[Kalvan14]

Scoring: MP

1D-(P)-2C-(2NT)*
???

*Major 2-suiter

---

You're playing a SAYC equivalent system

[bearmum]

3♦ for me ( assuming that the 2♣ bid shows 10+ points?)

[Free]

3♥, asking a stopper

[Fluffy]

Double:penalty in one of the 2 suits.

[awm]

I don't really want to defend on this hand, with opponents very likely to have a 9-10 card heart fit, and the offensive potential of all those diamonds. We could easily be trading slam in either minor for a measly +300 or so.

I'd go with 3♦, which should be natural and forcing. There is likely space to look for stoppers later if we belong in 3NT, but I'm not convinced we belong there. Give partner as little as:

xx
xxxx
Kxx
AKxx

It seems to me that we have good play for 6♦, and this probably isn't even a 2/1 bid.

I'd take 3♥ or 3♠ as stopper-showing since there are two relevent suits. However, I'd tend to bid these with more of a balanced hand (where I think 3nt is probably the best contract) rather than a hand with so much potential for slam.

[JSilver]

I'll double. If partner doesn't double the likely 3♥, I'll cuebid ♠. Then if partner skips 3nt to raise ♦, I'll assume he has working values and bid slam. However, if 2♣ denied a 4-card major, then I would choose 3♦.

[Blofeld]

I like double, and waiting to see if partner is going to double 3♥. If this hand is a big misfit, I'd like to defend.

[P_Marlowe]

Pass and bid 4D later which should show
a good hand, a direct 3D bid is weaker.

Marlowe.

[Kalvan14]

I doubled: I agree that defending against 3♥ based on a fit of (8)9 trumps (CHO would not double without 4 hearts, and there is say a 10% chance that he might have 6 clubs and 5 hearts) might not be best; OTOH, if really pard has 9/+ cards between clubs and hearts, what are you going to play? 3NT?
Double here means that you can (and will) double for penalty at least one of the oppos 2-suiter.

According to expectations, LHO bids 3♥, and CHO doubles.

[mikeh]

3♦

I simply do not understand double. And double followed by a pass of partner's double of 3♥ leaves me (almost) speechless.

What is it about this hand that screams defence???

Why does double by you begin to describe this hand??

Why does partner need 4 trump to double 3♥?

Surely your double proclaims a defensive hand: something like AQ9x AJx KQxxx x?

[luis]

Double is horrible, if you plan to pass pd's double of the obvious 3♥ I think you are nuts :-)

It's not an easy hand to bid but I'm going to risk 3♦ and see what happens.

[Winstonm]

Well, I must certainly be out in left field as I have no interest whatsoever in penalizing the opponents, playing 3N, or flying to the moon. I want to play in diamonds (or even clubs if pard's clubs are that good), presumably at the 5 or 6 or 7 level.

I start with 3H. Over anything my partner or the opponents' bid that allows it, I follow with 4S and will pull 5C to 5D.

But this fits in with my style of bidding where you are free to bid aggressively below the level of game without showing a mountainous hand - this way I am better able to describe hands that have great potential and it brings partner into the bidding by allowing him to evaluate his fits in light of my bidding.

Winston

[Kalvan14]

Bidding is:
1D-(P)-2C-(2N)-
X-(3H)-X-P-P-P

---

Welcome to the real world, guys.
W jumped in with a crazy bid (7 losers without indications of possible fit, and with oppos committed to try for a game ) but he found E holding a treasure.
3♥X went 2 down. Peanuts, but try playing 3N or 5D. There is not a single card well placed, and you get to N hands a couple times if you are lucky.

Bridge is a game of fits, and of fitting hands. This is not one such, and the bidding warned you of this. There will be difficulties in communications (which will be just in clubs). Spades is out as a possible trump; with 7 diamonds in your hand, you will be lucky to find pard with 2. You have 5 losers to place. Should I go on?
I looked at the results at the end (this was the 1st hand played) and we were the only one to write in our column.
The score included a slight majority of 3NT, one 6♦X and the balance were 5♦. All down.

[Rebound]

mikeh, on Nov 26 2005, 09:16 PM, said:

3♦


Surely your double proclaims a defensive hand: something like AQ9x AJx KQxxx x?

As it happens, in one partnership I play that a double here is card showing only, alerting partner to the fact I hold better than a normal opening hand, to be clarified later. In any event, it turns out the auction would go much the same as the given hand except that I would be extremely likely to bid over 3♥x.

Nice post Kalvan, although I admit I would probably get too high like all the others. There is a non-zero chance that I would pass 3♥x with the given hand, but no one who knows me would count on it.

[Winstonm]

This is odd. When this board got to me the hands were:

---

Everyone else was in 3 or 4H doubled. We were the only ones in the icy 5D contract.

I think I saw "Real World" once on television; I didn't like it much then, either.



Winston

[mikeh]

Nice post, winston

At my table the hand was

This was the hand at my table, and 3♥ doubled was not a good result for us either

---

Bad bids that lead to good results are still bad bids. On the actual hand, a normal 3♦ bid would probably still get you to 3♥ doubled, if west had a pulse, since east's 2N should be radically different from the actual cheese held, and west knows of at least a 9 card heart fit, nv.

If N doubles 3♥, as South I can pass a heck of a lot more comfortably than if I doubled 2N, inviting a penalty double by N with any suitable defensive hand.

[Kalvan14]

Winstonm, on Nov 27 2005, 02:24 PM, said:

This is odd. When this board got to me the hands were:

---

Everyone else was in 3 or 4H doubled. We were the only ones in the icy 5D contract.

I think I saw "Real World" once on television; I didn't like it much then, either.



Winston

Must have been a misboard with this hand you'd play an icy 5♦, I would play 3N or 4HX (try leading trump from N hand).

As far as the idea that N might double with 3 trumps only, I told you: it is a no-no

I'm not trying to promote the Church of the Holy Penalty Double, mind.
The problem is this: if you do not like Real World, you have the option of changing channel; if you don't like real world, you have not.

[Fluffy]

At my table it was:

2NT-X-3♠-ps
ps-X-ps-ps
ps

---

And it went for a number.

Everyone can invent crazy boards

[Winstonm]

Must have been a foul(ed) board....or was this turkey played on thankgiving, making it a fowl(ed) board?

Winston

[Kalvan14]

LOL, guys: this hand happened in a club MP event. Why should I go out of my way to invent a hand like this?