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Asking Bids
We use only three of the asking bids; Alpha, Gamma and a control ask.
| Alpha: | Where the 1 bidder makes the asking bid introduces a new suit; his partner's response is tied to his holding in this suit and also on his controls. |
| Gamma: | Where the 1 bidder supports his partner's suit and asks for details of partner's holding in the suit. We only treat 2 , 2 , 3, and 3 as Gamma bids. |
| Control ask: | When responder can show his suit at the 1-level, a 1N rebid by opener asks for controls. |
Suppose the bidding begins 1 - 1 - 1; 1 is Alpha and asks for responses as follows:
| 1st step (1N) | no positive support for s (less than Hxx or xxxx) and not more than 3 controls |
| 2nd step (2) | no positive support for s, but upwards of 4 controls |
| 3rd step (2) | positive support (Hxx, xxxx, or better), but not more than 3 controls |
| 4th step (2) | positive support, upwards of 4 controls |
| 5th step (2) | 4-card positive support (Hxxx or better) upwards of 4 controls |
The 6th and higher steps are defined in one of two ways:
- If responder has shown a balanced hand of 7 to 12 or 15 up, then the 6th step shows no fit with 15+ HCP and the 7th shows a fit with 15+ HCP. Neither response promises or denies a specific number of controls.
- If responder has shown a suit, then the 6th and higher steps are natural, deny as many as 4 controls and show a singleton or void in opener's suit.
In general after receiving a response showing positive support, opener will either bid a new suit (presumably a natural slam try), or bids responder's suit to show a fit. In the case of bidding responder's suit, the bid acts as a Gamma bid (see Gamma asking bid ) if and only if the bid is 2, 2, 3 or 3.
However after receiving a response showing positive support for a minor when responder has shown a 7-12 HCP balanced hand, we change our approach. In order to “switch suits” into a possible major suit fit, bids of 3 major are an attempt to find a 4-4 fit in that major. In order to initiate N or slam tries with the minor suit agreed, it is necessary for opener to bid 3 minor. If he bids 3 of the agreed minor, he doesn't show or deny anything in particular about his suit, but there are negative inferences to be drawn about his holding in the other minor.
Examples:
| AKxx | xx |
AQ|Kxxx|
Qx|AJxx|
QJ10xx|Axx |
| 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 2N (fit with 4+ controls) |
| 3 ( suit) | 3N (no fit) |
SpadeAQx HeartKxxx DiamondQx DiamondAJxx ClubQJ10xx ClubAxx
1Club 1Spade 2Club 2N (fit with 4+ controls) 3Club (probably no control) Diamond 3Diamond 3N 4Heart 4Spade ?
The Gamma bid
This asking bid occurs when opener supports his partner's suit. This initiates inquiry about the suit, to which responder answers as follows:
1st step no top honors 2nd step 5-card suit headed by one honor 3rd step 5-card suit headed by two honors 4th step 6-card suit headed by one honor 5th step 6-card suit headed by two honors 6th step three top honors
The control ask
In forcing auctions that begin with opener bidding 1N as his first natural bid after a positive natural bid by responder, the 1N bid asks for controls:
Responder's Bid Controls shown
2Club 0 - 2 2Diamond 3 2Heart 4 2Spade 5 2N 6 or more
Higher responses by responder are natural and show 5-5 or better. It is not clear how many controls he has.
The auctions where 1N is a control ask are:
Opener Enemy Responder
1Club (1Diamond) 1Heart/Spade 1N
1Club (1Heart) 1Spade 1N
1Club (pass) 1Heart 1N
1Club (Double) 1Diamond/Heart/Spade 1N