[firmit]

Saw this hand the other day. Partner opens 1♠ (11-19hp), you hold:

♠ AJTxx
♥ x
♦ Txx
♣ 98xx

Playing mini-splinter, 2NT invitational, jumps as pre-emptive.
What is the "correct" bid?

I feel 3♠ is an underbid, and 4♠ is a longshot. And I feel 3♥(game-invite) is a slight overbid... but - why jump to 4♠ when a 3♥ is descriptive?

[helene_t]

This is a quite typical hand for 4♠ IMHO.

[Blofeld]

firmit, on Dec 22 2007, 11:54 AM, said:

... but - why jump to 4♠ when a 3♥ is descriptive?

Because it's going to be much easier for opponents to find their ♥ fit over 3♥ than over 4♠.

4♠ is normal. Sometimes another bid would work better, but I think 4♠ rates to be best in the long-term.

[ArtK78]

4♠ is not being bid to make (although it may make). It is a preemptive raise, and quite a normal one at that.

4♠ shows a hand that has 5 or more card support for partner and, typically, weakness. It certainly shows less strength than would make a slam investigation worth while.

Many beginners and intermediates make triple raises of partner's major suit openings on good hands. THIS IS WRONG! If you have a good hand, make a game forcing raise. Partner may actually have a very strong hand and slam may be makeable and biddable. A triple raise shows weakness (or, at most, minimal strength).

If 3♥ is a game invitational splinter, then this hand qualifies for the bid. However, I would still bid 4♠. The opponents may double 3♥ (or bid 4 of something over 4♥). When I pick up this hand, I don't intend to stop on a dime at 3♠. There are so many ways that bidding 4♠ will be right - it makes, it goes down only one undoubled - less than the value of the opponents' partscore - the opponents have a game that they cannot find over 4♠ - the opponents bid over 4♠ and go down or, better yet, find the wrong contract going down when there is one that makes, etc.

[jdonn]

Textbook 4♠, what am I missing?

[pclayton]

4♠ is totally automatic. If we didn't have a stiff, I might downgrade this.

[neilkaz]

pclayton, on Dec 22 2007, 11:24 AM, said:

4♠ is totally automatic. If we didn't have a stiff, I might downgrade this.

Agreed auto 4♠ here with 5 card support and a stiff ♥

[han]

I don't know about the rest but I would bid 4♠.

[P_Marlowe]

4S.

If you cant stand 4S, bid 3S.
If we are red vs. green, I would bid
3S.

You have a preemptive raise, show / tell
it partner

3H is not a slight overbid, it is a cross
overbid.
Sometimes partner has a hand worth a
slam try, and you will go over board,
because partner can expect more.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[whereagles]

firmit, on Dec 22 2007, 04:54 PM, said:

why jump to 4♠ when a 3♥ is descriptive?

because a mini-splinter is based on less shape and more hcp, i.e.

AJTx
x
xxx
KTxxx

[jtfanclub]

Huh.

I guess I'm firmly in the minority when I say I would bid 3♠.

As for the main reason why...it's spades, dammit. The opponents may be too chicken to come in at the freakin' four level. Coming in at the four level could be instant death for them- partner could easily have 4 or 5 hearts. And who knows, partner may have slam interest and this'll give us a little space to look around before stopping safely. Not to mention going down one less.

I can always bid 4♠ later. Jumping to 4♠ now to prevent a possible 5♥ bid by the opponents seems to me to be overthinking the hand. We're playing pre-emptive jumps, why not use them?

If our suit were hearts, I'd be in favor of jumping to 4.

[Walddk]

Five trumps, an ace and a singleton. That's how I was taught a raise to 4M should look like. Spot on here.

Roland