[plaur]

Scoring: MP

1♣ - X - 2♣ - p
?

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I've been thinking about this hand for a week now and still cant decide what the right bid is.
Pairs, 22 tables. I open 1♣ - showing 4+ clubs. 2♣ is 6-9 and 4+clubs. Can be weaker/distributional since over the x partner often wants to preempt a little with a fit.

How does one evaluate a hand like this?
How much is my hand worth now? 3NT? 2NT? other bid?
Does MP scoring change decision?

[Walddk]

I would bid 2NT at any form of scoring. Should show something like the hand I have: 17-18 hcp semi-balanced, could be balanced with 18. If partner's 2♣ raise was based on say 3 hcp and a singleton, he will sign off in 3♣.

The most common mistake by intermediates is for opener to bid 3NT over 3♣ if this happens. Then there is no point in bidding 2NT first. I could accept a direct 3NT, but not 2NT followed by 3NT when responder shows weakness.

If you, sensibly, want to involve partner (2NT), then listen to what s/he has to say and don't overrule him/her (3NT over 3♣). That's bad for partnership morale. Trust your partner to judge well.

Roland

[pbleighton]

2NT or 3NT are both fine. I would bid 3NT because we have 24+hcp and a 9+ card fit, and because I have an IMPs style of bidding game at MPs

Peter

[Redstart]

2NT for me.

On the basis that partner exaggerates raises after an intervening double, partner might have 3 points with a shapely hand. You have bare AK, which is not as strong as it looks.

[HeartA]

3NT.

[mikeh]

I endorse Roland's choice and explanation. At imps, if red, and if our style were invite aggressively and accept conservatively (the opposite of mine), I'd bid 3N, since this is a heavy 2N bid... but at mps, 2N is clear (to me)

[whereagles]

2NT should show the 18-19 hand and is enough. Sometimes pards have a tendency to raise on unsuitable hands.

[FrancesHinden]

Sorry to introduce a note of disharmony, but no-one's asked what system we are playing. In a 5-card major system, partner won't raise clubs without a proper fit, but we are told that the 1C opening shows genuine clubs. In that sort of system, partner will raise clubs over the double on a weakish hand even with a 4-card major, if he doesn't have the strength to compete to the 3-level on the next round. I've seen clubs raised on a 3-card suit in this auction before now, amd partner could certainly have something like J109x xxx xx K10xx

In that style, and particularly at matchpoints, I bid 2S. It's marginal, because of all the red suit honours and the weak spades, but I'd be interested to know if other posters considered it and dismissed it because of the honour structure, or didn't consider it!

[mikeh]

I confess: I didn't think of it

Cultural bias, no doubt, coming, as I do, from the land of 5 card majors

[plaur]

At the table I bid 2NT which was passed around. The field played 3NT and 9 tricks was even, with a few getting 10. Since this was the strongest field I've played to date, it made me think about the 2NT bid.
Do the 2NT bidders think partner should have raised to 3 with
xx
xx
Kxxx
K10xxx

(To Frances: system is beginner acol, 4 card suits up the line, may bypass weak 4 card minor in favor of strong major 4 card suit, 15-17 NT. My partner will usually bid a weak 4 card major over x)

[whereagles]

plaur, on May 24 2006, 03:58 PM, said:

At the table I bid 2NT which was passed around. The field played 3NT and 9 tricks was even, with a few getting 10. Since this was the strongest field I've played to date, it made me think about the 2NT bid.
Do the 2NT bidders think partner should have raised to 3 with
xx
xx
Kxxx
K10xxx

What happened is pard didn't interpret 2NT as 18-19, else he would have bid 3NT.

Getting it right on this hand is more a matter of having an agreement as to what 2NT means than a technical issue.

Of course, if you're not sure what pard will make of 2NT you can always blast 3NT yourself.