[FrancesHinden]

jdonn, on Apr 2 2008, 05:40 PM, said:

5♣ and I feel like I'm underbidding. I want to bid 4NT if it were what I want it to be (you know what I mean.)

I think we have to be a bit careful on the 'underbidding' side of it. Yes, it's a nice hand and we're all agreed we want to bid game.

But we need to consider what we could have had to pass 1S. What would you have done over 1S on

xxx
Axx
Kxxx
xxx
?

or even

xxxxx
x
KQxx
Qxx


in particular, if you are raising diamonds (which I know we aren't here) we could have passed 1S looking at

xxxx
x
Kxxxxx
Ax

so I don't think we're worth any _more_ than game

[Echognome]

Does no one else negative double at their first turn?

I was debating how I would view the auction differently (if at all) given a negative double in the first round.

[MFA]

5♣, wtp?

[gnasher]

FrancesHinden, on Apr 2 2008, 05:48 PM, said:

I think we have to be a bit careful on the 'underbidding' side of it. Yes, it's a nice hand and we're all agreed we want to bid game.

Showing a good raise to 5♣ doesn't commit us to slam. Opener's 3♦ has quite a wide range, so I think we should try to cater for both a minimum and a maximum.

With ♥A and a minor suit honour, I would bid 4♥. The examples you give that contain a singleton heart seem unlikely given the bidding, but in any case the singleton would be worthless unless partner were 0=2=5=6, which I think would be hard to diagnose given the shortage of space.

[skjaeran]

5♣ for me. Partner most probably will raise if slam is good.

[Fluffy]

mikeh, on Apr 2 2008, 03:48 PM, said:

As for Fluffy, whose partner can't have 5 diamonds, all I can say is 'wow'. While freaks are rare, why not allow oneself at least a chance of showing one's shape?

x void Axxxx AKJxxxx... you really mean you HAVE to open 1♦??

7-5 creates the problems, but 7-5 hardly ever plays very well in the 5 suit anyway, unless partner bids it himself. I just treat those hands as 4-6 ot 4-7 depending on the texture.

My partner sometimes bids them as a 6-5 the same way most of you do, but takes more rounds of rebidding the suit to convince me.

[Halo]

5C

It's surely not down to me to move to slam with this hand. If partner got enough controls to go with his shape, he'll bid it.

[rogerclee]

Okay, like everyone else, I 5♣'d at the table, though it was not nearly as cold as everyone thinks it should be; partner was 3046. Maybe partner's hand wasn't good enough to bid this way.

[ArtK78]

I agree that this is a 5♣ bid.

Recently, in an ACBL IMP pairs game on BBO, I saw someone rebid 4♦ vul against not holding 0-3-4-6 after opening 1♣ and hearing the auction go 1♠ - P - 3♠. His partner had to take a preference to 5♣, and this was cold when a finesse worked. Opener's hand in that instance was not nearly as strong as one might think:

---
Qxx
KQxx
AKxxxx

He found partner with the ♥A, ♦JT and four small clubs. When the ♥K was onside, 5♣ claimed.

Inspired lunacy.

[Cascade]

rogerclee, on Apr 3 2008, 10:34 AM, said:

Okay, like everyone else, I 5♣'d at the table, though it was not nearly as cold as everyone thinks it should be; partner was 3046. Maybe partner's hand wasn't good enough to bid this way.

We would bid 2NT with that hand and double with strong balanced hands that wanted to bid and strong more normal takeout hands say 4=5 in the minors.