[pclayton]

Last hand of an 8 board match and you are up 16. Pard opens 2♠ white / white and you look at: A, AKx, x, AKJT98xx.

Your call?

[Fluffy]

3♣, let partner explain a bit.

[han]

3C.

[hrothgar]

whatever I think they'll bid at the other table...

(3♣ if this is a blind guess)

[han]

Well, you are up 16 so if you think that the other table is in 7C then you should be in 6C, right?

Anyway, I prefer to play bridge so 3C seems clear.

[mikeh]

If I know I am up 16, white v white... I try to think how big a catastrophe I can afford. I can blow 15 imps! Wow. Talk about a feel-good auction opportunity.

Ok... since I can afford 15 imps, and even tho the opps may be making a successful wild double, I bid what I think I may make: 6♣.

Maybe LHO will save at 6♦

3♣ does nothing. Just exactly what is your plan over 3♣? Ok, maybe he'll splinter 4♥... I check for Aces (even I would use 4N here as keycard) and bid grand opposite KJxxxx x Ax xxxx.

I might try for this miracle if I couldn't afford to lose 11 imps by missing the grand.

[pclayton]

If you bid 3♣, pard tries 3♦ I think.

[whereagles]

What if you go 1 down and opps make 5♣X?

5♣ seems safer than the slam.

[keylime]

I like 6♣; I don't think this is a hand for science.

[skjaeran]

If we're 16 up 6♣ is an obvious call now. The chance for losing 16 or more is almost non-existent after that bid.

[bhall]

Ah, but you only estimate that you are up 16 - your dumb teammates may have blown back a bunch. Maybe it's 16 plus or minus 8, more likely. Now what's best?

[kenrexford]

If your opponent is sitting here, he also realizes that you "cannot lose" if you bid 6♣. But, can you?

Sure. You need to be -1300, right? Well, what if 7♠ makes but 6♣ does not? 6♣ has problems when 7♠ makes.

What if Opener has something like ♠KQJxxx ♥Jxx ♦Axx ♣x?

In 6♣, you cannot get to dummy to take advantage of the spades after a diamond lead. So, you hope for clubs to come in but catch Qxx behind. You eventually lose that club and a heart.

At 7♠, however, the worst is a heart lead. Declarer wins, clears the spade Ace, Club Ace, ruff a club (maybe high), draws spades with a cooperative split, and re-crosses in hearts to enjoy the now-established clubs.

So, I'm now afraid. 6♣ ain't working to assure the event. I need more info, the info that my opponent will seek. Hopefully I'm playing Ogust.

2NT Ogust for me.

[kenrexford]

I just came back from a cigarette and realized that his problem is actually quite humorous, at least if using my techniques.

Suppose I start with 2NT Ogust, and partner has:

♠KQJ(10)xx(x) ♥xxx(x) ♦Axx(x) ♣(x)

Something like that.

His response will be 3♠, "good hand good suit." For a "good suit," without the Ace, I expect KQ10xxx at least, and perhaps KQJxxx.

So, my next call is 4♣, asking partner to cuebid. When it maters, he will cue 4♦, showing the Ace and bringing in the grand in spades scenario.

Now, I cue 4♥. When it matters, he will cue 5♣. Whatever we have agreed, that's clearly shortness.

So, it seems that one can intelligently get to 7♠, and in an auction where the guy holding my hand will know that the alternative contract of 6♣ will be in possible jeopardy from a club stack.

There may be other ways to find out even more information, but 7♠ seems to be an imminently reachable alternative strain.

[mikeh]

kenrexford, on Sep 18 2007, 09:22 PM, said:

If your opponent is sitting here, he also realizes that you "cannot lose" if you bid 6♣.  But, can you?

Sure.  You need to be -1300, right?  Well, what if 7♠ makes but 6♣ does not?  6♣ has problems when 7♠ makes.

What if Opener has something like ♠KQJxxx ♥Jxx ♦Axx ♣x?

In 6♣, you cannot get to dummy to take advantage of the spades after a diamond lead.  So, you hope for clubs to come in but catch Qxx behind.  You eventually lose that club and a heart.

At 7♠, however, the worst is a heart lead.  Declarer wins, clears the spade Ace, Club Ace, ruff a club (maybe high), draws spades with a cooperative split, and re-crosses in hearts to enjoy the now-established clubs.

So, I'm now afraid.  6♣ ain't working to assure the event.  I need more info, the info that my opponent will seek.  Hopefully I'm playing Ogust.

2NT Ogust for me.

if partner was bad enough to open 2♠ with KQJxxx in spades and an outside A, we probably wouldn't be up 16 imps And Ogust won't tell you what you need to know

[pclayton]

I bid 6♣. Caught pard with: KTxxxx, xx, QTx 7x. Got a trump lead and made 7. Owne did the same thing at the other table.

[Gerben42]

People talking about winning and losing. I don't understand how the score gets in the way of common sense.
In an 8-board match, being up 16 is 20 - 10 in VP. If you lose 15 that's all the way back to 15 - 15. Yuck. As a teammate I would not be happy with such defaitistic reasoning.

How about actually trying to be constructive?

I bid 3♣ risking to actually find out something about partner's hand.

[Halo]

6C

Seems a practical option.