Julian Pottage
Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Opening 1H with 4-4 in the majors this facilitates finding fits in both majors. If were to open 1S, you would often miss a 4-4 heart fit.
Partner will generally bids when holding spades, so you are rarely going to miss a spade fit by opening 1H. Partner will only respond in a minor on a hand strong enough for a responder’s reverse.
You should not be stuck with a rebid because if you have a balanced hand too strong a 1NT opening, you can rebid in no-trumps.
A 4C splinter showing a raise to game in hearts with a shortage in clubs is definitely the best bid. if I have to give a second choice, it would be 4H, which gets you to game but is nowhere near as helpful in reaching a slam if partner has a suitable hand for that.
If this is a unbid suit, you are less likely to run into the layouts you mention. Opponents tend to bid majors when they have them, so this sort of lead tends to be safer in a major than a minor. If you have the ten or even the nine accompanying the queen and jack the lead is safer.
You have not said so but I assume you referring to suit contracts. It would be usual to lead fourth highest from Q-J without the nine or ten against a no-trump contract (I realise the choice of card does not help much when partner has nothing in the suit.)
While yes there is danger with a lead from Q-J-x-x, it is safer than leading from a suit with only honour.
Yes it is a fairly common agreement that bidding the other major agrees opener’s five-card major in these sequences.
Curiously my regular partner and I have just been discussing this auction. The usual agreement is that West can bid 4H over 3S as a slam try in spades, which leaves 4C available as a natural bid.
Yes I would have opened the West hand, in which case there would be no way East would allow the auction to stop short of a slam. West has 10 HCP and 10 cards between the two longest suits and 2 defensive tricks as well. Whatever your normal rule for determining whether the West hand is good enough to open, this hand should satisfy it. I would be opening 1C even when vulnerable. I suggest you ask West why he/she did not open.
The Multi can be rather tricky to defend against, as this deal illustrates.
Some people do play jumps to 4 of a minor as Leaping Michaels. If the minor is clubs, as is the case here, partner could bid 4D over it to ask for the major. If the minor is diamonds, that is an option so 4H would be ‘pass or correct’.
I suspect that the auction you have given here would be repeated at a number of tables if East-West play a Multi.
It is usual to play a 1NT response to a 1C opening as showing 8-10 points, so the lack of a spade stopper would not be the deciding factor if you have only 6-7 HCP. I am sure I would respond 1NT on this hand:
10xx
QJx
Qxxx
QJx
The shape and all the soft values are all no-trump orientated – but that hand has 8 HCP.
No need to apologise – lovely clear diagram.
East’s 2S is a weakish rebid and will normally end the auction. It is therefore an unsuitable choice on this East hand.
In standard Acol even a jump to 3S is not forcing, so that is not a good choice either. For me the choices are 2D (a one round force) or a 3H splinter (agreeing clubs and showing short hearts – if a simple bid in a new suit would be natural and forcing then a jump is a splinter).
With a decent six-card major and knowing that West might have had to rebid 2C with only 5 cards, I think I would bid 2D. West would raise 2D to 3S and East can then bid 3S. Having the hearts well stopped and lacking spade support West then bids 3NT. East is probably a worth a 4C slam try over that and West will then take the bidding to 6C.
Weak jump overcalls can be an effective way of disrupting the opposing bidding while also helping your partner find a good lead and sometimes a profitable sacrifice. The opening bid means at least one of the opponents have started describing their hands but a jump overcall can still make their life difficult.
If the opponents open a weak 1NT, the situation is different. You need to bid constructively over that. If the opponents open a strong no-trump, game your way is less likely and then it is common to play weak jump overcalls, though of course any jump over 1NT will be at the three level and you will need a better or longer suit to do so than for a jump to the two level.
Third in hand after partner has passed gives you a bit more licence, even more so when only the opponents are vulnerable. Because all the values are in the hearts I would be tempted to open 2H on the South cards first in hand too because the vulnerability is favourable.
With my most regular partner we normally only open a weak two on a five-card suit if the suit is good and we have good shape (usually a 5-card minor) on the side – but third in hand at green would be an exception to that – so long as the suit is good enough that we want partner to lead it (definitely the case with KQ109x), just about anything goes!.
Yes a double jump to 3S is a pre-emptive overcall. It is the sort of bid you would make if you had KQJxxxx of spades and nothing outside. With your actual hand, you want to bid 1S or 4S. Looking at the two hands, you want to play 4S from partner’s hand but I do not know any bidding system for that!
If you follow Bernard’s methods and play a penalty double then if you have four hearts or three decent hearts you can double. I play double as takeout, so I would be able to double without hearts. If you play double for takeout and you do not have spade support, you can double planning to bid 2NT over 2S from partner.
If you play 2NT as natural (though I do not know anyone who does), perhaps you could bid 2NT.
If you tell me the shape of the hand, I might be able to be more specific.
