[kfay]

Scoring: IMP

1♣-1♥
4♥-?

---

Edit: Partner would probably splinter if he had one. 4♣ would show 4-6.

Do you constrain the handtypes North could have here further than excluding the other possibilities? Or would you just call it ~20 point playing strength balanced or semi-balanced?

[mich-b]

We rebid 4♣ with 18-19 Balanced (with 4♥s) , and splinter with strong unbalnced hands, so a direct raise to 4♥ shows a hand with a lot of shape and not strong in high cards.

Partner might hold :

x
AKxx
x
KQxxxxx

For me it would be pretty clear to pass 4♥ with the OP's hand.

[Phil]

If you are putting pard on a good 18-19 balanced I think you should pass. There's just too many losers and you might have problems at the 5 level. Pard can easily hold a hand like Axx, AKJx, Qx, KQxx.

[whereagles]

4♥ is, in theory, a big balanced hand. I tried to come up with one or two such hands where slam is good, but I couldn't do it without cherry-picking.

So pass.

[OleBerg]

Very clear pass under the given conditions. So easy to imagine 5♥ being a nightmare. And way to many bad 6♥ underway.

[FrancesHinden]

I think most 18-19 balanced hands should bid 3H (although obviously one can construct some pretty hands which want to be in game). That means that 4H is typically either wildly distributional or a strong 2425. To make slam good we need e.g.

xx
AKQx
Ax
KQxxx

and even then it needs hearts 3-2, while the 5-level is in danger opposite

Qx
AKxx
Ax
KQ10xx

My hearts are just to weak to move, although I think it's closer than some have suggested if you think partner can't have a 3433 18-count.

Quote

Do you constrain the handtypes North could have here further than excluding the other possibilities?

Yes, but I play specific system. In one partnership I play T-Walsh and opener has all sorts of artificial heart raises; in the other I play 1C - 1H - 2S as a multi-way heart raise. In both cases this auction shows a very distributional hand, usually 1516 or singleton honour that doesn't want to splinter.

[bid_em_up]

Phil, on Mar 30 2009, 10:17 AM, said:

If you are putting pard on a good 18-19 balanced I think you should pass. There's just too many losers and you might have problems at the 5 level. Pard can easily hold a hand like Axx, AKJx, Qx, KQxx.

Or partner can hold xx AKQx Ax KQxxx as well, where 6 is essentially cold (along with many other hands).

I suspect if you give it a little more consideration that you will likely find that there are more hand types where six will, at least, have some play than there are where it does not (or you go down at the 5 level).

I think the hand is worth one try; the question is, which one? We have 3-4 choices, 4S, 4N, 5C, 5H to name a few. The one most likely to assist partner is 5C, so thats my choice. Partner must realize that in order to cuebid 5C, we must have a spade control as well. He's likely looking at all the top hearts, so knows our heart holding is weak, would we really be cuebidding 5C holding two or more dead spades? No. So I will cue 5C, and then respect partners decision over that. If he bids 5H, I pass.

jmoo.

[hanp]

I think this is a clear pass.

[neilkaz]

With my weak trump and no ruffing values, this is a clear pass for me also.

[jdonn]

Not only is it a clear pass, but I think responding 1♥ is very bad. How are we ever supposed to have an accurate slam auction anyway after doing that?

[JLOL]

Close but I pass. Partner could have a great 19 or 5422 with a good 18 to 21.

[gnasher]

bid_em_up, on Mar 30 2009, 04:39 PM, said:

I suspect if you give it a little more consideration that you will likely find that there are more hand types where six will, at least, have some play than there are where it does not (or you go down at the 5 level).

That is some way from being a good reason to move. To justify bidding on, we need to bid and make slam more often than we'll go down in five or go down in six.

[kfay]

jdonn, on Mar 30 2009, 12:01 PM, said:

Not only is it a clear pass, but I think responding 1♥ is very bad. How are we ever supposed to have an accurate slam auction anyway after doing that?

BLUUUUHMERRRR!

[jdonn]

kfay, on Mar 30 2009, 05:42 PM, said:

jdonn, on Mar 30 2009, 12:01 PM, said:

Not only is it a clear pass, but I think responding 1♥ is very bad. How are we ever supposed to have an accurate slam auction anyway after doing that?

BLUUUUHMERRRR!

Ok I admit it, you lost me!

[Apollo81]

jdonn, on Mar 30 2009, 09:21 PM, said:

kfay, on Mar 30 2009, 05:42 PM, said:

jdonn, on Mar 30 2009, 12:01 PM, said:

Not only is it a clear pass, but I think responding 1♥ is very bad. How are we ever supposed to have an accurate slam auction anyway after doing that?

BLUUUUHMERRRR!

Ok I admit it, you lost me!

Maybe he means 1♣-1NT-3♣-4♥ or something.

[peachy]

In my methods, opener has strong balanced hand because he failed to splinter. Opposite strong balanced hand (close to 20HCP) I probably still pass because of bad trumps and bad shape. However, having only aces and kings instead of quacks is very tempting. Afterall, partner was bidding to make 4H, opposite a much lesser hand that I could have in this bidding.

[eyhung]

jdonn, on Mar 31 2009, 01:21 AM, said:

kfay, on Mar 30 2009, 05:42 PM, said:

jdonn, on Mar 30 2009, 12:01 PM, said:

Not only is it a clear pass, but I think responding 1♥ is very bad. How are we ever supposed to have an accurate slam auction anyway after doing that?

BLUUUUHMERRRR!

Ok I admit it, you lost me!

He's talking about bluhmer bids, where you show a suit where you'd like your partner to have a singleton.

http://www.bridgehan...m/B/Bluhmer.htm

[jdonn]

eyhung, on Mar 31 2009, 07:25 PM, said:

jdonn, on Mar 31 2009, 01:21 AM, said:

kfay, on Mar 30 2009, 05:42 PM, said:

jdonn, on Mar 30 2009, 12:01 PM, said:

Not only is it a clear pass, but I think responding 1♥ is very bad. How are we ever supposed to have an accurate slam auction anyway after doing that?

BLUUUUHMERRRR!

Ok I admit it, you lost me!

He's talking about bluhmer bids, where you show a suit where you'd like your partner to have a singleton.

http://www.bridgehan...m/B/Bluhmer.htm

I know what a bluhmer bid is, I just didn't see the connection to the conversation. Now I do, he is banking on the 1% chance we will get to make a bluhmer bid for the 1♥ call to turn out to be an accurate description.

[kfay]

Well it was just a joke.

[jdonn]

kfay, on Mar 31 2009, 08:05 PM, said:

Well it was just a joke.

I was aware of that also.