[Echognome]

mike777, on Jul 3 2007, 01:51 PM, said:

easy 2spades if you expect partner to open on junk.
easy 3H if you expect partner to open sound.

Why? Are we worried about partner getting doubled in 3♠?

I think partner can decide if he opened on junk or opened soundly. Why don't we just describe our hand?

[Fluffy]

fit bid is game oriented while splinter is slam oriented, I'd rather make a fit-bid than a splinter

[kenrexford]

Fluffy, on Jul 3 2007, 05:45 PM, said:

fit bid is game oriented while splinter is slam oriented, I'd rather make a fit-bid than a splinter

That's something I've often wondered. Usually, in an uncontested auction, a splinter is a slam-going bid. However, is this the same in a contested auction? Doesn't it seem to have some merit for a splinter to be purely descriptive as to pattern when we may be headed for a bid-or-double 5-level decision?

[zasanya]

Why not bid 4!s?

[foo]

cnszsun, on Jul 3 2007, 05:50 AM, said:

North,N/S,IMP,

T9x,x,AJTxx,K109x

1♠-(2♥)-??

Will you double or bid 2♠?
If you choose double, is it because your shape or you are too good for simple raise?

I'm going to make a Negative X and then support ♠'s.
because:
a= I'm definitely too good for a simple raise. I have 11 playing points in support of ♠'s here.
b= I don't like to make a direct Limit Raise bid w/o 4+ trumps.

X followed by support seems to describe my hand best.

I also agree with mikeh's logic.

[mikeh]

zasanya, on Jul 3 2007, 10:06 PM, said:

Why not bid 4!s?

because 4♠ is a weak, preemptive bid.

[Fluffy]

kenrexford, on Jul 4 2007, 12:08 AM, said:

Doesn't it seem to have some merit for a splinter to be purely descriptive as to pattern when we may be headed for a bid-or-double 5-level decision?

splinter is poor conevention when opponents end playing the hand.

[skjaeran]

Fluffy, on Jul 4 2007, 08:40 AM, said:

kenrexford, on Jul 4 2007, 12:08 AM, said:

Doesn't it seem to have some merit for a splinter to be purely descriptive as to pattern when we may be headed for a bid-or-double 5-level decision?

splinter is poor conevention when opponents end playing the hand.

Yes. You never find your ruffs, do you?
Seriously, if you splintered in their trump suit or are unable to take ruffs, it's helpful for them. But often it helps you on defence, and it's a powerful tool for slam investigation.

Fit jumps are good for all sorts of evaluation, when they come up. But for them to be really helpful, you need pure hands. Which is infrequent.

What I've found very helpful is to show my 2nd suit in competition, say I'm going to bid 5♥ over their 4♠. Now I like bidding a minor side suit on the way, to ease partner's decision over a potential 5♠.

[kenrexford]

Jlall, on Jul 4 2007, 01:07 AM, said:

I guess I'm really conservative, this is just a 2S bid to me. My stiff is not that great with 3 small trumps (ok the T9 could be useful).

Wow. You are conservative.

I'm imagining a real stinker opening like ♠AK432 ♥432 ♦Q2 ♣Q2, and it seems that this still offers a fair play at game, and I'm not even inviting. How bad do you want Opener to be? ♠KJxxx ♥KJx ♦xx ♣Axx?