Punting

Some more slams.

Game all, dlr N, matchpoint pairs

♠ -
♥ 7 6
♦ A 7 3
♣ A Q 10 9 8 5 4 3

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♠ A 8 3
♥ A Q 10 9 3
♦ J 9 5
♣ K 2

1♣ Pass 1♥ 3♠ 
5♣ Pass 6♣ All Pass 

Surprisingly, we were the only pair to bid this excellent slam. I think most of the credit goes to my partner, for choosing to open at the one level. After that, his jump to 5♣ suggested that he not only had a very long suit, but also some values outside and/or some sort of heart fit. My concern wasn’t whether to raise to 6♣, but rather, might we be missing a grand. I decided that there were too many ways we might have a loser, and that the small slam was enough.

Apparently, most dealers elected to open 4♣ or 5♣. Now it still looks reasonable to me to punt 6♣, but it is much less clear-cut. You might have quick diamond losers; you haven’t heard the spade pre-empt, so if you envision a void in partner’s hand it seems most likely to be hearts; and so on. I can understand a pass opposite a 5♣ opening.

The next bidding sequence looks at first glance like a bit of a punt, but I think it’s actually better than that.

N-S vul, dlr S, matchpoint pairs

♠ K Q 9 6 4
♥ Q 2
♦ K Q 8 4
♣ A 6

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♠ A
♥ A K J 5
♦ J 10 5 3
♣ K 10 7 4

1♦ Pass 1♠ Pass 
2♥ Pass 2♠ Pass 
3NT Pass 6NT All Pass

We play weak jump-shifts all the time, so there was no question about my first response. I was already thinking slam though, given any encouragement. The reverse into hearts was definitely that, but I still needed to sort out strain and level. I decided that 2♠ could not be passed – 2NT would have been the “slow down” bid – and that seemed like a good way to get another bid to clarify partner’s hand. I understood the jump to 3NT to indicate exactly the sort of hand he had – minimum for the reverse (about 16-17 hcp), no spade fit, clubs stopped. So 6NT then stands out as the matchpoint choice. Perhaps we’re missing 7♦, but few if any in the field would bid it. Perhaps 6♦ would be safer, but no-trump should be OK. With a combined count in the 32-34 range, it seems doubtful that 7NT is going to be a good bet. No, 6NT is easily the favorite, and yet this was a top shared with one other pair.

A couple of people chose 6♦, but the rest failed to reach slam-level. One that I spoke to didn’t reverse with the South hand. I know that a lot of Americans do require 17+hcp for a reverse, in which case the hand is borderline for the bid, at best. But if you don’t reverse, it then becomes very difficult for either partner to diagnose that the combined hands are at the borderline of slam territory. Agent 99 and I would probably have had a reversing auction, but we could also handle it through the extended-range 1NT rebid, if South chose to go that route:
1♦    Pass 1♠    Pass 
1NT(1)Pass 2♣(2) Pass 
2♥(3) Pass 3♦(4) Pass
3NT   Pass 4NT   Pass
6NT   All Pass
(1) 13-17
(2) Range inquiry
(3) 15-16, denies 3 spades
(4) Forcing
There is some danger that if North gets hypnotized by point-count, he might stop, knowing that the combined count is 31-32 and South isn’t overly enthused about the diamond suit. Certainly, jumping straight to 6NT seems too much. But a quantitative raise to 4NT doesn’t look totally unreasonable, and I think South should definitely accept the invitation if it’s made.

This one you can call a punt.

Love all, dlr S, matchpoint pairs

♠ K 8
♥ A Q 9 4 2
♦ 8
♣ 10 8 7 6 3

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♠ A 7 4
♥ K J 7 6 5 3
♦ A 5
♣ A 4

1♥   Pass 4♥   Pass 
6♥   All Pass 

This was with an occasional partner, and we weren’t doing very well. I knew that for the game raise she would have four or five hearts and a little something outside, so the slam wasn’t a complete shot in the dark. If she had any sort of side suit, I would probably have some sort of play for enough tricks. The thing is, I can’t see any way to find out whether the North hand is suitable, “scientifically”. I mean, if it has KQ in one side suit and a singleton in another, slam may have play even if the ♥AQ are missing. There are lots of possibilities, once you start to consider.

Or maybe I’m an optimist. Nobody else bid it.