rmnka447

North pass over South's 4 ♠ seems OK because North has no idea how good is South's raise to 4 ♠. It's quite possible that South might be pushing a little in bidding 4 ♠. East's 5 ♣ has tossed a monkey wrench into the ability of North/South to cue. At that level, any cues ought to be first round controls if not previously shown. In the given auction, East's 5 ♣ bid has proved effective as South can't know for sure that North holds ♦ K. My agreement with my best partner is that any 4 level cue of an opponent's suit must show a control. So after East's 3 ♣ bid, South could show a forcing ♠ raise and ♣ control by bidding 4 ♣. Now after a 4 ♥ cue by North and 5 ♣ by East, South could cue 5 ♦. North will at least have a shot at bidding slam in that case.

No matter the outcome, it would probably be good to discuss with your partner exactly how you handle intereference over 2 ♣ strong. Specifically, does a pass show values or weakness, and does a double shows values or weakness? Also, what would say a suit bid like 2 ♠ over 2 ♥ show? With my best partner, we play double shows values, other bids are natural and pass is the weakest action. The auction looks suspiciously like a rat tailed double auction where a player bids the suits not held and only at a high level bids the suit actually held. That being the case, then partner holds space length. But as pointed out earlier, partner couldn't find a direct 2 ♠ over 2 ♥, so probably holds ♠s and not much else. Without any strong bid from partner, bidding slam is a complete gamble. So, I'd stay fixed and sit for 5 ♠ as the most sure positive. Part of sitting is also another consideration. Often, the rat tail bidder will start bidding in a suit that he is void in to be sure someone takes another call. With ♥ length on your right, that is a distinct possibility.

Hand 1 may be a hand for discussion between you and partner. Did South take North's 4 ♦ bid as showing the ace after having already shown a stopper for NT? In any case, South can't be sure that you have enough aces to make slam. Your ask asking choice gets you too high if North has only one, so can't be used. So, I think the best South can do is bid 5 ♣ and leave it up to North. If you miss slam, you can chalk it up to the vagaries of choosing to cue 1st or 2nd round controls. But that will likely be made up on other hands where doing so may let you get there when cueing in order won't. I think aquahombre's comments are well made about this hand. Hand 2 is just fine as bid. If North bids his controls the opponents almost surely will find the ♠ lead and defeat the slam. Bonus - I'm very tempted to raise to 2 ♥ because of the red pockets. Any thin VUL game that makes is probably a match winner.

With this 7-6 player, I'm not stopping short of 4 ♠ now that I know there is a 10 card spade fit. But what's needed is to elicit more information from partner about his hand. So immediately I'm bidding 3 ♣ which since I'm an unpassed hand is absolutely forcing. Unless partner does something really exciting, next round I'm bidding at least 4 ♠. Partner can never know that I'm 7-6, but at least he'll know that I'm at least 6-4 in the black suits which may allow him to carry on toward slam with the right cards.

Normally, I'd just bid 3 ♦ (weak/preemptive) over 1 ♠. But given the actual auction, you know that at least two 9 card fits exist. This hand has gotten huge opposite partner's bids. So I agree with a 2 ♠ cue at this point.

I open 1 ♦ at MP -- it's a rule of 20 hand. The second decision is a bit tactical. The danger is that you could easily go for -500 or more opposite a 420+ game. If I know the opponents and they're likely to take the push or are not likely to Dbl, then I'll bid 4 NT to try to find a landing spot. If the opponents are unknown to me or are strong players, I sit for 4 ♠.

+1 for Mbodell's comments.

I agree you've got to sit for 3 NT. If partner gets upset about how aggressively you've preempted, you'll just have to be a little thick skinned about it. And, of course, you can always plead that you thought it was tactically right. But that will pale in comparison to what might happen if you pull 3 NT and go down when 3 NT makes.

2 ♦. This shows at least 5-5 in the suits bid. If you held something like ♠ 872 ♥ AKJ98 ♦ AJ82 ♣ 5, you should reopen with a double. This caters to the possibility that partner has made a penalty pass, but also shows a willingness to compete.

Ok, at IMPs, bidding game vs. passing in a part score depends some on vulnerability. Non Vulnerable, as you state here, pushing to game wins about the same amount when it makes as it loses when it doesn't. So you want the chances of game making to be at least about equal to it going down. The hand you gave looks to be somewhat less than an even chance of game, so it's right to pass it. BTW, Vulnerable, pushing to game wins somewhat more when it makes than it loses when it doesn't. So, in that case, you want to bid game anytime the chance of making the game is about 30% or more. It would be much more difficult to say that a pass was right for the hand you gave vulnerable. It's a close call. By contrast, after a 2 NT opener, virtually all the good players polled about it said they would bid 3 NT with the following hand vulnerable at IMPS: ♠ J7 ♥ Q103 ♦ J108 ♣ 108653 and that was the right call.

I picked Hand #1. Weak 2 bidder ought to have something decent for a 2 ♠ bid in 1st seat Vulnerable. Unless pard has 5 ♠s, you have a ruffing value plus a good 6 opposite a hand that's probably worth a little more than actual HCP sitting behind the VUl weak 2 bid. 3 NT might make if pard has the full 18, but with less it's probably iffy. So if 3 ♣ is Stayman, that's what I bid. If pard bids 3 ♦, I sit. If pard bids 3 ♥, I raise to game. BTW at unfavorable vulnerability, I'd probably pass. In that case, the 2 ♠ bid could be made on some pretty stinking hands.

No, the original negative double promises about opening values if you have only 4 ♥s. The hand is really not that much more than a minimum range opener. Opener did have the chance to show extras by jumping to game in ♥ or cueing 3 ♠ and didn't. Pard could have as little as ♠ x ♥ xxxx ♦ AQx ♣ AJxxx. So unless pard makes some noise over 4 ♥, game is enough.

I think you're getting the idea right about the bidding issues. Just remember that the 13-15 range for minimum openers normally includes some distribution points. NT contracts are more solely dependent on HCP. So if your SAYC partner is opening 15-17 HCP balanced hands 1 NT, then the minimum opening hand 13-15 is really limited to 12-14 HCP. You should also use HCP when deciding what to do over a NT rebid. Consider that each HCP point total for opener is about equally likely. If you have a non descript 10 HCP, then there's virtually no chance to get to the 25+ HCP normally needed to make a 3 NT game. If you have 11 HCP, you can get to 25 if opener has 14, so game is probably less than 50/50. If you hold 12 or more, game is better than 50/50. Two caveats to this approach. First, as weak NTers found out, the more evenly points are distributed between the two hands, the less that are required for a NT game. They found that 12 opposite 12 frequently yields a NT game. Secondly, it does depend on hand valuation. That is, whether your points are working together, have good intermediates, etc. For example, if the 2 ♣ bid was based on ♣ AKQJxx, just about every good player would bid 3 NT. But even something like ♠ xx ♥ AJx ♦ xxx ♣ KQJxx is enough to push on to 3 NT. The only problem occurs when partner has an unbalanced hand with 15 HCP but no 2 level bid over your 2 level response. Say after 1♠-2♦, opener holds ♠ AKJxx ♥ AJx ♦ x ♣ Qxxx. Depending on your agreements, partner may bid 2 NT with this hand as the least onerous bid. But these hands don't come up that often.

The vast majority of players playing Standard American will open 1 NT with a 5 card major and a balanced 15-17 HCP. You're right that it is a matter of personal preference. If you choose not to open these hands 1 NT, then you have to figure a way to handle them after bidding one of a major. That that is a problem is clearly shown in the history of SA. Back in the 1950's, the opening 1 NT range was 16-18 balanced. With the 15 point balanced hand, you treated it as a minimum opening bid. But because the range for minimum hands was a wide 11-15 HCP, it proved to be a problem getting to the proper results. An example, you open 1 ♥ with a balanced 15 and responder bids 1 ♠, you bid 1 NT. Responder may pass with 10 HCP and you miss a game. If responder invites with 10 HCP, you may have bid 1 NT with 11 HCP and are going down when 1 NT is cold. Another example, you open a balanced 16 HCP hand 1 ♠, responder bids 1 NT. Do you raise 1 NT to 2 NT? If you do, you may find responder had only 6 HCP and your going down, when 1 NT makes. If you don't, you may find that responder had a good 10 HCP and 3NT is cold. As a result of these kind of problems by the late 1970's, the opening range for 1 NT changed to 15-17 HCP to decrease the range of minimum opening hands. For a less experienced player playing SAYC, it's much easier to simply open 15-17 balanced hands 1 NT even if they contain a 5 card major. The worst that can happen is occasionally playing a contract in NT instead of in a major, and also occasionally ending up in 2 of major with a 7 card fit (via a transfer) when you have an 8 card fit in the other major. However, by opening these hands 1 NT, you eliminate all 15-17 HCP balanced hands from your 1 of a major openings. As a result, it simplifies the whole rebid structure after you bid 1 of a major. Now, the minimum rebid in NT by opener shows 12-14 HCP and a jump rebid in NT shows 18-19 HCP. My initial response to OP was with the thought that OP was a newer player. First of all, I have never heard of SAYC ever including any wide ranging or split range 2 NT rebid after a non jump 2 level new suit response by responder. A 2 NT response just shows a balanced minimum opener without a fit for responder's suit. A new suit at the 2 level promises at least 10 points total including distribution. For example, straight out of the basic ACBL bridge course, after partner opens 1 ♠, you should bid 2 ♥ with ♠ 73 ♥ AQ983 ♦ 1063 ♣ KJ10. Note this hand is worth 11 total points but has only 10 HCP. So what do you do if opener now bids 2 NT? Opener's hand should be an approximately balanced hand of 12-14 HCP. Adding in the 10 HCP in this hand you get a range of 22-24 HCP for the combined which is under the 25+ HCP required for normally making game at 3 NT. So the right action is to Pass. The reason that 2 NT is passable is because opener has limited his hand and the only reasonable game is NT. The same logic applies if opener makes the other limited bid of 2 ♠. Presumably partner has shown 6+ ♠s by rebidding 2 ♠. The above hand is again only worth 10 points because you don't the distribution point in partner's suit if that's going to be trump. With a presumable 8 card ♠ fit and 22-25 total points, your choices are pass or 3 ♠. However, if opener makes any other bids that don't limit his hand, you are obliged to bid again. Let's change the foregoing hand by swapping the ♣s and ♥s -- hence ♠ 73 ♥ KJ10 ♦ 1063 ♣ AQ983. Now over 1 ♠, you'll bid 2 ♣. If opener rebids 2 ♦, you'll bid 2 NT. If opener rebids 2 ♥, you'll bid 2 ♠ showing 2 ♠ and a minimum 2 level response.

1 ♣, 1 ♠, and 2 ♠ are OK if you normally bypass ♦s. Opener has shown a minimum opener opposite West's 9 HCP. So West should pass over 2 ♠. 3 ♦ is quite an overbid (and the most egregious in the auction). Once the 3 ♦ bid is made, it's right for opener to bid 3 NT. This conveys the message that opener has probably raised on 3 trump. Opener at this point in the auction doesn't really know that responder has any more than 4 trump. Especially if you initially bypass ♦s in favor of bidding a major, the 3 ♦ bid could be made on any number of distributions -- 4♠/4♦ (as here), 4♠/5+♦, or 5+♠/4+♦. If opener had 4 trump and a minimum minimum, 3 ♠ would be bid. 4 ♠ shows 4 trump and a maximum minimum. Over 3 NT, if responder has started out with 5+ trump, responder can correct to 4 ♠. Finally, if your side knowingly decides to play a 4-3 trump, it's usually necessary to be sure that any ruffs that may be necessary are taken in the hand with 3 trump. That's to insure that control of the trump suit isn't lost by forcing the long (4 card) trump hand to trump. With 4-2 the most likely trump break (48%) vs. 3-3 (36%), forcing a long suit ruff often cedes control of the trump suit to the defense. In this hand, opener knows responder has ♦ length and that forcing ♥ ruffs is unlikely. The danger here is that responder is short in ♣ and may be forced in that suit. So playing a 4-3 trump fit is risky. Note that had responder continued with 3 ♣ instead of 3 ♦, any likely ruffs would be in ♦s and a 4-3 trump fit would be more likely to play OK.

I'd probably open 1 ♠, but would certainly give opening a strong 2 ♣ a lot of thought before doing so. This hand makes 4 ♠ a great deal of the time with virtually nothing in partner's hand. As Fluffy points out, it's more about determining if partner has the values for slam or not.

Opener has reversed so shows presumably 17+ value. You have 2 bulls which should be enough for game, "misfitting" or not. (Actually, your stiff ♦ A is a terrific card opposite opener's known ♦ length.) Not sure of your methods, but will assume something similar to what I play -- namely cheapest of 2 NT or fourth suit "could" be the start of a signoff. Under that agreement, 2 NT might be the start of a sign off here or natural. Here but you have the values to carry on over partner's next bid after 2 NT. Reverser owes you another call to clarify what is held even over your potential signoff. Unless responder has a big hand opposite the reverse, it's often right for responder to get out of the way and let reverser describe his hand. Here 2 NT does just that. I agree with Aguahombre suggested options over 3 ♦, 3 ♥, and 3 ♠ continuations by reverser. (4 ♣ is definitely a cue in support of ♥s in my view.) But it's just possible that reverser might bid 3 ♣ showing a 0=4=5=4 or 1=4=4=4 hand. In that case, you can raise to 4 ♣ and explore for game or slam in ♣s. It's also just possible that reverser might bid 4 ♠ showing a 4 card fit, implying a ♥ control, and a hand too good to splinter ( something like ♠ AKJx ♥ AJ10 ♦ KQ10xx ♣ x). If you play 2 NT -> 3 ♣ as start of a sign off, then I think you've got to bid 3 ♣ showing a positive response and wait to see what opener does next.

Pass. It's a 8 loser hand that just too many given the length of the long suits.

Pass, you've already told your story. There's no way to know who has what at the table -- other than that partner didn't take any action directly over the 2 ♠ bid. If I take it right that an immediate double by partner would be for takeout (i.e. negative double), then you've given up the ability to penalize 2 ♠ in favor of competing when partner has enough to compete with no long suit. If you double, you might get lucky and find a spot to land or find pard with a spade stack and beat 2 ♠. But more likely since partner was silent, the opponents will be able to make 2 ♠ doubled or beat you wherever you land. Especially at IMPs and even more so when vulnerable, you can reopen/enter the auction if there's some reasonable place to land. You have no idea if that's the case with this hand. The idea is to avoid taking a big set opposite a part score by the opponents. The dangers of having to scramble to find a decent place to play at the 3 level are huge. Finally, it's also good to reevaluate your hand in light of the bidding. Your ♠ Kx has definitely lost some value with a ♠ bid behind you.

If you are playing SAYC and have 15-17 balanced, you bid 1 NT even with hands that have a 5 card major. So after 1 ♠ - 2 ♦ (opponents passing), 2 NT should show a 12-14 balanced hand with a likely ♦ doubleton, and, 3 NT should show a 18-19 balanced hand. After the 2 NT rebid, responder may pass if holding the absolute minimum for the 2 ♦ bid, say something like ♠ xx ♥ AJx ♦ Q109xx ♣ Kxx. Responder can also sign off in 3 ♦ with a minimum response and 6+ ♦ length. Any other bid by responder is forward going.

3 ♣ is a cue and shows a good hand opposite your red 2 suiter. With the right strong 2 suiter, the NT bidder may be able to start slam investigation or make a slam try once the trump suit is determined. Without this meaning, you'd have no way for advancer to show a good hand opposite your Unusual NT. So after 1 ♣- 2 NT- P- 4 ♥, the NT bidder would have no way of knowing whether partner was raising on ♠ xxxxx ♥ Qxxxx ♦ Kx ♣ x or ♠ Axx ♥ Qxxx ♦ Kx ♣ Axxx.

Opener has 2 QT's and 11 HCP. Looking at the hand, I'd say it was just on the cusp between an opener and a weak 2 bid. So, I can find no objection to opener's 2 ♠ rebid -- it's the proper valuation of the hand. Likewise, responder's hand is also on the cusp between a simple raise and a 3 card limit raise. There are 10 HCP, but it is a 4-3-3-3 hand with 9 1/2 losers. I think the flat distribution and number of losers tip the scales toward treating the hand more like a simple raise than a limit raise. So, I see no problem with responder's bidding. Even if responder took an optimistic view of the hand and treated it like a 3 card limit raise, I think opener's right action is still to pass the invitation.

I'd pass 3 NT. Partner has made the decision where to play the hand and I see no reason to contradict partner. If partner has masterminded the hand and guessed wrong that is partner's problem.

I'd bid 2 ♠ in a flash. Trying for 2 ♣ doubled is a pipedream. Passing may allow the opponents to exchange information cheaply at the 2 level and find a secondary fit.

The problem is with partner's bid. As others have pointed out, a 2 ♣ bid (or 2 ♦ bid if that's the longest minor) would be forcing and should be the starting point towards game if you have a strong minor hand. The question then is how can you compete when you have a long minor but not enough to bid 2 of a minor directly. The answer is to double and then bid your suit. That's exactly what you did. Frankly, I wouldn't even consider opening your partner's hand. It has only 1 QT and an 11 count with two dangling doubleton Qs. For game to even have a chance opposite opener's hand, your hand has to be at the very least an absolute max minimum range opener. You've already denied that by not making a direct free bid of your suit. Opener's correct action is to pass.