[pclayton]

Scoring: MP

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Pard opens 1♣ and RHO overcalls 2♠. Right or wrong you pass hoping for a reopening double.

Partner surprises you with a 4♥ call.

How do you proceed?

[HeartA]

6C or 6H?

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

partner is 6-5, if you wanna play
slam it is certainly 6C.
Either bid it direct or Pass.
I pass, my partner is fairly aggressive
holding a 2-suiter, i.e. we may or may not
make it, but since we play MP: 4H it is.

An open issue: What would 2 NT
have shown?

With kind regards
Marlowe

[cherdano]

6♣ seems like the value bid. If partner bid 4♥ as "this is what I have in my hand", then 6♣ is obvious. If he has 9 tricks only (in which case 4♥ is a mild stretch), maybe my ♦K scores or I can ruff a heart or we need a finesse.
OTOH, while 7 is possible, I see no way to try for it, but 4♠ and 5♦ could be misunderstood as first round control.

Arend

[awm]

This is a sort of strange auction because I'd play 3♥ by partner as forcing. After all, it is a reverse. I think partner is likely to be 0-6-0-7 for this auction. He's willing to play in 5♣ opposite virtually nothing. We have two useful cards. I'd be thinking seven.

[Codo]

Pd decided to bid 4 ♥ after he heard my pass and rhos pass. So he must be convinced, that I have some spades and some values. I think, he will play me for more or less one trick. Unluckily, one and a half trick is exactly what I have for him. So I pass, as with a even stronger hand he could have bid stronger, like 3 Spade followed by 4 Heart , or by 4 Spade or 5 Heart. Couldn´t he?

[pclayton]

awm, on Sep 20 2006, 02:06 PM, said:

This is a sort of strange auction because I'd play 3♥ by partner as forcing. After all, it is a reverse. I think partner is likely to be 0-6-0-7 for this auction. He's willing to play in 5♣ opposite virtually nothing. We have two useful cards. I'd be thinking seven.

I haven't discussed this with my pards, but why would you think its forcing? Pard hasn't expressed any values and 3♥ seems like a normal value bid with roughly 4 losers and a 5-6.

[mike777]

I am going to assume partner would not open one club with a 9 playing trick hand that is a two suited hand with 5+ hearts. I suppose partner may have some 9 playing trick hand with only 3 quick tricks. Many may disagree with this assumption.
With that said I am having difficulty coming up with what the heck partner does have.

It seems on this bidding partner must have more than:

void....Kxxxxx...void..Axxxxxx

but cannot have much more?

Lets consider a few more quick tricks.

void...KQxxxx...void...AJxxxxx is possible?

void..KQxxxx...void....AKxxxxx is only 3 quick tricks but would partner only rebid 4H on this auction?

[whereagles]

I've seen a grand total of 1 double voids in my life I'm not going to play pard for that.. lol. Pass.

[mike777]

whereagles, on Sep 20 2006, 06:10 PM, said:

I've seen a grand total of 1 double voids in my life I'm not going to play pard for that.. lol. Pass.

Does this make you happy?

x...KQJxx....x....AKxxxx

If not please feel free to post your own hands.

[mikeh]

3♥ is non forcing: void KQ10xx xx AKxxxx would be an okay 3♥ call: he cannot reopen with double because he sure as heck would have pulled a penalty double of 2♠...

So he has a better playing hand than that.

x KQJxx x AKJxxx.... I think this is still in the 3♥ range, but it is a maximum for the bid and I would not argue too strongly with those who said it was a minimum for a 4♥ bid.

Add the 10 of either suit and it becomes, for me, a clear(er) 4♥ call...x KQJ10x x AKJ10xx and I would be very happy to bid 4♥.

If you are with me so far, then we are probably in agreement that jumping to slam is risky.

OTOH how would he bid with void KQJxx Ax AKJxxx? When do we cross over into a 3♠ reopening followed by 4♥?

The answer is that I have never had that particular auction so I don't really have any experience to guide me. But I am going to assume that he doesn't have quite that much.

I am passing 4♥.

I'd like to bid 4N as a strength-showing cry of uncertainty, but that is not what it means...whatever partner thinks it means, he won't think it means this hand. Maybe 4♠ should show this type of indecision: I think that it is a reasonable meaning for the bid, but it's the type of thinking best done in the bar afterwards: "remember that hand... i was thinking of bidding 4♠...what do you think?"


BTW +480 rates to score some matchpoints anyway, even if slam is cold.

[pclayton]

I had the opposite hand and held: x, KQTxx, A, AKJ9xx. 6C is gin. Pard passed - he was pretty tired (I can't complain, we had a 67% game).

I think with a massive 0526 or 0517 the hand cues 3S and follows with 4H.

In our club, +480 was a 40% board.

[mike777]

pclayton, on Sep 20 2006, 08:11 PM, said:

I had the opposite hand and held: x, KQTxx, A, AKJ9xx. 6C is gin. Pard passed - he was pretty tired (I can't complain, we had a 67% game).

I think with a massive 0526 or 0517 the hand cues 3S and follows with 4H.

In our club, +480 was a 40% board.

Anyone for a reopening x with that hand?

[awm]

Here's why I think 3♥ is forcing:

(1) Partner is apparently willing to play 4♣ opposite virtually nothing with 2-2 in the round suits. It's hard to construct a hand where 4♣ has some play opposite such a hand, but where 4♥ doesn't have play opposite 3-2 or 3-1 or 2-1 in the round suits. Why is partner willing to play 4♣ opposite a mild fit but yet prefers I pass 3♥ with a mild fit there? After all, 4♣ is a kind of silly contract and 4♥ is worth a game bonus.

(2) I tend to open 1♥ with very minimum hands including 5♥ and 6♣. The issue is what I plan to rebid with opponents silent after 1♣-1♠ or 1♣-1NT. If I don't feel strong enough to bid 2♥ then I'll open 1♥ -- I don't want to open and rebid clubs and just not bother mentioning a decent five card suit (yeah sure I'll open a club with - xxxxx Ax AKJTxx but this is a case of treating an awful five carder as a four carder and I wouldn't bid 3♥ over 2♠ on this hand either).

(3) It's just hard to bid if reverses aren't forcing. Suppose I have a magic hand like:

- AKQxx x AKxxxxx

I want to play a slam in either hearts or clubs. Say I open 1♣ and hear 2♠, what's my rebid? It seems like I should bid some number of hearts right? But if 3♥, 4♥, 5♥ are all not forcing how do I offer the choice of small slams? Sure, I can cuebid 3♠ but this doesn't show hearts and clubs (or hearts at all) and it's easy to imagine partner misinterpreting my hand. Or opponents could bid again. Playing forcing reverses this is an easy 5♥ rebid, which basically says "I have hearts and clubs with longer clubs, and I think I can make a small slam opposite a mild fit from you and nothing else -- please take your pick."

And I've had four double void hands in competitive events -- they're rare but they happen.

[FrancesHinden]

mike777, on Sep 21 2006, 02:34 AM, said:

pclayton, on Sep 20 2006, 08:11 PM, said:

I had the opposite hand and held: x, KQTxx, A, AKJ9xx. 6C is gin. Pard passed - he was pretty tired (I can't complain, we had a 67% game).

I think with a massive 0526 or 0517 the hand cues 3S and follows with 4H.

In our club, +480 was a 40% board.

Anyone for a reopening x with that hand?

No.

The few times I've seen this auction (or the similar auction 1C 1S P 2S 4H) partner has generally not had a real 4H bid, but rather a maximum 3H bid. Just something to bear in mind...

[the hog]

mike777, on Sep 21 2006, 11:34 AM, said:

pclayton, on Sep 20 2006, 08:11 PM, said:

I had the opposite hand and held: x, KQTxx, A, AKJ9xx. 6C is gin. Pard passed - he was pretty tired (I can't complain, we had a 67% game).

I think with a massive 0526 or 0517 the hand cues 3S and follows with 4H.

In our club, +480 was a 40% board.

Anyone for a reopening x with that hand?

Uh! No!
Opposite a partner I can trust, I bid 5S as a pick a slam bid.