[Hanoi5]

♠Jxx
♥QTx
♦Tx
♣KQxxx

Pa-Pa-Pa-1♦
Pa-1N-2♥-3♥
Pa-???

They're red, you're white. Imp pairs. SAYC. What's the normal meaning of 3♥? What other meaning couldit have? If you agreed for it to ask for a heart stopper, would you bid 3NT with the above hand?

[aguahombre]

The hands with only a Diamond contract in mind would be covered by G/B and 3D on my planet, leaving 3H for maybe a partial stopper. With a strong 3D, she could have just bid 3D, and I will know whether I have a heart stopper.

The other possibility would be a superstrong diamond one-suiter, with no desire to play 3NT --in which case, she will remove 3NT.

[the hog]

I would certainly bid 3NT with the posted hand. Partner is asking for a H stopper and I have one. I suspect partner has solids Ds and a bit outside.

[Yu18772]

Whatever it means - 3NT is the only bid I can imagine with that handUsually it is looking for ♥ stopper, unless partner removes 3NT to which would show slamish hand.

[lagreen]

I agree that 3H asks for a heart stopper. Yes, I have one. I would bid 3N. So, if there is any further bidding by the cue bidder, it shows interest in a diamond slam and asks partner to cue bid controls up the line. Some might play Minorwood (RKC) by bidding 4D. In the auction, 1D, 1N, 2H, 3H, p 3N, 4D. It says "partner, diamonds are trump." With no knowledge of partner's diamond holding, the original diamond bidder would have a long solid diamond suit and a powerful playing hand in diamonds becausse with minimum values, he would be happy in 3N. Also, if over 3N, partner bids a different suit other than diamonds, those bids would still be controls with diamonds set as the trump suit. Partner is asked to bid Aces, and even Kings, up the line. This allows the partnership to stop in 4N when there are not enough controls for slam.

[mich-b]

Opener is showing some GF , the most likely hand type is a very strong single suiter in ♦, but I think 18-19 balanced without a stopper is possible too.
In both cases , 3NT looks right now.

[Free]

Whatever partner has, he will have another opportunity to show it. Right now, he's asking for a stopper and I have one, so 3NT is obvious.

[gwnn]

I don't see what's ugly. Partner bid 3♥ and I have a ♥ stop, I bid 3NT. If they double and it's passed around to me, I would pass without fear.

[Hanoi5]

Does partner have something in hearts in order to ask for a stopper? Could he have xx or xxx?

[gwnn]

I don't know what partner has. He could have even a small singleton, but he could also have Axx. If he has a small singleton, 3NT may go down, but 5♣ or 5♦ are not guaranteed to make either.

[neilkaz]

3NT for me...I'll take the chance that QTx can stop. What else can I bid? We certainly aren't guaranteed to make 5m if 3nt fails.

[Zelandakh]

I treat cues such as this exactly like 4th suit forcing; in the first instance looking for a stopper but can also hold come slammy hands that could not be bid directly.

[mikeh]

gwnn, on 2011-November-07, 03:15, said:

I don't see what's ugly. Partner bid 3♥ and I have a ♥ stop, I bid 3NT. If they double and it's passed around to me, I would pass without fear.

If rho doubles, I'd sure have fear!

Of course, he won't often hold the heart A or K, but, if he doubles, he surely has one or the other or diamonds locked up and some heart length.

I might still be passing 3N doubled...tho I like the meckwellian notion of redouble to show doubt. Partner would leave it in with solid diamonds and some black tickets, and otherwise pull.

As for what partner has, he knows and I don't, at the moment, need to.

He has a big hand. Different partnerships will have different agreements: if you play some form of good/bad or bad/good, then you may well play that a stopperless balanced 18-19 would double, but otherwise that hand-type fits, and in any case I would expect that possiblehand types would always include long, running diamonds and some black stuff such that he expects his hand to take 8 tricks or so, and wants a heart stopper for 3N. And he might have a freak, with which he will pull 3N in a descriptive fashion. Ours is not (yet) to wonder which he has. We make the cheapest intelligent bid and await developments.

[Phil]

3N. RHOs failure to x is very good news.

If I held a partial stop, couldn't I bid 3♠?