[Tramticket]

Cyberyeti, on 2025-November-14, 07:01, said:

How solid is solid ? (same for us)

I can't pretend that our discussions have been that precise. But I would expect partner to be missing one of the top three honours.

[Cyberyeti]

Tramticket, on 2025-November-14, 07:18, said:

I can't pretend that our discussions have been that precise. But I would expect partner to be missing one of the top three honours.

AKQxxx is not solid as far as I'm concerned, AKQJxx is and AKQxxxx are, I like a holding that is good odds on opposite a small singleton, and at least has some play in a grand opposite a void.

[Tramticket]

Cyberyeti, on 2025-November-14, 08:02, said:

AKQxxx is not solid as far as I'm concerned, AKQJxx is and AKQxxxx are, I like a holding that is good odds on opposite a small singleton, and at least has some play in a grand opposite a void.

That is probably reasonable, but my working assumption as responder would be that we have a trump loser after a 2♣-2♦-2♠ start. Yes we might avoid one if partner does have the AKQxxx hand and trumps break 3-2, but I would work on the assumption that we have a trump loser.

[mw64ahw]

A suit quality of 10 is solid (unlikely to lose more than 1 trick in the suit) and 9 is semi-solid. AKQxxx can be solid since you gain an extra point for AKQ although you will find differing opinions. For example, I would require 7 cards opening a gambling NT, but otherwise in the course of an auction would teat as solid

[AL78]

Cyberyeti, on 2025-November-13, 15:46, said:

Showing what ?

0-7 HCP, no biddable suit, no spade support, assuming 2♠ can be a five card suit.

[pescetom]

Cyberyeti, on 2025-November-14, 03:32, said:

So what do you do with a 5314 or 5215 26 count or something like KJ5432, AKQ, A, AKJ ?

Are you serious?
The one time in 3 years I have this hand opposite a 2♥ red flag I bid 4♠ NF.
What happens happens, it is very unlikely to be a bottom.
Any 2♣ system has much bigger problems than this.

[Cyberyeti]

pescetom, on 2025-November-14, 13:29, said:

Are you serious?
The one time in 3 years I have this hand opposite a 2♥ red flag I bid 4♠ NF.
What happens happens, it is very unlikely to be a bottom.
Any 2♣ system has much bigger problems than this.

You will almost certainly bid 2♣-2♦-4♠ on this one then, but a big hand with only 5 spades in an unbalanced hand is an issue for you.

[blackshoe]

After missing at least two small slams last Tuesday, in our discussion partner insisted that she will always have 22 HCP or more when she opens 2♣, balanced or not, and that therefore on the one hand where she opened 2♣ and I had eleven HCP I should have just bid slam after an unopposed 2♣-2♥-4♥, whereas I read her 4♥ bid as saying "we don't have a slam". I asked her what she would have meant if she'd bid 3♥ but I never got an answer.

I dunno, maybe she's right. 22+11 is 33 after all. But for me, there are hands with fewer than 22 HCP with which I would open 2♣, so blasting six after the above auction might well get us too high. No, she insists, she will never open 2♣ with fewer than 22 HCP. So next time we have this auction and I have 11 HCP I'm gonna blast 6, and the Devil take the hindmost.

Only one of the other NS's bid the slam, btw. <shrug>

[Cyberyeti]

Tramticket, on 2025-November-14, 06:56, said:

Yes, I'm a little uneasy that I have shown as bust, whereas I actually have a few scattered values. But nevertheless I have nothing to cue bid, so raise to 4♠.

Note that the sequence 2♣-2♦-3♠ would imply a solid spade suit, so I am expecting partner to have a trump loser and they would therefore need to have no losers outside trumps to make slam a realistic option.

OK: so

2♣-2♦
2♠-3♣ (whether this is bust or clubs)
3♠-4♠
5♥-?

this was the problem my partner had with the small hand

[jillybean]

blackshoe, on 2025-November-14, 13:59, said:

I dunno, maybe she's right. 22+11 is 33 after all.

You can't play bridge like this.

[gszes]

Cyberyeti, on 2025-November-13, 14:09, said:

---

2♦ was simple negative for us with no 2♥ double negative available, but I guess you make the same bid if it's waiting, now what ?

I do not know your entire system but if negative means hcp <= 10 then a natural 3c seems the right way to go now. Our hand is slightly below average for a negative hand
(no controls) so there seems to be no reason to do anything heroic at this point. Playing 2d waiting a 3c bid is no longer natural (sort of like a double negative) and 2n would become the call that describes a hand with say 4+ balanced.

[Cyberyeti]

gszes, on 2025-November-14, 23:06, said:

I do not know your entire system but if negative means hcp <= 10 then a natural 3c seems the right way to go now. Our hand is slightly below average for a negative hand
(no controls) so there seems to be no reason to do anything heroic at this point. Playing 2d waiting a 3c bid is no longer natural (sort of like a double negative) and 2n would become the call that describes a hand with say 4+ balanced.

Entire system, 2♦ negative (as was said in a subsequent post) ace and a K or K and a KQ but not 2Ks and a Q is a suit positive with a decent suit, bit more required for a minor pos,balanced 9+ is a 2N positive.

3♣ double neg, 2N clubs.

[Tramticket]

Cyberyeti, on 2025-November-14, 14:55, said:

OK: so

2♣-2♦
2♠-3♣ (whether this is bust or clubs)
3♠-4♠
5♥-?

this was the problem my partner had with the small hand

I have told partner three times that I am unsuitable for slam and they are still persisting? Not sure what 5H is? Last train? I have a little bit more than I promised, I bid slam now.

[Cyberyeti]

Tramticket, on 2025-November-16, 10:50, said:

I have told partner three times that I am unsuitable for slam and they are still persisting? Not sure what 5H is? Last train? I have a little bit more than I promised, I bid slam now.

In other auctions it would be "do you have the ♥Q", or "I have the ♥K or Q, bid the slam with the other one"

I felt partner should have bid slam, we both had an issue as I alerted partner's 2N as "not a bust, club suit" and partner quite obviously didn't have that.

I had AKQxxx, AKJ, A, KQx and with no club ruff and trumps 3-2 this rolled 12 tricks.

I did wonder if I should have bid 3♣ rather than 3♠ or just had a go at 6♣.

[mike777]

Cyberyeti, on 2025-November-16, 12:21, said:

In other auctions it would be "do you have the ♥Q", or "I have the ♥K or Q, bid the slam with the other one"

I felt partner should have bid slam, we both had an issue as I alerted partner's 2N as "not a bust, club suit" and partner quite obviously didn't have that.

I had AKQxxx, AKJ, A, KQx and with no club ruff and trumps 3-2 this rolled 12 tricks.

I did wonder if I should have bid 3♣ rather than 3♠ or just had a go at 6♣.

I would try and be more sympathetic towards partner on this one. Very tough hand.

[Cyberyeti]

mike777, on 2025-November-16, 14:05, said:

I would try and be more sympathetic towards partner on this one. Very tough hand.

Part of the reason I was unsympathetic was that he had intended to bid 2N as second negative, and heard me explain it as not a bust, so I suspect he signed off in 5♠ because he felt he'd overbid his hand (which he is not allowed to do), and if 6 was going off and ops called in the man, 5♠= would be adjusted to 6-1

[blackshoe]

jillybean, on 2025-November-14, 19:59, said:

You can't play bridge like this.

Oh, I agree. However, if I want to keep playing, I either find a new partner (magic 8 ball says prospects are dim) or play by her rules. :-(