[Walddk]

Scoring: MP

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Individual, 5 tables, strong field. Scoring: matchpoints. RHO opens 1♠ (5). Get in or wait? And if you bid, what is your choice? Your call.

Roland

[Echognome]

I bid 1NT. It's MPs and this gets my hand across in one go. If I pass now am I passing if it goes 1♠ - P - P - Dbl? Am I bidding 3NT? Will partner have enough to even balance?

What if it goes 1♠ - P - 1NT - P; 2♣ - ?

Then what? Am I doubling now? If not and it goes all pass we might be getting a poor score. Whereas if I bid 1NT now, partner is in a good position to judge where we should be. Hearts is still in the picture. Etc etc.

[Fluffy]

1NT, althou pass is probably better

[flytoox]

1N。If I want to try sth fancy, that is 2H.

[gwnn]

I passed. I like Raptor better anyway. If pd doubles, I'll bid 4♥ or 3NT depending on agreements (does he surely have 4 hearts?). Too bad we're at red, passing would have been fun. If he doesn't double, defending should get us a better score.

[whereagles]

I have an easy lead vs 1♠, so I think I'll pass this one.

[hatchett]

Consensus expert opinion has changed over the years from passing this type of hand to bidding 1NT.

[mcphee]

I like 1N, passing means I might have to risk bidding 2H or defend a minor. Also no reason to give up on game yet.

[Robert]

Hi everyone

Kaplan type bidding style is to pass here. I rarely disagreed with his bidding ideas.

Pass. 'If' partner does reopen with a double, 'Pass.'

I do not have to worry about bidding again 'unless' someone else bids first. Passing and bidding later 'often' suggests a good holding in the 'opening' bid suit, why partner would assume otherwise here?

I have not given up on bidding game quite yet, however, trying for a large(huge?) penalty isn't such a bad idea all of the time.

If the cards happen to lie 12-18-5-5 around the table and everyone passes 1S, is that assumed to be a poor result?

Why are most people worried about LHO bidding? Your partner is almost as likely to be bidding in this auction 'if' the bidding does go 1S-p-p-?

I tend to be very aggressive in reopening an auction 'because' partner is marked with an opening bid. I seem to have an opening bid(+) and the only reason that I am not bidding is that I hold solid defensive values.

Hi gwnn

Reopening doubles do not promise(and sometimes do not deliver) four hearts. They are likely, however, a good partner will double with 2344 types without four hearts. If partner should hold 1345 or 1354 type hands I would encourage him to reopen with a double.

Regards,
Robert

[Halo]

1NT

I'm impressed by the argument that you go for least distortion when you haven't got a good bid. To me the points, no singleton, and double spade stop say 1NT.

If I pass, I expect to defend one spade undoubled. Could be the right thing to do. I don't have a third choice.

[HeartA]

Fluffy, on Nov 27 2006, 07:10 AM, said:

1NT, althou pass is probably better

That's my thought, too.

The danger of pass is that it might go 1S-p-p-p and we have a game (pd is a little too weak to balance and chooses to pass). Another concern is if it goes 1S-p-1N-p-2C/2D, my bidding would be awful.

[pclayton]

No strong feelings here. I can see the merits of pass, 1N and (gulp) 2♥.

Double would never occur to me, and I hope it doesn't occur to you either.

[Walddk]

Scoring: MP

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Overwhelming majority for a 1NT overcall. I have to agree; it's too dangerous to venture a trap pass. It could easily backfire, and did for our South here when he was trapped seconds later. Look ...

1♠ P 2♠ P
P

He might have been suspicious at this point, but there was really nothing he could do any more. He passed, and 250 for down 5 didn't earn the partnership any matchpoints.

East chose the right moment for his psyche, and although South couldn't have known that 1♠ was a psyche (until it was too late), he could and should have prevented the disastrous result.

Roland

[zasanya]

Couldnt those points and 2♠ cards be in E hand instead of N hand?Would 1NT overcall be a success then?Can we make generalisations on the basis of a 1st hand psyche?

[Robert]

Hi everyone

That responding hand is approaching a limit raise. I happen to play that
1M-P-3M(4M?)-p-p-X shows a 'trump' stack.

I have no problem with a psyche 'fixing' me. It happens 'some of the time.' Other times it 'blows up' in their face for a huge score my way.

I have seen several recent rulings about 'fielding' a psyche that seem very bad to me(against the pair that made the psyche)

How this pair could bid in competition while using this type of psyche would seem to give me a big advantage 'most' of the time.

Partner is also fairly close to making a takeout double of 2 spades, that result might prove interesting.

I happened to be playing Blue Team Club when someone psyched a 1S overcall after a 1H opening. Since Blue Team played penalty doubles after a 1H-(1S) overcall I doubled holding an opening bid with AQ10xx in spades. His partner was not 'in' on the joke and 'raised' to 2 spades. I also doubled that contract.

Psychic controls are banned now(in ACBL land anyway) aren't they? What happens 'if' I switched hands with West?

Regards,
Robert

[pclayton]

This is an interesting contrast to Frances' thread on psyching in response to 1♠. Good opponents are well prepared to deal with psyches after 1x - dbl.

OTOH, a blind psyche in 1st seat can be very tough to handle. Give the South hand in Roland's example a 6th spade. Do the posters still overcall 1N? I can see a similar layout where the hand gets passed out.

[hatchett]

If you made the ♥2 the ♠2, I would still bid 1NT

Firstly, with my weak spade pips I might not even be beating 1♠. Or making 90 vs 50 or +120 vs 100 etc.
Secondly passing on the first round is unlikely to give me a better
chance to enter the auction. For example, say it continues 1NT on my
left, 2♦ on my right, I have no sensible action and partner will be unlikely
to be in a position to compete with Axxxxx ♣.
Thirdly I have a maximum in high cards so if partner bids a game over 1NT,
there is a good chance it will have play despite having no chance to set up my long suit.

[the hog]

1NT. What's the problem? Another example of 2 handed vs 4 handed bridge.

[microcap]

though Justin is way better and more experienced than I, I have had the exact opposite experience with this hand. I have passed and always gotten a bad result at matchpoints [forget the actual psyche]-- especially at these colors where even +100 rates to be a bad score. I too would bid 1NT.