The Bluff Nil (original) (raw)

The Bluff Nil

by Dustin Stout

Oftentimes in last-hand situations we must force the opposition to overbid the value of their hands. Sometimes the bluff nil can be our best avenue.

All good players know about situational bidding. We are accustomed to last-hand situations where we must force the 14-bid. Often we simply have no power in these situations, and are left with few choices. This is when the bluff nil can present us with another weapon for our arsenal.

Let's say the score is 450 (them) to 440 (us). Bags are obviously not a concern. My partner opens the bidding with a 2-bid. My right-hand opponent bids 3. My hand is:

A
10 7 4 2
8 6 3 2
J 9 5 2

The proper bid here would be 5 or 6 (either way, our team will have to take eight tricks for the win). Obviously, I only have one trick. Even if my partner is using N-1 we have a only very small chance of taking anything close to eight tricks. What about bidding nil here? Bidding nil here can serve a twofold purpose:

  1. Force the LHO to bid nil as well.
  2. Force the LHO to bid 8.

Either option leaves us with a much greater chance of setting the opponents. We must obviously set ourselves as quickly as possible in order to signal our partner (of course a sharp partner should be alert for you to bluff a nil in this situation).

Thus when we bluff a nil, we are looking for one of two options:

  1. To force an opposition nil
  2. To force a higher opposition bid than otherwise necessary (without your nil bid).

-- Dustin Stout