[bid_em_up]

Hand 1, assuming WJS, 3♣, at equal or favorable, pass if unfavorable.
If partner bids 3D, I am content. If partner bids 3N, I am content. If partner passes, I am content. If opps bid on, and partner is on lead, at least he is leading a club which will give nothing up, so I am content.

Hand 2, assuming WJS, 3♦ sometimes at equal or favorable, pass if unfavorable. Not as content with it though. Why? Partner cannot convert to 3C, he has to go to 4C. The doubleton spade makes it less attractive also. The sometimes part has to do with quality of opposition, and other various factors.

[the hog]

Perhaps the question was unfair. The reason I posted it was a comment from Peter Gill - sometime poster here, member of OzOne and a very fine player:

"The reward from bidding clubs is huge. You might bid and make game or slam, find a good save, get partner off to the right lead if LHO ends up in hearts or NT, or you might push them overboard in spades.

It's a bidder's game. The risk and reward of bidding massively favours light entry to the auction when you have a singleton in their suit. When you are void in their suit, the gain from bidding on light values becomes even huger. Occasionally you even gain when partner with short clubs knows to penalise the opponents. Telling partnert what you have is much better than keeping partner on the dark.

Nowadays you expect spades to be raised, proably to the three or four level.
In the olden days before preemptive raises of overcalls, people used to be taught to pass these hands. Such thinking does not make sense in the modern era. snipped It's possible to be overtaught bridge, especially wrt point count in competitive auctions. thje case for bidding is even stronger if you are not vul or if it's match-point scoring or both.

>Anyway, on the same theme there was a another hand today
>xx
>xxx
>AJ109xx
>xx
>
>1C (1S) ?
>2D was a massive winning bid, getting to a making 5D instead of defending >4S down 1.
>
>Points Schmoints ! Shape rules

Ultra cool. xx in spades is short enough to make 2D work. In the old days, people used to regard Michael Courtney as mad for making bids like 2C on the first hand and 2D on the second hand. Luckily he let me read his six or so unpublished books about this sort of stuff about 5 years ago and my results have improved immensely since then.

In a way, it's simply an extension of Marston's oft-espoused principle that it's the player with the shortage in the opponent's suit who acts."

[pclayton]

Pass on both. Jump is fitted for me.

[Foxx]

This problem looks like a blaring advertisement for weak jump shifts in competition.