Julian Pottage
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It is usually best to open your longest suit and if it happened not to work on this particular hand then that is unlucky. With a few more high cards you could reverse but I would not recommend it on this hand.
If your partner is too dictatorial about many things, you can find another partner.
If you play 3C as game forcing then South can rebid 3H but most people would not risk that and would jump to 4H.
Unless you can see through the backs of the cards you are unlikely to make 6H but 6C is a pretty good contract.
If South is confident 3H is forcing and North were to rebid 4C then perhaps South would envisage a club slam – but North is more likely to raise 3H to 4H.
What I play is that after a two level overcall a change of suit is forcing but after a on level overcall it is not. I would quite happily play that it is forcing after either.
If you play that a new suit is non forcing then when you have a huge hand you need to cue bid the opener’s suit even without support for partner. in practice, if you would make a one level overcall on AQ10xx and a bust, you will very rarely have such a strong hand opposite that it would be a problem if the overcaller passed.
I play fit showing jumps, so a jump in a new suit should show a fit rather than a huge hand.
Sorry cannot help with the last point.
1. It is common to play the same replies to a 1NT overcall as to a 1NT opening – this makes remembering what you are doing easier. While it is true there are some things you might not ant to do (like transferring into opener’s suit), simplicity has a lot going for it.
If you are wanting to know whether you should announce 2C in reply to an overcall as Stayman, you need to ask David Stevenson.
2. It would not be logical to play 2C as Stayman on the second auction. North cannot have four hearts since it would be normal to raise hearts in preference to rebidding 1NT with four-card support. You could play 2C as an enquiry (indeed many people do) but it would not be asking for four-card majors. If you do play 2C as an enquiry (Checkback is the popular name for such an enquiry) then 2H from North would show 3-card support.
On the question of whether to open 1C, there is no need for East to lie about the shape. A jump shift rebid is forcing.
1D-1S-3C-3H-4C-4H-5C-5NT-7C is a possible auction. West’s heart bids are not natural. 3H is fourth suit forcing and then 4H is a cue bid agreeing clubs.
East could rebid 3C, which would be forcing, though 5C conveyed the message of the extreme shape.
West should not have passed 5C. The 1S response only promised 5-6 points. West actually has 14 points, include two aces and the clearly valuable CK.
West cannot quite bid 7C over 5C but a 5H cue bid, clearly a grand slam try, would seem fine.
On a trump lead, making 13 tricks when the diamonds do not divide 4-3 is tricky. You are going to need the spade finesse.
The North hand is too strong for the 3C raise illustrated. North should either bid 2D (a bid in the opposing suit promises support and at least limit raise values) or, with the flat shape and double diamond stopper, 3NT.
In 3NT you have 9 easy tricks. You can make 5C by endplaying West or by ducking two rounds of spades – but I think you would rather be in 3NT.
In the olden days (before Jacoby) people used to play a 3NT response to a major suit opening as a ‘pudding raise’. I have not come across it in response to a minor, though there are some unbiddable hands in Acol if you not play inverted raises, so there is a slight case for doing so – but I would much rather play inverted raises. I have not come across a 1C-P-2C-P-P-P auction for many years!
If you are playing 2NT is game forcing, you cannot ‘sign off’ in 3S. If 2NT is game forcing (which is the normal agreement since you can make a limit jump rise on a hand not worth a game force) then 3S is a waiting bid.
If North had A10x of diamonds instead of AKx, 4S would still be a really good contract. It would not be quite so good with A-x-x of diamonds, though there would still be the chance of playing the trumps for no loser. If you are playing weak twos as 5-9 then yes you would open 1S without the DK.
On the hand cited, why would you want to stop in 3S? At worst you are losing a spade, a diamond and a club. If trumps are 2-1 with the king onside or if the queen of diamonds is short you are not losing even those 3 tricks.
I play 12 HCP with 4-card support as the minimum for 2NT so yes the South hand is just worth 2NT.
It is usual to play a Jacoby 2NT raise by unpassed hand not in competition as game forcing. In any case 2NT does not promise a shortage so I do not entirely understand your question.
When the fourth player overcalls, opener does not have to find a rebid – so with a minimum opening and nothing particular to say opener passes. With 15 points, however, I would not pass. I would not usually reverse with 15 points but if those 15 points are say AQJ of diamonds and AKJ of clubs then it would be reasonable to do so. if the spades are ace-queen or ace-jack then I would rebid 1NT. On most hands when neither spade holding nor the minor-suit holdings are anything special, I would double.
