[kenrexford]

I'm sort of curious how folks would view this auction.

Partner starts with a strong 1NT. RHO bids a natural 2♣, over which you double (Stayman, Negative -- probably doesn't matter which). LHO raises clubs (3♣).

First, when Opener/partner bids 3♦, what do you expect this to show? Be as specific as necessary.

Second, after 3♦ is passed to you, what would 3M show? What about 4♣? How about 5♣? Any other options worth mentioning for what it shows?

[gwnn]

partner shows 5+ good diamonds and his strength should be fitted well with the law "diamonds+points is at least 21", of course with very good diamonds it's OK to have 20 but probably not 19. I would expect opener not to have a 4 card major.

Responder's 3M is therefore Smolen?? And his club bids are good raises of diamonds I guess.

5C shows a void but should not be exclusion.

[quiddity]

gwnn, on Apr 2 2010, 05:31 PM, said:

Responder's 3M is therefore Smolen??

That was my first thought too, but I wonder if it could be a try for 3NT. Is opener expected to bid 3N instead of 3D with any kind of club stopper?

[peachy]

I haven't discussed and absent that, I would assume at the table with a partner from the US that 3D shows 5+ diamonds and denies 4-card major. Pass would deny both 4-card major and 5+ card diamonds. Don't know what Dbl would possibly mean. And 3NT is out of the question when responder is completely unknown strength and shape.

This is a good topic for partnership discussion.

[kenrexford]

I was kind of thinking about the Smolen idea, and it seems like perhaps a flexible smolen makes some sense. In other words:

3♥ = five spades OR punt.
3♠ = five hearts.
3NT = to play.

But, then I tried unwinding 3♥, and I have some difficulty.

So, I thought more about what "could be." It seems like reversing 3♥ and 3NT meanings has some merit, in theory.

3♥ = punt/waiting
3♠ = five hearts, club stop
3NT = five spades, club stop

This seems better, somehow. More flexible. After 3♥, Opener could bid 3NT with clear direction or 3♠ as needing some club help. After 3♠, Responder could probably decline 3NT either naturally or by transfers to majors, with 4♣ possibly as a choice (looking for Moyse?).

Of course, this would need discussion, but the club-stopper-unwind problem seems substantial.

[jdonn]

Yes agree that with your partner. Then the next time it goes

1NT 2♣ X 3♦
P P

And you have a misunderstanding about whether the same agreement applies or not please post an ATB thread so we all get to see.