[geofspa]

Scoring: IMP

4♥(dbl)p(5d)
pp5♥p
pp

---

No this was not a goulash

I was sitting south and opened 4♥, W doubled and partner passed to E bidding 5♦ ... this was followed by two passes to partner who balances with 5♥... all passing.

In the play the ♣A was led which won and was followed by the ♣6, I proceded to win all the tricks from there.

my question is did I do wrong opening at the 4 level and should partner bid more strongly ?

[TylerE]

South's bidding was ok. Definatly on the strong end for 4♥, but what else? Why isn't N putting the spurs tot he X of 4♥? Closer to a 6♥ bid than pass there imo....

[olliebol]

north can bid blackwood.

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

#1 4H is ok, but given the vulnerability, South could be weaker,
you dont need the Ace to bid 4H
#2 Depending on agreement, 4H promises -3 or -4, North hast
5 to 6 tricks, so slam is a possibility, espesially since game level
preempts are more wide ranging, but the 5 level should be safe.
So North is worth a slam try, but not worth a slam force.
Without the interference - depending on methods, but 4NT will do
the trick here.
Given the X, it is less clear, but the King gains value, so 4NT is also
reasonable, the alternative would be XX
#3 Given the vulnerability, I would bid 5H over 5D, I have 9 hearts,
North can raise, but most likely should pass, two cashing tricks are
a real danger

With kind regards
Marlowe

[jukmoi]

Normally South holds at least 8 cards in ♥. We have two sure spade tricks and usually a ♦ ruff. Thats 11 so I would try Blackwood. We could lose 2♣ and a ♦ but I would consider that very unlucky.

[helene_t]

If 4NT is some sort of blackwood then N needs to bid it. Due to the double, we can expect ♣A to be onside.

[pooltuna]

geofspa, on Apr 25 2010, 12:44 PM, said:

Scoring: IMP

4♥(dbl)p(5d)
pp5♥p
pp

---

No this was not a goulash

I was sitting south and opened 4♥, W doubled and partner passed to E bidding 5♦ ... this was followed by two passes to partner who balances with 5♥... all passing.

In the play the ♣A was led which won and was followed by the ♣6, I proceded to win all the tricks from there.

my question is did I do wrong opening at the 4 level and should partner bid more strongly ?

Dare I venture to say that the 4♥ call would be the unanimous choice of all the frequent posters to BBOF. Your partner needs to grab the bull by the horns for any further action since your call has essentially made him captain.

[ArtK78]

I am more than a little surprised by the suggestions that North should be acting over South's 4♥ bid. Yes, the major suit holdings are impressive. But there is no reason to believe that there are not 2, if not 3, losers in the minor suits.

If you bid Blackwood and find that partner has an ace, do you bid slam? Of course you do - if the ace is in clubs you are cold. However, if you switch the black suits on the actual hand you are only 50% for slam on a club lead (and perhaps only 50% for slam on any lead). And, if partner doesn't have an ace, then you could be off 3 tricks.

Just move one card from hearts to clubs and 5♥ is in jeopardy even if a club is not led:

T
QJTxxxxx
Q
xxx

You are now off 2 aces. Even on a low diamond lead you may not be able to make 5♥.

At this vulnerability I would be very wary about looking for slam over 4♥ on the North hand.

As North, I would be surprised to find that partner's hand is good enough to make slam cold. I would be surprised to find partner with a minor suit ace. At best, I would expect to find that slam would be no better than 50%.

[ONEferBRID]

I don't preempt 4M in 1st or 2nd with an outside Ace... but I guess that's only me.

....perhaps your partner too and why he initially passed... thinking off 2 Aces.

[gwnn]

no problem here, next hand

dont preempt with outside aces is a great principle but it will lose a lot of imps in the long run.

[Simplicity]

While I'm normally in favour of pass on these sort of threads, i really think the North hand is good for keycard. An ace opposite and slam is likely going to be excellent and otherwise the 5 level reasonably safe in view of the double.

Besides I find it doubtful the double will get left in and who isnt bidding 5 hearts over their game anyways?

I also think the a priori chances of South having a stiff diamond really pretty small (yes i know he has one!).

[Codo]

If south promises 8 hearts (and he should have 8 giving his weak suit) I can count 8 heart tricks, AK, a diamond ruff and maybe a club or a spade.So I had tried 6 Heart after RCKB.

[the hog]

Why not Bwood by Nth? 5H should be safe even if South has no aces.