[VixTD]

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Teams-of-four, you're playing a natural four-card major Acol system, 12-14 NT. You don't have an elaborate system of agreements, no fit-jumps or exclusion KCB, 2NT is a one-round force with 4+ spades.

What's the best start with this hand?

[TWO4BRIDGE]

Don't know if it is best, but I'd splinter : 4♥!

[neilkaz]

I need to know if your splinters are limited or can be any strength?

[Zelandakh]

I think 4♥ is pretty appalling personally. We want the one-under splinter range to be tighter, not even wider than a normal splinter. I think I prefer a direct 5♥ to that. For me the choice is between 3♣, followed by 3♠ over 3red or 4♥ over 3♠, and 3♥. But I play 3♥ showing support and a quick review of the options in the poll has revealed that the OP does not, so that just leaves 3♣.

Edit: a further perusal has revealed 2NT as an option. If I can bid a natural 4♣ on the next round after this then that would be perfect, so please amend my vote accordingly.

[wank]

5nt grand slam force

[lycier]

According to your bids list,2nt is a best choice for slam try,I think it is best to bid slowly with good hand .

[mcphee]

I do not pass up showing trick taking suits, 3C is F and I am going to play in at least 6S I suspect maybe 7, I am not concerned about being pre-empted either.

[MrAce]

wank, on 2014-March-07, 09:48, said:

5nt grand slam force

Did you mean slam invitation and GS probe ? Or is GS force actually mean GS probe (i ain't trying to be a smart ass, sincerely asking if indeed it is called GS Force even though it is not forcing to GS. Perhaps i am confusing this terminology with GF/game force, which means to me "forcing to game")

@ OP: I play this 5 NT as GS invite depending on spade honors and i will use it here. Yeah, uh-huh, i know pd can hold something like Jxxxx KQx KQx Qx but i will take it.

[wank]

i mean bid 7 with aq of trumps. it might not make but it's going to have some play and it's our best tool available.

[MrAce]

wank, on 2014-March-07, 17:15, said:

i mean bid 7 with aq of trumps. it might not make but it's going to have some play and it's our best tool available.

Oh i totally agree with that, you replied at the same time when i edited my post and made it clear what was confusing me.

[ggwhiz]

Not a good time to get too aggressive opposite only 4-cards in spades so I'm going the slower route with 3♣.

5nt is looming if I can get partner to rebid the spades but I want to keep 7♣ in the picture if not.

[fromageGB]

I would be reluctant to support spades at this point (though 2NT would seem best if it was 5 spades), so 3♣ from me. I really want to hear a natural rebid from opener. Alternatively I would bid 3♥, which I hope would elicit a spade rebid on 5, provided that over say 3NT, 4♣ from me would be forcing with a long suit. I don't know how you play the continuations.

[VixTD]

To answer an earlier question, we don't have an agreement about whether splinters are split-range. I'm trying to get one, but partner's not interested.

This was played at four tables opposite:

♠AJ10965 ♥QJ96 ♦7 ♣Q6

Only one pair bid a small slam, the rest played in game.

My partner bid 3♥ and corrected 3NT (perhaps not the best rebid by me) to 4♠. When I asked her why she had not bid 5NT she said she was worried I might have opened with ♠10xxx. I thought 4♥ or 5♥ (presumably a void-splinter, if undiscussed) would be better bids than 3♥, but I couldn't decide whether that was better than showing the clubs first.

[neilkaz]

wank, on 2014-March-07, 09:48, said:

5nt grand slam force

What are you going to do with your ♦ losers? What if ♣ can't be set up without losing a trick in a grand?

[Cyberyeti]

neilkaz, on 2014-March-11, 12:17, said:

What are you going to do with your ♦ losers? What if ♣ can't be set up without losing a trick in a grand?

If partner only has 4 spades, he has 15+ points and there are almost certain to be enough tricks so assume he has 5. The only holding that causes a problem in the club suit really is xxx. Unless he has a lot wasted in the heart suit, the grand is unlikely to be bad. As little as AQxxx, Qxx, Kxx, xx is not a bad grand.

To follow the OP's auction, if I bid 3♥ I'd bid 5♠ over 3N and expect partner to bid 6 with the trump suit he has.

[neilkaz]

Cyberyeti, on 2014-March-11, 12:34, said:

If partner only has 4 spades, he has 15+ points and there are almost certain to be enough tricks so assume he has 5. The only holding that causes a problem in the club suit really is xxx. Unless he has a lot wasted in the heart suit, the grand is unlikely to be bad. As little as AQxxx, Qxx, Kxx, xx is not a bad grand.

To follow the OP's auction, if I bid 3♥ I'd bid 5♠ over 3N and expect partner to bid 6 with the trump suit he has.

As you point out, what if PD has AQxxx, Kx, Qxx, xxx? My point remains that we should slow things down rather than an immediate GSF.

[Cyberyeti]

neilkaz, on 2014-March-11, 13:11, said:

As you point out, what if PD has AQxxx, Kx, Qxx, xxx? My point remains that we should slow things down rather than an immediate GSF.

With as little system as the OP has (there are several bids I would like to make that I can't here), you are not going to be exact. Even opposite the worst hand you can come up with containing ♠ AQ, the grand is on clubs 2-2, at a guess it figures to be good a very large percentage of the time, certainly opposite me even more than you think as we open 5332s 1N or pass, never 1♠ so the rubbish hands you and I posted are impossible, and this is far from a unique arrangement, don't know about the pair involved here.

[the hog]

3C looks like a sensible start. Show where your source of tricks lies.

[jmcilkley]

The list of options shows 4c as natural, game forcing. Why? Surely 4c can't be natural when 3c would be natural and forcing? For me 4c would agree spades and show 1st round control in clubs. It's clear that partner doesn't have 1st round control in diamonds so unless he has Ah he will likely bid 4s. Now I can try again with 5c and maybe hear 4d to show Kd, which would help a lot.
However, given the explanation of the agreements in the option list I was forced to choose 4h and then over the likely 4s I continue with 5c. Now it's not so easy to find out about Kd.

VixTD, on 2014-March-06, 08:20, said:

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Teams-of-four, you're playing a natural four-card major Acol system, 12-14 NT. You don't have an elaborate system of agreements, no fit-jumps or exclusion KCB, 2NT is a one-round force with 4+ spades.

What's the best start with this hand?