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Relays: lazyness paradise


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This is a hand from a national tournament.

 

Opener: AKTxx, JTxx, AJx, x

Pd: x, AKQxxx, xx, Txxx

 

I conducted a survey

 

8 pairs bid 1s-2h;3h-4h;pass

4 pairs bid 1s-2h;4c-4h; pass

1 pair bid slam after 1s-2h;4c-6h

1 pair bid slam after 1s-2h;3h-4h;4nt!!-etc

 

And there was a lazy pair playing Moscito (not me, I was playing vanilla 2/1, and I won't comment my auction)

 

2c (10-14 5/4 or better in the majors) 2d (relay INV+)

2n (spades > hearts and short clubs) 3c (relay GF)

3d (5-4-3-1) 3h (controls?)

4d (5) 6h

pass

 

Many players were obfuscated for not bidding 4c "how stupid it was not to splinter now I had to pass 4h..."

Others were fuming at pd "I bid 4c and you have 0 waste in clubs and all the hearts and signed off in 4h? Why don't you think? Do you want me to splinter support and ask for aces? Do I have to do everything?" This were follower by a chain of "sorrys" from the 4h bidders.

 

And there was one pair talking about movies....

"Did you bid the slam?"

"Yes sure, there wasn't a way to stop, he opened 2c and I relayed and..."

 

Note that they were "forced" to bid the slam and that's very healthy.

Conclusion: Relays once learned are good to relax between boards... your brain is fresh to play and defend since bidding is almost automatic.

 

Luis

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well, this kind of hands is a big headache for 2/1 players.

over partner's 2H rebid, there is no forcing raise available.

One possible solution is perhaps using 3NT to show an exceptionally good hand for H contracts which allows opener to show his singletonton

at 4 level.

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I don't think this hand has anything to do with system. Those who failed to bid slam don't have good sense hand evaluation, instead of system.

 

Once if it goes 1S-2H-4C, responsder, considering his 6th heart and 3 ruffing tricks added because of the splinter and the club length, simply is too good to sign off.

 

On the other hand, opener who has a suit headed by AK(potentiall source of tricks), plus controls everywhere...what else does he need to know except simply RKCB checking solidness of trump?

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On the other hand, opener who has a suit headed by AK(potentiall source of tricks), plus controls everywhere...what else does he need to know except simply RKCB checking solidness of trump

 

It's trivial to construct hands with club wastage where 5H (or even 4H, for that matter) is in jeopardy, losing D+H+C or D+ 2H. Giving up the game bonus to go down 1 in 5H searching for the 22 HCP slam isn't good bridge in my book. Opener going immediately to RKC or not respecting a signoff is nuts IMO.

 

After 1s-2h-4c!, really you need some gadget like "Last Train to Clarksville", or its inverse, "Chattanooga", where responder can bid 4d (or not bid 4d) to encourage slam, but not promising diamond control or driving past game. It's also relatively easy to construct hands for opener where you don't really want to be at the 5 level either. After the splinter + encouragement, then opener with the good controls can be justified to move forward.

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well, this kind of hands is a big headache for 2/1 players.

over partner's 2H rebid, there is no forcing raise available.

One possible solution is perhaps using 3NT to show an exceptionally good hand for H contracts which allows opener to show his singletonton

at 4 level.

 

Huh? No forcing raise after 1S-2Hs??? 1S-2H-3H = forcing raise, since 2/1 players established game force with 2H bid. I have to admit I would have a different auction to game/slam. I would not treat this hand as good enough for a 2/1 game force. So, depending upon vul and my feeling, I would either bid 1S-4H (hearts), or 1S-1NT planning on bidding an invitational bid in hearts next. After 1S-4H, we surely get to slam, after 1S-1NT-2H-4H, I doubt we will reach slam. On a trump lead, of course, slam will be hard to make if spades are 5-2, but it is an excellent slam.

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I think junyi_zhu means playing 2/1, responder cannot bid 2H first and has to start from 1NT forcing. This is why Miles objects 2/1 GF because in traditional SA this is a simple 2H then 3H rebid.

 

However, a 1S-1NT-2H-4H bid, simply put too much pressure on the opener. Therefore, understandably, the slam could be missed.

 

So, responder has to bid 3NT after 2H to show "big fit, too good to signoff 4H", and opener has an easy 4D bid(shape showing), since it doesn't make sense that 3NT is natural to play.

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If you are playing MPs all 3NTs should be to play :-) Even the wrong ones, even the ones that shouldn't be to play.....

OTOH I've seen a 3nt bid that wasn't to play when my pd rescued 2nt doubled to 3nt :-) Ok Ok I WILL pick a minor.....

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If you are so crazy about 3NT why not bid it first time after 1S? It does conceal a lot information. OKOK, you play Baby Blackwood or unspecified splinter...

 

OTOH, you can play 1S-2NT as natural and 1S-3C as Jacoby. This way, you can assign whatever conventional meanings to 1S-3NT, including pick up a minor~~~

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