[KurtGodel]

What do you play after 1m - 1M - 2M?
Do you play different methods after hearts/spades or even diamonds/clubs? Can opener raise 3 cards in your style?

Just curious, because what I play atm is woefully inadequate: i.e. 2NT is inv with 4, 3x is natural GF showing 5, 3M inv with 5, 3NT is GF with 4, 4x is splinter with 6, 4M to play.
I've heard a lot about playing next suit up as GF inquiry, was wondering what follow ups people use et cetera. (That is to say 1m - 1♥ - 2♥ - 2♠ is art GF).

[gordontd]

It seems to me that if you play it as GF it will limit its usefulness greatly. There was an earlier discussion here about these sequences.

[ArtK78]

And here:

http://www.bridgebas...__1#entry778359

[Trinidad]

After 1x-1M; 2M, I play a relay (2M+1) as a general invitation to 4M.

Opener, who is going to be dummy, can:

• Accept the invitation by bidding 4M
  
• Accept the invitation by bidding 3NT, suggesting 3NT as a contract
  
• Reject the invitation by bidding 3M
  
• Describe his hand (as a game try) by bidding between 2M+1 and 3M

The bids between 2M+1 and 3M can be to your taste. I personally like long suit tries, but short suit tries or help suit tries are fine if that suits you better.

Finally, in the auction 1m-1♥; 2♥-2♠; 2NT shows a game try with spades (long suit, short suit, help..).

This way, declarer leaks little information to opponents.

Rik

[KurtGodel]

 gordontd, on 2015-June-11, 07:36, said:

It seems to me that if you play it as GF it will limit its usefulness greatly. There was an earlier discussion here about these sequences.

Thanks Gordon.

[SteveMoe]

Do We raise with 3 card support? Yes with unbalanced hand or balanced hand with doubleton 9x or worse. Otherwise 1N (always on 3334).

Asking bids:

Kokish
Step 1 asks partner for a suit where they would accept a Help Suit Game try
Other simple new suits are short suit tries
3M is the trump quality try.

Also

2N asks
3♣ 3 card min
3♦ 3 card max
3♥ 4 card min
3♠ 4 card max balanced
3N 4333 max
4♣/♦ 4 card splinter
4♥ 4 card splinter (♠ fpr ♥ or ♥ for ♠

Also

Step 1 ask (♥/♠) 2 ♠/N:
2N/3♣: 3 card with shortness (next step asks where/GF)
3♣/♦: 3 Card min bal
3♦/♥: 4 Card min Shortness (Step 1 plays/Step 2 asks GF)
3♥/♠: 4 Card min Balanced
3♠/4om: 4 Card Max Splinter
3N: 3 Card Max Balanced
4m: 4M225m with 5 card m (opener's minor)
4om/4♥ 4 Card Max Splinter
4♥/♠ 4 Card Max Balanced

[case_no_6]

First off, I don't see any way to get around not occasionally raising partner's response of 1M to 2M on 3 card support unless you are playing some sort of non-standard system (e.g., transfer responses over 1C openings).

Second, in my partnerships, I like to play some version of a convention most often known as Spiral, where the most economical bid available (my preference) or always 2NT (yuck!) asks for further information about 3 vs. 4 card support and minimum vs. maximum values.

[jdonn]

The most common agreement I see is, next step asks (2♠ over hearts, 2NT over spades). Then the next 4 steps say, min with 3, max with 3, min with 4, max with 4. That is ok, easy to remember and gives the basic nature of each hand, but it's not great.

I think there are two very important things the relay has to do, other than reveal min/max and 3/4.
- Allow you to stop in opener's minor opposite a 3 card raise.
- Allow you to find out which shortness, if any, opener has with 3 in time to stop in 3NT, also useful for slam investigation of course.

I would do this:
1C 1S 2S 2N -
3C = Min with 3 - next step asks shortness
3D = Max with 3, short diamonds
3H = Max with 3, short hearts
3S = Min with 4
3N = Max with 3, no shortness, 4333 is fine too
4C = Max, 4225, reasonable suits
4D = Max with 4, splinter
4H = Max with 4, splinter
4S = Balanced max with 4

Etc., ordered however you think you can remember most easily. I find this easy to remember no matter which suit was opened or raised, with new suits always showing shortness (2NT substitutes for 3 card raise with short spades when hearts are trumps and 2S asks), opener's minor always showing min with 3 since it can be passed, and the bids otherwise what they sound like. They can double the shortness showing bids if they like, but I don't fear a lead of our shortness, and I'm not worried about a save after 1C P 1S P, so it doesn't concern me.

[nige1]

 KurtGodel, on 2015-June-11, 07:29, said:

What do you play after 1m - 1M - 2M? Do you play different methods after hearts/spades or even diamonds/clubs? Can opener raise 3 cards in your style?
Just curious, because what I play atm is woefully inadequate: i.e. 2NT is inv with 4, 3x is natural GF showing 5, 3M inv with 5, 3NT is GF with 4, 4x is splinter with 6, 4M to play.
I've heard a lot about playing next suit up as GF inquiry, was wondering what follow ups people use et cetera. (That is to say 1m - 1♥ - 2♥ - 2♠ is art GF).

In an article on page 30 of the July Bridge World, Ed Davis proposes a relay-method similar to JDonn's after
1m - 1M - ; 2M
My partner and I raise with 3 card majors (for example, when we hold 1345 shapes). We play a simpler forcing relay

[gnasher]

 jdonn, on 2015-June-12, 15:44, said:

Etc., ordered however you think you can remember most easily. I find this easy to remember no matter which suit was opened or raised, with new suits always showing shortness (2NT substitutes for 3 card raise with short spades when hearts are trumps and 2S asks), opener's minor always showing min with 3 since it can be passed, and the bids otherwise what they sound like. They can double the shortness showing bids if they like, but I don't fear a lead of our shortness, and I'm not worried about a save after 1C P 1S P, so it doesn't concern me.

It seems technically better to play that step one is always the minimum with shortage. With your rules, don't you run out of space after
1♦-1♥
2♥-2♠
3♦

[Shugart23]

we use both short and long suit tries; eg ...1D-1S -2S -2NT says I have a shortness and inviting to 4S and would you like to know where it is ? 3C, says yes, where is it? while 3S or 4S is to Play.....alternatively..1D -1S-2S - 3 of a suit is invitational to 4S showing a 5 card suit as a source for tricks...

[jdonn]

 gnasher, on 2015-June-13, 03:25, said:

It seems technically better to play that step one is always the minimum with shortage. With your rules, don't you run out of space after
1♦-1♥
2♥-2♠
3♦

I think whatever is technically best is probably more complicated than what I play. For that matter, what's really technically best is probably different for every different combination of major and minor opened. I am happy to just know opener's minor is a min with 3 since it's so intuitive. I usually look for the technically best thing that I think I will easily remember.