The Worst Bid in Bridge

Posted: September 15th, 2009 | Author: johnhartmann | Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »

The most important single play in the game is the opening lead.  Almost unfair, the weight it brings to bear on the outcome of hands, matches, tournaments,

You agree with that?

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Your hand is a pedestrian one:

Q98     ♥J52     ♦A7532 ♣J4

The auction has gone 1N on your right, 3N on

Your left.  What do you lead?

You could give this hand to the Bridge World panel and get seven different answers.  From the

Best players in the game.  This tells you that there is no answer.  Nobody knows what to lead.

And when no one knows what to lead, who does that help?

The side playing the hand. This time

The opponents didn’t give you anything but a guess.

Suppose the Auction had gone 1N on your right, 2N on your left,  3N on your right.  Now what do you lead?

Less a guess, is it not?

The hand you knew nothing about is not quite face up, but close.  It’s within a jack of 8 points.  It is

Almost certainly balanced, yet probably does not have a five card major.  Or, a six card minor.  Now, thanks to the worst bid in bridge, you also know declarer is closer to 18HCP than 15HCP.  And, partner is not broke.

But wait,  It’s gets worse.  Not only does that bid

Give you all this data you didn’t have before, it puts

The opponents in the horrible position of actually playing the hand in 2 No Trump.  Which can never be right.

Think about it.  If you play in 2N making exactly

2N, it scores the same as 1N making 2.  So why not play there?  If you make an overtrick it means you missed a game that made.  There is just no upside to the bid.  Yet, every day, all over the world, players bid it.

What’s the answer?

One that makes sense is found in the Modest Club.

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