[JavaBean]

Scoring: MP

             2♠ - pass
3♠ - Dbl - pass - ??

---

As South, you hold the above hand in second seat. Dealer opens 2♠, weak, and you pass (even if you wanted to use it, you don't have Leaping Michaels available here). This is raised to 3♠, and partner doubles it back to you. What's your call now?

[gwnn]

6H, I can't ask for keycards so I just bid slam.

[Fluffy]

I count 6 keycards missing, too many for slam, some sort of invite such as 4♠ then 5♥ might be appropiate, I think bidding just 4♥ is better than 6.

[Hanoi5]

5♥ might be fine but it might make partner believe we need a spade control. 4♠ or 5NT would be my choices, and I lean towards 4♠ more.

[Phil]

So....assuming we need five of these six: ♠A, ♥AK, ♦A, ♣KQ for slam, we are certainly in the ballpark, and the ♥K may not be essential and the ♣J will probably suffice too. The five level is dangerous when we are off the likely ♠A, and two other losers.

Justin has a better handle on these jumps to 5 than I do, but if 5♥ = if you like your hand, bid 6, thats my call.

-----------------

Rant: why is it more awkward to bid in this auction than say, 3♠ - x - 4♠? Over 4♠, I have such an easy 4N....5♥ call. Here, I need to use the overloaded cuebid or some weird 4N call to express slam interest.

I think this thread can be added to the transfers department:

What about:

4♣ = ♦'s
4♦ = good hand with ♥'s
4♥ = weak ♥'s
4♠ = ♣'s

All you really lose is the ability to play exactly 4♣ which doesn't feel like a huge loss in exchange for a zillion ways for responder to explore.

[Bbradley62]

Fluffy, on May 13 2010, 06:26 AM, said:

I count 6 keycards missing

What keycard system is this?

[aguahombre]

gwnn, on May 13 2010, 03:04 AM, said:

6H, I can't ask for keycards so I just bid slam.

knowing that whatever I do differently from this will either be wrong or be misinterpreted by partner, I also just try 6H and go on to the next board.

It is not a matter of not trusting, just not discussing.

[bluecalm]

I am happy wit 4♥ now. I would like to invite the slam but I don't know how.
I wouldn't pass 2♠ for sure though with this hand.

[peachy]

I might have overcalled on the 2S in direct seat. The values are not great but playing strength compensates.

Now I bid 4S, then 5H. With aces, partner should raise but this is a *guess-it* auction.

[hanp]

6H is too optimistic I think.

Although I agree with Phil that these auctions can be awkward, I don't agree that this is suitable for transfers. I think that awkward slam tries will be less frequent than hands where we want to bid 4C.

I think I would have bid 3H over 2S.

[mikeh]

I almost always bid slam on these hands and almost always find that it has no play. You think I'd learn.

Can we infer anything from partner's action combined with the gentle nudge to 3♠? S is unlikely to hold 5 and often won't hold even 4 spades, so partner lacks classic shape....so should be better than non-minimum. That increases the likelihood of slam but I really don't see it as being quite enough to justify a blast.

I don't like 5♥ because it may be confusing to partner.

I don't like 4♠ then 5♥ because partner may take it as promising 1st round control of spades.

I don't like 4♠...it shows almost nothing

I'd love 4N but I don't know what it means. I know what I want it to mean, but that's not the same thing.

Screw it....I knew I could talk myself into my perennially losing option: 6♥ it is.

But I will make a note to ask my few surviving regular partners what 4N should mean.

[mikeh]

hanp, on May 13 2010, 02:22 PM, said:

6H is too optimistic I think.

Although I agree with Phil that these auctions can be awkward, I don't agree that this is suitable for transfers. I think that awkward slam tries will be less frequent than hands where we want to bid 4C.

I think I would have bid 3H over 2S.

So, han, having ruled out 6♥ as too optimistic (I agree with you but bid it anyway) what do you propose?

[junyi_zhu]

JavaBean, on May 13 2010, 07:36 AM, said:

Scoring: MP

             2♠ - pass
3♠ - Dbl - pass - ??

---

As South, you hold the above hand in second seat. Dealer opens 2♠, weak, and you pass (even if you wanted to use it, you don't have Leaping Michaels available here). This is raised to 3♠, and partner doubles it back to you. What's your call now?

5!h is the most natural bid to describe this hand IMO. It shows a decent hand with a lot of playing potentials but not enough HCP to overcall at 3 level, and need partner's extra value to bid slams. Partner should apply his hand evaluation to decide whether to bid 6H. Using 5H as an asking bid for spade controls would be simply misleading and very illogical, because there is no hand in this world that justifies a 5H bid that as long as partner holds a spade control, 6H can be made. Actually, a jump to 5 level as a asking bid for a specific control is one of the most abused bids. Slam bidding is usually not such a simple black and white matter and there are very few hands that justify this convention.

[mikeh]

junyi_zhu, on May 13 2010, 03:09 PM, said:

JavaBean, on May 13 2010, 07:36 AM, said:

Scoring: MP

             2♠ - pass
3♠ - Dbl - pass - ??

---

As South, you hold the above hand in second seat. Dealer opens 2♠, weak, and you pass (even if you wanted to use it, you don't have Leaping Michaels available here). This is raised to 3♠, and partner doubles it back to you. What's your call now?

5!h is the most natural bid to describe this hand IMO. It shows a decent hand with a lot of playing potentials but not enough HCP to overcall at 3 level, and need partner's extra value to bid slams. Partner should apply his hand evaluation to decide whether to bid 6H. Using 5H as an asking bid for spade controls would be simply misleading and very illogical, because there is no hand in this world that justifies a 5H bid that as long as partner holds a spade control, 6H can be made. Actually, a jump to 5 level as a asking bid for a specific control is one of the most abused bids. Slam bidding is usually not such a simple black and white matter and there are very few hands that justify this convention.

I agree....change my vote to 5♥

[gnasher]

I'd just bid 4♥. I hate going down at the five-level.

[akhare]

4N will likely convey the two suiter message, but ironically a bid of 5♣ by pard will actually complicate things (pulling 5♣ to 5♥ might convince pard that we have the reds ).

So, 5♥ it is...

[hanp]

mikeh, on May 13 2010, 02:52 PM, said:

hanp, on May 13 2010, 02:22 PM, said:

6H is too optimistic I think.

Although I agree with Phil that these auctions can be awkward, I don't agree that this is suitable for transfers. I think that awkward slam tries will be less frequent than hands where we want to bid 4C.

I think I would have bid 3H over 2S.

So, han, having ruled out 6♥ as too optimistic (I agree with you but bid it anyway) what do you propose?

I thought it was close between 4H and 5H, knowing myself I'd go with 5H at the table.


It would be interesting to know if others would overcall 3H.

[Fluffy]

Bbradley62, on May 13 2010, 04:43 PM, said:

Fluffy, on May 13 2010, 06:26 AM, said:

I count 6 keycards missing

What keycard system is this?

the one where you know 9 cards in partners hand (♥♥♥♦♦♦♣♣♣) and then know that partner covers a loser whenever he has one of the following cards: ♠A♥AK♦A♣KQ, while others are irrelevant except for the fact that ♥K and ♣Q are finesable if he has ♥A/♣J