Make a move toward Slam?

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

 

you hold in 3rd seat at equal vul.

 

♠ x ♥ KQx ♦ Kxx ♣ 10xxxxx

 

The auction, with opponents silent througout:

 

2C (1) - 2D (2)

2NT (3) - ???

 

(1) semi forcing, one trick below game forcing strength

(2) Relais, waiting

(3) bal., 22-23HCP

 

Your methods are pretty simple, you can make a move

toward slam with a natural 4C bid, which would set the suit.

If you do this, you cant stop in 4NT, you either play 5C or 5NT.

 

But feel free to make a suggestion using your sepcial treatments.

 

The following may or may not be relevant for your decision:

You play against a team you expect to beat and after

the first 16 boards you are leading with 30IMPs.

 

With kind regards

Marlowe

[whereagles]

I would definitely try for a slam. Start with puppet.. who knows, pard may have 5 hearts. Then follow up with 4♣. I suppose this shows a 5 card suit, which is more or less what you have (6 to the 10 is like 5 cards).

[Codo]

I would bid 3 NT because this opps will probably too and I do not need to be swingy at this score.

 

Against normal opps, and with your set of agreements, I would try 3 Club followed by 4 Club too, if this shows inviting with 5+ clubs. Else, I would bid a direct 4 Club.

[kenrexford]

I would start 3♣. However, this is a modified version.

 

When partner bids anything but 3♥, I bid 4♣.

 

If partner bids 3♥, I must bid 3♠ to find out if he has a fifth heart or not. When he does, he can super-accept or decline to super-accept. Either way, I still pursue.

 

If he denies five hearts, then 4♣.

[Apollo81]

I would want to make a slam try in clubs that does not set the suit. If there's a way to do that you didnt mention, then I choose that. Otherwise I'll bid 3NT.

[ArtK78]

I am going to show my club suit. I will use whatever methods are available to do so.

 

We are not committed to slam. 5♣ is a possible contract. But if I show clubs and partner gets excited, slam is certainly likely.

 

It really does not take much to produce slam other than a club fit and a few controls. Even a grand is possible - partner could hold something like Axx AJxx Ax AKxx (13 tops in no trump on a 2-1 club break). And that is only a 20 count. He promised more.

 

3NT is a wimpy call.

[Guest Jlall]

I would bid 4C in your methods. Not even trying for slam would be really gross.

[jdonn]

I really want to try for slam, but I just won't do it in methods that won't let me play 4NT. I think forcing yourself to automatically play in clubs on this is too risky. In methods I more normally employ I could slam try in clubs and potentially stop in 4NT.

[Fluffy]

on my methods I'd bid 3♠ then 4♣

[mikeh]

hate the methods: we have no 5-level safety in either clubs or NT. Partner could easily hold Kx or worse in clubs.

 

But, in line with Justin's comment, not trying for slam seems pretty tame. I tend to be more conservative than most in these auctions, but even so, I can't bring myself to just bid 3N.

 

I did a quick simulation of 50 deals, and the 1st 3 that came up made 13 tricks (only one needed a finesse), and slam made 16 out of the first 20 hands I looked at.. and I stopped there. We were as likely to make grand as we were to go down... one of the 4 failing cases involved a 4-0 trump break and another had partner doomed to lose 2 club tricks with AQx opposite 10xxxxx.

 

So despite the obvious risks, this is a case for driving the hand at least to the 5-level. It would be nice to use a form of stayman that allowed finding a 5 card heart fit over there, but my guess is that the OP's methods don't allow for that.

 

Most expert pairs, and many others of course, have forms of stayman that allow this. My current method uses 3♣, in response to which 3N shows 5 hearts, and now I'd transfer and probably cue spades to make one try... cuing diamonds if partner cues clubs, but accepting (then or later) a sign-off...

 

 

One further note from the simulations: our possession of 2 Kings seems to increase the likelihood of partner holding a LOT of Aces.... which will make him slam-happy most of the time that 12+ tricks are available.

[skjaeran]

I'd try for slam. But I wouldn't be playing these methods - I'd have an out in 4NT.