[cherdano]

Ok, one more (yes I had league today): You hold ♠AK76 ♥6 ♦AQ763 ♣AJT and overcall (IMPs, all vulnerable) 1♦ after RHO opens 1♣. Your partner raises to 2♦ while the opponents stay silent.

What is your plan? How high will you go?

If you start with...

Spoiler

2♠ or 3♣, partner will reply 3♦.

Arend

[han]

I think that 3H is a splinter here and I'd bid it.

btw, do you play Rubens advances here?

[cherdano]

Hannie, on Jan 15 2006, 03:16 AM, said:

btw, do you play Rubens advances here?

Nope (but 2♣ would be a good hand with fit).

[mike777]

5D
1) Do not want to make any confusing bids
2) Give up on slam when opp open on one level.
3) I assume p has bid to "lawful level"....cue=good hand, 3d=weak with 4, etc.

[Winstonm]

2S 100% forcing. Partner is not required to bid 1S when holding a diamond fit - there is no reason to rush the auction as LHO has remained quiet. If partner can only bid 3D over 2S then I'll make the splinter of 4H. The sequence should make partner sit up and take notice that his once-believed dead club king has been resurrected and xx, Jxxx, Kxxx, Kxx is now a mighty fine hand. And if I happen to catch him with Qxxx, Jxxx, Kxx, Qx his eyes still might light up when he knows what values are golden and which are trash.

Winston

[000002]

Winstonm, on Jan 15 2006, 09:52 PM, said:

2S 100% forcing. Partner is not required to bid 1S when holding a diamond fit - there is no reason to rush the auction as LHO has remained quiet. If partner can only bid 3D over 2S then I'll make the splinter of 4H. The sequence should make partner sit up and take notice that his once-believed dead club king has been resurrected and xx, Jxxx, Kxxx, Kxx is now a mighty fine hand. And if I happen to catch him with Qxxx, Jxxx, Kxx, Qx his eyes still might light up when he knows what values are golden and which are trash.

Winston

I agree 2♠ is the best bidding, but i doubt which 4♥ is a good choice after negative 3♦ back.
why not bid 4♣ simply to show your shape under 4♦?

[han]

I dislike 2S followed by 4H, you bypass 3NT which is likely the best spot. A direct splinter can get you to 3NT as well as 4S. If partner has nothing wasted in hearts then you have plenty room left to investigate slam.


I think that Mikeh hasn't seen this thread yet. Am I absolutely certain that 3H does not show 5-6 in the red suits and a very good hand? No I am not certain, but I think that it should be a splinter. With 5-6 or better I can start with 2H and then rebid 3H or 4H, the auction is not about to explode.


If I'm not confident that partner will interpret 3H as a splinter then I'd bid 2S followed by 3NT. This should give partner a similar idea (diamonds, spades, club stopper, very good hand), although it doesn't guarantee heart weakness or shortness.

[joker_gib]

2♠ seems a good start to describe this.

Alain

[cherdano]

Jlall, on Jan 16 2006, 04:52 PM, said:

2S followed by 4C. Unlike Hannie I'm not too optimistic about our chances about NT and will pretty much give up on it.

Would you give up if partner replies 3♦ and 4♦?

[han]

Why do you give up on 3NT Justin? The diamond king and a heart stopper should make it excellent while 5D needs a little more than that.

[mikeh]

2♠ seems obvious, and (as is usually but not always the case) obvious is correct here.

If partner shows no interest, via 3♦, I'll try again with 4♣ as with Justin. Yes, this means giving up on 3N, but why should we have 9 tricks after the expected ♥ lead: I bid ♦ then ♠ then notrump: what do we expect LHO to lead?

That is not to say that 3N would not make: just that I do not consider the chances of it being correct to be worth giving up on what I see as the most logical sequence to reach a good 5♦ or to stop short in 4♦, opposite xxx KJxx KJx xxx (and I know that 3N is a good spot opposite that last hand... but opposite Qxx Kxx KJxx xxx it is awful if LHO leads a ♥ spot higher than dummy's top x.


As for a 3♥ splinter immediately, I don't like it: I am not going to give up on a ♠ game or slam that easily. Give partner Qxxxx xxx KJxx x and he should raise ♦ (in my view) rather than bid ♠. I can reach 6♠ if he upgrades to a splinter over 2♠... I'm probably dreaming

And 5-6 in the reds would be bid either by an immediate 2N (if that is the lower unbids) or by 1♦, 2♥, 3♥... for me at least.

[Fluffy]

Hannie, on Jan 15 2006, 01:16 AM, said:

I think that 3H is a splinter here and I'd bid it.

btw, do you play Rubens advances here?

I would regret to no had done it previous round and pass 3♦

[han]

mikeh, I don't like your posts when you disagree with me, you make too much sense.

Although I'm basically convinced by you as well as the many others who have made their cases for 2S, I will make one last case for the direct splinter by considering the hands you posted:

xxx KJxx KJx xxx: As you said 3NT is best and you'd get there.

Qxx Kxx KJxx xxx 3NT is awful from our side but 3NT from partner's side is cold. Take away the spade queen and 3NT from partner's side is much better than 5D.

Qxxxx xxx KJxx x: Can partner really have this hand, I suspect Arend plays 3C as a mixed raise. After the heart splinter partner will be delighted, but you might get to 6D instead of 6S.


A bad hand for the splinter would be something like Qxxx Kxxx Jxx xx (4S much better than 3NT). This seems a common hand so I guess you are all correct with 2S.

[han]

Fluffy, on Jan 16 2006, 03:39 PM, said:

Hannie, on Jan 15 2006, 01:16 AM, said:

I think that 3H is a splinter here and I'd bid it.

btw, do you play Rubens advances here?

I would regret to no had done it previous round and pass 3♦

Not sure what you are trying to say Fluffy.

[cherdano]

While Han has lost the discussion here, he would have won at the table, as partner had ♠Jxx ♥K8x ♦KJxx ♣xxx.
I tried 2♠ and just bid 5♦ over 3♦, -100, push.

Arend

[mike777]

cherdano, on Jan 17 2006, 10:30 AM, said:

While Han has lost the discussion here, he would have won at the table, as partner had ♠Jxx ♥K8x ♦KJxx ♣xxx.
I tried 2♠ and just bid 5♦ over 3♦, -100, push.

Arend

Seems partner had a 3club bid (mixed raise) not 2d.

[Winstonm]

Wouldn't this hand bid 2N over 2S? Now three clubs followed by 3D and then 3N.
As long as responder bids 2N over 2S, all the splinter ideas are discarded.

Winston

[han]

What the actual hand was is of course unrelated to the best bid in theory... but I opened a bottle of champagne anyway.


I disagree with the comments concerning partner's bidding. This 4333 is unattractive for a mixed raise imo, and 2NT with xxx in clubs is.... weird unless 2NT is conventional (which Arend doesn't seem to play).