[heart76]

Playing a relaxed pairs evening, your partner passes and your RHO opens 3♦ when you hold:
AJ Kx AQxx KJxxx

What is your choice?
1. Trap-pass
2. 3NT, hoping partner has 8
3. X, with what plan for your 2nd bid?

Let's assume now that you trap-pass. LHO passes and your partner bids 4♦.
What do you bid now and why?

EDIT: I am not 100% sure about vulnerability now, but I think we were red vs white. How would that influence the first decision, however?

[The_Badger]

With partner passing in 1st seat, the odds favour passing too now but not in a 'trap' sense. 3NT might work but you know the suits are breaking badly so I am reluctant to bid it. Double looks hideous with doubletons in both major suits

After partner 'balances' with 4♦ (God Bless Him ), I'll content myself with 4♥ as he's shown a major two-suiter that couldn't open in 1st seat. If he was three-suited he would have doubled.

[Tramticket]

heart76, on 2018-October-07, 00:59, said:

Playing a relaxed pairs evening, your partner passes and your RHO opens 3♦ when you hold:
AJ Kx AQxx KJxxx

What is your choice?
1. Trap-pass
2. 3NT, hoping partner has 8
3. X, with what plan for your 2nd bid?

Let's assume now that you trap-pass. LHO passes and your partner bids 4♦.
What do you bid now and why?

It helps if you give the vulnerability (The hand editor would do this).

I bid 3NT, but might be persuaded to pass if we are non-vul and opps are vulnerable.

Given the actual auction, I think that partner has a good hand with probably 11+ cards in the majors. You don't pre-empt over a pre-empt, so partner is expecting to make opposite a little something from us. Partner has probably bid 8 of our points but I am bidding slam (probably 6NT).

[nullve]

First part: 3N
Second part: 4♠

[Cyberyeti]

On average you should be around game values, I'd bid 3N, it also depends on your opening style for 1 bids and whether you have a weak major 2 suiter opening bid (if you do he's prob showing clubs and a major if you don't play 4♣ as NLM).

[HardVector]

Badger has got it right. The diamonds look right for 3n, but where is the source of tricks? The clubs are too broken and the majors are short (unhelpful to partner). LHO is unpassed and may be sitting there with a nice hand dooming all the finesses to fail. I like being aggressive when it looks like 3n is the right place to play, but to me, it looks like 3d is the right spot.

[Cyberyeti]

HardVector, on 2018-October-07, 10:24, said:

Badger has got it right. The diamonds look right for 3n, but where is the source of tricks? The clubs are too broken and the majors are short (unhelpful to partner). LHO is unpassed and may be sitting there with a nice hand dooming all the finesses to fail. I like being aggressive when it looks like 3n is the right place to play, but to me, it looks like 3d is the right spot.

You really think partner is going to move with say 10xxx, Axxx, xx, Axx which is all you need to make 3N very likely, you're not getting particularly rich off 3♦ in 50s

[eagles123]

3N looks totally normal

[msjennifer]

3NT is what I shall try as I am an aggressive bidder.

[HardVector]

Cyberyeti, on 2018-October-07, 11:12, said:

You really think partner is going to move with say 10xxx, Axxx, xx, Axx which is all you need to make 3N very likely, you're not getting particularly rich off 3♦ in 50s

I see 6 tricks. You need help for the other 3. I stand by my assessment, +50 is better than -50 or -100.

[Cyberyeti]

HardVector, on 2018-October-07, 15:07, said:

I see 6 tricks. You need help for the other 3. I stand by my assessment, +50 is better than -50 or -100.

Think where the cards are likely to be and what lead you're likely to get, almost certainly at least 1 spade, 2 if they lead one, 2 hearts, 2 diamonds and 4 clubs most of the time, add 10♣ if it removes a quibble.

[gszes]

pairs so no huge rush to force an iffy game opposite passed partner who rates to have less than we need to make said game. Partner also rates to very short in diamonds and can still balance.

Part 1 pass

part 2 4s since I have 2 honors + the ace there maybe giving us slightly better control of the trump suit.

[dsLawsd]

Pass in tempo and then 4 H. If only we play penalty doubles in this seat huh?

I could punish partner I bid 5 ♣ telling partner to either bid his better or longer major or with better suits and the ♣A consider bidding a slam.

Nice problem!

[mcphee]

3NT looks like a fine choice.

[Tramticket]

heart76, on 2018-October-07, 00:59, said:

I am not 100% sure about vulnerability now, but I think we were red vs white. How would that influence the first decision, however?

If it is red vs white, then you would need to hold 3♦* to five tricks to out-score the vulnerable game. I think that it is clear to bid 3NT at this vulnerability. Swap the vulnerability (white vs red) and you will out-score the vulnerable game if you hold 3♦* to seven tricks (you will match the score for 3NT if you take 3♦ un-doubled off four). I think that it is a close decision at this vulnerability - is partner more likely than not to protect?

In my original response I think I missed that partner is a passed hand. it is difficult to picture a hand that passed on the first turn, but now forced to game. I am picturing perhaps ♠KQXXX ♥AXXXXX ♦- ♣XX (where the order of the major suits would have given partner a difficult choice of one-level opening). Slam is close but you probably want to settle for game (4♥).

[helgev]

Having 18 points, you pass 3 D's.
Now partner, who couldn't bid 1 M, bids 4 D's???

A) Did you think less then 10 minutes before you passed 3 d's?
B) Are you the tournament director?

[Tramticket]

helgev, on 2018-October-08, 03:20, said:

Having 18 points, you pass 3 D's.
Now partner, who couldn't bid 1 M, bids 4 D's???

A) Did you think less then 10 minutes before you passed 3 d's?
B) Are you the tournament director?

Welcome to the forum Helgev. Great first post!

[nekthen]

Partner only has one available bid after passing and that is double. He has no idea how the missing points are divided. If he doubles and I bid 4♣, he can bid 4♦. Partner's 4♦ bid is suicidal (cos I will kill him myself afterwards!)
I will now go out on a limb and bid 4N and hope that he understands that I want him to pass!

[HardVector]

Everyone seems to be forgetting that LHO is an UNPASSED hand. I have had just about this same kind of hand at the table and I passed. Know what happened next? LHO bid 3n. Did I double that? No...and it only went down 1. That is a 4 trick difference in your expectations. I hate playing hands where I know that the majority of the defense is on my left and I'm sitting with a strong hand, it plays poorly. Pass and see if partner can balance.

[heart76]

helgev, on 2018-October-08, 03:20, said:

Having 18 points, you pass 3 D's.
Now partner, who couldn't bid 1 M, bids 4 D's???

A) Did you think less then 10 minutes before you passed 3 d's?

Yes, of course. I did pass in tempo, a couple of seconds after the STOP card was removed.

Quote

B) Are you the tournament director?

No, everyone was: the hand was played in the evening during a TD course.