[bid_em_up]

As you sit down to play in a 12 bd IMP tourny with your favorite regular partner (meaning you can use whatever methods your regular partnerships happen to play), for the first board you pick up:

Noone vul
Dealer North
IMP Pairs
You are South
Board 1

---

As you are preparing to open whatever strong bid your partnership uses, your partner passes and then that dastardly RHO opens 2♠ in front of you.

Now what?

[pclayton]

6♥ on the 'one useful card' strategem.

[mikeh]

6♥ looks like the practical bid, but can it hurt to say double first?

It probably won't help, but let's say we get lucky and find partner with something like Jxxx x KQxxx Kxx. I have given him enough ♠ length that LHO with a presumed 4432 yarborough and only 2♠ (or a 4333 yarborough) won't raise. Now partner will introduce his minor, showing constructive values (we surely get to play lebensohl here) and we can keycard. Once he shows a keycard, we can bid 7♥ (or 7N). He will either hold the Q of his suit or a side King or, worst case, enough soft stuff/length that we will be a favourite for some end position.

And I don't see the cost: we are always bidding (at least) 6♥ and there is no way that he has a penalty pass of 2♠.

[kenrexford]

I'll bid 3♠, no matter what that means. However, what that means will determine what I bid next, plus whatever partner does.

[inquiry]

kenrexford, on Dec 7 2006, 02:49 PM, said:

I'll bid 3♠, no matter what that means. However, what that means will determine what I bid next, plus whatever partner does.

Doubt that is going to help. Mikeh's will at least get a lebehnshol based response, you will just get a forced bid that will not tell you much.

If you like the one useful card prinicpal of biddign 6♥, you might as well go whole hog. If partner has one useful card, a king, you will have 12 tricks, you can always hope for a 13th on a squeeze of something. And a 7♥ bid might bring the a 7♠ sacrafice. Of course, you may not want to hear that bid... :-(

So any of the fanciful double (please don't pass partner), 6♥ or 7♥ all seem fine to me. 6♥ has the advantage of having a better chance to make than 7♥, and only going down one when neither can make. 7♥ has the advantage of putting pressure galore on the them during the bidding, and if they pass and partner has only one entry, during the play.

[mikeh]

Jlall, on Dec 7 2006, 02:46 PM, said:

mikeh, on Dec 7 2006, 02:27 PM, said:

And I don't see the cost:

LHO won't bid 6S over X

Ask yourself this: is an opp more likely to bid 6♠ over a direct 6♥ (presumably bid in the expectation of making) or over double?? No way is he bidding 6♠ when you might be about to stop in game.... unless he has the hand with which he would always bid. In the meantime, maybe I get info anyway: lets; say that it goes x [4♠] and partner doubles (card showing, not penalty) or bids 4N or 5minor. Admittedly, I don't expect either of these to occur, but where is the downside (and if it goes [2♠] x all pass, at least I have an easy lead )

[Halo]

6NT

It's Pairs, and 6NT generally scores OK. Where's the entry in a heart contract?

Second choice 7NT.

[bid_em_up]

Halo, on Dec 7 2006, 04:10 PM, said:

6NT

It's Pairs, and 6NT generally scores OK.  Where's the entry in a heart contract?

Second choice 7NT.

Note, its IMP pairs, and it is unlikely to make much difference whether you bid slam in either hearts or NT.

I'm surprised that mikeh and ken are the only ones so far who makes any attempt at finding out whether or not partner has any values for the grand or not. Do your partnerships not have any methods of doing so?

For the record, if you double, partner will bid 2N leb and now its your call. This is why I didnt like double at the table, because you can almost be certain that partner is about to pass 3C if you bid it, and you will be forced to cue 3S over this anyway.

If you cuebid 3S, partner will bid 4D.

[mikeh]

Having heard the expected but still mildly disappointing 2N, wild horses couldn't get me to bid 3♣, so I am not worried about being passed there.

I could still try 3♠ and then use keycard over partner's 4minor response...intending to ask for the Queen if he shows 1 and to bid 6♥ otherwise (even if he shows no keycard, he may have the other minor King or he may have a ♥ entry and an establishable trick... but for sure I am not bidding any number of natural notrump.

However, is it absolutely clear that 3♠ followed by 4N is keycard? What if you had some monster 28-30 count balanced? Would you use 4N over 2N with that?

While I think I 'know' the answers, why put partner through this ordeal, when we 'know' that we are probably going to end up in 6♥ anyway. So I'd bid 6♥ over 2N.

[1eyedjack]

There is a very small risk that advancer might convert a double to penalties, which I think on balance would not be good news. It is unlikely, but I don't think I would chance it given the equally unlikely chance of a useful response if he pulls it.

[whereagles]

I'll try 6♥ as well, and not too enthousiastic about it.

[the hog]

kenrexford, on Dec 8 2006, 05:49 AM, said:

I'll bid 3♠, no matter what that means. However, what that means will determine what I bid next, plus whatever partner does.

"No matter what that means". Oh dear oh dear Ken, seeing that you are promising a 2 suiter I guess you will be prepared to bid 7H over your partner's 7m correction to your many Heart bids.

6H for me. If I miss the grand, well tough.

[FrancesHinden]

ummmmm... many people play it as asking for a spade stop.
There was a hand in last month's BW where someone (can't remember who) bid it to 'ask for a stop' then pulled partner's 3NT bid to 4H showing a huge hand with hearts - that got them successfully to slam.

[FrancesHinden]

mikeh, on Dec 7 2006, 09:06 PM, said:

(and if it goes [2♠] x all pass, at least I have an easy lead )

you have an easy lead, but what to you play at trick 2? The ace of spades is likely to leave you still on lead.

(I have happy memories of a hand against Brian Senior - enormously good pairs player - where the auction went 2H x from me all pass, I led the HK from KQ doubleton, and partner overtook the second round to draw trumps)

[Winstonm]

Jlall, on Dec 8 2006, 08:57 AM, said:

FrancesHinden, on Dec 8 2006, 05:45 AM, said:

ummmmm... many people play it as asking for a spade stop.
There was a hand in last month's BW where someone (can't remember who) bid it to 'ask for a stop' then pulled partner's 3NT bid to 4H showing a huge hand with hearts - that got them successfully to slam.

Nick Nickell

I believe I remember Fred as saying he uses this treatment as well - a cue bid is a request initially for a stopper but a subsequent move shows a hand too big for ordinary action.

If the opps don't continue to intervene, might not a good auction be:

P-2S-3S-P
4(any)-P-4N (keycard for any)

Or another auction might be simply a direct 4N ace ask in preparation for 5N king ask. If we are going to bid 6H anyway, can it hurt to check for 7 along the way without blasting?

[keylime]

I like the practical bid. 6♥. Pard will bid on with no wasted values in spades.