[haka9]

Partner opens 2♦ multi, either weak major or 20-22 flat. You have Q doubleton in ♠ J109 sixth in ♥, two ♦ and QJ10 in ♣.

[The_Badger]

haka9, on 2017-October-29, 13:31, said:

Partner opens 2♦ multi, either weak major or 20-22 flat. You have Q doubleton in ♠ J109 sixth in ♥, two ♦ and QJ10 in ♣.

The vulnerability matters, of course. And the range of your multi. But what really matters is your own agreement with partner how to bid after a multi is opened. Here, unless there is a really freaky ♥ fit (very, very unlikely), partner has either a weak two in ♠s or (less likely) a balanced 20-22 count. At favourable vulnerability I'd like to raise to 3♠ to make life difficult for the opponents, but it could make life difficult for partner if he has 20-22 balanced, too.

My view is when in doubt make the most sensible bid you can and that's 2♥ as a relay to leave or correct to 2♠ or 2NT. If the opponents own the hand, they still have to figure out how to enter the auction. If partner has the 2NT hand, it's easy after the transfer to end up in 4♥.

[sfi]

2S, pass or correct, seems normal. If partner does have hearts you can bid more later. It has the advantage of letting partner play a heart contract if they have the strong balanced hands.

[The_Badger]

sfi, on 2017-October-29, 16:24, said:

2S, pass or correct, seems normal. If partner does have hearts you can bid more later. It has the advantage of letting partner play a heart contract if they have the strong balanced hands.

I did consider the 2♠ response, sfi. However, I think it's very unlikely you have a 12 card fit in ♥s but never say never. Most good opponents (especially in the UK) will have their own defence to the multi, and there is a few of them about these days. Given that the opponents haven't made a squeak in 2nd position, I'd rather let the opponents guess where their final contract is, rather than help them on their way if they own the hand. That's why I emphasised about the vulnerability aspect.

I'm playing the probabilities here that about 95% of multi bids are weak twos, that leaves about 5% for the strong balanced, and a 12 card fit is less than 0.2%. My gut feeling is that partner has the balanced type this time round so I hope to bid the 4♥ game by the sequence 2♦ - 2♥ - 2NT - 4♥.

Obviously, if you and your partner, automatically bid 2♠ with any hand with 3+ card support for ♥s then this sequence may be invalid. Whereas I always looked upon the 2♠ bid as a hand of 11+ HCPs with ♥ support. Just our preference. I do realise that with my sequence above the good hand becomes dummy, so I agree maybe the 2♠ bid is preferable if it doesn't have HCP parameters.

[sfi]

The_Badger, on 2017-October-29, 23:03, said:

Given that the opponents haven't made a squeak in 2nd position, I'd rather let the opponents guess where their final contract is, rather than help them on their way if they own the hand.

So why give them both an extra round of bidding and an easy takeout double opportunity to sort out their hands? I'm failing to understand what the advantage of 2H is.

[Cyberyeti]

The_Badger, on 2017-October-29, 23:03, said:

I did consider the 2♠ response, sfi. However, I think it's very unlikely you have a 12 card fit in ♥s but never say never. Most good opponents (especially in the UK) will have their own defence to the multi, and there is a few of them about these days. Given that the opponents haven't made a squeak in 2nd position, I'd rather let the opponents guess where their final contract is, rather than help them on their way if they own the hand. That's why I emphasised about the vulnerability aspect.

I'm playing the probabilities here that about 95% of multi bids are weak twos, that leaves about 5% for the strong balanced, and a 12 card fit is less than 0.2%. My gut feeling is that partner has the balanced type this time round so I hope to bid the 4♥ game by the sequence 2♦ - 2♥ - 2NT - 4♥.

Obviously, if you and your partner, automatically bid 2♠ with any hand with 3+ card support for ♥s then this sequence may be invalid. Whereas I always looked upon the 2♠ bid as a hand of 11+ HCPs with ♥ support. Just our preference. I do realise that with my sequence above the good hand becomes dummy, so I agree maybe the 2♠ bid is preferable if it doesn't have HCP parameters.

We only needed 5 for the multi suit so we bid 2♠ on any hand that was 1-3 or 2-4 in those suits, taking away the takeout double and a round of bidding with 2♠ is a good idea and doesn't need to be invitational.

[The_Badger]

Cyberyeti, on 2017-October-30, 01:59, said:

We only needed 5 for the multi suit so we bid 2♠ on any hand that was 1-3 or 2-4 in those suits, taking away the takeout double and a round of bidding with 2♠ is a good idea and doesn't need to be invitational.

Ok, I concede gracefully that 2♠ is the best bid on the hand. Probably advancing senility setting in trying to evaluate a hand (and make a bid) that looks like a multi opposite a multi

[straube]

The_Badger, on 2017-October-29, 23:03, said:

My gut feeling is that partner has the balanced type this time round so I hope to bid the 4♥ game by the sequence 2♦ - 2♥ - 2NT - 4♥.

Won't that be a transfer to spades?

[Cyberyeti]

straube, on 2017-October-30, 05:59, said:

Won't that be a transfer to spades?

Not so much in England. 4 level transfers are less common here although increasing.