[FrancesHinden]

1.

Scoring: Total Points

1NT P 3♠ ?

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1NT = 10-13
3♠ = pre-emptive

2.

Scoring: Total Points

1NT P 3♠ ?

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3♣ = 4-card heart support, limit raise values or stronger (nothing about clubs)
You are not in a forcing pass position over 4S. If you'd rather you were in a forcing pass position over 4S then say so (you could have bid 3S or 4D to make it so).

[P_Marlowe]

1) I take it, that 3NT is to play,
I am a chicken, and Pas instead of
bidding 4NT.
2) In my partnership, we would be in forcing
pass, since I am not (quite normal),
I will bid 5H, green vs. red, this may
make or will not be that expensive.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[paulg]

1. 3NT - more likely to make than 5♣/5♦

2. Pass (non-forcing) - 5♥ is a reasonable 2-way bet but partner is still there.

Paul

[hatchett]

1. 3NT.
2. I'd prefer to have set up a forcing pass here. Then I would have a comfortable pass.

[whereagles]

Pass both. In 1st, 11 tricks might be there, but it's a long shot. In 2nd pard might still want to double this if he's GF.

[pbleighton]

1. Pass.
2. I play this as a forcing pass situation, and I would pass if it were so. No blame transfer available, so the sixth heart inclines me to bid 5H, with a sinking feeling.

Peter

[Codo]

1. pass.
How on earth should 3 NT or so work opposite a pard who was too weak to act after a weak NT bid? (With a least 5 Hearts in his hand?)

2. 5 Hart, I have a singleton and a sixt Heart. Should be enough to justify this bid.

[joker_gib]

Codo, on Sep 4 2006, 01:37 PM, said:

1. pass.
How on earth should 3 NT or so work opposite a pard who was too weak to act after a weak NT bid? (With a least 5 Hearts in his hand?)

2. 5 Hart, I have a singleton and a sixt Heart. Should be enough to justify this bid.

Agree totally

Alain

[kenrexford]

I have nothing to add on the first.

On the second, it seems that Opener boxed himself or herself in.

There is a lot of space between 3♦ and 4♥ to describe values. If 4♥ shows this hand, then pass is obvious -- you showed this hand. If not, then perhaps some other call earlier might help by having partner incorporated into the auction. Give partner the spade Ace, heart Ace, K-Q of clubs, and some length in clubs, and 6♥ looks sound. Give partner Q-J of diamonds and diamond length, without the spade Ace, and 5♥ seems to be in jeopardy.

If the auction is forced to 3♥ anyway, then a pass of 3♦ should show something extra, it seems. I'd expect 4♦ to indicate a void, X the Ace, and pass no control, but extra's. With second-round control, I'd cuebid something else (3♠ makes sense). This at least puts my hand better on the table, for partner to have some say.

Whatever the approach, the leap to 4♥ seems way too non-disclosing for an assured 5-level decision hand.

[mikeh]

When I play 10-12, we use 3♠ as 'to play' rather than 'preemptive'...in other words, it denies game invitational values but does not promise true weakness, and I suspect that this is how it is played here... if it is a 'true weakness' hand, then that makes a small but insignificant difference in my reasoning but not my choice.

I would also like to know our agreements, and style, over a weak 1N opening.

However, armed with what little I have by way of knowledge, pass seems perfect to me.

3N is just flat out weird.... did the 3N bidders think their partner's had opened?

Pass... and the auction is not necessarily over: if partner has a borderline (or systemically unbiddable) 0=5=4=4 or 1=4=4=4, he can double and now I will drive to 5minor via 4N.


2. 5♥... I agree with it being a non FP situation.... unless rho's 3♦ promised ♠ (which I doubt), it was more important to jam the auction to 4♥ than to overstate one's offensive potential by setting up a FP sequence.

Unfortunately, matters have gone poorly for us...

I want to bid.... I really do, but my experience on this type of hand is that it is almost always better to leave this to partner... he should have a fairly good idea of my hand, given my leap to 4♥, especially my failure to initiate a FP auction. And my ♦ King is likely better defensively than offensively.

[hatchett]

Surely partner can't have a 0544 hand than can't act over 1NT but can act over 3S? The hand I'm worried about is a 2533 or such like with 10-13(14) opposite which seems more likely on this auction, unless I am misunderstanding the 3S call.

[FrancesHinden]

1. I think 3NT is a seriously weird effort, and it wouldn't have occurred to me at the time, but it is the winning call. hatchett has described partner's hand perfectly. Partner has

Kx
AQJ10x
Kxx
10xx

and opener has

10x
Kxxxx
AJx
Qxx

Yes, partner might have chosen to show those hearts over the 1NT opening, but it's usual to play the 2H bid as showing 6.

3NT looks not very comfortable, but it can't easily be touched (team-mates made +400 on an uncontested auction).

The call chosen at the table was 4C, which led to 5C-2.

2. Our agreement is that the limit raise usually does set up a forcing pass over 4 of their major (although that's against our usual rules) but in this case opener has so many opportunities to establish the FP over 3D that when he didn't, this didn't apply.

This is a bit of a tough hand, because I can tell you what partner had:

Kx
AJ10xx
Jxx
Kxx

and you still don't know where you want to play (aggregate scoring, remember).

Give the overcaller

AQxxxx
xx
x
QJxx

and the 3-3 minor suit breaks mean that 4S is making

While in fact the overcaller had exactly one card different:

AQxxxx
x
xx
QJxx

and 4S was two off while 5H was one off.

This board was nearly flat in 5H-1, except we were doubled.