Interesting Hand 43

The following hand was dealt on a recent Sunday evening session

AQJ987 void 6 AKQJ105. You are vulnerable. So what do you open? A variety of opening bids emerged , but this hand is so powerful in playing strength I decided to open 2 the game force (23+pts hand). Depending on your style the next bid was either 2 (the negative) or 2. I showed my suit by bidding 2. Partner then bid 3 a suit bid. My next bid was 4 showing a powerful hand and a suit (it is NOT asking for aces). Partner responded 4. I then bid 4NT Blackwood, and partner showed 1 ace, so not knowing which ace the hand was signed off in 6. which duly made, losing just the A

Partners hand was K63 AJ963 953 72. Not all pairs reached the slam and one pair played in 5. Those using cue bids would have avoided playing in an unmakeable grand slam as we did.

A week later a very similar type of hand came up at Hatfield Heath. Both sides non-vulnerable

9 AQJ86 4 AKQ943

This hand is not so powerful as the previous hand, but there are a variety of opening bids

By good chance this hand was treated as a 5-5 hand (the text books say open your longest suit , but this was ignored) so partner opened 1 aiming to bid the longer suit later. Partner's bid was overcalled 2 and I raised s to 3. Partner then bid 4 again a second suit, which was over called 5, and partner bid 5 which became the contract

My hand was Q10743 K954 6 1087 and 11 tricks made easily once the J fell.

About half the field played in 5, some undoubled even, going 2 off (a good result at pairs), but a sacrifice in 6 would be too expensive if doubled.

You should attempt to win the contract with these highly distributional hands