[lycier]

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Hi all :

Maybe best to post this topic at Expert-Class Bridge since it is very difficult to get best slam contract.

South is a USA expert,bbo star.I admire him.
North is his student.
Unluckily,6♥ -1.
Look at this hand,we know the best slam contract is 6♣ or 6nt.
My problem is How to explore and get best slam contract. I have no way to deal with such complicated issue,I surrender.

Any suggestion is welcome.

Best Wishes

Lycier

[diana_eva]

I don't think that 6♥ is a bad slam, nor that 6♣ or 6NT is better. Sometimes good slams fail.

If it matters, robots landed in 6♥ too:

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[phoenix214]

6NT is the one where you want to be seeing both hands obviously - the problem is pretty simple, if you play a trump contract then a bad split might make you go down.6H needs hearts to split 3-2 which is 66, 6C does not need opps to have a ruff, slightly better, but if you swap the ace of clubs around, then 6C goes down as well as they can arrange a ruff. Basically we would just like to get our N clubs + other cashers.

Probably a crazy suggestion, but at the point you hit slam, N should correct to 6NT - because he should be able to tell that pd has to have 3 aces(the only shortness pd is likely to have is a club one) so in that case we should hope from a double diamond stoper from pd, everything else should be covered, in the bots auction, just at the end cover to 6NT.(Although this is biased by seeing both hands)

[ahydra]

Well, what do you call an eight-card suit? Especially one as solid as North's. Playing in clubs, North doesn't need good hearts opposite, just the top controls.

4H on the 2nd or 3rd rounds is a practical bid by N, but he should spot that this might get to the wrong slam if South has extras. Better would be 2S followed by 4C or something similar to show a club slam try - you can still stop in 4H. Once North is insisting on clubs, South should realise he has a very suitable hand (lots of cover cards, nothing wasted).

Also could South consider 2NT over 2S? (since 2S is GF, this should show a spade stop and probably extras too (PFA)) So the full auction would be 1C-(1S)-2H; 2S-2NT; 3C-3D; 4C-4S (cue). Now North can risk 4NT as if partner has two keycards then North passes the 5H response. After 5D (0 or 3) North bids 6C, or possibly 6NT, counting twelve winners (SAK, HAK, DA and 7xC).

ahydra

[MrAce]

diana_eva, on 2015-June-22, 03:53, said:

I don't think that 6♥ is a bad slam, nor that 6♣ or 6NT is better. Sometimes good slams fail.

If it matters, robots landed in 6♥ too:

What do you mean 6 NT is not better? 6 NT is perfect contract with no possible lay out to set it. Whether we can bid it or not is debatable depending on our system and agreements.

[diana_eva]

MrAce, on 2015-June-22, 06:32, said:

What do you mean 6 NT is not better? 6 NT is perfect contract with no possible lay out to set it. Whether we can bid it or not is debatable depending on our system and agreements.

Sorry, I meant without seeing all hands, doesn't that look like a contract you'd wanna play in suit, with shortness in both hands?

[MrAce]

diana_eva, on 2015-June-22, 06:40, said:

Sorry, I meant without seeing all hands, doesn't that look like a contract you'd wanna play in suit, with shortness in both hands?

Title of the topic says it all.

[phoenix214]

If you see 12/13 tricks, then just shoot for NT, play in trumps if you need extra safety - that is how should it be..

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This is a hand i played some months ago - at the time we reached 7H, (Playing a format of minmax converting to VP) Anyhow in any form of scoring you want to be in 7NT on the hand - if you are playing MP then NT scores better then the major, if you are playing imps then you can survive some bad splits, while in a trump contract you can go down due to some ruff, or trumps splitting badly

[gszes]

Once p bids 4s it becomes necessary for north to bid 5c. This should show the presence of a max 1 loser suit and an inability to take over the bidding due to a severe lack of controls. South will bid 5d and north should continue with 5h (since they have a club loser) and south should have little trouble bidding 6c knowing there is a huge risk of a club ruff in a heart contract.

[the_clown]

I would have rebid 3♣ as North, if partner has only 5♥s they may force us in spades and make the club suit absolutely worthless.

[ggwhiz]

In my inspired days I would have bid keycard over 4♠, heard 5♠ (2 with the queen) and forced my self to slam and watched them cash 2 bullets. Yes I did that a couple of times.

Better would be for North to bid 3♥ (surely this auction isn't over yet with that shape) and North can suggest clubs a time or three after that.

ie. 3♠ - 4♣
4♦ - 6♣

[Lovera]

Probably because N is a student, i think, it is happened this one. Infact is strange for me that N had bidded ("immidiately") raising heart (that S must play)and "forgot" the self-supporting club (that N must play). Instead to bid 2 ♠it'd been better 4♣ to indicate it. Via kickback is easy to get slam :4♦- 4♥(=14), 4♠(? for Q)-5♥(=K+Q in club) and "les jeux son fait". When this process is terminated you can change also in 6NT.(Lovera)

[Bbradley62]

diana_eva, on 2015-June-22, 03:53, said:

I don't think that 6♥ is a bad slam, nor that 6♣... is better.

Maybe I missed it, but it appears to me that we have not been told the form of scoring. So, if 6♥ is 66% and 6♣ only gets beat when ♣A is with four hearts and is therefore something like 83%, we cannot tell which is "better".