6-5 come alive – part 2 of a hand

Yesterday we were looking at a hand with a lot of action.  You had opened the bidding 2H showing hearts and a minor at least 5-5.  Your hand

 

First I give you this hand.  Vulnerable versus not

S 108 H Q109864 D K9642 C void

 

North	East	South	West
2H*	3C	4C	4H

First are you in a "forcing pass" situation.  Despite the fact that you have opened with a preempt partner has made a slam try and you are vulnerable.  Therefore from your sides perspective the hand belongs to you and you are not going to let them play the hand undoubled.  So to that extent the answer is yes.  But they are not going to play 4H.  Therefore I think the meaning of your bids are a bit different then normal.

Have you discussed this situation?  I must confess that Isabelle and I have not.  Double here could show a hand that has some extra power but not extra shape.  That is, a hand that is on the high end of the high card range.  If partner wants to defend you can but it is not a penalty double of clubs.  But there is an argument to playing that double says I have a bad hand and if West had bid 5C I would have doubled.  This is an attempt to stop your partner from bidding in front of you without a good reason.

What is pass?  If you believe double is penalty oriented then pass is a neutral bid.  It is suggesting that you are happy to continue on but you can’t make a clearcut decision yourself.  5H would then show extra offence particularly a hand that has extra shape.  Do either of these bids show a first or second round club control?  I think both suggest a second round control but with 5C available it seems to me that 5H should tend to deny a club void.  It is not so clear with pass but surely this is such an important feature that perhaps if you have enough to pass you should bid 5C.  I don’t know.

One of the problems here whatever you do is that you are not on firm ground.  Since you have not discussed this situation with partner when you pass or double (or perhaps even if you bid 5H) partner may not get your message.  To me this argues for being more aggressive with your choice if you can.

You also have 4S, 4NT and 5D as choices but none of them seem appropriate here. 

Now how do you rate your hand.  You are on the low end of the high card range but the points you have are in your suits.  More importantly you have both a sixth heart and a club void.  This is an offensive hand opposite a slam try not a defensive one.  You are not good enough to just bid a slam but I think it would be a good idea to show the club control.  The problem with pass is that after East bids 5C you are not as well placed if partner now bids 5H.  If partner passes you will of course bid 5H.

What does partner have?  Partner is likely to have a club or two but I can’t conceive of a hand where partner doesn’t have a lot of controls, after all you did preempt.  Partner has a good fit with one and more likely both of your suits.  One other positive is West has provided some very useful information (assuming you believe her) she is short in hearts.  This means that if there are any finesses in that suit they are likely to be onside.

In retrospect I like 5C.  You are never selling out to 5C.  Even if partner doubles you will pull it to 5H.  Why not tell partner about the most significant feature of your hand, that she doesn’t know.   However pass is reasonable.  It does suggest that you have a more offensive hand than double.

Let’s say you pass and the auction continues:  

North	East	South	West
2H*	3C	4C	4H
pass	5C	5H	pass

What now?  Have we arrived?  Can you seriously consider bidding 6.  Partner’s 5H bid showed extra offence.  We do not play that pass and pull is stronger so 5H was the strongest bid available to partner.  5D would not have been a cuebid but a suggestion to play in that spot.  I really don’t think you can bid now, do you?  I think your chance to push to slam was over 4H.  Now you just have to hope that you can make 5H.

Next time, the South hand.