Negative free bid is a
contract bridge
Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other around a table. Millions ...
treatment whereby a
free bid by responder over an opponent's overcall shows a long suit in a weak hand and is not forcing. This is in contrast with standard treatment, where a free bid can show unlimited values and is unconditionally forcing. The treatment is a relatively recent invention, and has become quite popular, especially in expert circles.
Negative free bids resolve relatively frequent situations where the responder holds a long suit with which he would like to compete for a partscore, but is deprived from bidding it by opponent's overcall.
Example
For example, if South holds: , partner opens 1 and East overcalls 1, he couldn't bid 2 in standard methods, as it would show 10+
high-card points, and a
negative double The negative double is a form of takeout double in bridge. It is made by the responder after their right-hand opponent overcalls on the first round of bidding, and is used to show shortness in overcall's suit, support for the unbid suits with emphas ...
would be too off-shape. With NFB treatment in effect though, he can bid 2 which the partner may pass (unless he has extra values and support, or an excellent suit of its own without tolerance for hearts).
However, as a
corollary
In mathematics and logic, a corollary ( , ) is a theorem of less importance which can be readily deduced from a previous, more notable statement. A corollary could, for instance, be a proposition which is incidentally proved while proving another ...
, negative free bids affect the scope of negative double; if the hand is suitable for "standard" forcing free bid (10-11+ points), a negative double has to be made first and the suit bid only in the next round. Thus, the negative double can be made with the following types of hand:
*A weakish hand with unbid suits (unbid major)
*A stronger hand with unbid suits
*A strong (opening bid or more) one-suited hand.
This can sometimes allow the opponents to
preempt
Preempt (also spelled "pre-empt") is a bid in contract bridge whose primary objectives are (1) to thwart opponents' ability to bid to their best contract, with some safety, and (2) to fully describe one's hand to one's partner in a single bid. A ...
effectively.
For example, West, holding: , after this auction is in an awkward situation — he doesn't know whether partner has spades or not; whether South was bidding to make or to
sacrifice — is it correct to double, bid 4 or pass?
See also
*
Negative double The negative double is a form of takeout double in bridge. It is made by the responder after their right-hand opponent overcalls on the first round of bidding, and is used to show shortness in overcall's suit, support for the unbid suits with emphas ...
*
Support double
*
Takeout double
In the card game contract bridge, a takeout double is a low-level conventional call of "Double" over an opponent's bid as a request for partner to bid his best of the unbid suits. The most common takeout double is after an opponent's opening bid ...
External links
Alan Truscott's column in New York Times
* ttp://bridgewinners.com/article/view/negative-freebids/ Discussion of merits{{WPCBIndex
Bridge conventions