[juljak]

I just played the weekend 2 day tournament and missed a slam which i feel i should not have missed.
I held
S: K5432
H: AKQJ3
D:J6
C:7

The bidding went 1H-(2C)-3C-(P)-4S-all pass. Partner held
S:AQJ6
H:1098
D:AK73
C:106

12 easy tricks and below average. Where did I go wrong? Thank you in advance? /Juljak

[hrothgar]

juljak, on 2019-September-07, 09:35, said:

I just played the weekend 2 day tournament and missed a slam which i feel i should not have missed.
I held
S: K5432
H: AKQJ3
D:J6
C:7

The bidding went 1H-(2C)-3C-(P)-4S-all pass. Partner held
S:AQJ6
H:1098
D:AK73
C:106

12 easy tricks and below average. Where did I go wrong? Thank you in advance? /Juljak

Despite the disparity in suit quality, I think that most people would chose to open 1!S with the North hand

I'd expect an auction like the following

1!S - (2!C) - 3!C - (P)
3!H - (P) - 4!D - ...

[Cyberyeti]

Yup, for us 1♠-(2♣)-2N(good raise to 3 or better)-3♥-4♦ so basically similar to hrothgar

[Tramticket]

juljak, on 2019-September-07, 09:35, said:

The bidding went 1H-(2C)-3C-(P)-4S-all pass.

I don't understand your bidding. You open 1H (as has been noted, 1S would be most people's choice) and after the over-call, partner cue-bid their suit - presumably showing heart support? What is 4S here? It seems to be intended as natural and to play - although this is strange as (1) partner needs to correct to 5H if not liking spades and (2) why do you need to search for a spade fit, when you already have a heart fit?

Most would play 3S as a cue-bid, so Maybe 4S should be a splinter or other slam try (Kickback?), but certainly forcing and not an offer to play in spades.

[juljak]

I am really sorry, I made a mistake when describing the bidding. My final bid was 4H, not 4S. I apologize for my mistake. I realise that I should have opened 1S instead, that would probably have salved the problem.

[juljak]

Considering this once more. Isn’t there a risk that i miss a better H fit if I open 1S? If partner is eg 3442 and I open 1S, I would prefer to play in H, but we may miss the better fit. Even more so when my suit quality is so good in H. Am I missing something or is this an unavoidable problem?

[juljak]

Considering this once more. Isn’t there a risk that i miss a better H fit if I open 1S? If partner is eg 3442 and I open 1S, I would prefer to play in H, but we may miss the better fit. Even more so when my suit quality is so good in H. Am I missing something or is this an unavoidable problem?

[hrothgar]

♠

juljak, on 2019-September-08, 04:18, said:

Considering this once more. Isn’t there a risk that i miss a better H fit if I open 1S? If partner is eg 3442 and I open 1S, I would prefer to play in H, but we may miss the better fit. Even more so when my suit quality is so good in H. Am I missing something or is this an unavoidable problem?

If opener holds hearts and spades, they will almost always be able to

1 Show both their suits
2. Have enough bidding room to clarify the relative length in the two suits

As such, its folks typically prefer to have (and follow) relatively fixed rules for describing their shape. And, one of those rules is that with 5-5 in the majors,

one opens with Spades
rebids in Hearts
and, quite possibly rebids in Hearts a second time to show the fifth card

For example

1♠ - 1N
2♥ - 2N
3♥

It is certainly possible that you might miss a 5-4 heart fit this way. Consider the case where responder holds your 3=4=4=2

If the auction goes

1♠ - 2♠
Pass

You might find yourself in an 8 card fit rather than a nine card fit. However, to some extent, bridge is a game of percentages. And, I think that you will find for every hand that you do better if you open this with 1!H, you can find an equivalent example that would have work poor, PLUS there will be a bunch of cases were things work less well because your major suit length is now ambiguous.

FWIW, I don't tend to worry about playing in a 5-3 fit rather than a 5-4.
The ones that actually hurt are playing in a 5-3 rather than a 4-4 (and folks view that just as a cost of doing business)

[jdulmage]

I'm opening 1!S and partner can do Jacoby 2NT and I can respond 3!C showing shortness. Partner loves that with 2 small clubs and can bid 3!D and now we are off to the races.

[jdulmage]

Sorry just realized you got a 2C interference. I'd bid 3C over that then partner can go 3H and then you can cue 4D to look for slam.