[kenrexford]

♠Qx ♥AK98x ♦x ♣AJ108x

Partner opens 1♠, red on red. RHO overcalls 3♦. Your bid of 3♥ is passed to partner, who bids 4♥.

If you make a call other than pass or 4NT, what does this mean/show/ask?

[kenrexford]

Jlall, on Mar 25 2007, 01:43 AM, said:

I'd pass, partner is limited by his failure to bid 4D but slam could still be cold pretty easily. The 5 level could also be too high, especially with a bad trump split. Just seems like I have too many holes to fill.

Good answer.

Partner actually held ♠xxxxx ♥Qxxx ♦AKx ♣Q.

This is a tad weak, but the partnership does allow for quite aggressive openings.

In practice, I did not pass and regret that decision. However, it occurred to me at the time that perhaps 4♠ is the best approach if I do move on.

4NT by me is doomed to a 5♥ (one or three) reply, an expected call that helps me not at all.

4♠ shows what might be a key card for partner and allows me to answer 5♣ to 4NT, a much better auction.

As it is, partner will bid 5♥, and hopefully I'll get a diamond lead and make just five.

[Joe de Balliol]

kenrexford, on Mar 25 2007, 01:14 AM, said:

♠Qx ♥AK98x ♦x ♣AJ108x

Partner opens 1♠, red on red. RHO overcalls 3♦. Your bid of 3♥ is passed to partner, who bids 4♥.

If you make a call other than pass or 4NT, what does this mean/show/ask?

I have a blanket agreement that 5M asks for a control in their suit, which is annoying here as I quite want to bid it to ask partner to bid slam. If I bid 5♦ partner won't really know what to do. I could bid 5♣ but then when I hear 5♦ opposite I don't really know whether I want to be in slam. Might be a time to wheel out the Old Black and bid slam iff partner has the missing aces. I know that's not what it was designed for but it's a rough guide...

J

PS Just saw the hand. In my book, that isn't an opening bid Oh well, -100 for me...

[han]

I might also pass, but if I'd make a slam try it would probably be 5C. This focusses on the club suit and implies the lack of a spade control. 5H would indeed ask for a diamond control and 5D would be a undescriptive slam-try with a diamond control.

I don't consider partner's hand an opening hand. I open fairly light and yesterday I did open a 10-count with that shape but it had good suits and nice spots (AKxxx Q10x J10xx x).

[Fluffy]

just pass, we are missing too much.

[dake50]

P hoping partner doesn't have the magic 14 pointer.

[whereagles]

kenrexford, on Mar 25 2007, 02:08 PM, said:

I did not pass and regret that decision.

What? Didn't you bid 6 and opps let it through by leading a diamond?

[mike777]

rkc...pard cannot have less than 14 hcp for an opening bid in first seat right?

[jikl]

I would pass, ESPECIALLY if I knew partner opened that crap.

Sean

[Codo]

My pds don´t open these silly hand, so I bid 5 Club. Normally I bid on when a perefct minimum is enough for a slam, but after the interference we are under pressure so I give it one more try even if he needs a little extra. But he had not bid 4 Diamond with AKxxx, Qxx,xx,Kx....

If I want to explore slam, I very much prefer 5 Club as a cuebid, denying anything useful in Spades.

With a funny pd who opens this sort of sh.., I surely pass 4 Heart. And if we write down 4 Heart + 3 because this time he holds AKxxxx,Qxx,Axx,x I tell him that his opening style preempts our slam bidding.

[kenrexford]

whereagles, on Mar 25 2007, 01:39 PM, said:

kenrexford, on Mar 25 2007, 02:08 PM, said:

I did not pass and regret that decision.

What? Didn't you bid 6 and opps let it through by leading a diamond?

We ended up in six, and a diamond lead came (the Jack!). However, hearts were strangely 3-1 with RHO having the third heart. Clubs were 6-1. I gave it a go, winning the diamond, playing two trumps (ending in dummy), cashed a second high diamond for the spade ditch. When diamonds turned out to be split 7-2, it seemed that I now needed RHO to hold specifically ♠K ♥xxx ♦Qxxxxxx ♣K9. When RHO played a small club under the Queen, I semi-safety ducked and got spade-spade for down one (no club ruff/trump promo for down two). This line also offered a chance of simply Kx to the right, because LHO had ditched a club on the second heart.

[whereagles]

I'm certain we've all been in much worse slams before