Insufficient Bid

October 2008: INSUFFICIENT BID


This is both complicated to explain and understand and may be difficult to apply. There is a significant change to the insufficient bid law. The scope for allowing an insufficient bid to be replaced without silencing partner has been extended. The old rule of replacing it at the lowest legal level remains, provided that the insufficient and replacement bids are natural. But there is now an added possibility, which comes if a replacement call can be found which has the same meaning, or a more precise meaning than the insufficient bid itself.

Confused? Well, Max Bavin has come up with a useful question that directors should ask which might help to make it easier to decide. Would all hands making the replacement call also have made the original call in correct circumstances? If the answer is yes, then the change is allowed.

Here are a few examples:

West North East South
1C 1S 1D

East/West play Precision Club, so 1C shows 16+ HCP and, without interference, 1D shows 0-7 HCP. Can East replace his 1D bid by double if he has 5-7 points? They play that over interference a pass shows 0-4 HCPs and a double 5-7 HCPs.

Would all hands playing Precision Club that would now double also have bid 1D without interference? Yes, so the change can be made and partner can continue bidding. Note that in this case pass would also be acceptable if East had 0-4 HCPs.

West North East South
4NT 5D 5C

4NT was Blackwood, East missed the 5D bid and 5C showed 0 or 4 aces. East/West play DOPI over intervention (double shows no ace, pass shows one ace). Can East replace 5C by double? Yes, all hands that would double to show no ace, would also have bid 5C without the interference.