[shevek]

---

A crude but good Acol sequence I thought.

Our pathetic auction was 1♥ - 1NT - 4♥.
Hope you can do better.

Diamonds unfortunately broke 3-2 so that was 17 out.
Team mates unkindly pointed out that 7NT is much better than six since both fail if diamonds don't split.

[mike777]

first off why cant you bid a 27 hcp 7nt

On a serious note find an auction where you know pard has KQxxx of d and ace of h ...simple

[Cascade]

Looks like a 5 or 7 hand.

If partner has four diamonds then we only have eleven tricks. If partner has five or more diamonds we are a favourite for thirteen tricks.

At first sight this seems a little suspicious. However partner is a huge favourite to have five or more diamonds on this auction. Assuming suits bid up the line and hearts would be raised with four or more trumps.

In addition it is hard to imagine a better time to be able to find out about the two important diamond honours.

Against this when partner has only one key card we won't know whether a small slam is safe.

[gnasher]

Your opponents' sequence is pretty unconvincing. Responder could have had Kxx Axx Qxxxx xx and small slam would be dreadful. A better Acol auction would be:

1♥-2♦
3♥-4♥
4♠-5♦
6♦-7♦(?)
7♥

I'll be impressed if anyone provides a convincing 2/1 auction.

[Cyberyeti]

gnasher, on 2011-October-05, 04:11, said:

Your opponents' sequence is pretty unconvincing. Responder could have had Kxx Axx Qxxxx xx and small slam would be dreadful. A better Acol auction would be:

1♥-2♦
3♥-4♥
4♠-5♦
6♦-7♦(?)
7♥

I'll be impressed if anyone provides a convincing 2/1 auction.

No he couldn't, looked like a 2 and Q reply to keycard in ♦ so A♥ and KQxxx♦ guaranteed and not the worst auction in the world.

[wyman]

gnasher, on 2011-October-05, 04:11, said:

I'll be impressed if anyone provides a convincing 2/1 auction.

Certainly it requires taking a bit of a view, but

1H-1N
3D

seems like a start that could get one to grand.

My feeble attempt:

1H-1N (f)
3D-4D
4H (my j/s could be 3 cards, and I have a good 6+ heart suit I want to play in) - 5D (cue, though I could be convinced otherwise, in which case you might have to RKC here and puke a little)

Hmm, he has nothing in the blacks to cue, so he must have A of hearts here. If he has like KQJxx of diamonds, we're near cold for 7N, and even KQxxx of diamonds is good. Whatever grand try west makes, confirming the keycards, east can go ahead and bid 7 here. East can count 2 black aces, 6+hearts if those break ok or p has the spots, and 5 diamonds if those break ok or if p has the spots.

5N-7N

I think 5N is like "nothing else to cue, but we've got everything and I want to put the ball back in your court."

Too ambitious?

[gnasher]

Cyberyeti, on 2011-October-05, 06:18, said:

No he couldn't, looked like a 2 and Q reply to keycard in ♦ so A♥ and KQxxx♦ guaranteed and not the worst auction in the world.

I probably didn't make myself very clear.

When opener bid 4NT he didn't know what response he was going to get. If he had heard a one-keycard response, what would he have done?

[TWO4BRIDGE]

gnasher, on 2011-October-05, 04:11, said:

I'll be impressed if anyone provides a convincing 2/1 auction.

Wish I could accommodate you... but I can't .

The opps' 2/1 ( non-GF ) sequence isn't that bad, but is suspect.

I can show a GF auction w/long Hts, but no knowledge of the Diam suit as a source of needed tricks.

I'd probably just end up in 4H as well:

1H - 1NT!
3C! ( may be artificial ) - 3D! ( asks )
3H ( GF, long ♥; ♣ was artificial; anything else says ♣ was natural ) - 4D ( cue for ♥; denies ♠ & ♣ controls )
4H

[whereagles]

I stopped worrying about these hands because either you have some bid for strong 2s or you're permanently guessing.

In a sayc or 2/1 context I recommend just opening them 2C and bidding the main suit twice, which is NF.

[Vampyr]

whereagles, on 2011-October-05, 09:03, said:

In a sayc or 2/1 context I recommend just opening them 2C and bidding the main suit twice, which is NF.

Is that really the case? Wow.

[phil_20686]

This doesnt seem *that* hard, you just need the right bit of kit:

1H-1N
2N*-3D 2N=GF either 6+ hearts or 18-19 bal or 5H4m 3D= natural 5+d not 3 hearts or 4 clubs
4d-4H
4N-5c (hearts agreed here for me, some people would play this sequence as agreeing diamonds)
5N-7H (5N confirms all the keycards, with a good diamond suit opposite known Axx support responder can bid grand-his hand cannot be better opposite a grand try).

[Phil]

Good hand for strong club.

I wouldn't get close to 7. I probably would have to take a view at some point to get to 6.

[whereagles]

Vampyr, on 2011-October-06, 11:39, said:

Is that really the case? Wow.

What do you mean?

[Cyberyeti]

gnasher, on 2011-October-05, 07:50, said:

I probably didn't make myself very clear.

When opener bid 4NT he didn't know what response he was going to get. If he had heard a one-keycard response, what would he have done?

You are quite right in that if you blackwood you have no clue if you get the one keycard response, what partner might have, although I'd have thought the slam was odds agasinst in that if he doesn't have a singleton he needs both black kings as well as at least ♦Q along with his keycard to even possibly make it good, so I'd play 5♦, my guess is he decided that before bidding 4N.

I'm not sure whether I'd 2/1 the hand you posted, Kxx, Ax, Qxxxx, xxx I certainly wouldn't.

[mikeh]

I'd never get there.

Good hand for a big club method.....I think a decent big club system would waltz into the grand, far more convincingly than the acol approach.....btw, while I know that acol uses far lighter 2/1 responses than 2/1 does, is the East hand a 2♦ response in Acol? I am not suggesting it isn't, just trying to get a better idea of what Acol is all about....my impression was that this hand didn't quite amount to most acolites' 2♦.

[Cyberyeti]

mikeh, on 2011-October-06, 14:40, said:

I'd never get there.

Good hand for a big club method.....I think a decent big club system would waltz into the grand, far more convincingly than the acol approach.....btw, while I know that acol uses far lighter 2/1 responses than 2/1 does, is the East hand a 2♦ response in Acol? I am not suggesting it isn't, just trying to get a better idea of what Acol is all about....my impression was that this hand didn't quite amount to most acolites' 2♦.

This opens a can of worms that has been discussed elsewhere, in my view of the world a 2/1 is a hand where I don't mind being forced to game by a flat 15, so KQxxx and an ace qualifies, but a scattered A, K, Q may not. Traditional acol 2/1s on an 8 count, and this seems to still be fairly prevalent, but I prefer 1♥-2♦-2N to be GF.

[nigel_k]

mikeh, on 2011-October-06, 14:40, said:

I'd never get there.

Good hand for a big club method.....I think a decent big club system would waltz into the grand, far more convincingly than the acol approach.....btw, while I know that acol uses far lighter 2/1 responses than 2/1 does, is the East hand a 2♦ response in Acol? I am not suggesting it isn't, just trying to get a better idea of what Acol is all about....my impression was that this hand didn't quite amount to most acolites' 2♦.

I think you bid 2/1 in Acol if you want to play 3NT rather than 1NT opposite a balanced 15 so for me, this hand qualifies.

[xxhong]

1H 1N
2D(transfer, 6+H, denies 4D) 2H(transfered, 10- HCPs)
3D(3D, gf) 3H(two H fit)
3S(cue) 4D(cue, serious slam interest)
4S(RKC) 4N(1 KC)
5S(all KC) 7NT(13 tricks very likely)

shevek, on 2011-October-04, 21:39, said:

---

A crude but good Acol sequence I thought.

Our pathetic auction was 1♥ - 1NT - 4♥.
Hope you can do better.

Diamonds unfortunately broke 3-2 so that was 17 out.
Team mates unkindly pointed out that 7NT is much better than six since both fail if diamonds don't split.

[Zelandakh]

mikeh, on 2011-October-06, 14:40, said:

I'd never get there.

Good hand for a big club method.....I think a decent big club system would waltz into the grand, far more convincingly than the acol approach.....btw, while I know that acol uses far lighter 2/1 responses than 2/1 does, is the East hand a 2♦ response in Acol? I am not suggesting it isn't, just trying to get a better idea of what Acol is all about....my impression was that this hand didn't quite amount to most acolites' 2♦.

At the risk of being one of your "always right" posters, I would like to think my club system is good enough. But no guarantees!

1C = 15+ nat/bal or 18+ any
... - 1S = no major, GF
1N = relay, usually 18+
... - 2H = balanced
2S = relay
... - 3C = 5 diamonds

Now keycard for diamonds would be trivial (but not cater to a few hands). So probably

4C = puppet to 4D
... - 4D
4S = RKCB for hearts
... - 4N = 1 or 4
5D = king ask
... - 5N = DK, no SK
6D = general grand try, not really interested in CK (in context this should focus on DQ)
... - 7H
7N

As for 2/1s in Acol, like the Yeti says there are a few different schools. Some play traditionally light 2/1s, down to 8ish with a good suit. Another group will 2/1 on any hand worth a GF over a balanced 15. A third group require 10+ most of the time. So the East hand would qualify for most, but not all.