[microcap]

This was really bad, even for Rex and me.

As always, there will be a part 2 so stay tuned to the Bat-Channel!

You hold a nice collection:

Scoring: IMP

---

You open 1♠, annoying LHO preempts 3♥.

In addition to the normal tools, we play that a double by partner here is 10+HCP, and pretty likely not to have 3+ cards in spades and unlikely to have a heart stopper.

Partner bids 4♣. You rebid 4♦. Partner bids 4♥. What do you think he has? What is your next bid?

[rbforster]

4♠ - still looking for the right strain. Masterminding since it was a posed problem, 5N pick a slam .

If I understand your double style, partner is more likely to have wasted heart values by taking other actions than double? This seems to suggest caution.

As for what I expect from partner, seems like he could have:

1) slam interest with clubs, too good for 5♣, or
2) a semibalanced/flexible hand with clubs, unsure what strain is right
3) a balanced hand with stopper(s) too good for a direct 3N (or do you start those with double?)

[ArtK78]

I don't worry about what partner has. I am going to bid my hand. I bid 4♠.

[cherdanno]

Partner's 4♥ doesn't necessarily promise slam interest, he is just looking for the best strain.
Such a hand necessarily has quite a bit of values though, so I have slam interest. I would bid 5N, expecting to play 6♣.

[OleBerg]

I raise partner every chance I get, s 5♥ it is.

Not that I intend to pass 5♠, but It cannot hurt to give partner the chance to bid 5NT or jump to 6♠. (The last instead of merely taking preference in 6♠.) Partner will be slightly less indulged to take us to a grand, when we dont belong there.

[Hanoi5]

I bid 4♠ now and hope it's not passed around. Partner can have anything, but there is some possibility of diamond support in his hand, though I'm not quite sure.

[jdonn]

I think 4♠ is utterly feeble. I would go for 5NT, 6♣ being a fair alternative but I think it rules out diamonds too often.

[kfay]

4♠? WHAT?!

Partner bid FOUR CLUBS!!! I can bid slam on my own, thank you very much.

Now if I only knew what was best....

I think that 5NT eats up too much room here and we'll never get to grand when it's right. But maybe 3♥ scuttled that anyway... bidding 5♥ won't make for easy continuations as nice as it seems.

♦ could easily be the best strain and I think that bidding 5NT will eliminate this possibility. Partner is missing the AKQ and definitely cannot imagine that I have 5 of them. I'll bid 5♥ for now then. If partner bids 5♠ his shape becomes more clarified. Plus I'd really like to play in 6♠ opposite Qx (hopefully the 10... or the 9) since we're totally going to get a spade ruff against us in 6-minor, and we are probably not getting there either after 5NT.

[Jlall]

4H shows slam interest in diamonds. I will bid 5H.

[whereagles]

Jlall, on Jun 8 2009, 07:02 PM, said:

4H shows slam interest in diamonds. I will bid 5H.

Perhaps that's the most logical explanation, but I wouldn't be too sure pard meant it as so.

Being so, I'll also "bid what I have." 6♦.

[ONEferBRID]

Partner had a good hand w/Cl.
You made it even better with your 4D rebid.
I agree pard's 4H is an advance cue for Diam as trump, slammish.
S/he doesn't have much room for many, if any, spades.
Still, if he has just one , say: 1s, 2h, 4d, 6c
Something like:
x
A K
J T x x
A K J T x x

..... the grand isn't there unless they don't take their Sp Ace.

I'll just bid 6D ( because I'm a wimp ).

But I do like the 5H! bid, but will partner really bid his void in Sp
or 7D missing the 3 top honors ?

void
A x
J T x x x
A K J T x x

[microcap]

Ok so Part 2---

Partner opens 1♠, rho preempts 3♥.

You hold:

Scoring: IMP

---

.

What do you bid?

[Codo]

Add 1: I had bid 6 club now

Add 2: Tuff problem:

You are too strong for 3 NT, wrong shape for double and raising and I would hate to pass. Okay, partner will reopen in 99 % of all cases, but what if he does not? (Must he reopen with say (KJxxx,xx,KQx,QJx)?).
So 4 club on THIS suit? A horror too.

I think I had passed and passed partners reopening double. This had lost only when he had passed 3 Heart, a small risk.
In the actual hand he had not doubled but bid 4 ♦. I had tried 4 Heart and 6 ♦ over 5 ♦.

[655321]

Part 2 looks to me like an easy 3NT.

[helene_t]

Part 1: Whichever is pick-a-slam, I think 5NT. Btw I would play partner's 4♥ as CoG.

Part 2: 3NT, a bid heavy but after all half of my points are in hearts.

[OleBerg]

@2:

I actually have 4NT = Quantitative available in my system, but I would still settle for 3NT.

[ONEferBRID]

Part 1
I had bid ( the makable ) 6D in my previous based on my interpretation of the bidding.

Part 2
However, South was in the unenviable position after the 3H interference.
I don't think the 4C bid was "right".
3NT should have been the call. ( The preempt did it's job again ).

[y66]

5H and 3N for me.

4C is tempting but I think I need more stuff in clubs and diamonds for that.

[Phil]

Jlall, on Jun 8 2009, 02:02 PM, said:

4H shows slam interest in diamonds. I will bid 5H.

I think 4♥ is coming (I hate that term) in a minor.

It's quite easy to visualize a grand opposite. Partner probably has ♠A, ♣AK.

I'm OK with 5N but I also like 5♥. I may hear about the ♠A now.

4♠ is not a consideration.

[Phil]

microcap, on Jun 9 2009, 06:31 AM, said:

Ok so Part 2---

Partner opens 1♠, rho preempts 3♥.

You hold:  <!-- ONEHAND begin --><table border='1'> <tr> <td> <table> <tr> <td> Dealer: </td> <td> North </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Vul: </td> <td> E/W </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Scoring: </td> <td> IMP </td> </tr> </table> </td> <td> <table> <tr> <th> <span class='spades'> ♠ </span> </th> <td> A4 </td> </tr> <tr> <th> <span class='hearts'> ♥ </span> </th> <td> AKJ </td> </tr> <tr> <th> <span class='diamonds'> ♦ </span> </th> <td> J87 </td> </tr> <tr> <th> <span class='clubs'> ♣ </span> </th> <td> K10432 </td> </tr> </table> </td> <td>  </td> </tr> </table><!-- ONEHAND end -->.

What do you bid?

1♠ (3♥) 4N (Pass)
6♦ AP