Advance Balance

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The Advanced Balance           The Advance balance is used when partner has limited his hand and it is quite likely that a bid just made by RHO will be passed out. The example below is typical.           ♠ K984 You hold this hand and partner opens 1NT (15-17). You do not quite have enough to bid and so you pass. LHO then bids a Multi-Landy 2♦, showing a single suited major. RHO bids a forced 2♥ which you strongly suspect will end the auction. ♥ 9 ♦ K865 ♣ J942           So do you pass? – hell NO, especially not at matchpoint scoring. Assuming that you play double here as penalties (i.e. showing ♥'s - probably a similar hand with the ♥'s and ♠'s reversed) you cannot make a take-out double, so simply bid 2♠. Partner will know that you have only 4♠'s (failure to transfer) and should realise that you have this hand type. Without ♠ support he will bid a minor, fine.           There are two good examples of the advanced balance in news-sheet 340.             Paul Quodomine & Terry Quested         Pattaya Bridge Club - www.pattayabridge.com

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