[GreenMan]

Scoring: IMP

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Silent opponents, partner opened.

1NT 2♣
2♥ ...

Looking at the club weakness, I bid 4♥, figuring the Moysian fit might play better than 3NT. I'm not trying to play results, but we lost 13 IMPs when 3NT made and 4♥ didn't. Partner had something like ♠KQx ♥9xxx ♦KQ ♣AQJx.

Edited to add: I was thinking of the sort of hand where I open 1♦ on ♠KJx ♥AJxx ♦A87x ♣xx and partner bids 1♠; I'd bid 2♠ rather than 1NT without a second thought. I figured this was an analogous situation.

Was 4♥ so-so, ill-advised or just plain rotten?

FWIW this was an early board in a sectional KO final (not the top bracket).

Thanks!

This post has been edited by GreenMan: 2005-October-26, 21:20

[mike777]

Hi and welcome.

If you bid 2s without a second's thought on hand two rather than 1nt then your bidding 4h on this hand is consistent. If this wins for you why bother to change or ask. If this loses for you then maybe change.

I must admit I would rebid nt with both hands but again if this style wins for you why change?

[GreenMan]

Thanks for the quick replies!

Mike, I don't play enough to note whether this type of action wins consistently or loses consistently, hence my second-guessing. This was only my third session of bridge or so this year. Thanks for your feedback!

Justin, your points are well taken. I appreciate your explanation.

Oh, and congrats on winning the Swiss on Sunday -- that was the same tournament, FWIW. I was staggered to see 32 teams in a sectional KO!

[GreenMan]

I'm in Fort Worth. I used to play a lot when I lived in the Kansas City area, but not so much lately. I sometimes show up if there's a tournament nearby.

[EricK]

Small doubletons may not be as bad as you think!

Compare, for example, xx opposite KQx with Qx opposite Kxx. The former has a 50% chance of two tricks; the latter doesn't. Also, if the suit is lead, you are much better placed in the former case than the latter.

Honours work better in combination, so if eg you replaced the ♦J with the ♣J (so that you no longer had a small doubleton ♣ your hand is now worse. And if you were to make the minor suits Jxxx and Ax so you have a guaranteed ♣ stop, your hand has become much worse!

Eric

[FrancesHinden]

There are two reasons why the two auctions are not analogous.

i) As Justin says, when you raise 1S to 2S you are not committing to playing in spades. Raising 2H to 4H sets the final contract.

ii) When partner responds 2H to Stayman, he might also have a four card spade suit. If you bid 4H on this hand you cannot now play in spades, if you bid 3NT partner can bid 4S with 4-4 in the majors, as you have promised a major.

[mr1303]

And another point: when partner responds 1S to 1D, there are many hands he can have.

AQTxxxxx in spades for one.

When partner opens 1NT, he has declared his hand to be balanced. Whilst he may have a 5 card suit, it is unlikely, and the chances of him having a 6 card heart suit are nil.

[Fluffy]

Bigest problem with 4♥ is you can still have a ♠ fit IMO.

[hrothgar]

Here are my thoughts:

Your instincts are admirable: This is the type of hand where Moysians often play very well. You have Aces which suggest a suit contract. You have a side ruffing values where trumping in the short hand can produce extra tricks. You have a first round trump control, descreasing the opponents ability to tap you.

With this said and done, jumping to 4♥ is far too unilateral to me. As you noticed, there are a lot of hands where the 4-3 trump fit won't produce game. Ideally, you want to be able to explore for the best game rather than just blasting on a whim...

[pclayton]

4♥ could well be the winning call.

You can blame this on system. If you have some sort of forcing 2N call after 2♥, you may be able to intelligently investigate 4♥ on a 4-3 or even a 5-3 fit.

Over the long run, bidding 4♥ hurts partnership morale. Frequently it will be dead wrong, and sometimes 3N will be about the same, but your pard will still be ticked off, since he has to navigate a tricky 4-3 for 10 tricks when 9 tricks in NT might be easy.

[Grady]

Bidding 4 H on this auction eliminates the possibility of attaining superior contracts of 4 S or 3 NT. Don't do this to your partner; he will lose trust in you!

To match the field, you need to be in game with 25 HCP's. I think by far that the superior call over 2 H is 3 NT. Partner knows you have 4 SP on this auction and will correct if he also has 4 S. If 4 H makes on a 4/3 fit means that pard has club losers but you have no way of knowing this. The odds of taking 9 tricks in NT is far greater than taking 10 tricks on a 4/3 H fit.

[Al_U_Card]

Indeed, playing with the field is mandatory if you know that you play better than the average.