[antonylee]

28-board 3-way with 2 qualifiers (14 against each team). Standard-ish 2/1 for both pairs.

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What now? What if partner had bid 3♥ directly over 2N?
Any good agreements to have over a jump shift at the 2-level? (we play that even though the auction is GF, 2N still indicates a bad hand, and 2N-then-3N shows doubt about strain)...

Edit: to all who bid 3N (in either auction): partner now bids 4♣.

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... whereas a direct 3N is a strong suggestion to play there. Do you comply with partner's decision? (and do you agree with 2♠?)

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Do you agree with the pass over 1N? With the pass over 2♥? Do you pass again?

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At that point you believe that IMP-difference is actually going to come into play. If you choose to bid 4♣, please specify your actions over partner's likely rebids.

[ahydra]

1) Suspect 3H is probing for NT so I bid 3NT. Over a direct 3H which sounds like 6-5, I'd probably try 5C instead.
2) pass (I prefer 3NT, which I use as "too strong for 1x-3x but too weak for 2C opener", or 4D with that hand - don't like lying in a major because partner might bid 4 of it. We already showed our hand here; partner had a cheap-ish 3D available if he had slam aspirations)
3) yep, yep and yep. If 3D plays better due to a bad spade split, ah well; we could have had a void spade rather than Jx, and I would expect partner to have 6 spades
4) ugh. I suppose it has to be 4C but then if partner bids 4D we are a bit stuck - perhaps we can try a 4H "do something intelligent". If partner rebids 4S I will pass.

ahydra

[Phil]

1. 4♣. Partner is scrambling with a (relatively min 5-6). xx AKJxx void AQxxxx. Theres a lot of work in 5♣ and I might have passed 3♣.

2. 4♥ looks like a good description here.

3. Would have bid 3♦ last round and I obviously do now.

4. 5♣.

[antonylee]

Phil, on 2015-March-08, 19:20, said:

1. 4♣. Partner is scrambling with a (relatively min 5-6). xx AKJxx void AQxxxx. Theres a lot of work in 5♣ and I might have passed 3♣.

I'd think 2♥ creates a GF in most standard approaches.

[Phil]

antonylee, on 2015-March-08, 20:01, said:

I'd think 2♥ creates a GF in most standard approaches.

You're right. I misread the auction - thought opener reversed. In that case I think partner is just bidding where he lives - xx AKQx x AKQxxx.

[mike777]

1) hate 2nt you have an easy 3c bid. I do not get the bidding.
2) prefer to open a very offshape 2nt and live with it.
3) prefer 3d last round
4) 5c

[Mbodell]

1. 3nt now. We might well have 6♣ but don't think you can explore it now if you couldn't bid 3♣ over 2♥.
2. Pass. 4♥ might be better, but it might not and might be a 4-3 fit. 2♠ was ok. I might have opened 2nt to begin with, or bid 2nt over 1♥.
3. I agree with 3 passes.
4. ♣K and likely switching to the stiff spade.

[WesleyC]

1. Your methods over a SJS seem reasonable, although over reverses I've started using the cheapest bid (even a 2M rebid) as showing the weak hand with everything else natural, promising some values. Might also be more efficient over SJSs.

I'm not convinced about using 2NT then 3NT as 'doubt about strain'. If that is what the sequence means, what do you plan to do with a very weak response that just wants to play in 3NT? Does an initial jump to 3NT not show extras? In any case it feels wrong never to have supported clubs at any point, especially if partner is capable of opening very strong hands 1C (rather than 2C).

2. Again I can't really give an meaningful answer based on unfamiliarity with the methods. Is 3NT showing extra values?

3. I'd rather the double of 2D just be takeout here. Given it shows diamonds I can't find a good reason not to compete over 2H. Once I pass over 2H and partner balances 2S into the 1NT overcall I'm slightly optimistic about game chances. Although partner might just have a shapely minimum, a hand like: [AQTxxx x AKxx xx] would also be completely normal, so i'm going to advance 3S.

4. I think 5C feels right here.

[PhantomSac]

Your hand is massive on hand 3. LOL at passing or bidding 3D. I would bid 3H, I have a monster (SJ, DQ, HA, and a double fit). If I could not do that I would bid 4S ahead of passing for sure.

[rhm]

1) Not sure whether I understand your methods.
If 2NT was natural and promised something in spades, I would interpret North bidding as "doubt about notrumps" and bid 4♣ now. .
If 2NT was mandatory with any poor hand then I would feel obliged to show my spade stopper now by bidding 3NT.

2) I would have opened 2♣. I think the trend to super-strong 2♣ opening bids is misguided.
Sure game might not be there. But that is very unlikely. Opening such hands 1♣ will avoid bad games but will create lots of rebid problems and missed slams.
As the bidding went I pass.

3)I can understand the pass over 1NT but not over 2♥. I now bid 3♠. 3♥ is an alternative.

4)I bid 4♣, raise 4♦, jump to 6♣ over 4♥, pass 4♠ or 5♣.

Rainer Herrmann

[antonylee]

WesleyC, on 2015-March-09, 00:37, said:

1. Your methods over a SJS seem reasonable, although over reverses I've started using the cheapest bid (even a 2M rebid) as showing the weak hand with everything else natural, promising some values. Might also be more efficient over SJSs.

I'm not convinced about using 2NT then 3NT as 'doubt about strain'. If that is what the sequence means, what do you plan to do with a very weak response that just wants to play in 3NT? Does an initial jump to 3NT not show extras? In any case it feels wrong never to have supported clubs at any point, especially if partner is capable of opening very strong hands 1C (rather than 2C).

2. Again I can't really give an meaningful answer based on unfamiliarity with the methods. Is 3NT showing extra values?

There's a ton of literature available for bidding over a reverse, but I've never read anything for bidding over a SJS at the 2-level. So we just improvised something that didn't seem too silly, and close enough to bidding over reverses for memory reasons. I thought that the direct 3N doesn't show more extras than 2N, just a better stopper in the 4th suit (say at least Kxx if no other strain seems playable, better (KJx?) if responder can visualize game in other strains). Again, better suggestions are welcome.
In retropsect I agree that playing something like this precludes responder from supporting clubs with a weak hand, which was costly here.

[gszes]

1. What else can p bid with xxx AKQ x AKQxxxx ? 3n
2. P knows you have a strong hand yet decided to bid 3n humor them and agree with their decision even though there is no chance they can tell how to bid their hand better than you can:)
3. pass over 2h (hoping against hope we could defend 2h (why would we want to do that with the long hearts behind ours?) has left us in a very bad position. We should have bid 3d over 2h because if we bid 3d now it sounds like a simple preference and does not come close to the value this hand has for partner. The best we can do now is bury the dia suit (ughhhhh) and bid 3s. P will know its a doubleton (we did not bid 2s earlier) and they will guess we have some dia strength (though not length). This or pass and hope our failure to bid 3d over 2h did not make us miss game.
4.4c over 4d 5d over 4h I will have to guess 6c since my 4 c bid could easily have been KQxxxx or Kxxxxxx over 4s I pass over 4n I bid 5h 2 w/o.

[antonylee]

Thanks for the responses. Added followup to #1: partner bids 4C over 3N.

[Mbodell]

antonylee, on 2015-March-09, 20:20, said:

Thanks for the responses. Added followup to #1: partner bids 4C over 3N.

6♣