Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - January 3, 2022 - Choosing a strain of choice

Question: Declarer and responder each have a long suit. Should/Could this board be played in NT instead of C ?

Vic:

Holding a long minor suit, NT is typically the “strain” of choice. In this particular scenario, however, North/South have only limited transportation between their two hands. That renders a NT contract a high risk proposition at best. Playing in NT, good defense could leave declarer unable to take more than one club trick. 

The best contract NS could have found is 4H. The second call by South of 2H promises a 6-card heart suit. I would expect North to focus on the golden fit in hearts (6 + 2) & bid  3H (rather than 3C). I would expect South to subsequently raise to 4H. Looks to me like NS deserve to lose only the three missing Aces, making game. 

Note: There are 5 “strains” in bridge : spades - hearts - diamonds - clubs - NT. These are also referred to as the 5 “denominations”. Many bridge players find it much easier to simply talk about the 5 “suits”, even though NT is of course not a suit. 

Ain’t bridge a great game?