[el mister]

2/1 system I play most regularly has direct bids of 3♦, 3♥ and 3♠ over a strong NT as showing 5-5 hands. Minors GF, Majors inv and Majors GF, respectively. What do the cognoscenti think of this agreement? It's not something that comes up a great deal.

Playing with gib last night I noticed that they use 1NT 3H as a splinter, (10-12 total points I think). Quite a descriptive bid, I thought - is this a common treatment?

[mgoetze]

The 5-5 majors hands just seem easy enough to deal with via Jacoby transfer, so I would say it's a waste of space to use 3♥/♠ for those. The splinters exist in two different forms - one showing 0-1 in the major bid and exactly 3 in the other major, which I believe is more common, and on showing exactly (41)44 shape which is less common but does have some strong advocates. I have played the former quite a lot and find it works well.

[mikeh]

I play a wide variety of methods....I usually just play whatever partner prefers.

Assuming a strong 1N opening, if left to suggest a method, my preference is for 4-way transfers, with 2♠ being either clubs or an invitation to 3N without a 4 card major. One side-benefit of this is that we have 4 3-level calls available.

Contrary to Michael's experience, I find it useful to be able to show 5-5 majors right away.

I'd probably suggest a simple scheme of 3♣ is minors, pass or correct, 3♦ is gf minors, 3♥ invitational majors, and 3♠ gf majors, no slam interest. In one partnership, we flip the 3♦ and 3♥ responses, which increases the odds of opener being declarer, but in the few sessions I have played this, it hasn't come up.

This method allows a transfer to spades then a bid of hearts to show 5-5 or better with slam interest. This is a low frequency, low gain edge, so I don't want to overstate it

I used to play 3M was a stiff with 3 in the other major and 5-4/4-5 in the minors, gf. In theory it allowed for playing moysian major suit games when 3N was doomed and 11 tricks were too far away. However, despite playing it for years, it rarely came up, often led to 3N anyway, and sometimes allowed lead-directing/save-suggesting doubles. Inverting the response, so that responder bid the fragment, reduces the doubles, but wrong-sides the theoretical moysian.

I have never tried the 4441 approach. I'm not crazy about it. If one has a 4-4 major suit fit, then stayman will find it and if you have a 4-4 minor fit, often you will end up in 3N anyway. I did, for many years, play walsh relays, where responder would bid 2N, to force 3♣, which could be passed, and if responder bid again, it was gf with a 4441, bidding the suit below the stiff. Rarely came up, and I don't recall any spectacularly good (or bad) results. Obviously doesn't work with 4 way transfers.

[steve2005]

el mister, on 2015-July-23, 02:46, said:

2/1 system I play most regularly has direct bids of 3♦, 3♥ and 3♠ over a strong NT as showing 5-5 hands. Minors GF, Majors inv and Majors GF, respectively. What do the cognoscenti think of this agreement? It's not something that comes up a great deal.

Playing with gib last night I noticed that they use 1NT 3H as a splinter, (10-12 total points I think). Quite a descriptive bid, I thought - is this a common treatment?

Not an uncommon agreement but you could use 2D-2H-2S for one of the 5-5 majors (or maybe use this as a slam try) so what for 3S how bout 22 majors 54 minors slam try. this hand hard to show.




According to notes for GIB 3D/3H/3S all show splinter with 4 cards in all other 3 suits so 4441 or 5440 I presume without 5M. these are very rare hand types. I don't think much of this is an extravagant use of 3 bids. At least using on 5431 hands it comes up more often

[SteveMoe]

A simple approach:
3♣ Puppet Stayman
3♦ 55 minors GF
3♥ 1=3=(45) Slammish
3♠ 3=1=(45) Slammish

Combines nicely with 4-suit transfers. Since Jacoby and Texas handle the majors, Bergen stype 55 bids are less useful/duplicative.

Others may use 3M as the short suit bid, but that give opponents a free double to suggest a lead or sacrifice.

See also: http://www.bridgebas...long-nt-poll-i/