[AL78]

MPs, playing with an inexperienced partner, Acol, 3 weak twos, weak NT:

♠AK95
♥AK965
♦J6
♣A4

After two passes I open 1♥ and partner responds 1♠, both opponents silent. What now?

We play splinters in this situation and RCKB, no other agreements. Do any agreements exist to show slam potential without leaping to Blackwood?

[Cyberyeti]

Traditionally in Acol I think you have to bid 3♣ or 4♠ to show this hand.

We would use our GF unbalanced 2N rebid followed by 4♥ to show a big 4522, but not available to most.

[DavidKok]

The traditional answer is the fake jump shift into 3♣. Part of this is why a number of gadgets are popular on this auction these days, including Gazzilli and (I think, or is this only over 1M-1NT?) the Meckstroth Adjunct.

With an agreement to play splinters the jump to 4♠ should show a good 4=5=2=2 hand (or possibly a 4=5=(31) with a singleton top honour). Unfortunately your hand is too strong for that jump, and should take a slower approach. Lastly some people might also include 5♠6♥ in that jump rebid, so it pays to be a bit cautious regardless.
I think some people might also play a 3NT rebid as a good no-splinter raise. It has no natural meaning. Others instead prefer a solid 7(+) heart suit, though in the heat of the moment it is easy to forget to not bid 4♥ with that hand.

[AL78]

I bid 4♠ in the absence of being able to come up with anything else and tabled the dummy. Partner made 12 tricks at least partly thanks to the ♣2 lead:

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This was a top (only played three times in total so meaningless) but I wondered if there was any way of looking for slam.

[Tramticket]

I would bid 4S and think that this is a pretty accurate description of your hand. Your failure to splinter means that you are balanced or semi-balanced, but you have jumped to game opposite a possible six-count, so you will have 19 (or maybe a good 18 HCPs). The bid is consistent with 44(32) or 4522.

DavidKok argues that you are too strong for this jump, but I don't think that you can be too strong and still have a one-level opening. Did you consider opening the hand 2NT (20-22 usually in Acol)?

West probably has too much wastage in the minors and too little in the majors to look for slam (particularly the KJxx in clubs). On a ♦ lead, declarer will need to guess well in trumps to make 12 tricks.

[AL78]

Tramticket, on 2023-September-08, 08:03, said:

DavidKok argues that you are too strong for this jump, but I don't think that you can be too strong and still have a one-level opening. Did you consider opening the hand 2NT (20-22 usually in Acol)?

No, my plan was to get both major suits into the auction economically via a reverse but partner unexpectedly responded in spades.

[mikeh]

Slam isn’t horrible but it’s not great either. I wouldn’t worry about missing a slam just because, on the lie of the cards, it makes. That’s very bad thinking and will lead to poor bidding.

Even when a slam is good, and one would want to be there single-dummy, it may be unbiddable with the methods in use. The same is true about some games. Bidding is an inexact science and bidding Acol even more so….and bidding with an inexperienced partner that much worse. Don’t chase moonbeams.

Here, jumping to 4S is clearly, imo, the right move. I think bidding 3C is very bad. There is zero chance that partner will have any clue about your hand if you do that.

The reality is that responder should pass 4S in a heartbeat. He has short, weak spades and no working heart honour.