Auctions beginning with 2NT

[Quantumcat]

After a transfer to a suit, another suit means a second suit by responder, right? If it goes

 

2NT 3♦

3♥ 4♣

 

How does opener say she prefers the clubs, while leaving partner room to bid further if he wishes?

 

If she starts cuebidding if she likes clubs, and bidding 4♥ when she likes hearts, responder has to start the cuebids at the 5 level instead of the 4 level, and is unable to bid RKCB if he wants to after a few cuebids.

 

Could you start cuebidding regardless which one your prefer, and have partner assume the lower one when bidding RKCB (for trump king) and always bid the lower slam, and let opener correct when she wanted hearts? You might want to know about the heart king though.

 

I hate auctions starting at the 2 level!

[kenrexford]

You might like adopting a tool I use here.

 

The idea is to "Flag" the suit you like if you have extras (or, if it is the minor, just to show a fit, frankly). If the "Flag" is above the suit, it is RKCB for that suit ("Flagwood"). If it is below the suit or below the normal bid that would be RKCB for that suit, it is "Flag Last Train."

 

Take the example. Responder is showing hearts and clubs.

 

The cheapest new suit is diamonds, 4♦. That agreews the cheapest suit (clubs). If 4NT would normally be RKCB for diamonds, or 4♠ perhaps, then 4♦ just agrees clubs and is "Last Train." Meaning, a general cuebid. If 4♣ or 4♦ would normally be RKCB for clubs, then this 4♦ flag is RKCB for clubs.

 

4NT may well be a sign-off, declining both. If so, then 4♠, the second-highest new suit, is a flag for hearts. If you normally play Kickback, then 4♠ is also RKCB. If not, then 4♠ simply agrees hearts, allowing Responder to bid 4NT.

 

This technique can be used for any two-suiters.

 

If Responder shows the majors below 4♥, 4♣ flags hearts and 4♦ flags spades. If at or above 4♥, then (a.) if 4NT would be to play, 5♣ would be RKCB for hearts and 5♦ RKCB for spades, or (b.) if 4NT is never to play in that auction, then 4NT is RKCB for hearts and 5♣ RKCB for spades.

 

If hearts and diamonds, 4♠ is RKCB for diamonds, and 4NT (if not allowed as to play) or 5♣ is RKCB for hearts.

 

If spades and clubs, 4♦ flags clubs and 4♥ flags spades.

 

And so on. You simply pick the cheapest available of a new suit or 4NT (if not natural) for the lower suit, RKCB if too high or Last Train if low enough. You pick the next available option to Flag as RKCB or Last Train for the higher suit.

 

Again, "Last Train" might simply be an agreement bid, not necessarily showing extras or showing "I need more," but simply getting under the RKCB so Responder can do the asking.

[Quantumcat]

That all sounds incredibly detailed and useful, unfortunately it totally bewildered me and I didn't follow beyond the first few sentences :)

[Gerben42]

Not for nothing this is called the slam-killing 2NT...

 

A simple way is to decline the first transfer whenever you have a fit. With a known 5-3 fit you MIGHT be too high (but maybe then 3 was too high also) but makes slam bidding quite a lot easier.

[Quantumcat]

How do you decline the transfer? 3NT do you mean?

[bid_em_up]

How do you decline the transfer? 3NT do you mean?

You're not declining the transfer, you are agreeing to it. You just don't bid 3M as requested. So any call other than 3M agrees to the suit (and declines the initial transfer).

 

Now you assume that any other calls are cuebids for the major.

 

If you accept the transfer by bidding 3M, you are stating, you really dont like this, now if responder bids a new suit, it should be a second suit. If you dont have a fit with the major, you will usually have a fit with a second suit (unless 5-4-2-2).

 

Btw, I dont like this method unless opener really likes the major. It is a form of super-acceptance. Four card support, rich in controls kind of hand. Or good 3 card support and control rich as well.

 

Weak or "normal" three card support with slow values should just bid 3M, imo. Responder can be attempting to get out of 2N and planning on passing 3M.

[ralph23]

That all sounds incredibly detailed and useful, unfortunately it totally bewildered me and I didn't follow beyond the first few sentences  :(

Here's a very very simple method that we use. (These hands don't come up a whole lot so I wouldn't suggest that a b/i devote a lot of energy to this area: there are lots more useful things to focus on. ;) )

 

We call it BFD (big fit development). Responder must have a very shapely hand to bid like this and is interested in slam (he went whizzing right by 3nt after all). So let him know if you have a fit for BOTH of his suits.

 

Logically, as the NT bidder, you already know partner is captain. You can't possibly want to play in any suit, other than one of his. Even if you had a 5-card suit, partner probably has a singleton there.

 

So that leaves two "impossible" suits. These are available for artificial bids.

 

Choose one of the impossible suits (say, the cheaper one, here 4♦) to say "Hey, I don't have a doubleton in EITHER ONE of your suits."

 

Choose the other impossible suit (here, 4♠) to say "Hey, I don't have a doubleton in either of your suits, and I'm better than 3-3 in your suits." This means by default that the other impossible suit (4♦ in this example) shows precisely 3-3. The "big fit" could be 4-3 or even 4-4 on a good day.

 

Now, if opener makes any bid other than a BFD bid, like just take a preference, responder basically knows that opener has 3 (or 4) in the preferred suit and 2 in the other suit.

 

When a big double fit occurs, the slam chances should increase, and responder just has to judge accordingly. You could use 4NT as Keycard Blackwood for TWO suits if you wanted ! (Six keycards ... the 4 aces and the two Kings of your two fitting suits ... but that's probably too much memory work :) )

 

You could use 4NT by opener artifically here as well, but maybe it's best to play that as natural and denying a "big double fit"

 

I doubt that anyone else plays this way, and frankly it comes up so rarely that my partner and I would probably forget it anyhow if it did. :lol:

[Finch]

After a transfer to a suit, another suit means a second suit by responder, right? If it goes

 

2NT 3♦

3♥ 4♣

 

How does opener say she prefers the clubs, while leaving partner room to bid further if he wishes?

 

If she starts cuebidding if she likes clubs, and bidding 4♥ when she likes hearts, responder has to start the cuebids at the 5 level instead of the 4 level, and is unable to bid RKCB if he wants to after a few cuebids.

 

Could you start cuebidding regardless which one your prefer, and have partner assume the lower one when bidding RKCB (for trump king) and always bid the lower slam, and let opener correct when she wanted hearts? You might want to know about the heart king though.

 

I hate auctions starting at the 2 level!

These auctions are bound to be difficult because you are already at the 4-level before responder has managed to show both suits. That's why people play such complicated methods. Although they may help slightly, it's not really worth the effort most of the time.

 

Here is a very simple approach that is pretty close to what I actually play:

 

2NT - 3♦

3♥ - 4♣

 

working backwards, worse hands first:

 

If opener has a bad hand for either hearts or clubs, and both spades and diamonds well stopped, opener signs off in 4NT (this is just like the auction 1NT - 2D - 2H - 3C - 3NT except you are a level higher).

 

If opener has 3-card heart support but not a very suitable hand for slam, opener gives preference to four hearts.

 

If opener has amazing club support, then opener bids 5C. This doesn't deny outside controls, but says the main thing about opener's hand is his clubs.

 

That leaves the cue bids, 4♦ and 4♠. The easiest way to play is to assume that opener is cue-bidding in support of clubs. Opener can however correct club contracts to heart contracts later.

 

If you want to get slightly more sophisticated, you can agree that one of the cue bids shows a slam try in one suit, and the other in the other. To make it easy to remember, you can agree that 4♦ - the lower suit - shows a slam try in clubs (without very good trumps, which would have bid 5♣) and 4♠ - the upper suit - shows a slam try in hearts.

 

You will, however, be giving up on various key-card asks, as you say. This doesn't really worry me, although it seems to worry other people. It's more in the way of quantitative bidding: opener shows 20-22 balanced (or whatever range you play), responder shows a slam try with two suits, opener says what she likes about her hand in that context, responder signs off/makes a slam try/bids slam.