relknes

Our typical agreement for an unpassed hand is that pass shows a double negative (0-4 or possibly a bad 5), simple overcalls are semi-positive (a good 5-8), and a double shows either a semi-positive with support for all the unbid suits or a GF hand. Jump overcalls show a 7+ suit and a semi-positive hand. Over 1♠, a 2♠ cuebid shows a semi-positieve with 4+ hearts and a 5+ minor, and a 2N bid shows a semi-positive with 4+ diamonds and 5+ clubs, so simple overcalls deny a higher ranking 4+ suit and deny being 3-3 or better in the unbid suits.

p - 2N P Translation: N: pass, S: 20-21 balanced N: no, I realy meant PASS

Quick question about West's pass over the strong 1♣. Might some people, with 12 high card points and a good 5 card suit, overcall 2♣ with the west hand? A lot of people like to compete prety agressively over a strong club, even at unfavorable.

1♣ - 1♦ 1N - P Translation: S: 16+, N: 0-8 S: 16-19 balanced, N: lets play 1N

Currently, 1♣ - 1♥ - 1NT - 2♠ would be minor suit stayman. We play simmilar conventions over 1♣-1x-1N as we do over a 1N opener, except that responder rebidding their suit after giving a positive response sets trump absolutely, opener should show 3 card support for responder's major if responder bids stayman (new minor forcing), and 3m shows a 5-5 hand instead of invitational with a strong minor. If we wanted to show 5 hearts and 4 spades, we could bid 1♣ - 1♥ - 1NT - 2♦ (transfer) - 2♥ - 2♠ after which we could continue on as you suggested. Thanks for the imput. Looks like we had the tools after all... I have added to my original post, but left the previous auctions intact so people understand what we are talking about.

I wouldn't. I had a momentary brain lapse after looking at the hands. I guess the better question for me to ask is, would it be worth giving up one of my slam tools in this auction to gain the ability to explore a major suit game on a known 5-2 fit.

To the second part of the problem:

I will open 1♣. If partner responds with 1♦, I will bid 2♣ (16-~21, 5+, no 4+ major if 16-17), intending to raise diamonds, or rebid clubs after a major suit response. Slam is no longer in the picture after partner's 1♦. If partner bids 1M (GF, 9+ points, 5+ suit) I will respond with 2♣ (unbalanced, 5+) intending to bid diamonds later. If partner bids 1N (9+ points, balanced, GF) I will respond with 3♣ (setting trump and asking partner to make a reverse-cuebid) If partner bids 2♣ (highly unlikely, as it shows 9+ points, 5+ clubs, unbalanced) I will bid 3♥ (splinter) If partner bids 2♦ I will also bid 3♥ as a splinter. If partner bids 2M, showing 5-8 points and 6+ in the major and denying 4+ in the other major, I will respond with 3♣ and continue based on what they show. If partner makes an "Unusual positive" I will make the key-ask and explore a minor suit slam. This is obviously a slammish hand, needing 3 working cards to make 6♣

What percentage of the time did each contract make? Was it close, or was it a blowout?

out of curriosity, has anyone run a simulation given these two N/S hands and passing E/W hands, that shows how often 3N makes and how often 5♣ makes? Might also be interesting to see 4♥ and 4♠, for comparrison.

1♣ - 1♥ 1N - 2♣ 2♦ - 3N Translation: S: 16+, N: 9+ points, 5+ hearts S: balanced, N: new minor forcing S: denies 3 hearts or 4 spades, N: 9-11 points, to play edit: after looking at the hands, I wonder if north should have tried a game in hearts on the 5-2 fit. The auction would then continue: 1♣ - 1♥ 1N - 2♣ 2♦ - 3♥ 3N - 4♥ Translation: S: 16+, N: 9+ points, 5+ hearts S: balanced, N: new minor forcing S: denies 3 hearts or 4 spades, N: setting trump, 0-3 controls (usually 6 hearts and 4 spades) S: 7+ controls, asking for 2 of top 3 trump, N: denies 2 of top 3 trump Knowing what North knows about the South hand, would people set trump on the 5-2 fit because of the singleton, or would you just make the 3N bid? After all, South's possible shapes in the minors are 5-3, 4-4, and 3-5, and we seem ok in NT oposite the first two, so maybe the 3N bid wasn't so bad. The problem is that any bid other than 3♥ or 3N would show either 4+ controls or 12+ points, so we can't really explore the minors here without extras. Re-edit: I will leave intact the trail of my idiocy above. With some help from Zelandakh, I realized there is a perfectly rational way for North to bid here, that should be much more accurate. 1♣ - 1♥ 1N - 2♦ 2♥ - 2♠ 2N - 3♣ 3♥ - 4♥ Translation: S: 16+, N: 9+ points, 5+ hearts S: balanced, N: transfer S: 16-19, N: 4+ spades S: 3 spades, 2 hearts, N: either 4-5-1-3 or 4-5-0-4 S: Hx of hearts, 6+ controls, N: sign off I suppose that South might pick a different game over the board, but I have lost confidence in my ability to be objective on this hand.

Just a thought, but it might be fun to look at 3rd and 4th seat 1♣ structures seprately from 1st or 2nd seat 1♣ structures. I would not be at all surprised if one set of responses worked well for 1st and 2nd, while a different set worked well for 3rd and 4th.

1♣ - 1♥ 2♦ - 2♥ 3♣ - 3♠ 4♣ - 6N Translation: S: 16+, N: 9+ points, 5+ hearts, GF S: 5+ diamonds, unbalanced, N: 6+ hearts S: 4+ clubs, N: 4+ controls, 4th suit, asking partner to bid NT with a spade stopper or support hearts on a 2 card suit S: no spade stopper, 0-1 hearts, N: to play

What does the 2♣ bid show here? Unbalanced with 16-19 and 5+ clubs, I assume? For partner to pass with 7 high card points and a good 5 card suit (a hand they could almost have forced to game on) it seems like you expect responder to pass after 1♣-1♦-2♣ most of the time. Won't you miss some good games?

This auction is actually different than it would have been a week ago, due to some changes we just made in our passed hand auctions. Today: P - 1♣ 1♥ - 2♣ 2N - 3N Translation: N: 0-9 without a preempt or 10-11 with no 5+ suit, S: 16+ N: 5-8 points, 4+, S: 4+ clubs GF, or rebiddable clubs with no 4+ major N: balanced, denies 4 spades, S: to play Last week: P - 1♣ 1♦ - 2♣ 2♥ - 2♠ 2N - 3N Translation: N: 0-9 without a preempt or 10-11 with no 5+ suit, S: 16+ N: 0-8 points, S: 16-~21, 5+ N: 5-8 points, 4+ hearts, S: 4+ spades N: no fit, S: to play Still working on these passed hand auctions, but the 1♦ as double negative or GF seems like an improvement over 1♦ as 0-8 (since the pass already showed weakness).

I didn't edit the post. 3N is still listed as a possible alternative. Having said that, I do agree with you that it is a bad option and a mistake to have included it as a varriation. 3♠ is a better alternative than 3N. I still stand by the 4♣ as the best descrition, however, as in the primary auction.

Yes, our 1♦ always promises at least one 4 card major (and 4-4 majors if balanced), so 1♦-1♥-1N would promise 4 spades and a 5+ minor (or possibly 4-4 minors) with 10-13 points.

1♣ - 1♦ 2♦ - 2♥ 2♠ - 2N P Translation: S: 16+, N: 0-8 S: 16-~21, 5+, N: ~5-8, 4+ S: 4+, N: club stopper, no fit, 7-8 points S: 16-17 points, lets play 2N Another misfit auction. We just don't do well with those, especially when opener has primary diamonds. This is the sort of auction where, if the hands were a little different, we might end up playing 2M on a 4-3 fit or even 3m on a 5-2 fit (for instance, if the ♣J in the North hand were the ♣2 instead, we would end up at 3♦... yuck.) I have been considering putting the 16-17 point hands with a 4 card major and a longer minor into our 1♦ opening (which promises a 4 card major, and says nothing about diamonds). If we were to make such a change, the bidding would look like: 1♦ - 1♥ 2♦ - P Translation: S: 10-17, 4 card major, no 5+ major, N: 4+ hearts S: 14-17, 4 spades and 5+ diamonds, N: pass Is that a change that people think would improve the system? I mean, it works well for this hand, but in general?

1♣ - 1♦ 2♠ - 3♣ 3♥ - 4♣ (North may also choose 3N here, betting on partner for a stopper, given partner's strength) 4♦ - 4♥ (North may also jump to 6♣ here) 4N - 5♦ 6N Akward auction, again... may end up in 6♣ instead. Translation: S: 16+, N: 0-8 S: hand that would have opened 2♣ and rebid 2♠ in standard american, N: 5-8 points, natural S: 5+ spades and 4+ hearts, N: 6+ clubs S: 4th suit, 8+ controls, 5 spades, 4 hearts, forcing to at least 5♣, N: asking for the ace of hearts S: both major suit aces, asking if north has 2 of the top 3 clubs, N: 2 of the top 3 clubs, asking for the ace of diamonds S: signing off in NT If North chose to bid 3N after South bid 3♥, South would bid 4N inviting, and North would bid 6♣, showing 6+ good clubs and no diamond stopper (which south should correct to 6N). If North jumped to 6♣ after hearing about South's controls (south's 4♦ bid), then South will probably go to 7♣. North is worried here, however, that if South has a club void, neither 6♣ nor 6N may be making. So, though we may occasionally find 7♣, it depends on a reach by North. Realistically, I think we end up in 6N most of the time.

The north hand is actually a 1♦ opener for us. 1♦ - 1♠ 1N - 2♦ 3♦ - 4♠ Translation: N: 10-15 points, 5-8 losers, 4 card major (4-4 majors if balanced), S: 4+ spades N: 10-12 points, 4 hearts and a longer minor (or possibly 1-4-4-4), S: Artificial GF N: denies 3 spades, denies having both minors stopped, 5+ diamonds, S: to play But if South were second seat, we would bid: 1♣ - 2♦ 2♠ - 3♥ 3♠ - 4♣ 4♠ Translation: S: 16+, N: 5+ diamonds, unbalanced, 9+ S: 4+ spades, N: 4+ hearts S: 6+ spades, N: denies 2+ spades, denies a club stopper, denies 6+ diaonds, denies 5+ hearts (thus either 1-4-5-3 or very rarely 0-4-5-4 with very poor clubs) S: signoff akward auction for us if north passes, though we seem to get to the same spot. North's hand is the worst possible shape for our methods, and the hands don't fit very well. Strong misfit hands are the trouble group for our system.

The main concerns people seem to have are opening it more frequently, and the loss of info instead of 1m-1x-2N. However, I am thinking of applying it within a strong club context, so I prefer to open 2N than have the bidding go 1♣-1♦-2N. It is good to know that the 3 point range isn't such an issue. Thanks all, for your replies... and if I have misunderstood something, please feel free to correct me.

1♣ - 1♥ (1♠) 3♥ - 4♥ P Translation: S: 16+, N: 5+ hearts, 9+, GF, E: overcall S: heart fit, 0-5 controls, no singleton or void, N: 0-3 controls, signoff

Would 3♠ instead of 4♣ be an available bid?

I am not sure why south would be hesitant about bidding 6 after the fit jump, even with a void in partner's suit. The spade hook souldn't even come up, since you have first round control of every non-trump suit, and after the fit jump I assume that partner can't have more than 4 cards in diamonds and spades combined, so they can dump losers on those prety diamonds (thus the ♦AKQ and the ♠A should cover all of partner's diamond and spade losers). All partner needs is the ♥A or the ♥K, and slam should be an excelent bet.

1♣ - 2♣ 2♥ - 4♥ 6♥ Translation: S: 16+, N: 9+ points, unbalanced, 5+ clubs S: 4+ hearts, N: 4+ hearts, 0-3 controls S: punt This highlights one of the weaknesses of our system, in that south has to guess to go for the slam. We are too high for south to get scientific, because their available questions would be to ask for a specific ace, or to ask for two of the top 3 trump. However, since south only needs North to have one of the top 3 trump to make slam nearly cold, it is a good bet. Still, we'd get too high if responder had, say: Jxx xxxx x AKJxx