[FrancesHinden]

4H.

Yes, I know, the CK is led through at trick 1.
But I have 3-card support and only one club stop. It's not close for me.

[pclayton]

3N.

3N is down 1 and 4♥ is -2. Win 3.

[MickyB]

4♥ for me

[Echognome]

4♥ for me as well. I have no ruffing values, but I'm guessing partner does.

[kenrexford]

This is an interesting problem from a logical analysis.

If partner had both majors, he should double. You then, with no four-piece, bid 3D unless 3NT is right, and partner can NOW show his long major.

THUS, 3S should be a temporaizing bid, and seen as such, in a strained auction. Partner should take this as suggesting uncertainty of strain. With a club stopper (and possibly with a bolster) he should suggest 3NT. Otherwise, he bids something else, and we get to 4H.

If partner thinks 3S MIGHT be legitimate, he should bid 4C as a reciprocal game-selection bid even with a fit, if no club stopper, and we reach 4H.

Thus, my call is 3S.

[FrancesHinden]

I disagree that with both majors partner should double, unless he is 4-4 (or possibly 5-5). Particularly when his longer suit is hearts, he has a simple way to bid his hand: bid his longest suit at the lowest level.

If I had the auction - even with a pickup partner -

1D (3C) 3H (P)
3S (P) 4C (P)

I would expect 4C to be a cue agreeing spades

If you think 3D is the correct call on this hand after a double, then you are playing 3D as conventional ("denying a 4-card major") and I hope you alert it....

[Al_U_Card]

4H wtp. You can always explain your bid. (3NT requires success to justify it and he opened at the 3 level) If pard has a lot of C then maybe they won't be able to lead them......

[jdeegan]

4♥. Wtp? Hate my 4-3-3-3 shape, but no sign of a second club stop.

[luis]

3NT for me and pre-apologize if wrong.
I protect the cK from the lead and I have to take one less trick than in 4♥ where my hand provides no ruffing values.
There's also the danger of an early trump promotion if I play on hearts.

[kenrexford]

Of course 3D is "alertable"-- it shows the unexpected, namely bridge logic.

With 4H/5S, I assume you'd bid 3S, preempting partner?

Minor openingsa are best treated as balanced in competitive auctions, I believe. If the opponents overcalled your 1NT call with 3C, or 2NT with 3C, it is reasonable for double to be stayman, right? If so, transfers deny holdings in the other major (5-4). Hence, 3S as waiting.

Under this theory, 4C, of course, is not a cue in support of spades, as spades is waiting.

You may counter that an 8-card fit is an 8-card fit, so why bother? Well, change the hand slightly, to Kxx-Ax-Q10xxx-Kxx or Kxx-Ax-Q10xx-Kxxx, and 4H is not so easily bid, nor is 3NT. Hence, you need some variety of call to handle this problem. Fortunately, 3H allows 3S as that call.

[han]

I pick 4H, and I'm also ready to apologize if 3NT is the winner. I don't buy the psychological arguement that we should apologize if we bid 3NT and it is wrong but not if we bid 4H and it is wrong. We just try to make the winning bid, and I think that it is more often 4H.

[mikeh]

I bid 4♥. It may be wrong but Kxx in ♣ is not enough for me to hide my 3 card support.

My suspicion is that 3N will be correct (as a game choice) slightly more often than 4♥, which would suggest bidding 3N. However, I suspect that it is close and that 3N, both contracts fail, will be more expensive. Given the sterile nature of our hand and the fact that partner was under pressure, and thus may be light, we have no assurance that any game is cold. Of course, we can't pass.

I don't mind taking a position (such as hiding primary support) but I'd need to have a higher degree of confidence that my decision was going to work well before doing it.

I do think it is close.

While I suspect I would apologize, I don't think any apology would be required either way.

[Kalvan14]

3NT. The shape is right, and I have my stopper (which is also 25% of my wealth), and it requiress just 9 tricks for the game.
Pard might even have a secondary honor in clubs, and it's likely that E/W hands can be severed.
If pard has a red 5-5 will bid again, but going for 4♥ is masterminding. OTOH, if clubs are split 3-6-2-2 (starting from S), I'll loose the first 3 tricks, and I doubt I can make the rest of them.

[luke warm]

4♥, wishing i'd opened 1nt

[pbleighton]

4H.

When I get clever, bidding 3NT when we have a known 8 card majot suit fit, it has been wrong more often than right. I still do it occasionally, but not with one stopper in the opps' suit.

But 3NT could easily be right

Peter

[mcphee]

3NT, sorry pard, I have been wrong before. What a pail I opened, and now I am sad. BTW, this is definetly the hitch and hesitate 3N

[the hog]

4H, not close. In my young and callow days I would have bid 3NT. Now I know that 4H is far superior.

[FrancesHinden]

Here's another thought for you. Maybe partner has a good hand.

OK, our opening bid was hardly a thing of beauty, but it partner has, say

Kxx
AQxxxx
AKx
x

we have some hope of reaching 6H after raising 3H to 4H, and no hope after bidding 3NT because he'll think we have wasted club values and no fit.

Of course the best spot might be 6H by us (or 4H by us). We can sometimes get back into 6NT to protect the CK later in the auction, but if we don't tell partner about the heart support there won't be a later auction.

It's funny, I don't think the choice between bidding 3NT or 4H is particularly close, but I do agree that it's very close which will be the better game....

[han]

Glad to see that you are still posting Ron, and improving my English too!

callow: Lacking adult maturity or experience; immature: a callow young man.