[FrancesHinden]

You hold this fine collection:

♠10xxx
♥10xxx
♦xx
♣Qxx

vulnerable against not at imps
RHO deals

P P 1NT 2C
2D P 3D 4D
5D P P x
P ?

1NT = 15-17 balanced (in theory)
2C = majors (double would have been penalties)
2D = natural, not particularly constructive
4D = lots of majors, partner can just double 3D which you play as take-out
x = lots of high cards to go with the lots of majors

[whereagles]

5♥. Seems normal, so wtp?

[joker_gib]

Yes, I'd also take an insurance in 5♥

[655321]

Pass

[ArtK78]

We are playing IMPs?

I bid 5♥. I don't know who is making what, but if pard has a lot of major suit cards, it is unlikely to be right to defend 5♦x on these cards. I might lose a small amount by bidding, but I am hoping to avoid losing a large amount if either side (or both sides) make 11 tricks.

It would not shock me if the auction is not over.

[pclayton]

I'm bidding. Pard sounds like a 6-6 or something.

Do we have another way to show an extreme two suiter in the majors (please say no)?

[Apollo81]

5♥

[lonesome31]

5♥
Easy & only one choice.

[awm]

I'll break the trend and bid.... 5♠.

Likely it will not matter much which major we select, the main decision being 5M vs. pass. But if we are bidding, I think spades are very slightly better. Suppose partner holds uneven length in the majors. If he has 5♠-6♥, he might've bid 4♥ rather than bidding 4♦. This would emphasize longer hearts, helping us to the right decision with equal major suit length. But with the alternative 6♠-5♥ he can't bid 3♠ instead of 4♦ as it might not be forcing, and bidding 4♠ instead of 4♦ bypasses a possible heart game.

So I think on this sequence, if partner has unequal major suit length he is a favorite to have longer spades. Of course, even if partner has 6♠+5♥ it's not that likely to matter which major we play in, but who knows?

[han]

Pass. I expect partner to be 5-5-1-2, LHO to be (12)-6-4 and RHO (32)-4-4. Give partner something as nice as AKQxx AQJxx x Ax and 5H is down 1 and 5D is most likely down 2 or 3.

I truly expect partner to be 5-5, With 5-6 she would bid 4H instead of 4D, with 6-5 she might have bid 3S which would show a very strong hand (since partner would have to return to 4H with a preference for hearts). With 6-6 she wouldn't double but bid 5H. I think. I hope.

[gnasher]

I might have bid over 5♦, so I certainly would do now. Like awm, and for the same reason, I'd bid 5♠.

I haven't seen any arguments in favour of 5♥ over 5♠. Are there any?

[ASkolnick]

I don't understand why any bid but pass is right.

He said he had a hand with 2C, you passed.
He bid 4D, asking you to bid and you passed.
He doubles 5D, he is not playing you for any tricks and he is over the NT bidder.
If he needs this to be taken out, he could have bid 5H and not double.

I assume he is not doubling on tertiary tricks in the majors, so why am I turning a plus into a minus?

[awm]

My image of partner's hand is something more like:

AKJxxx AQJxx - Ax

He really wants us to pick a major, since chances of making 4M are pretty good opposite three small cards in the major suit selected and nothing else. But opponents just keep bidding and bidding, and partner keeps passing and passing.

When they get to the five level, this hand looks like it will usually have three defensive tricks (at minimum). Bidding 5M would be quite unilateral, since it is easy to imagine this failing especially if partner has no great fit for either major (give partner xx xx xxx xxxxxx and you're almost always failing in 5M with 5♦ down more than one; even if partner has a third card in one of the majors 5M is still quite iffy).

[jdonn]

ASkolnick, on May 8 2008, 11:23 AM, said:

If he needs this to be taken out, he could have bid 5H and not double.

And if he only needs it taken out opposite something like, oh, 4-4 in the majors, and otherwise wants them to be doubled, he........?

[mikeh]

I don't buy the arguments that he may have longer spades than hearts, but not the other way around. I think that 4♥ by him, over 4♦ would suggest either a 2 card discrepancy or a 1 card discrepancy with marked disparity in suit strength.... which itself is somewhat unlikely given that he is forcing to game opposite a possible (probable) yarb or near yarb. With 5=7=0=1, for example, I'd expect a 4♥ call.

Having said that, I see no rational reason why we should not bid 5♠... even tho I don't like the reasoning relied on by others, maybe partner does

There is reason to suspect that LHO may be less than full values, in that he clearly has at least 5 diamonds, and he may even hold 6... and in such cases, opps and partners (and we) have been known to upgrade 14 counts, and Zia might even hold 13.

Heck, we may even have a slam... but I am not bidding it

[han]

Mike I don't believe that opener clearly has 5 diamonds and may even have 6. Partner bid a free non-forcing 2D which shows at least 5 and one of the opponents has shown both majors. Wouldn't you bid 3D almost any time you have 4 decent diamonds? Wouldn't you also bid more than 3D if you had 6-card support?

[FrancesHinden]

awm, on May 8 2008, 07:16 PM, said:

My image of partner's hand is something more like:

AKJxxx AQJxx - Ax

He really wants us to pick a major, since chances of making 4M are pretty good opposite three small cards in the major suit selected and nothing else. But opponents just keep bidding and bidding, and partner keeps passing and passing.

When they get to the five level, this hand looks like it will usually have three defensive tricks (at minimum). Bidding 5M would be quite unilateral, since it is easy to imagine this failing especially if partner has no great fit for either major (give partner xx xx xxx xxxxxx and you're almost always failing in 5M with 5♦ down more than one; even if partner has a third card in one of the majors 5M is still quite iffy).

Not bad.

Partner's actual hand is

AK98xx
AQJ10x
A
x

5D is one off when declarer (not unexpectedly) takes a second round club finesse. 5 of either major makes.

Opener's 1NT is surprisingly non-warped given the auction,

QJ
xx
KQxx
AKxxx

mikeh said:

Heck, we may even have a slam... but I am not bidding it

At the other table the result was 6S-1 after a similar start to the auction when the weak hand bid 2S directly over 2D.