[jillybean]

Playing 2/1, constructive raises, MP

J84,AQ83,T76,973

Partner opens 1S:1N 2S:?

[daveharty]

Hmm, well the shape is tempting....but pass/pass.

[mikeh]

Kathryn: a useful way to think of these problems is to imagine you don't know your hand...you are in a bar somewhere in a bridge discussion. You are given the auction and asked 'what does 3♠ show?'You have no udea of the actual hand.

I think you'd reason that bidding 1n then bidding 3♠ is how you show a 3 card limit raise. maybe, given that responder now knows of a 9 card fit, he might jump to game with a max limit raise, but otherwise he'd do what he was planning to do when he bid 1N: bid 3♠ next.

As soon as you realize that partner should take 3♠ as showing a limit raise, you have the answer to your question. You judged this hand as less than constructive (I think it is close), so you can hardly now call it a limit raise!

[P_Marlowe]

Hi

I am assuming 1NT is forcing.

The question is, what does a raise show?

Usually one has also the limit raise with 3 card support included in the 1NT,
so the qeustion is, can partner differentiate between my current raise,

which was not even worth a constructive raise the round before - I disagree with
this, but that is judgement,

and the 10-12 3 card raise, also included in the 1NT.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[wyman]

I'll bid 2S a round ago.

[jillybean]

Thanks.

As an additional question, what should openers hand look like for a 1♠:1N 3♠ bid?

[mikeh]

jillybean, on 2010-November-02, 07:55, said:

Thanks.

As an additional question, what should openers hand look like for a 1♠:1N 3♠ bid?

AKJ10xx AJx K10x x would be a sound 3♠ bid (for me, a very sound 3♠)...different players will have slightly different ideas, but the prototypical hand is around 16 hcp with a fairly good 6 card suit.

[P_Marlowe]

jillybean, on 2010-November-02, 07:55, said:

Thanks.

As an additional question, what should openers hand look like for a 1♠:1N 3♠ bid?

Assuming the same seq., but 1NT being nonforcing: What would openers hand look like?
Basically opener is inviting game oppossite a max. nonforcing 1NT response.
A nonforcing 1NT response showes 6-10HCP without 3 card support, so opener will need
a reasonable 6 card suit and at least 15/16HCP, so that with a max. 1NT response, which
starts with 8HCP, he has at least 24HCP in the combined hands, 24/25 being the magic
number number to have a reasonale shot fro making 9-10 tricks.

It is trendy to say "points schmoints", nevertheless the old HCP calculus will you give you
quite often a good answer to this type of questions.
Of course if you have a hand just a tad too weak for a constructive raise, than this hand
should also accept the invite, but than you basically count something add. for the known 9
card trump fit, peoble claim, that the 9th trump is worth a Queen.

With kind regards
Marlowe

PS: From this followes also, that opener should strive to make the jump rebid, if he thinks,
that he will have a reasonable shot at making 10 tricks, if he finds a useful card (say
an Ace or an King), 3 card support and a shortage (a doubleton) in the responding hand.

[gwnn]

Vulnerability doesn't matter much in constructive auctions at MP. While it is true that -200 is a very bad MP score but that is not usually what you're catering to.

In teams it makes sense to try to bid games a little more often since the rewards are higher than the risks, other things being equal.

[nigel_k]

With a 3 card limit raise I would nearly always just bid game if partner rebids their suit. A raise to 3 would be more likely based on doubleton support and a hand where NT doesn't look right. Anyway I would pass the given hand based on valuation, not because I don't have a limit raise. Also, I think a range of 8-10 for a constructive raise is too narrow and like to widen it a bit at the bottom hand so many 7 HCP hands qualify. This is probably not one of them but it is close.

[phil_20686]

jillybean, on 2010-November-02, 07:55, said:

Thanks.

As an additional question, what should openers hand look like for a 1♠:1N 3♠ bid?

6 card spades, 15-18 HCP. With more you have to do something else.