though
G: you can use help suit game try
G: to figure that out
G: if you have the feeling that you are only 1 trick away from making game
Student: wait, how do you know if you have that feeling?
G: would be a pity not to end in game
G: card distribution
G: you have 15 points, in the example I gave earlier
G: in this case, it would suffice that you know that your pd has 9 points to add up to 25 points and play in game
G: but…
G: what if his 9 points are not placed correctly and your hands do not mesh well
G: you might end up going down in 4S
G: and that’s what you want to avoid
G: the old way was
G: you open 1s, partner bids 2s, you rebid 3s
G: that was asking your partner to bid 4S with 9 points and pass with less
G: in modern bridge, that method is not the best
G: you use help suit game try
G: and that will cover 2 things
G: one the point count and two the cards distribution
G: the idea is to find a hidden trick
G: what’s a hidden trick?
G: it’s a trick you might or might not make
G: like Kx or Qx
Student: right, that’s when the opps have 9-card fit
G: Kx may make if the K is not in from of the A
G: same with Qx
G: if opps cards are placed in a favorable way, you may make the Q
G: but it seldom happens so…
G: what you want to know is if partner has the other honor
G: if you have Qx in your hand and partner has Kx…
G: that’s a sure trick
G: which you did not know you had
G: and that’s what the “help suit” comes from
G: you say to your pd you have the K or the Q
G: and ask your partner if he/she has the other one
G: example
G: 1S-2S
G: 3C (I have K (or Q) of club… do you have the other one?
G: if yes, your partner can go to 4S safely
G: you will most likely make the contract
G: if your partner does not have the missing K or Q
G: then he has to answer negatively
G: and there are several ways to answer negatively
G: the first way… is to simply rebid spade
G: like in 1S-2S
G: 3C-3S
G: that means… not only I do not have the missing K or Q but I don’t have anything else to allow you to think we can make game
G: now…
G: if you do not have the specific card asked for in that specific suit
G: and the top of your range
G: then you can, maybe show a suit where you have a possible hidden trick
G: example
G: 1S-2S; 3C-3D
G: 3D means:
G: I do not have the missing K or Q of club but I have top of my range AND also either the K or Q of D
G: and is asking the 1S bidder if he has the other cad
Student: what if you have the ace in the clubs suit?
G: I’ll get there in a second
Student: ok
G: if the 1S bidder has the other card, he can safely bid 4S knowing his partner has 9 points and a hidden trick… unhidden
G: that contract of 4S will make
G: now
G: let’s suppose the 1S bidder does not have the other card
G: he has in turn to make a negative response
G: and it works the exact same way over again
G: 1S-2S; 3C-3D; 3H
Student: what if you have 18 points?
G: then you do not have the problem anymore
Student: 18+6 = 24?
G: you always have 24 points at least
Student: how do you know if you have enough for game?
G: same method will work
G: but what may be different is the interpretation of pd’s response to the help suit game try
G: to a neg response by the partner, you can then bid 3NT, showing a strong hand
Student: we’ll play 3nt?
G: 1S-2S; 3C-3S; 3NT
Student: ok so what if you’re in 3nt and pard only has 6 points?
G: if partner does not have 7+, he will pass
G: else bid 4S
Student: pass 3nt?
G: with 18 points, 3NT is likely to make
G: you asked earlier
G: what about aces
G: and I will add Jacks
G: do they count?
G: my answer is NO
G: they do not count
Student: G, what if they lead the suit that i need help in at 3nt?
G: first of all
Student: won’t i be down like the Titanic?
G: no, because you do not use the same kind of HSGT
G: if you intend to play in NT, you use Long Suit game try
G: if you intend to play in a suit contract you use Short Suit game try
G: the idea being that you do not want to be ruffed in that suit if you plan on playing in a suit contract
G: and you do not want to be shortened too much in that suit if you plan to play in NT
G: 17+
Student: pard will pass with 6 opps will double and i’m down 500?
G: in what case Paxman?
G: you have 18 points and your pd has 6 points?
Student: 1s-2s-3c-3s-3n-x they lead a club
Student: 18 + 6 = 24 and we’ve identified weakness in club suit
G: may happen, yes
Student: maybe if we don’t alert it they won’t figure out to lead a club?
G: this is a game, Paxman
G: things dont always live up to your expectations
G: there are cases where you go down in 3NT with 18 points
G: 28 points
G: happened this morning
G: there are always extreme cases
G: that’s why it is a game
G: but you can’t fix all the cases
G: look at it this way
G: if you play 20 hands
G: and you have 1 bad hand because of an extreme case
G: first… others will have the same problem
G: that hand may not be that bad afterall
G: ok
G: go back to your example
G: 1S-2S: 3C-3S
G: here you have 18 points
G: more exactly, suppose that here you have 18 points
G: your partner has 6 points
G: ok
G: now let’s go back to your other question
G: Aces (and Jacks)
G: your aces have already been counted as tricks
G: can’t count them twice
G: your jacks can not make a trick in a suit contact other than by a miracle
G: in NT, on the other hand, the J are useful
G: but, more to prevent opps from running the suit than as a HELP to find a hidden trick
G: Js are used to stop a running suit by the opps most frequently
G: aces are already counted
G: so, the only 2 honors that are of interest in Help Suit Game Try,
G: Short and Long are actually the K and the Q
G: so, the only difference between LSGT and SSGT is the length of the suit that the asker has
G: that suit should not be anymore than 3 cards
Student: how long does it have to be for LSGT?
G: for try in suit contract
G: and minimum 4 cards in LSGT
Student: what if you have xxxx in clubs? couldn’t you use HSGT?
G: for NT contracts
Student: why be in NT when we’ve found 8-card major fit?
G: no… to ask for help in a suit
G: you tell your partner you have either K or Q in that suit
G: planning to play in NT, the minimum you should have in the suit you need
help is Qxxx
Student: well, i guess i see, but i sure as heck don’t want to play 3nt
Student: with an 8 card major fit
Student: my mother raised me better than that
G: the partner does not need 4 cards
G: only the one who asks does
G: think
G: you have 4 cards in the suit
G: your partner has a singleton in the suit
G: that’s 5 cards
G: you are safe because othe opps can never have more than 8 cards
Student: what if they’re all on one side?
G: that’s the worst possible situation
G: well, you would have heard the opps bidding
Student: if pard has one i want to play in a suit so i can ruff my losers?
Student: not if they have no points
G: we talked about the same thing yesterday in the case of HSGT for a suit contract
G: you have to know where you want to play
G: in an auction like 1c-1S; 2S-3D
Student: well, for my money, i ain’t playing 3nt with a spade fit
G: do you want to be in NT or in S?
Student: uh, spades?
G: sure
Student: right
G: so you ask 3D with a 3 or less D suit and containing the K or the Q
G: else.. don’t ask
Student: what if you have xxxx in diamonds and want help?
Student: you know, like 4 losers, like down 1?
G: 3D is short suit help try
Student: but what if i don’t HAVE a short suit
G: then you have to use other methods
G: not Help suit game try
Student: any examples?
G: we are dealing with HSGT subject now
G: the other methods we can see in other workshops
G: but let’s do 1 subject at a time
G: now
G: what do we do with this auction?
G: 1S-2S: 3S
G: what would be 3S?
G: there is no agreement
G: it’s purely quantiative
G: I have 18 points, no Q nor K in a short suit
G: do you have 7+ or not
G: sorry 15 points
Student: 18 or 16?
G: 16+
G: 16-19
Student: what about 17?
G: in this case 19 would be too much… I typed that too fast
G: you would use another method with 19points
Student: such as?
G: with 19 points?’
Student: yep
G: calculate and tell me what to bid
G: 1S-2S you have Q9
G: partner has 6
G: think you have a game
G: there
G: so what would you bid?
G: 1S-2S: ?
G: 4S
Student: game?
G: right?
Student: sure
G: if you attend my classes on captain/crew, you would learn a lot about what to bid in these cases
G: and similar ones that come up frequently
Student: is that free too?
G: no… those are paying
G: anybody had questions?
Student: i still don’t understand that hand QJT9xxx where you preempt 3s, and ended up in 6S X
Student: i would think you are crew and not captain
Student: how much is cap/crew seminar
G: you can’t think… you know or you dont know… if you don’t know, come to the seminar or buy Bridge is a Conversation
G: 3 classes $10 per class
Student: i’m kind of tapped out this month
G: i played last night with a student against Dcorn and beat him
G: my student is only an intermediate/adv player… cobra4
G: only because of captain/crew stuff
G: cobra4 was my student and partner for the game
G: over 2 hours
G: and they could not get us
Student: is that better for your stat?
G: yes, but who cares??
Student: about stats?
Student: i clicked on you, your stats aren’t there
G: they are never there, never were and never will :)
G: if there is a subject you would like to treat, please let me know and we will do it
Student: i am interested in squeeze plays and coups

(Seminar Credit: Vulture)