The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-03-08
SECOND HANDS BIDS
AT ROYAL AUCTION
Points Lost by Failure to Take
Advantage Of Chances
Offered.
THEORY OF NO TRUMP CALL
Modern Replies to the Dealers
Declaration Of One
Spade.

The FOXY days Of royal auction, dur
ing which the second hand always passed
a spade make. leaving tho dealers part
ner to take II out II he could. have long
passed into history. and the better play
ers Of the modern school are thoroughly
awake to the fact that n the second hand
has anything to show he should be only
too glad Of the opportunity to do Il a.
cheaply a. he can. No matter what Il
is. on the flrst round Of the bids. 1t costs
only a trick TO declare II.
Tho one spade bid has gradually set
tied down to mean only one thing 81
pass" Whether or not the dealer has Il
fair declaration in a suit that he does not
think II advisable to disclose until the
second round does not matter The as
sumption II that he either can afford to
lose an opportunity TO declare himself
cheaply on the FIRST round. or that he has
nothing to ray, and may not have any
thing to say on any future round either.
II the tables of results published by
Milton Work In his latest edition are good
for anything. no one spade bid ever won
point In all the 1850 points won and
lost in the yubbers 80 carefully tabuiated
by Bryant McCanpbell Of st. Louis. At
the same time II In curious to note that
no bid OF one In clubs or diamonds. no
matter by whom made. ever lost n eingle
point II left In. The relation OF these two
facts one to tie other will be apparent
presently.
The point overlooked by the average
player 10 that there Is a great difference
In tho meaning OF a bid made on the Sec
ond round. but not on the first, 70 that
the foxy second hand player who passes
a spade ana then tries to bid his hand
on the second round simply confuses his
partner.
There IS one point about second hand
declarations that has not yet been DEM
onAtrated to the satisfaction Of the gen.
erai run OF bridge players. and that il
that when he has nothing particular In
any suit, but has a fair hand. the best bid
lie can make is no trump, because the
odds III favor OF such a call are greatly
In his favor when it Is known that one
OF his adversaries at least has hand
below average in high cards. All no
trumpers are offers to support bids In suit,
according to present practice, and an such
they are very valuable 10 the partner.
Neat to the no trumper the best bid
for the second hand is a minor suit. which
is also an ofYer to support any game
going declaration the fourth hand may
have. II the second hand has good
game going declaration OF his own II is
needless to tell him to trot II out The
point to impress upon the average player
Is mat there Is no excuse Tor passing q
SPADE bid when he has anything to show
There are two principal reasons for in
sistins on this. The first Is that any show
OF strength In minor suit may be the
very thing that his partner Ia short or
weak In. and that couple OF sure tricks
In that suit alone may enable the fourth
hand TO go game. The second is that II
the second hand declines to make a bid.
the fourth hand will be quite justified in
ipferring that he has nothing worth show
ing. and that there will be no particular
support for a game going declaration. The
result will be that fourth hand will stand
on the defensive.
The fact that these second hand bids
must be governed by the same rules that
control the dealer must never be lost
sight OF. Second hand does not call a
LONG weak suit just because the dealer
has bid IA spade. He must have the win
ring cards. the aces and kings II is
the denial OF these winning cards. regard
less OF the length OF the suit. that is i'm
piled by his passing the spade. and tho
fourth hand that IL rash enough to make
IA declaration in the face OF such passing
must be prepared to take the consequences
This question OF passing or calling a
suit, or going no trumps, comes up In
various combinations with the third
hands bidding or passing. and with the
fourth hands chances for going game
Here nre a few examples of the results
OF faulty. bidding. taken from a single
afternoons observations at a local club: