[Cascade]

gwnn, on Aug 24 2009, 12:08 AM, said:

I would X and 3♠ nf, which is just a little underbid - like Arend wrote we could clearly belong to three no and it just doesn't feel right to jump to 4, I mean our spades aren't good enough.

The good thing about doubling and bidding three non-forcing spades is that you will make if partner raises.

[the hog]

gwnn, on Aug 23 2009, 07:08 PM, said:

I would X and 3♠ nf, which is just a little underbid - like Arend wrote we could clearly belong to three no and it just doesn't feel right to jump to 4, I mean our spades aren't good enough.

AKQ to 6 not good enough? I suppose this was a tongue in cheek post?

[Fluffy]

cherdanno, on Aug 23 2009, 05:25 AM, said:

I don't like double and 4♠ - I think we belong in 3N quite often (and in hearts some of the time).

I don't expect to stop clubs that often certainly, but hearts might be a great strain, if there was just a way to ask partner if he has 5 of them...

[gwnn]

The_Hog, on Aug 24 2009, 02:30 AM, said:

gwnn, on Aug 23 2009, 07:08 PM, said:

I would X and 3♠ nf, which is just a little underbid - like Arend wrote we could clearly belong to three no and it just doesn't feel right to jump to 4, I mean our spades aren't good enough.

AKQ to 6 not good enough? I suppose this was a tongue in cheek post?

no it wasn't. I don't like bidding AKQxxx the same way I'd bid AKJ to 7. our hand is more 'flexible' now (to use a word much ridiculed by the forums) and should not be sold as a spade spade hand. I think it's just a spade hand.

[ochinko]

Double, then jump to 3♠ would be my actions too. I don't even think it's such an underbid, looks like describing my hand perfectly.

[bid_em_up]

I would X and then bid 4♠.

Given that I chose 1♠ on the first round, this becomes a 4♠, wtp, imo?

We know partner is broke. We have no ambitions of slam looking at three small clubs.

Bidding 3♠ is simply asking too much for partner to bid 4♠ when he holds:

xxx Qxxx xxxx xx

he cannot picture the powerhouse we actually hold (even though we have bid the hand strongly, this hand is even better than what X then 3S would show, imo)

Take the bull by the horns and bid game yourself.

jmoo.

[Quantumcat]

Even more fun is to just bid 4♠ yourself on your first bid - you know you will end up there anyway no matter what your partner says, so you may as well bid it now while the opponents have no idea whether you hold:

♠KJ97654
♥-
♦QJ98
♣76

or perhaps

♠AKQ98732
♥A986
♦-
♣5

or the hand you actually held.

It's true you may miss slam by bidding 4♠ but it is a faraway consideration. Partner would need to have just the right cards, and by the time you have described the fact that you have a powerhouse while still making forcing bids, there may be no room to find them.

[nigel_k]

Obviously we should have doubled initially and now can only bid 4♠ or maybe 3♣ in the vain hope that partner is able to bid 3NT, then bid 4♠ when he doesn't.

I would also like to compliment the clever double entendre in the thread title (whether it was intended or not).

[jillybean]

Haha, you'd never get me to admit it was unintentional but after bidding like that anything is possible.