A seriously dumb question

[Ant590]

Take the simple auction, in a 2/1 context

 

1♠ - 1NT

2m - 2♥

 

Now, in a non 2/1 context, this would be a poor hand with long hearts (6+?). Am I crazy in thinking this?

 

In 2/1 it is should be played as?

[kfay]

Ostensibly it's a hand that just wants to play in 2♥ but in these auctions I've often held hands that are PRETTY GOOD but you just have nothing else to bid. They do happen regularly!

 

As opener... I'm not too sure what to do about this. But it helps to play BART, lol. Even though I've never played it and may never play it.

[Stephen Tu]

W/o special agreements, it's the same thing, non-invitational hand with long hearts (usu 6+, possibly 5 with great spots).

 

There are players who use 2♦ artificially over 2♣, "Bart" variations, to be able to bid with 5 hearts more freely (one of 2d/2h shows 6+ hearts, opener expected to respect signoff usually, other shows 5 hearts, opener expected to pull with stiffs. 2♦ also used to distinguish between stronger/weaker raises of clubs / spade preferences). This at the cost of being able to bid diamonds naturally. But it's not really a beginner/int treatment.

[Phil]

If you play BART or Anti Bart or Lisa or whatever you want to call it, a 2♥ rebid is impacted.

 

If you play 1♠ - 3♥ as invitational, it has a further impact.

 

If you play 1♠ - 2♥ as old school soft GF, it matters.

 

And, the above, influences whether or not you want to play 1♠ - 1N - 2m - 3♥ as a splinter.

[rogerclee]

And, the above, influences whether or not you want to play 1♠ - 1N - 2m - 3♥ as a splinter.

It's really bad to play 3H is a splinter in this auction, because hands with 0-2 spades and 0-1 of a side suit where the opponents aren't bidding anything are very rare. You can play 3H or a 3D jump over clubs as lots of things, but splinter is not effective.

[jdonn]

To get to the heart of what you asked, this bid has the same meaning in 2/1 and sayc.

[pooltuna]

To get to the heart of what you asked, this bid has the same meaning in 2/1 and sayc.

you have pierced the heart of the matter ;)

[P_Marlowe]

Take the simple auction, in a 2/1 context

 

1♠ - 1NT

2m - 2♥

 

Now, in a non 2/1 context, this would be a poor hand with long hearts (6+?). Am I crazy in thinking this?

 

In 2/1 it is should be played as?

See Jdonn's post.

 

I just want to add, that the 1NT response may contain several hand types,

the way the auction developed, you know, that p 1NT response was based

on a hand, that would have responded 1NT playing standard, ...,

and because of this the meaning of 2H in the given seq. is also "standard".

 

With kind regards

Marlowe

[helene_t]

I think it was Lawrence who wrote that this only shows 5 hearts as opener will bid 2♣ on 5323 (as well as 5314) and besides, with 1543 responder can't pass as it could be a 3-3 fit.

 

Anyway, this in non-invitational and tends to be a 6-card suit so opener should not panic with a singleton hearts.

 

Responder's rebid with 10-11 points and five hearts is a weak point in 2/1 if not playing some gadget for it. Responder will usually bid 2NT with those hands. Some people like then, as opener, to cater to it by bidding

1♠-1NT

1m-2NT

3♥*

on a 3-card suit, offering a choice of game. I think it was Fred who said he thought that's a bad idea since it won't find a 3-5 fit very often so on balance it helps the opposition more.

[hanp]

To get to the heart of what you asked, this bid has the same meaning in 2/1 and sayc.

♥

[nigel_k]

The standard meaning is weak with long hearts but I'd rather play it as constructive, i.e. 8-11 with five hearts. Obviously I might still bid it with a bit less and a decent six card suit but I'll have to rebid my suit if partner continues.

 

If playing Bart then this only applies when opener rebids 2♦.