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I think this hand is a good example of bidding constructively, trying to decide how high to bid.

 

South’s first double shows a good opening bid. His 3 shows a hand simply too good to bid 2. This hand is close to a minimum for this sequence. Your partner has come to life with a cue bid. What does he have?

 

First he has diamond support. Otherwise he would either pass, bid a new suit or bid 3NT. What about values? He probably has one sure trick. Does three spades mean anything? True he could have simply bid 4, but he probably wanted to keep 3NT open in case you have a stopper. What should you bid? 4. This will be plenty high enough. Partner was catering to you having one of the following hands:

 

♠Ax Kx KQJxxx ♣AKx or

♠x A10 KQ9872 ♣AKQ7

 

Partner actually held ♠xx J9xx Axx ♣109xx and passed 4, which made on the nose.

 

 

Lessons to Learn

 

1. Remember to make decisions in the context of the auction. Here you are a minimum for your double followed by three diamond approach, which is why four diamonds is right.

 

2. Another way to look at it is that North has a maximum, considering his passes and two bidding opponents. His 3 spades, therefore, is a very good bid recognizing this point.

 

 

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