[jillybean]

Dealer: West Vul: All Scoring: IMP

♠ KQ9865 ♥ K8 ♦ ♣ 98543

West North East South

 Pass  1♦    1♥    1♠
 Pass  2♠    Pass  ?  

[inquiry]

4♠, for me this isn't even close.

[neilkaz]

4♠, I'm not thrilled with the void in PD's opened suit, but PD's D's don't all have ti be wasted. My K of ♥ looks well placed and noting that I suspect our combined hands to hold 20 to 22 HCP, the opps seem rather timid here or PD has some ♥ and is short in ♣.

4♠ expecting it to be favorite to make and noting we should be bidding games that are less than 50/50 vul at IMPs.

I don't care for MP scoring, but would bid 4♠ there also as I expect it to be fav to make.

.. neilkaz ..

[P_Marlowe]

4S.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[skjaeran]

4♦, void. If I was afraid partner might misunderstand, I'd just go 4♠.
Can't see me not getting to game with this.

[pclayton]

inquiry, on Apr 27 2008, 06:55 AM, said:

4♠, for me this isn't even close.

Amen. There's like gazillion ZARS in this mitt.

Frankly I'm close to a slam try. Big Rex Style Empathetic 4♣ splinter please...!

[awm]

I'm not so optimistic about slam as some people seem to be. You need partner to have very little in the suit he opened! Partner also will have only three spades here a substantial fraction of the time (especially if 1♠ bid shows 5+♠ after the overcall, which is fairly standard). I think you have to bid game though. 4♠ for me.

[han]

Slam is certainly possible but wouldn't partner move to slam over a splinter with something like AJxx xx Axxx KQx? I think she should and even 5S is about even money to go down.

So sign me up for 4S as well.

[kenrexford]

han, on Apr 27 2008, 01:58 PM, said:

Slam is certainly possible but wouldn't partner move to slam over a splinter with something like AJxx xx Axxx KQx? I think she should and even 5S is about even money to go down.

So sign me up for 4S as well.

No, partner should bid 4♥ LTTC with that hand.

A splinter by Responder two under trumps should, IMO, suggest a range of possible covers needed. This hand has three assured covers, but four covers is easy to imagine. Without four pure covers, but with a nice feature nonetheless, it seems that Last Train works nicely. Had Responder held a stiff diamond, one less black card, and a club honor:

♠KQxxx ♥Kx ♦x ♣Axxxx
♠KQxxxx ♥Kx ♦x ♣Axxx

Then, 4♥ LTTC would just about work.

Same if partner holds ♠KQxxxx ♥Ax ♦void ♣Jxxxx.

I like 4♦ because of this. Had the overcalled suit been diamonds, after a heart opening, I would not bid 4♥ because it deprives us of LTTC.

[Winstonm]

Quote

I'm not so optimistic about slam as some people seem to be.

Hell, I'm not even that optimistic about game, but I'm still bidding 4S.

[655321]

4♠

[the hog]

4S

[inquiry]

I am not sure why anyone would complain about the ♦ void. You have a super fit in spades (lets assume 2♠ shows four because of no support double). Partner rates to have three, more likely four hearts, and he bid diamonds. How many clubs does he have. One? None? Possible.

Assume he is 4441. Give him just the spade ACE,

♠Axxx ♥xxxx ♦xxxx ♣x

How many spades will you make? Even if they lead trumps twice, you ruff two clubws in dummy, take 6 spades in your hand, we think the heart king is a winner. There is 9 tricks already. And if clubs are split 3-4, you will get a long club as well. Now imagine your partner actually has an opening hand, or they don't lead a trump.

Can anyone really not imagine not bidding game, or being upset with their void in diamonds given the 10 card spade fit? And see why a few people correctly point out that slam zone here is not unreasonable? Give partner:
♠Axxx ♥xxxx ♦xxxxx ♣void and they lead a heart and don;t find the obvious trump return you could end up making 12 tricks if clubs are 4-4.

[andy_h]

inquiry, on Apr 28 2008, 12:28 PM, said:

(lets assume 2♠ shows four because of no support double).

If only we're allowed to double partner's bids...

Anyway, sign me up for 4S too

[brianshark]

4♠ for me. Slam might be on, but virtually impossible to find unless you can show the void in partner's suit, which you can't.

[whereagles]

No brainer 4♠. Actually, it's closer to a straight shoot at 6 than to anything else.

[jtfanclub]

kenrexford, on Apr 27 2008, 02:57 PM, said:

No, partner should bid 4♥ LTTC with that hand.

I am willing to wager than not only do a vast majority of beginners and intermediates not play LTTC, a majority of them have no idea what LTTC even stands for.

[FrancesHinden]

While it is possible you have a slam on, you need to think about when to make a slam try. There should be possible hands on which, opposite a slam try, partner is entitled to go to the five-level - and I think the quoted AJxx xx Axxx KQx is one of them opposite a diamond splinter (it has a fourth trump and maximum high cards none of which are wasted: to be honest that is close to a slam drive opposite a diamond splinter if the partnership has a heart control)

While the point that you can make a lighter slam try with 4m than with 4H is quite valid, making a slam try here should mean more than "if you have the one absolutely perfect hand we are making slam". Do a similuation and there are very few hands where slam is cold, and fewer still once you remember that partner opened 1D, could only raise to 2S and LHO has not raised hearts.

By just bidding game you will miss the occasional slam. If you were playing some sort of relay where you could ask about partner's range and distribution, that would be worth doing, but I think any form of cooperative slam investigation will get partner too enthusiastic on the wrong hands.

p.s. if partner's raise promised four spades that is slightly different, but I don't think it does, particularly in competition.

[FrancesHinden]

p.s. I do bid game here, but even game might not make. Has partner misbid with

Jxxx
Qx
AKQx
Qxx

when he has maximum HCP and we could be making only 8 tricks?

I bid game here because if I invite only, I don't believe partner will accept sufficiently often (whatever type of invite I make) and I think I will make 10 tricks on hands where partner rejects an invite more often than I go off in 4S on the same hands.

[kenrexford]

jtfanclub, on Apr 28 2008, 08:42 AM, said:

kenrexford, on Apr 27 2008, 02:57 PM, said:

No, partner should bid 4♥ LTTC with that hand.

I am willing to wager than not only do a vast majority of beginners and intermediates not play LTTC, a majority of them have no idea what LTTC even stands for.

Good point. Missed the location of the post.

"LTTC" means "Let's try to count?"