Bid of opponent’s suit asks if partner has that suit stopped?

This question was asked to: Julian Pottage

Question

I thought a bid of the opponents’ suit showed “strong and excited”. But in Harder Hand 131, BM uses it to show that AND to ask if partner has a stopper in that suit. I would not have understood it that way. When does it mean this and how does partner reply with and without such a stopper? The bidding went P 1D P 1S 2H 3D P 3H

Answer

If you bid the opponent’s suit below the level of 3NT and it is not a bid defined as a raise of partner’s suit (which quite a lot of such bids are) then typically it does ask for a stopper in their suit – though as you rightly point out sometimes you will use the bid simply to show a strong hand with the intention of bidding on even if partner shows a stopper. On the auction you give, the 3H bidder initially suggests a hand that wishes to bid 3NT but lacks sufficient heart cover.

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