[blackshoe]

---

Now what?

[the hog]

Why did the butcher bid 4NT? Another case of somebody limiting his hand to partner and then taking full control.

[Jinksy]

7♠.

[mgoetze]

I can count 14 tricks if the hearts come in ... ruff one to make sure, and we're down to 13, which is enough anyway. Therefore I deduce that this must be a matchpoint problem.

Ideally I would like to bid 7♥ to mean "bid 7NT if you have the ♥J/extra length, 7♠ otherwise", but there is an obvious alternative meaning which I wouldn't want to risk partner taking it as.

In most matchpoint fields you will get over 50% for bidding and making any grand, anyway, so I'll just bid 7♠ even at MPs. As the hog points out, if I wanted more information, maybe I shouldn't have wasted an entire level of bidding space.

[whereagles]

the hog, on 2014-December-20, 20:18, said:

Why did the butcher bid 4NT? Another case of somebody limiting his hand to partner and then taking full control.

Ron: 3♠ was slammish. Opener was already asked to seize control if his hand is suitable. At least that's how I see it.

Anyway, 7♠ now. You need either the heart jack across, a 3-3 break or a 6th heart. You also make with sing diamond on pard.

[the hog]

Now let see Nuno, opener has shown 18-19 with 5S,opener has shown 5+H and 3S. Nothing slammish yet as I assume 4S would be a picture bid. How much nicer is 4C 4D 4H where 4H shows A, K or Q of H. There are a lot of butchers on this site.

[kgr]

the hog, on 2014-December-20, 20:18, said:

Another case of somebody limiting his hand to partner and then taking full control.

I agree with this.

At IMPs I bid 7♠ now.
At MPs it is a guess. I don't think I can find out about ♣J or ♥J. I'll also bid 7♠.

[blackshoe]

7♠ it is then.

The hand is from Robert Munger's new book on Kickback. I was worried that we might have a diamond loser we can't get rid of. But probably that's just too pessimistic. :-)

[TWO4BRIDGE]

blackshoe, on 2014-December-20, 20:11, said:

---

Now what?

I see a transportation problem in 7S if East has ♣A x doubleton and ♥split 4-2 with 4 to the J .

[mikeh]

the hog, on 2014-December-21, 06:08, said:

Now let see Nuno, opener has shown 18-19 with 5S,opener has shown 5+H and 3S. Nothing slammish yet as I assume 4S would be a picture bid. How much nicer is 4C 4D 4H where 4H shows A, K or Q of H. There are a lot of butchers on this site.

I often criticize overuse of key card but your post is silly. Responder showed an opening hand with the 2/1 response and now confirms primary spade support opposite 18-19. The auction is already slamming to any thinking bridge player.

That isn't to say that key card was the best choice, but to claim that the auction was not slamming at 3♠ is to reveal a profound ignorance

Moreover, using a heart cue by opener to promise one of the A, K or Q is an unusual treatment that can cause great difficulty for responder when he holds only 1 of the top 3 honours. AJxxx needs the K for grand slam ambitions and, sometimes, for small slam. KJxxx needs the A. Now, keycard can sometimes work this problem out but not always.

In a good field, 7n is worth a gamble if we think we need tops. If we think we can win why grinding, then 7S seems correct and 7S is clearly best at imps.

In 7N we may find the heart J in dummy, or even a 6th card, or he may have a diamond holding that allows for a red suit squeeze, although that is improbable. I'd guess 7 N to be about 45%. With 7S about 85% or better. This is just gut feel

[whereagles]

the hog, on 2014-December-21, 06:08, said:

Now let see Nuno, opener has shown 18-19 with 5S,opener has shown 5+H and 3S. Nothing slammish yet as I assume 4S would be a picture bid. How much nicer is 4C 4D 4H where 4H shows A, K or Q of H. There are a lot of butchers on this site.

As I said, I don't quite see it like that. Why should opener waste time with daisy-picking bids when he has (1) an excellent hand in context and (2) all he'll ever need to place the final contract.

The situation raises a theoretical issue. Can the limited hand ever make final decisions? I think it can, and should, when it has the elements. In this case I think it does. In fact strong hands are often in that position because strong hands are more independent.

[the hog]

"
Moreover, using a heart cue by opener to promise one of the A, K or Q is an unusual treatment that can cause great difficulty for responder when he holds only 1 of the top 3 honours"
You clearly have not read Fred's 2/1 notes.
Needless to say, I disagree with your post 18 opposite 12 does not necessarily a slam make. You want to bid this way, go ahead. I prefer the hand that is limited to show, not to bulldoze and take charge. After all, who knows more about the hand after the 2NT bid, East or West?