1H-P- 4D Splinter

Notes for entry ID#15102 in the 1H-P Prior Bids section with 4D bid.

Hand: AJ82-Q87543-7-64

Entry Source: ACBL Bridge Bulletin, Sept, 2005, page 34

The risk of jumping to game with a hand this shapely is the possibility of missing slam, but 8 of 19 top experts bid 4H and 7 bid a Splinter 4D.

The original specs for this entry were this:

     x suit: <2
     Spds:    4+
     Hrts:    6+
     Dia:     x
     Clb:     x
     Combo:   -
     Bid:  4x

and the bid will be "4x", where "x" is C or D, whichever is <2.

Converting 1H-P and 1S-P auctions to the combined 1M-P auction (where M can be H or S) looked like this:

     x suit: <2
     Spds:    4+
     Hrts:    4+
     Dia:     x
     Clb:     x
     Combo:  M6+
     Bid:  4x

When looking for a bid with Prior Bids of 1H-P, H is the M suit, so "Hrts: 4+" would be changed to "Hrts: 6+", which is what the original specs had. When Prior Bids are 1S-P, S is the M suit and Spds would be changed to a spec of 6+ and Hrts would be left "4+".

This works fine for the entry shown above when a minor is the short suit, but if spades is the short suit (or Hearts, when the Prior Bids are 1S-P), this will not catch it. But then, the same was true of the original entry. And while the source did not mention the possibility that a minor could be the second (4+ card) suit, there's seems to be no reason why it couldn't be.

So a second entry is needed with specs like this:

     x suit:  4+
     Spds:   <2
     Hrts:   <2
     Dia:     x
     Clb:     x
     Combo:  M6+
     Bid:  ?

The problem with this is that when creating this entry with Prior Bids of 1M-P, we don't know what to make the Bid for the entry.

When Prior Bids are 1H-P, BB will change the specs to this:

     x suit:  4+
     Spds:   <2
     Hrts:    6+
     Dia:     x
     Clb:     x
     Combo:   -
     Bid:  ?

and the bid should be 3S.

But when the Prior Bids are 1S-P, BB will change the specs to this:

     x suit:  4+
     Spds:    6+
     Hrts:   <2
     Dia:     x
     Clb:     x
     Combo:   -
     Bid:  ?

and the bid should be 4H.

Even if the bids for both entries were at the 3 level, we would need yet another code to tell BidBase to bid the other major, such as with Prior Bids of 1H-P where M=H, we would need to have a code of, say, "o" for "other major". The more special codes we add to BB, the less readable the data will be. A bid of "3S" is much more easily understood than a bid of "3o".

So at this time, rather than complicate BB further, it seems better to just leave such entries in the sections for their actual Prior Bids, such as 1H-P or 1S-P, rather than in 1M-P.

See Combining Entries for Hearts and Spades for more info.