SteveMoe

I think this area is more grey than black and white. A natural 1 minor opening holds at least 3 cards. Yes, ACBL says 1♣ promising 2 cards is natural when in 4=4=3=2 hands. Finally, ACBL defines a treatment as "A natural call that, by partnership agreement, carries a specific message about the suit bid or the general strength of the hand. Such bids are not conventions and therefore not regulated by the ACBL Convention Chart. Consult the ACBL Alert Chart for those treatments which require Alerts and/or Announcements." It says a non-forcing opening bid of 1♣ or 1♦ with fewer than 2 cards requires an announcement "Might be short", not an alert. So the Precision 1♦ is a treatment. The ACBL does not define it as artificial. Indeed I have not been allowed to play CRASH or similar strategies over a Precision 1♦ with the rationale that we cannot do that over a natural short ♣. [some who play 10-12 1NT also play 1♣ & 1♦ promising 2 to cover the stronger NT hands with manageable ranges. This use of the minors goes beyond the 4=4=3=2 pattern for ♣s]. So if I can open 1♣ on 2 cards with 10-21 HCP, and I can open the same pattern in 3rd seat on 8 HCP, the analogous (but admittedly not literally defined) 1♦ should also be permitted. Rightly or wrongly, I have had several Sectional/Regional directors tell me a short ♦ promising 2 or more cards is natural. Go figure. Confusing to say the least. My opinion is a 2-card minor opening that is non forcing should be de facto natural. But it's just an opinion.

I don't like the 4♥ bid. I prefer a cooperative double of 3♠. Nevertheless, opener should rebid 5♣. With 4 cover cards including the ♣Q, south can raise to 6. I would not fault a 6♣ rebid by opener.

Other = 3N as 4-level minor preempt so partner can declare. 4♣ otherwise.

Would start winning the ♥A then 2 rounds of ♣s pitching the ♥ loser from North. ♦ toward K (I can postpone the ♥ ruffs for now). If the ♦K wins, lead small ♠ toward the K. Would want to know more about what appears before going further.

♥J, expecting to lead the ♥2 next.

That depends...what are your default agreements? Does 2♠ promise extras? if so, then I would prefer 2♥ given the ♣weakness. Replace any ♣ with the K and 2♠ would be spot on. If not promising extras then 2♠ is appropriate. Whether 2N or 2♦ is better depends on your agreements and what you want to know. If you want partner to judge their hand by Hearts and degree of fit with your second suit, then 2♦ is better than 2N. That presumes you can convince partner you indeed hold 4-card support. If partner will never expect 4-card support after a 2/1 force, then 2N might be better. Besides, we're not likely going to play this hand in ♦. One small advantage for 2N is partner an tell you immediately if they hold a ♠ singleton/void. That would make you very interested in slam. Depends on your control bidding agreements. There is a strong inference that partner has nothing to offer in the minors when s/he raises 3♥ to 4♥. You need help in both suits to make slam a sure thing. With extras and say, ♠AQJx ♥ATxxx ♦-- ♣Kxxx partner might find a 4♣ bid in the way to 4♥. Or, with ♠AQJx ♥ATxxx ♦Kx ♣xx, a 4!D bid on the way to 4♥. Respecting this forum I'll simply mention that looking at serious/frivolous 3NT is another advanced way to know when you are in a slam auction and when you are not. One auction might be: 1♥ - 2♦ 2♥ - 3♥ 4♥ Here 3♥ invites control bidding and 4♥ says no extras, clearly.

Odd Even or Roman discards. Somewhat popular here because it usually locates target honors in time to harvest them. Fails when you have the wrong parity for the signal you want. I prefer UDCA SIGNALS [following COPA - Count when Opponents lead and Attitude when partner leads. Second discard is then Count (after attitude - though we are seriously thinking to use Suit Preference instead) and Suit preference after count]. http://www.bridgehands.com/O/Odd-Even_Discard.htm

Game for me. 4♥ is enough. Suspect partner is 15-16 and 1=6=3=3 or similar. Cannot predict enough cover cards to make 12 tricks in ♥ a sure thing. ♠x ♥AQJxxx ♦KQx ♣KJx perhaps.

Alternative viewpoint; 2m is 6-10/bad 11 where 6-8 promise 4 cards only. 3m is preemptive, extra length with 8 or fewer HCP. Q-bid shows 11+ LR. No, a simple raise of ♣ does not promise 5, just 4. 83% of the time partner has 4 or more, right?

Support doubles are made by the opening bidder, not overcaller or advancer. Usually they are through 2♥ so we avoid forcing partner to play a 4-3 fit at the 3-level. Some play support doubles over RHO's preempt in 4th seat - requires compensating values for the target level. Since 1♠ does not promise we own more than half the deck, the double should be as Chris suggests, Cooperative Takeout - a tolerance for ♠ with values to compete. If your overcall range is 6-17, you should be at or near the top of your range. I think a double is an overbid for the given South hand. Either pass or 3♠ are left to consider. 3♠ works if 1♠ promised 5+ cards and you are willing to compete to the 3-level on 20 HCP. I'd pass instead. Partner can always rebid 3♠ with values to compete and a 5+ card suit.

...and put the pair on your team that can put the most pressure on opponents against their stronger pair.

Seconding vote for defense - especially when setting tricks are left in play. Adding - how fatigue makes us all less bold and less imaginative. It's not about being audacious but about getting to the aggressive edge that puts pressure on the opponents and staying there.

...adding <3♠, and >2♥, and <6 (♣ or ♦) with opening strength or better.

mistyped - 3♦

Depending on your opening style, 2N should show 9-11 and an inability to raise ♥. Since opener showed 6, that should limit responder to 0-1♥ cards. It should also suggest a ♠ stopper. With no ability to raise a 6-card suit and no ♠ stop, 2♠ not 2N can be a useful rebid after the 1NT force (some might prefer to assign this a 54+ minors hand with top values). With 2-card ♥ support raise opener to 3. With 3-card ♥ support raise partner to 4, especially if you have some distribution. As others note, raising to 4 is probably better if you expect Rule of 22 opening bids.

3♣ Switch my ♣ with my ♠ and I would double (easier to do if 2♣ is GF). ...

If we give partner a K and Q, it would seem we are likely to make 10 tricks. I'll choose the J/S to 3♦ and pay off if pard responded on QJJ. The upside is if pard holds the key HCP ( say,♠Kx ♥xxx ♦Kxxx {cl]Axxx or the like). We might be able to sniff out the slam.

Agree w/Fluffy - jumps don't create FPs. Now, if South had bid 4♦ instead of 4♥...

Thanks to Dave I searched and found your piece on Puppet at http://justinlall.com/2011/09/07/puppet-stayman-after-a-1n-opener/ Nice solution. Looks easier that what I'd been using. Thanks!

No - a mistake on my part Dave - please forgive...edited error out above

Thanks Dave. I have some catching up to do.

op cit response #23...partner knows I am 33, 43, or 53 in Majors with game values. No other holdings possible.

Same order as Hanoi5 - different values P 10 4♣ 8 4♦ 4 xx 1 3♠ 0

1) At the 1-level, I like doubling with a good 10 HCP and perfect 4441 shape. For each additional card we add to THEIR suit, we need more strength. 4432 = 11/12, 4333 = 14. When I have values and do not have support for 3 suits I like overcalling in a 4-card major at the 1 level. The benefits for your defense cannot be over estimated. We have never lost points because of 4-card length. At the 2 level I need a Q more and at the 3 level I need an A more, and so on... 2) Responding 1NT to an OPENING bid by tpartner on 6 HCP is OK. When partner has made a takeout double, I prefer 1NT to show 8-11 HCP. With 6 or 7 HCP I will find a way to bid a suit. Sometimes we have to bid 1 of a major on 3-cards because we do not have values for 1NT, cannot bid a 4-card minor at the 2-level and we cannot pass for penalties. (I like 2N to show 12-14 HCP, and 3N to show 15-17 HCP). 3) Doubling then rebidding a new suit typically shows extras (17-19) and implies a 5-card suit. With 6=3=1=3 14+ many will overcall 1♠ over their 1♦ opening, intending to double ♦ at the next turn. This avoids complications when they jump in their suit. To avoid the complication that occurs when partner on a rare occasion has a bid hand and you and LHO both have opening bids, use a cue bid of their suit to express your intention and give partner a chance to show their hand. A cue bid followed by a new suit by you is GF. Keeping the bidding low allows strain exploration. (Usually when they open the bidding slam is out of the question). 4) Modern trend is to show both unbid suits, but this is a minority view. The meaning is I own RHO's Major and have a good hand. Not a command to penalize but a very descriptive bid that discourages RHo from psyching a major suit response in the hopes of confusing our side. Let me offer this link fo an outline that you might find helpful - Takeout Doubles and Overcalls One thing to think about competitive bidding - you should view how you use doubles, overcalls and 2-suit bids (e.g. Michaels, Unusual NT, Others) TOGETHER - it is very important to eliminate overlaps because they cause confusion.

Double has several ways to win: 1) LHO might go overboard in raising ♣s 2) Partner might have a 5-card major 3) Partner has a 4-card major and the Moysian works 4) Partner has 4♦ (it can happen!) 5) Partner has a ♣ stack (yes, even under the ♣ bidder). 4♦ wins whenever partner can raise, or when 4 is the limit for our side. It loses whenever partner fails to bid a major or holds clubs. While we do have a 7-card suit, we won't find playable 4-3 fits in many instances. Passing wins by allowing partner to offer a point of view, but loses whenever LHO has something to say, substance or not. I'll double. For me it's not close.