[AL78]

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Head-to-head teams with a weak partner, playing Acol weak NT with minimal slam bidding agreements, your call?

[paulg]

Life would be a lot easier if 3♠ were forcing, but I guess it is not.
When in doubt make the cheapest forcing call - 3♦ - but it will be difficult to keycard in spades unless we can show support below game.

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

I assume, that 3C showes a min opening hand, i.e. I give p at most 15.
If he is as you describe him, I would assume, that he has opening values,
i.e. he will have his 12 count.

Bid what you think you can make, I have 22, he has 12, this makes 34: 6NT.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[AL78]

I did something I don't like doing in the auction, I bit what I thought I could make, 6NT. We don't have the agreements to take a slower route and explore if grand might be on. The full deal:

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I don't understand why partner didn't open a weak NT, but the other South did and that was -13 imps when they bid it 1NT - 5NT - 7NT, making thanks to ♥Qx onside and the spades 3-3. Looking at the NS cards in isolation, I wouldn't want to be in the grand but these things happen I guess.

[DavidKok]

People struggle with slam bidding in general, and your system doesn't help. If, in addition, partner is liable to fail to open a systemic 1NT and instead describe the hand as a 2-suiter (I really thought this route showed 5♠, even in Acol) I think 6NT is the practical shot.

As you say 6NT looks like a good contract to me, single dummy. The opponents got lucky.

[P_Marlowe]

AL78, on 2025-November-07, 18:14, said:

I did something I don't like doing in the auction, I bit what I thought I could make, 6NT. We don't have the agreements to take a slower route and explore if grand might be on. The full deal:

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I don't understand why partner didn't open a weak NT, but the other South did and that was -13 imps when they bid it 1NT - 5NT - 7NT, making thanks to ♥Qx onside and the spades 3-3. Looking at the NS cards in isolation, I wouldn't want to be in the grand but these things happen I guess.

if p would have opened a weak NT, you know, that you have at most a combined 36 count, two bal. hands
facing each other. What would you bid? 6NT.

5NT inviting the grand is garbage. It worked, happens sometimes. Next bord.

[DavidKok]

Accepting the invitation with 12 is not sound either. Sometimes poor actions get rewarded.

[shyams]

The other table misbid. Unfortunately for your side, the cards favoured the overbidding pair at the other table.