[Chamaco]

Scoring: MP

(p)-1♥-(p)-1NT
(2♠)-DBL-(p)-?

---

Playing fairly standard 5 card major.
Pard opens 1H in second seat, and after your 1NT response, West(who had previously dealt and passd !!!) bids 2S.

You assume your pard's double shows extras, but not a specific shape: probably in the 17-20 range, likely balanced or some 1-5-(43).

You can trust partner, he is a good player, but any inferences from opps bidding will be useless, they are certainly less than advanced/intermediate.

What do you bid ?

[42]

I sit it out and pass. In my partnerships this DBL is defined as penalty. Weak players in our club tend to be very excited when they play a dbled contract which often gains us extra tricks... *ehem...
Caren

[Chamaco]

42, on Dec 12 2005, 09:35 AM, said:

I sit it out and pass.  In my partnerships this DBL is defined as penalty.

well, I think it's useful to use it as "cards", e.g.

Ax
AQTxx
KQx
Kxx

is a typical hand that would double, despite not being strictly penalty.

Even the following hand is better suite for dbl than bidding 3 diamonds, becaiuse the free bid at the 3 level should show extra shape, nioit a mere 5422 in the 18 hcp range:

Ax
AQTxx
KQxx
Kx

==========================

Both hands are not really traditional "penalty" double hands, as they do not provide the traditional trump tricks required.

So, the double should be treated as cardshowing, or "cooperative"(*) IMO.

(*) = cooperative = "Who's to blame for this hand ?"

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

2S could be a prebal. bid, probably based on
a 5 carder, maybe 5-3-3-2.

The main question is , where do you want to
go? Unless 2NT asks partner to choose a
minor, and if he is 5-3-3-2 I dont want to play
on the 3 level.
I would pass, fairly confident that we will beat
this, afterall I have 2 tricks for partner.

Marlowe

[Fluffy]

3♠, pick a game

[kenberg]

I would pass.

Although you warn me against inferences from the opponents bidding, I find that on this auction declarer usually shows up with six spades and four hearts, a hand he would open 2S were it not for the four card major. Assuming partner has his extras, and assuming he gets started with a trump lead, we might beat this by quite a bit.

Yes, when I hold 6-4 I either start with 2S or I mostly shut up (the choice depending on many items including my mood), but others feel differently.

If partner does not have a couple of trumps I think this can not reasonably be called a cooperative double. Cooperative means he can reasonably expect me to pass on some hands without a massive trump holding. Passing a TO double usually requires some trump length, pulling a penalty double usually requires some shape, but passing a cooperative double with this hand seems very reasonable to me.

Ken

[joker_gib]

The problem is to know why opps did not open 2♠ the round before !?

It would help to know your opps here. How are their weak 2's ? Do they open with 4♥'s, with 2 aces ? Are they "crazy" enough to introduce a 5 cards suit now ?

I would choose between pass (magic 200 or more ?) and 3♠ (maybe too high )depending on those condiderations.

Alain

[whereagles]

If pard is a reliable bidder and defender, pass. Otherwise I bid some nr. of NT.

[Gerben42]

Agree with others that passing is suicide. You are on the 2-level and you don't have trump tricks (your 3 trumps virtually assure that). Don't try to catch them, you will have caught yourself. 3♠ is a nice bid.

[mikeh]

I never double them enough at mps, so I will experiment here and pass.

This could very easily be a disaster and I would bid (3♠ is the logical call) if I felt that this would probably get us to the best spot. But there may not be a better spot than 2♠ doubled, and even if there is, partner may not be able to bid it.

Partner will likely bid 3N, 4 of a minor, or 4♥ over our blame-transfer 3♠, and I will be unhappy with all of them.

So I suck it up, and hope that we can afford to lead enough trump to prevent dummy ruffing.

Imps, I make the blame-transfer.

[Al_U_Card]

It looks like they hold 9 trumps and I can't pass, so 3S may be asking a futile question. Perhaps 3C is not so bad, but 3H seems like a possibility with the small doubleton.... the 2S bidder didn't preempt in 1st seat because they usually have values in H and you can hook them twice......with your nice minor suit entries.

[DelfinoD]

For me double is 50% penaltly and I have a clear pass.

[han]

Pass and 3S both seem optimistic bids. Pass because I don't think that we are setting 2S, and 3S because I don't think that it is likely that we have game. Wait a minute, did you say 17-20 pts? That's a lot, I would like my partner to double with a nice 14-count. OK, in that case 3S seems right, and pass is not as silly as I thought it was.

[whereagles]

Well, if double is extras, pass is possible. If double is for take-out, a scrambling 2NT, if you're playing it, seems the best bid (avoids having to guess which minor to bid).