Socrates--guest lecturer. :) Actually this was the title of an email my friend Jason just sent to me. He included this hand:
AKxxxx
Qx
Kxx
Qx
He opened 1 Spade, his partner responded 2 Notrump (game-forcing spade raise) and he bid 3 Notrump, which showed no shortness and some extra values, but not as many as a 3 Spade bid. Now his partner bid 4 Clubs. What should he call?
My general style on showing 2nd round controls has always been case by case--do it when it feels right or I can't stomach signing off because I haven't shown enough with my previous bidding (or when responding after partner has opened 2 Clubs and is likely to hold the ace in the suit I'm cue-bidding). Any suggestions out there for concrete times to show 2nd round controls when bidding towards a slam?
Captions only
4 years ago
3 comments:
Yeah. The other variations of that hand that interested me where:
AKxxxx, Kx, Kxx, Qx
So, we've changed the HQ to the HK. Or, you can do the same in clubs too, the suit partner just cue-bid:
AKxxxx, Qx, Kxx, Kx
Are either of those good enough? I think with:
AKxxxx, Kx, Kxx, Kx
It becomes obvious to cue-bid 4D. And some may even respond 3S with that hand, rather than treating it as intermediate.
As the person who posed the question to Drew, I think that all hands except the one given in the problem with Qx, Kxx, Qx are worth a 4D bid. But I'm curious for other opinions.
Here's a rule that makes sense to me. Whenever you have already made a bid that narrowly limits the strength of your hand, and then partner cue bids - a return cue bid is mandatory. Failing to bid 4D here would deny a diam control.
I tend to bid second round control more often when it is a source of tricks. KQxx for example. Basically I want partner to really value that ace. Also, I cue kings when partner has bid the suit naturally.
The hand you gave, I would bid 4D, just because I feel the hand has potential, and 4S feels wimpy, but I agree it is a tough one.
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