[inquiry]

Scoring: IMP

BPO-004E
West   North   East  South
 Pass     1♦  Pass     1♠
 Pass    4♣  Pass     ?

---

[helene_t]

4♠. Partner asked me to subtract my clubs values so now I've only 3 HCPs.

[badderzboy]

4♥ for me - don't want to give up just yet

Steve

[hrothgar]

BP0-004E: 4H

This is one of the WORST calls that partner could have made. Partner
has a strong hand, as do I, However, much of my strength is wasted
opposite partner's shortage. Anything could be right and we're
already at the 4 level. With this said and done, the Queen of
Diamonds is a big card. My Heart shortage could be useful as well.

4H seems like the best course of action

[P_Marlowe]

4S.

I have wasted values in spade, I sign off.

Marlowe

[helene_t]

Think of the silence op the opps despite the vulnerability. P has values in hearts.

[MickyB]

That's an interesting inference Helene - it does come down to whether partner has wasted values in hearts. A club void wouldn't be terribly useful here either. I signed off, but it could be wrong.

[whereagles]

4♦ for me.

My hand is GOOD. Solid intermediates in spades, singleton in unbid suit, and a keycard in diamonds. Besides, there are some backup chances for tricks in the club suit despide pard's singleton.

I'm prepared for whatever pard bids. If he bids..

4♥: I bid 4♠, confident of having done my duty to encourage pard to go to slam.
4♠: There should be no heart wastage. I ask for keycards, expecting slam to be at least 50%.
4NT: bid my keycards and let pard take final decision. If he tries for a grand slam in 5NT, I might risk 6♣, suggesting clubs as source of tricks.

[hrothgar]

whereagles, on Jul 12 2005, 04:49 PM, said:

4♦ for me.

My hand is GOOD. Solid intermediates in spades, singleton in unbid suit, and a keycard in diamonds.

Since when is Qxx a first or second round control?

[whereagles]

Some people play that the queen is a card worth cueing in pard's main suit. I like that style, which is why I pick 4♦.

[FrancesHinden]

whereagles, on Jul 12 2005, 08:49 AM, said:

I'm prepared for whatever pard bids. If he bids..

4♥: I bid 4♠, confident of having done my duty to encourage pard to go to slam.
4♠: There should be no heart wastage. I ask for keycards, expecting slam to be at least 50%.

I don't entirely believe this logic.

If we think that 4H from partner is a cuebid here (which I think most people would, unless they think it's some sort of last train effort), then if partner bids 4H he is showing the ace, which is not a wasted heart value.

If partner bids 4S he is more, not less, likely to have heart wastage.

If partner's expected heart HCPs are, say, 4, which would you rather have: the Ace or the KJ?

Note I don't disagree that the key to this hand is partner's heart holding or (equally but conversely) his spade/diamond holding. Does he have AKQx xxx AKJxx x or does he have Kxxx AKx AKxxx x? But I do disagree that the lack of a heart cue bid is good news. If you keycard next aren't you going to play in 5S opposite Axxx KQx AKJ10xx - ?

[whereagles]

Your reasoning assumes pard's would-be heart cue will only be done if in possession of the ace, which is by no means a certainty. Maybe to you it is, but to me it isn't.

[HeartA]

whereagles, on Jul 12 2005, 08:49 AM, said:

4♦ for me.

My hand is GOOD. Solid intermediates in spades, singleton in unbid suit, and a keycard in diamonds. Besides, there are some backup chances for tricks in the club suit despide pard's singleton.

I'm prepared for whatever pard bids. If he bids..

4♥: I bid 4♠, confident of having done my duty to encourage pard to go to slam.
4♠: There should be no heart wastage. I ask for keycards, expecting slam to be at least 50%.
4NT: bid my keycards and let pard take final decision. If he tries for a grand slam in 5NT, I might risk 6♣, suggesting clubs as source of tricks.

Same here.

[Double !]

hrothgar, on Jul 12 2005, 07:17 AM, said:

BP0-004E: 4H

This is one of the WORST calls that partner could have made. Partner
has a strong hand, as do I, However, much of my strength is wasted
opposite partner's shortage. Anything could be right and we're
already at the 4 level. With this said and done, the Queen of
Diamonds is a big card. My Heart shortage could be useful as well.

4H seems like the best course of action

I agree. 4 hearts was my choice although I initially thought about 4D. However, 4D doesn't help P know how to value his hand where-as 4H lets him know that there aren't major problems in the heart suit.

And, look at the internal solidity of the club suit (only missing the Q). It just might become a source of some tricks after all is said and done: it will give P at least 1 heart pitch. And the diamond Quean is a very nice card to have and might compensate for other weaknesses by helping to solidify partner's diamond suit. After 4H, P should be well-placed to decide what action to take next.

[mike777]

helene_t, on Jul 12 2005, 06:59 AM, said:

4♠. Partner asked me to subtract my clubs values so now I've only 3 HCPs.

ditto

[luke warm]

if my points are in his splinter suit and some of his points (hearts) in my splinter suit, 4♠ seems like enough

[kgr]

whereagles, on Jul 12 2005, 04:33 PM, said:

Some people play that the queen is a card worth cueing in pard's main suit. I like that style, which is why I pick 4♦.

I voted 4H.
But 1 second after sending my answers I thought it would have been better to bid 4D, agreeing with what you say here.

[42]

I chose also 4♥: I promised 6pts and partner forces to game, I have some help in ♦ and control the ♥s. I like my clubs because I have AK.. not KQ... May be wrong, my feeling just tells me that ...

Caren

[Echognome]

42, on Jul 13 2005, 02:49 PM, said:

I chose also 4♥: I promised 6pts and partner forces to game, I have some help in ♦ and control the ♥s. I like my clubs because I have AK.. not KQ... May be wrong, my feeling just tells me that ...

Caren

I like this point. Yes I have wasted club values, but I'm far from minimum. Think of our small box principle. I have only made a 1 over 1 and yet partner has some interest in slam. The least I can do is cooperate. I would be bidding 1♠ on hands with KQxxx of spades and out.

[mike777]

Let's give partner a typical hand:

AKXX
AKXX
A(J OR T)XXX
VOID

A bit less and 4s may be enough