Your partner overcalls West's 1NT opening with an asptro 2♦ showing 4+ spades and 5+ in another suit. 2♥ from you is pass or correct to the 5 card suit, 2♠ is to play, which do you choose?
Asptro
#1
Posted 2012-February-24, 18:48
Your partner overcalls West's 1NT opening with an asptro 2♦ showing 4+ spades and 5+ in another suit. 2♥ from you is pass or correct to the 5 card suit, 2♠ is to play, which do you choose?
#2
Posted 2012-February-24, 20:16
if you're not comfortable playing 4-3 fits (might be p's 5 card suit anyway), play a different convention
#3
Posted 2012-February-25, 04:46
wank, on 2012-February-24, 20:16, said:
if you're not comfortable playing 4-3 fits (might be p's 5 card suit anyway), play a different convention
Asptro isn't my favourite defence to 1NT, but it is commonly known at my local club. The way we agreed it, if partner has 5 spades, they will always have 5+ in another suit.
#4
Posted 2012-February-25, 09:48
Quartic, on 2012-February-25, 04:46, said:
You seem to have bent Asptro from the version I know (or knew).
AFAIR, 2H denies 3+S, so you should respond 2S.
Do you really have to treat 5S and 4H as one-suited in S, as the quote above seems to suggest?
#5
Posted 2012-February-25, 10:01
You are on a bit of a guess. Partner's most likely suit is clubs, particularly as neither oppo have bid them yet. Assuming you are playing matchpoints you have to bid 2S, this will almost certainly outscore playing a 5-2 club fit and may fare well against playing a 5-4 diamond fit.
Hopefully, if the auction continues 3C-P-P to you, partner will understand either dbl or 3D as "actually, I want to play in your five-card suit now".
#6
Posted 2012-February-25, 15:48
MickyB, on 2012-February-25, 10:01, said:
You are on a bit of a guess. Partner's most likely suit is clubs, particularly as neither oppo have bid them yet. Assuming you are playing matchpoints you have to bid 2S, this will almost certainly outscore playing a 5-2 club fit and may fare well against playing a 5-4 diamond fit.
Hopefully, if the auction continues 3C-P-P to you, partner will understand either dbl or 3D as "actually, I want to play in your five-card suit now".
Yes, I guess they must overcall 2C, unless they're going to disregard the heart suit. Different Asptro to the one I knew. in that case. I can easily believe I'm well out of date, I haven't played it for something like 30 years. The rationale given for its superiority over Astro and Aspro back then was always that you could anchor to your longer/better major with both majors.
#7
Posted 2012-February-25, 18:07
Double dummy I could have got out for down 1, but I misplayed, losing trump control and conceded down 4.
#8
Posted 2012-February-26, 16:34
But you might want a different method as a passed hand.
#9
Posted 2012-February-26, 16:46
nigel_k, on 2012-February-26, 16:34, said:
But you might want a different method as a passed hand.
Ok, thanks for the advice, I wasn't sure how the risk of playing a bad ♣ contract compared to that of playing a bad ♠ contract. What alternate methods for a passed hand work well?
#10
Posted 2012-February-26, 17:19
You could also just use Asptro one step lower, i.e. X=♥+other, 2♣=♠+other, others natural. But that wouldn't help on this hand.
#11
Posted 2012-February-27, 05:03
1. partner has both majors => we are much better off bidding 2♥ and playing there
2. partner has 4 spades and 5 clubs => we are somewhat better off bidding 2♠, playing in the 4-3 fit at the 2 level instead of the 5-2 fit at the 3 level
3. partner has 4 spades and 5 diamonds => we are better off bidding 2♥ and playing 3♦
4. partner has 5 spades => we play 2♠ either way
5. partner has 4144 => we are better off bidding 2♥ and playing 3♦
Overall, this looks like one of the exceptions to bidding 2♠ with 3 card support. We can (just about) cope with any response after 2♥. That said I do not think 2♠ is wrong since the odds that partner has spades and clubs is high. Note that the 2♦ overcall often causes problems in Asptro when the bidder holds both majors. Usually this is on constructive hands which Advancer want to play a part-score opposite spades and a minor but game opposite both majors though.
#12
Posted 2012-February-27, 05:34
#13
Posted 2012-February-27, 05:51
Cthulhu D, on 2012-February-27, 05:34, said:
Over 2♥ the Asptronaut (yeah I know, silly terminology) bids 2♠ with 5 spades, 2NT with 4144 or 3m with 4♠5+m. If you played as the OP suggested then you could of course bid 2♠ with a longer minor as this is no longer required; but this would not be Asptro.
#14
Posted 2012-February-27, 07:08
nigel_k, on 2012-February-26, 16:34, said:
But you might want a different method as a passed hand.
When I play Asptro I play that a passed hand double shows four spades and a five card minor. That way 2D promises either five spades or five hearts.
For an unpassed hand I think it's sensible to have extra (points or shape) when you have 4S + 5m or 4H + 5C.
London UK
#15
Posted 2012-February-27, 07:18
Zelandakh, on 2012-February-27, 05:51, said:
I love silly names, Asprtonaut is great.
Yeah, my suggestion was in the context of the OP, the 2NT feels like you're going to get insanely high on possibly some quite bad fits - but I guess it's for use against a weak NT.
#16
Posted 2012-February-28, 15:08