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Peter was pleased to peruse these proceedings. East’s 11 point 1♣ bid was exactly what Peter had opened at his table. Without bothering to ask, he presumed that the NS pair was playing Michaels even when the opposition has bid 2-suits, a plan that Peter posited as particularly problematic.
Peter presently resides in Pipersville (where else?), but while growing up in Hamelin, his Great Uncle Pied introduced him to bridge. Since Pied Piper was quite the entertainer, he enjoyed referring to the bidding conventions he utilized as his “playing props.” Peter and Pied spent a pretty impressive period planning their prop proposals. Their painstaking ponderings produced this proposition:
Peter’s Pet Peeve #2:
Playing Pointless Props Impose Implausible Positions
Bridge players are addicted to 2-suited overcalls such as DONT, Meckwell and Cappelleti over the opponent’s 1NT, the Unusual NT (of course), and everybody’s favorite, the Michaels Cue Bid. That said, most experts, including Peter, do not rely on Michaels when the opposing pair has bid 2 suits. Instead, an overcall in either of the opponents’ suits is natural. Peter postulated that there are other ways for North to show the unbid suits when facing something like Auction #2, since you can make a take-out double or perhaps bid 2NT when appropriate. (Coincidentally, Jan. 2024’s Ask Jerry addresses this matter at length.)
North’s actual hand ♠2 ♥AQJ1075 ♦KQ109 ♣85 is a good indicator of why experts prefer having a natural bid available. At the table, North had no good way to show her lovely hand, since 2♥ would have been Michaels and a 3♥ bid is usually a request for partner to bid 3NT with a heart stopper. (For the latter call, North would usually have a hand with a long, running minor and 8 or 9 likely tricks). This North admitted she was dumbfounded and therefore passed West’s 1♥ call and passed again when the opponents arrived in 2♠, thereby missing the excellent 4♥ contract.
Peter was also asked if Sandwich NT, in which 1NT promises at least 5-5 in the unbid suits, was a good way to solve the 2-suit problem. He noted that he and other experts tend to frown on that solution, preferring to use 1NT as a natural, strong NT overcall (unless you are a passed hand).
Peter was curious about the table results. He learned that EW went down a trick in their 2♠ contract (-100), but their teammates were +420 in 4♥, resulting in a 320 point, 8 IMP swing. Peter found it rewarding that the marginal opener in 1st seat kept their adversaries from even bidding, let alone finding their way to the 4♥ game. He strongly advised that playing Michaels after the opponents have bid 2-suits is a red-flag for puzzling predicaments. Peter then probed: if you and your partner play Michaels “on” in this situation, what would you have done with North’s hand? He’s still waiting to hear.
Peter Piper’s Bonus Bridge Tip: Peter proposes that prior to playing, warm up by repeating the following tongue-twister 3-times quickly:
---Befuddled bridge beginner Brenda bids
---awkward Blackwood backward.
Peter proclaims that perfect pronunciation will positively provide improved performance!
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