[whereagles]

Imps, we vuln, sayc. You hold:

♠ Q987
♥ Txx
♦ Kxxx
♣ Ax

You...LHO...pard...RHO
pass..pass..1♥....2♣
dbl....pass..3♣...pass
??

Pard's 3rd in hand opening could be on 4 cards and 9 points, which is why you preferred a take-out double to a straight raise, hoping to clarify later with a heart raise if pard doesn't bid spades. The cue shows just a game-forcing hand.

So.. questions are:

1. Agree with double?
2. How do you respond to the cuebid?

[mike777]

1) no, I would bid 2h, can always bid 3s over a 2s rebid by partner. Expect Moysian 2h to play very well with my hand.
2) Now I guess i bid 4clubs.

[Double !]

So, now the partnership is in a forcing situation following the 3C bid?
Maybe it's time to show your heart support like with a bid of 3 hearts? Partner heard your negative double (takeout dbl) and should have some idea of what to do next.

[Chamaco]

In similar situations, I strive to communicate ASAP support to pard.

So I would not have doubled but tried to find the right systemic raise.

After pard's 3C I bid 3H, which communicates to pard that I have support and a minimum for my previous X (about 8-9 hcp for neg X at 2-level).

[luke warm]

1) yes
2) 3♥

[mike777]

Disagree, 3h may be QX of hearts..does not promise 3 hearts. I hope 4clubs conveys stronger hand. Anyway bidding 2h the first time solves this issue. When P bids 3c they must know where hand is going and cover all rebids.

[luis]

1) Yes agree 100%, supporting hearts with xxx is not good.
2) 3♥, automatic and feeling very very happy with my auction.

[luke warm]

is there some reason partner can't be 4/5 in the majors? why risk losing the spade suit?... the way i play, if i don't show the spades when i can, i deny having spades, so why would partner bid them now? no need to paint a picture for the opps... also, with the oft-stated hatred of flannery i've read, responder is almost forced to show spades over 1H... so failure to neg x, especially when i have 3H available later if necessary, doesn't work well imo

and i'm with luis on the #2 answer.. i'm very happy with my bidding.. partner knows i'm 43 in the majors with more than a minimum.. 4S, 4H, 3NT are all in the picture, as well as pass

[Fluffy]

I woulkd bid 2♥.

3♥ now.

[mike777]

luke warm, on May 22 2005, 12:55 PM, said:

is there some reason partner can't be 4/5 in the majors? why risk losing the spade suit?... the way i play, if i don't show the spades when i can, i deny having spades, so why would partner bid them now? no need to paint a picture for the opps... also, with the oft-stated hatred of flannery i've read, responder is almost forced to show spades over 1H... so failure to neg x, especially when i have 3H available later if necessary, doesn't work well imo

and i'm with luis on the #2 answer.. i'm very happy with my bidding.. partner knows i'm 43 in the majors with more than a minimum.. 4S, 4H, 3NT are all in the picture, as well as pass

Lost me, easy to bid 2s over 2H as game or slam try. You never lose spades. The real issue seems to be if you play must show spades now or forever lose them. Again 3h does not promise 3h after neg x and 3club cue bid.. it may show QX or other.

[luke warm]

doesn't matter, depends on your philosophy of bidding... like i said, to not show something when opportunity exists is to usually deny it... but not everyone plays that way

[whereagles]

Thx all. Hands were

AKxx.....Q987
AKQJx....Txx
Qx.........KTxx
xx..........Ax

Not easy to find the spade slam. In practice it went

1H (2C) X
3C 4H <--- jump is to show a min hand (3H would be 10-11 hcp)
pass

Perhaps it might be better for responder to bid 3S instead of 3H or 4H. But even then West doesn't have any clear bid to try for the spade slam.

[mike777]

whereagles, on May 23 2005, 07:53 AM, said:

Thx all. Hands were

AKxx.....Q987
AKQJx....Txx
Qx.........KTxx
xx..........Ax

Not easy to find the spade slam. In practice it went

1H (2C) X
3C 4H <--- jump is to show a min hand (3H would be 10-11 hcp)
pass

Perhaps it might be better for responder to bid 3S instead of 3H or 4H. But even then West doesn't have any clear bid to try for the spade slam.

Well my 4c was a guess...
I went out on limb and got chopped off.
Did it help or hinder you in finding slam as I fall to earth?

[whereagles]

Well, 4♣ would definitely muddy the issue

If I were opener I'd take it as some sort of heart raise, since that is the only suit explicitly bid so far. This interpretation is perhaps logical, but it is not at all clear partner bid it with THAT intention

[mike777]

whereagles, on May 23 2005, 02:09 PM, said:

Well, 4♣ would definitely muddy the issue

If I were opener I'd take it as some sort of heart raise, since that is the only suit explicitly bid so far. This interpretation is perhaps logical, but it is not at all clear partner bid it with THAT intention

Well If I was forced to x, does that mean spades are implicitly bid along with explicit hearts? If not, then why are we making negative x on this hand and what does it implicitly show? Oh well! Thought my 4c was showing slam control at the very least.

[whereagles]

I would interpret double followed by a heart bid that is clearly NOT a preference as an honest support with side spade suit.

Not being a preference is important: if it went

1H (2C) X
2D 2H

then it is not at all clear responder has 3 hearts. He can be making a preference. If it were

1H (2C) X
2D 3H

it is clearly an honest raise. In this case I would tend to think responder has spades as well, but it is by no means certain your partner thinks the same way. In the case at hand

1H (2C) X
3C 3H

this is clearly an honest raise, otherwise responder would have bid something else (3D with 5, 3S with 4, 3NT with stopper and nothing better to say).

But what if it goes

1H (2C) X
3C 3H
3S

is this a cue in support of hearts, or an attempt to play in the 44 fit?

The situation is not clear cut at all... which is why I presented it as a problem

[mike777]

Well I am the only one to disagree I guess.

Here are my comments from hand 2F where bidding was similiar but UPH.

"I rebid 3clubs on this hand.

To answer to your question.
Over 3clubs I would bid 3s showing QX of spades, partner now knows I got 4 hearts for sure on this auction.
Second choice would be 3nt, in any case P will pull 3nt and now we get to slam after cue and pull.
Rebids by opener are slam tries now. "

Anyway, after 4c rebid on this hand, I would think you would get to spade slam
Of course I would bid 2h not x to avoid all this fun as mentioned before..thanks for post.

[reisig]

I'd vote for X (although 2H is certainly reasonable) - since partner might open a lightish hand with 1H with 4-4 Majors (good H)
J10xx
AKJx
Qx
xxx

Over 3C - my preference is 3H
I hate taking bidding space from a partner that indicates that there's an important message coming. Sure - I might have Qx (or xxx) - but I'd like to hear the message almost as much as partner is dying to tell it.