JanisW

A direct 5♦ risks/invites a raise to 7 on ♠Axxx,♥AJxx,♦AKx,♣Ax. What would you do, if partner bid 5♦and you're looking on all 5 Keys? We play 3♠ as a weak transfer into either minor, and a direct 4m as single-suited, strong and forcing to 5m. This Hand is borderline between 3♠ and 4♦. So I would probably start 3♠ and bid 5♦ next. Now P should know, that I'm highly distributional, without many HCPs. I might still get a raise to 7 on the Hand I gave earlier, but at least I tried and P should know that 6 is plenty... regards JW

Hello, You might even make 4♥ opposite this spectacular good dummy. you have a reasonable chance to receive a ♣-lead cash AK of ♥, trumps splitting 3-2 (maybe even QJ doubleton, but that's not necessary) K♣ takes care of one ♦-loser, whether ruffed or not, does not matter. Q♠ in N. And no I do not need to be told, that down 3 is just as likely. Just wanted to add, that if there is play for 4♥ opposite a 1count, 3 NT could not have been that bad, could it?

1NT 3♣ 3♦ 4♥ auto-Splinter 4♠ encouraging with A/K♠ 4NT 5♠ 2 with Q 5NT 6♣ lowest King now S knows all 16HCP from N and can count to 12 tricks in NT, so we might get stuck in 6NT or 6♠ 3rd control? 7♦ yes @The_Badgers How would you have bid differntly if the J♦ were the J♣? and I don't like the 1NT-opener taking control, opposite an unlimited partner, who should be captain of the auction (for example only S knows, that there are 6 ♦-tricks). So would've bid 4♠ showing second round control in Spades What would've been King ask? 5♠? regards JW

Thanks for your input this is the full deal [hv=pc=n&s=sj3hqt3da53caqj83&w=s7h984dqjt97ct976&n=sakt642hj2d82ck52&e=sq985hak765dk64c4&d=e&v=0&b=14&a=1h2cp3sp4sppp]399|300[/hv]

Of course 4♥ is not nonsensical, but I would've started with an X. You are a tad strong for 4♥ in my opinion, as partner has not acted yet. Opposite a passed hand, anything goes. Or is 4♥ only bid with the clear intention of making and 3♥ is your highest weak jump? Of course your LHO was pushed into bidding 5♣, but he non the less did so pretty much freely, as he did not have to bid at all. So partner has to be broke and there is definitely some distribution going on. Would not be too suprised if xxx,x,Ax,Kxxxxxx was put on the table and call myself lucky, that partner is the one with the void... (AKxx,Jxxx,QJ,Qxx with opener). As I am not sure where the 3rd trick should come from and would pull 5♦ from partner to 5♥(is P even allowed to bid 5♠?), I think you should decide between pass and 5♥. The exception being that X means: I think they can make it, if you have no defence (whatever that should be on the bidding so far?), so please pull the X without a trick. Now poor partner is looking on his Q 4th in ♠ and has to decide... X being a clear penalty-double only makes sence, if 4♥ is bid to make, imo. Definitely an interesting X to talk about with Partner. regards JW

Thank you, that worked :)

I'd play for the drop, too. And by the way 4NT directly is terrible. But unfortunately one never sees the Opps missing their 9 card Heart-Fit, does one? regards JW

What hands justify 4♥ followed by a double? Partner is very unlickely to look at 3 Aces or a club-stack. As he is on lead it also cannot be lead-directing asking for a ♦ lead... but maybe he wants to alert me to make an unorthodox play I'll pass hoping for 1. A♥ 2. ruff Ps K♥ 3. lead ♦ or 1. A♦ 2. ruff P's A♥ 3. lead a ♦ regards JW

No 2NT for me. I'm very reluctant to bid 2NT for the minors anyway. What it mostly accomplishes is turning play into a double dummy exercise for declarer or partner taking a phantom sack in the minors... We only bid 2NT with a lot of playing strength and/or extra defence and not as a weak overcall. regards JW

[hv=pc=n&s=sj3hqt3da53caqj83&d=e&v=0&b=14&a=1h2cp3s(Fit%20jump)p]266|200[/hv] Fit jump is 3+ support, 6+ strong Spades 7 Loosers, with stronger hands you either start 2♥ or simply bid 4♠ if (AKQxxx) edited after 1st reply: Maybe not everyone has seen them yet... And I also just realised that I forgot the poll... 3NT or 4S were the intended options. regards JW

slam is excellent even on a ♥lead and ♠ 3-1. You'll only need ♦ no worse then 4-2 and the doubleton ♦ opposite the ♠-single. 1. ♥A 2. ♦ to K 3. ♥ruff 4. ♦ to J 5. ♥ ruff 6. A♦ discard ♣ and if ruffed, it usually was the 3 bagger. If there was one in the first place Slam is not cold obviously but decent. We play wSJ so 1♠ followed by 2♠ is inv. 1♠ followed by 4♠ is game obviously 1♠ followed by 4SF and 3 ♠ is gf with slaminterest. leaving [1SP] followed by 3♠ as almost gf, top of inv. range needing just a little help, that could be - Primary honours (preferably A) in the other suits and not QJs as they tend to be wasted - something useful in ♠ The suit-quality is just a tiny bit too weak to bid 4♠ directly in particular if you have 3♠ available. The question is whether South has the strongest possible 3♠ bid or the weakest possible 4SF. I understand that both camps have their point. The same seems to be true for North. Does he have the strongest possible "only 4♠-bid" or the weakest possible 4♥-bid? I guess a 3rd spade or the A♣ instead of the K would surely make 4♥ the clear favorite. If one went with the stronger option the other would've always followed. regards JW

Thank you all for your insights. I conclude that S should've bid 2H 4SF, though some expressed the thought that 3S is not a serious underbid, as it is gameforcing opposite almost any ordinary opener. Is the S-Hand really a 4SF followed by the stronger ♠-bid (which would be 3♠) after all it's a 6 Looser Hand with a horrible ♥-holding? With S failing to make a gf-bid, N has more difficulty to bid the 4♥-cue. But I guess he cannot be much better in context and should at least give S the good news, that he has serious extras for the bidding so far. I would've expected N to do more. Thanks JW

It is something like: if you do not have any excuse, you will have to bid game.

[hv=pc=n&s=sakt6432h642dkjc2&n=sq9hadaq973ckt853&d=n&v=n&b=5&a=1dp1sp2cp3sp4sppp]266|200[/hv]

Hello, firstofall it is not my bid yet. I'm assuming 1NT passed? It is possible that 2♥ is still transfer to 2♠, isn't it? if my partner bid X in this situation, I would take it as 4 in the unbid Major. So I would expect P to show up with something like 4-1-6-2 or 4-2-5-2 and enough values to compete to 3 of minor. regards JW

+1

1. Pass As P is limited and I'm mostly looking at Q&Js I see no point in inviting to game. If the ♣QJ were a K in any other suit and my shape improved to 4-4-3-2, I would invite to game. 2. 3NT Partner is limited so no need for investigation beyond game. As I have both unbid suits well stopped and a balanced hand I bid 3NT and let partner choose. reagrds JW

The problem with this hand has nothing to do with the 13 cards I am looking at. It comes from the 13 cards my partner is holding. If he is 4-4-3-2 with Honours in the pointed suits and xxxx in Hearts my initial pass will be an underbid and it will be tough to catch up. If he is 2-4-2-5 with most of his strength in the pointed suits (xx, KJxx, xx, AQJxx) my 1♦-opening will be an overbid and there will be a thread: "ATB for 4♥X=" ... Since I do have almost no defence and cannot bid 3♦ because of the 5card Major, I will have to pass for now. If anything but 4♥ comes back to me, I will be able to catch up and maybe even then, because a 4♠-bid has to be at least a 5-6 hand, that couldn't open weak2 and has lots of playing strength. Edit: I understand that it will be tough to bid this as a passed hand, but I think it would be even more difficult to stop partner from bidding on or doubling the opponents. If any of my K were an A, it would be an easy 1♦. regards JW

opponents are very very unlikely to make slam on this, my ♠A is a sure trick and partners ~13HCP rate to be at least 1Trick even with a diamond void in W and ♦AK wasted. But I agree that 6♦ might make, so I'd rather fear they'll find 7♣X-2 or 3 as a save. Therefore I'd consider blasting 6♦ to maximize my chances of playing 6♦, when it is right or pushing them to 7♣ when 6♦ had no play :) 5♦ same as under one, for the slightly weaker hearted Wouldn't 3♠ be the same Splinter as 4♣? Anyway, I think a Cuebid or a Splinter would both show more HCPs and thusly more defensive values. Kind of important when your partner faces a 6♣-bid somewhere down the road. Agree on 5♣, but might also allow E to show some live by douling, see Point 1 1./2./4. are all sensible bids, imo. I'd probably go with 6♦. regards JW

I want to go one a little Assume MP-scoring and let's suppose you feel like you're needing a swing and are pretty sure everyone else is in 6NT on a combined 33HCP and you have 9 Tricks outside with basically no chance on a tenth trick [hv=pc=n&s=saq32hakj4da3ckj2&n=sk5h982dk542caq43]133|200[/hv] What is the proper play for making 13 tricks, even at the risk of going down? I guess there are two parts to this question. I) How many and which winners do you cash, before attacking hearts (you might need entries to the N hand) II) How to Finesse a) simple Finesse? or A first and finesse? b) letting the 9 ride (needed against QTxx in E) regards JW

+1 bidding 2♣ is unreasonable and bidding on is even worse, perhaps E should've saved the day, but 3CX could've easily been the best spot. regards JW

Good point that should've been addressed in my post, I have to admit I answered solely based on my gut-feeling - But I still think, E should not be left with a diamond exit. So I'm going to pitch 3 Clubs on the Diamonds and then 3 Hearts on the Clubs and the one getting squeezed will be W :) This line makes everytime E has 1 heart honour or the ♠K. Admittedly, in that case, playing the ♣Q first and the diamond honours later changes nothing. If East has none of these 3 (♥A,♥Q,♠K) then the only winning line is to play 3 Diamonds and pitch a spade honour on the last diamond. Of course, this is all done by laying down the cards and going through the lines. I would have no shot of ever finding this play on the table and at the time you would have to choose what to discard you don't know if East held one of these 3 honours But if E has xxx, x, Axxxx, Kxxx playing the 3 top Diamonds is the only winning line so my gut-feeling was right :) Would have lost, though, because I would never have pitched a spade honour... This would be an exemplary 4 card ending with the A♥ in E after cashing the diamond honours (4) and the clubs (3), W is squeezed on trick 9 [hv=pc=n&s=sa96hj6dc&w=skt5hqtdc&n=sqjhk8dc9&e=s872hadck]399|300[/hv] Alternatively, South could be cashing his last Diamond honour, having already pitched the ♥6 regards JW

hi, why is East allowed to Exit with a Diamond? I can simply cash my 4 Diamond winners, overtake the ♣Q, and duck the Major-suit return to dummy. worst case W gets in with the ♠K and returns a ♥, but E is marked with singleton heart, if the bidding can be trusted, so no worries there. regards JW

you start with 1♦,too. Every time you act again after 1NT from opener you promise at least prime 10, 11+ forcing to at least 2NT regards JW