[CSGibson]

Scoring: MP

P-(P)-1♦-(2♦),
2♥-(2♠)-?

---

Your playing with a first time partner, and from your previous experiences with him this session, 2 hearts probably means he has hearts and a good hand (for a passed hand).

What's your call?

[han]

I don't understand the auction, 2D shows the majors and 2H is natural?

[CSGibson]

han, on May 28 2008, 11:53 PM, said:

I don't understand the auction, 2D shows the majors and 2H is natural?

That is indeed what the auction is. I agree that 2 hearts does not make sense as natural but that is what this partner means by the bid.

[han]

I pass. How many more boards do we have to play?

[cherdano]

I double. If we beat it it's fun, if it makes I may get a new partner.

[andy_h]

So partner's passed 1st seat, having not preempted and now comes in with 2H natural over 2D majors and it probably means he has a good hand? hmm. Is there a chance partner intended it as a diamond raise? w/e, I have a decent hand and am going to bid it so put me down for 3C.

[Free]

3♣ for me

[gnasher]

andy_h, on May 29 2008, 08:08 AM, said:

Is there a chance partner intended it as a diamond raise? w/e, I have a decent hand and am going to bid it so put me down for 3C.

Me too. Let's try to make sure that only one of us looks like an idiot.

[whereagles]

axe it and lead a spade.

[benlessard]

X and lead a S. If you want to win with a student you have to X more then usual.

[Edmunte1]

han, on May 29 2008, 02:02 AM, said:

I pass. How many more boards do we have to play?

Agree with Han

[Apollo81]

My total guess this hand is to bid 2NT because I don't think defending is right and I want to leave partner maximum room to make a descriptive bid.

[NickRW]

Well, I don't agree with Han. If you play with first timers, you have to enter into the spirit of the game. If you're not prepared to do that, chalk this session down to experience and don't make the same mistake twice.

I agree that the 2♥ sounds silly. But advancer didn't axe it, nor waited for their partner to do likewise, but chose to bids spades anyway - so I assume they have a good fit. In that case, even with a minority of the cards, I am not at all sure they're down. Even if they are down, I am not sure we're getting more than what we're due. They are nv and this is matchpoints after all

3N could be a winning bid - maybe - or maybe I get egg on my face when we're down and could have had a plus simply passing or bidding 3♣ where we quite likely have a fit or maybe 2N is our max. Who knows. Will partner bid clubs with 4 over 2N or put me in 3N if he/she should - and how is partner to decide this if, as a possibly more experienced player I am not sure in the first place?! I think probably I take a flier with 3N at match points, but I could be wrong, or there again, I may chicken out and try 3♣.

Nick

[pclayton]

Yeah, welcome to MY world

Partner is probably 15(43) or 1♠ / weak 6♥'s. While we should have a minor fit, 2♠ is getting clobbered with a trump lead, continuation, then a tap.

Good thing we are on lead too.

[NickRW]

Actually, scrub my earlier post - my judgement was off on this one.

Having played with the dealer prog it looks like that, unless the overcaller is 6/5 in the majors or has some other favourable lie of the cards, the 2♠ is highly likely to be 2 off.

Also 3N, as plain punt, is worse than a 50/50 bet. 2N, 3C and 3D are all generally likely to make and, indeed 5D is quite likely - even one or two 6D hands in the mix - but will you find these games/salms with this partner? Maybe better to axe the spade bid in the long run.

One thing worth noting is that partner makes their 2H bid most of the time despite your void and the likely bad break. So despite the fact that they might have been better off passing and making a re-opening double on the next round, you're not in that bad a position.

Nick

[CSGibson]

Jlall, on May 29 2008, 12:59 PM, said:

If partner has hearts how do we not just crack this and beat them a million??? Are people not doubling out of fear that partner does not actually have hearts or because even if partner has hearts they feel it is wrong to double (just curious)? It is weird to me that partner has hearts but if OP says thats what it means, and my hand looks like thats what it means...

The only thing that is holding me back from cracking this is the vulnerability. If I believe the bidding, partner has 1-5 in the majors (no weak 2 for a decent hand without spades, and opps probably have at least an 8 card spade fit on the bidding), giving him 7 cards in the minors. I see an awful lot of playing potential in 5 of the right minor, or even slam, so I have to think that we'll beat this at least 4 tricks to get a good matchpoint score.

My own choice with this partner was 4 clubs (praying that he wouldn't take it as a splinter in support of hearts on the auction). I know it's an overbid in terms of HCP, but in terms of playing strength I felt very comfortable with the bid, and it resulted well on this particular hand.

[gnasher]

Jlall, on May 29 2008, 08:59 PM, said:

Are people not doubling out of fear that partner does not actually have hearts or because even if partner has hearts they feel it is wrong to double (just curious)?

I bid 3♣ because I disagreed with the assumption that an undiscussed 2♥ was intended as natural. If he means it as natural, we're not going to do well in this event anyway. If he means it as something sensible and we get a bad board because I assumed it was something stupid, which member of this partnership is the idiot?

[CSGibson]

gnasher, on May 30 2008, 12:41 AM, said:

Jlall, on May 29 2008, 08:59 PM, said:

Are people not doubling out of fear that partner does not actually have hearts or because even if partner has hearts they feel it is wrong to double (just curious)?

I bid 3♣ because I disagreed with the assumption that an undiscussed 2♥ was intended as natural. If he means it as natural, we're not going to do well in this event anyway. If he means it as something sensible and we get a bad board because I assumed it was something stupid, which member of this partnership is the idiot?

Though I suspected it was natural at the time, it was confirmed in the post-mortem when he told me that he felt "he had to show me his hearts". I was giving you the benefit of foreknowledge, but I also appreciate you telling me what you would do and think at the table.

As you might of guessed, I was not playing with this partner to win the event. I was playing because club bridge is a social game, and because I appreciated it when a better player gave me a game, so think it is only fair to play an occasional game with a developing player.