[inquiry]

Board One:

Scoring: IMP

Playing 2/1 GF with 1NT = 15-17 hcp

1. Do you open 1NT?
   YES = 4432, nice jacks in combination
   NO = Some hands have to be downgraded...

If the answer above is "no", then if the auction continues...
1C - (Pass) - 1D - (Pass), your rebid is:
   1S - Got four of them
   1NT - show balanced

If the answer to open 1NT was no, then the auction continues....
1C - (pass) - 1NT - (Pass) your rebid is:
   2NT - I do I have 15 hcp, we vul, this is imps
   Pass

---

2.

Scoring: IMP

Playing 2/1 GF with 1NT = 15-17 hcp

1. Do you open 1NT?
   YES = 4432, nice jacks in combination
   NO = Some hands have to be downgraded...

If the answer above is "no", then if the auction continues...
1C - (Pass) - 1D - (Pass), your rebid is:
   1S - Got four of them
   1NT - show balanced

If the answer to open 1NT was no, then the auction continues....
1C - (pass) - 1NT - (Pass) your rebid is:
   2NT - I do I have 15 hcp, we vul, this is imps
   Pass

---

1D - 1S
1N - 3C
4C - 4D
5C - ?

Partner can't have much. At most in minors QJ, QJ. That 6 points. If partner had something like AKJ, KQJ, AQJ of hearts, surely he would bid 3NT over 3C. With heart ACE, you reasonably assume partner would cue-bid 4H on the way to 5C. So partners hearts are at most KQxx or KJxx (no 3NT bid). So it seems likely he "must" have an ace. Do you bid 6S? Do you pass? Do you correct to 5D or 5S? Do you bid 5NT. It took me quite a while to bid here.

[whereagles]

1. Open 1NT. Hand pattern comes before its texture, and I don't consider this hand exceptional enough to reverse that priority.

2. Don't have the means to get the info I'd need so I'll just take the percentage action and bid 6♠. Got 4 losers opposite an expected 3 cover cards, so this rates to make.

[pclayton]

1. I would never downgrade this hand to 1♦. There's plenty to like about it, frankly. Perhaps the follow-up questions are more meaningful if the hand doesn't have the J♦ and opens 1♣. if I open 1♣, I will stick with my original evaluation and pass 1N.

2. I'm worried about NMF, so instead I make an ambigious call of 3♣ that can be passed?

One of the most difficult things I've faced as I progress in my skill is trusting partner. Sure, there are situations where I need to 'coddle' partner, but I don;t think this is one of them.

I think the best strategy on this hand is to lie a little about this hand. Start with NMF, and then support diamonds. You should be able to find out if pard has the Q♦ via KC.

After 3♣ I'm sort of at a loss, however I have gleaned some info about pard's hand. He doesn't have 3 spades, doesn't have 4♥ and is afraid of 3N for some reason. 2=2=5=4's don't typically rebid 1N, nor do 1=3=5=4's. I would think 4N is absolutely KC for clubs. If pard shows me A♠, A♥ and Q♣, I think I can bid 7♠.

[HeartA]

pclayton, on Aug 16 2006, 12:14 PM, said:

1. I would never downgrade this hand to 1♦. There's plenty to like about it, frankly. Perhaps the follow-up questions are more meaningful if the hand doesn't have the J♦ and opens 1♣. if I open 1♣, I will stick with my original evaluation and pass 1N.

Completely agree. This is called consistency.

If 3C were acceptable, 4D was asking for trouble.

[mikeh]

1. Why play 15-17 if you are not opening 1N? I can see downgrading with, say, a KQ tight holding, but AJ tight is not in the same category: consider being declarer opposite 10xx in both holdings: they lead against AJ and you have two stoppers, they lead against KQ and you have one.

If I did downgrade (or miscount, which is more likely for me ) I sure wouldn't bid 2N over 1N by partner unless I knew that partner showed a good hand: say 8-10. Now I am asking partner to go to game with 9+.

Consider this: if you open 1N, showing 15-17, and partner has a flat 8 count, he should be passing: yet, by downgrading your hand to 14 and then raising 1N to 2N, you are forcing the partnership higher than you would have by opening 1N. Do you see the inconsistency here? Furthermore, if the 1N shows 5-10 or 6-9 etc, then 2N shows a hand TOO GOOD for 1N: typically a 17 count with 5♣ or a poor 18.... not quite good enough to bid 3N.

2. I agree with Phil's comments on the ill-advised 3♣. Having got myself completely entangled in a web of my own devising, I am forced to guess. I was so afraid of my partner that I distorted my hand and now I am supposed to draw inferences about this insane auction? I guess 6♠.... at least this should put an end to this agony. 6♠ followed, quickly, by folding my cards up, writing down the contract and telling LHO: 'your lead'.... that should get my tormented partner to pass

[inquiry]

I will not post the hands, as it doesn't really matter what happens. On the first one, I did in fact downgrade, and opened 1C, partner bid 1NT, and I followed my initial evaluation and passed.

On the second hand, having xyz or at least nmf by agreement would have simplified the auction. My partneralerted his pass during my hesitation as I tried to decide what to bid... his alert "Longest hesitation ever". Well I doubt that, but it was long. I stuggled with two different views.

View one. If partner had the heart Ace he would have cue-bid it over 4D, if he had KQJ of hearts he would have bid 3NT over 3C rather than raise. The outcome of this was he had KQ of hearts at most and QJ of both minors at most. The point I couldn't decide about would be would he cue-bid 4S with a singleton ACE (1444) or not. And what would he have bid 4NT over 4D with. In final analysis I passed, but I think whereagles and others got it right when they suggest it a guess and the best guess her would be 6♠.

[neilkaz]

Hand 1) I don't downgrade here as I think the texture is good enough to consider this 15 HCP so I open 1NT. If I downgrade, I sticking to my guns and passing PD's 1NT.

Hand 2) If unsure about NMF getting messed up, can't you find a way to ask for aces, either now, or after forcing a round ? I know people here gag at the mention of Gerber, but perhaps you can find some way to ask for aces, and if not missing both, just bid 6S, crude but simple, if concerned about PD messing up the bidding.

.. neilkaz ..

[DWM]

I would bid 1NT on hand one as it makes all my future bidding a lot easier.

[FrancesHinden]

hand 1: I would open 1NT. If I didn't open 1NT and partner responded 1D, I would make whatever my systemic rebid is. If I also haven't discussed this, I definitely open 1NT in the first place.

If I open 1C and partner responds 1NT I have a clear pass, unless I am playing in the Acol/limit raise style where 1NT shows 8-10 with 4 clubs.

hand 2: If I am sufficiently uncertain of my methods not to know how to make a forcing bid over a 1NT rebid, I rebid 6S on the second round because it's what the hand is worth.

[kenberg]

From the statement "the totality of your agreement is 2/1 with udca." I take it that the question is how to handle these hands in a pick-up partnership. I find this easy.

In number 1 I open 1NT because I have 15 hcps and a reasonably balanced hand. If one of my jacks were a ten, I would open 1C and bid 1S over 1D. This is because Walsh is, whatever its merits, not my idea of a default agreement in a pick-up.

In the second, after 1D-1S-1NT, I don't care how convinced partner might be that Gerber is a crime against humanity, surely he will recognize 4C as ace asking (if not, I expect to have more trouble than this one hand) . Depending on the response I will bid 5 (over 5D) or 6 (over 5H or 5S) spades. There should be a play for it even if they have an ace. I would never try to count 13 tricks by some subtle sequence, and I will not worry that this may be the hand where he has rebid 1NT with the stiff deuce of spades.

Actually I would bid the same way with anyone.

Imo, if there isn't time for discussion, play SAYC not 2/1. It may not be a great system, but you know what the elementary bids mean. Not being able to decide on slam on this simple hand because you are playing undiscussed 2/1 seems weird. Not being able to decide on small or grand seems like a problem all but the most detailed of partnershipos will face. So you choose 6 if pard shows an ace.


Playing nmf with a partnership where much has been discussed, you can set spades by bidding 2C over 1N, then after he rebids 2D (if he does) you bid 3S. After that, perhaps you have a bid to ask first about the aces, and then the queen of Diamonds (those who have studied Kantar's book on RKC might be able to say how, I don't know). Then you might be able to take a reasoned shot at a grand figuring that since he has at most five major suit cards (and probably exactly five) he may have either a fifth diamond or the jack of diamonds, or something , and if not maybe you can run the ever hopeful squeeze. Or you could settle for six.

[keylime]

I am writing this from my new pda.
Let's see how this pans out.

I think that if you fail to open 1NT that you don't have enough desirable rebids available to indicate your true shape.

On hand 2, it is too bad that you don't have a 2S strong jump available. I'd probably bid 2C as a probe since you can jump in spades at next turn.

[Codo]

Hand 1 If I dowengrade to 1 NT, I will pass pds 1 NT bid and bid 1 Spade after 1 diamond. But I don´t downgrade. I like my rebid structure after 1 NT openings, so I will use it as often as possible.

Hand 2: Just once in my years of online bridge, I had to play 2 Club in an auction where I thought, that anybody will know, that this is nmf: So I had always bid 2 Club in hand two.
3 Club had been 5-5 and inviting so I had belived, that pd may pass this. But after all this bids, I will look for a slam, maybe in spades, this counts more and 6 ♠sounds like a final call.

[FrancesHinden]

kenberg, on Aug 19 2006, 08:43 PM, said:

In the second, after 1D-1S-1NT, I don't care how convinced partner might be that Gerber is a crime against humanity, surely he will recognize 4C as ace asking (if not, I expect to have more trouble than this one hand).

The first time I played with someone who became a regular-ish partner, we had the auction 1D - 1S - 1NT - 4C. We both assumed, correctly, that 4C was a singleton or void with a single-suited spade slam try.

[kenberg]

FrancesHinden, on Aug 21 2006, 08:12 AM, said:

kenberg, on Aug 19 2006, 08:43 PM, said:

In the second, after 1D-1S-1NT, I don't care how convinced partner might be that Gerber is a crime against humanity, surely he will recognize 4C as ace asking (if not, I expect to have more trouble than this one hand).

The first time I played with someone who became a regular-ish partner, we had the auction 1D - 1S - 1NT - 4C. We both assumed, correctly, that 4C was a singleton or void with a single-suited spade slam try.

My error! Live and learn. Thus:
2C may be passed playing minor suit rebids a la Goren
3C may be passed if 2C would have been nmf or checkback orsome such
4C might be taken as a stiff.

No doubt there is a lot to be said for 4C being a stiff with great spades. It makes good sense.

SAYC at http://web2.acbl.org...y/sayc_book.pdf says:
4 clubs is Gerber over any 1 or 2 NT bid by partner including rebids.
Of course here these folks were not playing SAYC, they were playing 2/1 without further discussion.

As I say, lacking time to discuss what means what, there is a lot to be said for playing SAYC. On the hand in question, you ask for aces and place the contract. It's true that when partner has both aces you will make 11, 12 or 13 tricks depending on other factors, but surely 12 is the likely number and I think few partnerships could do better than "check for aces and place the contract". I don't know on this hand how 6S works out, but I sure like 4C Gerber a lot more than the auction they had.

Ken

PS (added) I prefer strong jump shifts, so if I had a hand with a self-sufficient spade suit suitable for slam over a 1NT rebid, I would most likely have bid 2S over 1D. If partner then bids 2NT, probably 3C shoulld be a stiff. Only with discussion though.