Posted 2021-August-25, 13:17
I’d miss game on the first one.
I’d not bid over 2S as responder. My partnerships open 1S on say AQxxxx xx Axx xx…don’t yours?
It’s not as if 4H is the contract of one’s dreams. On a diamond lead, one has to hook the heart immediately, down off the top if that loses, and when it wins, one has to take a spade finesse as well.
I think anyone claiming that they’d always or usually or even often reach 4H, playing 2/1, is fooling themselves….or put it another way…if your partnership routinely reaches 4H on these hands, I’d bet heavily against you in any long match against good players. For every win 6, you’ll be losing two or more 5 or 6 imp swings by getting too high.
As for non 2/1, I haven’t played such for a very long time, so I can’t pretend to know how the hands should be bid. Presumably responder bids 2H. Is opener strong enough to force to game? Related to that, is 3H forcing?
Anyway, if I lost a game swing on this hand, I wouldn’t be the least upset or thinking that I need to change my methods or style.
On the second one, if responder uses a forcing 1N as a prelude to a 3 card limit raise, north surprises him with 2D and south bids 2S to show a maximum raise of diamonds. It’s possible that they would now reach 6D, tho this is an indifferent slam to reach.even if the heart hook wins, one may still fail on 4-0 trumps offside, so it’s less than 50% on a spade lead, tho it’s better on any other lead.
Again,I wouldn’t be upset to miss this contract.
'one of the great markers of the advance of human kindness is the howls you will hear from the Men of God' Johann Hari