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West's hand could easily be worth an overcall with the right cards. The opponents have stopped in 1NT, so they ought to have 18-24 of the HCP (opener has 12-15 or so; responder has 6-9). If they have more than that, who cares what we lead (they are making 1NT, and likely making 3NT). So assume our side has 16-22, which leaves partner 6-12. Your partner didn't overcall 1S. Why not? Well, either his hand wasn't good enough or his suit wasn't good (or long) enough. If his hand wasn't good enough, you aren't beating 1NT, so since this is IMPs, we need to ignore that possibility and assume he has a fair hand, so that we can have a shot to beat the contract. If he has 8+ HCP or so, then either (A) he doesn't have 5 spades or (B) he has 5 spades, but they aren't very good, and leading one is likely to give a trick. Seems like a low diamond is the normal lead, but of course, depending on the lie of the cards, just about anything could work.

I personally don't like raising on 3 and will strain not to do it. That being said, there is one hand type where you don't have much choice: 5431 with a small stiff, where bidding the 4-card suit would be a reverse: Kxx AJxx x Axxxx 1C 1S ?? I like 2S better than 1NT (possible) or 2c (awful). But make the hand: xxx Axxx Q AKxxx and I will rebid 1NT. Just my two cents. Luckily, I don't seem to run into this problem very much. Mike

gg, as winston pointed out, it depends on your agreements. You have to have a "default" bid when you can't make any other bid. 30 years ago, most folks would bid 2NT on hands like: AKxxx Kxx xxx Kx after 1S - 2C. That didn't work so well when partner raised to 3NT on xx Axx Qx AQJTxx and the opponents took the first five tricks in diamonds. Nowadays, it's more common to guarantee at least Jxx or Qx (if not more) in each of the two unbid suits for a 2NT call. If you aren't going to bid 2NT on the hand shown above, you have to temporize with 2S. Cheers, Mike

In standard 2/1, 3S is not only slammish, but also sets trump and shows a suit that will play for at most one loser opposite a stiff. Neither your hand nor your suit is good enough. Cheers, mike

Timo, I can't see how a treatment of either (A) 18-19 OR (B) mediocre semi balanced or unbalanced hands that could not open 1 NT is workable. If it's the mediocre semi-balanced hand, then 4H could easily be our last makeable game. If it is the 18-19 balanced hand, then we very possibly (even likely) have a slam. How do we investigate without risking going overboard? 4D doesn't really describe the hand (in standard bidding, 4D would be much more of a two-suiter), unless you specifically agree that 4D is a slam try, not diamonds (not a common agreement, and then what do you do with the two-suiters). It seems to me that the 18-19 balanced NT hand is better handled with a 2S bid, followed by 3NT. That leaves the jump to 3NT only being the mediocre semi balanced or unbalanced hands that could not open 1 NT, and then a simple 4H seems best. With your suggested treatment, we end up in 5H when partner has the mediocre hand, and then what happens when partner tables: KQT x KQx KQJTxx Losing 10 IMPs (or 12 if vul; I can't recall). I think there has to be a better way. Cheers, Mike

I still don't understand why partner can't have something like: KQT x Kxxx AQJxx Maybe someone can explain to me how partner should bid this hand other than 3NT at his second turn. Cheers, Mike

If partner has 18-19, then why rush to bid 3NT? Then there is no way to separate the 15-count with a stiff h from a 19 count with Kx (not to mention Kx of spades running clubs and out). Why not just bid 2S with that hand initially?

Why does everyone think 3NT shows such a strong hand? 2NT wouldn't be forcing here, so 3NT doesn't guarantee extras beyond a hand worth forcing game. It seems to me that partner is likely to have either (1) a spade stop and a long running club suit or (2) a semi-balanced hand with a stiff heart and 15-17 or so: 1. Kx xx xx AKQJxxx or 2. KQxx x Kxx AKJxx With a really good hand, I would hope partner would start with 2S (unspecified good hand) and then clarify things with his next bid (NT, H, or C). Otherwise, you have no way to distinguish a 15 HCP hand from a 19 HCP hand at opener's second turn. With partner opening 1C, it's not likely you belong in diamonds (he would generally open 1D with four of them, and if he has reverse strength, he probably would bid 3D, not 3NT). So the question is whether he can cover 4 losers in a H contract. That means Ac, KQd, and either (x) As or (y) a spade stop and the Kh. Way too much specific stuff to ask for. So maybe I'm daft here, but it seems to me like the prudent course is a 4H signoff.

You can't risk kicking tricks in order to give the proper signal. Partner might well have led an unsupported Ace on this auction, especially if he had A-high tenace positions in spades and clubs. So you just have to follow with the 2 and hope partner can work things out. Cheers, mike

If any suit is the start of a 4-card runout, then I presume you XX with all single-suited hands, correct? So something like: XX: forces 2C; you can pass with clubs or bid 2D or 2H to play there (this isn't as good as using transfers because the Xer isn't on lead, but to use a DONT structure it is necessary) 2C: RUNOUT: 4/4 or better clubs and a higher suit 2D: RUNOUT: 4/4 or better diamonds and a higher suit 2H: RUNOUT: 4/4 or better majors 2S: spades, I suppose (I guess XX and then spades shows a decent hand?) That's playable, although I prefer XX: forces 2C: single suited minor 2C: Stayman (if responder bids 2H over 2D, then it's both majors - garbage Stayman) 2D: hearts 2H; spades Pass with a hand where you don't mind sitting or where you have no runout (4333 hands) Cheers, mike

I don't understand partner's jump to 6C. Seems to me he had a lot of other descriptive alternatives available. That being said, his possible holdings make 7 either (A) a good bet or (B) more or less cold. I'd bid 7 unless the field was so weak that I thought at least half the field wouldn't reach six (and that would be a pretty weak field indeed). Cheers, Mike

Lots to comment on here: 1. At IMPs I certainly agree with East's final pass. It's not worth risking minus 470. If you were making 2D, you'll likely go plus 50 or 100, and if you weren't making 2D, then any plus your way is good. At MPs, I think I'd X; the gains should outweigh the losses. 2. I'm not a fan of West's 2D overcall on such a lousy suit. I don't much care for 1NT or pass, either. Not sure what the best choice is. Any thoughts, anyone? 3. If West is going to overcall on hands like that, then I suppose pass is quite reasonable with East's hand. But if West has a "normal" good 2D overcall, then East takes a big risk of missing game by passing. After all, West could have Kx KJx AQJTxx xx, and game is apt to be pretty easy. 4. I really don't care for South's 3C bid. That's just asking for it. You said South was a good player; if so, he made a very uncharacteristic bid here. Cheers, mike

The question the original poster asked was how to get to 7 with the given hands. You can splinter; you can bid 4D. Either way, getting to 7 with the hands shown is pretty simple. Yes, responsder's hand is a little heavy for a splinter, but as you point out, if opener bidss 5D (almost inconceivable), you will continue on. Incidentally, the hand you showed: Ax Ax AKxxxx KQx isn't a 2C opener. You have 20 points and about 7.5 tricks. Not nearly enough. I would open 1D, but if you want to open the "slam-killer bid" (2NT), that's also an option. A 2C opener based on a long minor ought to have at least 9 tricks. Cheers, Mike

I don't see what's so hard about 5C being a splinter over 3D. What else could it be? If you had a very good club suit, surely you would bid 3C over 2C. If you had QJT9xxx of clubs and a side Q or some such hand (i.e., clubs with a hand not strong enough for a positive response) then 2D first, and then 4C over 3D shows that hand. So 5C over 3D has to be a splinter. After that, 5H (cue, looking for a grand) 5S (too strong for 6D, but you don't want to go past 6D) 6C (last train for the grand) 7D. If you don't want to trot out 5C and instead raise to 4D, I still think you can get to 7. 2C 2D 3D 4D 4H 4S 5C 5H 5S 6C 7D I would bid 4S over 4H, because the responder's hand is great opposite a 2C-3D opener (which ought to show 9.5 tricks or so, not the 8.5 you have for a major). I think bidding 5D there is chicken-hearted. If you don't like 4S, then you might try 4NT on no keycards and get this auction: 2C 2D 3D 4D 4H 4NT 5NT(1) 6C(2) 7D(3) (1) Even number of keycards and a void (2) With a major as trump suit, 6C asks for the void (if below the trump suit, else bid the trump suit), but that's impossible to show when the trump suit is diamonds, so this is a general grand slam try (3) Opener has 10 tricks, so it's an easy accept There are other roads to the grand as well. Cheers, mike

You didn't indicate the range of your weak NT. Do you play 10-12? 11-13? 12-14? I'm going to assume you play a standard 11+ - 14 weak NT, with 1m followed by 1NT over partner's rebid showing 15-17. In that case: (i) 1NT here shows a hand that would rebid 2NT if partner had bid the first time. 18-19; maybe a good 17 that you upgraded to 18. Since you opened 1H, the 17 hand is much more in play (you have a five-card suit, which upgrades the hand). With the 15-16 hand, you have to pass, which is a drawback of the weak NT (in American-style 2/1, you would open 1NT with 15-16 and 5h 332). (ii) In standard, 2NT wouldn't be an option. This ought to show at least 20-21 (partner is a passed hand over an opponents' pass, after all), but with 20-21 balanced and a 5-card H suit, you should open 2NT, not 1H. Of course, you can agree to give 2NT a conventional meaning here liek good-bad, but with RHOs bidding 2C, that doesn't make much sense (how do get back to 2h?). That would make a lot more sense if RHO had bid 2S. In that case, a 2NT bid could be used to show 5/5 hearts and a minor suit good-bad (and a 3m bid would show hearts and a minor 16-18 or so). (iii) Unfortunately, 2NT on this auction has to show the 15-17 hand. Otherwise, what are you supposed to bid with that hand at this point? It's unfortunate, because if you have only 15 or an ugly 16 and partner strained to bid with a weak hand (5 or a bad 6), you are quite likely to be overboard, sometimes very badly so. This is another drawback of the weak NT. Playing 15-17. a 2NT call here would show 17-18 (you would open the 15-16 hands 1NT, but you would open the 17 hand with 5H with 1H in most cases). Cheers, mike

A rather common structure is the following: 2D: GF, unable to make any other bid (could be just enough not to bid 2H or quite good) 2H: Double Negative 2S: Positive in spades (some play positive in H) 2NT: Positive in hearts (some play positive in spades) 3C: Positive in clubs 3D: Positive in diamonds 3H: Six-card heart suit with 2 of the top three honors and nothing outside (some play S suit) 3S: Six-card spade suit with 2 of the top three honors and nothing outside (some play H suit) 3NT: Seven-card suit (any suit) headed by AKQ and nothing outisde 4C/D/H/S: Seven-card one-loser suit above the suit bid and nothing outside (so 4C shows D; 4D shows H; 4H shows S; and 4S shows C).

An almost guaranteed vul game with very little needed from partner? Well, there are at most 10 HCP or so left for LHO and partner, so let's give partner 5. And let's give him the distribution one might expect given the bidding so far: 5323. So let's say: Kxxxx xxx Qx xxx I don't know about you, but I don't want to be in game here. And this is a typical, average hand for partner, not one of the many below-average hands he could have. Plus, this assumes RHO is minimum for his opening. If he is stronger (certainly possible), then partner will rate to have even less than this. Cheers. Mike

If you pass, you are very likely to end up defending 1D. This risks (A)finding partner with 7+ out of the likely 10 or so HCP left between partner and LHO and missing game and (B) finding the opponents with a diamond fit, your side with a heart or club fit, and going minus when you should have gone plus. As for what to bid, I chose the slight underbid of 2C (my diamond cards and spade void don't seem so attractive), but X and 1H are also possible. I don't like 2NT, because it forces you to the 3-level on a hand that might be a gigantic misfit all around. Cheers, mike

That's generally my impression, too, but in "The Rodwell Files," Eric Rodwell says precisely the opposite: that at the top levels, it's all about play and defense. He would know better than I. Cheers, mike

I don't like Pass as single negative, either. I think pass ought to be a game force that denies any long, strong suit. But given the methods, I think South in particular might have done better. When East bids spades, South can be pretty confident his side has a 9-card fit somewhere (his partner probably doesn't have 5 spades). He needs to find that fit. In that vein, 3H isn't awful, but I think 3S shows the hand much better. 3S shouldn't be specifically 1444. It ought to be short spades and a pretty good, semi-balanced hand outside spades. That's what South has. 3H wastes a lot of bidding room on a cruddy suit. Cheers, Mike

I think it's more common to play 4H and 4S are 5/5+m and 4NT is 2254 or 2245. Some bid their short suit (4H is shorter hearts than spades and vice versa). I actually prefer to bid the 2-3 card fragment (yes, if I'm 1165, I don't have a good choice).

A popular method here on the West Coast is to show the 5s/4h hands by bidding 3NT over 2NT. The drawback, of course, is that you have to remember to bid 3S (puppet to 3NT) in order to sign off in 3NT (by passing the puppet). If you bid 3NT intending to play there, you may be surprised when partner takes out to 4M. The 3S bid shows either a raise to 3NT or minor suit interest. Opener must bid 3NT, after which responder's bids are as follows: Pass = raise to 3NT 4C = single-suited slammish hand with clubs 4D = single-suite slammish hand with diamonds 4H = both minors (5/4 or better); slammish; S shortness (some people reverse this and play H shortness) 4S = both minors (5/4 or better); slammish; H shortness (some people reverse this and play S shortness) 4NT = 2245 or 2254 Cheers, Mike

X looks right. If you don't X with these hands, you'll get taken to the cleaners by preemptive bids. I play a tiny bit differently from Timo. The way I play (which I think is the "standard" treatment nowadays) is that X is takeout and 4NT is two-suited (any two suits). If you have a strong hand with lots of spades, you end up having to pass (but honestly, how often will this happen). Of course, partner may pass the X of 4S for penalties even though it's a TO X, and he will most of the time. If East passes, West has at truly obnoxious hand to handle. I think I would pass, because if I X and East removes it, I'm not apt to be happy. Cheers, mike

Seems that West took a page from the GIB-bots with his NT leads! I don't think your line was that bad. I considered it, but eventually thought winston's line was better because West could have something like T9x in spades. Cheers, Mike

If you posted this on bridgewinners, I suspect you'd get 75%+ for a low spade: * The opponents didn't investigate slam and you have 9HCP, so partner has a card or two. If your side doesn't have a red trick, then he is likely to have a spade card. * LHO hasn't necessarily shown long, strong diamonds. Your KTx isn't that bad (a lot better than Qxx). Only if dummy shows up with AQJxx is your holding awful. * Opening leads are tough and often a guess. Whereas expert players will rarely make defensive errors later in the play, they will often select what turns out to be the wrong opening lead. At MPs, why swing boards on the opening lead if you think you and partner are a lot better than average? Unless you have some distinct reason for making an anti-field lead, just lead what everyone else will lead and score points by defending the hand better later on, when the decisions involve far less guesswork. Cheers, Mike