[hatchett]

♠ - ♥ QJ9543 ♦ AJ3 ♣ 8764

NV vs V IMPs

1♥ 1♠ ? your plan

[whereagles]

4♥, followed by 5♥ if opps bid 4♠ (pard doubling or not). The spade void is nice, but I have a bunch of losers and the extra trump lenght doesn't serve much purpose.

[joshs]

5H. Then respect whatever partner wants to do. 4H is a x-fer to 4S and I will have to bid 5H next.

[joshs]

Jlall, on Mar 8 2006, 11:25 AM, said:

joshs, on Mar 8 2006, 11:18 AM, said:

5H. Then respect whatever partner wants to do.

How will partner be well placed to know what to do? Or does 5H show this hand?

5H is a pre-empt, this hand is on the defensive extreme for the bid (since I have a side ace). Just as I overstated my offense to defense ratio (I didn't promise any defense), your splinter overstated your defense to offense ratio (a game level splinter promises ownership of the hand and sets up a forcing pass). Both tactics can work. Yours by making them less likely to bid 5 over 5 later (if they beleive you) and mine by making them guess immediately.

[inquiry]

"Clever" answer, 4♣ splinter followed by 5♣ exclusion blackwood. Non clever answer, an honest 3♠ (risking a useful double) or a value showing 2♦ hoping the vulnerabilty will keep them from bidding too much. At the table, I would bid an honest 3♠.

[mikeh]

Pass

Okay, so this is not an opening lead problem!

I'll take the risk that LHO passes

I began this post by splintering, planning to suggest pass as my second choice, but the more I thought about pass, the more I liked it.

However, at the table, I would splinter because the efectiveness of pass and subsequent actions (no, I am not planning to pass next round) would be diminished/destroyed by a tank at round 1.

If I were able to pass smoothly, I would be hoping to hear something to my advantage. In my (bridge) fantasy world, I hear a fit-showing jump to 3♣ on my left and a game bid on my right (in my wilder fantasies, I hear partner intervene with 3♦ )

If I hear a more mundane auction, I will later compete, almost certainly via some unnatural notrump bid: thus after 4♠ gets back to me I will bid 4N and then run to 5♥.

Let me add one caveat: I would always splinter against truly strong opps because the fooling around will likely not fool anyone then.

But the pass route is attractive not merely because of a desire to put on the superman cape but also because the splinter is an inadequate, inaccurate description of this hand, and immediate preempts even more so. Pass is the least descriptive, of course, but maybe this is a hand on which science is impractical.

[Al_U_Card]

2D, wtp?

[Fluffy]

inquiry, on Mar 8 2006, 05:09 PM, said:

"Clever" answer, 4♣ splinter followed by 5♣ exclusion blackwood. Non clever answer, an honest 3♠ (risking a useful double) or a value showing 2♦ hoping the vulnerabilty will keep them from bidding too much. At the table, I would bid an honest 3♠.

Curiously I would also bid 4♣, but that shows 2 suiter on my agreements

[Free]

Fluffy, on Mar 9 2006, 02:57 AM, said:

inquiry, on Mar 8 2006, 05:09 PM, said:

"Clever" answer, 4♣ splinter followed by 5♣ exclusion blackwood. Non clever answer, an honest 3♠ (risking a useful double) or a value showing 2♦ hoping the vulnerabilty will keep them from bidding too much. At the table, I would bid an honest 3♠.

Curiously I would also bid 4♣, but that shows 2 suiter on my agreements

Isn't 4♣ Gerber?

I'd bid 'normal' and start with 3♠.

[joker_gib]

3♠

[hatchett]

If you bid 3♠ the auction continues

1♥ 1♠3♠4♥
P 4♠?

[mikeh]

5♥

I assume that this is at least a 3 part question, and that we are currently on part 2. 5♥ is so obvious that I can't imagine any other bid.

BTW, partner's pass was forcing, so either he is in doubt or he has strong slam interest (if you play pass and pull as strong). Given the second possibility, it behooves you to make the quietest noise possible given your relative lack of minor suit hcp.

[hatchett]

1♥ 1♠ 3♠ 4♥
P 4♠ 5♥ P 
p 5♠ ?