[mtvesuvius]

NV vs V at IMPs you hold:

Axx
x
A
AKQTxxxx

3♦ - (P) - ?

Partner is a Junior, and her pre-empts vary greatly...

[xcurt]

I might as well beat Ken to this. I am going to bid 3♠.

If partner bids 3NT, I can pass that.

If partner raises spades, I have finagled a help-suit slam try out of partner which I can accept. 6♣.

If partner retreats to 4♦ I will raise to 5♦, hopefully impeding a spade lead. It will be fun to watch my LHO try to simultaneously return a spade and a trump at trick 2 against 5♦.

If partner bids 4♣, I have an easy 6♣ call. I don't think I can ask for aces at this point so I can't bid 7.

Note that I can't bid 4♣, forcing, here. It's key-card for diamonds (0/1/1/2/2).

Other alternatives are just bidding 3NT (betting on some heart junk from partner or a spade lead), just bidding 5♦ (probably needs partner to get the trumps out before the opponents knock the ♠A off the table, a race she rates to lose), or just bidding 5♣ (betting on a spade trick or a spade ruff or the ♥A). Since partner has 22% of the missing non-diamonds (if holding 7 diamonds), and assuming no shift in the probability of holding any offsuit card a posteriori 3♦, I make it roughly even money that none of these things come off. Since often when partner has one trick she will have two tricks (because also holding the ♦K) I think the times I reach slam, making, put 3♠ over the top in expectancy.

At the table I wouldn't have time to work this all out, so I would have bid a simple 5♣.

[Codo]

Partner is a junior NV against V.

So I expect no outside aces, no outside stuff.

I would try 5 club to play.

If this is not to play but a kind of cuebid or denial cuebid and I have no other way to show my minor, I pass.

I guess the chance that the lead a heart against 3 NT is around 75 %, so I prefer to avoid this contract.

[whereagles]

5♣ for me too. I don't like masterminds like 3♠ that don't let me play the hand

[Fluffy]

I am between 5♣ and 3NT, I like that partner might find his hand ultra useful in clubs and raise to slam once in a (long) while so 5♣ it is.

[mtvesuvius]

Or Ultra-Worthless:

xxx
x
QJTxxxx
Jx



Anyway, thanks for the responses... Interesting reasoning on 3♠, I considered something like that, but I wasn't sure. As it turns out 3♥ probably would work, partner will bid 3♠ and LHO has KJ9xx and may not lead a ♥ now

Well, I chose 6♣, not thinking of much I could do scientifically... Down 2.

[Fluffy]

That should be ok against 4♥

[Free]

Easy 5♣ with that partner

[jdonn]

xcurt, on May 5 2009, 12:19 AM, said:

I might as well beat Ken to this. I am going to bid 3♠.

...

If partner raises spades, I have finagled a help-suit slam try out of partner which I can accept. 6♣.

You have? All you have finalged is spade length, I don't see how that qualifies as a help suit slam try. On this hand I simply guess 5♣. If my ace were hearts instead I might try 6♣ as I could at least hope to get to partner's hand.