[olliebol]

from the Netherlands versus China match swung 16 IMP s bidding partner pass r.h.o. opens 4♥ now what? heres your hand:

Scoring: IMP

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[Hanoi5]

4NT, 5♦ over 5♣ and maybe Pass 6♣.

[ONEferBRID]

5♥ ( Michaels ).

( DBL of 4H is for T/O, 4NT is for the minors ).

[mtvesuvius]

4NT, then 5♦ over 5♣

[bid_em_up]

Double. This hand is certainly strong enough that we don't mind if it gets left in for penalties.

There is another reason for choosing double instead of 4N. Partner doesn't need much more than ♦Qxx or ♣Ace for 6♦/6♠ to have a reasonable shot at making slam opposite this hand.

If partner bids 4♠ over the double, we can make some sort of a slam try (personally, I would choose 5H, but there may be better choices). If he simply bids 5♠, then we give up. But looking at the club Ace on this sequence, he should certainly bid 6♣. Now we can show interest in 7 by bidding 6♦. Looking at the diamond Q and the club Ace, or even the AQ of clubs, partner should certainly bid 7.

If partner bids 5♦ then he doesn't have 4♠ or 4♣ (he would have bid either of those suits first). Because of this, I am always going to play 6♦, and would again bid 5♥ to see if partner can cue the club Ace. If he does this, I will bid 7♦ on my own, as partner should be able to get club pitches on the spades (he did not take preference to either one of those suits, so he has no more than 3 cards in either).

The problem that arises is what to do when partner bids 5C over the double. We can bid 5♦ showing two places to play (♦/♠). This may give up on the diamond slam, but there is still the hope that partner will raise to 6♦ if he is 4-4 in the minors when holding the club Ace as well (he probably should, but whether he does is a different story). If partner corrects to 5♦ to 5♠, I will pass.

jmoo.

[Jlall]

Very difficult hand, I see merit in X, 4S, 4N and 5H.

My inclination would be to just bid 5H, with a very close second choice of X.

[pooltuna]

Jlall, on Sep 2 2009, 01:09 AM, said:

Very difficult hand, I see merit in X, 4S, 4N and 5H.

My inclination would be to just bid 5H, with a very close second choice of X.

You need to warn 1fer that 5♥ ain't Michael's

[mike777]

I will try double.

Hard hand.

[the hog]

4NT for me, which is NOT for the minors. 5H could also be ok.

[rduran1216]

I play dbl as takeout through 4H, so I would double, with an immediate 6 bid should my partner pick diamonds or spades

It is very likely my KJ of clubs are well placed behind RHO's probable A,Q or AQ

[ONEferBRID]

pooltuna, on Sep 2 2009, 11:12 AM, said:

You need to warn 1fer that 5♥ ain't Michael's 

You are probably right. What is it then?

Examples:
( 1H ) - 2H! = Michaels.

( 2H, weak ) - 3H! = asking for a stop for 3NT; part of Leaping Michaels where 4m-jumps = big 2-suiters: Spades and the bid minor.

( 3H, weak ) - 4H! = ??

( 4H, weak ) - 5H! = ??

[ONEferBRID]

The_Hog, on Sep 2 2009, 07:26 PM, said:

4NT for me, which is NOT for the minors. 5H could also be ok.

Hog....
Why do the reference books (Bridge Conventions Complete, by Amalya Kearse, forward by Alan Truscott ) say:

" DBLs of opening bids of 4C/4D/4H are T/O DBLs".
" DBL of 4S is penalty ".
" Overcall of 4NT over a 4S preempt is 3-suited T/O".
whereas :
"Standard practice is for (an overcall of) 4NT to be used as a minor T/O over a 4H preempt since a T/O DBL could be made to show Spades " .

- - Don - -