quiddity

2♥. I don't want to go past 3NT at matchpoints, especially when partner's inverted raise does not deny a club suit. I'm hoping to bid 3♠ next to show approximately this hand.

When the 5-card suit is higher-ranking than the 4-card suit, I would show a two-suiter and run to the 5-card suit if they double. I think it's worthwhile to try the shorter suit as a possible home - maybe they won't be able to double us there.

I don't agree with this. The 1NT bid has a very wide range (probably 5-11 or something) and can be bid on a variety of spade suits. As for flexibility, IMO a double is extremely inflexible. For all partner knows, you are doubling on a spade stack with few outside values. After all, you are doubling 2♠ for penalty sitting in front of someone who opened and rebid spades! I think he pretty much has to pass. Strongly disagree with this. I think jumping to 2NT at matchpoints is bad; I really don't want to go down inviting on a balanced 10-count. Maybe.. but if we're making 8 tricks in NT or 9 tricks in diamonds then we'll probably get a bad score defending a white 2S. I tend to agree that a scrambling 2NT is less useful here, and I think it can be useful as a natural bid, or at least a 2-way bid. Take the example hand - this spade suit will probably produce two stoppers in notrump. It might produce zero tricks in spades. The opps are not vul, so defending is less desirable, and in a close low-level contract I'd definitely prefer to declare anyway. I actually think that 2NT is the most flexible call. If partner has a good hand for notrump (Hx in spades for example) he can pass, and if he has a really good hand he can bid 3NT. If he has something like a minimum 1444 he can pull to 3♣ and let you place the contract.

It may prevent them from playing 2S if partner can raise..

Passing feels awful. I would double - we're not that far off from making 5m, but more likely partner could be there with 4 ok spades and a heart honor or two and waiting for us to pound them. They are w/r after all and have not shown any values.

Win the ♦J and run 4 spade tricks to squeeze LHO? I don't see a way to make it if RHO has the ♥A.

[hv=pc=n&s=skj63hj52dkq82c86&d=w&v=n&b=12&a=1sdp1n2spp]133|200|Matchpoints[/hv] I'm interested in whether anyone would "compete" to 2NT with this sort of hand. So: - Do you have an agreement about 2NT here, and if not would you take it as natural or scrambling? - Would you choose a different call at imps or a different vul? - If this is not a good hand for a natural 2NT, can you give an example of a hand where you might consider it?

I think he is right - very few people would open 3♣ with that hand. It's too dangerous. I would never open 3♣, even w/r in 3rd seat. Consider that if clubs are moderately stacked behind you (say LHO has AQT8), you'll lose 4 trump tricks! This is the kind of preempt which can go for a number even when the opponents can't make anything. When deciding whether to preempt I tend to look at the interiors of my suit (the QJT9), the vulnerability, the seat, and the shape. Opening a 6-card suit at the 3-level is already pushing it, so the rest of the hand would have to be pretty favorable. I would want equal or favorable vul, lots of interiors, and hopefully a side singleton. As for the other one, 3NT sounds fine to me as a way of showing a balanced hand with some extras and not much going on in partner's suit.

Playing devil's advocate (since I don't see much love for fit jumps in this thread): 1. Fit jumps tend to help with high-level decisions where more imps are at stake. 2. Re point A, when your side has a fit the opponents often have one too, and they are more likely to interfere with any multi-step method of showing the hand. 3. Re point B, it's not clear to me how useful it is to advertise your holding when the hand frequently belongs to the opponents. Of course it's nice to be able to preempt them but it has to be somewhat less nice now that partner has opened the bidding and RHO has been able to show a suit and some values.

Do you have an agreement about partner's double of 3♠?

Why will RHO give count instead of attitude? I was taught to give count against 3NT when dummy wins with a queen or lower - is there a better rule? Or is there something about this specific hand which suggests that count is right?

I misunderstood your initial post. I thought you were arguing that pass should be forcing, not that this particular partner thought that pass was forcing.

Partner has lots of options with a strong hand. He can double, he can jump to 3♠, he can cuebid 3♥ and correct to spades. He has only one option with a weaker hand and long spades, so I think we should cater for that.

I don't see how South's overcall mattered. If anything it gave NS a chance to go right, since it allowed North to consider doubling 5♥ to show that he expected to make 4♠ and that he has some defense and no diamond fit. Not saying that double would be the right bid though, he does have a solid 8-card suit..

Missing a 4-4 heart fit at matchpoints is likely to be a disaster and there's no reason (that I can see) to assume that partner has more clubs than hearts. Even in the best case where you catch partner with 4 clubs and only 3 hearts, you might only break even by playing in clubs. Also, if you bid hearts first and they compete in spades, you can bid 2NT to ask partner for a 4-card minor. If you bid clubs first partner will never play you for a 4-card heart suit.

2S, 3H automatic. I don't understand the reluctance to splinter on the second hand. Doesn't it show exactly this shape and these values?

I don't think it's clear cut. Bidding game could work but we're aceless with bad trumps, and the bidding tells us that any trump finesse is offside. Partner can be light in 3rd seat.. it just feels too likely that we could be off a couple of trump tricks and a couple of side tricks. Double could work; I might do that if they were vul, but I'll be sad if they can escape for -100. They might even make it if partner is light and they have a source of tricks in diamonds. I think I would just go low in hearts and hope the bidding helps me to go plus where others are going down in 4H. If we have a bid to show an invite (maybe 2N/3H?), that looks about right.

No need for a trump promo. Spade to partner, trump back.

I usually wouldn't underlead a king into a 2♣ opener at matchpoints either.

1. I'm not sure about this one. We might have a third trick in spades as long as declarer breaks the suit (if declarer has Txx for example). We might have a promotable trump trick if partner has ♥Qx and three spades. We might have another diamond trick by drawing trumps. And the clubs in dummy are dangerous - if we try ace and a heart and declarer has the KQ he can win in hand, set up the clubs, and he still has the ♥J as a dummy entry. Maybe it's best to play the ♠K and then lead a diamond back to partner so he can decide how to proceed.. but it still risks blowing a trick if partner has ♥Qxx and we could have drawn trumps. 2. ♣Q seems clear, setting up at least 2 club tricks when partner gets in. If declarer ducks we'll have an interesting decision on the second round. I wonder if partner will know to signal count.

Sorry, bad title and bad description. This was a home game and RHO is a regular. His style is such that 1NT is very wide-ranging at this vul (0-10 or so). So I guess my question should be: what should I do against a wide-ranging semi-forcing 1NT with a strong balanced hand like this one? Also edited the original post.

[hv=pc=n&s=sa65hak84da74ck63&d=w&v=n&b=12&a=1h(11-15)p1n(semi-forcing, 0-10)dr2cpp2dpp]133|200[/hv] A few questions about this mess. East frequently will not have his bid at this vul. 1. Would you act with south over 1NT? 2. Does North's 2♣ bid say something definite about his values? Is there some threshold over which he should pass the redouble? 3. Would you act with South over 2♣? 4. Do you act over 2♦? edit: I think Frances is right - I shouldn't have mentioned "psyche". Assume RHO's 1NT was alerted as "very wide ranging, 0-10" - what would you do with this hand? If this hand is not strong enough to act over 1NT, how much stronger would it have to be?

[hv=pc=n&s=s75hk6dkj73ckqt95&d=e&v=0&b=14&a=1n(11-13)pp2hp]133|200[/hv] No detailed agreements about range etc, but we're playing Landy with penalty doubles over their weak NT. A few questions: 1. What's a good range for the balancing 2M bid? 2. Does South have an invite? If not, how much extra is required? 3. What do South's bids mean here? In particular, what is 2NT? If a raise, what does it show compared to 3♥? 4. If 2NT is a raise, how should South invite with Hx? edit: fixed the NT range (11-13)

I'd hit it. Partner doesn't know we have a trump trick, a diamond void, and a side-suit ace.

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