mcphee, on 2014-September-21, 02:29, said:
One thing that is quite sensible to play is over 2NT transfers do not accept the transfer with less than 3 trumps. This has 2 big plus sides, first it means that any advance after the acceptance of the transfer is a cue bid, secondly a new suit after a non acceptance now shows a real suit. The down side is you can't stop below game level when partner fails to accept, so a lot of plus and very little minus.
2C 2D
2N 3D 2N showing 22-24 which means to responder you are near slam area if you have a fit
3H 4C 3H shows 3+H and 4C is obviously the ace or shortness
after this it is rather easy to reach your slam.
We often agree on our ideas on this forum, but I think this approach of rejecting a transfer with a doubleton is horrible.
When responder has a bad hand and is just trying to find a place to play, rejecting the transfer when we lack a fit is terrible. Responder's hand will make some tricks in trump, simply from length or being able to ruff something. xxx QJxxx xxx xx wants to play 3
♥ opposite a 20 count hand with, say, Ax, Kx or AK in hearts, not 3N!
You may argue that these are infrequent hands, and I'd agree with you. However, they can cost you a lot of mps, and a fair number of imps, when they arise, and any gain from this method will also arise, if at all, infrequently. I've played against players who use this method...admittedly infrequently...and don't recall them getting any good results from it.
And the notion that any bid by responder after an acceptance is a cuebid is something I played 30 years ago and learned, eventually, was a bad idea. Sometimes we belong in the side suit! Even with a 5-4 fit in the major, we may belong in a 4-4 side fit...this is even more likely in a 5-3 set-up. Not only do we get discards on the 5 card suit but, and importantly, imagine a suit that is the equivalent of AQxxx opposite Kxx and the suit breaks 4-1. If we are in our side fit, assuming it breaks 3-2, we can ruff to establish this major, but we'd have an unavoidable trump loser if that were trump.
For example, on this OP hand, the method would be irrelevant. No matter what one's approach, opener has a monster and must break the transfer to show it.
I know I am not now speaking to you, Bob, since you are no walter the walrus, but, folks, let's stop thinking in terms of hcp or, if we must, let's recognize some realities about valuation.
Hcp have symbiotic relationships with each other. Honours grouped together add strength to each other. Opener has a lot of values.
In addition, Aces and Kings are undervalued in the 4321 count, and Queens and Jacks overvalued. Look at opener: no Jacks! 5 of the honours are Aces and Kings...he has 7 controls.
One can think in terms of slam once the side has 10+ controls, so long as we have some internal texture and/or shape, and so having 7 controls means that slam may be makeable opposite an A and a K.....we need to let partner in on the good news.
A typical 22 count will hold 5 or 6 controls...we have extra controls, extra shape, and maximum hcp on the simplistic, conservative scale.
How one super-accepts is for partnership agreement. In my methods, for example, the transfer didn't even promise hearts (it could be various low-frequency slam interest hands, but is hearts 90% or more) so we can't super-accept other than by 3
♠.
So long as the super-accept is no higher than 3N, east has a routine clue in clubs and now opener can basically commit to slam...I doubt one can construct a hand on which responder has the club A and slam interest and we have no play.
'one of the great markers of the advance of human kindness is the howls you will hear from the Men of God' Johann Hari
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