[Free]

3♣

[kenrexford]

Tcyk, on Dec 20 2008, 03:12 PM, said:

3C can't be right because this is some kind of a game try. Obviously most of the replies assume it is a help-suit game try. If I were to rebid 3C and follow this with 4D. My partner would figure out that I had better than a game try. He would also figure that this was a residual bid and therefore I was short in hearts. This is not the picture I want to paint. A splinter bid is better but it is a well known fact that a splinter bid in a void is not good practice. Partner will not discount the value of an ace in that suit. In my opinion, the only acceptable rebid is 4S.

I think you are assuming something completely different from many of us.

I would expect calls by Opener after 3♣ to be control bids. But, if you actually were to make pure pattern bids, then the usual modern default, IMO, is length-length-shortness, not length-length-fragment. Hence, Opener would bid 4♦ at his third bid as a shortness bid, not 4♥ as a fragment bid.

But, if you wanted to play length-length-fragment, then you obviously would not bid 4♦. You would bid 4♥ to show the short diamond, leaving it to partner to figure out to move with the heart control.