CONTEMPORARY BIDDING SERIES

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Cecil Owens
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1 CONTEMPORARY BIDDING SERIES Section 1 - Fridays at 9:00 AM Section 2 Mondays at 4:00 PM Each session is approximately 90 minutes in length Understanding Contemporary Bidding (12 weeks) Background Bidding as Language Recognizing Your Philosophy and Your Style Captaincy Considering the Type of Scoring Basic Hand Evaluation and Recognizing Situations Underlying Concepts Offensive and Defensive Hands Bidding with a Passed Partner Bidding in the Real World Vulnerability Considerations Cue Bids and Doubles as Questions Free Bids Searching for Stoppers What Bids Show Stoppers and What Bids Ask? Notrump Openings: Beyond Simple Stayman Determining When (and Why) to Open Notrump When to use Stayman and When to Avoid "Garbage" Stayman Crawling Stayman Puppet Stayman Smolen Gambling 3NT What, When, How Notrump Openings: Beyond Basic Transfers Jacoby Transfer Accepting the transfer Without interference Super-acceptance After interference After you transfer Showing extra trumps Second suit Splinter Texas Transfer: When and Why? Reverses Opener s Reverse Expected Values and Shape The High Level Reverse

2 Responder s Options Lebensohl Responder s Reverse Expected Values and Shape Opener s Options Common Low Level Doubles Takeout Doubles Responding to Partner s Takeout Double Negative Doubles When and Why? Continuing Sequences More Low Level Doubles Responsive Doubles Support Doubles When to Suppress Support Doubles of Pre-Emptive Bids Stolen Bid or Shadow Doubles Balancing Why Balance? How to Balance When to Balance (and When Not ) Minor Suit Openings When to Open a Minor Suit Avoiding Bad Openings in 3rd or 4th Seat Choosing Between Two Minor Suits Responding to Partner's Minor-Suit Opening 1 Over 1 or Bid a Major? Notrump Response to a Minor Suit Opening Weak-Two Bids What Partner Expects Partner s Responses 2NT Forcing Feature OGUST New Suit by Partner If Opponents Double McCabe (Adjunct) Flexibility with Passing Partner OGUST Vulnerability Higher-Level Pre-Emptive Bids 3-Level Openings Gambling 3NT 4-Level Openings Major-Suit 4-Level bids NAMYATS

4 The 2/1 Game Forcing System (8 weeks) 2/1 Basics The Weaknesses of Standard American Theory of 2/1 GF Types of Sequences Integral Elements of 2/1 Optional Elements of 2/1 Different Styles of 2/1 The 2/1 GF Auction When to Force Game And When to Be Cautious Selecting Your Game-Forcing Bid By Unpassed Hand Two-Level Response by Passed Hand Two-Level Response in Competition The Forcing NT Auction Notes on Hand Evaluation Conventional 1NT Response (Announceable: "Forcing") Opener describes hand Responder's Rebid Forcing NT Beyond the First Bids Common Forcing NT Sequences 1NT Response after Interference Opener's Rebid after Interference over Forcing NT What About Passed Hand with 3-Card Limit Raise? Various Forms of Game Tries Invitational raise Long suit game try Short suit game try Help suit game try Jacoby 2NT, Splinter Bids, and Bergen Raises The 30-Point Deck When to Use Jacoby and When to Avoid What, Why, and When of Splinter Bids Introduction to Bergen Raises New Minor Forcing and 4 th Suit Forcing Auctions Why Use these Artifical Bids? How to They Differ from One Another Inverted Minor Raises Advantages of Inverted Minors When Inverted Minors are Used The Search for the Safe Game The Search for Slam Rebids and Follow-Up Sequences Splinters and Minor Suit Blackwood (Minorwood) An Introduction (Only) to the Weak Notrump Opening...

5 Bidding in Competition (6 weeks) Direct Overcalls When and why to compete in an auction Simple overcalls Pre-Emptive Bids Pre-Emptive overcalls at all levels Sacrifice bidding Takeout Doubles vs. Notrump Overcalls Modern method to handling stronger one-suited hands How notrump overcalls differ from notrump openings Balancing Revisited When to bid your partner s hand Pre-balancing Direct overcall at 3-level (usually over a major opening) Over the Opponents Strong Openers When and why to compete over notrump openings How to compete over notrump openings (all levels) After the opponents open 2 After the opponents open 2NT Distributional Hands, Miscellaneous Problematic Situations Lebensohl (Lite) Western Cue-Bid (3-level) Conventional two-suited overcalls Unusual notrump (at two-level; at four-level) Equal level conversion (lowest suit excluded) Michaels cuebids Sandwich notrump When to just bid your two suits The Structure

6 Making Sound Decisions (4 weeks) Topics in hand evaluaton good hand / bad hand Factors in Decision-Making The role of vulnerability in decision-making Decision-making based on the form of scoring When to pass the hardest lesson to learn! Various game-try methods When to double the opponents for penalty When to pull your partner s penalty double All about redoubles When to pre-empt and when to further partner s pre-emps How to lure the opponents into doubling you

7 Slam Bidding (4 weeks) Introduction to Slam Bidding Extended Topics in Hand Evaluation Controls and Shape - Trick-taking Capability Triggers for Slam Investigation HCPs vs. Shape Notrump or Suit Slam First- and Second-Round Controls When to Use Game-Forcing Techniques Take the easy game or try for the risky slam? Distinguishing Between Game Tries and Slam Tries Warning Signs for Bad Slams Strong Opening Hands 2C Openers, Jump Shifts, and Reverses Deciding When to Open 2C Methods for Responding to 2C Openings Reverses and Strong Jump Shifts Super-Strong Two-Suited Hands Control-Asking Sequences Why Minor-Suit Slams are Hard to Bid Cuebidding vs. Ace-asking Tools Roman Key-Card Blackwood (0314 and 1430) Queen-Ask and Other Continuations Minorwood and Redwood Exclusion Blackwood (Voidwood) When is 4C Gerber? Other Useful Tools Serious 3NT 5NT - Pick-a-Slam or Grand-Slam-Force? Slam Bidding in Competition Dealing with Opponents' Pre-Emptive Bids Bidding at the 5-level in Competition Forcing Pass Situations

DEFENSIVE AND COMPETITIVE BIDDING

DEFENSIVE AND COMPETITIVE BIDDING LEADS AND SIGNALS W B F CONVENTION CARD OVERCALLS (Style: Responses: 1 / 2 Level; Reopening) OPENING LEADS STYLE 8 17 HCPs at 1 level; 10+ HCPs at 2 level Lead In Partner