[pstansbu]

This one produced a range of contracts - interested in viewpoints on the auction (MP pairs):

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I was sitting West - 4 card Majors, weak NT. South play a multi 2♦ hence the pass.

My planned NT rebid was no longer on should I:

• Bid 3♦ (Directional Asking Bid - shows half stop)
  
• 3♠ too risky - could even be 4-2 and I hate lying about Major shape
  
• 3♥ as above - partner would expect 6
  
• 3♣ still a lie but at least confirms my heart shape
  
• pass and see what partner has to say - on pure points I'm too weak for a 2NT bid, but this is borderline

As it happened 1-off was worth 40%.

[steve2005]

Even playing 4-cad majors 2♥ by east may be their first bid as they are really only strong enough to take one bid unless forced.
East should certainly show preference to ♥ over ♣.
3♣ lies to partner, I would pass but admittedly there is not a good bid unless you can count on east balancing aggressively then pass looks better.

[eagles123]

just pass if partner lets it go we probably dont have anything on anyway and anything else is distorting our hand

[rmnka447]

I assume you must be playing support doubles as a double was not shown here as a possible bid. If that's the case, you've run afoul of a problem hand for that agreement. So you're stuck for a bid. Pass gives partner the most options and is probably right since you don't have any other clear cut bid.

If you're not playing support doubles, then you've left out double as a possible bid. And in that particular case, double would show extras with no other clear cut bid. That's exactly what you have.

[pstansbu]

rmnka447, on 2017-April-19, 11:15, said:

I assume you must be playing support doubles as a double was not shown here as a possible bid. If that's the case, you've run afoul of a problem hand for that agreement. So you're stuck for a bid. Pass gives partner the most options and is probably right since you don't have any other clear cut bid.

If you're not playing support doubles, then you've left out double as a possible bid. And in that particular case, double would show extras with no other clear cut bid. That's exactly what you have.

That's a very good point - not support doubles in this partnership but elsewhere and trying to encourage partner - so I overlooked a good option on the night and in either case I should have included a double. I would eliminate the support double as a distortion but without this convention the double leaves partner choosing between showing the extra spade or the extra heart - either would work really well if we can buy the contract at the 2 level or push them into 3♦.

[ahydra]

No option is great, but I think double is the least of evils. Yes you'd like to have 3514 but when playing weak NT, double will often show a strong NT with no diamond stop here. If partner insists on spades he won't be disappointed with AQ.

Well done to hold it to only one off!

ahydra

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

why did East pass?
3C showes 5+ H, 4+C, he has a fit in a major,
besides: you are playing pairs. So why did he pass?

I would have bid 2H, but this is not the reason
you ended up in 3C.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[Phil]

When I play weak NT x shows 15-17.

[FelicityR]

There's nothing tricky as far as I'm concerned. I feel 3♣ is a lie and forcing. With more than a minimum 2♥ shows 5♥s with Acol (even though the suit is far from perfect).

The general strength of the hand compensates for the poor suit. Partner should recognise that as you haven't passed you have something but not something good enough to force the issue.

[Zelandakh]

I think the comments from the crowd, except ahydra and Phil, show the strong NT bias here. Since you were planning a NT rebid and are from England, it is clear that the system in play is a weak NT. Weak NT systems have a concept usually referred to as a "strong NT double". What this means in practice is that double of an opponent's 4th seat overcall is very often a strong NT hand. I would not go so far as to say always, as per Phil's answer, but it is nearly always the correct call when holding a strong NT in an auction like this.

One further thing to point out is that your 3♣ rebid should have been forcing so passing this was very bad indeed even without it suppressing 3 card heart support. In this it should be clear that your choice of 3♣ was not responsible for the bad board. Beginners often forget about double as an option and 3♣ is surely the next best option so you should not feel to badly about it. If East is a regular partner you might consider directing them to the N/B forum here. They could probably improve their game cnsiderably with a few well-chosen questions.