[dcvetkov]

North South
1♠ 2♣
2♠ 3♠
4♥ 5♠ *


What is the meaning of 5♠?

1) Partner, we are good for slam, please bid slam if you trumps are solid. I have ♦ under control
2) Partner, we are okay for slam, but I am worried about diamonds, the unbid suit. If you have Second round control, bid 6♠

Which one is more logical or likely interpretation with a pickup?

Assume cue bids are up the line, aces first

[Lobowolf]

Without discussion, I'd take it to be asking about diamonds.

[mtvesuvius]

I would think this should be asking for 2nd round ♦ control... But I'm usually wrong

[karlson]

It seems to me that 5c pretty clearly asks about diamonds. So I guess this must be trumps.

[mikeh]

I can't think of a logical meaning:

Opener has denied a 1st round diamond control, and responder can cue 5♣ to elicit a second round cue bid, so 5♠ cannot ask for diamonds.

If responder controls the minors (see above for why he has to have a diamond control), he can use keycard to ask about trump quality. There is no response that could embarrass him, given that spades are trump. And possession of a void somewhere won't bother him.. he knows that opener holds the heart A and not the diamond A.

It cannot ask for first round club control and 2nd round diamond control, since that supposes that the 5-level is unsafe, if opener lacks both.

It cannot imply diamond control, since 5♦ is available

So I think 5♠ is simply a partner-torturing bid.

Ok... if I HAVE to guess at what a non-torturing partner meant: I'd say it was a general purpose slam try... do you like your hand in context? No specific question posed.. but, a club honour would be nice, good and long trump would be nice...etc

BTW, I'd like, eventually, to see what hand prompted this call. If, after seeing it, I agree that 5♠ was the best call, then I will (again) have learned something.

[kenrexford]

I agree with Mike, but more enthusiastically.

What else can this be other than the obvious. "Partner, I have nothing specific to say here, but I don't know nor can I find out what to do myself. But, I really think slam is really, really close. Do you like our chances as well?"

Invitational.

[Fluffy]

well to me 4♥ shows shortness, so it can be lack of diamond control.

If 4♥ is a normal cue, 4♥has denied any kind of control in diamonds IMO, so 5♠ is asking for suit quality, wich makes no sense since I could had always used 4NT instead given that I failed to splinter the round before.

Maybe 3♠ was bid on doubleton?, then 5♠ would worry about ♠J. Its the only thing that makes any sense to me, not much actually but better than nothing.

[Codo]

To me 3 ♠ showed SI already, 4 ♥ denied a diamond control and a high card in clubs. But opener can still have a shortness in Clubs.

But responder can ask for a club control with 5 ♦, so I guess it is ... I don`t know. There is no sense in this bid.
Okay, maybe responder has a heart chicane and is afraid to miss 7 Spade when bidding a simple RCKB, so he is asking for trump quality?
But he could have bid 5 Heart earlier or 5 NT now.....

I guess, responder made a mistake and tries to make the best out of this now.

[Hanoi5]

I'd take it as asking for trump quality.

[FrancesHinden]

I agree with mikeh, a general "do you like your hand" bid.

Worryingly, that means I also agree with Ken in a slam sequence..

[ArcLight]

I think it asks about the ♦ king because:

1. If responder just wants to know about trump quality he can use RKCBW (he knows about the heart ace if the partnership cue bids only Aces rather than Kings in this sequence)

If responder has just 3 spades, how can he not be worried about a trump loser as well as a dime loser? This implies trump quality concern - but he can use RKCBW


2. Responder knows about a souirce of tricks in clubs, lest say 5 or 6 tricks.
He/she sees 5 spades, and the heart ace. The concern is preventing 2 quick diamond losers.


Assumptions: 4H is a cue bid showing an ace, not a shortness bid.
3S is agreeing trumps and would never be done with 2, and maybe not even 3.

[louisg]

Fluffy, on Jan 8 2009, 06:43 PM, said:

If 4♥ is a normal cue, 4♥has denied any kind of control in diamonds IMO, so 5♠ is asking for suit quality, wich makes no sense since I could had always used 4NT instead given that I failed to splinter the round before.

Maybe 3♠ was bid on doubleton?, then 5♠ would worry about ♠J. Its the only thing that makes any sense to me, not much actually but better than nothing.

Why would the ♠J only be a concern if 3♠ was bid on a doubleton? Give responder something like xxx Qxx AK AKQxx, and RKCB will get you to a poor slam opposite AQxxx AKx xx xxx. I'm assuming here that these hands are consistent with the auction to this point, but certainly that would be true for many partnerships.

The argument that responder could have bid 5♣ to ask for a diamond control seems compelling, but I don't see why it doesn't make sense to have 5♠ ask for trump quality.

[dcvetkov]

Ok, this is responder hand

---

Questions is, South already made pushy 2/1 bid, do you think he should bid over 4♥, and if so what is the best bid
4NT, 5♣, 5♦, 5♠
5 Clubs is the worst of all, since partner wants to hear about diamonds, and you will still be guessing after opener retreats to 5♠

My own thinking about 5♠ is that should ask about trump quality, indirectly confirming second round D control, unbid suit.

This was opener hand

---

and I this is what i think should be the auction

1♠ - 2♣
3♠ - 4♣ ( Cue)
4♥ - 4NT
5♦- 5♥ Aks for trump Q
6♠

[ArtK78]

4♠ is my call. You have already made a 2/1 in clubs and a cue bid. If opener can't take another call over 4♠, how likely is it that there is a slam?

Someone is going to have to take a very aggressive call to reach this slam. The hands fit perfectly. Opener could have had the same distribution but wasted diamond honors missing the pointed suit aces: KQJTxxx Ax KQ Qx. A lot of high-card points but you are off two tricks. Assuming that opener interpreted the 5♠ bid correctly - asking about trump quality - is opener supposed to bid 6♠ on these cards?

This sequence might have worked:

1♠ - 2♣
2♠ - 4♦*

*splinter in support of spades.

Now opener can move towards slam.

[mike777]

"1♠ - 2♣
2♠ - 4♦*

*splinter in support of spades."

this looks like a good start.

[Fluffy]

mike is the man, listen to him.

[y66]

second the fluffster

[skjaeran]

If some intelligent cuebidding technic is in use, 5♠ should be a quantitative bid - a general slam try. I don't know if I can tell a hand where 5♠ is the right bid, but I will when I see it....