Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shannahan - February 21, 2022 - Stopping before game

 

Question: North has 14 points with a singleton and so the total point count as  responder could be 17. From the bidding North knows South has under 13 points with the diamond pre-empt.  The total point count with the singleton is 26 points. The hand does not want to be in 3NT due to the weakness in spades. It would appear the strength of the hands are in diamonds.  Instead of bidding 3Ds should North bid 3 hearts or 4 clubs to force South to bid again and be in 4D or 5D?  

Glenna:

  3 ♦️ is a great spot to stop—you can’t make 3 NT or 5 ♦️.  If the opponents push, I would bid 4 ♦️, but otherwise pass. You have to accept that not all good hands lead to a game, but that’s hard for all of us to accept.