tough hand to bid

[rr9000]

1C - P - P - to you and you hold spade void, Axxx, AKJxx, AKxx.

 

What's your call and what's your plan? If you double, pard bids 2S.

 

Thanks!

 

RR9000

[ahydra]

Double, then 3D, if partner persists with 3S then 3NT.

 

ahydra

[Winstonm]

If I ever cue bid clubs it will sound like spade support, so after the double and 2S bid, I think a direct 3NT shows little interest in a spade contract. If partner bids 4S, I pass.

[TylerE]

I would probably squint a bit and treat is as a strong 5-5 red hand and start with 2NT, because I really really don't care about partners spades.

 

Other than that, I would rather bid 2♦ than X, just because these 5440 hands never play quite as well as they look, and I just know partner is going to go nuts bidding spades. I'd rather be +200 in 2♦ then -200 in 4♠.

[mikeh]

I would probably squint a bit and treat is as a strong 5-5 red hand and start with 2NT, because I really really don't care about partners spades.

 

Other than that, I would rather bid 2♦ than X, just because these 5440 hands never play quite as well as they look, and I just know partner is going to go nuts bidding spades. I'd rather be +200 in 2♦ then -200 in 4♠.

I have learned the hard way not to call anything 'standard' so I won't say it is standard to play a balancing 2N call as natural, but it is very common amongst experienced players. The reason is that the notrump ranges have to be different from those in direct seat. It is 'standard' for a direct 1N overcall to be 'strong' (typically 15-18) which leaves stronger hands to be dealt with by double and then notrump.

 

In balancing seat, it is standard for the 1N to top out at about 14 hcp (individual ranges may vary but I've never seen a good pair that would hold as many as 16). So one needs to have ways of showing the higher ranges. It is useful to play, as one example:

 

1N 10-14

Double then cheapest notrump 15-18

2N 19-20

double then jump in notrump: 21-22

 

With more, one can double then cuebid then notrump.

 

So 2N as reds might end up being embarrassing when partner misreads the bid...otoh it is right on hcp, lol

 

If the opps were red and we white, I'd be tempted to pass and think it the correct action at mps. Partner should lead a trump on this auction and on a good day, we are outscoring any game we might make.

 

Otherwise, I double and hope. Over 2S, we have issues. If we bid 3D, it doesn't imo show this hand....it merely shows a different hand than either 1D or 2D....stronger than the former and more flexible than the latter (assuming, as is common, that 2D shows an intermediate overcall). Besides 3D may have the effect of endplaying partner. I think I bid 3N over 2S.

 

I definitely plan all of this out in advance...it is imperative that you plan for spade action since otherwise your BIT is going to cause potential issues. Fortunately, this is pretty obvious.

[MrAce]

1C - P - P - to you and you hold spade void, Axxx, AKJxx, AKxx.

 

What's your call and what's your plan? If you double, pard bids 2S.

 

Thanks!

 

RR9000

 

Please mention the vulnerability and scoring.

 

I double and bid 3 NT if pd bids 2♠.

Note that pd failed to overcall 1♠ and that means he has only 4 card spades if he jumps to 2♠ now. A sign of balanced hand with 10-11 hcp and only 4 card ♠.

 

If I ever cue bid clubs it will sound like spade support, so after the double and 2S bid, I think a direct 3NT shows little interest in a spade contract. If partner bids 4S, I pass.

 

Look at the auction again, pd will not bid 4♠. Unless he passed previous round by a mistake. If he had weak hand and 6-7 card ♠ which was too weak to do something over 1♣ now he would jump to 3♠ over DBL. He will not even have 5 card spade for his 2♠ bid due to initial pass over 1♣.

[Cyberyeti]

Please mention the vulnerability and scoring.

 

I double and bid 3 NT if pd bids 2♠.

Note that pd failed to overcall 1♠ and that means he has only 4 card spades if he jumps to 2♠ now. A sign of balanced hand with 10-11 hcp and only 4 card ♠.

 

 

 

Look at the auction again, pd will not bid 4♠. Unless he passed previous round by a mistake. If he had weak hand and 6-7 card ♠ which was too weak to do something over 1♣ now he would jump to 3♠ over DBL. He will not even have 5 card spade for his 2♠ bid due to initial pass over 1♣.

 

I'd have thought he was more likely to have 5 bad spades that he didn't fancy overcalling than 4. There are precious few hands where I would bid 2♠ on 4. Vul may affect somewhat what he can have.

[MrAce]

I'd have thought he was more likely to have 5 bad spades that he didn't fancy overcalling than 4. There are precious few hands where I would bid 2♠ on 4. Vul may affect somewhat what he can have.

 

Even if he has 5 bad spades, which he may, that still means we should never worry about hearing 4♠ over our 3 NT.

[Cyberyeti]

Even if he has 5 bad spades, which he may, that still means we should never worry about hearing 4♠ over our 3 NT.

 

This is true, but would be embarrassing in your vision of the hand if he had something like AKQJ, xx, xxx, xxxx, your hand is very unsuitable for playing 3N opposite this sort of thing. If it's a bad 5 card suit, he might have put them off leading one, but you will make plenty of tricks outside as he will have side entries xxxxx, KQx, Qx, QJx for example where you have 12-13 tricks available outside NT but only 9 in NT.

 

I would bid a FG 3♦ over 2♠ and see what develops, I'd much prefer to see if partner wants to raise diamonds, he might hold something more normal like AKxx, xx, Q10xx, xxx where 6♦ is just excellent.

[Tramticket]

would be embarrassing in your vision of the hand if he had something like AKQJ, xx, xxx, xxxx

 

That looks like a 1♠ over-call for me - even with a four-card suit.

[Cyberyeti]

That looks like a 1♠ over-call for me - even with a four-card suit.

 

It does to me too, just not to a lot of people

[Phil]

2S is pretty good news. He has values, yet didnt overcall, so his cards are in other places.

[rmnka447]

I'm also doubling and bidding 3 NT over 2 ♠.

 

If 2 ♠ is partner's correct call, RHO must be virtually pointless. I don't think partner need only have 4 ♠, but could hold a hand with not enough good values and/or decent enough ♠ to pvercall. Opener rates to have most all the missing As and Ks for the opener leaving partner with a lot of quacks to yield enough points for the 2 ♠ call, maybe ♠ Q10xxx ♥ QJx ♦ Qx ♣ Qxx leaving opener ♠ AKJx ♥ Kxxx ♦ xx ♣ Jxx to open on. But with all the prime cards in our hand, those quacks are probably going to be useful for us.

[mr1303_2]

I'm going on a different track and will start with a simple 1D. Could this be awful? Yes, but I think no more likely than double or 2NT. It seems likely that someone will find a 1S bid, either opps or partner.

[661_Pete]

I don't know what I'd do now, but I know what I'd have done 50 years ago!

 

2♣. "GF and first-round control of ♣". Of course Michaels hadn't even been invented back then. If partner shows ♠ you should be safe in 3NT (though I'm always a bit scared when void in partner's suit). Otherwise...