I don’t agree with this at all. Unless you use a limit bid then partner is going to bid again. Then you have a better picture of partner’s hand and can jump. Partner having a balanced 16 HCP is one example where a jump bid could go very wrong. After opening an ACOL 1D, she can rebid 1N over your 1S to show a balanced 15-17 and then you can use Checkback Stayman and after a 2D response go straight to a Quantitative Bid of 4NT.
I don’t play Soloway jump shifts but don’t you have to be quite clear as to the sort of hand types they can cover, particularly with respect to partner’s suit? Think a void in pard’s suit isn’t typically a candidate for a SJS and would lead to problems with accurate slam bidding.
I’d prob bid that hand
1D 1H (planning to reverse)
2D 2S
3H 3S to start a cue bidding sequence. Partner could then consider 3N non serious to show a minimum cooperative hand for slam but they’re prob below that with this collection so should call it a day with a direct 4H. I have to respect that signoff - my monstrous hand has been downgraded to excellent with the mis-fitting diamond void so I don’t think I can push on.
I disagree. If your suits are 4-card you signal this by responding up the line; you signal that your suits are better than 4 card by bidding the higher suit first.
BTW I’ve thought of an even better reason to not jump: suppose partner had a balanced hand of 18-19 points! Under ACOL the bidding would go 1D - 1S - 2N - 5N - 6N or 7N. If you jump, then you miss out on that.
Interesting. At the table, I thought like Busy Scissors and bid 1H, planning to reverse to show the extra strength. My partner was thinking more like Quartz with the result we never found the Heart fit. (Yes, partner was 2-3-6-2, sorry for the error).
1D - 1H
2D - 2S
2NT - 3C (probably an overbid)
3D - 3S
3NT - and then I really should have gritted my teeth and left him in it rather than push on. It’s still a nice hand - and 3NT played his way looks horrible - but where’s it going?
3D looks quite wrong in that sequence Merrick. The reverse shows 5H so partner has to reveal the fit.
Played a team game last night - did not have a card for 12 boards (defended 11) and not much for the 12 after. Steely defence saw us through.
Opps had one hand that was just a bit sad - my LHO held something close to
S AJXX
H AKQXX
D AXX
C X
and her partner opened one of a minor. 1m 1H 1S 4N 5S (2 with Q) back to my LHO. You have power, shape, a fit, a very good side suit, all controls plus the queen of trumps so your bid is what? 6S :smack:
Kindly mirrored at the other table by our teammates :smack::smack:
I mention this because both players who subsided in 6 are actually pretty solid, I think that playing duplicate every week just makes grand bidding an area of weakness for a lot of club players as you rarely get a bad score for 6. But if you can’t bid 7S with that hand you’re not going to bid it ever.
I don’t understand the complete lack of love for a Six Heart contract on that huge 5-5-0-3 hand. It’s better than 50% with any lead but an (unlikely) diamond. Not a great slam, but bidding it is hardly a disaster.
I’m glad you posted this. I was getting confused. I always thought that showing the long suit first was the essential purpose of a reverse — the inference about extra strength is just a side-effect.
That leaves the question: What to bid over 1D with AQxx - KQxx - Qx - xxx ? If you’re unwilling to bid 3NT on the 2nd round with clubs unbid and unstopped, do you start with 1S over 1D?
I solicit comments on two disasters from my recent session:
(1) You open One Spade *in 3rd-chair*; partner (me) responds Two Diamonds; what, if anything, do you rebid with the following hand?
♠ AT743
♥ Q854
♦ 2
♣ KJ3
My partner passes routinely, after opening 3rd-seat, with a full-strength opening hand and 4-card support for my major. But here he bid Two Hearts. *I think this is exactly backwards.* Raise when you can raise, if only to preempt the opponents. With the above hand shriek your weakness with a *Pass*!
I held six diamonds and a nifty 12 hcp (I might have opened a weak two); and jumped to a hopeless 3NT when the above hand hand rebid Two Hearts. (We open light, but my 12 had singleton KH and no Aces.)
(2) With nobody vulnerable you open One Spade with the following hand. After partner passes, RHO re-opens with Two Clubs. What do you call now?
♠ AKQJ852
♥ K753
♦ Q7
♣ -
Partner had Txx 9xxx Txx ATx. At some tables my hand opens Four Spades, LHO leads Ace and another Heart from x Ax KJxx Jxxxxx and a hopeless-looking game makes. (Without a Diamond opening lead, 4 Spades always makes by dropping the doubleton AH.) Once the auction goes 1S P P 2C we're destined for a bad board: LHO can't be stopped from raising his partner's clubs; Five Clubs succeeds with two finesses.
So my question is just for curiosity. I jumped to Three Spades at my second turn; we finished defending 5CX+5 and lost 11 imps. (5C undoubled still costs 9 imps.)
Partner startled me when he criticized my Three Spades: "Wouldn't 2S be enough? with a 7 and a half trick hand?" Well, would it? (And if he thought I had a better hand than this, why didn't he raise to Four Spades?)
And I've always wondered how people count tricks. I would call this at least eight-plus, not seven and a half.You are 4-4 in the majors so you bid 1♥.
With only 10 HCP and no good rebid I would have passed this hand.
That’s an opening 1 bid. I would have opened 1♦. Your partner would have responded 1♠ (having 5 spades) and over my 2♦ rebid (showing a weak hand without 4 spades and with 6 diamonds) passed.
I agree with your bid. You have length and strength, and you show that with a jump rebid. That said, on your hand I would be very tempted to open 4♠. Strengthen it only very slightly and I’d open 2♣ as I cannot afford partner to pass.
Passing forcing bids because one opened light is a matter for the authorities, Septimus - Major Crimes, Bridge Division (and this isn’t even a light opener). Sounds like you had a very normal auction, there’s a misfit brewing up but you took a shot at 3N that didn’t work out - next board please.
Honestly it would be better to play that hand in 3NXX going off 5 then for your partner to have passed your 2D. Because the former is at least bridge, whereas the latter is not.
I was a passed hand. Sorry if I didn’t make that clear. “Partner opened 3rd-chair.”
Yes, but with 12 HCP and six diamonds you should not have passed.
I count the number of tricks I expect to make if partner has nothing and I get normal breaks. This hand is 7.5, plus a smidgin for hearts being 333 around the rest of the table.
4S is a poor contract. Even on a club lead so you can get a diamond away, you need hearts 3-2 with king onside: 34% The correct play is to lead up to the king, not playing small from hand twice trying to drop Ax, which is 27%
On everything else, I agree with Quartz’s comments in post 887.
My mistake Septimus, 2D not forcing then but your pard still has an easy 2H bid. Pass downgraded from major crimes to a parochial infringement.
Isn’t there some Barry Crane aphorism about 2D never being the right contract at MPs?
I will admit that some of the recent responses surprise me. Do those insisting they’d open One Diamond with a hand they haven’t even seen still make that bid knowing the actual hand?
QJ
K
KJ9765
Q985
(And BTW this was IMPs not MPs.)
:smack: I know what “up the line” means. Obviously I’m interested in thoughts about the rebid problem.
On the hand where your side has ten spades total and opponents have ten clubs, the important thing is to bid, not whether you actually make Four Spades! Google ‘Law of Total Tricks.’ (Seven out of nine pairs that took ten tricks in spades had the Heart Ace led. I shouldn’t have complicated matters by mentioning a double-dummyish line.)
I’m closer to not opening that then not opening your pard’s hand (which I would open any seat, any colour). I think I’d still open it in first seat but certainly wouldn’t quibble with a pass. Some horrible honour distribution and it’s the minors, plus you might get the chance to make an informative negative double if you hang fire. But bridge is a bidders game and it’s also an optimist’s game, it’s shapely and if you hit a minor fit it will play well.
I’m old-fashioned. A minimum opener should have two “Quick Tricks.” I’ll occasionally stretch that down to 1½ but this hand has only ½ quick trick. I have no objection to opening Two (weak) Diamonds with this hand — I might have bid that(except I was still distracted by the disaster on the previous hand? 
).
So I agree that partner’s hand, though only 10 hcp instead of 12, is a better opening. It has 2 quick tricks.
And Three No Trump became “hopeless” when the opening heart lead was won by RHO with Ace. If I had scored my King instead, the contract would have had a chance, though still a poor one.
What annoyed me about partner’s bidding on was his inconsistency. He passes (after opening 3rd seat) when he has support for my suit, but bids here with a possible misfit. Do you agree this is backwards?
But an opening bid of 4S is pre-emptive.
Yup, I’d bid 1♦ on that hand. That said, my rebid would be 2♣ because there are four clubs.
Remember that bidding is partly about telling your partner what you have. Here your 1♦ bid says, “Partner, I have a hand with opening points and I have at least four diamonds.”
It’s interesting how standards differ. Taking septimus’s hand first in his hand (1) - I would never even consider opening 1D on QJ K KJ9xxx Q9xx. You don’t have the high-card strength (singleton K is not worth 3HCP and neither is Q-J blank), your suit is full of holes and 1D pre-empts nothing. Half the time you’re just giving opponents an easy way to show both majors with a take-out double.
It’s worth a pre-emptive 2D third in hand, probably first as well, though I’d hesitate to open 2D vulnerable first in hand with such a feeble suit.
For the original question, I can sympathise with his partner. You’ve scrambled up a weak third-hand opening bid and partner passed as dealer. Barring a very lucky distribution, you’re not making game even if partner has a fit, so once you’ve identified a plausible partscore, it makes sense to stay there. Unless you’re playing rubber, 3H is no better than 2.
In this case, of course, 2D is not a plausible partscore - it will likely score worse than just passing the hand out - you have a second suit you can show without going to the 3 level and just because partner has diamonds it doesn’t mean he can’t have 4 hearts or 3 spades. Even if he doesn’t, 2S is likely no worse than 2D.
Of course, once in a while partner will have a maximum and punt a hopeless game. That’s the price you pay for opening 10-counts.
On hand (2), you’re too strong to open with a 4S pre-empt, plus you have 4 of the other major. After 1S-P-P-2C, I probably double (slightly light) to show the hearts. If partner bid 2D and it gets back to me I bid 2S (and 3S if I have to), if he bids 2H I probably just pass (though if he has something like x QJxx xxxx xxxx, 4H is actually pretty good). If LHO comes in with 3C and partner can say nothing the hand’s clearly going nowhere and I’m happy to pass opponents out in a partscore. If opponents bid strongly, I have to decide if 5S down 3 is going to be worth it.
3S is a sort of between-stools bid - already too high if partner has nothing, yet it may not be pre-emptive enough to buy the contract if opponents have a fit. And 2S does show extra strength after partner has passed 1S.
I would always bid with this hand over partner’s opening 1 of a major. Assuming 5 card major of course. I have played a lot of bridge, and timid bidding is not going to win the day.
I still don’t understand the criticism of my 3S double-jump. It didn’t keep them out of game, but it surely had a better chance of doing so than the timid 2S.
I try to be aggressive in many situations, but I would pass here. Sure, promote the aces and tens and call this 5 hcp, but you still have to subtract a point for 4-3-3-3 shape. In Acol, a 2-spade raise shows a 9-loser hand. This hand has 11 losers. Eleven with an E!
But if you do bid, we get to 4S, probably making as the cards lie, though even down 2 would be considerably better than watching them make 5CX.
May we agree that he should certainly have bid 4S when his RHO bid 4C over my 3S? I might then bid 5S over 5C which would have salvaged a few IMPs.
I wasn’t responding to your choice of 4S, I was responding to comments about 4S making. Having said that, I think the hand is far too strong to open 4S in 1st (or 2nd) seat. It might be worth a NAMYATS bid, if you play that.