| Dealer North; Love All | ||
 10 7 5 4 K Q 6 5 4 A K Q 8
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A K 9 6 2 J 9 7 7 4 J 9 7
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| North 1 3
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East Pass Pass |
South 1 4
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West Double All Pass |
Yes we all love the losing trick count, but it should only be a guide.
Playing with Louise (who else) in the Swiss teams congress I picked up the North hand and opened 1H. After partner's 1S response, using the LTC I have 6 losers so is it an automatic 3S rebid; at the table that is what I bid and Louise raised to game.
You could argue that playing teams one should be more aggressive, but on the other hand when non-vul not so aggressive; decisions like this make bridge such a wonderful game.
We lost 2 clubs, 1 heart and 1 spade - and 5 imps. On reflection if West had not doubled then my bid is justified, but with the double I should have downgraded the club Queen and just bid 2S.
So don't be a slave to the LTC and consider everything.
Warner Solomon
Comments (3)
Alan Bailey:
Feb 21, 2011 at 06:10 AM
The S hand is a 9 loser hand so should pass 3S which makes - LTC is right!!
Paul Ainsworth:
Feb 21, 2011 at 08:54 AM
The LTC counts Axx and Qxx as equal, both 2 losers, so there is a need for an adjustment factor. Keeping it reasonably simple, I add 1/2 loser for each unsupported Queen and deduct 1/2 loser for each Ace.
Thus Axxx, xx, xxxx, Axx would count as 9 losers initially, improved by two half-losers to 8 losers overall.
Similarly Qxxx, xx, xxxx, Qxx adjusts from 9 losers to 10. A holding of Qx has already been counted as 2 losers and doesn't need adjustment, and there's no adjustment for an Ace singleton.
In the hand above, South has 8 1/2 losers and has advertised 9, so it's a judgement call as to whether to bid game or not. I would!
Dick Andrews:
Feb 26, 2011 at 09:24 AM
South's hand is balanced and the LTC shouldnt be used. North's hand is worth 14-15pts and South's 10pts. In teams I would always bid game!
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