[Fluffy]

favourable

♠Qxx
♥x
♦Jxx
♣QJxxxx


(2♣)-3♣-(3♦)-???

2♣ GF, 3♦ nat positive



favourable again

♠K9
♥J10xx
♦Q10xx
♣xxx


4♥-(X)-??

[hrothgar]

Fluffy, on Feb 10 2010, 04:33 PM, said:

favourable

♠Qxx
♥x
♦Jxx
♣QJxxxx


(2♣)-3♣-(3♦)-???

2♣ GF, 3♦ nat positive

This depends an awful lot on what partner promises for a 3♣ call...

If we assume that partner promises some length in Clubs and some club honors, than we know that the opponents have

1. A club void
2. A strong 2♣ opening with nothing wasted in club

I can't image that they'd go down in a small slam and they might very well have a grand.

We're white and they're red...

I'm bidding 7♣

[Codo]

1. 7 ♣ Maybe their slam is laydown- maybe not. I pay a high insurance fee.

2. pass. I always do with balanced hands and no major fit- it often works.

[pooltuna]

1. 5♣
2. pass

[jdonn]

On 1 I bid 6♣. Opener may not know whether to choose hearts or diamonds (or spades) so I'm happy to accept him making a slam sometimes in exchange for the other time he misguesses and plays in a suit that goes down. For example maybe he bids his AKQxxx of hearts and partner has Jxxx and they would have made 6♦. Or maybe they miss a grand if I don't push them higher.

2 is an easy pass, there will be lots of times it even gets passed out.

[jjbrr]

I think 5♣ is worse than 7♣, and 6♣ is better than both.

Agree with pass.

[nigel_k]

1. 7♣. It just doesn't seem that likely to me they will go down at the six level.

2. Pass.

[PhantomSac]

6C on 1.

On 2 it depends on who the opps are for sure, if they are the type who might not know X is takeout or might pass it too much then pass, but against most good players I would bid 5H, disagree with jdonn that there is much of a chance at all of them passing it out. Seems like LHO is going to bid 4S almost always, and if he has less than 4 spades somehow he will often bid 4N or 5m.

[Siegmund]

First one I would be OK with either 5♣ or 6♣. More likely the former against weaker pairs and the latter against stronger.

I don't like 7♣. We know they are making 6, and I would guess they are well over 50% to make 7 of a red suit - but they aren't going to bid 7 unless we push them into it, and the field won't be in 7.

Second one feels like an easy 5♥.

[jjbrr]

Siegmund, on Feb 10 2010, 05:34 PM, said:

We know they are making 6, and I would guess they are well over 50% to make 7 of a red suit - but they aren't going to bid 7 unless we push them into it, and the field won't be in 7.

I don't agree with this sentence.

[Siegmund]

Which part(s) of it, might I ask? I can imagine someone not agreeing with up to three of my four phrases.

[karlson]

Siegmund, on Feb 10 2010, 02:34 PM, said:

First one I would be OK with either 5♣ or 6♣. More likely the former against weaker pairs and the latter against stronger.

I don't like 7♣. We know they are making 6, and I would guess they are well over 50% to make 7 of a red suit - but they aren't going to bid 7 unless we push them into it, and the field won't be in 7.

Second one feels like an easy 5♥.

Bidding 7 if and only if your opponents have pre-saved in 7♣ is just about the worst possible strategy in terms of exploitability.

[akhare]

1) 7♣ -- hopefully my pard isn't sick enough to psyche 3♣

2) P

[ArtK78]

I have no problem with preempting 6♣ or even 7♣ on the first hand. However, a tactic that I have seen work is PASS. Announcing the extent of your fit with partner may lead to your opponents being able to gauge the extent of their fit much better.

Of course, taking away 3 or 4 levels of bidding makes things tough for them also.

On the second one pass is likely to work out better than bidding. Again, clueing in the opps to the extent of our side's fit may make it easier for them to gauge the extent of their fit. Also, 5♥ may act as a transfer to 5♠ or higher. But there is always some doubt about the nature of a double of 4♥. Let the opponents figure it out.

[Codo]

ArtK78, on Feb 11 2010, 08:15 AM, said:

...  However, a tactic that I have seen work is PASS. 

Art this idea does work sometimes but surely not here.

Declarer will bid his suit forcing at the 3. level later raise diamonds if he has fit and they have a easy road to slam.

Maybe 4 ♣ can help against weak opponents hoping that the bidding will end in 4 heart or 5 diamond. But this will not work against adv.+.

[Fluffy]

nothing is gonna work on 1, RHO has a reverse opposite GF oppening, they make grand in 4 strains (spades guessing but 4-4 fit won't be the final spot)

partner had ♣K10xxxx and out, if anything 6♣ I think might work best.


on 2 passing might had proved awful for my opponents, I was then able to bid 5♠ on ♠AQ10xxx ♥xx ♦- ♣AJxxx asking for a heart control.

Partner kind of lied to me bidding 6♠ only with ♠Jxxx ♥ - ♦ AKJ9xx ♣K10x

both tables made 13 tricks "squeezing" east out of his third club.

[jdonn]

How does raising help on the second one, then you just bid slam yourself.

[Fluffy]

yes but I have no way to bid 7 then, if partner was disciplined to bid 5NT or 6♥ over my 5♠ we would be in 7 making