From: varvel@cs.utexas.edu (Donald A. Varvel)
Newsgroups: rec.games.bridge
Subject: Re: What is going on?
Date: 14 Apr 1992 15:06:28 -0500
Organization: U Texas Dept of Computer Sciences, Austin TX
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: bovina.cs.utexas.edu
Keywords: No cue after strong jump shift?

In article <1992Apr14.183246.10178@linus.mitre.org> bs@fatima.mitre.org (Robert D. Silverman) writes:
>In article <1992Apr14.163320.9104@rice.edu> danil@boreal.owlnet.rice.edu (Danil Patrick Suits) writes:
>:IMP teams, everybody green

>:Axx
>:KQx
>:xxx
>:Axxx

>:Absolutely spotless.

>:Second chair, playing Standard American, you open
>:1C. Partner skips the bidding up to 2H (strong)
> ^^

>Not me. Not in 1st or second seat. I don't open 8 loser hands with no spots.

>:you raise to 3H....
 
>Unless you let everyone in on your methods we can't make a judgment about
>this call. Most good partnerships play 3H shows extras and a jump to 4H
>shows a minimum.

While the hand started out as a minimum (or subminimum) *opener*,
it looks pretty good to me now.  You have 4 cover cards, although
one of the aces may be opposite a void.  I share Bob's question,
though.  *Which* SA?  Jump shift shows 19 "points"?  A self-sufficient
suit or support for your suit?

>:Partner bids 4H.

>:1] What is going on?
 
>Even in "old-fashioned" S.A. a jump shift shows a good suit. Partner
>has AJ at best. Thus, partner cannot have a valid jump shift in hearts.
>As for what is going on, you've got me. Someone who can jump shift on
>a bad suit is capable of misbidding in many different ways.

How about Kx AJTxxxx KQ KQ?  *I* wouldn't jump-shift on that hand, 
but Goren probably would have.  Goren also wouldn't have cue-bid a 
king in this situation.  It's the only hand I can think of that 
*some* authority might have bid that way.

Of course, 4NT is better than 4H.

>:2] What should partner's hand look like?
 
>Who knows? His 2H bid was impossible, and he failed to cuebid at the 4 level.

How good is partner?  I would suspect Kx AJTxxxx x KQx, a really bad
jump-shift.  Now partner realizes the suit wasn't up to standard and
tries to avoid the worst by signing off.  Slam is still on, but reverse
the minors and it's only 50%.  (Also an even worse jump shift.)

>Could it be that partner really had a WEAK jump shift???

And raised 3H to 4?  Possible, I suppose.

>The way I play, the 3H bid  MANDATES cuebids from partner.

Kings freely, as the Italians play it, or aces first?  In other words,
what will partner do without an outside ace?  (I agree that a weak
suit and no outside ace is a terrible jump-shift.)

>:3] What do you call?
 
>This is trivial. You have already bid your hand. You pass. No other bid
>can even be contemplated.

>Were you actually thinking of taking ANOTHER call????????????

How about calling the partnership desk?

Seriously, I would take another call.  I think partner has a very 
long heart suit and no outside ace.  I think I would cuebid 4S here.  
I have been unable to construct a hand that *anyone* I know would 
jump-shift on that doesn't have a play for slam.  If the bidding 
continues 5C by partner and 5H by me, and partner passes, then we 
have two diamond losers.

But this is really a problem in deciding which mistake partner has
made, so depends on your estimation of partner.

-- Don Varvel (varvel@cs.utexas.edu)