[svengolly]

I am struggling with this hand also.


Hidden diamonds

Hands reversed for play (Allday tournament)

Why doesn't GIB bid 3D over my 3C? Why keep going to NT. Maybe my 3C bid was a tad light but not awful. But on that auction I have no idea where the tricks are coming from and neither does the GIB.

[Stephen Tu]

You'll have a doubleton diamond fairly often on this auction and north can provide 5 diamond tricks then. Maybe even 6 if you have doubleton Q. On the hands where you don't have doubleton diamond, sometimes your clubs are better, and you get 9 tricks with a bunch of club tricks. Sometimes neither of these things are true and/or the opp cards lie badly and 3nt goes down. Still, you bid 3nt because you think something good will happen enough to be profitable vs. passing 3c, which might go down for the same reasons 3nt goes down, or bidding 3d, which is probably forcing and probably leads to 3nt anyway? Is 5d going to be better than 3nt often enough to be worth exploring?

Why keep going to NT? Because it thinks it can make 3nt, and was right? When you want to play 3nt, you bid it, you don't dick around bidding diamonds.

[svengolly]

I guess I see that auction as too unilateral. My hand does not look good for NT play with a stiff heart and a doubleton diamond. Believe me I thought about letting it sit at 3NT. If GIB had bid 3D over my clubs, my decision would be let 3D lie (which makes) or bid 3N (which is down one). Either result is better than down 2.

[Stephen Tu]

How can they possibly set 3nt? You have 5 diamonds, ha, CA, SAK. The best they can do is set up 2 heart tricks on opening lead.

Diamonds actually makes 6 on the right line, not that you really want to be that high on average.

Having already shown 46 in the blacks, really you are supposed to respect partner's judgment. There's zero reason to ever pull 3nt there. If you belonged in a suit contract North is supposed to do something else.

[svengolly]

Stephen Tu, on 2017-December-22, 23:16, said:

How can they possibly set 3nt? You have 5 diamonds, ha, CA, SAK. The best they can do is set up 2 heart tricks on opening lead.

I'm going to have to learn to stop posting late and after having 1 1/2 margaritas lol. You are right that 3NT makes on any lead.

[johnu]

svengolly, on 2017-December-22, 22:33, said:

I guess I see that auction as too unilateral. My hand does not look good for NT play with a stiff heart and a doubleton diamond.

You have mediocre black suits for the bidding, and an ace and a jack in the red suits to help partner. Maybe if you are 5-6 or better in the black suits with no high cards in the red suits, but this hand looks like a hand than should play in 3NT if partner can't support clubs.