[pilowsky]

---

I'm North at Board 1 in today's club game playing an agrarian 2/1 with a regular partner (so neither of us know what we're doing).
What do I bid now?

[DavidKok]

That's a pretty extreme hand, and nobody bid the boss suit. I bet partner has both majors.
I don't like reversing on shape but low values, it never works out well. 3♣ seems reasonable in a standard system and is my pick, though 2♣ is also unlikely to result in a disaster. With this many clubs someone is bound to bid again.

[mikeh]

This is an easy 2C bid. We have 13 hcp and the club suit, while having an extra card,is too weak for 3C unless our hand was simply too strong for 2C, which it definitely, imo, isn’t.

Here’s a hint: when you are void in partner’s initial suit, do NOT upgrade.

If he passes 2C, you won’t have missed game, assuming partner has any clue at all. Meanwhile, if you overbid on this poor suit and apparent misfit, you ought to lose control of the auction.

Now, if partner shows a good hand and, in particular, shows some club support, you can safely bid aggressively, having limited .your hand via 2C.

[Cyberyeti]

mikeh, on 2023-July-12, 06:49, said:

If he passes 2C, you won’t have missed game, assuming partner has any clue at all. Meanwhile, if you overbid on this poor suit and apparent misfit, you ought to lose control of the auction.

I would say rarely rather than never, if his heart suit is weak, you might do, but it won't be frequent.

Playing standard methods 2♣ I think is clear, playing what I play the upper and lower limits for 3♣ are somewhat lower than for most people so 3♣ is perfectly reasonable.

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

You have a 74 shape. Simple rule: forget the 4 card suit, treat it as a 1-suited hand.
You have only 13HCP, go with 2C, and after that with 3C.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[pilowsky]

Excellent advice that was followed by 4 out 13 pairs - not including me of course.
A deal that had most of the field licking its lips at the start and licking its wounds by the end.

Here's the full disaster:

---

No-one stopped below 3♣.

Optimism is a curse.

Where would your methods land this plane?

[bluenikki]

pilowsky, on 2023-July-12, 16:40, said:

Excellent advice that was followed by 4 out 13 pairs - not including me of course.
A deal that had most of the field licking its lips at the start and licking its wounds by the end.

Here's the full disaster:

---

No-one stopped below 3♣.

Optimism is a curse.

Where would your methods land this plane?

South couldn't bring themself to pass 2♣?

[mikeh]

pilowsky, on 2023-July-12, 16:40, said:

Excellent advice that was followed by 4 out 13 pairs - not including me of course.
A deal that had most of the field licking its lips at the start and licking its wounds by the end.

Here's the full disaster:

---

No-one stopped below 3♣.

Optimism is a curse.

Where would your methods land this plane?

I’m surprised east passed 1C. But I doubt it changes things, other than to make it even clearer that north should rebid 2C.

I’d be in 3C in my main partnership….our auction would be 1C (1D) 2D (P) 3C

2D shows 6 hearts, any strength.

Nobody’s perfect.

[Cyberyeti]

I can't see any resting places other than 2♥/3♣, the hand is just a misfit.

[apollo1201]

pilowsky, on 2023-July-12, 06:17, said:

What do I bid now?

This is th me kind of things you ought to think about before opening. Up to which shall I go - freely, under opps pressure. Shall I bid D. What do I do over the common 1M reply. Etc.

As other posters said, the hand in rather on the low end of the ladder, and, even if the 7th C is a nice things, the void in partner’s suit and the soft texture of the C suit kinda offset this nice surprise.

So 2D is completely ruled out, and 2C is probably a more appropriate description than 3C in this auction. Of course if opps had bumped in the auction (like 1S by LHO, X by partner, 2S RHO) then 3C non-jump is mandatory. Even with a lesser hand.

In all cases, I’d probably end up in 3C here, 2C, 2H by pard given the 6-cd suit, and 3C by me (sorry, I’m void and my suit is either very strong or has a 7th card and I think I’ll manage 9 tricks more often than you 8). Over 3C, partner cuts our losses and quickly passes.