[inquiry]

Here is another problem from rec.games.bridge, where my response gathered nearly no support whatsoever. So I wanted to see what our community of advanced/expert players had to say about the problem

K754
42
KQ752
K7

N/S vul. Dlr West. You are North.

West opens 3H, round to your partner who doubles.

What is your response to the double and does condition of contest (Imps versus mp, or vul versus Not vul) make a difference.

Ben

[luis]

Being vul I'd bid 4s, maybe it makes maybe not but it does show something like my hand. I won't risk losing a vulnerable game. Did we see this movie?

Being NV with a heart doubleton no aces and no intermediates I admit I'd bid 3s and if that makes 5 then +200 and sorry pd. Another bid I might consider NV is 4d.

I don't think there're other options I don't like to hang my pd for balancing.

[lenze]

I agree with Luis, that I would probably bid 4 Spades at the table, althought I can also make a case for 4 Hearts, If parner bids 4 spades, great!(It may protect his Heart King). If he bids 5 Clubs, I can correct to 5 Diamonds

[Codo]

Of course the right answer is 3,5 spade.
Whether I upgrate to 4 depends on pd. My standard pd tend to upgrate his hand for his balancing double, so I will be happy if 3 Spade is not doubled.
With normal players it will depend on the mood.
I think that she/he will see about the vul. and the scoring method and stretch if necessary.

Kind Regards

Roland

[hrothgar]

Hi All

I'm very worried by a combination of the following:

1. RHO preempted White on Red
2. I have two Hearts
3. LHO PASSED

This suggests that partner is long in Hearts.
One thing is clear: We can't afford to have me declare the hand with the opening lead trhough partner.

I'm going to bid 4H and pass the buck to partner.
I agree with Tim Goodwin's posting the the 4H bid should be used to decide on the best game rather than a strong action moving towards slam.

[the hog]

I would probably bid 4H, choice of game, but am surprised that no one has considered 3N.
What! How can you bid this without a stopper? Partner has a stopper on this bidding, and 9 tricks may well be the limit.

[mishovnbg]

Hi Ben!
In posted example I can see game/slam on SP or game on DI. Lack of A is not problem, because I have 3K and my p have enough A for sure to dbl. Big problem here is 2 cards in He and pass from E.
At MP you must be with field, so trivial 4SP is best.
IMP:
In different vul is possible different reasons for p dbl and E pass.
1. NS vul (example). I expect with enough fit E to bid. E pass, so I expect my p with bal hand. To bid dbl with same hand in vul he must have near strong NT. We can have any game and not nessesary 4SP. We can have slam too. My bid will be 4HE as choice of contract and limit of 5 level on fit. I will ofcourse correct his 5CL to 5DI.
2. All vul. Same for dbl of my p, but unclear pass from E. He can pass only to not push us to 4SP. My p can have distributional hand still and we can have slam. Example: AQxx,x,Axxx,Axxx. If I will bid only 4SP he will pass for sure. So my bid will be again 4HE with same meaning.
3. EW vul. P is tend to bid light distributional dbl. E can pass because cant see game. 4SP will be enough.
4. Not vul. Like all vul, but: p can bid with less; E tend to bid 4HE with fit. 4SP is enough.
Misho

[inquiry]

My view on this hand, is in good alignment with Luis and Roland. Luis bids 4S when vulnerable, and stops in 3S (or maybe 4D) when not vul. Roland is worried that the bidding might go 3Sx with one of his partners (maybe he plays with me... i balance here almost everytime when short in hearts). The 4H bid (instead of 4S) pick a game idea has some merit, assuming partner understands that it is perfectly acceptable to pick a 4 card spade suit (4H was the most popular bid on the rgb). I added that at matchpoints with this hand, I would bid only 3S, the vul leap to game is only vul at imps for me.

I suspect the difference between our responses when not vul and that of others here, is that maybe we expect partner to balance with less here. I am not sure, but I expect my partner to reopen with dbl pretty much anytime he is short in hearts on this auction (well, of course don't go totally wacky). This is why I was glad to see Roland mention the possibility the auction might go 3Sx. But, I want to note that if I bid 3S not vul, partner will know that I might have something in reserve, and if I am vul, I will not. This helps him decide when to gamble and bid on if he has a sound takeout double and a fit. He will contine to play me fo rthe 8 to 9 ish ponts at a minimum (of course, sometimes you don't have that much).