[mike777]

Scoring: IMP

(1D!)=1H=P=1S
(2D)=2S=(4D)=4S
(5D)=P=P=?

---

1D!= PRECISION, COULD BE SHORT.

The above bidding from the quarter final of the NEC Cup is forced upon you, your bid now.

[jtfanclub]

Dumb question, and I apologize for it, but was your 1♠ call in this auction forcing for 1 round?

[mike777]

jtfanclub, on May 21 2007, 02:58 PM, said:

Dumb question, and I apologize for it, but was your 1♠ call in this auction forcing for 1 round?

Assume no partnership agreement or discussion of how forcing one spade is.
Assume a WC partner.

[han]

I'm bidding. Wasn't sure about 5H vs 5S.

[whereagles]

5♠ seems pretty normal on this nice 6-5 with fitting honors.

[Fluffy]

I guess we go for 1100 if this is asked

[skjaeran]

I believe we're in for some bad breaks. Might possibly go down in 4♠. I pass.

[awm]

I'm not really sure how 5♠ can be better than 5♥. It's certainly possible that partner has three spades and six hearts, and if I had three hearts myself I'd have tried 4♥ over 4♦ (giving partner choice of games). If spades are 5-3 and hearts 6-2, it's easy to imagine hearts playing better as the trick one tap will be in the short hand.

Certainly there is a case for double or pass, but partner's failure to double (combined with my total lack of diamonds) seems to make doubling dubious. Partner suggests that we may not want to defend 5♦X by not doubling, and there is nothing in particular about my hand that screams defense.

[Edmunte1]

The most important fact here is if partner's pass is forcing or no. In my methods it is, and i think it's a better way to handle this kind of boards (doubling for a make it's just a 4 IMP loss vs. undoubled contract). So i'm on the bidders part, and 5♥ should be an option. The great danger of bidding is losing trump control and going down for a number. If partner's pass wouldn't have been forcing, i would have passed

[bhall]

If 5♦ is making, both majors split badly. If 5M is making, partner has underbid at his second or third turn. So I pass and hope for +50.

I don't think partner's pass is forcing, because my 4♠ bid was quite possibly a tactical overbid. 4♠ over 3D would be a horse of an entirely different color. My RHO has treated us to a touch of the high life, and he deserves credit for his action.

[jtfanclub]

I don't get it. I'm not an expert, and I'm seeing an awful lot of people who I think are better than I am bidding at the 5 level, which makes me think my pass is wrong. I just don't understand why.

I made a presumably forcing 1♠ call. Partner had about 8 bids to support spades, and chose the weakest possible one. I cannot therefore imagine partner could only muster up a non-forcing raise and is suddenly going to force me at the 5 level.

I have 5 or six losers, I don't expect partner to be able to cover more than two of them. I think I already pushed this hand to the limit by bidding 4♠. I expect 5♠ to be doubled, and I expect it to go down 1 or 2.

Can we set 5♦? Well, the A♠ is most likely a trick, partner should have at least one defensive trick for his overcall, and is it too much to ask for the poor diamond split to generate a trick? At any rate...if 5♠X is down 1, then sacrificing when they make is +300 and when they fail is -150. But if 5♠X is down 2, then sacrificing when they make is only +100 and when they fail is -350. So if I think there's a decent chance that we're down at least 2 (and I do think that), I'd better be darned certain that they're going to make.

So I'm not going to bid at the 5 level.

Should I X? Well, I doubt they're getting an overtrick. It's only 150 extra if they make it, and an extra 200 if they're down 2. If I'm behind, or against superior opponents, I'll take my chances and X. Otherwise, I'm not going to take a chance of them making 800 the newfangled way. Pass.

So where is it that my logic fell apart?

[Cascade]

mike777, on May 22 2007, 08:01 AM, said:

jtfanclub, on May 21 2007, 02:58 PM, said:

Dumb question, and I apologize for it, but was your 1♠ call in this auction forcing for 1 round?

Assume no partnership agreement or discussion of how forcing one spade is.
Assume a WC partner.

I would guess the Ausi pairs in the NEC would have an agreement about whether 1♠ was forcing.

I think the pairs were Marston Prescott and Nagy Richman for this event.

[mike777]

Cascade, on May 22 2007, 12:09 AM, said:

mike777, on May 22 2007, 08:01 AM, said:

jtfanclub, on May 21 2007, 02:58 PM, said:

Dumb question, and I apologize for it, but was your 1♠ call in this auction forcing for 1 round?

Assume no partnership agreement or discussion of how forcing one spade is.
Assume a WC partner.

I would guess the Ausi pairs in the NEC would have an agreement about whether 1♠ was forcing.

I think the pairs were Marston Prescott and Nagy Richman for this event.

1s was not disclosed as forcing or not. In any event partner bid 2s...when it is was clearly not forcing ok?

Is this sequence forcing at the 5 level or not? The experts disagreed. At the very least for the rest of us we can agree it may be confusing.

[han]

I play the 5-level decision as NF. I also play 1S as NF and I'm sure they knew.