[newbdonkey]

Hi,
Please find below the auction in a game played in WBridge5

NORTH  EAST   SOUTH  WEST  
************************
PASS   1S     X     4D!
  X    4H!    PASS  4S  
PASS   4NT    PASS  5D!   
PASS   6S     PASS  PASS 
PASS  

I could make out that the 4♦ response to 1♠ was a Splinter. North's double shows that he is long in ♦.
However, I do not understand the 4♥ rebid (alerted) by East. This looks to be some sort of a transfer.

Please clarify what bid this is. If there are any online materials on this, please do point to the same as well.
Diagrammed deal below:

                   North
                S: 8 2
                H: Q 9 7 6
                D: A10 7 4 2
                C: 8 6
    West                         East
S: A 9 6 4                    S: K J 7 5 3
H:10 3 2                      H: A 8
D:                            D: K 9 8 6 3
C: K J 5 4 3 2                C: A
                    South
                S: Q10
                H: K J 5 4
                D: Q J 5
                C: Q10 9 7

Thanks,
Vipin

This post has been edited by newbdonkey: 2012-July-22, 18:12

[Vampyr]

Well, it seems that 4♦ was intended as a fit jump, but very ill-advised since the hand is nowhere near a game force. It is more common for 3♦ to be a fit jump (and 4♦ is a splinter) but the hand is still unsuitable. It needs, at the very least, nine cards in the combined suits. This hand is just about worth an invitational raise.

The 4♥ bid was a control bid. Perhaps it was an overbid as East had already shown his hand by opening with 5 HCP. In any case 6♠, undoubled, looks to be a good sacrifice against the opponents' heart game, at any vulnerability.

[newbdonkey]

Vampyr, on 2012-July-22, 17:54, said:

Well, it seems that 4♦ was intended as a fit jump, but very ill-advised since the hand is nowhere near a game force. It is more common for 3♦ to be a fit jump (and 4♦ is a splinter) but the hand is still unsuitable. It needs, at the very least, nine cards in the combined suits. This hand is just about worth an invitational raise.

The 4♥ bid was a control bid. Perhaps it was an overbid as East had already shown his hand by opening with 5 HCP. In any case 6♠, undoubled, looks to be a good sacrifice against the opponents' heart game, at any vulnerability.

I am extremely sorry, the deal that I posted was the wrong one. I have corrected it; it should make some sense now.

[Vampyr]

Much better now! Anyway, 4♥ is still a control bid, showing a ♥ control and (at least some) slam interest.

[Zelandakh]

What 4♥ means here is dependant on what the pair in question have agreed pass and redouble to mean. For example, you might decide to play 4♥ as showing a heart conreol but denying a club control, with XX showing a club control but denying a heart control and Pass being positive without a control. Or Pass as a club control, XX showing first round diamond control and no club control, and 4♥ a heart control without a club control or first round diamond control. Or you could play 4♥ as Last Train and Pass/XX as club/heart controls respectively. There are really lots of possibilities which is why the double is usually a bad idea.

Ooops, I just noticed which forum we are in - sorry. The 4♥ bid shows something about the controls (aces, kings, singletons and voids) in other suits together with slam interest. You need to ask your opponents to find out exactly what. If you do not understand your opponents' bidding you are always allowed to ask at your turn to bid or at the end of the auction, before the opening lead is faced. If you write into Google "control-showing cue bids" you should get some information about this; however the double makes this particular auction much more complex than normal.