Help
Zelandakh, on 2013-June-19, 01:58, said:
I have always taught HSGTs the way Mike describes, albeit simplified for beginner level:-
If max, bid game.
If min, sign off.
If in-between, look at your holding in the bid suit and use that to help you decide.
If you are still completely uncertain, bid a new suit below 3 of the agreed suit to ask partner what they think.
That's just a special way of saying to look at the overall hand with a special reference to the help suit. Also, while Qxxx is quite a good holding opposite a LSGT, it is poor opposite a HSGT - imagine ♦xxx opposite and then consider various possible diamond holdings. I still say that if Opener needs a hand like this one for game, they should have just bid game themselves. That makes life easier for Responder too - otherwise they are pretty much accepting a game try on anything.
If max, bid game.
If min, sign off.
If in-between, look at your holding in the bid suit and use that to help you decide.
If you are still completely uncertain, bid a new suit below 3 of the agreed suit to ask partner what they think.
That's just a special way of saying to look at the overall hand with a special reference to the help suit. Also, while Qxxx is quite a good holding opposite a LSGT, it is poor opposite a HSGT - imagine ♦xxx opposite and then consider various possible diamond holdings. I still say that if Opener needs a hand like this one for game, they should have just bid game themselves. That makes life easier for Responder too - otherwise they are pretty much accepting a game try on anything.
Actually, my preference is a little different, and influences my choice of gametry as opener.
Note that there are more complex versions of gametries than simply making a hsgt or a long suit gt, and in serious partnerships I play different methods.
However, it is common for a game-trying opener to hold 2 suits in which help would be useful. In those cases, I make the cheaper of the two game try bids.
I expect responder to accept the try with an average or better hand with help.
I expect responder to return to 3M, rejecting the try, with all bad hands.
I expect responder to strive to bid something in between with a good hand but no help.
For the sake of simplicity, let's assume an uncontested auction in which the 1♠ bidder has been raised and chooses a 3♣ try.
If responder has a maximum raise but no help in clubs I want him to bid a concentration of values in a red suit. If he holds help in both reds, then bid 3♦, which allows opener to make a second hsgt in hearts if he needs help there.
As a wrinkle, anytime responder intends to accept a gametry he should NOT jump to game with a side Ace. He should bid the Ace on the way. This is because on rare occasions opener's 'game try' is actually the start of a slam try. Opener has a hand that didn't quite meet his standards for a 2♣ opening, maybe because it is 2 or 3 suited. The topic of how and when to move forward on these hands is not complex but beyond the scope of this post.
On the given hand, the 3♥ stall suggested by some should opener make the 3♦ try is consistent with this approach, since I suspect that nobody would make that bid with xxx in hearts. However, for me, the responder hand is not good enough to make this call.
That view is influenced by my view that S is worth a 4♠ bid at imps, even nv. In turn that means that I wouldn't hold that good a hand for a 3♦ gt at imps, and thus I'd need a bit more than this control-less soft 7 count.