[han]

Last board of a team match, you are ahead of the other table and the difference is likely small. At favorable you deal yourself the title hand and the auction goes:

1C-(p)-1S-(1NT*)
2S-(p)-p-(3D*)
??

1NT is alerted as "el sandiche" and 3D as "fishin for x". Needless to say, you are playing against young juniors. Your call.

[whereagles]

I got some extras, so 3♠. Not perfect, but in this situation only pard can double 3♦ and it's unlikely he's strong enough to do that.

[mike777]

thank goodness 2s shows...4 spades and something less than 15 whcp.

I pass now....nothing extra

Please note whereagle thinks i have extras!!!!!!

[cherdano]

I pass, and this looks entirely normal to me.

[whereagles]

Well, I do have 15, no? If it were

xxxx
Kxxx
x
AKQx

some people would proabably still bid 3♠, so I'm not letting that lone king stop me. Besides, there's nothing against pard having the queen or ace (especially if RHO is a junior.. lol).

[Fluffy]

We are all young, lets double and have a laugh .

[mike777]

whereagles, on Mar 29 2006, 05:24 AM, said:

Well, I do have 15, no? If it were

xxxx
Kxxx
x
AKQx

some people would proabably still bid 3♠, so I'm not letting that lone king stop me. Besides, there's nothing against pard having the queen or ace (especially if RHO is a junior.. lol).

I think you have raised the most important question.

Is this hand extra or minimum?

Whereageles says this is extra in his style...so....
otoh...many may not even open this hand so.........for some this is extra for others this not an opening hand. .

[whereagles]

It's a min if you think in terms of hcp.

It's a med if you think in terms of losing trick count

The brillancy comes when you add the singleton ♦K. Now it's a med in terms of both LTC and hcp!!!

[luis]

I pass because I know what to lead agaisnt 3♦

Luis

[kgr]

whereagles, on Mar 29 2006, 12:24 PM, said:

Well, I do have 15, no? If it were

xxxx
Kxxx
x
AKQx

some people would proabably still bid 3♠, so I'm not letting that lone king stop me. Besides, there's nothing against pard having the queen or ace (especially if RHO is a junior.. lol).

Both this hand and hand with the K:
3S for me.
Singleton D and probably partner has 5 card S.
Could very well be that both 3D and 3S make.

[inquiry]

Pass quietly. State of the match not my concern.

There are some reasons to like my hand. The heart king should be well placed and any spade honors they have will be poorly place for them in front of partner's honors. On the other hand, spades are probably breaking badly (5-0 is probably as kely than 3-2 on this auction) and the diamond King is clearly not pulling its weight. If partner is looking at FIVE spades, he will probably bid 3♠ based upon LOTT, so why not let him look in HIS HAND and see if we have the values to continue the struggle.

[mikeh]

Pass seems clear.

Partner is there and we have opened the bidding and raised his suit, in a situation in which the raise has to promise 4 cards support.

The ♦K is a good defensive card but it adds virtually nothing to the offensive potential of the hand.

[caigao]

Yes, I think it's a clear pass. But I dont expect 3D to set 2 or more no matter pd dbl it or not. If pd had dead minimum, 3S is going to be risky.

[cherdano]

whereagles, on Mar 29 2006, 12:24 PM, said:

Well, I do have 15, no? If it were

xxxx
Kxxx
x
AKQx

some people would proabably still bid 3♠, so I'm not letting that lone king stop me. Besides, there's nothing against pard having the queen or ace (especially if RHO is a junior.. lol).

This is completely opposite to my thinking. With ♦x I would be much more likely to bid 3♠ than with ♦K. 3♠ is not about showing extras, it is about competing for the part-score in case both 3♠ and 3♦ make. As Mike explained, ♦K makes it more likely that 3♦ goes down, but doesn't help the likelyhood of 3♠ making as much.

The bad trumps also argue for defending, if partner has all the intermediates he may bid 3♠ himself.

Arend

[inquiry]

kgr, on Mar 29 2006, 10:22 AM, said:

Singleton D and probably partner has 5 card S.
Could very well be that both 3D and 3S make.

If you pass and if partner has 5♠ and is a believer in the law of total tricks, he will bid 3♠ himself most of the time when it is right. Your bidding 3♠ "hoping" he has 5♠ (most of the time), but he can do a funny somthing if you give him a chance.. he can LOOK at his cards and count them to see how many he has.

[mcphee]

pass I have already bid the hand I have. Bidding in this position again with this hand is begging for whips and pain.

[flytoox]

that 1N should be a warning to you. If you bid 3S, you will go down for sure. Bidding 3S is very wrong. I would rather dbl than bid 3S.

My choice is pass. I expect them to make one overtrick.

[Echognome]

flytoox, on Mar 29 2006, 04:41 PM, said:

that 1N should be a warning to you. If you bid 3S, you will go down for sure. Bidding 3S is very wrong. I would rather dbl than bid 3S.

My choice is pass. I expect them to make one overtrick.

The 1NT is no warning against juniors. It just means it's more likely that the bid was made on QJTxxx and out.

I still pass because partner is still there and it's not right for me to make the decision in front of him.

[whereagles]

Echognome, on Mar 29 2006, 05:19 PM, said:

I still pass because partner is still there and it's not right for me to make the decision in front of him.

Well, I think I have some extra shape/strength that pard might not be expecting, so I don't think bidding 3♠ is disregarding pard.

By the way.. 1NT opening anyone?

[Al_U_Card]

State of the match is a concern for me. This hand is ambivalent so judgement is required. The juniors may have stamina and energy on their side, but you have experience and judgement on yours. They will declare daringly and defend accurately so you must get to the right contract. Defending an easy contract will not pay off and going -130 when you can go +140 may cost the match. As much as I am not crazy about the D K in my hand, if I had x and the K was in pard's hand that would be worse. I warily vote for 3S but I will put the card on the table as confidently as I can...