TWO4BRIDGE

1H - 2NT! 3D!*( 15+, no shortness, modified Jac2NT)- 3S!**( Serious; says nothing about ♠-Ctrl) 3NT!( ♠-Ctrl ) - 4C ( cue ) 4H ( nothing more to cue ) - PASS ( missing ♦K and either ♠ A or K and no shortness in either hand ) __________________________________________________________________________________________ A modified Jac2NT can keep the replies below 3NT which would allow "serious/non-serious" room . * 3C! would be any minimum; 3D would then ask if any shortness; a direct 3H/3S/3NT reply would show extras AND shortness . ** Using wyman's "Serious" from the recent 'Heart Auctions" thread: http://www.bridgebase.com/forums/topic/52314-heart-auctions/page__gopid__627548#entry627548 ________________________________________________________________________________ EDIT: I'm resulting again. If Opener really had 15+ ( I actually count only 14 w/o distribution point ) , then he could easily have the ♣Q and slam is COLD .

The hand is interesting because even the modified Jacobys that I'm aware of don't cater to finding a 4-4(or 5) outside fit ( with the 4 in Opener's hand ). The "modified" show "minimum or extras" w/ or w/o shortness or a 2nd 5 card outside suit with Opener. I suppose Responder with a big hand such as this one could make a 2/1 GF in ♣ and will remain in control to place the final contract: 1H - 2C! ( 2/1 GF , 4+ cards ♣ ) 3C ( 4 or 5 cards ) - 3H ( double-fit, only promises 3 cards ♥ ) 4H ( no ♦ Ctrl ) - 4S! ( 6 Ace-RKC , including ♥Q but not ♣Q; ♣Q in K-ask) 5H ( 2 + ♥Q ) - 5S ( K-ask ) 6C ( ♣Q ; denies ♠K [ 5NT reply] ) - pass

Did you really mean 2S ? ( 2S has already been bid by partner ) .

Since suit agreement was at the 3-level, then 4D! becomes RKC ( not 4H ). So, 4NT was Quantitative.

He then fixed HIS post AFTER my post..... I'm passing 4NT

FYP

Isn't Opener strong enough to plan to Reverse ? ... thus, opening 1C . 1C - ( 1S ) - 1NT 2D - ( 2H ) - 3H! 3NT

I think they can get there with an aggressive splinter bid by South ( admittedly resulting ): 1D - 1H 2C - 3S! ( Reverse-jump Splinter for ♣ ) 4C! ( Minorwood-RKC ) - 4S ( 3rd-step = 2 - ♣Q ) 5D ( Kickback for Kings ) - 6C ( no outside Kings )

Would it be out of the question for that sequence to establish a 2-suit fit? There is a difference when it comes to a combination of a major and minor . Take the following: 1) 1D 1S 3S 4D Spades are clearly trump, and 4D is a cue bid . 2) 1S 2D 3D 3S In this case, a double-fit is announced, and Spades becomes the established suit. 3) Both Majors -- the exception ( as I learned it ): 1S 2H 3H 3S Here, Hearts is the established suit and 3S is the cue bid . Of course you can have a different agreement with your partner.

When Opener replies 3H showing "extras" and no shortness, isn't that in itself showing "Serious" intentions toward slam ? But, does West really have a 3H rebid ( showing 16+ hcp )? Perhaps 3NT would better show his values ( a good 14-15 hcp , no shortness )..... Based on "bean counting" and no shortness anywhere, East may not be so anxious to explore slam.

1) Over the DBL of the artificial 4th suit GF ( 3C! ) , why did West bid again? Pass.... then Let East show his intentions at a lower level.... in this case East will bid 3D. This will keep 4D as Minorwood.... after some 3-level cue-bidding. East will be the one to go 4D-RKC. 2) Over this special auction of a 1H open, 1S Response and 2D rebid by Opener, you could use a Meckwell gadget: 1H - 1S 2D - 2S! = artificial GF ( says nothing about extra ♠length ( rather than use the unwieldy 3C! artificial GF ) Here though, the extra room may not be of any help.

So, for the sequence: 1♠ - 2♥ 3♥ - 3♠! ( Responder shows a ♠-card when he has it and says nothing about "Seriousness" ) .... you agree with Fred.

With no information about the personality of south, I decided to win the 1st trick. I went to the board w/♦K... and took the ♣finesse. The news was "sorta" good..... North won w/Q. BUT back came a SPADE.... for Down 1 . South had made a good 3rd seat opening with K Q J - 5th . North 7 2 K J 4 2 10 7 5 4 Q 6 3 South K Q J 9 6 Q 8 6 5 J 2 8 7 If I ducked, I doubt if South would have made the killing ♥ switch...

I agree with Aqua.... Since you have TWO forcing ways to bid 3H ( not that I agree ) , one must be stronger than the other. I assume that the 3H-jump is stronger, setting trumps, and demads cue bids. So in your given auction, 3S is not a cue, but (b).

MP Scoring [hv=pc=n&w=sa5h9daq3cakjt952&e=st843hat73dk986c4&d=n&v=0&b=1&a=pp2s(weak-2)3nppp]266|200|Lead: Sp 7[/hv]

The following is mainly for my own edification now that I understand what is meant by "reversing the 3S and 3NT meanings"... For the "Serious " case ( yours in the above post was for the "non-Serious" case ) : After 3H: 3S! = Serious, says nothing about Spades ....3NT = Spade cue ....4C = Club cue, denies Spade Ctrl ....4D = Diam cue, denies Sp and Cl Ctrls 3NT! = non-serious Spade cue 4C = non-serious Club cue, denies Spade Ctrl 4D = non-serious Diam cue, denies Sp and Cl Ctrls

Thx, That is much clearer now ( you have been the first to really explain the "switching" -- or I have been too dense to grasp it ).... and I think it works !

Yes, I've been scratching my head over this for a few days now. I should have said that "my way" allows you to make a ♠-cue BELOW the 4-level. Ok, let's say you have "swapped" the meanings of 3S and 3NT in the context of non-Serious . That means ( "my" way ): (1) 3S! = non-Serious hand w/o a ♠-Ctrl... whereas: (2) 3NT! would be = non-Serious hand w/ a ♠-Ctrl. So far, so good. And if you had a Serious hand w/o a ♠-Ctrl, you could bid: (3) 4C! ( Serious, w/ ♣-Ctrl but NO ♠-Ctrl). So far, so good. But if you had a (4) Serious hand WITH a ♠-Ctrl, what do I bid ? I would bid 3NT! as in (2) BUT in BOTH cases would "say nothing" about "Seriousness". - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Now, let's look at YOUR way : (1) 3S! = non-Serious ( saying nothing about ♠ ) (2) 3NT! = Serious ( saying nothing about ♠ ? ) (3) 4C! = same as above (4) 3NT! = Serious ( saying nothing about ♠ ) And the ♠-cue would have to be at the 4-level ( unless the partner who goes RKC has it )..... .... and admittedly, this could be workable.

I agree. With no 2 quick losers in the side suits, just go RKC ( blasting ) immediately with this big hand. If 4S! kickback-RKC were available, and I'm sure it isn't with this partnership, you would have room BELOW 5H to make a trump-Q-ask after finding ONE key card..... just to give you more assurance about the final contract.

Has it been that long ago ? ( Ohhh, Fred.... where are you when I need you ) . But let me put it another way. After 3H ( and ♥ are agreed ) , there are FOUR cue bidding situations for partner's next bid ( BELOW 4H or RKC ): 1) Have ♠-Ctrl, but Non-Serious hand 2) Have ♠-Ctrl, but have a Serious hand 3) NO ♠-Ctrl, but Non-Serious hand 4) NO ♠-Ctrl, but have Serious hand BUT you only have THREE alternatives ( BELOW 4H or RKC ) : a ) 3S b ) 3NT c ) 4C/4D ( cue, denying a ♠-Ctrl ) No matter if 3NT = Serious or not OR if you switch the meanings of 3NT and 3S! , you are one bid short of covering the FOUR situations. Sooo, 20 years or whatever, you HAVE to cue 3S WITH a ♠-CTRL... no matter what "Seriousness" you play. Any other bid would DENY a ♠-Ctrl.

" Don't know anything about ZAR points, except that I don't need to know any more. " ....655321

If East makes a 4H!-jump-cue Splinter over 2S, then West knowing that shortness-opposite-other shortness generates lots of tricks, might be more inclined to go to 6D .

Using 3♠ as a cue prior to either partner expressing an opinion whether or not we might have a slam is not a good idea. If the partner in a position to cuebid 3♠ (assuming 3N is the bid) cues regardless of his intent, that doesnt seem like a sound structure to me. But Fred G says you have to ( bid 3S with a Ctrl... no matter what ).... and Gordon's logic "to sort things out later" is worth repeating. Partner still has a chance to bid "3NT" over the 3S cue ( whether it is Serious or not ). If he bids 3NT ( non-Serious ) and you continue to cue, doesn't that show that YOU were Serious in the first place ? ( Beside, whatever Fred says goes double for me ).

♥ are trump : 1) Yes, 5NT! is the 3rd-Rnd Ctrl-ask in ♠. This was a side-issue in a thread back in February ... http://www.bridgebase.com/forums/topic/51529-how-not-to-get-to-7/page__p__616493__fromsearch__1#entry616493 .. ( Zelandakh pointed it out ). 2) When suit agreement is on the 3-level, I think you must bid 3S with a Ctrl whether 3NT is Serious or not. From Fred: When playing Serious-3NT, by-passing 3S to bid a Serious-3NT would DENY a ♠-Ctrl. Thus, 3S must be bid w/♠-Ctrl... any other bid would deny a ♠-Ctrl. On the other hand, when playing non-Serious-3NT, if 3S is by-passed to bid non-Serious-3NT, it would deny a ♠-Ctrl.... so 3S must be bid with a ♠-Ctrl.... any other bid would deny a ♠-Ctrl. The best I can say is that 3S seems to be an "ambiguous" cue. Fred's example auction was: 1H - 2D! ( GF ) 2H - 3H 3S - 3NT! ( Serious ) 4C ..etc

Michaels : ♥ and a minor