[dickiegera]

2 Diamonds is weak

---

How should bidding continue?

[Hanoi5]

North would bid 2♠. How many diamonds does East bid next?

[hrothgar]

Interesting hand

I'm torn between 2♠ and 3♠

3♠ would be a fit showing jump, showing both spades and a fit for clubs.
It gets across both suits, however, given that you have an eight card spade fit to the AK its far from clear that you want suggest alternative strains to partner. The 3♠ fit jump also burns a whole lot of space.

2♠ is natural and forcing. I think its the best description of the hand.
As Hanoi 5 points out, there will almost certainly be some kind of Diamond raise by advancer.

[Fluffy]

2♠-3♣
exclusion in diamonds-2 keycards with trump queen
7♣ (at IMPS)
7♠ (at MPs)

[whereagles]

as above.

[han]

Agree with Fluffy.

Hrothgar, not that I do not enjoy your imaginative bidding but I think that 3S is really bad for the reasons you stated.

[Bbradley62]

 Fluffy, on 2011-November-15, 08:10, said:

2♠-3♣

3♣ is very unlikely to be sufficient

[aguahombre]

 Fluffy, on 2011-November-15, 08:10, said:

2♠-3♣
exclusion in diamonds-2 keycards with trump queen
7♣ (at IMPS)
7♠ (at MPs)

Nice that south has both queens, but I might have a problem on this sequence with knowing what trump is, and whether South has any Spades, let alone the queens of both black suits.

It is easier to pick on the sequence than to offer one, of course. I suspect an auction within our style would involve a bit of torture.

[EricK]

 hrothgar, on 2011-November-15, 07:37, said:

Interesting hand

I'm torn between 2♠ and 3♠

3♠ would be a fit showing jump, showing both spades and a fit for clubs.
It gets across both suits, however, given that you have an eight card spade fit to the AK its far from clear that you want suggest alternative strains to partner. The 3♠ fit jump also burns a whole lot of space.

2♠ is natural and forcing. I think its the best description of the hand.
As Hanoi 5 points out, there will almost certainly be some kind of Diamond raise by advancer.

If you suspect some high ♦ raise by advancer then the point about 3♠ burning up bidding room becomes less relevant. That's not to say the rest of the arguments against 3♠ aren't still valid.

In a non-competitive auction it's more efficient to keep things low by putting more hand-types into the cheaper bids; but if LHO is going to bid something it becomes most efficient to divide the hand types as equally as possible between all the bids up to his bid (not that you know what it is yet!).

[Yu18772]

 Fluffy, on 2011-November-15, 08:10, said:

2♠-3♣
exclusion in diamonds-2 keycards with trump queen
7♣ (at IMPS)
7♠ (at MPs)

With 12 diamonds missing and 2 10-card fits partner will bid 3♣ after 5 or 6♦ by LHO?
If we are lucky my next bid would be after 5♦ is passed back to me, whatever the bid is on this round.....

1♣ - 2♦ - 2/3♠ - 5♦
P - P - 6♦ - P**-
6♥ - P - 7♣?

**Dbl? 7♦?

[xxhong]

There is one problem for this sequence. 2S is just one round forcing and 3C is nonforcing. I think opener's strength is stronger than a nonforcing 3C. So 3D can be a better bid here IMO. 3H is also a choice. However, now you have a problem to ERKC because 5D over 3H can easily be an ERKC for H.

One key issue for this hand is that 3D showing long C and gf hands works better than a 3H reverse when partner holds a D void.... That's something I never thought of before. Also, 3D would allow you to find 4-4 H fit anyway.

 Fluffy, on 2011-November-15, 08:10, said:

2♠-3♣
exclusion in diamonds-2 keycards with trump queen
7♣ (at IMPS)
7♠ (at MPs)

[aguahombre]

 xxhong, on 2011-November-18, 16:50, said:

There is one problem for this sequence. 2S is just one round forcing and 3C is nonforcing. I think opener's strength is stronger than a nonforcing 3C.

Maybe, but it is not a problem for this hand. North doesn't really care, when he finds out everything else he needs about the bullets and the black queens, whether South has the extra Queen of hearts.

[JLOGIC]

Hanoi nailed it

[JLOGIC]

 aguahombre, on 2011-November-19, 11:13, said:

Maybe, but it is not a problem for this hand. North doesn't really care, when he finds out everything else he needs about the bullets and the black queens, whether South has the extra Queen of hearts.

He's saying that south's hand is too good to bid 3C non forcing, so he wouldn't do that.

[aguahombre]

 JLOGIC, on 2011-November-20, 08:24, said:

He's saying that south's hand is too good to bid 3C non forcing, so he wouldn't do that.

Yeh, I know. What I was trying to say was that if South made the underbid of 3C it would have simpified the given hand considerably; allowing North to embark on a course to find out about the number of clubs they share, the rounded bullets, and the black Queens. Lucky, but not necessarily a good idea for different hands.

As most people play it, they would have to develope agreements such as what xxhong recommends, and take a bit longer to work things out.

In our suboptimal system, 2S created a game force; hence 3C would have been forcing and convenient. A lucky consequence for this hand but not necessarily a good idea for other people or other hands.