Here's the
first hand of
our hand-
study course.
South is the
dealer. This
is the layout
of all 52
cards after
they were
dealt and
everyone has
sorted his
cards into
suits. In real
life you don't
get to see
all four hands,
but here
we will!

Before
we watch
the hand
progress,
we'll first look
at the shapes
of the hands around the
table. Which
hands are "balanced,"
and which are
"unbalanced"?

The South,
West and
North hands
are balanced, because
they do not
include:
a singleton,
a void,
more than
one doubleton

The East
hand is
unbalanced,
because it
has a
singleton
spade.

Let's look at Sharon's
hand,
because she
was the dealer
and she will
have the first
chance to
open the
bidding.

How many
high-card
points are
there in the
South hand?

1. She has
a five-card
major,
spades.

After Sharon
opens the
bidding 1,
what should
Wilma do?

West cannot compete in
the bidding this time. The
Professor will explain why.

Hold it,
Professor.
Miss Bridget
said that we
need 13 high-
card points to
open the
bidding. But
now you're
saying the
next guy,
Wilma here,
can bid with
only ten
points?

Professor, let me answer.
The player who competes
against the opening bidder's
side is called the "overcaller."
South bid 1, and that's
called the "opening bid." If
West wants to bid something,
her bid is called an "overcall."
She is making a "call" (bid)
over the opening bidder,
so it's an "over-call."

The reason you don't need
as many points to overcall
as you do to open the bidding
is that your overcall is made
with a long, nice-looking,
suit (at least five cards in it).

For example, if you have a
nice-looking long suit, like
the diamond suit in hand A,
you bid 2 over 1. Even
though you're a few points
shy of an opening bid, the
opponents can't prevent you
from taking some tricks
with that suit.

Hey there. I've got another
example. Suppose you're
dealt hand B, with all 13
spades. Well, this is only 10
points, right?

Nevertheless, you can bid
SEVEN SPADES, contracting
to take all 13 tricks if
spades are trump.

And who can stop you?

Er, let's see,
I have a king,
a jack, and a
ten in the
spade suit,
but the ten
doesn't count
for anything.
That's 3 plus
1. Hmmm. I
also have the queen of
diamonds, and
that's two
more points.
So I have
3 + 1 + 2, for
six points.
Well, that's
enough to respond with,
right?

Right, Norm.

You have
enough "high
card strength"
to respond.

And what
will that
response be?

That's easy!

I got four-
card trump support for
my partner.

So I raise the
bidding to
two spades.

Nice bid, Norm. You aren't
always so lucky to have
length in the same suit as
your partner. This is called
having a "fit" with partner.

And now it's up to Earl.

What do you think about
that East hand, Earl?

According
to the
Professor's
chart, this
hand doesn't
qualify for a
bid, because
there's no
five-card suit
and there's
only 9 points. But, Miss
O'Day, I have more honors
than anybody
else - doesn't
that count for
something?

You're right, Earl; there are
six honors in the East hand.
You hold the queen of hearts,
the jack and ten of diamonds,
and the king-queen-jack of
clubs. However, there's no
bonus for having lots of
honors scattered around your
hand. Counting your points
is necessary. You don't count
how many honors you have
-- just your high-card points.

Oh, too bad.

Then I guess
I have to
pass!

Right, Earl.
The first round
of bidding is
complete,
because all
four players
had a chance
to bid. Let's'
review the
bidding - our
conversation
- and what it
means.

Now the
auction is
back to South.
Sharon is
happy to hear
that her
partner has
a spade "fit"
with her
and high-card
points in the
range of 6 to
10 points, but
she doesn't
have anything
else to say.

When Sharon
opened the
bidding, her
"range" of
high-card
points was 13
all the way up
to 20! If she
had some
extra points
or extra
length in her
suit, she
would take
another bid in
the hope
of reaching
"game."

Good math,
Professor.
Sharon knows
that bidding
game is out
of the picture,
so she has
nothing else
to add to the
conversation,
and she's
going to pass.

East and
South have
passed, and
Wilma, who
is West,
still gets a
chance to bid.
What should
Wilma do?

(Sigh).

Some players
would sigh as
they pass a
second time,
like you just
did, Wilma.
But winning
players always
keep a "poker
face" and act
as if they're
quite happy
with the
proceedings.
Try it.

The bidding for this hand is
all over, because there were
three passes in a row. Norm
and Sharon, North and
South, have "contracted" to
take eight tricks (remember,
the bid of two spades means
"book" plus two, for a total
of eight) with spades
as trump.

Do you know who the
declarer is? Do you know
who the opening leader is?
We'll wait till part 2 of this
lesson to answer that. In
the meantime, here's a
quiz to review the lesson.