[Brian Powell]

The less I have told my Opposition about my hand the luckier I tend to be!

I would often just bid 3N – assuming this hand that has no black stoppers is reasonably balanced then partner will most likely have the stoppers you need.
And if a suit is wide open, it’s not a problem until they have led it.

For example, I think this is a routine 3N after a limit raise from partner…

xxx
AKxx
AQJxx
x

[Brian Powell]

I think the best way to avoid this guess, and other guesses in the auction is for West to bid the 5 card major first!

Assuming N is similarly co-operative over 1 Spade the auction can be something like…

(1D) 1S (2D) 2N (mixed raise) or
(1D) 1S (2D) 3H (fit jump)….

Now the defence can be HK holds, with count given, SA cashed with count given, cash a heart.

I can’t see a way to avoid a guess on the auction given…

[Brian Powell]

I bid 3N as East and am now done for the rest of the auction.
Simples….

[Brian Powell]

Hi Brian,

Very good spot!

It’s annoying when the Opposition bid 1N and that was what you were about to bid.
On a lot of layouts North’s rebid will be 1NT and you are taking that away from them.

And you get to bid without suggesting you want a diamond lead.

I like it.

[Brian Powell]

After west bidding 3s we aren’t quite out of the woods yet as east has to award him/herself a fourth spade.

With a 19 count, 3 loser hand, and a void in the suit opponents have bid and raised that seems reasonable.

[Brian Powell]

Hi Brian,

When I passed 3H I was imagining +300 to +800 hence the thinking about setting up diamond tricks…
This will happen when partner has a more suitable hand or maybe west has only 6 hearts.
As I said I can be a little over optimistic sometimes!

And maybe I need to go back to ‘leading partner’s suit’… 🙂

Firstly partner’s is about as bad as it can be for you – partner is sub minimum, doesn’t have fitting values and also has that pesky trump void.
Honour x in dummy is also the only trump layout where we are not trivially making 3 trump tricks!
As per your earlier comment on this I like to avoid take out doubles with a void at the 1 & 2 level – but this seems a reasonable, if minimum t/o double.

On a spade lead partner can cash three black tricks and then exit a diamond – she is being careful to avoid allowing declarer to shorten trumps…
The best declarer can do is to cash the diamonds while ruffing the last spade and a winning club.
On this line declarer can lead towards dummy when he has 5 trumps left – north will have 4 hearts and 1 spade.
North wins HQ and exits, declarer ruffs and leads towards HJ, North can win and exit his last spade, ruffed.
Now when declarer leads a small heart towards the HJ north is indeed end played, at trick 12!
This gives the defence 3 black tricks and 2 trump tricks for 1 off.

On the diamond or club lead it’s worse as one of the black tricks has disappeared….

But I do have a small problem with your (correct!) analysis that the hand can be made on a diamond lead.
While it can be made I believe that it will very rarely actually be made…

Making this hand involves declarer reducing trumps by ruffing twice (including a winner) and then end playing north not once but twice!
This is expert declarer play that you are really not going to run into very often.

Very interesting hand, thank you!

[Brian Powell]

My entirely arbitrary contribution…

Let’s put the suit contracts on the same % score – I think you have undervalued NT a little.

I will go for 26, 37, & 37

[Brian Powell]

Hi Brian,

This one seems clearer to me than your earlier post, although of course I may be very wrong….
I passed on the earlier round! Twice!! Quickly!!!

Here I much prefer to bid 3S for the following reasons….

1) Partner has asked me to bid and I have 4 card undisclosed support for his primary suit.
2) I don’t of course know West…
But decent players have very good hands when they over called at the 2 level, vulnerable, opposite a passed partner.
3) It’s actually possible that 3H might make, maybe
5H, a couple of spade ruffs and 2 in the wash or
4H, 4 tricks from a minor side suit and 1 in the wash?

4) Although most of my posts and bids and plays at the table are optimistic, I tend to be very pessimistic when contemplating doubling opponents in freely bid, vulnerable part scores…

Regards,

Brian

[Brian Powell]

Hi Brian,

This is a tough one, as obviously both pass and bidding spades have some attraction.

What swings it for me is that I am without any Ace and lack the values to expect that I can definitely have a good shot at game.
Also 60%(?!?) of my values are well placed in the opponents suit.

I am passing and leading a diamond.

The problem with leading a spade is that I don’t want to help declarer reduce trumps or score small trumps while ruffing spades.
A club is possible but I prefer to go about cashing / setting up our tricks in diamonds.

Regards,

Brian

[Brian Powell]

Hi Fiona,

You will run across very good players who describe themselves as intermediate, and also much less talented players who describe themselves in exactly the same way!

I would say you sound like an intermediate player to me but I wouldn’t worry too much about it.

Enjoy & hope to see you at the tables soon!

Brian

[Brian Powell]

Hi Brian,

7S looks OK – maybe in the 50-70% zone…

It doesn’t like spades 4-1 or diamonds 5-2 – but that’s balanced by the fact that some help may well be on the way 😉

However, as you confirmed from the scores, thin grands are a really bad idea in most fields, especially as endplays don’t work very well…

I’m not sure what West should do over 4C – I think I heard somewhere that cue bidding voids in partners primary suit is not a great idea?

I think that in most fields, and in most IMP’s games, you should refrain from bidding Grand slams unless:

1. You think most of the field will at least reach the small (surely this applies here!? – but as you said, no!!)
2. You can at least count/plan for 12 tricks in the auction and imagine a 13th

Nice hand – thanks!

[Brian Powell]

Hi Brian,

With all the key cards I would have to have higher ambitions… 😉

The problem is that I have already done enough – and going down in a grand because ‘trumps are not 3-2’, or partner has ‘no meat on the bone’ as Bernard would say, when most of the field are not even in the small slam is a classic disaster.

I prefer a cue bid of 4D over 4C rather than taking control of the auction myself, I would be looking for a 4H cue from partner to bring the grand onto the radar.

If I had bid RKCB(?) then over the (5S ?) response I would try 5N, Asking for specific kings and then make a try for the grand over 5H… Maybe with something like 6D Cue ( Must be second round control in diamonds).

I am definitely not driving to the grand – Partner will have to bid the grand for us to get there!

Regards,

 

Brian

[Brian Powell]

Hi Brian,

Over 3D GF I would bid 3S.

This is stronger than 4S and shows three spades – we can and should treat the 3S bid as showing genuine secondary support.

It’s possible to construct hands where opener has no decent rebid, mainly consisting of 2S, 6H and no club stop. With this sort of hand it’s better to temporise with 3H than showing spade support – we can always support spades at the third opportunity which shows 2 spades….

I have now shown some extras, genuine spade support and a willingness to proceed – but those 3 small clubs are an amber light and unless partner cue bids in clubs I am slowing down…

[Brian Powell]

A top heavy, excited 2h – if the auction proceeds I will be bidding my boots off!

[Brian Powell]

Hi Brian,

I prefer 5 card majors and 2/1 virtually GF base systems and when I’m playing 4 card majors WNT I’m winging it (story of my life I’m afraid!).

If I was playing 4 card majors WNT I would be opening the West hand 1D.
If there is a major fit partner is about to find it with his response.
If the Oppo bid they need to bid 2C before they are in a suit you object to defending in and you are perfectly happy to double 2C for t/o

Switch the shape to 4144 and I would be opening 1S as it cuts out the hearts – but here the only suit you want to cut out is clubs and any one level opener does that to some extent….

The only possible layout where opening 1H would be better would be where partner does not have responding values and you have a decent heart fit – this never happens as if both of the proceeding are true then Oppo will be bidding over 1H.

And with the responding hand I would prefer a top heavy 1N to a grotesque 2C over both 1H and 1S openers.

Some might say that these ‘problem’ hands are an advert for 5CM Strong NT based systems… 😉

[Author]

Posts