[hrothgar]

Here's fairly simple question where I'm not sure of the right answer:

You are playing MOSCITO at IMPs
Green

Partner passes in first seat
RHO opens 1♠

You hold

♠ AQ62
♥ AQ94
♦ AKT7
♣ 8

Name your poison...

[Free]

Dbl, followed by some NT if possible (and if partner bids ♣). I have 19, don't see a better sollution...

[pclayton]

Yeah I kibbed this. I thought pass was right, in spite of the good result

Dbl followed by 2N over 2♣ is a 2nd choice because sometimes pard doesn't bid 2♣.

[HeartA]

Free, on Sep 17 2006, 02:13 PM, said:

Dbl, followed by some NT if possible (and if partner bids ♣). I have 19, don't see a better sollution...

Agree.

[kvetcher]

pclayton, on Sep 17 2006, 02:58 PM, said:

Dbl followed by 2N over 2♣ is a 2nd choice because sometimes pard doesn't bid 2♣.

What kind of problem would it be if Pd bid 2♦ or 2♥ ??

[Free]

kvetcher, on Sep 18 2006, 12:25 AM, said:

pclayton, on Sep 17 2006, 02:58 PM, said:

Dbl followed by 2N over 2♣ is a 2nd choice because sometimes pard doesn't bid 2♣.

What kind of problem would it be if Pd bid 2♦ or 2♥ ??

I think it's quite clear what to do if he bids 2♥... 2♦ might be more difficult.

Imo you can make this problem even harder if your RHO opens 1♥, some might consider a 1♠ overcall in that case

[EricK]

I would like to sign up to the double followed NT brigade.

[the hog]

"I would like to sign up to the double followed NT brigade."

Ditto. Don't really see how you can pass here, Phil.

[jikl]

I will join the XNT brigade.

Sean

[mr1303]

Is there some significance to the playing of MOSCITO in this situation? I haven't played it for a while, so maybe the defensive methods may have changed.

[whereagles]

Moscito here just means pard, being a passed hand, will usually have a weaker hand than in other systems. E.g. there are many 10 hcp hands with which pard would have opened 1st seat.

[EricK]

whereagles, on Sep 18 2006, 10:18 AM, said:

Moscito here just means pard, being a passed hand, will usually have a weaker hand than in other systems. E.g. there are many 10 hcp hands with which pard would have opened 1st seat.

When RHO opens and I have 19HCP partner never has 10 HCP (even if it is theoretically possible, he never has that many!)

[hrothgar]

whereagles, on Sep 18 2006, 01:18 PM, said:

Moscito here just means pard, being a passed hand, will usually have a weaker hand than in other systems. E.g. there are many 10 hcp hands with which pard would have opened 1st seat.

Whereageles brings up a point that I consider crucial...

Partner's maximum strength is considerably weaker playing MOSCITO than it would in many other bidding systems. (In theory, partner could have a bad 11 count if he was balanced)

Personally, I didn't see any bids that I liked particularly and decided to psyche a 1NT overcall. Sure, I lied about shape and range, but for once I actually had a stopper :-)

I considered doubling, but I didn't like any rebids over 2♣. In particular, I was worried about the auction

P - (1S) - X - (P)
2♣ - (P) - 2N - (P)
3N

Unfortunately, I ended up with the following auction

P - (1S) - 1N - (P)
2♠ - (X) - P - (P)
3♣ - (X) all pass

Free ended up transferring to clubs and LHO started doubling.

[joshs]

hrothgar, on Sep 18 2006, 02:23 PM, said:

whereagles, on Sep 18 2006, 01:18 PM, said:

Moscito here just means pard, being a passed hand, will usually have a weaker hand than in other systems. E.g. there are many 10 hcp hands with which pard would have opened 1st seat.

Whereageles brings up a point that I consider crucial...

Partner's maximum strength is considerably weaker playing MOSCITO than it would in many other bidding systems. (In theory, partner could have a bad 11 count if he was balanced)

Personally, I didn't see any bids that I liked particularly and decided to psyche a 1NT overcall. Sure, I lied about shape and range, but for once I actually had a stopper :-)

I considered doubling, but I didn't like any rebids over 2♣. In particular, I was worried about the auction

P - (1S) - X - (P)
2♣ - (P) - 2N - (P)
3N

Unfortunately, I ended up with the following auction

P - (1S) - 1N - (P)
2♠ - (X) - P - (P)
3♣ - (X) all pass

Free ended up transferring to clubs and LHO started doubling.

The first problem here is the range you are playing for the 1NT overcall is wrong!!

If partner is a passed hand and the most he can have is a balanced 10 count or an unbalanced 9 count (I can't remember the ranges in Moscito offhand), there is no point ever overcalling 1N on only 15. Further, if partner truely has a maximum, say a 9-10 count, he will certainly balance, so you will never miss a game passing with a 15-16 count. In fact partner, will balanced with 7-8 and shortage in spades, and maybe even with 6 and the right shape. If partner passes with scatter values and spade length, you will be very very happy defending.

If you were doing something sensible, and playing 1N as more like a great 16-19, or 17-bad 20, or 17-20, or something like that, a 1N overcall would be in the range (or at least close to within the range). Pass might still be right, but its not because you had too much for 1N and not enough to x and then bid 2N opposite a passed hand....

I find that this is a recocurring problem among light opening bid players, a first or second seat pass limits there hand more than in standard, but they don't adjust their methods to take advantage of that additional information.

For instance, Qxx Kxx Qxx AKQx
Non-Vul vs Vul,
Partner passes, RHO bids 3S, your bid?
In standard you have a guess, and most players would bid 3N on the tenuous stopper hoping that it makes. (I think that bid is wrong, but its not wrong by that much, and if you want a drop more to bid 3N, add another J somewhere and then I will make the same argument)

Playing a method where partner can not have a balanced 10 or 11 count (say 10-12 NTs), and might have even opened some unblanced 9 counts, I think 3N is rediculous. You need partner to have an absolute max, to even have reasonable play at making 3N, and if he had that hand, he might be able to x back in (say x Axxx Axxxx xxx). Personally if he xed back in I would pass rather than venture 3N where I have no tricks and RHO can probably duck the first spade to keep a link with partner...

[Echognome]

I would double and bid NT.

As for Josh's comments, I don't understand why we are adjusting our bidding to "if game is unlikely, we won't bid". Why can't we battle for part-score? I think it's exceedingly important in MPs, but also why lose the 5 imps swings in IMPs? I mean in MPs, by not overcalling 1NT with a good 15 count, we are taking a huge anti-field position and we better well be right. (I know we're anti-field by playing MOSCITO to begin with, but we'll often end in the same spot as the field anyway.) In IMPs, I don't see why we are changing our ranges so much. OK, so we have some risk of being doubled if we have a bad 15 count. Maybe we can adjust our methods on the margin. But are going to be really happy when it goes (1♠) - P - (2♠) - P - (P) - ? and we're sitting with AQx Kx AQxx JTxx.

[mr1303]

What happened to 3♣ X?

[whereagles]

There are some things you should not ask and that is one of them

[Free]

mr1303, on Sep 19 2006, 12:06 PM, said:

What happened to 3♣ X?

3♣X was just made, tnx to ridiculous defense of our opponents. -1 should probably most frequent, but I think there were ways for -2...

[pclayton]

Free, on Sep 19 2006, 03:41 AM, said:

mr1303, on Sep 19 2006, 12:06 PM, said:

What happened to 3♣ X?

3♣X was just made, tnx to ridiculous defense of our opponents. -1 should probably most frequent, but I think there were ways for -2...

I didn't think the defense was that ridiculous. I think it was something like this:

---

Frederick won the stiff heart lead on the board and led the ♣8. North has to rise at this point, I believe to beat it, but played small. South won and exited a diamond. Declarer won, ruffed a diamond, and played the ♣10 (small is better), but South crashed, but the defense still won 4 trump tricks.

North has to win the ♣Q, give pard a heart ruff and get a spade ruff. Again, not that routine, but I think the defense should be found. An initial spade lead makes it easier.

I can't ever see this going -2; the defense can't ever come to 6 trump tricks.

[FrancesHinden]

errmm...
heart lead
8 of clubs won by South with the Jack
Spade ruff
Heart ruff
AK of clubs

one off (unless declarer rose with the ace of spades, in which case two off)