[KurtGodel]

 PhilG007, on 2015-April-25, 01:55, said:

Partner CANNOT pass. That's why it's called the Grand Slam FORCE
And it's inane to think that a 1♠ opening wouldn't contain
at least the A or Q♠

Yeah Justin, how can you not know this convention? Jeez, thought you were supposed to be a good player. All the top players are using it Barely a day goes by when I don't whip out GSF. How else can you get to grand when partner opens a weak 2S and you have AJx xxx xxx xxxx? It really sharpens your card play too, I seem to be playing 5NT one hand in six, it feels like whenever I play 3NT now that I *have* to make 11 tricks - it just feels weird otherwise.

Blackwood is for children, Josephine is for men.

[gwnn]

It's called a grand slam force because it doesn't force to grand slam? I guess Acol is also 2/1 game force then.

[fourdad]

 nige1, on 2015-April-24, 11:38, said:

IMO, 4♠ = 10, 5♥ = 9. Close decision.

I have not been posting here for very long, but nige1 I really like the way you rate the options!!
Short, sweet and simple!

In this case, IMO i would reverse these.
5♥=10, 4♠=9

I rate the S hand as better than an opener and if pd has top end or "better" than an opener it seems that slam is the percentage contract.

[DAVDJ1]

5 !S is my bid

[mr1303]

For those of you suggesting 4NT, not even my granny plays 4NT as Blackwood here, surely? What would you do with x x KQJxx KQJxxx? Double? Uggh.

[gwnn]

It's actually an open debate as far as I know. I don't want to get all Lurpoa on you but you need to have a clear agreement with your partner here

[eagles123]

 mr1303, on 2015-April-25, 07:45, said:

For those of you suggesting 4NT, not even my granny plays 4NT as Blackwood here, surely? What would you do with x x KQJxx KQJxxx? Double? Uggh.

Surely wanting to ask for key card is more frequent than a 2 suited takeout?

Interesting anyway even if it's beyond pointless here

[zillahandp]

Assuming you are playing 12/14 nt, the five card spade hands above are all 1nt openers so six spades now is a fair bet Has eagles lost his marbles Grand!,!?

[Phil]

 mr1303, on 2015-April-25, 07:45, said:

For those of you suggesting 4NT, not even my granny plays 4NT as Blackwood here, surely? What would you do with x x KQJxx KQJxxx? Double? Uggh.

5C comeS to mind.

For me, 4N is RKC but this is one of the unusual times it is in comp. 5N is pick a slam.

5H looks pretty obvious with this hand but there's no guarantee we will land on our feet. Furthermore, what are partners followips, specifically 5M?

[eagles123]

 zillahandp, on 2015-April-25, 08:46, said:

Assuming you are playing 12/14 nt, the five card spade hands above are all 1nt openers so six spades now is a fair bet Has eagles lost his marbles Grand!,!?

The OP is expert why would you assume a weak no trump?

[ArtK78]

This is a fascinating thread.

We have one poster who wants to bid 4NT RKCB even though the response isn't likely to tell one what one needs to know.

We have another poster who is convinced that 4NT is not RKCB.

We have a poster who wants to bid 5NT GSF even though it is possible (even likely?) that his side is off a cashing side suit ace.

And we have a poster who assumes that partner can't have a balanced minimum with 5 spades because he would have opened a weak NT.

Mixed in with all of the above is an intelligent discussion of the rational choices and a good deal of sarcasm and vitriol.

One has to have a good filter to sift out the intelligent part of this thread.

[mikeh]

FWIW, my usual agreement about 4N over a 4-level preemptive overcall is that it is keycard over 4m but two places to play over 4M. Thus for me it would not be keycard here. For those who have difficulty understanding this concept, consider how infrequently one will hold a hand on which the ONLY important issue is how many key cards partner has. I promise you that such a holding will be incredibly rare. Meanwhile, two places to play may not arise often, but it will be more common.

[thebiker]

 eagles123, on 2015-April-25, 08:59, said:

The OP is expert why would you assume a weak no trump?

Being an expert is not restricted to players who play strong no trump

"the biker"

[case_no_6]

I am a simpleton. I bid 5!h like Goren advised. This asks p to bid a small slam with an attractive minimum and to probe for a grand with a good hand. P may sign off in 5!s with a non slamming hand in the minimum opening bid range. Not perfect, but it is reasonable enough given that the preempt removed almost all opportunity for Exploration.

[jodepp]

This has been the most entertaining thread I've seen in awhile

I think this pretty much depends on opener's style. If opener is a 'solid citizen' I think 5♥ is fine; I think this should imply controls in the minors as well. Opener can then make an educated guess as to 'how high' you should be.

If opener like to open on bare 11-counts however, 4♠ has to be where the money is long-term.

[PhantomSac]

 case_no_6, on 2015-April-25, 17:32, said:

I am a simpleton. I bid 5!h like Goren advised. This asks p to bid a small slam with an attractive minimum and to probe for a grand with a good hand. P may sign off in 5!s with a non slamming hand in the minimum opening bid range. Not perfect, but it is reasonable enough given that the preempt removed almost all opportunity for Exploration.

Charlie G is definitely a leading theorist on these matters. Up there with Ms. Josephine.

[juljak]

I am new to the forum, but I dont understand the Grand slam bid without first round control in hearts confirmed?

[KurtGodel]

 juljak, on 2015-April-25, 23:42, said:

I am new to the forum, but I dont understand the Grand slam bid without first round control in hearts confirmed?

I'm afraid everyone was being sarcastic about bidding grand slam force, you are quite right that it would be ridiculous on this occasion, not just for the reason you stated, but also because it's not immediately obvious where 13 tricks are coming from.
Welcome to the forum

[gszes]

 eagles123, on 2015-April-25, 02:17, said:

AQxxx
Kx
Qxx
KXx

Seems like a great grand to be in , Phil

I was picturing AQJT98 x QJx KQJ

[aguahombre]

 juljak, on 2015-April-25, 23:42, said:

I am new to the forum, but I dont understand the Grand slam bid without first round control in hearts confirmed?

Welcome to the forums. You will get used to the attempts at humor, irony, or sarcasm. We don't always use those emoticons.