[gnasher]

Scoring: IMP

pass 1NT 2♠

---

1NT is 15-17. Your options include:
- A takeout double
- 2NT, showing clubs, after which any move will be game-forcing
- 3♥, showing a raise to game with exactly four hearts

(1) What do you do now?
(2) What will you do if LHO bids 3♠, passed back to you?
(3) What will you do if LHO bids 4♠, passed back to you?

[FrancesHinden]

I'm going to irritate you by telling you what happened at my table, before answering your question.

I bid 3C, game forcing with clubs, followed by 4H when 3S came back to me.

The reason I'm telling you this, is it points out a problem with Rubensohl: when you bid 2NT showing clubs partner has no idea of your strength, so is more or less obliged to pass over 3S unless he has an extraordinary hand. When you've already shown a game force, partner's pass over 3S is informative: he doesn't have a good spade stop (no 3NT bid), he doesn't have an unstuiable hand with minor stuff in spades (no double), he doesn't have an enormous hand for clubs (no 4C bid). That actually lets you bid 4H over 3S not just on the given hand, but even on, say, x K10x xxx KQJ9xx to try and play a Moysian.

Anyway, back to your problem.

I don't make a take-out double, because in my style that usually has a doubleton spade as partner is expected to pass with any four decent trumps, and I don't want to defend 2Sx opposite many passes. You haven't specified your style.

If I bid 3H, showing a 4-heart raise to game, what does it mean if partner bids 3S and I bid 4C? If that is natural, showing this sort of hand, that is what I would do. So assuming that, I bid 3H now, 4C when 3S is passed round to me and 5C when 4S is passed round to me, as I have the FP inference of partner's pass over the spade bids.

If I can't show my canape this way, I bid 2NT followed by 4H when 3S is passed round to me, and double when 4S is passed round to me - the best I can do on the last of these is show that I had a game force with clubs.

[gnasher]

FrancesHinden, on Nov 17 2008, 12:28 PM, said:

I'm going to irritate you by telling you what happened at my table, before answering your question.

I'm not that easily irritated.

Quote

If I bid 3H, showing a 4-heart raise to game, what does it mean if partner bids 3S and I bid 4C?

3♠ would deny either four hearts or a spade stop. In reply, 4♣ would be natural, and probably at least five because of the failure to make a takeout double - I'm making this up as I go along, but with a 1444 that didn't fancy a takeout double I'd probably bid 3♥-3♠-4♠.

[Codo]

This hand is a game force and it is a two suiter, so I try to bid my two suits.
I like 3 heart and, when pd denies a fit and a good spade stopper, I try 5 Club.
I don`t try 4 Club, because if I have just a 4-3 heart fit, I prefer to play clubs. And I have no real slam interest, so no need to save space either.

[cherdano]

3♥, thanks for giving me better agreements for this hand than my own.

(I would play 3♥ as promising spade shortness, btw, as otherwise you can make a takeout double.)

[mikeh]

No convention is perfect, and I happen to like rubensohl, Frances

Anyway, I would choose the ambiguous 2N, and hope that I can bid 4♥ next, to show a gf with (probably) 4=6...with 4=5, i would probably be more inclined to bid 3♥ if that were available to me (which, in my methods, it would not be... I'd be interested in knowing the full structure.. maybe I'll like it better than I do Rubensohl).

I would choose this approach over a direct 3♥ because this hand has slam potential... and partner may be able to visualize this if I pattern out... xx AQxx Axx Axxx is not a 1N opening, but 6♥ is a fair contract.

If LHO spoils my plans via 4♠, I bid 4N... long clubs, gf, short spades, second suit somewhere.... if partner has, for example, xx AQxx AQxx Axx, he can bid 6♦ pass or correct (I am allowed to dream, am I not?)

[FrancesHinden]

rubensohl has the advantages that opener immediately knows your suit, and it allows better uncontested auctions. Just thought I'd point out a downside that is not always advertised.

Anyway, are you confident that 4NT is clubs-plus-a-side suit? What would you do with 7 good clubs and a spade stop? You'd bid 3NT last round? But then partner has no idea what your hand type is, and you'd be much worse off after this development.

I'm not certain that 4NT is natural, but I'm not certain it isn't, either.

[awm]

One of the main reasons I play rubensohl is that I want opener to be able to compete further when I have the non-GF hand. So opener's pass over 1NT-(2♠)-2NT-(3♠) actually does mean something -- it indicates that opener does not have a good fit for clubs.

If opener is "always supposed to pass" in this auction then regular lebensohl is probably a better method.

[whereagles]

If you play Rubenshol, you're supposed to compete with adequate hands, not jack-high 6322s

[kfay]

I'm going to GF starting with 2NT.

[655321]

(1) 2NT
(2) 4♥
(3) Double