[inquiry]

This is a poll for tje begommer/intremediate players, but all are invited to participate. The purpose is to discuss auctions where advancer uses a cue-bid of the opponents suit. There is, in effect, no "right answer", how you play this cue-bid is up to partnership agreement. For the sake of discussion, assume the two auctions are....

Pard-Opp-You
1He-(2Cl)-3Cl, or

Opp-Pard-Opp-You
(1Cl)-1He-(pss)-2Cl

It is possible to agree the cue-bid as the same in both cases, or to treat one, or the other, as promising a higher lower limit of values.

Ben

[luke warm]

inquiry, on Jan 14 2004, 05:55 PM, said:

This is a poll for tje begommer/intremediate players, but all are invited to participate. The purpose is to discuss auctions where advancer uses a cue-bid of the opponents suit. There is, in effect, no "right answer", how you play this cue-bid is up to partnership agreement. For the sake of discussion, assume the two auctions are....

Pard-Opp-You
1He-(2Cl)-3Cl, or

Opp-Pard-Opp-You
(1Cl)-1He-(pss)-2Cl

It is possible to agree the cue-bid as the same in both cases, or to treat one, or the other, as promising a higher lower limit of values.

Ben

i like negative free bids, so in auction one the 3C bid almost has to be forcing to at least 3H (showing heart support, cuz double there shows either a normal neg dbl OR game force somewhere).. if opener is strongish he can cue, if not return to 3H or bid 4H

auction two seems different in that 2C may or may not show heart support, although it is forcing.. presumably partner will clarify next bid.. i wouldn't be surprised if he had good clubs

[cnszsun]

case 1: limit raise or better with 4 cards support;
case 2: forcing and showing an opening value hand, may or may not have heart support, any other bid is nonforcing.

[Gerben47]

1H (2C) 3C = Game forcing with heart support. Sets up a forcing pass situation. 2NT would be an invitational heart raise.

(1C) 1H (p) 2C

Here there is some discussion possible. I play that a new suit is forcing at the 1- or 3-level but not at the 2-level. Therefore, 2C shows either:

a) Invitational or better with 3-card heart support
GF 1-suiter in diamonds (2D would've been non-forcing)
c) 12+ balanced without fit and without club stopper (rare)

[inquiry]

The votes are coming in, and as you can see, there is no strong agreement as to the meaning of the cue-bids, and people often play one of these as GF, and the other as not (but different people play different ones GF... for instance, Gerben plays the first auction as GF but not the second, and cnznsun reverses these). I myself play neither of these as game force.

At one time, "standard" was that a cue-bid of the opponents suit was game force. Now there is much more variety. There is even a name often used for the none-game forcing cue-bid, where it is called "an unassuming cue-bid".

How you play the cue-bid is not as important as having an agreement with you partner. For simplicity, nothing can be simplier than playing a cue-bid as game force. But then the frequency of the ability to use the cue-bid will much less. "Modern style" is to raise, particularily majors, with "weak hands" so that things like 1H-P-3H is weak (often combined with Bergen Raises, for instance). When the opponents enter the bidding (say with a 2C overcall), this same style is for the direct jump raise to be the same "weak" rather than limited.

If your jump raises are "limit" then cue-bids with support should be game force. If on the other hand, you like the style where direct raises are weak, then you need an alternative way to show you limit raises. This is where the unuassuming cue-bid comes into play (as well, oddly enough, 2NT bids often show good hands and support...see Gerben47 post where he uses 2NT as limit raise and 3C as GF raise on one of the two auctions).

For me, direct raises are always "weak" (inverted minor suit raise the exception), with or without competition. Thus, I harness the cue-bids as some kind of support and better than the direct weak raise. But I treat the two cue-bids bove "differently". On the first auction, 3Cl shows a mixed raise with four card support, but a hand that is as good for defense as for offense. I would bid 2NT with a hand with more offensive hand and heart support, and less defense. On the second hand, I am promising only 3-card support, and I might have only 8 or 9 hcp, or I might be stronger. Again I could use 2NT here as a limit+ heart raise with four card support.

Ben

[Trpltrbl]

inquiry, on Jan 14 2004, 10:55 AM, said:

For the sake of discussion, assume the two auctions are....

Pard-Opp-You
1He-(2Cl)-3Cl, or

Opp-Pard-Opp-You
(1Cl)-1He-(pss)-2Cl

I play cuebids mean different things in different situations.

1) shows a limitraise or better in that situation, but if I would have been a passed hand it shows a 4+ card limitraise, since my X is either negative or 3card limitraise.

2) shows a 3 card limitraise or anything GF in this situation, 3 or 3 are Bergenraises.

Mike

[luis]

Unassuming, may or may not have support, good hand.

[mishovnbg]

There are great difference between cue bids at different levels in my opinion. Reason is that not only 4 major, but 3NT is also possible game with not much hcp, based on good suit.

• Cue bid 2 level. Generally, it must show major fit, because cue bid at 3 level, 2NT and jump shifts are available.
  
• Cue bid 3 level. Generally, it must deny fit and ask for stop, because 2NT can show limit raise or better, while direct raise can be weak. I know that most of players bid such cue bid as fit .
  
• Cue bid 4 level. Generally, it must show fit and slam interest. There is no room for bidding and this is most often case.

Why not multi purpose cue bid? Because may be too late to describe different type of hands after partner's or opponents's rebid... Example, real hand from tournment, experts:

♠	xx
♥	AKQJxx
♦	AKx
♣	xx

♠	AJ10xxx
♥	xxx
♦	xx
♣	AQx

Bidding:
(1♣)-1♠-Pass-2♣
Pass -3♠-Pass-6♥
Pass -7♥-all Pass, but down 1
Note: If You bid 4♥, partner will probably pass. If you bid 5♥, he probaly also pass, because bad trumps and min hand for 3♠. If you pass 6♥, I can change K♦ to Q♠...
Misho