Julian Pottage
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I do not feel strongly either way. I slightly prefer 2S because this limits the hand and you would probably rather play in a 6-2 spade fit than a 4-4 diamond fit.
I would go for the latest edition – I was a contributor to the 6th edition, which is why I have that. There was also some free software called Suitplay – do not know whether it still works.
If West was the dealer you would be in with a chance because after 1C-1S-2H-something-3H East knows that West has a decent hand with 5 hearts and 6 clubs. As it is, a clear alternative to your actual auction is hard to come by. If East choose to rebid 2S rather than 2D, that would help a bit because then it would be clear that West’s heart bids are natural rather than fourth suit probes.
If you are playing second and fourth leads, the usual card is the four, the second highest card. With my most regular partner we lead top of nothing from four low in a supported suit but the way you have worded the question suggests you did not support clubs.
With layout a are you trying for 3 tricks and 1 loser or can you ruff the fourth round? I assume you mean the former. You start low to the ten and need to hope this holds or loses to the ace. You want to make the second lead from the four-card holding as well. If holding J-9-x, the defender should play the jack on the second round to give you a guess but since some defenders will not do this I would finesse the other hand for A-9-x-x if the jack pops up on the second round.
I would have expected to find your layout b in the Official Encylopedia of bridge but in the 6th edition it is only there with the 8 was well. If you cannot afford to lose the lead at all, you hope your a singleton king either side (twice as likely as a singleton jack on only one side). If you need only two quickish tricks, you run the ten and then run the queen, succeeding unless the king and jack are both offside. If you are looking for three tricks, my instinct is to cash the ace and finesse the nine, succeeding whenever the jack is onside and also when there is KJ doubleton or a singleton jack offside.
If you are vulnerable, partner expects you to have some high cards in yours suit even with a weak 2D, so only in 3rd seat would I be opening this hand if vulnerable.
When you are non-vulnerable and the opponents are, the odds change and you do not need to worry about suit quality. I would open 3D on this hand at love all too.
Yes with 19 HCP North is too strong for a 1NT overcall. South might bid 2H planning to compete to 3D if an opponents bids 2S (as South might well expect to happen looking at a singleton spade). Over South’s actual 2D, North bids 2NT, which shows a hand just too strong for a 1NT overcall. South bids 3H over that and North raises to 4H.
You can make 3NT if you guess the diamonds but 4H is a better contract.
Holding a lot more points than partner expects, you should jump to 4NT rather than 3NT. South would pass anyway.
If you have 4 spades and 12 HCP, you definitely should open. The usual rule in fourth seat after three passes is to open if the total of your points and your high cards comes to 15 or more. (The hand you have given actually has 13 HCP but if one of the jacks was a low card it would still be an opening bid).
North is too flat to bid again, so if anyone does anything differently it should be South. If you are playing a weak no-trump opening, you generally need to take some action if you would have bid game facing a strong no-trump opening, as would be the case here. South does not want to double and see North bid 4S, so the options are 3D and 3H. While South would have bid 2D without the overcall, I think I favour 3H with the overcall. Aware that South is under pressure, North has the option to bid 3NT if holding only four hearts.
With six good hearts and a lack of preparedness for a 3C reply from partner, I much prefer 2H to double. With only 13 HCP, two of which are a singleton queen, a 2S reverse would be rather wild. If 2H happens not to work that is unlucky.
Agreed, on some hands the information about your spade length (because you did not open a weak 2S) will not help partner much.
As partner has opened third in hand at favourable vulnerability it seems quite possible that 1NT is making, especially as partner’s heart values are poorly placed with heart strength on your right. Since you are playing Benji, partner knows you do not have six spades when you bid 2S. If you were not a passed hand, 2S would be less attractive because partner would place you with six spades.
