Your partner pre-empts

[Hanoi5]

Team match, red vs white your partner opens 3♠ after a pass by dealer, you hold:

 

♠QJxx

♥---

♦AKQJT4

♣xxx

 

Say your RHO passes, what would you ideally do? Say you don't have any agreements for the 'ideal', what would you do? How would your call change if RHO bids 4♥?

[semeai]

Over a pass, I'll bid 4♣ asking for keycards if I play that. I plan to bid 6♠ opposite two and 4♠ opposite fewer. If 4♣ is doubled, I'll bid 5♠ after hearing two from partner.

 

I'll go low over 4♥ and just bid 4♠ I think. If I bid slam confidently (either via keycard or not) they'll expect I have hearts wrapped up and might try something else. Also, partner's expected heart length is now less that it was, so his expected club length is higher. I'll allow myself to be pushed up to 5 or 6 spades, though.

[mikeh]

If rho passes, I just bid 6♠. red v white 2nd seat, he won't hold K109xxxx very often and if he does, maybe he holds the club A or they lead a red card and his clubs go away..

 

No way am I going to embark upon an auction that tells them what to lead.

 

One can argue that one should make the same bid after a 4♥ overcall, and it is tempting. However, a good opp will infer that I am ready for a heart lead if I bid slam...of course, spy v spy games can go on here forever.....I bid 6♠ expecting him to not lead hearts because he'll think I can handle a heart lead, so I do it with xx, and so on.

 

I just bid 5♥...partner should own to the club control if he holds AKxxxxx in spades and a stiff club.

[Flameous]

Ideally I would love to have a shortness asking bid. (Not that I have ever played such here)

Mine and partners pre-empts are really sound here and seeing I hold QJ of spades, I'm quite sure partner has AK 8th or AK 7th and a side card.

 

Three options come to mind.

 

Bid 4S, but it's very lame.

Bid 6S, could swing a lot of imps for better or worse.

Bid 4C, natural and forcing and follow it with 6S. I'm not sure if anyone will ever fall for this kind of bluff if they hold KQ, but it just _might_ work. And if they double, well maybe partner gets in on the joke and something good happens.

I'll go with this third plan, just cause I can yell gotcha! afterwards.

[mikeh]

Bid 4C, natural and forcing and follow it with 6S. I'm not sure if anyone will ever fall for this kind of bluff if they hold KQ, but it just _might_ work. And if they double, well maybe partner gets in on the joke and something good happens.

I'll go with this third plan, just cause I can yell gotcha! afterwards.

The problem for many is that it is common (to the point that I would suggest that in NA, at least, it is 'expert standard') to use 4♣ as keycard over a non-3♣ 3-level preempt (and to use 4♦ over 3♣). So many won't have the natural 4♣ tool in their toolbox.

 

More to the point, since we do NOT want a club lead...why would we make the one call that most likely will attract such a lead? Even if you carry through with your bluff, most opps will see little reason to lead another suit after their partner suggests a club lead .... altho I admit you may catch your fish if rho holds the heart A and chooses to lead it on your auction....but he might have led it after a direct blast as well.

[semeai]

If rho passes, I just bid 6♠. red v white 2nd seat, he won't hold K109xxxx very often and if he does, maybe he holds the club A or they lead a red card and his clubs go away..

 

No way am I going to embark upon an auction that tells them what to lead.

 

I think K109xxxx with a decent side 4 card suit is possible, though odds are definitely still with him having AK. Your point about clubs going away anyway is possible, however.

 

I also had this silly idea that by bidding 4♣ (for keycards), if I can get them not to double it, I've gotten to slam in an entirely unsuspicious manner and have slightly discouraged a club lead. Perhaps that's wrong, though, since I probably wasn't going to get a club lead on the hands where I was doubled, since then LHO was the one with club values. The unknown here is how often they double.

 

There's also the problem where if I bid 5♠ after they double (asking for a club control) I've told them how to beat even 5♠ when partner has three small.

[Phil]

I wouldn't bid 4♣ for reasons already described. I think its a death wish.

 

I'll bid 5N, but hopefully avoiding a silly grand when partner doesn't have the ♠AK.

 

If partner bids 7. I think the chances are good that partner doesn't have exactly one club, which is really the only holding 6♠ caters to.

[semeai]

If partner bids 7. I think the chances are good that partner doesn't have exactly one club, which is really the only holding 6♠ caters to.

 

Assuming (only that) partner has 7 spades and we're 4-0-6-3, it's 10*(20 choose 5)/(30 choose 6) = 26% that partner has a stiff club.

[BunnyGo]

Instead of just bidding 6S directly, I'd consider bidding 5C voidwood on the way to 6S--If I hear 5S (2 w/o queen) as the response, I may bid 7 and hope the opponents don't lead clubs--and that we aren't missing the A of spades somehow.

[mck4711]

4♣: CAB

depending on answer I continue:

if 1st round control: 5NT Grand Slam Force

if 2nd round control: keycards and then 5♠ or 6♠

if no 1st/2nd round control: 4♠