[Free]

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Free, if you are suggesting that you should by pass a 1S bid in the hope that the opps play there, you are playing pretty poor opps. If, as I understand, you plan to raise H, (to the 4 level??), I would suggest you are more likely to get doubled than persuade quality opps to play in a non fit.

What hand are you talking about? The one on top of this post, I'll bid 1S. The one I've posted to psych I'll also bid 1S, unless my partner won't understand it.

[inquiry]

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Free, if you are suggesting that you should by pass a 1S bid in the hope that the opps play there, you are playing pretty poor opps. If, as I understand, you plan to raise H, (to the 4 level??), I would suggest you are more likely to get doubled than persuade quality opps to play in a non fit.

What hand are you talking about? The one on top of this post, I'll bid 1S. The one I've posted to psych I'll also bid 1S, unless my partner won't understand it.

If you pyche 1S and your partner understands it, you have just violated the law. I am guessing what you meant to say is if you psyche a 1S and later in the hand, from further bidding, your parnter will not be able to work it out. But if your partner will not jump to 4S on hand with a big spade fit and lots of points, then you have a pscyhe control and this is not fair, i think. But i don't think you meant that.

[bearmum]

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J,9,7,6,5
-
9,8,7
A,J,9,5,3

Vuln. against not, partner deals and bids:

1H - dbl - ?
ALWAYS reply 1s :

your turn -

[the hog]

The title of your original post is "Trap". This together with your comments strongly suggests that you are trying to con opponents ito playing in S.

[inquiry]

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The title of your original post is "Trap". This together with your comments strongly suggests that you are trying to con opponents ito playing in S.

Hi Ron, the original poster, Haver, hasn't come back to give us the actual hand. But I suspect the trap on this hand is not bidding, but rather passing. Why? You have a heart void and not much hcp. RHO has made a takeout double and you are VUL and the opponents are not. The TRAP is more likely what happens if you pass. I mean don't worry about trapping your opponents into playing in spades, they don't have to play anything other than 1Hx if you are not careful. That is, you are likely to be trapped in a horrible minus 800 versus making two or three in one of the black suit. To pass with south at this vul is a risk of a bottom or huge imp loss.

Ben

[Free]

I think my pass should be a bit forcing. So if it goes 1H-x-p-p-?, I don't think partner will pass (except if he's strong). He'll RDbl, and if I bid a suit it's weak without a fit, if I pass I'm strong.

Btw, I think the title is confusing, and insinuating some unnatural bidding or something special. With this hand, I still think I'll bid 1S. However with the current subject I suspect pass is the best bid... If you give me this hand and the same bidding sequence without the subject "trap", I'll allways bid 1S.

Next time such hands are posted, I hope that the title won't say as much as it does now about what we should be bidding. It's quite confusing and it says to us all: "normal bidding won't be the right". Aparently some people misread my posts (no offense) and it becomes ultra-confusing for anyone who reads this thread...

Free

[the hog]

Yes Ben and also Free, you may well be right. I automatically assumed there was some plan afoot to trap the opponents.

[bearmum]

1S - partner asked for my best suit :- I do NOT have 10+ points for the JUMP to 2S : FIRST TRUST your PARTNER ;D

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J,9,7,6,5
-
9,8,7
A,J,9,5,3

Vuln. against not, partner deals and bids:

1H - dbl - ?

your turn -

[bearmum]

I may be a minority here but since WHEN is 1S FORCING??? :-
Partner has doubled ---- surely a forced bid at the ONE level cannot be FORCING???

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I believe the trap issue here is rather or not to bid at all. The danger with PASS with this hand is that the bidding might go 1H-X-P-P-P. With a void that will not be a happy contract.

The problem with bidding 1S, is they might TAKE it as a psych and start doubling, and 1S is forcing, and it might get your partner to rebid his suit and now you play 2Hx, instead of one.

With many of my partners, we play transfers from 1NT to suit opened minus one. So after 1H-X, all these bids are transfers: 1NT, 2C, 2D. Partner doesn't have to complete the transfer, but unless I am transferring to partners suit, the implication is that I lack support for his suit. So with this hand, I would bid 1NT (transfer to 2C). If partner bids 2C, fine, we play there. If partner bids 2D, he shows good red hand, and I don't mind playing in diamonds, so I pass that. If he rebids 2H despite my suggesting no heart fit, well then he is on his own.

As an added plus, West might double the 1NT and if partner passes, East might bid. And the fact that I didn't introduce this anemic spade suit, they might end up in spades.

As for the issue of bidding 1S over the double without spades, this is the most overused psych in the world of bridge. It is used so much that it is seldom effective except against inexperienced players, and using it frequently gets the opponents into a penalty double cycle. And without a heart fit, the last thing you want to do is make it easy for them to make penalty doubles. Assuming WEST has a lot of hearts, they will have trouble doubling your 2C bid (as a double by WEST is likley responsive), so either 2C or my transfer 1NT has a chance to escape.

Ben

[inquiry]

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I may be a minority here but since WHEN is 1S FORCING??? :-
Partner has doubled ---- surely a forced bid at the ONE level cannot be FORCING???

Read the problem again. Your partner didn't double, he was DOUBLED.