[firmit]

Bidding goes:

1♠ -pass-2♣ -pass
2♠*-pass-3♥ -pass where 2♠ forcing
4♥ -pass-4NT


What is agreed?
Has opener denied 4 card hearts?
Heart has been bid, and rebid, is not hearts trumph?
Why not show Kxx and diamond stopper, bidding 3NT?

-
South responded 5♣=1/4 aces. He held the ♥K + ♠A....

[SoTired]

yup - hearts are trump. And opener could have 4♥. There was a long, long discussion and debate among experts about hands with 6♠ and 4♥ whether to bid 2S or 2H the 2nd time. The concensus was "it depends..."

[firmit]

SoTired, on Apr 6 2007, 09:04 PM, said:

yup - hearts are trump. And opener could have 4♥. There was a long, long discussion and debate among experts about hands with 6♠ and 4♥ whether to bid 2S or 2H the 2nd time. The concensus was "it depends..."

Is there a thread discussing this?

[SoTired]

I saw the 6♠/4♥ discussion not too long ago in some magazine that included about 20 top experts and was moderated by Steve Robinson. I think it was the MABC magazine. I am sure BW has had a discussion also.

Basically, some experts thought that if the hand was a bare min, you should rebid 2S, but if it had a little extra strength you should rebid 2H. Some thought you should always rebid 2H. Some thought it depended on suit quality of the two suits. Still others would rebid 2H over a 2C response, but 2S over a 1N. Others the reverse.

There was really no consensus, but if I recall, Steve did draw some consensus conclusions on some issues, but I forget which ones.

In this case, whether the 4H bid showed 3♥ or 4♥ is irrelevant. The RKC trump suit is hearts since that is the only bid and raised suit.

[SoTired]

OK - 1st: An opening bid of 4N is straight blackwood (or Pinpoint Blackwood). Also, a response of 4N to a 1-of-a-suit bid is also straight BW (or Pinpoint BW). In other cases the rules are:

In order of priority:
1. If 2 suits are bid and raised, it is the higher ranking suit
2. If 1 suit is bid and raised, it is that suit
3. If opener has made a jump bid in his own suit, it is that suit
4. If the RKC bidder could have easily set a suit as trump, it is not that suit
5. If responder has made a strong jump shift, it is that suit
6. If opener was a strong 2C and named a suit, it is that suit
7. Last bid suit

[skjaeran]

Don't forget that there's a lot of positions where 4NT is natural, either to play or quantitative.

That includes for example:
Raise from xNT to 4NT = quantitative
(3M) - 4m - (p) - 4NT = natural - to play
Over FSF where 3NT is to play and 4NT show a stronger hand of the same kind.
Etc.

Here 4NT is RKC for ♥'s.

[helene_t]

4♥ is strange bid. For all I know, we could be in a 3-3 fit, and 4NT is to play, then.

Alternatively, 4♥ is some artificial bid (maybe a cue for an unknown fit, responder must choose between spades and clubs). Opener could have
AKxxxx
Ax
xx
AQx

In that case, 4NT is a probe for 6♣. But this is something I make up on the fly.

If you think we're in at least a 4-3 or 3-4 fit, 4NT is RKCB for hearts.

There is no way it could be regular Blackwood.

[kenberg]

Seems to me that if some experts think 2S denies four hearts and some experts think it does not, then for a pair that has not discussed the matter a four card heart holding must be a possibility and therefore a reasonable interpretation of opener's bidding in this auction. So hearts are trump for rkc purposes.

My own view is along the lines of "usually bid the hearts but if the opening was truly minimal then forget the hearts and rebid spades". But I happily defer to experts. I think I may be able to track down the discussion referred to and if I can I'll post a reference.