[mycroft]

I feel for Richard's ideas, really I do, but I pass. If 6C makes, I apologize, but not for passing 5C - for bidding 2NT.

Once I make a judgement on a hand, I stick with it. Other information will tell me it's a "good X" or a "bad X" or a "really incredible X", but it's still relative to describing it as X.

"I bid it as 22-23, but it's really a 25-count." Oops. "I bid it as 22-23, but given partner's hand, it's massive" - okay, that's a change. I don't think my hand has improved enough by partner's shape. Maybe it has, I'm not an expert slam judger. But if what's convincing me that I should bid slam is that I underbid my hand two rounds ago, then I have to back my judgement and hope conservatism is right today.

I still remember an auction that the pair asked me about afterwards: P-1D-(1H); 1NT-2D; 3NT-P. I said that they really didn't want my opinion (I was an opponent, but they know I'm fair, even in these auctions. But they really didn't want my opinion). They insisted, and I said that the only bid I agreed with in the entire auction was my partner's overcall. Opener had made a seriously substandard opening because it would play well (that judgement I didn't agree with); after the overcall, passed-hand responder bid 1NT with an 11-count; opener ran from 1NT to his ratty 5-card minor because he was embarrassed by his opening; and responder bid 3NT because she had three-card support and all this unbid strength.

If either of them had just backed their (bad) judgement, they would have rescued a few matchpoints on the board. In fact, if opener had backed his judgement and "passed anything partner bid", they would have had an almost top with 1NT=, as most were getting too high. But I see this all the time - people trying to recover from bids they later regret, and going from a negative position to a massive negative position instead.

Michael.

[FrancesHinden]

Jlall, on Feb 20 2007, 10:42 PM, said:

For a simulation you would have to set the parameters and I don't really know how to do that. Essentially that is the whole point of the problem, figuring out likely hands for the 5C bid.

Indeed.

Anyway, I thought this an interesting hand because I'm normally strongly in the camp of "if partner signs off you should always respect that", but here it's possible to construct hands where you are 23-24 balanced and you don't. Roland gave a hand he would raise to 6 on; but how about this hand:

AKx
AK
Ax
AJ9xxx

on which you can underwrite 7C?
(maybe you wouldn't call is 23-24 but you take my point)
There are certainly plenty of hands where you know 6C is good or cold opposite a 64 0-count so this isn't an auction where you are absolutely obliged to respect partner's opinion; partner has not only given you an opinion but also described their hand in detail.

Anyway, if we trust partner then she ('twas I) won't have an ace, and won't have the CK and the HQ as either of those hands would be a 4C-then-5C bid. My partner, who held the strong hand, thought for a while and eventually decided that while it might be on a finesse (HQ OR CK opposite) it was impossible for it to be cold, and it might be much worse than a finesse. His counterpart at the other table raised to 6.

The passers win this time. Partner has
x
10xxx
x
109xxxxx

Slam is poor, and goes off (clubs are 1-1 but the HA is off-side).

FWIW, I'm a bit surprised at the comments that this hand is "too strong" for a 23-24 rebid. It's a pretty 23-count with lots of controls, but has no 5-card suit, no pips... if partner passes 2NT we won't have missed game.

[skjaeran]

It's very close between pass and 6♣. You can easily give partner a hand for this auction where slam is odds on. With the actual hand slam was odds off and would go down.

The decision would normally depend on your personal view of life (optimist/pessimist) or the state of the match (need a swing?).

I totally disagree with posters saying the hand is too strong to bid as 23-24 balanced. 2NT is where you belong if parner elects to pass (you might in fact prefer to play 1NT ). And it's easy to upgrade the hand if partner makes a move.

[HeartA]

With all my honors being primary cards, I am going to bid 6C.