[Hanoi5]

You're red and hold:

♠A87x
♥QJT96xx
♦A9
♣

It goes:

Pa Pa Pa 1♥
Pa 1♠Pa ???

What's your revid? Imp pairs.

[JLOGIC]

Strange hand. Why didn't the opps bid?!

I have to do more than 2M, my hand is quite good. To me the question is 3H or 3S. It is pretty easy to see how this hand could play better in hearts. It is also pretty easy to see how this hand could play better in spades, especially if partner has 5. Seems like I basically have to commit now, although I guess if I bid 3H and partner didn't bid 4H I would have the option of bidding 4S now which is a plus.

Id probably go with 3H but it seems weird

[Siegmund]

I am sufficiently excited by the distribution to commit to game.

If we play 1H-1S-4H the same way as 1D-1S-4D, that works. (I don't, but that's two threads in one day where it is useful... hmmm....) If not, I guess I am going with 4C. I am a little scared of overheating partner, but that'll only turn real ugly if he has a void in hearts and cuebids it, and there ARE some number of magic slams if partner has 10 working points.

As for why the opps didn't bid - I won't be surprised at all if partner is 4-1-3-5 or similar. At least he won't have an ugly 6-count.

[rhm]

2♠
I don't think a rebid of 4♥ is this hand. I will go with the tactical underbid of 2♠. It seems to me sufficiently remote that the bidding will die in 2♠.
Besides, if partner has weak ♠, there may be no game.
Whoever moves, I will next bid 3♥ (it's odds on that partner will not pass 3♥), followed by 4♥ if possible, and partner should be in a good position to choose the final contract.
Opponents may have a cheap save, but I do not think they will take it, particularly if they feel, they have pushed us. Both passed already twice.

Rainer Herrmann

[TWO4BRIDGE]

3♠
I want partner to see my support with this 5 LTC hand.

[Yes, Siggy... it sure is strange to see a "CWNN type" hand twice in 2 days with these 2 suits. ]

[hrothgar]

I agree that something seems weird about this hand.

My immediate reaction is that partner might be playing around and that supposed Spade bid doesn't actually mean that he has any Spades. However, from the looks of things we're red and they're white which substantially decreases the odds that partner is messing about.

I agree with Justin that the hand has way too much playing strength to consider a simple raise to 2♠.
Moreover, 7-4s often play best in the long suit so setting Spades as trump seems premature.

As sick as it sounds, 2♦ has a certain perverse attraction...
I'd love to see partner's rebid. However, at the end of the day, I fear that it would be the green card,
and as gracious as my partner's might be, I don't think they'd forgive this one.

I fear that I am backed into a 3♥ bid.

[mike777]

3h..3s close second choice.
hand may play better with h as trumps.

As others have said hmmm why are the opp not bidding here.

[mikeh]

The auction suggests that partner has a lot of hcp and/or relatively short majors. If he has only a moderate hand with, say, 4=1=4=4, we are almost certainly better off in 3♥ than we are in 3♠.

OTOH, if he has a real hand, then he isn't passing 3♥. We may not be able to get back to spades...I'm not pulling 3N to 4♠: I'm pulling it to 4♥....but we should end up on our feet. If he does bid 3♠,I'm bidding 4♦ and then, over 4♠, 5♣.

All very very weird, and he may never work out what's going on but freaks are never easy to bid.

Edit: dodn't notice he was a passed hand...still bid 3♥ but won't go beyond game

[pooltuna]

JLOGIC, on 2011-January-04, 20:48, said:

Strange hand. Why didn't the opps bid?!

I have to do more than 2M, my hand is quite good. To me the question is 3H or 3S. It is pretty easy to see how this hand could play better in hearts. It is also pretty easy to see how this hand could play better in spades, especially if partner has 5. Seems like I basically have to commit now, although I guess if I bid 3H and partner didn't bid 4H I would have the option of bidding 4S now which is a plus.

Id probably go with 3H but it seems weird

I think we need to run a simul here to convince ourselves that 3♥ or 3♠ is an underbid. If you swap your ♥ and ♣ and open the bidding with 1♣ and partner bid an uncontested 1♠ would you not at least consider a 4♣ call?

[Phil]

3♥

The opponent's silence tells me that partner has a real hand, so I'm not concerned about missing a game or 'underbidding'. The nice thing about 3♥ is I can cue over 3♠.

If my spades were a little stronger, and my heart intermediates weaker, I would bid 3♠, and hope to try 4♥ over 3N for instance.

[JLOGIC]

Well, partner is presumably "never" passing 3H or 3S, he has too many HCP...The opponents passed in 1st and 3rd seats w/r and then passed again. I guess partner could have 7 and they both 11, even then he is unlikely to have a pass.

I hate 4C, we are just super unlikely to have a slam here and I don't see what it accomplishes. I guess 4H could be fine, but it precludes the (unlikely) chance of 1H-1S-3H-3S. On the other hand it leaves the opps more in the dark about our hand, and precludes any cuebid from partner over 3H which may help them with the defense.

Do any hands exist where partner will try for slam over 1H-1S-4H as a passed hand? Probably not, this is typically a gamblingish action. I think some hands exist where partner would try for slam over 1H-1S-4S as this is not typically a gambling action and is usually a strong 4-5-2-2. Since I have no interest in slam I do not like a 4S bid.

[whereagles]

Quote

Id probably go with 3H but it seems weird

Not at all. Have a look at this (1996 Cardiff - Gonzalo might remember this one, it was against Spain )

---

I held the hand and my original pass was because I had been indoctrinated into that "don't preempt with a major side suit" nonsense. My pard was in the same wavelength because he correctly guessed my pass could only be due to a spade side suit. He held 5 spades to the KJ and the ♥AK.

Unfortunately, doubler had QT98 of spades. Pard lost control and ended like -1100 down. Hearts makes 10 tricks no sweat, probably 11. In the end our coach told me "That was inexperience. Hands like that open the long suit and bury the short one."

So yeah, back to our hand 3♥ may sound wierd but I sure know what you mean... (and agree to).

[gszeszycki]

way too much pessimism in this group with spades as trumps this hand evaluates
to around 20 and I see little reason to not bid game. Slam opposite a passed
partner is a fanciful idea at best (not impossible just really really unlikely and
exploration is not safe)

Those who play 4h as spade support and a longggggg heart suit are well placed here.
Those that do not are better off just bidding 4s.

[Fluffy]

gszeszycki, on 2011-January-05, 19:53, said:

Those who play 4h as spade support and a longggggg heart suit are well placed here.

Nobody is playing a conventional 4♥, those of us who advocate bidding 4♥ its because we think it will be our best contract