[xx1943]

Scoring: IMP

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West North East South
......... ........ .4♥.... ???

I'm really unsure, what to bid with this monster.

I don't like the X or 5♥ with only 3♠s.
6♦ gives up every chance of 7?
4Nt is a blunder

Least of evils seems me 5♥.

this is the full hand:


[FONT=Courier]

Scoring: IMP

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West North East South
......... ........ .4♥.... ???

Even after 5♥ from South I see no good way to 7♠.

If you look the traveller 7♠ was found only, when East allowed South to open 2♣. Now it is easy.


Wish you all merry Christmas and a happy new year, nice opponents and patient partners.

Cheers

Al

[the hog]

5H is a meaningless bid. Seriously, tell me what it means? Technically it should show some 2 suiter I suppose, certainly not the hand you have. It amuses me to see people make up bids and then blame their partner when things go wrong. By far the most flexible bid is X. My second choice is 6D. You might get to 7S after a X, but I wouldn't sweat about it.

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

X

You need more than one card from
partner to make slam playable,
i.e. 6D is a bid, which is out of
the question.

5H shows a strong 2-suiter, and
I know which suit I want to play.

Over 4S from partner, you can
bid 5D, which shows your hand,
... to a certain degree.

Partner may or may not raise to 6.
At least you go plus.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[helene_t]

Dbl is ok. You can't afford to give this most flexible bid such a narrow definition as "four spades". Partner will often pass your dbl with a (semi)-balanced hand, even if he has four spades himself.

I voted 6♦ but I don't feel strongly about it.

[Free]

I would also double, followed by 5♦. This shows this kind of hand and North should find 6♠ or perhaps 7♠ if he finds a 5♥ bid...

[mikeh]

Double is the obvious bid. Partner will often be sitting for it, especially when I hold this much stuff. If he pulls to 4♠, you can assume he is not looking at 10xxx and a yarborough... he should be passing with that hand and hoping to go plus.

You are clearly not passing a 4♠ bid, for that reason, and I see no reason to bid 5♦.

That will only confuse the matter and how on earth is partner going to bid over that with most hands.

Why not keycard??? If he has AKxx and out, small slam rates to be playable. And if he has Kxxxx (surely a minimum) we are not down yet in 5♠.

There is an argument that, on the hand, if North did bid a conservative 4♠, he should show the ♠Q... which south can correctly interprete as extra length...thus a minimum of a 6 card holding. From North's p.o.v., one cannot readily construct a hand on which South would double and then keycard on xxx or Jxx of ♠s, so the extra-length showing bid is perfect.

I would thus hope to reach 7♠.

As I said above, 4♠ is a conservative altho probably mainstream response by North.

[Halo]

I think North with pretty much any five card spade suit will pull the double. Just how often do you guys play Grand Slams?

[whereagles]

I would have bid 5♦ or 6♦ depending on how much wine I had for dinner.

[inquiry]

Short answer for a change. Double.

[Cascade]

whereagles, on Dec 21 2006, 11:17 AM, said:

I would have bid 5♦ or 6♦ depending on how much wine I had for dinner.

6♦ - I have never had that much wine.

The hand has three losers and you need something good to happen in diamonds - a fit or the jack falling.

Consequently I think it is way against the odds to bid slam.

Dbl and if partner bids something then bid or try for slam since most hands with nothing will pass the double is much more reasonable.

[Halo]

I could easily be persuaded (perhaps I have!) that double is the best bid, and that I shouldn't worry so much about the cases where it is passed for a poor score (and there will be quite a few of those cases). Double certainly leaves you better placed if partner bids.

However I think it is stretching things to say that 6D is well against the odds.

Chances of some diamond fit are much improved by the 7/8 card heart suit on your right. With as little as K10xx spades and Jxx clubs opposite, I've got fair chances in 6D, even without good enough trumps for a late entry to dummy.

[Codo]

X followed by 5 ♦ seems to be the best way to describe this hand. And if pd sits the double (unlikely) we will get rich too.
Pd needs kxxx,xxx,Jx,qxxx to make slam more or less laydown, so I guess, that 5 Diamond is an underbid, because he never will realisze, that this is enough to bid.
But he may bid 6 ♦ with that hand after my double.

And: If you double, you will quite surely reach 7 ♠.

[dake50]

5D should show close to make with little concern for what support partner has. Partner having only mild concern for his S suit, and knowing 5D close is likely sure slam with his cards, now bids 5S. He must have SAK, seeing SQJx, I go 7S on sure controls solid 6-suit.