Law of Total Tricks.

Law of Total Tricks

Tactics (The Law of Total Tricks)

The “Law of Total Tricks” has some merit. Mike Lawrence says that partner has a right to know if your major raise is predicated on a 4 card suit or a 3 card suit. Partner needs to know that information in order to evaluate her own hand properly for game tries, penalty doubles or competing again. Bergen invented a system around the concept where a simple raise MUST show 3 trump. In overcalls, even if you have not bought into the Bergen system for openers, you should never make a simple raise with 4 trump. A jump raise to the 3 level is pre-emptive or systemic as well as a raise to the 4 level. These jump bids show 4 or more trump not HCP’s.

Lorna held a hand tonight which shows the principle in action. Jxxx KJ10xxx xx x.

Maurice opened 1, they overcalled 2. You cannot bid 2 with this hand as you have 4 trump with a 6-4 distribution. A 2 bid does not even come close to describing this hand. You have a choice between 3 and 4. Most experts would leap to 4 given the distribution but say you bid 3. Partner holds AKQxxx void Kxxx xxx, so will bid 4. Say you had only 3 spades. Jxx KJ10xxx xx Qx and bid 2. Should partner leap to 4 with the hand he had? No way, as the hand is not even close to being the same, knowing there is only 3 trump over there. With a trump lead on the 2nd hand, 4 doubled could go 3 down against nothing. With the 4th trump, 4 doubled is odds on to make! These hands occur over and over again so bidding theorists have based a Law of Total Tricks on the concept.

Show your extra trump length by raising the level of the bidding. Partner has a right to know if your raise is based on 3, 4, or 5 trump. The more trump you have the better it is for offense and you detract from partner’s hand defensively so hiding trump length from partner is very silly. Combined trump length equals pre-emptive value, in other words, you take useful bidding room away from the opponents.

Here is an auction recently involving a Tormentee against the Gartaginis. 1 (forcing) by Judy, 2 by partner, 2 by Nick (game force) and the Tormentee held 5 of partners trump. Time to make a tactical bid in diamonds to take bidding room from the opponents so you bid 4 or 5, correct? The Tormentee bid 3 to allow the Gartaganis room to investigate a slam which they did and reached 6 making. Judy said if the Tormentee pre-empted to 4 she would have passed and they probably would have played 4. You cannot make the same bid with 5 trump as you would with 3 trump. Describe your trump length to partner and use the pre-emptive value!

Appreciating extra trump length in partner’s bid suit has been the subject of countless articles on hand evaluation. By not evaluating your trump length, you are a slave to the HCP system. Not appreciating trump length, is the worst known affliction a player can have in order to remain a novice at this game. Evaluate your trump length by jumping.

KQxx xx AKQxxx x and a Tormentee vulnerable vs non-vulnerable opened 1. Partner bid 2 (WJS) so what do you bid? Surely partner has AJ10xxx for his bid so you can count only 3 losers in your hand so +620 is cold. However, due to your extreme trump length, there is another danger lurking. If the spades are 6-4-3-0, their sacrifice makes as you only have two defensive tricks. One bid that you cannot make of course is 3. Partner will pass so you miss your cold game but worse still you allow them to back in and find their fit. On the hand they bid 4 over 3 which was raised to 5. The only pair to find their –50 sacrifice against the +620 so a well deserved zero in matchpoints and -12 IMP loss in IMPS. The Tormentee counted her 14 HCP and bid 3 rather than appreciating her trump length in partner’s suit and the playing value of her 6-4 and her solid suit.

A Tormentee held this hand which shows the ultimate in “hiding your hand” from partner.

AKxxx xx xxxxx Q

1	1	Pass	1
2	Pass	Pass	2
Pass	2	Pass	3

In 4th seat you have, AKxxx xx xxxxx Q so you bid 1. They bid 2. After two passes, She bid 2 which is so bad as to be labeled a psyche as you are hiding your 4th and 5th trump from partner and the singleton club from partner. Partner now bids 2 so you now hide your hand again by bidding the death response of 3 which again can be described as a psyche. 5 is of course cold with a chance for slam and you made a partial. When in this auction have you shown your phenomenal length in partner’s suit, source of tricks in spades and a singleton in the opponent’s suit? You have done an excellent job of hiding your hand from partner and not allowing him to make a right decision. You just counted up your 9 HCP’s oblivious to the fact that you have 5 trump, a singleton in their suit and a 5-5-2-1 with a side suit headed by the AKxxx!

One of the worst bidding sins is hiding your trump length from partner. A simple raise in a major shows 3 trump, in accordance with the Law of Total Tricks. I repeat a simple raise shows 3 trump. You do not make the same bid with 5 trump as you do with 3 trump. This is hopelessly wrong.

1	1	2	?
4

A Tormentee held xxxxx x Axxx Qxx with the non vulnerable opponents opening 1, Partner vulnerable overcalls 1 and the opponents bid 2 so the 30 HCP rule comes into effect with your singleton in their suit. You could bid 3 but that overstates your values. Most players would show their 5th trump via the Law of Total Tricks and bid 4. Appreciate and advise partner of the trump length in her suit! Lose a 26 IMP swing as the opponents were allowed to play 4 making when you were cold for +620 in spades for a double game swing! The Tormentee said she only had 6 HCP! This was very true, she did hold 6 HCP opposite a minimum overcall but we can make game. Any message there?

The very next hand x AKxx Qxxx xxxx, and the auction goes 1 - 2 - 2 and again the 30 HCP in the deck rule comes into effect and the Law of Total Tricks with your 4th trump. Do not make the same bid you would make with 3 trump and 7 HCP and compete to 3 clubs. You have 9 HCP, rich in controls, singleton in their suit and a 4th trump! Your hand evaluates to a 3 cue bid taking the non HCP factors into the decision. This hand makes 6 so you lose a 24 IMP swing as you may have reached 6 and the opponents only reached 5. This hand was played in a 3 partial at your table so lose 10 IMPS. The Tormentee ignored all hand evaluation concepts except HCP’s. She totaled 9 HCP’s in her hand and bid accordingly. Very wrong.

Trump (The Law)

A re-opening double when playing negative doubles does not show any particular shape. It just shows a hand with enough defense that you would have left in an old fashioned penalty double if partner doubled. Dora made a match point bid (go figure she was playing Matchpoints), bid 2 vulnerable after a tormentee opened 1 with x AJx xxx AKQ10xx.

Around to the opener again so how do you evaluate this hand for defensive purposes? You have controls rather than queens and jacks so if partner has a penalty double of two spades, he will not be disappointed with your hand so you double. Partner leads the Ace and King of spades, switches to his singleton club. You play the 3 top clubs and another, partner ruffs the 4th one. Back comes a heart so you lead another club which uppercuts the 10 of trump. +800 for your side but 3 goes one down! Playing negative doubles, you bend over backwards to double. Partner is aware that can hold these types of hands.

Another hand where hand evaluation comes into play. The Law of Total Tricks is based on the combined number of trump both sides have.

You hold AJxx x Jxxxx xxx.

LHO opens 1, partner overcalls 2 and RHO bids 2. You know they have a big heart fit, you have a huge diamond fit. Time to elevate this auction so you know they are going to bid 4. With this many trump get the auction up in the stratosphere fast, thereby putting pressure on them. I would bid 5 and see what they are made of! The tormentee only bid 3 which gives the partnership no idea of the trump length and the offensive potential of the hand. The more trump you have, the more you bid.

Susan held Kxxx Qxxxx x QJx and I opened 1 and they overcalled 2. You do not have many controls but you have a singleton in their suit and you have a 4th trump. Bidding 2 hides the 4th trump from your partner throughout the auction. There is no way in Bridge to show the 4th trump unless systemically. A splinter shows your 4th trump immediately so I would make this bid solely to broadcast my 4th trump. The opponents bought this hand in 4 for 130 when 420 in spades your way was the average result.

The Law of Total Tricks applies when you have 4 trump and partner has opened or overcalled. Bid to the level that you trump length allows you to do. Looking at the number of trump you hold in partner's suit is a hand evaluation skill. A hand that has 4 trump with same HCP's is better than a hand with 3 trump. This is hand evaluation. The entire Bergen system of majors is based on that law. The only reason I like part of the Bergen system is that I know a simple raise does not hold 4 trump.