[ahydra]

Matchpoints, strong field. Opps are vul, you're not.

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1NT: 12-14
2S: range ask or clubs. Your responses are 2NT with min, 3C with max. Which do you pick?

ahydra

[steve2005]

i accept. only real negative to this hand is it's aceless. surely partner has some aces to go with your kings so no big deal.

[WellSpyder]

steve2005, on 2018-May-09, 06:56, said:

i accept. only real negative to this hand is it's aceless. surely partner has some aces to go with your kings so no big deal.

I decline. I have no intermediates to speak of or useful honour combinations, making the playing strength below par for the point count. The only factor that makes me hesitate is that I would prefer the lead to run up to my hand if partner wants to play in 3♣ anyway.

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

min, I see 7 running tricks, ..., if the KJ combo would be a Ace, I could go with max.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[Winstonm]

I'm going to downgrade an aceless hand that also lacks spot cards.

[NickRW]

decline

[Phil]

Definitely decline.

Under average 13/ aceless / spotless/ balanced. Many 12's are better.

The only non-negative is that we at least have half our hand in the minors where partner probably lives.

[apollo1201]

I accept only with 13 and some good things, or 14. Here it is a bad to average 13 (4432 fine, but aceless, scattered Kings, no intermediaries...), so I decline this one. I believe partner is checking range, because if partner is weak with 6+ clubs, opponents have some 20+ HCPs and are short in clubs so could have acted.

Just a side question, what is the reason for this 2-meaning bid? 2NT = transfer to D and 3C = sth else (Puppet Stayman?). Avoids using 2C Stayman with an invite w/o majors to avoid describing declarer’s hand? Thanks!

[Cyberyeti]

Horrible system, I don't know if K♣ is vital or no more interesting than anything else.

If partner has ♣Axxxxx(x) and an ace, I want to play 3N, if he has a random 11 I really don't.

[rmnka447]

Decline with 2 NT. Like others no As, no spots make me pessimistic.

[Tramticket]

It's not quite this simple. I would only be inviting with the East hand at MPs if I hold 12 or a particularly good 11. So I figure that we are likely to hold 25 for the partnership. I will usually accept with 13.

But, our 13 is below average and making 3NT with 25 is only just with the odds. So, with a poor 13, game is probably a little less than 50%. I decline, but think it is closer than others are suggesting.

[gszes]

I consider this hand slightly below average for a 13 count. I would bid the systemic

2n

[MrAce]

Very close decision IMO but I'd accept.

[neilkaz]

rmnka447, on 2018-May-09, 15:39, said:

Decline with 2 NT. Like others no As, no spots make me pessimistic.

Same for me 2NT with this mediocre, at best, 13 count with no aces or tens and no 5 card suit.

[FelicityR]

Decline. Aceless. No intermediates. Anyway, surely you only accept with a maximum, not a sorry-looking 13 count. You have no idea whether partner has ♣s or not, and the likelihood is that as you have 4♣s in your hand he/she doesn't.

[Tramticket]

FelicityR, on 2018-May-10, 15:28, said:

surely you only accept with a maximum, not a sorry-looking 13 count.

If your strategy is to invite with all 11/12 points hands then you probably do need a maximum 14 to accept.

Cyberyeti, on 2018-May-09, 15:36, said:

if he has a random 11 I really don't.

I suggest that most 11's are not worth an invite - particularly at MPs - unless they have extras (five-card suit etc.). With this strategy, you should be tending to accept with most 13/14 point hands and a 13-point hand needs to be particularly poor to decline the invitation.

For me, the decision is close but I do decline. The main negatives for me are (1) lack of a five-card suit and fewer than half of our points in the four-card suits; (2) Isolated honours, not supporting each other (apart from the heart suit, which is only a three-card suit); (3) lack of intermediates supporting the honours.

I am much less worried about the lack of aces, when we are proposing to play a no-trump contract. Aces are under-valued by the standard point system - we all know that. But this issue is much more significant in suit contracts than no-trump contracts.

[PhantomSac]

The nicest thing i can say about accepting is that it is absolutely hopeless

[ArtK78]

PhantomSac, on 2018-May-12, 00:53, said:

The nicest thing i can say about accepting is that it is absolutely hopeless

A pretty pithy description of the situation.

I was asked if I had a maximum. I don't. What more is there to say than that?

[ahydra]

PhantomSac, on 2018-May-12, 00:53, said:

The nicest thing i can say about accepting is that it is absolutely hopeless

Well, there's always the fact 3NT makes :

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but at the table I declined the invite (as was the majority view here), evaluating the hand to a pretty ordinary 13 and not playing teams. (At teams I feel one should generally accept with any non-min, rather than explicitly a max.) I suppose the position in hearts is rather fortunate.

ahydra

[sfi]

The positions in spades, diamonds and clubs aren't so bad either.