rmnka447

I certainly subscribe to opening 3 loser minor hands and 4 loser major hands with a strong 2 ♣ opener. I agree with others that a 4 ♦ raise is called for with the East hand. You have controls in 2 of the side suits and great trump support. Once 4 ♦ is bid you should get to slam, but grand may be difficult to bid. Bidding it rests on West being able to show ♠ AKQ, so that East can visualize that there will be no ♣ losers. Also, if you are playing 2 ♦ positive and 2 ♥ negative by responder, you have run into a hand that makes it difficult to properly show your ♥ values.

I'm also bidding 2 ♦ here and waiting to hear more. Right now, the hand could end up in game or slam in any of the 3 suits bid. So I want to hear more about partner's hand.

I'm using the one card different approach and starting with a double, then bidding 3 NT over 3 ♥. If partner somehow decides to roll out 4 ♦, then I'll go wild. (One card different approach = if one card say a minor card was a ♥, then you'd have no trouble doubling and bidding NT. So by doing so, you're only one card off from telling the truth.)

I'm using the one card different approach and starting with a double, then bidding 3 NT over 3 ♥. If partner somehow decides to roll out 4 ♦, then I'll go wild. (One card different approach = if one card say a minor card was a ♥, then you'd have no trouble doubling and bidding NT. So by doing so, you're only one card off from telling the truth.)

I'm passing. 3 ♥ down 1 doubled may be worse. Partner will have another bite at the cherry if holding a very distributional red hand. If not, I think LOTT applies. We can't guarantee any more than 7 trumps our way and 8 trumps their way for 15 total tricks. If they're making 2 ♠, then we're probably looking at 3 ♥ off 2. If 2 ♠ making is below average c'est la vie.

Thoughts about leads. Hand 1 Hand 2 Hand 3

♣ to the Q at trick 2. If it loses you'll still have a chance for 3 ♣ by a 3-3 split or ♣ finesse if West started with a stiff. If it wins, like billw55, I'll try a Club to the 9. You also have chances for double squeeze if West guards ♠ and East ♣, a ♣-♥ simple squeeze if only East can guard both, a ♠-♥ simple squeeze if only West can guard both, or possibly a guard squeeze if West guards both ♠,♣ and has a ♥ honor.

A third ♥ also insures a second ♠ trick. If declarer pitches, you can ruff low. If Declarer ruffs with a spot, you can overruff and retain ♠ Kx for another trick. If Declarer ruff with an honor, you pitch and K108 should provide a second trick. Clubs will provide an exit if necessary. I would overtake the ♥ A at trick 1, cash ♣ A and return ♥ 8. If partner held ♥ KQ10(...) to start, we haven't lost anything. But even if not, partner should see that playing a third ♥ may lead to a trump promotion. Partner is looking at most at a stiff ♠, opener presumably has 6 and dummy has 3. That marks my hand with at least 3 trump. So a promotion is quite likely on how the defense has been conducted. As the defense has actually been conducted, I would also return a ♣ at this point hoping partner holds no more than KQx in the suit. If opener decided to open 2 ♠ with ♥ AQJxxx and ♣ Kx/stiff x, 3 ♠ is making at this point.

IMP scoring dictates that you should bid game anytime that game has a 35% or more chance of making. AK seventh, stiff A and partner holding KQJ seventh, AQJ seventh with K onside are possible combinations that partner might hold that make 3 NT a pretty good bet. In addition, partner MIGHT hold a properly positioned ♠ J or the ♥ Q as a possible entry if they hold up in ♣. So, there seem to be quite a few card combinations where 3 NT will make. You do have pretty good stoppers in all the suits. You might bid 3 ♠ to try to find a ♠ game, but that may get you past the last makeable game of 3 NT if partner rebids 4 ♣. It's a guess, but time to be aggressive and bid 3 NT.

There are 19 HCP hands and there are 19 HCP hands. If you were a point shy OK, but count your QTs. 4 1/2 by my reckoning -- that's a lot in any hand. It really points to all your points being prime trick taking cards. It's a hand that's better than more than a few hands you might rebid 2 NT with. Do you have anything else? Yes, lots of working intermediates (10s, 9s, 8s) and they are working in concert with your honors. So you've got a super 19++ hand. I'd rebid 2 NT with your hand. Once you've failed to bid 2 NT and bid 3 ♦ which you considered an underbid, you should sit for 3 NT. Trust your initial judgment. It rarely turns out well when you try a make up bid. Think of it this way. How often is partner going to have the magic hand that makes slam versus a hand that makes some number of NT less than slam. Probably a lot less. So sitting will be right most of the time. When it isn't, just make your amends to partner and move on.

Thanks for your thoughtful comments. It makes sense.

East can't possibly know if slam is a make or not. So East should just bid 5 ♠. It might feel like a fix if West has all the right cards. But bidding 6 ♠ is just putting too many cards in West's hand. So East gets a huge charge for bidding slam. For slam to be made, West has to have something to limit ♣ losers to one, the side suit As, and fitting ♠ cards to ensure no trump losers. That even might even not be enough if West and North hold ♣ stiffs and North holds a droppable ♠ Q, but can overruff dummy on the 2nd round of ♣. If you don't know if slam is a good proposition or not, you either invite or don't go. Here, there's no way to invite, so stay "fixed" and don't go.

Double for me also.

Partner has shown ♣ and no more than 4 ♠. With 5+ ♠ and 4+ ♣, partner could transfer to ♠ and follow up with a 3 ♣ bid. IMO 3 ♥ should show 5 ♥, 3 ♠ probably show 4 ♠, no ♦ stopper, and no more than a doubleton in ♥. With a ♦ stopper, ♣, and ♠ partner ought to bid 3 NT after the 2 ♥ rebid. I'm bidding 4 ♣.

I'm bidding 4 ♦ to start. 3 ♠ would be a preference after which it might be impossible to get partner not to play a ♠ contract. If partner bids 4 ♥, which should be a control and a slam try, I'm bidding 5 ♣ to show the ♣ control. If partner has ♥ shortness, then logically there must ♣ in partner's hand and possession of the ♣ A will be an important thing for partner to know. Even if partner has bid with the ♥ A, you might infer that partner may need a ♣ control to bid slam. The other thing a 5 ♣ bid says is that you have a good hand for partner for a ♦ slam. If partner can't bid it over 5 ♣, so be it -- you've tried.

I don't understand in this bidding how West ever defines his hand so East can make an intelligible decision. But that doesn't really matter. So long as East has 6 ♥, with a 3 card fit and 22 HCP -- knowing there's a 9 card fit -- I think you've got to be in game. If the vulnerability is correct -- E/W vulnerable -- it's even more imperative to bid game. Basic IMP scoring dictates that bidding game vulnerable should be done any time game is 35% or better chance of making. There's just too many combinations of cards where game will make even opposite virtually nothing with the 6 ♥. So West gets the charge IMO.

You might stand a chance of getting there if West would bid out the pattern of his hand with a 3 ♣ bid instead of a double.

In the auction you had, assuming 5 ♣ must be the A, how about jumping to 6 ♥? It offers to play slam in either suit. As it turns out, with partner looking at the ♠ K and having only shown the ♣ A, it also ought to imply solid ♥ tops else you would be bidding slam with 2 potential losers -- a big no no. Now partner with a big fit in both suits including the undisclosed ♠ K should give serious thought to bidding 7 ♥. However, I would second the other comments about starting with a 3 ♥ game try rather than splintering to 4 ♦ first. Your hand will be the master hand that you are trying to set up. So the better you can describe it to partner, the better chance you'll have to get to the right contract.

I would also pass over the double. With the opponents bidding just one suit, partner could bid NT with a good stopper. So, the 3 ♠ bid is asking for a stopper. What does a pass over the double signify? It should show basically a minimum opener with no clear cut action available -- exactly what you have. It's up to partner to push further if you are going to get to game.

After a 4SF or forcing jump in ♠, I think you end up bidding over 4 ♠ with the East ("Partner") hand. 1 ♦ - 1 ♥ 1 ♠ - 2 ♣ 2 NT - 3 ♠ 4 ♠ - ? or 1 ♦ - 1 ♥ 1 ♠ - 3 ♠ 4 ♠ - ? seem likely auctions as West with a minimum hand is unlikely to cue 4 ♣. After 4 ♠, does a simple 5 ♦ bid become exclusion RKCB or is it just a cue towards 6 ♠? It seems more like a cue to me. So I'll continue with 5 ♦ followed by 6 ♥ which should highlight the importance of partner's ♣ A and ♠ K. I'm assuming partner is likely to just bid 5 ♠ over 5 ♦. If perchance partner cues 6 ♣ then 6 ♥ really suggests we're missing something for 7. Holding the ♠ K, partner ought to be able to recognize the issue and bid 7. It could be that partner might not have either card. But with partner having 4 ♠ and the opponents a like number, it seems at least 50/50 for partner to have the K. If you add in the additional percentage when partner holds the ♣ A, slam seems like a pretty good probability. Even missing both cards, partner might have ♥ shortness or the ♥ J as an entry to finesse in ♠. If partner does cue 4 ♣, then maybe a jump to 5 ♦ could be recognized as exclusion RKCB. Then a 5NT response showing 2 makes 7 easy to bid.

5 ♠ for me also. There's just no way to know what's making. So you just bid your most likely make which is 5 ♠. You certainly have enough distribution for that to be a good spot.

I think East should start with a 2 ♦ cue, then bid 4 ♠ over West's 2 NT call (showing 19+ and ♦ stopper). I know 1 ♦ doesn't necessarily show ♦. But if the double is a take out of 1 ♦, 2 ♦ still needs to be the cue showing values. After 4 ♠, East can use RKCB and 0/3 response must 3, so at least 6 ♠ is an easy call.

Hello, North must have been watching cows fly by!! North has a 3 QT, 15 point hand with 3+ cards in each outside suit but can't find at least a TO double. That's an incredibly egregious bidding error. Once it happens, it's very difficult to ever recover. My guess is that most of the 6 NTs followed after most North's found the winning 3 NT call. North might try to recover by making a 4 ♣ cue over South's double. ♠ J653 isn't exactly an overwhelming holding with which to jump to a ♠ game on. But whatever call South makes next, it likely neither partner can visualize there's enough for slam. After an immediate 3 NT by North, if South Gerbers with 4 ♣ and finds 3 As, 6 NT is an easy call. After an immediate TO double by North, South should bid 4 ♣ showing a big hand.

I'd bid 1 ♥ also with partner's hand. Change a ♣ in that hand to a ♥ and double followed by bidding ♥would be right. After bidding 1 ♥, partner still may be able to bid NT later, if responder passes and partner makes an advancing call.

I completely agree with rebidding 3 ♣ rather than 2 ♠. You have a great hand for partner no matter what partner holds. So give partner a positive response, give partner the important news about the club fit, and let partner further describe his/her hand. You keep all options open including ♠. Should partner decide to bid 3 ♠ with 3 ♠ or doubleton QJ, you may find a nice ♠ game. If partner bids 3 ♥ looking for some help for NT, you'll still get to bid 3 ♠ and show 5 ♠. The most important thing though is showing the ♣ fit. It may let partner start minor suit slam exploration or let partner be more comfortable bidding NT knowing that ♣ tricks are likely to be available. In the actual auction, you see what failing to identify the ♣ fit does. Now, you've got to guess whether to explore for a ♣ slam or not. The problem at matchpoints is that NT may be the best spot. If you had shown the fit and partner bid NT, it's much easier to sit. But without having done so, it's more a question of trying to catch up and show the fit now or not. Tough call, not sure what I'd do. Comment on partner's hand --