(Down - Up - Top)
IBR 2.2 - Splinter
raises by the Responder
Obviously the great advantage of having an abundance of
trumps and an unbalanced hand (holding a singleton or
void) is not limited to weak 6-10 HCP hands
only.
If you have 4+ trumps in Partner's
suit, a singleton or void and 11+HCP you
make a so-called splinter raise, by making a
double jump shift into your short suit.
For example :
1♥ -
4♣
or
1♥ -
3♠
or
1♠ -
4♥
or
1♣ -
1♥ - 1♠ - 4♦
In above bidding sequences the double jump responses
confirm the previous bid as the trump suit and show a
void or singleton in the bid suit.
Splinter raises
are Game forcing and encouraging to Slam
which in most cases can be secured with as little as 26-28 HCP (even less when both hands are unbalanced) !
Say your Partner opened 1♥. You
respond 4♣ with a hand like this
:
(E) ♠ - K 10 6
♥ - K 10 9 2
♦ - A Q J 6
♣ - 7
If Opener holds a hand like this :
(W) ♠ - A 3
♥ - A Q 8 4 3
♦ - K 9 8
♣ - 8 5 3
He will immediately check out your Aces through
Blackwood :
1♥ -
4♣ - 4NT -
5♦ - 6♥
Whereas with the hand
below Partner will stop in 4♥, because
most of his side suit HCP (♣K and ♣Q) are in your singleton
suit, largely negating the ruffing advantage.
(W) ♠ - J 3
♥ - A Q J 4 3
♦ - 9 8 2
♣ - K Q 4
The Splinter bid is always above the Game force level,
but below the actual Game bid
itself.
The Splinter bid shows :
- The values for Game and possibly Slam, 11+ HCP
- 4+ card support for Partner's suit
- A singleton or void in the bid suit
- Normally 6 or 7 losers
The Splinter bid is also a warning to Partner
that if he holds HCPs
opposite the short suit, they are wasted, unless it is
the Ace.
Three or four small
cards opposite the short suit on the other hand, are a
positive sign for they can be ruffed,
providing extra tricks. Also Partner's high cards are
therefore located in the more
useful suits.
After Partner's splinter bid take the
following action :
After an initial positive assessment of the
splinter raise, both players
may continue with Blackwood or Cue bidding
their Aces (or void) up the line (excluding the
trump Ace, for bidding the trump suit is a sign-off).
