Negative Inferences in the Bidding

Sometimes what your partner doesn’t say during the bidding can tell you something. Consider this hand.

♠ AJ95 ♥ AQT72 ♦ 65 ♣ K7

You are dealer and open with one heart. Your partner responds with two clubs. What can you tell about what your partner doesn’t have from his response? First, you don’t expect him to have 3 hearts. He might be making a temporizing bid with a hand that is too strong to respond with two hearts or three hearts, but for now, you don’t expect him to have heart support.

You aren’t crazy about his clubs. Should you mention the spades? Well, no, for two reasons. The first reason is that that bid is a “reverse”. You are asking your partner to show a preference at the three level. You should have at least 16 points to make a reverse bid. You might argue that you have 16 points with distribution, but the hand is looking like it might be a misfit and your distribution will not be an asset. The second reason that you shouldn’t mention your spades is that partner probably doesn’t have 4 spades. If he held 4 spades, he probably would have bid them instead of bypassing the spade suit to bid clubs. He might have 4 spades and longer clubs, but he makes a negative inference about holding 4 spades when he bids the clubs.

You are forced to bid, because your partner has responded in a new suit, so you need to bid something. Two no trump is your best choice.

Now, let’s look at your partner’s hand and see what negative inferences he might make. Your partner holds

♠ Q63 ♥ 83 ♦ AKT4 ♣ AT96

When you skipped over diamonds to bid no trump, your partner can infer that you do not have 4 diamonds. If you had them, you would have bid them instead of bidding no trump. Your partner will also infer that you do not have 6 hearts, because you did not rebid them. Given all of that information and adding his 13 high-card points to your 12-14, he decides that your side should be in game and bids three no trump.

Negative Inference in a Stayman Sequence

Let’s say that you hold this hand and your partner opens one no trump.

♠ Q63 ♥ KT83 ♦ A954 ♣ 96

If your partner holds 4 cards in hearts, you would prefer to play a 4-4 trump suit instead of no trump. You have the required 8 points to bid Stayman, so you respond with two clubs.

Partner answers with two spades. The negative inference from this bid is that she does not also hold 4 hearts. Without a 4-4 major suit fit, you prefer that the hand is played in no trump. Your 9 points plus partner’s 15-17 comes to 24-26 points. You don’t know if you have enough points for game or not. You bid two no trump to show partner that you do not hold 4 spades and you aren’t sure if the team has enough points for game. Partner will bid on to three no trump with a maximum hand, and pass with a minimum. With 16, she makes a judgement call.

Now, let’s switch the hearts and spades. You hold

♠ KT83 ♥ Q63 ♦ A954 ♣ 96

As before, you make the Stayman asking bid of two clubs. This time partner responds with two hearts. Now, you don’t know if partner has both majors or not. She would bid two hearts holding just the 4-card heart suit or holding both. Now, you should bid two spades giving partner the choice of staying in spades if she holds 4 of them, or returning to no trump without 4 spades.

From the opening no trump bidder’s point of view, you have made an implicit game invitation, since you must have enough strength to at least invite game when you bid Stayman. With a maximum one no trump opener, she will bid game at this point either in spades or in no trump. With a minimum she will bid either two no trump or three spades. This bid will show you that she has a minimum no trump opener, but it leaves the bidding open for you to take the contract to game if you are stronger than the minimum required for your Stayman inquiry.