SteveMoe

Should be cooperative penalty - we have the balance of power. Some 3=3=5=2 is likely though 3=3=4=3 is possible. If pure penalty 4=3=4=2, or 4=3=5=1 South would pass and await partner's reopening double. Playing BoP cooperative doubles here is a big plus. Those hand shapes come up more often, more points are to be won, and we can still cope with pure penalty situations when they arise.

MR Lite: 1♣ - 1♥ 8-11 Artificial GF 1N [17-19] - 2♣ 2♠ - 4♠ 4N-5♥ 2 w/o 5N - 6♦ specific K 6♠ 4♠ and not 3♠ because of 4333 shape. If 3♠ we can control bid. FWIW 1) I really like mr1303's auction. Lots identified below 4♠ FWIW 2) 29 HCP between 2 balanced hands will keep a lot of well meaning folks out of slam. Not wanting to do the thinking or take the risk.... FWIW 3) What makes this work is both hands are Primes rich and we have lots of working HCP w/ a source of tricks in ♣ FWIW 4) South, having only 4 losers in ♠ owes one slam try.

3=4=3=3 = 3♠

From time to time you might get a good result opening a hand like this with a weak 2. However I have never seen opening these hands do better than a pass would, and many times the pass does better because it allows you to have a constructive auction with partner, use Michaels if the opponents are bidding, balance with confidence, or never show your hand pattern - concealing information from declaring opponents. Yes there are tools for bidding hands like these. There are too many things to master first before expanding into bids for situations that are not common. Judgment and skill come first, toys later.

Good thought Wayne. You might be right. I expect partner to jump to 4♠ on weak hands, essentially showing little more than length, and bid 3{spades] then 4♠ (over 3N) on top of range (8) - though I might be misappropriating fast arrival here.

Partner is limited to a bad 8. I'll bid 3♥, then if partner bids: 3♠ I bid 3N; 4♣ I bid 4N RKB; 4♦ I bid 6♦; 4♠ I pass. If partner bids 3N or 4♥ i'll still be thinking about what to do.....any ideas?

Phil, having shown 1 Key card, would responder's return to 5♥ show interest in 6 if partner has extras? Partner knows I am not looking for an outside Key, because we don't preempt that way. Seems there is room for an inference that if ♥ are as good as KQJTxxx to bid 6? This begins to feel like to much of a stretch....

What can East or West do legitimately? The only way to get to a better place would be for South to panic and bid a round suit. Preempts work....

I expect partner's 1st seat preempts GREEN to be "loose". Partner knows 3{clubs] is the most effecctive opening bid so s/he might even have only 6 cards. I'm tempted to bid 3N at MPs and lean toward 5♣ at IMPs scoring. I do not think 6♣ is in the picture as partner only needs 6 probable winners to open 3. 5♣ also runs a risk of 3 losers in the side suits if pard has 3Q's and is 2=2=3=6, say. Yes, I'm counting on the major suit opening lead bias.

benlessard - I like your agreement. Not one I have with any of my partners, so doubling 3♦ might induce some instability giving partner to much to think about: Am I Black suit heavy? Do I want a ♦ led (eventually), Do I have extras and insist on takeout? Passing then doubling might imply extras, but opposite a nonresponsive (and known weak) partner pass then double ought to be penalty (I want to double them at their final level, not before). LHO's raise over the first double is very weak. (Would be good to know if they play BROMAD or something similar). Opener probably has perhaps 17 HCP + Distribution. We ought to be happy if partner has as much as 2 Jacks. I will pass then double, depending on partner to interpret his/her own weakness as a sign that it's penalty time. When I raise the stakes I don't want partner to run. (December 2012 Bridge World p32 by Jeff Rubens).

Yes, 3♥ is better. 7 controls, 4 losers (3A-1Q adjusts down 1 loser), 6 card trump suit. With the OP hand I would find the raise to 4♥ straightforward. Helps to take the burden off partner sometimes. Not sure the issue is whether it's forcing rather whether it will help partner make the right decision with useful minimums.

I lean to your thinking until I consider that 2♥ might allow partner to help on hands they would normally remain silent: x xxxx xxx xxxxx or similar. 4♥ is "Lawful" and just might take enough air out of the auction to make a profit. So I net out 2♥>=Pass>>3♥ on this hand. Where opponents are expert, I would likely pass. Information shown/Potential gain is too small.

Microsoft Word 2010 has an auto correct function (I seem to recall the same exists in 2007 too). Go to Insets-->Symbols-->More Symbols-->Symbols[tab] Find the card symbols in the font you want (Say Arial)-->Select the symbol, say ♠ -->Autocorrect[button]--> replace !S with [chosen symbol ♠]. These changes are saved to your normal template. Be sure autocorrect is on. Now every time you type !S, ♠ will show up (in black). GW/OS !H = ♥ !D = ♦ !C = ♣ Still working on color.....

Pass. Usual methods partner is 17-19 or so and we have nowhere to go. Double then ♥ tends to imply 5 cards. Partner did not raise my ♠. Will try to gain back IMPs on the next hand.

None of the 3 lines involves running the J. Line A leads low toward dummy and ducking round 1 when LHO plays low. Then low toward the K. Line C leads low similarly, but repeats the low/duck play at trick 2 (ostensibly playing for Ax with RHO).

Following Mikeh and hog, 3N. Too strong for pass, wrong shape for double and for 4[clubs, so let's invoke Hamman's Rule.

It's the 2=2=2 I don't like. Can't say I would have bid 3, but I certainly would have bid 2. You're not crazy. I don't think folks get in the face of these auctions often enough. Interfering over 2♣ shape and fit matter more. Often your opponents are in a slam frenzy and cannot stop long enough to enforce their penalty. Next time you'll know about this pair. 2♥ will invite partner to participate in the level decision.

with 4333 and 6 HCP this hand is weak. I prefer to bid 1♠ or 1N Forcing (when lacking 4♠s) then correct partner to 2♥ showing a raise with a weak hand or any false preference. I prefer 2♥ directly to show 7-9 HCP and 3 trumps - a constructive raise. If not playing Bergen Raises I would include 7-9 HCP 4-card raises here. I am not as quick to raise to 2♥ with this hand because partner will not be able to ruff anything with my trumps. So if partner chooses to pass 1N (not bid on this specific hand), I am happy.

Let's not forget that the bigger benefit for adopting strong♣ systems is the limited nature of 1♥/♠ 2♣/♦ opening bids. The improvement in competitive bidding and slam bidding is worth any possible distraction opponents create over our 1♣ opening. Besides, we can handle even 4-3 crash attempts... :)

Agreeing Fluffy and Codo - adding: 1♠-2♥-3♥-4♥ Pass-Pass-4♠-All Pass 1♠-2♥-3♥-Pass 3♠-Pass-4♠- All Pass are ways to get there. The unfortunate truth: we need partner's ♥ control to be K, singleton or void, and not the ♥A. That means we're missing the ♦A. Ugh. The 5♥/♠ control ask doesn't make that distinction.

Duck the 1st ♠ for 2 reasons: 1) East will be on lead - we want that, and 2) East might only have 3♠ cards so a hold-up will help stop West from running ♠. Watch to see if West plays the ♠3 - the telltale sign of a 5-card suit. Say East continues♠s. Win on table and lead a low ♥ toward the closed hand. East might pop with the Ace. If not you should have an entry for the 1st of 2 ♣ finesses (We are 74% sure to get 4 tricks from ♣s). If east continues ♠ you are in hand and should continue your ♣ campaign. If east plays ♥ instead, you will win your ♥K. If East plays a ♦, then play small and see what West gives up if anything. 2♠ + 1/2♥ + 1/2♦ + 4♣ = 9/10 tricks. There might be more on the run of the ♣... The double usually says either clubs or equal or stronger hand. Majors (Mathe) requires an alert.

Suit Play says the following (unadjusted for open spaces): Line A: Small to K (follow-ups depend on what falls) Line B: Small to 8 (follow ups depend on what falls) ..........A...........B 4.......3.39%.......3.39% 3......62.17%......58.78% 2......95.22%.....100.00% E.......2.6078......2.6217 Tricks MP best is B. If we don't have the 876 then we must have the 765 - K72 - J6543. Line A low from both hands E=2.4978 Line B low to K E= 2.4696 so A is Best There is a Line C that is worse - you can check it out. Yes the spots have a bigger impact on the expected yield (E) than the choice between the best lines for each card set! Suggest you go to Suit Play and get yourself a copy. Best analytics program I've seen.

wdp - duplicate

These are the kind of posts that should bring smiles from us bridge fans. Thanks for sharing!

Mikeh - great post as always. I agree - I am somewhat concerned that we might still miss a ♣ slam here even bidding 1C then rebidding 2N. (Not on post but - for some Precision players 1♣ followed by 3♣ is a stretch, but viable... :rolleyes:)