Help suit game tries

The auction starts with a five-card major and a simple raise. Opener, holding more than a minimum but less than a sure game, bids the side suit with the most losers. The bid is forcing for one round and says nothing about length beyond three or more cards. Responder looks at that suit only, then at the overall strength of the raise, and chooses between game and three of the major.

Over 1♥ - 2♥ opener has three tries, 2♠, 3♣ and 3♦. Over 1♠ - 2♠ there are also three, 3♣, 3♦ and 3♥, all at the three level. In both auctions the try suit is the only new information, so responder never has to guess what opener is worried about.

A simple raise shows 6 to 10 points. Opener needs about 26 between the hands for game in a major, so a game try is for the hands that reach game only opposite the right half of that range. Count high-card points plus a point for each card over four in a suit, or count losers.

The two columns usually agree, and the loser column is the one to trust when they do not. The losing trick count treats a single raise as 9 losers. Six opposite nine gives 24 - 15 = 9 tricks, which is exactly the invitational case. Five losers opposite nine gives ten tricks, enough to bid game without asking. A hand with seven losers expects eight tricks and passes, whatever its point count.

Bid the side suit where partner's help is worth most. That is a suit of three or more cards with two or three losers: xxx, Jxx, Qxx, Kxx or Axx, or four cards headed by one of those honors. Partner's king, queen or shortness there turns a loser into a winner, and the try names it.

• Not a strong suit. AKx or AQx has one loser at most. Partner's help there is wasted, so asking about it misleads.
• Not a doubleton or singleton. A doubleton has at most two losers and a singleton one, and partner's shortness there would only duplicate yours.
• Two weak suits. Choose the one with more losers. Holding xxx and Kxx, ask about the xxx.
• Two equal suits. Bid the cheaper one. That leaves partner the most room, including room for a counter-try.

Take ♠AKJ85 ♥K4 ♦AQ6 ♣742 after 1♠ - 2♠. The spades are solid enough, the ♥K4 costs one loser at most, and the ♦AQ6 has one loser. The clubs are three straight losers. Bid 3♣. If partner holds the ♣K, a club singleton or a void, game is likely; if partner holds three small clubs, it is not.

Responder counts losers in the try suit first, then looks at the whole hand. Count only the first three cards of the suit. In three or more cards each ace, king or queen covers a loser. In a doubleton only the ace and king count, a singleton is one loser unless it is the ace, and a void is none. Shortness counts because responder's trumps can ruff opener's third and fourth cards in the suit.

Good help accepts even with 6 points, because those few points are in the right place. Three losers in the try suit decline even with 9, because opener has just said that the trouble is there and your values are elsewhere. A few players accept on a 10-count that nearly made a limit raise. The two-loser row calls for judgment. Many players stretch to accept with Axx or Kxx at the lower end of the range, since a top honor is a sure trick and a doubleton needs trumps to spare. A fourth trump counts as a plus in every row.

Answering never means passing. The try is forcing for one round, so the choice is between three of the major, game, and occasionally a counter-try.

Counter-tries

When there is room between the try suit and three of the major, responder in the middle row can bid another suit to show values there. After 1♥ - 2♥ - 3♣, responder's 3♦ says "clubs are not great, but I have something in diamonds". Opener, who knows where the two hands fit, makes the final decision. After 1♠ - 2♠ - 3♦, the counter-try is 3♥. Over a 3♦ try in hearts there is no room, and responder simply chooses.

The same opening hand, two different partners. North opens 1♠ with 15 high-card points and six losers, and South raises. North's worst suit is diamonds, three small, so North bids 3♦ both times.

South held more points on the second deal and still made the right decision to stop. A raise to game on points alone would have reached the losing game and missed the winning one.

Help suit tries are the default in Standard American and most club partnerships, but they are not the only way to invite after a single raise.

• The re-raise. 1♠ - 2♠ - 3♠ is a general invitation, asking responder to bid game with a maximum. Some pairs read it as asking about trump quality, and in competition it is only an effort to buy the contract.
• 2NT. In standard methods it invites game with a balanced hand and offers 3NT as an alternative. Pairs who play two-way game tries use it as a relay instead.
• Short suit game tries. The opposite idea: opener bids a singleton or void, and responder accepts with few wasted honors opposite it. Some pairs combine both, with 2NT as the relay to short-suit tries.
• Long suit game tries. An older version that promises four or more cards in the try suit, partly to find a second fit. Most players now prefer the help suit version.
• After a limit raise. Over 1♠ - 3♠ a new suit is a slam try, since game is already reached. See splinter bids and cue bids.
• In competition. If the opponents bid up to three of your major, there may be no room for a try. The maximal double fills that gap.

The same tries work after responder's major is raised, as in 1♦ - 1♠ - 2♠, where responder becomes the one who asks.

• Trying in your best side suit. A try asks where you need help. Bidding AKx because it is a "real" suit tells partner the wrong thing.
• Counting points instead of the suit. Responder with 9 points and xxx in the try suit should sign off. Responder with 6 points and a singleton should accept.
• Passing the try. A new suit by opener after a raise is forcing. Responder must bid three of the major at least.
• Making a try with a game hand. With 19 points or five losers, bid game. Every try gives the defenders a lead.
• Forgetting the defenders are listening. A declined try points them at opener's weak suit. That is one reason to bid game directly when it is clear, and to keep tries for the real borderline hands.