[jillybean]

---

How do you continue?

[DavidKok]

1♥-2♦;
2♥-3♣ (natural);
3♠ (asks for a stopper or advance cue)-4NT (spade stopper, too much for 3NT);
5♣ (natural, forcing. Makes 3♠ into a cue)-5♠ (denies controls in diamonds and hearts - don't show the shortness opposite partner's length);
6♣ (an optimist might try 5NT asking for extras)-P.

I personally wouldn't dare 5NT as South, but an enterprising pair might pick up 7♣ on a good day.

[pescetom]

1♥-2♦;
2♥-3♣;
4♣-4♦(RKCB);
4N(2-Q)-6♣;
p

[mikeh]

North bids 2N. Not 3C, which might endplay opener on many hands, plus north’s spades suggest he should declare notrump, if that is to be the strain.

2N allows for an easy 3D bid if opener has 3 of them.

On this hand, it makes for an easy 3C bid, which is music to north’s ears.

He raises to 4C and opener, who has terrible clubs but a good hand otherwise, bids 4D.

How the bidding continues is unclear....there are a lot of options. However, north will probably end up driving to 6C. The key, with strong hands and no clear direction, is to bide one’s time. North doesn’t want to suggest clubs as tromp unless south has 4 of them, and that means 2N on the second round. Also that means that opener’s 3D, if he were to bid it, would be 3 card support, with some reason not to bid 3N, and not a preference, allowing for a controlled auction.

[mw64ahw]

The 2/1 version I use with Kickbo (2♥ would show Min)

1♥-2♦ (5+♦)
2NT (6331/64xx Int+)-3♣ (Which?)
3♦ (64xx)-3♥ (Which Minor?)
3♠ (♣)-4♣ (GF/SI ♣)
4♦ (2 keycards)-5♦ (All keycards w/o Q♣)
6♣ (Denies Q♣/10 card fit)-Pass

[jillybean]

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This was our uncreative auction 4♥+2 , the rest of the field played in 3N.
I could bid 4♣ over 3nt but that would have been G

The full hand;

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[DavidKok]

South's 3♥ is uncooperative. I like a joke/rule I once saw Kit Woolsey make - if I bid a suit three times, it is trumps. South's empty AK-sixth is shoddy by that standard, and even if you don't play by this rule the suit is not worth a second rebid. Mikeh's 2NT rebid would have saved you, or alternatively you could try 3♠.

[pescetom]

 mikeh, on 2021-April-12, 06:12, said:

North bids 2N. Not 3C, which might endplay opener on many hands, plus north’s spades suggest he should declare notrump, if that is to be the strain.

2N allows for an easy 3D bid if opener has 3 of them.

On this hand, it makes for an easy 3C bid, which is music to north’s ears.

He raises to 4C and opener, who has terrible clubs but a good hand otherwise, bids 4D.

How the bidding continues is unclear....there are a lot of options. However, north will probably end up driving to 6C. The key, with strong hands and no clear direction, is to bide one’s time.

2N certainly makes more sense if South then has an easy 3C bid with xxxx, which he doesn't for us.

How would North's hand have to differ for you as North to bid 3C rather than 2N?

[jillybean]

 DavidKok, on 2021-April-13, 02:02, said:

South's 3♥ is uncooperative. I like a joke/rule I once saw Kit Woolsey make - if I bid a suit three times, it is trumps. South's empty AK-sixth is shoddy by that standard, and even if you don't play by this rule the suit is not worth a second rebid. Mikeh's 2NT rebid would have saved you, or alternatively you could try 3♠.

Or, I could have raised 3♣ to 4♣?

[nullve]

 DavidKok, on 2021-April-13, 02:02, said:

the suit is not worth a second rebid

But 2♥ didn't promise 6+ hearts?

[jillybean]

 pescetom, on 2021-April-13, 03:14, said:

2N certainly makes more sense if South then has an easy 3C bid with xxxx, which he doesn't for us.

How would North's hand have to differ for you to bid 3C rather than 2N?

I'd imagine something like Jxx,x,AQJT7,AKJ9

[DavidKok]

 jillybean, on 2021-April-13, 05:32, said:

Or, I could have raised 3♣ to 4♣?

I don't like bypassing 3NT, which is why I prefer 3♠. For me that bid only promises something through negative inference: it denies diamond length, hearts good enough to bid thrice, a sufficiently unbalanced hand with club support to bid clubs and denies a spade stopper.

 nullve, on 2021-April-13, 05:41, said:

But 2♥ didn't promise 6+ hearts?

For me it also doesn't. Nevertheless, bidding them thrice promises a suit better than this (and typically 7+). Partner can give preference with a doubleton support if the auction allows.

[nullve]

 DavidKok, on 2021-April-13, 07:56, said:

For me it also doesn't. Nevertheless, bidding them thrice promises a suit better than this (and typically 7+). Partner can give preference with a doubleton support if the auction allows.

What if Opener has a spade more and a club less, i.e. something like

42
AK9865
AK
T86

? How do you find the 6-2 heart fit if it exists?

[mikeh]

 pescetom, on 2021-April-13, 03:14, said:

2N certainly makes more sense if South then has an easy 3C bid with xxxx, which he doesn't for us.

How would North's hand have to differ for you as North to bid 3C rather than 2N?

Opener doesn’t have an ‘easy’ 3C bid over 2N, in that he’d really like Qxxx.

However, I think that 3C is clearly correct.

He expects a heart preference anytime responder has Hx in hearts, and now 4H is likely better than 3N....not always, of course.

He also expects a heart preference on xx when responder holds something like Axx xx QJ10xx AQx.

To bid 3C over 2N, opener either has interest in clubs as trump or fear of spades (with 4 clubs) for notrump.

The main point being that he doesn’t expect, nor want, responder bidding 3N without a good spade holding. The fact that responder may then drive him to 6C would, if known, terrify him😀

[gszes]

1h (2/1)
2d natural GF
2h waiting (would not bid 3c here nat even if able since p might be looking for a club stop for 3n and ick) (also denies max 1 loser heart suit 6+ else 3h + extra or 4h min)
3c naturalish primarily looking for spade stop for 3n if not natural or simply wishes more information
3d 2 of top 3 honors = 3 card support in my book. The delayed raise shows 6+ hearts. This bid does not deny spade stop since showing the dia support can easily be of greater importance.
3s tell me more primarily looking for spade stop for 3n also denies 2 card heart support.
4s short spade some extra values not enough to take control of bidding
4n RKC diamonds
5c 0-3
5n pick a slam if nothing more interesting to tell. Could have asked for kings but did not has dia Q did not ask.
6c showing that 4 card support note that if the heart K were the club Q I would bid 7c