Totally Unauthorized

Just what you want to see across the table.

Thursday, I played in the Open Pairs with Micky.  We had one good game and one bad game and came in 9th overall.

Saturday, I played in the Open Pairs with Billy Miller.  We had a couple of decent but not great rounds, and came in 9th overall.

One hand stands out to me,not because we got a great result, but because it demonstrates a true professional trait–trust in your partner.

I picked up

KQJ652    5     AJ83    84

Billy opened 1C and I responded 1S.  RHO stuck in a 2H bid, and Billy passed.  Playing support doubles, I knew that he did not have 3 card spade support for me.

What to do?  I’m too big to just bid 2S, so I jumped to 3S.

Billy, holding:

void    KQ87   QT62 KQT73

passed smoothly–no fretting, no squirming, no trying to “save” partner.  One of the true marks of the professional is complete trust in partner.

With a little help from the defense, I brought the contact in.    The big lesson, though, is trust, trust, trust your partner.

* After the game, because good partners don’t give lessons during a game, Billy said that I should have doubled, not said 3S.  Double is much more flexible, and gives him the opportunity (which he would have taken on this particular hand) to sit for the double, or to make a spade raise on honor-doubleton, having already denied 3 card support.