[paulhar]

S - K Q 10 8 3
H - A 10 8 5 4
D - 4
C - 7 2

The auction to date:

Partner You
1NT 2H (transfer to spades)
2S 3H (5-5 majors, game forcing)
3S* ?

* 3S is stronger than 4S.

Are you content with 4S or do you cuebid 4H?

This is a two-parter; after consensus of this question, in a few hours, I'd like to post opener's hand and get ideas about that too.

[mike777]

4s

Partner knows I am at least 5-5 and have game force HCP NOT invite hand.
NO super accept.
Partner is allowed to make one slam try over 4S if they wish.

[luke warm]

4♦... if pard bids 4♠, we're off a club control... if 4nt my 5♠ lets him know pretty much everything

[flytoox]

If 3H promise 5-5, I think it is ok to cuebid 4D. This will help pd to reevaluate his hand. If he has AJx, Kx,Axxx,KQxx or AJx,KQx,xxx,AKx, then we have a slam. There are so many hands pd can have for a slam. I think we should make a move.

[whereagles]

A 1NT opener has about 4 cover cards. Not enough for slam, so bid 4S.

However, if you want to try and find the perfect fit

Axx.....KQTxx
KQx....ATxxx
xxxx...x
AKx....xx

you can try and bid an immaginative 4 CLUBS. With the hand above, pard will bid 4H. The fake cue allowed you to find out there is no wastage in diams. Then you can trot out "old black" and shoot at 6.

However, if opener shows up with the diam queen instead of heart queen, don't call and don't ask

[the hog]

4S. Partner did not superaccept S, so does not have 4 card support. So you are relying on S breaking 3-2 as well as pd haveing well fitting cards.
I must admit that it would be helpful to know a little more about our methods here as to whether 3S indicates fitting cards for both my suits.

[hotShot]

Your hand has opening strength, and your partner seems to have a strong NT.

Your partner obviously bid 3♠ to get more information about your hand. You are short in the minors and he has to reevaluate (downgrade) his holding there. You should give him the information he needs to decide, whether he should stop in 4♠ or not.

If 4♦ is a mixed cuebid, and not missunderstood as void, you should bid it, to let Partner know how to evaluate his ♦ values. Otherwise bid 4♥ showing control there.

[Winstonm]

Partner has shown slam interest with 3S so he must be control rich. Although weak on HCP, my hand is control rich as well. Surely enough to try. Seems to me this is a good time for the negative inference of "serious 3NT" in that with a 5/5 hand after partner chose a spade slam try I won't be using 3NT as an offer to play but to differentiate between types of slam try hands - 3NT being good in HCP while an immediate cue bid is a shape and control orientated slam try. The key to this hand seems to be the club and diamond holdings.....

That's why I prefer first and second round control cue bids. My choice on this particular hand is 4D. This will slow partner if he has too much wasted in diamonds but get him going with the hand I need him to hold, that is the one with good clubs. Otherwise, we miss a good slam when partner holds:

AJx, Kx, J10x, AK10xx or the like.

Anyway, those are my thoughts.

WinstonM

[inquiry]

4♦

[jdulmage]

inquiry, on Mar 6 2005, 10:25 PM, said:

4♦

I have to agree, you are going to game anyways, try 4♦, if partner is not interested, he will sign off in major game.

[pclayton]

At some point you need to limit your hand and bid 4♠. That time is now.

Now, if we were playing Serious 3N, and I could cue bid to show mild slam interest, then 4♦ is indicated.

[Free]

4♦ is the best bid imo. It's a cuebid, denying ♣, and partner can bid 4♥ if he's still interested in slam.

[MickyB]

4♠. Much more likely to go down at the 5 or 6 level than to find the perfect hand opposite for slam.

[Free]

MickyB, on Mar 7 2005, 11:19 AM, said:

4♠. Much more likely to go down at the 5 or 6 level than to find the perfect hand opposite for slam.

That's why you need to cuebid

[ochinko]

1NT (assuming 15-17) has about 6 losers. I have 6 as well, so I won't close the bidding in 4Sp, nor will I inform the opps of my shape by cue bidding. I'll go for Blackwood just in case, then I bid 5 or 6Sp.

[bestguru]

What do you do after blackwood shows your partner to have two aces? Bow out and lose the slam when he has a clubs? Press on and go down when he has diamonds?

I was just rereading the chapter on slam bidding in "Goren's Bridge Complete" (found it for $.50 at a garage sail) and he covers using blackwood in this situation with the advice, "Beware the useless doubleton". Knowing how many aces is not enough, you have to know where your partners strenght is.

[ochinko]

bestguru, on Mar 7 2005, 11:21 AM, said:

What do you do after blackwood shows your partner to have two aces?  Bow out and lose the slam when he has a clubs?  Press on and go down when he has diamonds? 

I was just rereading the chapter on slam bidding in "Goren's Bridge Complete" (found it for $.50 at a garage sail) and he covers using blackwood in this situation with the advice, "Beware the useless doubleton".  Knowing how many aces is not enough, you have to know where your partners strenght is.

With 4 out of 5 key cards I certainly would want to play a slam. We all know that Blackwood is over(ab)used, it just seems right here. What if opps have two quick tricks in clubs and because I bid scientifically they found them and we couldn't discard a club?

If I decide to cue bid here it would probably be a psychic 4C.

[bestguru]

The only way I can see scientifically bidding to slam with opps having two quick tricks in clubs on this hand is if you have a partner like me who sometimes just loses it.

I can see where 4!c would work. It would make me go crosseyed though.