mr1303

If 3S is forcing, that looks clearcut. If it isn't (and I'm not sure it would be for me), it has to be 3C then 3S. If partner hasn't got spades, he has diamonds or a club stopper.

If you make a SJS, you need it to be well defined. Either a solid suit, setting trumps, or a strong 2 suiter including partner's suit.

Actually I did bid 2D originally, but realised my mistake and edited my post. Incidentally I wouldn't make a 3H bid if it was a SJS on this hand, as diamonds may be better.

Having doubled, pass now is 100%.

Assuming 2/1, I bid 2H. Assuming something else, I check my convention card first...

If partner has 1354 shape, I would suggest he bids 2NT over the double (2 places to play).

I called a director on a situation like this (partner had overbid wildly as usual) at the university bridge festival and got laughed at. I deserved it then and EW deserve it now.

There's a good case for the king of spades here, in case we need a switch. A diamond is a gamble that could be right (but could also be very wrong), a club seems to have little upside, and this looks more like a cash out situation, so a trump doesn't stand out. I don't like to lead an unsupported king (from length), so I will lead the presumably standard Jack.

This is not close because the auction and our hand suggests North is bidding 4S on power, not on a fit. This is a good 3C bid over 2S, or if feeling really fruity, a 3NT bid over 3S. If you reverse the majors, however, I think 5C is automatic.

If diamonds run and they can't run 5 off the top, then 3NT has to be right if we're bidding a game. IFF partner has 5 spades AND no wastage then spades could be better, but 4S could well be off in top tricks before we get a chance to run the diamonds. So it's either a gamble on 3NT or a different gamble on 3D, and one pays a game bonus.

Whatever was going on, 4S was a shocking overbid. Did he forget that he had already overcalled 3C vulnerable opposite a passed partner?

I learnt to make a game try on these hands. Bid game and try and make it.

If I don't cue bid on the second round, what kind of hand would? I can see an argument for 2NT (4 card raise) but other than that...

Opposite a third seat opening bidding a third time is risky. Partner has a fairly prime 14 count - he could have a lot less. 1NT is right, although 2C would not be awful, and double shows exactly what you have - a max 1nt call, no major, honour 3rd in diamonds and, by the process of elimination, clubs. Partner should do something more, be it double (although I think this sounds penaltyish), 2S or 3D.

We've all done this from both hands. Thin actions from both sides in a bidders world and it goes loads off on bad breaks. Often undoubled, thankfully, but this might start to change soon.

[hv=pc=n&s=sa96ht8daq54cqj96&n=skqt82hq65dkj97ca&d=n&v=0&b=1&a=pp1dp1sp1np2c(NMF)p2sp3d(GF)p4dp5cp6dppp]266|200[/hv] Don't worry too much about the bidding (North actually dealt), since North was a robot, but you are fortunate enough to avoid a heart lead, and instead get a lead of the 4 of spades. You play low from the dummy, and the J of spades pops up. Can you get home from here? I'll be generous and allow you to have 3-2 diamonds.

My thoughts: 1) 4S is clearly suggested by the UI over 3S, so 4S is disallowed. PP for flagrant abuse of UI unless NS are complete beginners, in which case they get a stern talking to. 2) Can I use weighted scores? Over 3S, I think South will pass some high % of the time, and bid 3NT some other % of the time. Over this North will bid 4H, which I can imagine South passing. I don't know how well this will play without seeing the full hands, but I can imagine that going off, especially if North draws trumps before playing spades. So I adjust to maybe 70% 3S+1 and 30% 4H-1 depending on how the full hand is.

I can't see how we can tell partner what we need to here. If 4S promises a control then we can't bid it, and if it doesn't then partner is going to be hard pressed to judge well anyway. I'm going to bid an agricultural 5D. Partner is likely to have 2 spades due to opponents bidding and a spade control is unlikely. Partner would need something close to a strong NT and he might have either doubled or bid NT with that hand. 4C may well be more descriptive (FNJ?) but it doesn't really get us anywhere in practice. If we get either 4D or 5C back (I think likely) we're no better off - I presume we bid 5D and be done with it.

If you can't open 2S you have to open 3S. 3S on the second turn sounds fit showing to me.

Me neither, but he doesn't have to have a Yarb, hence bidding on is reasonable.

Obviously North is to blame. But thinking about it if I had this auction, I would still take another call as South. The right Yarborough makes 6 cold. I'm not sure what I bid as South, but I do bid something. So I call mostly North rather than 100%.

I know it's the modern style, but overcalling 1S on a flat aceless effective 8 count at unfavourable is the cause of -500 vs nothing. 3S should be a good bid opposite a normal vulnerable overcall with all the points working. If it's your style to overcall on that junk, you have to accept the -500s and worse that will occasionally go with it.

Sadly to say this was all a bit hypothetical. Partner bid a very robotic 4C over 3S naturally, on his amazing hand(!) [hv=pc=n&n=sjh8653d86ct86432]133|100[/hv] We got to 7S.

Well, partner did have 3rd round control of diamonds. Unfortunately he only had a stiff J of spades, so a trump lead beats 6S. 7S or 7NT has no play at all.

Yes, my point was not well phrased, but we don't know that East can't hold KQJxxx. I was trying to come up with hands that might bid 3H opposite a natural 2C overcall. Unless we have a reason to think we play fit jumps, the only hands I can think of are good pre-empts with long hearts, possible if weak 2s are not being played etc.