1S or 2N?

[jillybean]

1st seat, you hold

 

♠KQ75,♥K9,♦AKJ73,♣K8

 

 

1♦:1♥

?

 

What is your bid now? Both vote and explain your choice please.

[Bbradley62]

2♠, since 1♠ is limited and I have more than the limit.

[bd71]

Agree with 2♠. 2N advantage is to right-side what may be our best game, but that could still happen later regardless. But 2N might forever lose a chance at a diamond slam as partner likely won't anticipate 5 diamonds after we have shown both 4 spades and a "balanced" hand.

[Fluffy]

I don't have strong arguments for one of the other, you'd better worry about bigger mistakes.

[nigel_k]

Agree with 2♠. If you play 2♠ as artificial GF then you should play 1♠ as forcing so I would do that. Apart from the shape, it is too strong for a 2NT rebid (KNR = 20.7) so you should have opened 2NT if planning to bid that way.

[hrothgar]

2♠ shows shape and strength...

2N protects my Kx in Clubs (which is the marked lead if I reverse)

 

Mark me down for 2♠ however, I don't have a strong objection to 2N

[the hog]

I play 1S as forcing and so would bid that. If 1S were not forcing, I would bid 2S.

[Siegmund]

I prefer 2NT - get it played from the right side, and get the strength specified fairly exactly - but it helps if partners are aware of this tendency so they will check back rather than just raise notrump when they have 4 spades.

 

I wouldn't fault anybody for preferring 2S if that's their style.

[mtvesuvius]

2♠. By opening this 1♦, I made a commitment to showing this as a two-suited hand. I am much too strong for 2N here, if my plan was to show a BAL hand, I would have opened 2N to begin with.

[655321]

Yep, 2♠ not 2NT.

[TylerE]

2N. Good to play a 3♣ checkback here so you can backdoor into the major fits.

[mikestar13]

2NT if you have a checkback available, 1♠ if forcing, otherwise 2♠.

[ggwhiz]

bd71 makes a good point about potentially missing a 6 diamond contract but I'm bidding 2nt as the best general slam chance, protecting my double kings in nt, spades (after checkback) or diamonds.

 

Right game, right sided may matter but probably not. I'm into making sure that any slam is declared from my side.

 

If we get some quantitative 4nt thing going, I can leap to 6 diamonds with this.

 

Of course if pard has AJ in both round suits, I've just wrong sided it but it won't be the first time, or the second or.......

[jillybean]

I bid 1♠ here, forcing. This bid was fine until we added XYZ (corrected).

 

1♦:1♥

1♠:2♣*

 

2♣ forces 2♦ which partner can pass, so now I am forced to bid 3N.

No big problem, I'm happy to bid 2n or 2♠ with this hand. I like 2♠

Are there any more catches to xyz ?

[mohitz]

Partner knows how to play bridge too. If it is right for us to bid NT, we will surely get a chance later. As pointed out, bidding 2N makes it difficult to reach diamond slam and also is an underbid.

[gwnn]

jilly, over 2C you have a perfect 2N rebid: maximum hand that is balancedish with 5 diams and 4 spades.

[han]

I think mtvesuvius said it well.

 

Disagree with gwnn's comment, 1D, 1S and then 2NT is not enough. I might bid that with a 4252 16-count.

 

Jilly, it's called 2-way checkback (although in this auction it is often called xyz). 2-way gametries is something else.

[vuroth]

The thread title got me confused - voted for 1♠ before I noticed that 2♠ was actually an option. I prefer 2♠.

[jillybean]

I think mtvesuvius said it well.

 

Disagree with gwnn's comment, 1D, 1S and then 2NT is not enough. I might bid that with a 4252 16-count.

 

Jilly, it's called 2-way checkback (although in this auction it is often called xyz). 2-way gametries is something else.

 

Thanks, it is XYZ, I've corrected that now. My other questions are about 2-way gametries which I will post in a seperate thread.

[Gerben42]

I'm a "bid what I have" kinda person, so 2♠. Partner won't hog to 3NT without a good hand for it.

[gwnn]

I agree with han, I spoke too soon. 3N is fine. I wouldn't normally bid 2N with 16 but this is a very good 19.

[mikeh]

I would bid 2♠ because I see two problems with 2N.

 

Missing spades is not one of them provided that one plays a reasonable method over 2N rebids (I very strongly endorse transfers, but they might be a bit advanced for B/I).

 

The two problems I do see are related: I think the hand is simply too strong.

 

2N shows 18-19, but this hand, due to the good 5 card suit and the plethora of controls ( Aces and Kings are probably undervalued in the simplistic 4321 count), is too good for that call.

 

The second problem is that partner may not evaluate correctly for a slam....we can find spades, for example, but he may have difficulty picturing just how powerful a hand we have for that suit, and he may not even bother to investigate diamonds, especially after finding our spades....he will assume that we are probably 4=4.

 

The downside to 2♠ is not insignificant. I like to use 2N as lebensohl over 2♠ so as to better define slam-interest hands....it is useful, in my view, to be able to play a raise to 3♠ or a preference to 3♦ as 'real'....and go through 2N to slow the auction down. I got slapped down for suggesting that in a thread many months ago, with posters pointing out that 2♠ had a minimum limit higher than the minimum for a reverse, over which it is common to play lebensohl or ingberman, but I still think this is a good treatment.

 

If you agree with me, then there is real risk that partner will bid 2N and we have to raise to 3N and the club King is exposed.

 

If, otoh, you would only permit 2N on hands with a club card, then 2♠ has far less downside.

 

Either way, I see 2♠ as the best call at our second bid.

[georgeac]

i bid 2nt worried about wrongsiding it. this is probably a poor choice by reading the responses.