[Brian Davies]

Just out of interest Julian, if you were playing Acol with inverted raises in the minors, would you choose to respond 3C (only four clubs) or 1D?

Thanks

[Brian Davies]

Julian seems to have missed the second part of this question.

I would respond 2D if playing inverted minor suit raises, but if not the choice would be a manufactured 2C on the three-card suit or simply responding 3NT.

[Brian Davies]

Do you know anything about the rest of their system, John? How many clubs were promised by the 1C opening? Does their system include inverted raises in the minors?

[Brian Davies]

Hi David,

Is there a minimum strength to agree to bid 2NT as Ogust (or feature ask)?

Coleen’s actual 14-point hand is a judgement.  But would it be acceptable to describe the bid as Ogust if Coleen had 10 points and a bit of shape?

Thanks

[Brian Davies]

Thanks David. This is interesting.

[Brian Davies]

Hi David, I sometimes come across players playing methods similar to Brian’s, who alert rather than announce the 1C and when asked will reply: “Clubs or a balanced 12-14”. Is this (more) appropriate?

Thanks

[Brian Davies]

Brian Powell gives some good advice above.

You are asking partner to make a choice. Your partner will not choose to pass unless holding some length in hearts and this is impossible given the bidding. Your partner will bid their longest suit and this is most likely to be clubs, so the 4C bid should not be a surprise!

The other thing to consider is that partner is short in hearts, so must have length in one or more of the other suits. Yet she chose to pass 1H and chose to pass 3H after you doubled, so you should not expect her to hold much – in particular she might have stretched to bid 3S if holding a four-card spade suit. So she either doesn’t have spades or is very weak.

Hearts is your best suit and you should be very happy defending 3H.

Finally 3NT shouldn’t make unless North holds a very unlikely KQx in clubs.

[Brian Davies]

Yes 1D-1S-4D is defined for us but 1H-1S-4H has never been discussed and “redundant ” is probably right.

Thanks Bernard

[Brian Davies]

My philosophy in these situations is that you have the same hand for the second double as you do for the first, which was takeout. So you won’t have a pure penalty double. The second double is generally taken to mean “I have extra values”. It wouldn’t usually  include the hand-type which is too strong for a 1NT overcall, your  more usual choice with that hand-type is to simply bid NT, or pass if the bidding is now uncomfortably high. But I suppose that a double is possible if you have tolerance for all of the other suits.

Although the second double is still a takeout double, partner is more likely to pass and convert the double into penalties – particularly if she has some length in their suit.

[Brian Davies]

Thanks Bernard. Not a silly idea then! 🙂

Does it need to be two doubletons?

AK43

AKJT43

32

4

Is it more useful to show the source of tricks? Or the singleton?

[Brian Davies]

Thanks David

[Brian Davies]

Hi David,

Am I right in thinking that this is the definition for level 4 (the usual level) but singletons are not allowed at level 2 (some clubs aimed at novices play level 2)?

I am intrigued that 5332 is deemed semi-balanced – I had always understood this to be generally considered as balanced. In what context is the term used?

Thanks

[Brian Davies]

Sorry, Bernard has also now replied but I couldn’t see his reply when I posted mine!

[Brian Davies]

I think that Julian answered Colin’s question in a separate post: http://blog.bernardmageebridge.com/forums/topic/stayman-4/

I might have replied to Colin, but I couldn’t see this post initially for some reason. I hope that this is simple enough for the BMB Novice Forum?:

(1) Almost everyone plays that Stayman applies after 1NT and 2NT  openings and whenever no trumps are bid with no suit bid naturally. So these club bids are all Stayman:

• 1NT-(Pass)-2C
• 2NT-(Pass)-3C
• 2C-(Pass)-2D-(Pass); 2NT-(Pass)-3C  – where 2C is a strong bid and 2D is a negative (or relay) bid.

(2) After a no-trump overcall, most people agree to play “System On”, which means that Stayman and transfers apply. I would expect “System On”  to be the default if there is no other agreement and the club bids will be Stayman in each of these sequences:

• (1D)-1NT-(Pass)-2C
• (1D)-Pass-(Pass)-1NT; (Pass)-2C
• (2H)-2NT-(Pass)-3C

(3) Stayman does not apply if either of us have bid a suit naturally. Neither of these club bids are Stayman:

• 1D-(Pass)-1NT-(Pass); 2C
• 1C-(Pass)-1S-(Pass); 1NT-(Pass)-2C

(Note: Some more experienced players sometimes have an artificial meaning for the last sequence, but it is not Stayman and since this is the Novice forum I suggest that this should be natural).

[Brian Davies]

Hi Julian,

How often will you raise 1D-1H-2H on a three-card suit?

I think that it is because 2H might be only a three-card suit that 2NT is useful as natural. Is this correct?

Thanks

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