[ArtK78]

This hand really isn't one that will provoke much discussion, but I thought it was incredible that I picked up this hand one match after the last one that I had (see Bizarre Hand #1).

Having won matches 2 through 5 of a Sectional Swiss after a disasterous first match, you are now playing for the event against a good team. They have a 15 VP lead on you, so you need a near blitz to win the event.

Halfway through the match (things are going OK so far) you pick up:

Scoring: IMP

(P) - 1♠ - (P) - ?

---

Fortunately, my partner and I have a tool designed exactly for hands like this one. A 4NT response to a one bid asks for ACES ONLY. If you want to bid RKCB you must make a forcing raise before launching into Blackwood. So, I bid 4NT, intending to sign off in 5♥ if partner has zero aces, 6♥ if partner has one ace and 7NT if partner has 2 aces. Partner showed 2 aces, so I bid 7NT and claimed after the opening lead.

Everyone at the table thought that this hand was a clear push. NOT SO FAST! At the other table, the bidding started out as follows:

(2♦) - 2♠ - (4♦) - ?

Now the hand is a lot tougher. I never did find out exactly what happened after that other than the opponents wound up in 6♥ and we won a large swing.

The rest of the match went well, we got our blitz and won the event.

[kfay]

I also play normal blackwood here. Clearly best, I think. Well done

The interference really sucks. I guess I'd just bid 6♥.

[TylerE]

Ya know, in my regular local partnership we play plain blackwood, and I'm often glad for it. Makes hands like this much simpler. Not as good for getting to grand but in some ways it makes it easier to get to 6.

[Fluffy]

One of my crazy anecdotes with normal blackwood.

Playing with my aunt for the first time, 11 years ago, she told me that she doesn't understand quantitatives, so 4NT is always blackwood.


♠x
♥KJ109x
♦A
♣AQJxxx

1♦-1♥
1♠-2♣*
2NT-4NT
5♥-7♣


2♣*: althou I knew 3♣ was the correct bid, I wanted to mastermind the hand, and so was right, after she showed ♣K probably third and 2 aces it seemed everything pretty easy (she also had ♣10 and grand slam was cold).

Well, not every grand slam was really cold, after a long tank, my aunt decided that a 17 year old guy was too young to play a grand slam on a sequence she didn't understand, and given that she plays better than me, she went for 7NT. Wich couldn't make even after finding ♥Q onside.

[skjaeran]

Over here it's standard that a direct BW over a 1-level opening asks for aces only.

[Cascade]

ArtK78, on Jan 6 2009, 07:56 AM, said:

(P) - 1♠ - (P) - ?

Fortunately, my partner and I have a tool designed exactly for hands like this one. A 4NT response to a one bid asks for ACES ONLY. If you want to bid RKCB you must make a forcing raise before launching into Blackwood....

At the other table, the bidding started out as follows:

(2♦) - 2♠ - (4♦) - ?

Now the hand is a lot tougher.

Curiously we don't play Blackwood on the first sequence but we do play it on the second sequence.