[OSH]

♠AKQJx
♥Axx
♦KQ
♣Axx
Vul: All
Dec: S

Monday's low level Club tournament.
Last deal of the third and last round, the opponents are in 2nd place after the first two round, just behind you.
In this round you are scoring average.
The bidding, with silent opponents.
1♣* - 2♦*
3♦* - 3♠*
4♦* - 4♠*
Playing our beginners' version of Precision, I know that:
- Pd has 8-12HCP, 5+[d]
- Pd has ♦A
- Pd has one K
Playing our beginners' version of Precision, I don't know if:
- Pd has 5 or more diamonds
- Pd has ♦J

What is your choice?
We can also talk about the bidding, but I would like to know your evaluation at this point.
Thank you.

[flytoox]

6N should have some play, and i would bid it, though 7N is not impossbile.

Hongjun

[whereagles]

I bid 6NT. Should have some play. Besides, the field rates to be in it because weaker players tend to go berserk when they have a good hand. I can imagine auctions like

2C 2D
2NT 3NT
4NT 5D
6NT

The only method I know to find out about the diamond jack is a relay scheme with denial cue-bids.

[luke warm]

i voted 6nt but i'd like to see the other hand so i can see how it would be bid in my system (where 2♣ shows 23-26 if balanced)

[Gerben47]

5NT try for the grand!

[luis]

7NT seems to be the right hand to play 7.
And for the conditions you posted I don't we are going to win the tournament bidding 6N.

[Free]

Hmmm, what an awfull system! You're at 4S and that the only thing you know? 8-12 HCP, 5+♦, ♦A and 1 King? How many ♠ does p have? Pfff, I'd start another response structure after 1♣, and for now I'd bid 7NT, if he has 6♦ we have a big chance...

[EarlPurple]

I'm here thinking that this maybe should be played in spades. I'll need partner to have one more entry so he can ruff out the diamonds. Of course partner will be playing it.

If partner has:

♠ 10 x x
♥ Q x x
♦ A x x x x
♣ K x

then 6♠ might be the only making slam. The best play would appear to be to win ♥ in dummy, unblock diamonds, cross in trumps, ruff diamond (all my trumps are high), draw trumps, cross in clubs and take my remaining diamonds for discards. Makes as long as diamonds no worse than 4-2 and trumps no worse than 4-1.

Of course 6NT will score higher on the occasions it makes. If I'm going to punt a grand it will have to be in spades, although 7♠ can't make here - for example I cannot get a club ruff and retain an entry to the diamonds. Even if partner has only two spades, or even a singleton, I can probably make 6♠ as long as he can provide me that extra entry.

[OSH]

Free, on Jul 6 2004, 08:35 AM, said:

Hmmm, what an awfull system! You're at 4S and that the only thing you know? 8-12 HCP, 5+♦, ♦A and 1 King? How many ♠ does p have? Pfff, I'd start another response structure after 1♣, and for now I'd bid 7NT, if he has 6♦ we have a big chance...

I think it's not the system, it's who plays it!
EarlPurple is right, I should have thought to play in spades and ask for support. I will show partner's hand (and the play) to see how do you bid this, but first I was curios to know if, with the same information, you experts would bid 6 or 7.

[inquiry]

Under these conditions, in general, simply bid 6NT.

If partner has a ♠ fit, you have 11 sure tricks, and your partner has at least a jack more. There has to be at least a chance for a squeeze (where there is 11 tricks, they easly maybe a 12th). In addition to your partners AK, he has to have at least a jack more for his 8 hcp, and could have a useful queen.

The field will bid slam, with your 23 plus great suit and controls, opposite a minimum of 8 (31) and max of 12 (35). I doubt the field will reach 7NT. Your big problem is rather ot play in notrump or spades... you choose the worng asking bid sequence. You should start with 2♠ over 2♦.

In 6NT, I anticipate an average.. just what you need win if your estimate is correct (as long as whoever is in third/fourht doesn't swoop past you with a grood round). However, given that this was a three round event (two boards each), I would be worried about that possibility, and thus would give a lot more thought to a 7NT/4NT bids. Two averages on the last two boards will probably not hold up for first place (depends a bit on how much ahead we are of course). There is two ways to swing on this hand... stay low, and hope no slam makes (4NT), and go whole hog and bid the grand (7NT/7S).

Ben

[mikestar]

Thouhg you shouldn't have bid it with doubleton support,a classic trump asking bid would have been more informative (per Goren's Precision book):

1C-2D-3D

now

3H = no top honor
3S = 1 top honor, 5 cards
3N = 2 top honors, 5 cards
4C = 1 top honor, 6+ cards
4D = 2 top honors, 6+ cards
4H = all 3 top honors

more modern trump asking bids are more efficient.

[OSH]

mikestar, on Jul 6 2004, 10:56 AM, said:

Thouhg you shouldn't have bid it with doubleton support,a classic trump asking bid would have been more informative (per Goren's Precision book):

1C-2D-3D

now

3H = no top honor
3S = 1 top honor, 5 cards
3N = 2 top honors, 5 cards
4C = 1 top honor, 6+ cards
4D = 2 top honors, 6+ cards
4H = all 3 top honors

more modern trump asking bids are more efficient.

Yes I know.
The complete answers are very useful, but our team teorist , remove the complete TAB's answers because our partners often have some "memory problem", and we now play a very simple and less effective version of it.

[OSH]

It was a 8-table Mitchell, 2 boards during the first round, only one in the second (this is why I wrote that we were on top after two rounds of three). I bid 7NT, my partner a "bit" worried, in the meantime, my LHO, a nice player, told me that 6NT was enough (he's looking at a K and two Qs...) considering the field.

♠Txx
♥KJx
♦AT9xx
♣xx

♠AKQJx
♥Axx
♦KQ
♣Axx

You see the partner hand.
Not the right Jack....
Lead: ♣K
I unblock ♦KQ, LHO has a single diamond, I play five round of spades, LHO has four, RHO discards three hearts and a club.
A heart to J, that holds, but RHO shows out and LHO knows that he could shortened his hQ without damage, keeping a club. So I prefer to let the last trick to the lady on my right.
Believe it or not, 6NT would be a top.
The opponents won the tournament, we finished 3rd.

By the way, as the cards are, 7S is makeable with the heart finesse, provided you don't cash the two diamonds: ♣A, 4 rounds of spades, and the ♥J is the needed 2nd entrance to dummy.

[Chamaco]

OSH, on Jul 6 2004, 04:23 PM, said:

The complete answers are very useful, but our team teorist  , remove the complete TAB's answers because our partners often have some "memory problem", and we now play a very simple and less effective version of it.

If the "bidding theorist" (sic! ) is myself (DOUBLE sic! ), a better statement is:

"The complete answers are very useful, but our team teorist , WAS FORCED TO remove the complete TAB's answers because our partners often have some "memory problem", and we now play a very simple and less effective version of it."

[Fluffy]

I was gonna bid 7♠
partner is having ♦A, and a K, he is houdl be having at leas 1 more card... if that is the Q with the K you are home, 5♠+3 on a suit+1ace+ 4♦ after ruffing one with 5th trump on your hand.

[EarlPurple]

I think the best line to play 7♠ on a club lead is probably to play 2 top spades then 2 top diamonds, then cross to ♠10 and if spades were 3-2 you can try ♦A in case they break 3-3. If they are not you can then ruff a diamond in hand and try the heart finesse now as you'll need it. This line needs either
- 3-3 diamonds or
- 4-2 diamonds with the ♦J falling or
- trumps 3-2, diamonds no worse than 4-2 with the heart finesse working

With trumps 4-1 (as they are here) you may decide to simply finish drawing the trumps, then play ♦KQ, hook the ♥J, and then as the cards are now take the ruffing-finesse in diamonds. This line succeeds as the cards lie but lose when the heart finesse fails.

The alternative line with trumps 4-1 is to take 4 rounds, now unblock ♦AK and if the jack hasn't dropped, cross to ♥K to lead ♦A and hope they break. If they do not you are quite a few down though. Here you would still succeed though because you would know, when they are 5-1, that you need the heart finesse and would take the line above.

So it looks like 7♠ will make because trumps are 4-1. But if they were 3-2 I would be going down with diamonds 5-1.

[Rayhaa]

I wld bid 5NT asking for trump quality, pd will not answer the ace, so than I ll continue 6H as a super-relay, asking for the J of diamonds or extra length - pd bids 7 with a big

[Cascade]

7NT

I am not bidding 6NT when 7NT might be cold and it will have a play.

If I cannot find out about the ♦J then if partner has the ♦J 7NT is almost certain and if not then there is always a 3-3 break or perhaps partner has an extra diamond.

Even if this turns out to be on a 3-3 break in the play, in the bidding this Grand is much better than 50%.