Posted 2014-April-25, 11:31
I avoid Jacoby 2NT like the plague if I do not have primes outside. South hand is completely the opposite of what I want for Jacoby 2NT. So, I approach this auction from a 2/1 perspective:
Opener: 1♥ (1NT briefly considered but discarded)
Responder: 2♣ (balanced with fit, or real clubs)
Opener: 2♦ (balanced, or real diamonds)
Responder: 2♥ (hearts agreed)
Opener: 2♠ (spade Ace, King, stiff, or void)
Responder: 2NT (not two top hearts)
Opener: 3♣ (hearts not yet a known problem, club Ace, King, or Queen)
Responder: 3♦ (diamond Ace, King, or Queen)
Opener: 3♥ (two of the top three hearts)
Responder: 3♠ (spade Ace, King, stiff, or void)
Opener: 4♦ (contextually non-serious, with no second top club card but the Ace, King, or Queen of diamonds)
At this point, Responder knows that the hearts are solid with at least a 5-4 fit. He knows that Opener has the spade Ace or shortness. He knows that Opener has at worst the diamond Queen and the club Queen. Because Opener is contextually non-serious, however, Opener is probably on the light end as to his control types, meaning a tendency for Queens rather than Aces and a tendency for stiffs rather than voids. This is a judgment call as to whether to try one more time. The auction could end up stopping at 4♥.
But, if South decides to move forward, he could bid 4♠ as Variable Key Card Blackwood. Arguably, one could decide that this is a "Weak Key Card Blackwood" scenario because of the "non-serious" call, but I consider this to be a Middle Key Card Blackwood, because I am a purist.
Responder: 4♠ (MKCB)
Opener: 5♦ (Two Aces, plus the trump King)
Responder now is fairly certain that Opener has either ♠x ♥AKxxx ♦Qxxx ♣Axx or ♠A(x) ♥AKxxx ♦Qxxx ♣Qx(x). He uses judgment to decide what to do.
"Gibberish in, gibberish out. A trial judge, three sets of lawyers, and now three appellate judges cannot agree on what this law means. And we ask police officers, prosecutors, defense lawyers, and citizens to enforce or abide by it? The legislature continues to write unreadable statutes. Gibberish should not be enforced as law."
-P.J. Painter.