[han]

What do you do with x KQ10xxxx KJx xx IIMAYS? I assume that this heart suit is good enough to bid UYD, the hand has extras yet it is not strong enough to force to game.

If I double with this too then it becomes very hard for partner to do something intelligent. And some partners already have a hard time doing so.

[mikeh]

Hannie, on May 25 2007, 03:42 PM, said:

If I double with this too then it becomes very hard for partner to do something intelligent. And some partners already have a hard time doing so.

Hannie... I didn't know that we played with the same partners! SW! Maybe I should have written 'Small World', because, unlike Foo IHA.BWTF. AWTEW.



Ok..IHA I hate acronyms

[han]

IIMAYS = if I may ask you so.

I got BWTF and AWTEW but still working on UYD (and that's my own but I forgot how I intended it!),

[foo]

Hannie, on May 25 2007, 03:42 PM, said:

What do you do with ♠x♥KQTxxxx♦KJx♣xx If I May Ask (IIMA)? I assume that this heart suit is good enough to bid Using Your Double (UYD), the hand has extras yet it is not strong enough to force to game.

If I double with this too then it becomes very hard for partner to do something intelligent. And some partners already have a hard time doing so.

Nice example.

This hand is a traditional minimum with a long suit.
2 controls, 9 highs, etc etc.

Since we should have 7+ controls to be in Game, Opener needs something approximating a 15+ count for Us to legitimately be in game most of the time.

OTOH, with only 6 losers, we only need 3 cover cards in Opener's hand to make 4H.
The typical 1level opening usually has 4+.

If you want to upgrade it due to the nice suit and it having only 6 losers, I'd have no problems with that either.

But if you upgrade, I'd upgrade it to a GF since
a= We have a self-sufficient trump suit (it will play for 1 loser opposite a small x the vast majority of the time.)
b= 6 losers -3 cover cards => 10 tricks and we have a decent chance of making 5 since Opener rates to have 4 cover cards.
c= The bidding hints that Opener's values are likely to be where they will be useful

OTOH, this hand is !not! sure it has 5 level safety; and it's not interested in a slam opposite most hands Opener rates to have.

If I'm going to upgrade this hand, my bid with your example hand Hannie is
4H To Play.

[han]

Please notice my UYD (unless you disagree). If you think that this is a clear minimum then make the diamond jack the diamond queen (although I wouldn't put it past you to claim that that is a clear max).

My point was that if you double on a wide variety of hands (including medium hands with 7-card heart suits) then partner won't know what to do.

While the same is true for (for example) some negative doubles, here there is less need to make the double so ambiguous as we have already exchanged quite a bit of information. Another reason not to hide a medium single-suiter is that they might bid 4C or 5C in the next round and you would never get to show your suit.

[foo]

Hannie, on May 26 2007, 01:40 PM, said:

Please notice my UYD (unless you disagree). If you think that this is a clear minimum then make the diamond jack the diamond queen (although I wouldn't put it past you to claim that that is a clear max).

My point was that if you double on a wide variety of hands (including medium hands with 7-card heart suits) then partner won't know what to do.

While the same is true for (for example) some negative doubles, here there is less need to make the double so ambiguous as we have already exchanged quite a bit of information. Another reason not to hide a medium single-suiter is that they might bid 4C or 5C in the next round and you would never get to show your suit.

As I said, ♠x♥KQTxxxx♦KJx♣xx is a 4♥ To Play bid, !not! a X, after
1D-1H;1S-(2C)-??

My reasons are in my previous post on this.

I completely agree with your point that X (just like any other descriptive call) should not show too wide a variety of hands. I also stated that the X was reserved for hands that are unclear as to direction. The above example from you knows exactly what contract is its limit in a Contested Auction. It should bid it ASAP and be done.

And yes, ♠x♥KQTxxxx♦KQx♣xx bids 3♥ GF in this auction since the chance of slam is much higher than if the ♦Q is exchanged for the ♦J.

7 card suits tend to define the direction of a hand fairly clearly
It's nigh unto impossible to create a 7??? hand that needs help as to direction.
2♥ min, 3♥ GF, or 4♥ To Play should handle just about any 7H??? hand in this auction.

[han]

You are right, you did say that. I think.