Julian Pottage
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If you are giving count, you signal based on the number you have left – but depending upon the bidding and the dummy you might give suit preference in this situation rather than count.
You have only 6 HCP and even if you count a full 5 points for the void that gives only 11 in total – not enough to insist on game. If you play 3H as a limit raise after the overcall, that seems right. As already suggested, it is common to play a 3C cue bid as showing limit raise values or better, in which case a 3H raise is slightly weaker than that.
With 15 HCP partner should not be passing a limit raise regardless of what the losing trick count says but perhaps partner thought 3H showed a hand weaker than that.
Leading up to weakness when dummy is on your right is a sounder piece of advice than is leading through strength when dummy is on your left.
Leading up to the weakness you can see (i) increases the chance you find partner with strength in the suit and (ii) what partner does have in the suit will be favourable placed over declarer’s strength.
Leading through the strong suit you can see can work work well if partner has the missing strength because then it will be favourably placed – but sometimes partner does not have strength in the suit and you would do better leading dummy’s weak suit as partner is more likely to have strength there.
You did have the option of passing out the deal. The usual rule in fourth seat is to add your high card points to the number of your spades and open if the total comes to 15 or more. Because of the unusual shape and the couple of tens I am happy with your choice of a weak 2S even though you are in theory a point light. Competing with 3H seems reasonable too. I do not know what partner had but if 4S went 3 off doubled partner should definitely not have been bidding 4S. By opening 2S rather than 1S, you are saying that you do not think game is on facing a passed hand.
When you have length in the minors, it is quite likely that you would be on the losing end of a competitive part-score auction, so you do not need to strain to open. With 11 points I would open but with 10 I would happily pass.
If you did 2NT on this hand, you are committed to raising 3H to 4H because partner is not going to figure out that your hand is this good. You are less worried about missing game if partner bids clubs because even an ace opposite would leave you with a diamond and two other aces to lose. It is fine to play two suited hands as either weak (when you do not bid again) or strong (when you do). Whether this hand qualifies as strong is marginal, so I do not feel strongly either way.
Playing Benji you should open 2D rather than 2C. You do not promise a balanced hand with your system’s strongest bid – you are just saying the hand is too strong for anything else. You have a lot of playing strength and the traditional five quick tricks (the ace-king combinations count as two each and the ace as one).
If your 2NT bid was non-forcing, which it is in almost all systems, the answer is differently! If you bid a fourth suit forcing 3D and then raise 3NT to 4NT you show your 19 points without the risk of stopping in a part-score. If you jump to 4NT over 2C, partner would probably interpret that as a key card enquiry with clubs inferentially agreed, which would not help you much.
I hope the links kindly provided by Geoff Davies and Brian Davies answer your question. If not, please let me know.
You and your partner had only 22 high card points between you and could not reasonably expect to reach 3NT. The 2H response at the other table, unless played as non-forcing, was something of an overbid. A part-score in hearts as where you would like to be, though the 3C overcall makes that difficult.
That explains why I did not recognise it – where I played we had 10 2 board rounds and played only up to board 20
I am not sure that I would use the Losing Trick Count directly in deciding how high to raise partner’s overcall but it is important to use common sense. 4333 shape hands are notoriously unproductive and usually I would treat a hand with a 4333 shape is if it had only 3-card support. Even with 5-card support there can be a big difference in the offensive and defensive potential of the hand.
Hand A
S K Q 10 7 4
H 4
D 9 8 7 5 3
C 7 4
Hand B
S J 9 7 4 2
H Q 4
D Q 8 5
C 9 7 4
If partner overcalls 1S, you would raise to 4S with Hand A whatever the vulnerability but would not dream of doing so with Hand B. 5332 is is flat as you can be in the context of having 5-card support and most of your values are outside the spades.
Without the double, the player in fourth seat would need to bid 2D to ask for the overcaller’s better major. The double gives you an extra bid, meaning you can play 2D as showing diamonds and redouble as asking partner to bid a major. The explanation Brian Davies gives look perfect but if you need more then please say so.
