[Hanoi5]

Being Vulnerable against non-vulnerable opponents your partner opens 1♣ to which you answer 1♥. Your partner jump-shifts to 2♠ and holding:

♠A108x
♥JTxx
♦Qxx
♣Ax

What is your bid? Your partner has shown a distributional hand with 18 to 20 HCP, which I guess is normal. So, how do you treat your hand?

[skjaeran]

I raise to 3♠. If partner rebids 3NT (serious) I'll cue 4♣ next and bid 4♥ (last train) over 4♦. If partner only makes a cuebid (non-serious) I'll sign off in 4♠.

[ArtK78]

I will certainly raise to 3♠. I don't have the serious 3NT agreement with my partners (perhaps I should). If partner cue bids, I will cue bid my club ace.

It is hard to imagine a hand consistent with the auction which will not produce good play for slam. Partner is in control - he should have a good idea whether the red suits are under control. Slam will have very good play opposite as little as KQxx [Ax x] KQxxxx [the red suits in either order], and partner has shown much more power than that.

Given any reasonable hand that he might have for a jump shift rebid, partner should be able to bid RKCB over 3♠. If he does not do so, something is quite odd about the hand.

[Fluffy]

3♠ seems crystal clear, 4♣ would be splinter

[Echognome]

3♠ seems clear enough. My worry on this hand is what I would bid over a serious 4♣ bid on this auction (which I believe should show 2 of the 3 honors, but will have to check with my regular partners on that). I think I would bid 5♣ and hope the 5-level isn't too high.

Over 3NT (non-serious), I would bid 4♣ and then 4♠. Partner will have to do the rest. Of course, I play that the 2♠ bid is pretty strong as I am not likely to pass 1♠.

[cherdano]

Of course 3♠.

I wouldn't play serious/non-serious 3NT here btw, when opener makes a jump shift his strength is already reasonable well-defined and bidding out his shape is quite useful (3N = 4225, 4C=4(12)6, 4D/H=4(13)5 naturalish).

[Echognome]

cherdano, on Oct 24 2007, 12:29 PM, said:

Of course 3♠.

I wouldn't play serious/non-serious 3NT here btw, when opener makes a jump shift his strength is already reasonable well-defined and bidding out his shape is quite useful (3N = 4225, 4C=4(12)6, 4D/H=4(13)5 naturalish).

I'm all for showing shape, but not resolving it at the 4-level.

[TheoKole]

3 ♠.

Your hand is very strong for your partners bidding, and I would insist on slam if for some reason that partner signs off, but I don't think that will happen.

On strong hands you need room to explore, and I believe that 3 ♠ is much stronger than 4 ♠ which I play as a sign - off weak bid.

Give your partner room to describe his hand, as he is the captain of the auction at this point and we do not know the exact distribution of his hand.

I expect he is something like KQJx, Ax, A, KQJxxx or KQJx, AKx, - KQJxxx.

If he cue-bids a red suit I expect that he is void in one of them (he can also use exclusion blackwood), if he bids 4NT I'll expect a 4, 2, 1, 6 hand or a 5, 1, 1, 6 hand in distribution.

Cheers,

Theo

[jdeegan]

3♠ seems pretty much automatic. As pointed out above, it is stronger than 4♠ on this auction. Now, let's say partner bids 3NT, possibly just offering two places to play. However, on this auction, my hand is a monster, and a below game slam try is indicated. Isn't 4♣ a cue bid in support of spades just about right?

[whereagles]

3♠. Pard should now be in a good position to ask for keys. If starts cueing, I'll bid 5♣.

[andy_h]

3S

[brianshark]

3♠ seems clear. I don't think slam is very likely, but partner could still have the red suits looked after on his own. It should be easy to show slam interest and your ♣A, and deny red suit controls to paint a nice picture for partner.

[skjaeran]

Echognome, on Oct 24 2007, 10:14 PM, said:

3♠ seems clear enough. My worry on this hand is what I would bid over a serious 4♣ bid on this auction (which I believe should show 2 of the 3 honors, but will have to check with my regular partners on that). I think I would bid 5♣ and hope the 5-level isn't too high.

Isn't 4♥ - last train - an option for you?

[whereagles]

Sorry, but I think you guys are complicating yourselves

Pard showed around 18-20 points and we have 11 hcp + fit + fitting cards in pard's suits. The only way I'm stopping short of slam is we lack aces/controls.

[skjaeran]

whereagles, on Oct 26 2007, 10:12 AM, said:

Sorry, but I think you guys are complicating yourselves

Pard showed around 18-20 points and we have 11 hcp + fit + fitting cards in pard's suits. The only way I'm stopping short of slam is we lack aces/controls.

It seems to me all are trying to find out just that - whether we have controls in all suits and thereafter if we have enough keycards.

Give partner KQJx xx AK KQJxx/KQJX AK xx KQJxx/KQJx Ax Kx KQJxx/KQJx Kx Ax KQJxx and it will be nice to stop at the 4-level.

[cherdano]

skaeran, on Oct 25 2007, 01:50 PM, said:

Echognome, on Oct 24 2007, 10:14 PM, said:

3♠ seems clear enough.  My worry on this hand is what I would bid over a serious 4♣ bid on this auction (which I believe should show 2 of the 3 honors, but will have to check with my regular partners on that).  I think I would bid 5♣ and hope the 5-level isn't too high.

Isn't 4♥ - last train - an option for you?

Hmm, it wouldn't be for me. I think it's quite useful to have a bid of your own suit promise a control there. I would use last train only when it is the only bid available below our game.

Using it as last train caters only for the hand without a red suit control that wants to make a slam try. Using 4♥ enables you to give a better description of your hand whenever you have no diamond control or a heart control.

Similarly, I would take 1S-4C=splinter-4H as cue, but 1S-4D-4H has last train.

[Hanoi5]

So after the reverse what's the difference between raising at the three level, cue-bidding at the 4 level in partner's suit and cue-bidding at the 4 level in my suit (and on the 4th suit)?

[BillHiggin]

Hanoi5, on Oct 26 2007, 01:43 PM, said:

So after the reverse what's the difference between raising at the three level, cue-bidding at the 4 level in partner's suit and cue-bidding at the 4 level in my suit (and on the 4th suit)?

Things go better when partner is in on the secret. Cue bidding his first suit will sound like preference for that suit unless you have explicit agreements. Cue bidding our own suit will certainly convey the wrong message. Jumping in the 4th suit will indeed sound like spade agreement but shows shortness. Raise partner and he is on the same page as you are.