hotShot

Before I can answer your question, I'd like to know your agreements about the Stayman convention and the NT-range. For a lot of player Stayman is a GF bid. If this is the case, I won't be able to stop anyway, so I should make sure we're on the right track.

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If they are strong enough most of my partners would dbl with 2 places to play. So partner would be single suited (probably weak) and my chances to find a better spot are small. So I would pass and bid 2♥ over dbl.

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North ans South both have the ♠J?

I would expect that partner holds 5♠'s and a strong hand, probably with a wasted ♥ control. Given that we have so little agreements I would bid 6♠ now, and I would expect that partner recognizes that if he holds the ♣A he should bid 7♠.

I would have dbled the 1♣ opening in the first round. You are willing to play the other 3 suits and you can bid your ♥ later. This describes your hand much better and allows partner to judge his hand.

If you knew that over 1♥ partner would bid: - 1♠ if he had 4 ♠s and - 1NT with 3433, 3442 or 2443 shape and - 2♦or 1NT with a semi-balanced 5332 hand and - 2♣ holding 1345 than 2♥ would show an unbalanced hand with 4♥. The shape would be 4441, 5431 or 5440. Otherwise opener should probably bid 3♥.

Where are the spades? Opener 5 responder 2 and 1 in my hand, so partner could have 5 of them. This reduces the chances of a fit for both sides. Do I really want to play a 7-8 card fit at the 3 level? I'll try 2♥.

LHO is left with almost no points, so we should make it hard for him to enter the auction. So I would bid 2♦ now and see how things develop. I don't think about game now, but we obviously hold more HCP than opps and out first goal should be to find a reasonable fit. Once we find a fit, the shortage in ♥ may be valuable enough to get us to game.

Opps... edited.

Partners dbl over 1♥ was neg. and promised 4♠'s and ♦'s, my dbl has shown good and long clubs (with a weak to average opening). I bid 2♠ now and partner knows that I don't have 4 of them, because I did not bid them last round.

1NT is limited in strength and shape (even if it were a Raptor NT), it's unlikely suitable to penalty dbl at the 2 level. So it has to be a T/o-dbl.

On the first South has 17 HCP, 3 aces and the ♦K are 4 top tricks and it's his lead. I don't think that pass is a LA here. What does partners hesitation suggest? He's got ♦ but no HCP. => ♦K might not make a trick. He's got HCP but no ♦. => ♦K and Q might make tricks. He's got long ♣ but no HCP. He's got long ♥ but no HCP. He's got long ♠ but is to weak for a penalty dbl. Does this suggest dbl over e.g. 5♦? I don't think so. Does it suggest to try 5♣? Perhaps it does. If Bidding something is suggested, and I'm not sure that this is the case, this might make a 4♣ interesting that otherwise makes no sense at all. So I would let the result stand. On the second: How strong is a limit raise? What is the minimum strength and what is the maximum strength? If the CC does not say that 1M => 3M is preemptive, I don't see any reason to assume that it's not a limit raise. I'll inform them, that they better add "could be preemptive" from now on, since they have just gained an implicit partnership understanding about it. So there is no MI and therefore no case. Result stands. Even if there were MI I'm not sure that the damage is caused by the MI. Both the limit raise and the preemptive raise are limited and nonforcing. From the limited information give, I would guess that North will pass in both cases. So South would be in almost the same situation again with the very small difference that it could be preemptive. Remember that even preempts can have maximum strength.

Our dbl showed shortness in ♠ so partners 3NT is promising 1.5 - 2 ♠ stopper sitting under the 3♠ bidder. Those values are wasted / missing in a suit based slam. I don't think that partner knows that we have 5♥. So he might have in a serious bidding problem. But even holding something like [hv=d=w&w=skqthxxxdkjxcajxx&e=sahakqxxdaxxxcqxx]266|100| 1♣ - (3♠) - Dbl - (p) 3NT - (p) - ?? [/hv] 6NT does not look bad. So I'll join the 5NT crowd.

Holding ♣K and ♥Qx you don't have any extras, you hardly have your opening. The ♦Q is also not helpful. 4♠ is the only bid to consider now.

pass

3♥ should now show a very strong hand with 10(+) cards in the major suits. Depending on your agreements it is 6-4 or 5-5. If partner bids 3NT now he can't have more than 1♠ and 3♥, so he has 9+ card in the minors. He should have a stopper in ♦. Tthere is a chance that he upgraded his hand to bid 2♣. But he can't be weaker than ♠ x ♥ xxx ♦KJxx ♣QJTxx and thats enough to make 3NT. There is still a chance to make 6♣ though, something like ♠ - ♥ xx ♦ Axxxx ♣KQxxxx is consistent with partners bidding. If 4♣ is forcing, I'll try that route. If 4NT is quantitative, that might be worth a try. If 4♣ is nonforcing, than I'll try biddig 4♠ trying to show the excellent suit quality.

1♦ - 2♣ - dbl - 2♦ Your first duty is to find out what 2♦ would mean, if the 2♦ bid had been serious. If it is natural or lead directing, I don't see why the 2♣ bidder should not lead ♦, it might be even required that he leads ♦. If it is artificial, other consequences occur. If it was a GF cue-bid, than partners pass over 3♥ was forcing and the 2♣ bidder might be forced to bid 5♣.

Easy pass, you showed a very good hand and partner made one of the weakest bids possible. If you start bidding on strength you expect partner to hide, you will get unable to play with other partners and your partner will hide even more strength to compensate.

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2♠ Partners (and LHO's) average strength is about 9 HCP. To make 2♠ partner has to cover 2 of my 7 loser and that's not unlikely. Opps are seldom strong enough to to make a 3 level contract. Partner can enter the bidding if he likes.

worst case: 4432 or 3442 or 2443 shape and 10 points of his minimum in the red suits and some 2-4 points in J's and Q's in the black suits. We are lucky if we get more than 7 tricks. one of the good cases: 2452 or 1453 or 3451 shape it should often be possible to make 9 tricks best case: 0454 or 4450 shape 4♥ should have chances. Unfortunately hands close to the worst case are much more likely. I think the percentage action is to pass. (But I might invite at the table....)

If I'm playing SAYC than I can't show my 5-5 holding because partner can be minimum and it needs my extra strength to bid 3♣. I thought one of the advantages of 2/1 is, that after partners GF, opener (and responder) can act knowing about the combined strength. So I don't really understand why South does not reveal his strong 5-5 distribution and hides his shape in the 2♥ bid. After South has shown a minimum hand and since no fit is found, combined 30 HCP is not enough to make 6NT. North knows that he has trouble to make use of openers ♥ (where is the entry to the ♥?) and smart opps could remove North entries to his ♦. Based on the bidding, 6NT is not really an attractive point to reach.