[mtvesuvius]

I was doing some partnership bidding with another Junior when this hand came up: Any ideas on getting to 7, and what's your auction?

Our Auction:
1♠ - 2♥
3♦ - 3♥
4♦ - 6♥
P
We are playing 2/1. Feel free to add in/suggest gadgets.

---

[JLOL]

Bidding these freaks is hard, and constructing auctions later to get to the right spot is usually easy. Some possibilities:

1) South bids 4C over 3H. This just shows a strong raise of hearts, because his only options were 4C and 4H to raise hearts. Whenever you have a scenario where there is only one cuebid and trumps aren't set, the cuebid is just stronger and not control specific. Stiff Q of hearts is probably enough support on this auction for game, but it's easy to think of hands where diamonds plays better for slam, so this is not clear at all, I think I like 4D overall. If south had bid 4C though north could bid keycard for hearts and obviously get to 7.

2) North bids 4N over 4D, but this is probably keycard for diamonds and the DK is irrelevant so that doesn't help too much. The idea is that if partner shows 3 keycards though you can shoot out 7 and hope partner has a heart or that hearts split. Here partner would show 2 keycards and you would just bid 6H so that wouldn't work though.

3) South kicks it in to 7 after a jump to 6. Holding both aces and the KQ of spades and HQ it's hard to imagine partner not having AK of hearts and the CA. It's possible if partner decided to gamble with say 9 hearts AKJ and the KQx of clubs, but it's unlikely. I think this is the most practical way to bid it.

[TylerE]

Eh, tuff to bid scientifically... I'd probably just blast 7♥ over 4♦. Raise of 6♥ to 7♥ I think is good by south. Q♥ is a huge card also. Partner has told me he has a gazillion good hearts and wants to in 6 oppisite a minimum 5-5, and we're much better than that.

[neilkaz]

On the given auction, South is holding the World's Fair opposite this bidding and realy should raise to the grand.

However, my action would be 1S-4NT (RKC) and the I'll take a chance that my 9 card ♥ suit has no losers and bid the grand. This is better than guessing whether opener has 2 aces.

[JLOL]

neilkaz, on Jan 28 2009, 04:00 PM, said:

However, my action would be 1S-4NT (RKC) and the I'll take a chance that my 9 card ♥ suit has no losers and bid the grand. This is  better than guessing whether opener has 2 aces.

When partner shows 2 keycards guessing whether he has 2 aces is exactly what you'll be doing. Or did you mean 1S 4N regular blackwood and not mean RKC?

[neilkaz]

JLOL, on Jan 28 2009, 03:03 PM, said:

neilkaz, on Jan 28 2009, 04:00 PM, said:

However, my action would be 1S-4NT (RKC) and the I'll take a chance that my 9 card ♥ suit has no losers and bid the grand. This is  better than guessing whether opener has 2 aces.

When partner shows 2 keycards guessing whether he has 2 aces is exactly what you'll be doing. Or did you mean 1S 4N regular blackwood and not mean RKC?

4N is RKC for ♠ so PD shows 3 key cards and I count 13 tricks if ♥ (big fav to) come in.

I would bid 7NT at MP, but at IMPs while it may stop a rare ruff, It may not be worth the risk of several down when ♥ don't work.

EDIT: I realize many play the immediate jump to 4N as normal blackwood..if so follow up by asking for kings.

[JLOL]

Yes if partner shows THREE keycards it's all good, but what if partner shows 2 keycards? You don't know if he has 2 aces or an A+SK. What if partner shows ONE keycard and it's the SK and you're off 2 aces? Asking for straight aces would be fine but asking for keycards would not tell you what you need to know.

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

#1 Playing 2/1 I find the first 4 bids natural.
#2 4D is also fine
#3 After 4D responder has a problem, but
his best move is just 4NT, but 6H is not
too bad.
4NT would ask for KC on diamond basis.
The response will tell you have all Aces,
after that you can ask for specific kings.
Maybe partner should treat the Queen of
hearts as a king, given that you have 6
hearts, ...

With kind regards
Marlowe

[jdonn]

I think south should bid 4♣ as a heart raise instead of 4♦, but otherwise I actually believe the auction was fine, except that south should raise one more level at the end.

I grant that amounts to an admission that I woulud likely miss the grand if the heart queen was a small heart.

[Fluffy]

I think south should bid 4♥ as a heart raise and stop bidding the suits he already shown.

Also north had a free try with 4NT before bidding 6♥, it would acomplish nothing because partner didn't have ♦K, but he could.

If the bidding goes 4♦-4NT-5♠-6♥ south can be imaginative enough to realise what is going on althou I doubt it.

Using 4NT at least should guarantee that we don't have voids.

[neilkaz]

JLOL, on Jan 28 2009, 03:14 PM, said:

Yes if partner shows THREE keycards it's all good, but what if partner shows 2 keycards? You don't know if he has 2 aces or an A+SK. What if partner shows ONE keycard and it's the SK and you're off 2 aces? Asking for straight aces would be fine but asking for keycards would not tell you what you need to know.

DUH..Neil .. this is what I get for posting from work..anyhow..back when I played 2/1 with regular PD's in So Cal 20 years ago, we played that an immediate jump to 4NT by responder was Old Fashioned 4 ace Blackwood since to RKC in ♠ responder sets them as trump via J2NT or splintering. Modern players might have some other meaning for a direct 4NT or just use it as RKC. My experience with pickups is that most of them would think it is RKC, which of course, leaves us in serious trouble after a 2 response.

Thx.. neilkaz ..

[Vilgan]

I think S should just cash out (in their mind at least) at 4♥. This is frequently the right spot as he has no club stopper, and his/her partner must have a reason for bidding them 2x. With a doubleton club and partner ignoring notrump to rebid hearts, I don't know that 4♦ is a great bid.

That has the nice side effect (in this instance) of simplifying the bidding significantly. Now N can bid keycard and bid whichever grand they feel is better.

If south does choose to bid 4♦, I think they should take the push to 7 after partner bids 6.

Its definitely one of those grands that will be missed at some tables. I don't see any fault with North's bidding, and while I think south could have done better... its very understandable single dummy.

[JLOL]

umm, south has nineteen points and partner made a 2/1 GF...

[Fluffy]

well, if you are too strong for 4♥ I guess you can try 4NT and assume partner will have a control. Or you can play that lovely gadget where 4♣ is a heart raise that I would think only kenrexford plays before someone else comented on it.

Actually now I think of it, you could just as well try 4♣ even if it shows control, at least it lets you stop in 4♥. Yeah I think it is the right bid.

[kenrexford]

South's final pass is quite a position.

That said, I dont think you gain much ground deciding how to find grand slams scientifically when you have nine-card suits. Bang around in some plausible manner and hope your partner knows to bump to the grand when he has ♠AKQxx ♥Q ♦AQJxx ♣Jx. If he cannot handle that problem, how could he handle anything sexy enough to actually explore this scientifically?

[Vilgan]

JLOL, on Jan 28 2009, 06:44 PM, said:

umm, south has nineteen points and partner made a 2/1 GF...

er... oops

ya, auction seems fine then until the final pass by S. I don't see how 4♣ could be anything but heart support.. but it really ought to show a control which is nonexistent in the S hand.