Partner RHO You LHO
1S 2H 2S 3H
3S 4H ?
None vulnerable, what’s your call holding ♠K109 ♥52 ♦QJ4 ♣107653 ?
If you’ve ever participated in a sale auction – live or on the Internet -- you may have experienced what’s called “auction fever”. It’s an emotional reaction that causes potential buyers to bid higher than they planned, even when they know the price is more than the item is worth. They get so caught up in the bidding war that beating out their competitors becomes more important than paying a fair or affordable price.
If you bid 4S with the hand above, you’ve succumbed to the bridge version of auction fever. At your first turn, you decided that the highest level you were willing to bid to was 2S. Partner’s 3S suggests he has a sixth spade, but that doesn’t affect your original evaluation.
The only significant development is that the opponents have interfered with your attempt to buy the contract. As in a sale auction, that challenge can push psychological buttons and goad you into making irrational decisions.
To justify another bid with this hand, you have to realistically expect one of three possible outcomes: 4S makes, it pushes the opponents to 5H or it’s a cheap sacrifice. The first two are highly unlikely and the third presumes that their 4H contract is making, which is far from certain.
Just because RHO bid to the four-level doesn’t mean he has the values to make ten tricks, or that he even wants to buy the contract. He might have decided that 4H is a good sacrifice over 3S, or he may be overbidding in the hope that you’ll blindly follow the “4H is a transfer to 4S” axiom. Auction fever strikes opponents, too.
Another distraction here is that the auction itself has a rhythm. The bidding has a repetitive cadence, and if you react rather than think, you may be lulled into completing the pattern. Here’s a similar situation:
Partner RHO You LHO
1S 1NT DBL Pass
Pass 2H DBL 3C
Pass Pass ?
Both vulnerable, what’s your call holding ♠54 ♥KQJ4 ♦KJ752 ♣63 ?
At your first two turns, you had visions of collecting a vulnerable penalty. Now, you have to rethink that plan. Although your side has the majority of high-card points, it appears the opponents have the advantage in playing strength. Partner’s failure to double 3C suggests that LHO has found a good fit, so how do you proceed?
Once the doubling rhythm has started, it’s difficult to stop, especially when you have the opponents on the run. Your weak trump holding, though, warns against doubling again. Partner could have diamond support, but bidding 3D with this suit is uncomfortable and, in partner’s view, probably forcing.
Those who frequent sale auctions are familiar with another phenomenon called the “winner’s curse”. Similar to buyer’s remorse, it occurs when the winning bidder either overpays for the item or realizes that it wasn’t worth as much as he thought. The curse is a common result when bidders don’t have full information about the item’s real value – or in bridge auctions, about which side can make what contract.
Sometimes, the opponents land on their feet. When it happens, you have to be objective, fight off the urge to control the auction and accept that outbidding them may cost more than you can afford. With both of these hands, passing rates to be the best way to limit your losses – and could even be the choice that wins the board.
© 2017 Karen Walker