[inquiry]

Scoring: Imps

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1♦-P-1♠-X
P - 3♥-4♠-P
?

You are south playing 2/1 GF and open 1♦ playing with a competent partner whose 3♠ and 4♠ initially would have been long suit but not good hand.

Explain logic for your choice.

Ben

[luis]

5h exclusion key card in spades.
If 5h not available then just 6s.

Pd bid a vulnerable game so he must surely have the sK and a minor suit ace and might as well have more values.

[Trpltrbl]

I have AQ of a suit I might be void in and a void in opps suit. Questions is going to be 6 or 6. I don't know this pd's style but I think 6 is best contract, if pd corrects to 6 we'll play it there.

Mike

[inquiry]

luis, on Feb 2 2004, 03:06 PM, said:

5h exclusion key card in spades.
If 5h not available then just 6s.

Pd bid a vulnerable game so he must surely have the sK and a minor suit ace and might as well have more values.

If you would like, in response to exclusion blackwood in ♥'s your partner shows two keycards for ♠'s. I am not sure how many ♠;s he needs to show the QUEEN when he doesn't hold it, so to keep it simple, he denies the ♠Queen.

Ben

[the hog]

I am somewhat surprised that no one has yet commented on the bidding. Why did South pass after the double holding a fine 7 card D suit. To me this pass would suggest a min flat hand without 3/4 card support for partner, certainly not the hand he actually held.
The 2 key cards response is a little awkward - pd has the K of S, and which minor suit A. I suspect that 6D will play better than 6S, so that is my bid.

[inquiry]

As the bidder of the akward pass, let me say that nothing else seems appropriate to me. I am going to come back into the bidding on the next round, as in fact I did. One might question if the pass spurred partner to jump to 4♠ with a weaker or stronger hand than usual, but one thing, we were playing support redouble, so I deny three card support here. 2♦ would be weak and 3♦ would probably steer us away from any possible ♠ contract, and it is unclear how this particular partner would have taken it.

Answer forthcoming soon, get your choice in.

Ben

[Free]

Why did you pass after the Double? 2♦ is an obligated bid imo, or 2♣ if you really want to show some ♣s... I'd never pass this hand. Dbl would mean 3 card ♠, supporting a 4 card, so bidding is 0-2♠s.

Anyway, 5♥ as exclusion blackwood is pretty crazy, because you can easily go -1 with the wrong aces outside. So it has no use, so just blast into 6♠.

I do have a question: what does 1♦-p-2♠ mean? weak or GF? Might influence my descision, but I suspect it's weak...

[inquiry]

Free, on Feb 2 2004, 06:37 PM, said:

Why did you pass after the Double? 2♦ is an obligated bid imo, or 2♣ if you really want to show some ♣s... I'd never pass this hand. Dbl would mean 3 card ♠, supporting a 4 card, so bidding is 0-2♠s.

Anyway, 5♥ as exclusion blackwood is pretty crazy, because you can easily go -1 with the wrong aces outside. So it has no use, so just blast into 6♠.

I do have a question: what does 1♦-p-2♠ mean? weak or GF? Might influence my descision, but I suspect it's weak...

for me, 1♦-p-2♠ is a non-forcing fit jump, showing 5♠, a ♦ fit. Basically a muilderberg hand with the a know minor fit.

As to "why" I pass and your "obligated" 2♦ bid. My bidding theory is somewhat different from yours. For me, 2♦ is a HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE bid as it is non-forcing, and 1) screams weakness with no fit what so ever (support redbl and raises possible, 2) and is semi-preemptive.

I am not asking anyone to accept my bidding strategy/principle, if you can't stand pass imagine you misclicked.

Ben

[Trpltrbl]

Personally I would have bid 3 over the X, I have a nice 7 card suit am void in their suit, have nice support for pd, and I really don't think I want to play in contract yet. And I would also like to protect that Kof and ruffing with AQ of trump cannot be good unless pd KJ109xx or more.

Mike

[inquiry]

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Partner's hand was this. 6♦, protecting against singleton ♦A in partner's hand (with a ♥ lead). The ♦ blockage beats 6♠.

[Free]

Ben, if 2♦ screams out "weakness", then I'd just bid 3♦ Or even 2♣ or 3♣, but this hand screams "Bid!!!", so I would But theories/opinions can be different...

[the hog]

Thought 6D would be better
The other reason is you might have found you come to a S loser in 6S if you have to ruff with one of dummy's honors - not on the given hand, but if 4S bidder had KJxxxxx