Sometimes people count Tens as half a point for No Trumps only.
Yeah, go on and bar the 2NT opener from an auction that’s already at 7NT. LOL.
Since nowadays one is expected to announce partner’s NT point count range when it’s opened, I guess Sam’s partner could simply have said “20 to 21… (Ahem) or sometimes a good 19. APPARENTLY.”
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You announce point counts only for 1 NT openers. You might alert a 2 NT or 3 NT opener if it were non-standard like a gambling 3 NT. At least that’s all I’ve ever done or heard done around here.
Only if asked. And asking risks Unauthorised Information.
That last part would result in a call to the director.
Reporting for forum change to Elec-
What?
Oh. Never mind.
As 2H by partner would show 5+ hearts and be game forcing, I am not sure what 3H was supposed to mean. Like you, I would have assumed longer hearts than 5. As partner passed first, what could s/he have that now justifies a 3H bid? If you do not play weak 2s, then maybe a good weak 2 type of hand. 3H just wastes space and virtually guarantees you will not find a diamond fit, if you have one. Note that 7D is a much better contract. On a non-trump lead you make if hearts are 3-3 or 4-2. On a trump lead you will need diamonds to be 3-2 if hearts are 4-2, but can handle a 4-1 diamond break if hearts are 3-3.
Do you play key card Blackwood? 5H would show both aces, but deny the QH, so that should warn you off bidding the grand.
We were playing strong 2s.
Excellent analysis.
I can, but my partner that evening did not.
Well done on your top bid!
I’m more cautious - I only bid small slams that have a 50% chance of making and grand slams that are 75% or better. (I think the scoring system, particularly in teams bridge, justifies that.)
In the bidding, could your partner not have responded 2H to show a positive with a heart suit? (I assume 2D is the negative.)
Yes. I would have bid 2H. Given his initial pass, I’m thinking along the lines of 2C - 2H - 2S - 3D - 4NT etc.
3D does not show any more than a 3 card suit, so it’s presumptuous to bid 4NT ace-asking, if that is what it is (I would play it as natural because we have not agreed a trump suit). Plus you do not have any more than you showed with your 2C bid. Assuming you are playing Acol, that shows 23+ if balanced, so you are minimum. Therefore it is not really your position to be driving to slam. Partner could have xx Qxxxx Axxx Jx. Even 3NT is not certain to make.
I suggest 2C - 2H - 2NT - 3D - 3H (this must show doubleton support as you did not raise immediately) - 4D (showing at least 5 - 5 and slam interest, otherwise would have passed 3NT). Now it depends on how to ask for aces. I would use 4S in this sequence, leaving 4NT as natural. If you are able to bid 4NT as RKCB for diamonds, the bidding would proceed 4NT - 5H (2, no QD). You can now count to 13 tricks via 2S 3H (after ruffing them good) 5D 2C and 2 heart ruffs. The problem is that two heart ruffs will use up the QD, so partner needs JD for the grand to be good. There’s no way you can ask for JD. You might just choose to bid 7D because it will be good if one of the following occurs:
- partner has JD
- partner has QS (now you have 13 tricks on a 3-2 trump break)
- hearts are 3-3
Oops - I meant “otherwise would not have gone past 3NT”
In standard ACOL it shows 4+ cards.
Actually this would show 3 card support, so the preferred response would be 4D. I’m interested that you would bid 2NT instead of 2S. Surely bidding 2NT would indicate only 2 or 3 spades? If partner had been 5-5 in Hearts and Spades, we would have missed that.
But yes, 7D would have been a better contract.
Sorry, I meant 4, and therefore you cannot support yet with just 3.
2NT shows the hand perfectly - 23+ balanced. As 2H shows five hearts, then 2NT denies three hearts so pretty much guarantees at least 3 spades. The only time you would not have three spades is if you have chosen to bid 2NT with 2-2-5/4. Similarly, you have virtually guaranteed 3+ diamonds, so the hand with 5-5 in the reds knows there is a diamond fit.
With 5-5 spades and hearts, responder should bid 2S initially, not 2H, so that is not a problem. If it goes 2C - 2S - 2NT, he can now bid 3H followed by 4H if necessary to show 5-5. Again, if partner bids 2NT over 2S, there is a virtual guarantee of 3 card heart support.
If responder is 4-5 in S-H, the bidding goes 2C - 2H - 2NT - 3S, so again there will not be a major suit fit missed.
Going in to work, but this hand from last night is still bugging me. We got a bottom score.
N/S vul. North deals and passes. I sit East.
S: J
H: void
D: A, K, Q, 10, 9, 6, 4, 3
C: 7, 6, 5, 2
I bid 1 diamond. South passes. Opps always pass this hand. Partner bids 1 heart. I jump bid 5 diamonds. Partner raises me to 6. All pass.
What do you think of my bidding so far?
Your hand is purely preemptive in nature. By opening 1D you have given the impression that you have values elsewhere in addition to long diamonds. Change one of those clubs into the King, and I would open that 1D.
I would open your hand 3NT, which shows a long, solid minor and no stops outside. Partner then determines whether s/he can stop the other suits. This is called the Gambling 3NT. If I did not play that convention, I would open the hand 5D.
After partner responds 1H and both opponents have passed, there is little need to pre-empt the bidding to the 5-level. The opponents have not bid, so probably do not have much. Nobody has bid spades. That suggests that partner has a decent hand with both spades and hearts. Bidding 5D just gives partner a problem. It’s difficult to say what you should bid over 1H given that there is now no way of saying that all you have is long diamonds - everything you do will suggest that you have long diamonds plus something else.
What was your partner’s hand?
Remember we play ACOL, not SAYC or something else. 2H would show 4+ hearts. A 4 card major is always biddable.
I disagree: responder shows the lower suit first. If he bids 2S, it prevents me from bidding it.
But after a response of 2S, I’m going to go Blackwood immediately with 4 spades in hand, not bid 2NT. Similarly, if he bids 2H and I respond 2NT he knows that I don’t have 4+ spades.
Sorry, you’ve lost me here. If partner had bid 2D, the negative, I’d have rebid 2NT to show a balanced hand, despite the 4 card spade suit. Partner can then bit 3NT with 2+ points or pass.
Over 2H I would respond 2S with a 4+ card spade suit, so if I don’t, partner knows I don’t have 4+ spades, so if he’s only got 4, then he knows to not pursue a spade fit.
Not good. I agree with Amarone. Open 3NT, the Gambling 3NT. Technically you really need the Jack as well. Partner will either pass or bid 4C which you correct to 4D and partner passes or raises if strong.
I am English and have played a lot of ACOL, albeit not much recently. Cite for 2H showing 5+ hearts:
http://www.bridgebum.com/acol_2c.php
You can agree differently with your partner, of course.
You bid the lower suit when you have 4-card suits to allow partner to bid his 4-card suit next. You bid the higher when you have 5-card suits so you can then bid the lower suit twice to show 5-5. If you bid hearts then have to bid spades twice to show 5. Partner will not bid a 3-card spade suit, so you will have to bid your spades twice before you will get support.
It’s just like opening bids. With 5-5 in the majors you open 1S, then bid hearts twice.
I only bid 2NT without support for partner. If he bids spades, I will support immediately.
Partner holds xxxx Qxx Axx Jxx. You have him bidding this 4-card suit and now you launch into Blackwood. Are you going to bid slam when he responds “one ace”? Even 5S is in danger. Opening 2C shows 23+ balanced, or a distributional hand with a bunch of tricks. Show your hand and let partner share the decision. If you do allow 2S to be bid on a 4-card suit, I would raise it to 3S with your hand. We are in a game forcing auction, there’s no hurry - let’s see if partner wants to explore slam.
I was saying 2C - 2S - 2NT - 3H - any - 4H shows 5-5 in the majors.
You would also respond 2S with AKJTxxx - Kx AKQx. My point is that 2NT describes the type of 2C opener you have - 23+ balanced rather than distributional. You will still never miss a spade fit. And partner is in much better shape to judge the value of his hand if he knows the type of hand you have.
We do not play gambling 3nt, alas.
Partner had:
S: A, K, 7, 3
H: A, Q, 9, 7, 3 ,2
D: void
C: J, 10, 9
We were down 1 after a spade lead.
So what would partner reply if we played G3nt?
I felt like my opening of 1 diamond in the 2nd seat, and my next jump to 5 would show a hand that wanted to play on 5 unless partner had really strong values. But now I think I should have just opened 5 diamonds. The defense can take 3 clubs off the top, but it is hard for South to find the lead from Kxx.
If I don’t make the jump to 5 diamonds, partner may pass. I know I want to play there unless partner has a slam hand. Is there a good artificial forcing bid for me after the 1h response?
5D. He cannot stay in 3NT, not so much because of lack of club stop, but because his diamond void means there is no access to all those diamond tricks. It is just possible that partner has clubs. If so, you want to play in 6C. Partner will pass 5D with D and convert to 6C with clubs.
If you convert AS to the QS, partner is much better than minimum and you are still 2 or 3 down in 5D and opponents have no game on. The problem is that partner does have a slam hand - but slam does not make because you don’t have a 1D bid. If you had KC in addition, as I mentioned earlier, slam is on a reasonable trump break plus the club finesse (or club lead, or heart lead from the king). If you had AC plus your diamonds, slam just needs a reasonable trump break.
There is no good artificial forcing bid available to you after the 1H response.