[han]

I just played teams with Adam, we immediately got these interesting hands:

Scoring: IMP

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We never play together so we don't have any agreements besides 2/1 gameforcing (dangerous!). Our auction was:

1S - 2H
2S - 3H
3S - 3NT
4D - 4H
4S - pass

Any thoughts?

[jdonn]

I really think 4♦ is a cuebid for spades, and a round earlier it's a cuebid for hearts. Once you rebid 2♠ you can only bid diamonds naturally if partner bids 2NT 3♣ or 3♦ next. So I think on yours I would bid 1♠ 2♠ 3♠ 4♠.

I also don't think a 4♠ opening is that outrageous even though that might meet with some controversy and it could be made on worse hands. I think we are going to miss a lot of slams if we have them after 1♠ anyway, especially given that I am saying there are many auctions where we can never bid diamonds.

Not sure how I feel about his 3NT, but I focused on you since you posted sir.

I'm sure it hurt awm's feelings that he couldn't make one of his beloved strong jump shifts.

[kenrexford]

1♠...2♠...3♠...4♦ says, "Bid one of my damned suits, dammit!"

4♥ says "GFY -- I'm bidding 4♥."

4♠ says, "I don't trust you partner."

Just my opinion.

[han]

jdonn, on Mar 26 2008, 09:17 PM, said:

Adam.. Han... Adam.... Han....

Any inferences you make about who was Adam and who was Han are yours and irrelevant. Just tell us what you think about the auction.

As they say in the Netherlands: you can't taste the cabbage until you eat it.

[irdoz]

I think in 'major standoff' auctions like this you should define 4♣ as 'gerb-alls' to determine whose major is the biggest. Seriously

[Codo]

I surely would never pass 4 Spade with responders hand. I think I would jump to 6 Heart to end the discussion, no great success but could have worked another day.

[whereagles]

It's your mistake, han. When you trotted up the 4♦ "wtf is going on" convention, pard said hearts was the suit. You should have listened to him

[mike777]

Over 3s I could understand north rebidding 3nt or 4h or 6h. Now as south I just pass.

[Fluffy]

I think you reached one of the best possible contracts. Why worry?

[Apollo81]

I wouldn't take 4♦ as a cuebid for spades; if your hand/spades were that good then you could bid 3♠ over 2♥. Agree that 4♦ would be a cuebid for hearts on the previous round. I blame the 4♠ bid, should pass 4♥.

[awm]

I'm surprised so many people seem to think that 4♥ was an absolute signoff and should be passed. With hearts that good, and so little interest in other suits, couldn't responder have bid 4♥ over 3♠? If anything is a cuebid, mightn't 4♥ be a cuebid in support of diamonds, the suit for which 3NT bidder has virtually guaranteed support?

If anything I think the 3NT bid is sort of masterminding, hiding a perfectly good trump suit in order to try and get out a trick lower. Yet others seem to suggest that it is perfectly consistent to say "I don't need to insist on hearts" at the third round of bidding and then responder should be able to insist on hearts when opener's continuation shows more shape and less tolerance.

[jdonn]

Apollo81, on Mar 27 2008, 12:28 PM, said:

I wouldn't take 4♦ as a cuebid for spades; if your hand/spades were that good then you could bid 3♠ over 2♥.

Most require a 0 or 1 loser suit for that action, which you might not have.

I also don't see what this "blame" is. Sure 4♥ is better but I'm never blaming myself for getting to 4♠ on the south hand. In fact, I don't think there is an auction on which I would ever let partner play 4♥ when I have south's hand, unless he opens 4♥.