[AL78]

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How would you interpret the 3♠ bid?

[P_Marlowe]

I grid my teeth, and try to keep my cool.
Undiscussed it tells you, partner has no idea.

You will find lots of peoble, that will play this as 3P preempt.
What it should be: Splinter / Fit Jump, Request to bid 3NT. Take your pick.
For us, it would be a Fit Jump. Never comes up, which is ok.

[DavidKok]

Fit jump, 5(+) good spades, 4(+) hearts and the offensive strength to play at the 4-level. 2♠ would also have been a fit jump, but one-over fit jumps are just stronger hands.

[jillybean]

AL78, on 2023-June-18, 12:54, said:

How would you interpret the 3♠ bid?

I need to look for another partner.

[LBengtsson]

jillybean, on 2023-June-18, 15:39, said:

I need to look for another partner.

LOL Without agreements, with a unknown partner, or a regular partner who sometimes makes bids unknown to you, I would take it as a pre-empt, with a couple of honors and seven card suit and out, no interest in your suit.

Other than that it is a jump-fit or splinter, spin a coin.

[mikeh]

DavidKok, on 2023-June-18, 13:40, said:

Fit jump, 5(+) good spades, 4(+) hearts and the offensive strength to play at the 4-level. 2♠ would also have been a fit jump, but one-over fit jumps are just stronger hands.

That makes no sense to me. Why use two bids for the same purpose?

If your hand is too strong for your 2S fit bid, just bid 2S (presumably forcing) and then bid again if partner signs off

Meanwhile, in order to accommodate having two ways to bid essentially the same hand, you’ve thrown out splinters!

Admittedly, this particular splinter seems low frequency, but maybe responder has spade length but a terrible hand.

Anyway, at least in NA I’m willing to bet that the very strong consensus…I hesitate to say unanimous….would be gf splinter…at least amongst strong players.

[thepossum]

Splinter? In my simple mind all unnecessary jumps are splinters

We have game or more in hearts

[paulg]

DavidKok, on 2023-June-18, 13:40, said:

Fit jump, 5(+) good spades, 4(+) hearts and the offensive strength to play at the 4-level. 2♠ would also have been a fit jump, but one-over fit jumps are just stronger hands.

mikeh, on 2023-June-18, 22:26, said:

That makes no sense to me. Why use two bids for the same purpose?

DavidKok is probably a Robson & Segal disciple, like me

[DavidKok]

mikeh, on 2023-June-18, 22:26, said:

That makes no sense to me. Why use two bids for the same purpose?

If your hand is too strong for your 2S fit bid, just bid 2S (presumably forcing) and then bid again if partner signs off

Meanwhile, in order to accommodate having two ways to bid essentially the same hand, you’ve thrown out splinters!

Admittedly, this particular splinter seems low frequency, but maybe responder has spade length but a terrible hand.

Anyway, at least in NA I’m willing to bet that the very strong consensus…I hesitate to say unanimous….would be gf splinter…at least amongst strong players.

If we get another round everything works, even 1♠ into 4♥. The concern is that it goes (1♣)-1♥-(p)-2♠; (5♣)-p-(p)-? and now what. Having a way to show a 4-level worthy raise with a good spade suit at once avoids this problem. Having multiple fitjumps isn't very high frequency, but it wins a lot when it comes up. Also in my experience splinters in new suits in competition aren't big winners at all. Usually partner has the spades (if the opponents have them they tend to bid them), and even if not slam usually isn't on after they have opened. Plus, splintering in a new suit implies length and values in opener's suit, increasing the chance of a side suit misfit. For those reasons I prefer to play "no splinters in new suits in competition", i.e. we only have a club splinter on the auction, and other splinters go through 2NT (inv+ 4(+) raise).

[AL78]

Thanks for the responses. This didn't happen at the table, but it was related to a hand which I held where if we had the agreement that a double jump was a splinter, I would have bid 3♠. This is what happened:

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This was a Swiss Teams, 8 board rounds with an unfamiliar partner (only two prior practice sessions, one of which was of limited use because we were on the wrong end of a hand bias). I thought about bidding 3♠ as a splinter at my first turn but decided against it without discussion and took the route of going through a cue bid to show a constructive raise. We found game although a slam is on, a grand if you take the inspired play of dropping the ♦Q.

[P_Marlowe]

I / It may be biased by seeing both hands, but I think you are worth another go.

Most likely 4S, it starts to get complicated in new partnership.
But missing 24HCP slams is not the end of the world.

[jillybean]

P_Marlowe, on 2023-June-19, 04:39, said:

But missing 24HCP slams is not the end of the world.

These are the slams that I do enjoy bidding.
Seeing all hands we can force an auction but I think it is tough to get there at the table.