What would you call

[dwar0123]

2/1, good partner

[hv=pc=n&s=s6hat7532daqj5ca7&d=e&v=0&b=2&a=1sd2s3h4s]133|200[/hv]

 

1. Do you double originally?

2. Assuming you did double originally, what do you call now?

[aguahombre]

1. No, but it isn't clear whether the decision to double has affected anything. Maybe it put the better player as declarer.

 

2. 6♥, and let partner figure out whether it makes while she is playing it.

[mcphee]

I would have over called in H first.

 

I like 6H, looks like it should have some shot, In fact I hope they dble :P

[Quantumcat]

I would have bid 2♥ first, then if it went 1♠ 2♥ 2♠ P P ? I would make a takeout double, and correct 3♣ to 3♦ and partner would get the idea. Partner probably won't jump in clubs because they didn't bid 3♣ or double themselves, if they do jump it will be on long suit and not a strong hand, so it would be safe to leave them there.

[y66]

2H originally. 6H now.

[lowerline]

2/1, good partner

[hv=pc=n&s=s6hat7532daqj5ca7&d=e&v=0&b=2&a=1sd2s3h4s]133|200[/hv]

 

1. Do you double originally?

2. Assuming you did double originally, what do you call now?

 

I don't bid 6♥. I don't want to punish partner for stretching to 3♥. I would have overcalled 2♥, but now I bid 5♥ and will double 5♠ if they bid it.

 

Steven

[lalldonn]

6♥ by everyone?? Um, wow lol.

[ahydra]

I would have overcalled 2H... now, I have no idea. 6H seems a reasonable-ish shot but as others have mentioned partner may be stretching a bit. 5H should make so I think I'll call 5H.

 

ahydra

[aguahombre]

I don't bid 6♥. I don't want to punish partner for stretching to 3♥. I would have overcalled 2♥, but now I bid 5♥ and will double 5♠ if they bid it.

 

Steven

While we don't go out of our way to look for magic hands, we also don't go out of our way to look for possible magic situations where a good partner would "stretch" to 3♥ that won't have a play for 6. Of course, there are style issues...like if the good partner and I have a way of showing a really crummy competitive stretch to 3H. XXX KJXXX XXX XX would qualify as really crummy, though; and I still wouldn't mind being in 6.

[lalldonn]

Imagine poor partner with x KQJxx xx Qxxxx. He has been incredibly passive and bid only 3♥ instead of 4♥, which I might even laugh at him for later if we are friends. And our reward to him is to put him in an almost-no-play slam? I just don't get it. Why are we praying we have no loser AND he has the king of clubs AND the diamond finesse works? Cut him some slack, he was just competing to 3♥.

 

That is not to mention that if we have slam it could very well only be there in diamonds. xx KJxxx Kxxx xx, etc.

 

Of course I agree with everyone (well I assume everyone) that I wouldn't be here since I would have overcalled 2♥ to begin with. But I will be plenty happy if 5♥ makes without taking what seems to be a needless and random risk of bidding 6. I'm seriously trying to figure out these answers. Is it just mob mentality after the first person bid 6♥?

[lalldonn]

While we don't go out of our way to look for magic hands, we also don't go out of our way to look for possible magic situations where a good partner would "stretch" to 3♥ that won't have a play for 6. Of course, there are style issues...like if the good partner and I have a way of showing a really crummy competitive stretch to 3H. XXX KJXXX XXX XX would qualify as really crummy, though; and I still wouldn't mind being in 6.

Hoping that partner's diamonds + clubs are no more than 5 AND that diamonds run so you can take care of his club losers is nothing but a prayer. We must look at your example hand differently since I would very much mind being in 6. Do you just get a lot of 3-3 breaks on auctions where the opponents probably have distribution, not to mention that you need the finesse to work on top of it? You should play money bridge.

[Phil]

5♥ seems totally normal. We need perfect cards for 6.

[Phil]

The only reason to bid 6♥ is as a semi bluff and pray your RHO saves.

[neilkaz]

5♥ seems totally normal. We need perfect cards for 6.

Agreed.

 

If 4NT is RKCB here then we can try slam if PD shows the ace♠ and king♥ since it is likely that the K♦

is onside. However, it seems quite unlikely that PD has a minor suit king in addition to the two missing key cards since he might have bid 4♥ with that.

[daveharty]

1. No

2. 6♦

[lycier]

1.bid 2♥

2.bid 5♥

[Zelandakh]

I think an original 2♥ overcall is absolutely clear. One option after 4♠ is to play a direct 5♥ as a slam try and 4NT followed by 5♥ as merely competitive. Am interested what our senior posters would use 4NT for on this auction.

[CSGibson]

Who you gonna call? GHOSTBUSTERS!!!!

 

 

But seriously, I would have overcalled 2♥, double is a misstatement of the hand. Now I bid 5H, because I think its too much of a parlay in a competitive auction to bid 6 - even if everything works, we might have handling charges getting back to hand enough to take all the finesses you want/need to take. on the lead of, let's say, the king of clubs.

[SteveMoe]

I bid 2♥ first.

My rebid deserves more consideration:

I have 4-losers. Partner is inviting/stretching in ♥.

Like it or not the stretch hand would be a 8 HCP hand with 5♥, whereas any 8 loser with 4 hearts would also bid 3♥. (Let's leave the discussion about responsive doubles with 4 cards in the other major aside for now). With my holding I simply think partner is more likely to have the 9-11 HCP 4-loser with 4 hearts.

If so 6♥ seems right.

[y66]

Imagine poor partner with x KQJxx xx Qxxxx. He has been incredibly passive and bid only 3♥ instead of 4♥, which I might even laugh at him for later if we are friends. And our reward to him is to put him in an almost-no-play slam? I just don't get it. Why are we praying we have no loser AND he has the king of clubs AND the diamond finesse works? Cut him some slack, he was just competing to 3♥.

 

That is not to mention that if we have slam it could very well only be there in diamonds. xx KJxxx Kxxx xx, etc.

 

Of course I agree with everyone (well I assume everyone) that I wouldn't be here since I would have overcalled 2♥ to begin with. But I will be plenty happy if 5♥ makes without taking what seems to be a needless and random risk of bidding 6. I'm seriously trying to figure out these answers. Is it just mob mentality after the first person bid 6♥?

 

Duly noted that pard can have x KQJxx xx Qxxxx. He can also have xxx QJxxx Kxx xx or xxx QJxxx xx Kxx or xxxx KJxxx xx Kx. In situations like this one, I tend to be overly optimistic and overweight the better hands and the odds that RHO has the DK if we need that.

[ggwhiz]

1. 2♥

 

2. 4nt While I have no agreement that it's anything other than rkc, it's barely possible that pard has 2 and free to ask. Maybe partner can divine my serious intent but it's too much detail on a rare auction to have a specific agreement other than this in my partnership.

 

ps, If pard gets to show 1 kc and they bid 5♠ I'll smack it and under lead with a middlin heart to get a diamond shift.

[JLOGIC]

I think an original 2♥ overcall is absolutely clear. One option after 4♠ is to play a direct 5♥ as a slam try and 4NT followed by 5♥ as merely competitive. Am interested what our senior posters would use 4NT for on this auction.

 

I would use 4N as keycard. In general I dont think 4N should be keycard in competitive auctions when it could be 2 places to play or w/e, but here 4N must be some hand with hearts imo. In that case, you could use 4N as a slam try rather than keycard to facilitate cuebidding, but honestly I don't play that (though would when clubs is our suit, so maybe it makes sense here also).

 

I have often thought, just as a matter of theory, that when 4N can be 1 of "slam try" or "keycard" and you have no other slam tries available, that it should be slam try. This situation would qualify, but would require that agreement which I don't have.

 

On that note, bidding keycard seems better than bidding 6H, if we are off 2 keycards I would not want to try slam even though it might be good since I don't have the Q or J of hearts.

[JLOGIC]

This hand is a good example where I'd love to make a slam try. Bidding 4N and then 6 opposite 1 seems pretty dangerous, even if we are on the diamond hook which rates to be on we probably still need the CK with partner. Similarly, if partner has the DK we will often just have 2 losers, we don't rate to have the pitches. If parner is 3-5 we will, but given their aggressive bidding they rate to have 10+ spades imo. I would love to be able to bid 4N slam try and if I heard 5C bid 5D and assume partner will bid 6 with good trumps (true, if he is just K K he will sign off and we'll miss a good slam, but he rates to have more heart honors given our length). If he bid 5D I would sign off since the DK is really a bad card for us since we are hoping to be on a diamond hook.

[Fluffy]

as long as you have any agreements 4NT must be better than 5♥, if only for the reasons stated by ggwhiz.

[rmnka447]

I would bid 2 ♥ originally instead of double.

 

Given the auction thus far, I'll bid 5 ♥ and take what looks like a pretty sure positive. There's just no way to know if 6 ♥ is a make or not. So, bidding 6 is shooting for a top.