[brianshark]

These two decisions were thrust upon me by two seperate partners in two seperate competitions a few months apart. Partner is known to be usually fairly sane and a fairly strong player, in both cases.

1. IMPs, favourable, you hold:

♠A962 ♥AJ74 ♦ AK87 ♣T

You are playing strong, 5, and a polish 1♣ (which includes all hands with 15+ pts and 5+ clubs (unbalanced) or any hand with 18+ pts). 2♣ would be precision style. We don't play namyats if it matters.

Partner deals and opens 6♣s, RHO passes, your call?

2. IMPs, all vul, you hold:

♠AKQ3 ♥Q84 ♦ 76 ♣AKJ8

You are playing weak, 5, 1♣ is 2+. 2♣s is strong and we don't play namyats either.

You deal and the auction goes:

1♣ - 1♥ - 6♣ - Pass
???

Your call.

[benlessard]

7C in both case. In case 1 i prefer 7C to 7Nt just in case partner got 10 or 11 clubs to the KQJ.

[dicklont]

1. 7♣
Although partner does not want me to do anything. I'm quite convinced that he has nine solid clubs. I could bid 7NT but it is IMP´s so I take that small loss for the time partner holds ten not so solid clubs.

2. Pass
So he has a void in hearts but there is no garantee that partner holds diamond ace.

[P_Marlowe]

#1 7C is clear, maybe 7NT.
I doubt partner has a 6C opening bid, given
that I hold 3 Aces.

#2 Pass.
I assume you play a forcing raise in the minor.
I am hard pressed to find a possible hand, but
maybe partner holds a 7 card clubs suit and a
heart void.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[hotShot]

1) pass

If partner has a 12-card suit with the ace, I expect him to find a better way to bid that.

So the only sane reason to open 6♣ I can imagine,
is a weak preempt with an 8+ length in ♣ without the A.
Why else would partner preempt on the 6 level.

Now I expect him to make and I will redouble should opps dbl.

2) 7♣

There are only 3 HCP in the black suits I don't have, and he should be void in ♥ so he has to have ♦A.

[Free]

7NT and pass

[rbforster]

1. 7♣. I'm envisioning hands with long clubs and very short in the majors here. If he had a better hand, he might have taken it more slowly given we seem to have good methods. I'll take my chances and hope he's got AK 9th or so.

2. Pass. Here we have a much more constructive auction with our side opening. There's not reason to totally jam the auction on a good hand if you're willing to bid 6♣ eventually. Will the opps really bid 6♥ over you after your partner opened and you make a limit+? I think partner has a preemptive hand with long clubs and a heart void. Not willing to bet on the A♦ too for this one.

[whereagles]

I'm going with 7♣ and pass. Too many ifs in 2nd hand.

[pclayton]

7♣ on the 1st. I've convinced myself pard has 9 clubs to the AK. Pard could be missing a trump honor but he rates not to. I agree with Justin that 7N is silly. I'll lose two if I'm in the lower scoring grand, but I'm not going to lose a zillion.

Pass in the 2nd. Agree with whereagles - too many 'ifs'.

[TimG]

On the first, I think opener has ♠KQJx and nine solid clubs (or similar). jdonn would have opened 4N asking for specific aces.

The second could be a 5 or 7 hand.

[mikeh]

7♣ on the 1st one, altho I am not as sure as Justin that 7N is silly. Opposite me, 7♣ is silly... throwing away 2 imps for no good reason, but opposite most players, 7♣ is the more cautious and reasonable shot.

On the second one, pass. All I know is that partner does not have his bid... I wouldn't be at all surprised to make 7, perhaps on the lead of whichever red suit he is void in, but I am not going to make the 'master bid' of 7♣ and find that he already won the board for us by his weird call and I just gave it back.

[cherdano]

♠KQJx ♥- ♦- ♣KQJxxxxx2, your opening bid?

[jtfanclub]

cherdano, on May 6 2008, 10:57 AM, said:

♠KQJx ♥- ♦- ♣KQJxxxxx2, your opening bid?

I'd open it 1 club, the Rule of Spades applies.
If I had, say, KQTx in hearts instead, I might be tempted to open 6♣.

I'm trying to figure out how 6♦ would be read over 6♣. I too have an 8 card suit? Or I have a hand that's unsure whether to be in 6NT, 7♣ or 7NT, please help me?

[whereagles]

cherdano, on May 6 2008, 03:57 PM, said:

♠KQJx ♥- ♦- ♣KQJxxxxx2, your opening bid?

5♣. Seems to be within the odds.

[TimG]

jtfanclub, on May 6 2008, 11:05 AM, said:

cherdano, on May 6 2008, 10:57 AM, said:

♠KQJx ♥- ♦- ♣KQJxxxxx2, your opening bid?

I'd open it 1 club, the Rule of Spades applies.

I don't know the rule of spades, but I call KQJxxxxxx trumps (even if the smallest spot is the deuce).

[hotShot]

TimG, on May 6 2008, 07:19 PM, said:

jtfanclub, on May 6 2008, 11:05 AM, said:

cherdano, on May 6 2008, 10:57 AM, said:

♠KQJx ♥- ♦- ♣KQJxxxxx2, your opening bid?

I'd open it 1 club, the Rule of Spades applies.

I don't know the rule of spades, but I call KQJxxxxxx trumps (even if the smallest spot is the deuce).

Remember that the 1♣ opening is defined as:

Quote

polish 1♣ (which includes all hands with 15+ pts and 5+ clubs (unbalanced) or any hand with 18+ pts)

Responder has so many ♣'s that the chance partner hold the 18+ pts is relevant.
With a strong hand as shown why should he jump to 6♣?
Holding ♠xxx ♥- ♦- ♣QJ98765432 you would not care to know how strong opener is and you would find it more likely that opps would be able to make 6♥.

[ArtK78]

I have a policy that I do not raise jumps to slam without extreme provocation (another way of saying I don't bid grand slams on speculation).

Since I do not have the AK of trump, I would never raise the 6♣ opening bid on 1.

And since I have no rational way of determining whether partner has both red suits under first round control (and I strongly suspect that he does not) I pass 6C on 2 and hope we don't go down too many.

There is a lot of room between the one level and the six level. Partner certainly had the means at his disposal to make some other call than 6♣ in both cases. I am not playing him for the perfect hand for a grand. If he has the right hand, he probably should not have made the call that he did.

[benlessard]

I dont believe the number of passer for hand 2. Show me a hand where you would bid 6C red vs red when your partner promise only 2 clubs