Freak hand
#1
Posted 2022-December-07, 06:04
♠-
♥AKT9865
♦T
♣AJ863
LHO opens 1♠, partner bids 2NT (unusual), RHO bids 3♠. What do you do now?
#2
Posted 2022-December-07, 07:38
The opponents seem to have a 10- or 11-card spade fit, possibly even longer. Yet they're only at 3♠. It sounds like LHO has got extra shape. They are definitely bidding 4♠, and probably also bidding 5♠ over our potential 4♥, 5♣ or 5♥ contracts. So the questions are: do we think 6♣ is making, do we think 6♠ is making, and do we need to consult partner?
With two heart tricks that are likely to cash and the minors covered by partner I don't think 5♠ is making. 6♣ looks very good on just the auction thus far - partner's most likely shapes are 3=0=5=5 and 2=1=5=5, and in either case we can draw trumps, try to ruff out the hearts and enter our hand with a late club (or ruff). In fact, if partner has ♠xx, ♥x, ♦Axxxx, ♣Kxxxx 7♣ looks favourite to make, and that's probably a sub-minimum.
So I think we should push to 6♣ at least, and investigate a possible 7♣ along the way. It is possible partner has got something like ♠Kxx, ♥-, ♦KQxxx, ♣QTxxx where even 6 is bad, but I am not sure how to investigate that at a safe level. Since our plan over their 5♠ is now reasonably solid we can afford to take it slow - which bid would be positive with clubs in your system? I have 4♥ 'positive with clubs' here, and I intend to bid on next round to get the message across.
Maybe 5♠ immediately would be better. That wouldn't happen to be double barrel exclusion RKC, now would it?
#3
Posted 2022-December-07, 11:17
So I think efforts to reach grand are a waste of time I bid 6C. I doubt that opener has the sort of hand on which a nobody vul sac looks like a good idea. He probably has some diamond cards that wont look good to him and his hearts rate to look bad as well.
#4
Posted 2022-December-07, 13:12
Mikeh has pretty much nailed it, we don't have agreements in this situation and I decided 6♣ must have excellent play opposite the kind of hands I would bid 2NT with, and maybe the grand is on but I am most unlikely to be able to find that out, so I bid 6♣. My LHO bid 6♠ which was passed out.
Partner led the ♣K and it didn't take much thought for me to overtake and cash a heart (the queen coming down from LHO), one down. Dummy had something like ♦AJxxx, three small hearts, four spades, singleton club. Unfortunately the hands were manually dealt so I don't have the deal to hand. Partner had (I think) ♠x ♥Jx ♦9xxxx ♣KQxxx. 6♣ is unbeatable so technically they found a good sacrifice but we still got a top as at the other two tables they played in 5♠ making 12 or 13 tricks.
#5
Posted 2022-December-07, 13:51
AL78, on 2022-December-07, 13:12, said:
Mikeh has pretty much nailed it, we don't have agreements in this situation and I decided 6♣ must have excellent play opposite the kind of hands I would bid 2NT with, and maybe the grand is on but I am most unlikely to be able to find that out, so I bid 6♣. My LHO bid 6♠ which was passed out.
Partner led the ♣K and it didn't take much thought for me to overtake and cash a heart (the queen coming down from LHO), one down. Dummy had something like ♦AJxxx, three small hearts, four spades, singleton club. Unfortunately the hands were manually dealt so I don't have the deal to hand. Partner had (I think) ♠x ♥Jx ♦9xxxx ♣KQxxx. 6♣ is unbeatable so technically they found a good sacrifice but we still got a top as at the other two tables they played in 5♠ making 12 or 13 tricks.
I would always double 6S
Btw, the reason you gotta top was,I suspect, because your vulnerable partner deserved to be shot (metaphorically speaking) for that hideous 2N bid
#6
Posted 2022-December-07, 14:02
mikeh, on 2022-December-07, 11:17, said:
My first thought also. Without scientific methods, it is always a good idea to bid what you think you can make. 6♣ looks reasonable on the cards you hold. It is so difficult to find or know whether a grand slam is on in a competitive auction.
#7
Posted 2022-December-07, 14:42
In this situation we should always double 6♠, so the direct 6♣ saves a lot of headaches. I just really hate jumping when I think it is our hand, and I think having agreements about the followups to an unusual 2NT are not at all WC level (my agreements are rules for competitive auctions where either we or the opponents have shown a 2-suited hand).
#8
Posted 2022-December-07, 14:45
mikeh, on 2022-December-07, 13:51, said:
In fact, partner should have doubled 6S, because their pass should be forcing and suggest 7C isn't hopeless.
(But if your partner doesn't understand the high-level forcing pass, then the safe thing is to double rather than bid. You should never pass.)
#9
Posted 2022-December-07, 15:11
#10
Posted 2022-December-07, 17:00
#11
Posted 2022-December-07, 17:04
DavidKok, on 2022-December-07, 15:11, said:
Out of interest, in a three and a half table field of mediocre standard, can it ever be right to save at the six level when they haven't bid game yet, bearing in mind what you think will happen at the other tables?
#12
Posted 2022-December-07, 17:54
#13
Posted 2022-December-07, 20:41
peterb001, on 2022-December-07, 17:54, said:
About a year ago, I was watching online a international standard tournament, and if I remember it had one of England's best players - I knew the name as he had played in some of the best American tournaments. He did just that on one board, deliberately underbid in a competitive auction instead of going straight to slam which made easily. I think the grand slam made on the cards also, not just a small slam. And the opponents passed instead of competing so his partner was left at just game level.
Ok, the cards were different, the bidding was different, the hand was different, the vulnerability probably different also, but it was a deceit that did not work out well. I liked the strategy but it came loose in the mix. The problem, I guess, is that good opponents will work out what you are doing when you bid once at game level, and then bid again to slam.
#14
Posted 2022-December-08, 05:58
AL78, on 2022-December-07, 17:04, said:
peterb001, on 2022-December-07, 17:54, said:
#15
Posted 2022-December-08, 10:52
DavidKok, on 2022-December-08, 05:58, said:
Walking the dog is cute but personally I don't think it scores very well. There was one competitive auction, I think it was 1♠-(4♦)-? where I was looking at a 4=7=0=2 with a bunch of aces and kings and I decided I just had to show my heart suit while trying for a spade slam, and I had no good bid available (5♥ was undiscussed, though I think it should be a fitbid for spades). So I bid a NF 4♥, praying the opponents would bid 5♦, and when they did I followed up with 6♦ showing spades (we did have 5NT pick-a-slam). I think that's the worst I've done in terms of walking the dog.
I pushed things a bit in a recent national tournament, opening a natural weak 2D in first at favourable vulnerability with a semi-solid suit in a 3172. Partner bid a competitive 3D over their 2H and I bid 5D over their 4H: double.
Making the contract was child's play, but in elation I ruffed low for no good reason and went 1 down
From a dubious top to a well deserved bottom.
#16
Posted 2022-December-08, 10:52