Hi All,
This hand was sent by a pair who bid 4 Spades with the below hand and took all the tricks. Let's see how it went.
Dealer W
Vulnerable none
North
ª J 9 7 6 4
©
¨ K 8 5 3
§ A Q 8 3
West East
ª 2 ª 3
© 9 7 3 2 © A K Q 10 6 5
¨ 10 7 6 4 ¨ Q J 9 2
§ K 6 5 2 § 9 7
South
ª A K Q 10 8 5
© J 8 4
¨ A
§ J 10 4
West passed, North opened 1 Spade and East overcalled 2 Hearts. South loved his hand, but was unsure about the Hearts and Clubs so jumped to 4 Spades. In the analysis, they wondered if the Jacoby 2 No Trump would help and a nice couple at the table suggested that a 3-Heart cue-bid would be the same as a takeout double.
This confirmed my rule to never take advice from nice people at the table. As to Jacoby, I don't recommend it and I don't think it's applicable in the Negative Double seat anyway.
If South has no forcing bid, he must bid what he thinks he can make. His jump to 4 Spades was not unreasonable, but he might stop and think about slam. He reevaluates his hand to about 21 points opposite partner's 14 or more. If he can't find a way to get more information, he has to guess. If he can force partner to rebid Spades, he can use Blackwood or Control Bids to check the Aces or controls. Let's see what Lesson 4 has to offer.
A double would be Negative, promising Clubs and Diamonds, so that's out. A No-Trump bid would promise stoppers in the opponent's suit, so that's out. What else do we have in our toolkit for the Negative-Double seat.
A cue bid of 3 Hearts promises support for partner's suit and forces to game. Some play this cue bid as an invitation, but, in either case, North will rebid his Spades and South can probe for slam.
Look Ma, no alerts.
