[apollo1201]

IMPs, red vs. green

LHO opens and bids 3D, partner Xes for T/O and RHO passes while you have:

xx
KQx
Txx
A9xxx

OK, it is a nice 9 HCP hand, but what now?

[FelicityR]

Partner, if he/she is competent, would have already factored in that you should have in the region of 7-8 HCPs. Trying to be clever by passing, or bidding 3♥ hoping to run to 4♣ if doubled is not what I would do. There is no reason why partner can't have four card ♣ support here, even a three card one with a ruffing value should be all right.

I would bid my longest suit ♣s. 4♣ is enough.

[Tramticket]

Where are we going? Not 3NT. Probably not 4H - a Moysian is unlikely to play well with partner forced to ruff diamonds and lose trump control. 5C might be possible - but partner is sometimes forced to double without club support and 11 tricks is a lot to make if partner is minimum opposite our balanced 9-count. I'm not passing at IMPs.

I bid 4C.

[pescetom]

4C is the systemic reply and as others have said, there seems no good alternative anyway.

[nige1]

Apollo21 asks "IMPS. OK, it is a nice 9 HCP hand, but what now?
+++++++++++++++++
I rank ...
1. 4♣ = NAT NF.
2. 5♣ = NAT overbid.
3. Pass = PEN. Undermines partnership confidence when it doesn't work.
4. 3N = NAT. Punting 3N without a stop is now a popular gambit.
5. 3♥ = NAT. Brilliancy prize opposite ♠A K x x ♥ A J T 9 ♦ A x ♣ x x x.

---

[Tramticket]

nige1, on 2019-December-30, 11:40, said:

3♥ = NAT. Brilliancy prize opposite ♠A K x x ♥ A J T 9 ♦ A x ♣ x x x

Partner will get the brilliancy prize if he chooses to bid 3NT (9 top winners), instead of raising hearts which is likely to be in jeapody if hearts break badly.

Edit: I must be seeing things. Only 8 winners in NT.

[nullve]

I believe there are about 17 total trumps.

My shape suggests that total tricks is on average a little lower than LoTT suggests, but my diamond holding (no wastage) and the possibility of a H+D double fit suggests that it is significantly higher.

I clumsily conclude there are about 17.5 total tricks, and pass accordingly.

[apollo1201]

Thanks for your comments.

I vaguely toyed with the idea of bidding 3NT (LHO might block them on the lead, or not lead them, or I find partner with the stiff Q with Jx on my right) and pass (likely -1).

I felt H might not play well with dummy tapped, but also felt 4C was an underbid while 5 an overbid. When red at IMPs...

Partner had stretched to find a X with

Axxxx
Axx
xx
KQx

Needless to say, 5C was not a success when they started with D AKJ and an uppercut. It would have been lay down with a small D turned into a C.

However, 5C went better than 4SX on the other room 🤣

[sfi]

apollo1201, on 2019-December-30, 14:27, said:

Thanks for your comments.

I vaguely toyed with the idea of bidding 3NT (LHO might block them on the lead, or not lead them, or I find partner with the stiff Q with Jx on my right) and pass (likely -1).

3NT can easily work, especially when LHO preempts at favourable. You have reasonable expectation of running 9 tricks if you get in.

[Cyberyeti]

sfi, on 2019-December-30, 16:18, said:

3NT can easily work, especially when LHO preempts at favourable. You have reasonable expectation of running 9 tricks if you get in.

Indeed it's not a bad shot, Jx is probably enough from partner (stiff Q or K may well also do), but it will go really badly if as here the diamonds do run.

[ruleof15]

apollo1201, on 2019-December-30, 03:36, said:

IMPs, red vs. green

LHO opens and bids 3D, partner Xes for T/O and RHO passes while you have:

xx
KQx
Txx
A9xxx

OK, it is a nice 9 HCP hand, but what now?

[ruleof15]

Like all bids, there are questions to be asked before making a call. What hand is going to be required to trump the diamonds. South can trump the 4th time. maybe it is too late.If the ♦ and ♠ were reversed I might consider bidding 3♥. With that not being the case, I would bid 4♣ so we could stand the punch in ♦ by trumping in dummy. I most certainly would not enjoy getting punched 2 times in dummy while attempting to play a 4-3 fit and end up in a 3-2. Since the 4-4-3-2 and 5-4-3-1 distribution are the most often dealt, I'll take the odds in my favor.