[Echognome]

Scoring: IMP

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After East passes, most South's will pass. Some might have a gadget showing a 5-4 major/minor preempt, but even then, 5422 hands are known not to play very well. North now opens 1♣ (if playing natural) and South either bids 1♥ or 2♥. If you play strong jump shifts or weak jump shifts over a minor, you may want to consider what you play as a passed hand jump bids over a minor. I believe that a fit jump is quite a useful use for this bid and was found at one table. Another table commented that they would have fit jumped, but the hand wasn't good enough. For those that play reverse flannery, I'm not sure if it's best to keep with reverse flannery after passing or not. I just haven't played the convention enough, since I've been entrenched in a strong diamond system for so long.

Anyway, typically after North opens 1♣, South will bid 1♥ and then North will reverse into 2♦. Here there need to be some agreements. For example, I normally play the cheaper of fourth suit and 2NT as a lebensohl-like bid, showing a minimum for my bidding thus far. I'm sure others will play differently. I believe South should show his clubs and be willing to force to game. Whether North decides to contract for 3NT or 5♣ is another matter.

Over a strong club auction, South has to start with either a negative or semi-positive. But, I will let the strong-clubbers describe the rest to you.

[awm]

Here's Elianna and my bidding:

1♣ - 1♥
2♦ - 3♣
3NT - Pass

Nothing too exciting. 3♣ was forcing (lebensohl over reverses); Elianna probably liked her good heart spots and nice fit for clubs in upgrading a borderline hand to GF values. The 3NT completed the description of my hand, and ended the auction.

[Cascade]

We open fairly aggressive five or six-card weak twos. Second seat even at favourable vulnerability this hand is definitely minimum but nevertheless this is how our auction went ...

2♥ 3NT

[MickyB]

1♦:1♥
1N:2♣
3N:P

The 1NT rebid shows the minors, clubs at least as long as diamonds; 2♣ was preference.

My pard forgot to open a Dutch 2♥, otherwise we would repeat Cascade's auction.

[hrothgar]

We produced a pretty "dull" relay auction

P – 1♣
1N – 2♣
3♦ – 3N

South has a borderline strong club opening in 3rd seat. Holding 3=1=5=4 shape, I might very well have chosen a 1D opening. (Two suited hands with both minors are very difficult to describe if the opponents crash your strong club opening). However, I didn't like my choice of rebids over 1D – 1S, so I went with the strong club.

In theory, the relay asker could have placed the contract in 5C rather than 3N. In practice, this hand exposes one of the flaws in relay methods. While we have great information regarding shape, we aren't well placed to explore for stoppers.

Decided to go for the cheaper game

[inquiry]

To go along with my lazy bid on 5, I was opener on this hand and took the overly cautious way out on this hand as well. Our bidding was.. .

1♣-1♥
2♦-2♥
pass

Here, we were much too conservative. Here is what the bidding meant.

2♦ could be a manufactured reverse on a short suit, if so, it was one of three hands (balanced 17-19, strong one suiter with ♣). Even if it wasn't one of those two hand types, 2♦ never will have more than 4♦’s and never will include four card heart support (we have the forcing jump to 2NT available, which is why 2♦ has to be used with balanced hands too strong for 1NT opening).

So frequently, this 2♦ rebid shows 17-19 balanced with or without three card heart support. Over this manufactured reverse, we have a lot of potential responses. The weak one is to rebid our suit (as Hannie did here) to show a hand that would like to play in two of our suit opposite a 17-19 balanced hand (avoiding 2NT). But here, with 17-19, I will always hold four plus clubs. The reason being with 4♠ I would rebid ♠, not ♦, and with four ♦ and 3♣ I would open 1♦. But still 2♥ is safe, as I will only pass this with either minimum hand with 2/3 ♥.

The systemic bid with my hand over 2♥ when short in hearts is to pattern out with a 2♠ rebid. This shows 3-1-4-5 or 3-0-4-6. I decided to treat my hand as balanced 17 so I passed 2♥. If I had bid 2♠, Han probably would have bid 3NT (counting on the club fit as source of tricks), or 3♠ (here a request that I bid 3NT), or he could bid 4♣ as invitational (3♣ would be signoff). If he bids 4♣ we would get to the horrible (but lucky) slam.

However, Hannie also has a hand better than an immediate signoff attempt with 2♥. He could have bid 2♠ (4th suit forcing, one round). Over this, I would have bid 2NT (balanced or semi-balanced), and he would then bid 3♣. With five clubs, I would have given 3NT a shot. (he could have always signed off immediately in clubs if that was his intent, so this auction would have been invitational).

So on this hand, we were both too cautious, but the big mistake was my non-systemic pass of 2♥.

[Gerben42]

Gerben's Fantunes:

You have to evaluate if your hand is worth forcing to game after 1♣ - 1♠ (showing ♥).

If so, then you bid 1♣ - 1♠ - 2♠ (GF unbal. without 3♥), 3♣ (fit in ♣) - 3NT.

If not, then open 1♦ and rebid 2♣ over 1♠ (also showing ♥).
Now responder will raise to 3♣ and opener will bid 3NT.

[Fluffy]

Echognome, on Nov 21 2005, 07:23 AM, said:

For example, I normally play the cheaper of fourth suit and 2NT as a lebensohl-like bid, showing a minimum for my bidding thus far. I'm sure others will play differently. I believe South should show his clubs and be willing to force to game.

I only use 2NT as lebensohl-like to keep it simple. With 7 HCP I would try to play only 3♣, but north wouldn't let me and we owuld end in 3NT

[mike777]

1c=1h
2d=2h
2nt=3c
p

Perhaps I was too conservative with 3clubs?

This was using root-pavlicek's structured reverses.
2d often shows 17+
2h=non game force with 5+ hearts
2nt=natural often around 17-18 or so maybe 3=1=4=5?

[han]

This is not an easy hand for our methods, I might bid 2H again next time. If partner has a 17-18 balanced hand with 2 or 3 hearts, would I prefer to be anywhere else? It's usually not a good result if both partners choose the low road on the same hand.

[cherdano]

Hannie, on Nov 21 2005, 09:44 PM, said:

This is not an easy hand for our methods, I might bid 2H again next time. If partner has a 17-18 balanced hand with 2 or 3 hearts, would I prefer to be anywhere else? It's usually not a good result if both partners choose the low road on the same hand.

I am not sure, but I really like these 7 points. KT9xx + QJ9x in partner's suit; I think I could live with getting to a 24-25 hcp 3NT game here.

Arend

[han]

You are probably right, the QJxx in partner's suit has to be useful.

[mike777]

KJ again:

"Again, this hand has no clear answer by looking at the 2 hands where you belong....so .....3NT has chances, but is no cake walk....On a spade lead, if the King is in the leaders hand, it's 50% on the club finesse...but if your rightly has the king of spades, the contract is pretty much doomed EVEN if the club finesse would win because of lack of dummy entries....

I say we are better off in 3 clubs........do you have a "rest of the story" for this one?"

[Fluffy]

Jlall, on Nov 28 2005, 04:35 PM, said:

Our auction started 1C-1H-2D-2H(5+ hearts, potentially weak, 1 round force). I bid 2N showing something like I had, and Josh bid 3C NF which I passed. I think he underbid.

That's some of the penalties for making trash 1/1 often hehe, to me your hand is worth GF after my partner's 1/1