Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-10-01
BRIDGE TALKS
BIZ MRS. JOHN MUNCE. IN.

Continuing the bidding Of fourth
hand: what has been written prior to
this refers to doubtful hands. There
are many positive combinations which
| justify fourth hand making an assertive
bid. Such an assertive combination
would be strength in the two major
suits, usually designated as a hand
which contains four positive tricks,
preferably two in each Of the major
suits The question with these assertive
hands is always, Docs this hand rea-
sonably assure me game when combined
with the hand of my passing partner"
To illustrate: Dealer passes, second
hand passes, third hand passes and
fourth hand holds the following:
s Spades ;s. king; g. -.
Diamonds:
Clubs-Ace 5, 3.
After three passes, fourth hand with
this holding would be justified IN bid
ding o spade, because, with this hold
ing, you could prevent game should
there be any bid by the opponents; and
almost any support from your partner
practically assures you game. II fourth
hand is doubtful, pass. II the hand
justifies an assertive bid, make 1t.
The next point for discussion is the
position Of fourth hand when dealer
hand has bid. This, on the face OF 1t,
looks as II fourth hand could be gov.
erned by the rules Of the second hand
bid, after dealer has bid; but such u
not the case. Dealer has passed ana
second hand has passed. but 1t does not
mean that these hands are blank. It
simply means that the hands did not
warrant bid. Therefore, II fourth hand
holds general strength without q well
| defined assertive bid In his own hand. 1t
is wisdom to double; because by doing
this he gets the opportunity to find out
the strength Of his partners hand. and
thus make q combination bid which
would assure game. The following hand
is an illustration of when fourth hand
should double instead Of bidding:
spades--Ace. king. queen, Q.
b bsmondsMSae lS; . Jack. &C.
Clubs-King, Z.
Dealer passed, second hand passed
and third hand bid one heart. In dou-
bling this bid with the above hand,
fourth hand Is calling for his partners
best suit II It only contains four cards.
It has also been shown by experience
that 1t is much better to play the two
hands In q case like this with the
strong hand exposed. It also is gener-
/ ally agreed that 1t is wiser for fourth
-
bid than to bid himself, unless he Is
absolutely certain Of going game with
the holding in his own hand.
The next position to be discussed Is
that of fourth hand after bid by
dealer and a pass by second and third
hands. With such bidding, the pass by
second hand obviously denotes weak.
ness; and third hand. not being forced
to assist his partner. has passed without
disclosing his strength. Undoubtedly, by
not making a denial bid, he is pleased
with his partners bid. This leaves
fourth hand the alternative Of first
making an assertive bid, denoting
strength and the desire to play the
hand at that declaration, and, second,
to make what Is known as a lead-direct-
ing bid, which is purely informative and
made with the idea of preventing the
opponents from going game. To illus
trate an assertive bid by fourth hand:
Dealer has bid one spade. second and
third hands have passed and the fol-
lowing is held by fourth hand:
Spades-King. jack, Z, S.
Hearts-Ace. 10, T.
Diamonds-Ace. king. 3.
Clubs-King, queen, 3.
In this hand the suit bid by dealer
is stopped twice, and the hand contains