[inquiry]

Scoring: IMP

Partner opens 1♣ in an individual where you play only one board per round, and bid before you could even say hello. You have no agrements, and partner's profile says "intermediate" and nothing else. Your bid.

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[joker_gib]

I think an intermediate can understand the 1♥ bid

Alain

[Gerben42]

Well 1NT is out with a too strong hand and a ♠ void! 1♥

[Codo]

I play individual as normal as possible and try to make the normal bids.
This gives me bad results and a big record as dummy, as my pds try to play any single hand, but I am not ready yet for chanig my mind and become more successful. I must admit, that 6 club is a close second...

[hrothgar]

EASY 1♥ bid...

If partner can't understand this bid, do we really want him declaring a club contract?

[mr1303]

Almost anything could work. Certainly I'd expect most of my partners in an individual to try Blackwood.

But I try bidding normally if at all possible, so I bid 1H.

[cherdano]

If you don't bid 1♥ here (or even think about doing s.th. else), you should really really not play in an individual IMO. Let's not give up trying to play bridge before we know it's necessary. (Also, partner is "intermediate", a good sign, not an "expert...)

Arend

[luis]

1♥
I don't have anything to say, I think 1♥ is obvious.

[dogsbreath]

hi
1H is the 'correct' bid. (I voted for 6♣ )

There are other factors in an Indy .. the opps are keener than usual to sacrifice because no 'regular' partner to upset and on this board it looks like a ♠ sac maybe good for them. So i choose 6C ..let them save over that if it suits them.
I dont generally favour this style, but it may well be right to play in C even if we have a Heart fit (unless 2 ♦ losers )!!
Additionally, partners are less upset by unusual bids when you let them play the hand.

If i am wrong i will apologise humbly

Rgds Dog

[awm]

I think 1♥ is the best call. This gives you a chance to declare (if partner raises the hearts) and has essentially no chance of being passed (partner might think 2♥ is weak) or otherwise misinterpreted. It gives the opportunity to hear more from partner before picking a contract.

The tough question is what to do at the next turn if hearts are not raised. It feels like 6♣ may be in the works, without any intelligent way to investigate with no agreements...

[kenberg]

I bid 1H.

I enjoy indys, as perverse as that may sound. My experience is that "intermediate" usually means intermediate, not beginner. It's the "expert" self-ratings that are almost invariably based on fantasy. Intermediates can be trusted to know that a new suit by responder is forcing, and they probably know that a fourth suit bid could be a fake suit. At any rate, if he rebids a spade, you bid 2D, and if later you bid 6C he will know to play it in clubs or hearts. Of course LHO is most likely about to bid a lot of spades, after which you may need to bid 6C and hope it all works out.

Yes I like strong jump shifts and yes they are the default in SAYC, but I wouldn't bid 2H here in an indy even if partner agreed to play SAYC and listed himself as World Class. I just wouldn't. Probably especially I wouldn't if he listed himself as World Class.

The most frequent frustrations in indys (my opinion) are not that you get dropped in a forcing bid. Rather you evaluate your hand, stop in a partscore in hearts, take nine tricks, and get a bad result because other pairs are playing game off four cashing but not cashed tricks. Or something similar. Here is one from the other day in a regular acbl tourney, not even an indy: 1D(me)-(1S)-2D- (3D)-5D all pass. I am in five undoubled non-vulnerable diamonds, off three, they are cold for 4 vulnerable of either major and while I score above average, it's just barely so. This is a little crazy. But I come back for more.

Anyway, I bid 1H.

Ken

[pclayton]

Ben:

If you feel torture with simple problems like this, don't play INDYs. There's no glory in winning a 9 board tourney with a bunch of half-wits.

It will only screw up your game in the process.

Oh and I bid 1♥.

[han]

1♥, I'm ready for the story Ben.

[jikl]

I voted Other!

Since I have 2 answers.

F2F, I quickly bid 1♣ and hope the 3 opps don't know the rules very well. This may give me a chance to play it! Unfortunately this might not work. We might have to pull out another nasty bid later on, we might have to double partner to ban him from the auction when he starts to go overboard in the bidding

On BBO, I guess I will have to go with 1♥

Sean

[bearmum]

1♥ WTP??

[nickf]

pclayton, on Feb 9 2006, 05:05 AM, said:

Ben:

If you feel torture with simple problems like this, don't play INDYs.

what he said.

nickf
sydney

[Free]

I really don't see the problem here. If I bid 2♥ partner may think it's weak, if I bid 2♣ he might pass, anything else than a normal forcing 1♥ response is passable I'm afraid!

The only alternative imo is 5♠, but will they understand what it means?

[Chamaco]

Come on Ben, pull out the story behind this poll, it can't be that trivial, of course most human beings would bid 1H....