[thomas c]

https://tinyurl.com/ufhh9ac

i was fortunate i got a spade lead and put in the q for 2 club pitchs but any idea how to bid this hand. i was playing 2/1 with a fairly regular partner . i knew she had at least 3 hs but how are they apliting. should i q bid 4s?
she said if i q bid 4s she bids 5d so we still wind u in 7d.

looks like i make 7 on a squeeze is i manage it right.

[Cyberyeti]

thomas c, on 2020-February-08, 08:24, said:

looks like i make 7 on a squeeze is i manage it right.

Correct, with the lead with N you leave yourself ♣x ♠AQ opposite ♣AQx and W cannot keep Kx in both blacks.

[apollo1201]

Great hand. And in a speedball you don’t torture partner with cue bids as she won’t have too much time to think 🤣

[Tramticket]

Cyberyeti, on 2020-February-08, 09:37, said:

Correct, with the lead with N you leave yourself ♣x ♠AQ opposite ♣AQx and W cannot keep Kx in both blacks.

You play the ace of spades and if the king doesn't drop you lead to the ace of clubs, dropping the King.

This is fine, as long as West has both kings, which is likely from the bidding. But if West's 2S was based on a five-count, without the king of clubs you will be unlucky!

[apollo1201]

Tramticket, on 2020-February-08, 11:42, said:

if West's 2S was based on a five-count, without the king of clubs you will be unlucky!

But you’ll be regarded as the Expert or the Elegant, the one to go down in pursuit of a squeeze while the novice just makes with a mundane finesse😎

[AL78]

apollo1201, on 2020-February-08, 11:51, said:

But you’ll be regarded as the Expert or the Elegant, the one to go down in pursuit of a squeeze while the novice just makes with a mundane finesse��

Yes, reminds me of the time my partner played in a spade slam with a nine card fit missing the queen, after one opponent had opened a 3 level pre-empt. She played AK off the top dropping Qx in the pre-emptors hand, making the contact. If I had been playing it, I would have played for Qxx(x) with the partner of the pre-emptor and gone down.

[dsLawsd]

A hand to test the partnership. I suspect most do not have real firm agreements on this auction. I would love to force 3♣ by partner and then bid 3♠. If I could arrange to bid RKB over our fit and then make a specific control ask about clubs that would diagnose the level.

I might just bid 6♦ at teams or 5NT pick a slam. Partner could consider bidding on.

Question: Does X promise 4 hearts? Can partner bid 2Nt over 2♠ with a hand this weak? All trouble spots.

How strong is the field? On it goes so take your best shot!

Thanks for a very intriguing hand.

[MP7601]

dsLawsd, on 2020-February-09, 14:33, said:

Question: Does X promise 4 hearts? Can partner bid 2Nt over 2♠ with a hand this weak? All trouble spots.

I think X most definitely doesn't promise 4 hearts, it could be a strong hand that needs to start with X
and that most people wouldn't dream of overcalling a natural 2NT without at least 15 HCPs

In fact I probably wouldn't even X with the North hand, it's too weak for an off-shape takeout double for me

For the OP's hand, if it was a normal non-speedball tournament I would start with a cue-bid of 4S, here partner would probably bid 5D and I would raise to 7