[inquiry]

I started to make this one an ATB showing both hands. But perhaps one hand and see what the forum community thinks is the correct bid. For what it is worth, this is a new partnership, with little more than pickup partnership understandings.

What do you bid now....

This is matchpoints.

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[CSGibson]

6♣. If partner is showing at least 6-5 in the minors, I'm willing to bid 6 clubs with such good minor suit support; after all, he was apparently prepared to reverse into diamonds, an auction that will scream toward 3N, so he shouldn't be on some 13 count 6-5. I expect partner to not be off two major suit tricks, and for our minor suit holdings to be sufficient to make slam odds on. If I'm wrong, so be it.

[Bbradley62]

Based on the descriptions already given, bidding 5♣ should show 11-12HCP, 3334 shape, and virtually no values in hearts but some in spades. That sounds like a pretty good description of my hand. No need to jump anywhere on my aceless hand.

[Fluffy]

partner had 4♥ avaible and didn't use it, IMO heis just looking for best strain, 5♣ is enough

[inquiry]

The voting has seems to halt at 8 for 5 clubs, 2 for 6 clubs.

If this was an ATB thread, I would have included partner's hand, which was a very good....

void-Kx-AQJxx AQxxxx

Obviously from his hand, 6♣ is a great contract, and he can pitch two hearts on diamonds. He passed 5♣.

It is clear from 3♠ that I lacked a heart stopper. So 4♥ could not be a "normal" cuebid (I also had shown a balanced hand). So now the question I had for my hand is would anyone have tried 4♥ as a slam try with nothing to cue bid? As a slam try agreeing clubs? Anything else?

I think we missed slam because partner didn't bid it (in otherwords, I think the fault is not mine). However, I started thinking could I do something more. After all, I have fitting minor suit kings. Partner does rate to be 6-5 for this auction. The problem is I have no cover card for EITHER of his potential major suit losers (since he has two cards in the majors). This lead to me consider -- after the mistake of only 5♣ -- that maybe I could have done more. It is not 100% clear, but there you go.

For what it is worth, if we had played misiry, this would have been a no-brainer.... sigh........

Ben

[Zelandakh]

For me the default meaning for 4th suit at the 4 level is a slam try in the last bid suit. So, for me, 4H is a slam try in diamonds. A more interesting question (for me) is what are 4S and 4NT here. If 4S is unambiguously a spade control then surely 4NT should be a slam try in clubs(?) Again, too difficult without discussion and a simple 5C seems practical. The real cuplrit is arguably the 2NT response (as opposed to not playing MisIry!) - after an inverted 2C the auction is likely to run much more smoothly.

[gwnn]

I'm forcing to slam with the big hand. I don't know what the small hand should do but sometimes the big hand should take the pressure off the small hand and not expect him to picture just how big the big hand was.

[TWO4BRIDGE]

Zelandakh, on 2011-February-18, 03:47, said:

...... The real cuplrit is arguably the 2NT response (as opposed to not playing MisIry!) - after an inverted 2C the auction is likely to run much more smoothly.

There is another way for a "smoother" auction, although it did not occur ( and would not have occurred ) to me until Zel mentioned "inverted" .
With some partner's I play Criss-Cross, although here without a 5th ♣ and the 3 3 3 4 shape I would have made the normal "stultifying" 2NT Response. ( I still can't get that word out of my mind since I saw Phillip Alder use it in his newspaper bridge column a few weeks ago addressing another "culprit" NT bid ) .

Opener's hand
void - Kx - AQJxx - AQxxxx

1C - 2D! ( limit raise for ♣; denies a 4 card Major )
3S!( splinter) - 4D ( cue )
6C

[whereagles]

6♣, wtp? The hand is golden.