[badderzboy]

Example Hand first :-)

Playing against a weak NT you hold

♠ Axx
♥ AKJxxx
♦ Void
♣ Axxx

Bidding goes P-1NT-X-2D (scramble 5+Ds 0-10pts)...

(i) Do u agree with Dbl?

Partner passes and holds
♠ KQx
♥ Qxxx
♦ Jxxxx
♣ Q

What's your next bid?

I suspect that a 3D cue-bid was the best bid rebid but also
(i) what would 2H show here and is it forcing
(ii) how should partner continue following your rebid (playing splinters as well)?

6H is sensible and 7 makes on 3-3 or better club split (ruff 4th Club with QH) but how do u get there?

Any general tips on continuing the bidding after opps scramble from weak NT with a strong hand?

Thx

Steve

[Free]

First hand contains 14 cards (4-6-0-4)... Do you have 5♥s or 3♣s??

[badderzboy]

Sorry corrected now

[Gerben47]

Double and then bidding a suit (2♥) shows at least the strength of the double and a good suit. Now partner can bid a splinter (4♣). It's still not easy to find this very distributional slam but you're well on the way.

[mikestar]

I agree with Gerben47 that 2H is best. I think double is fine--they will probably scamble in diamonds, then a heart bid shows the hand pretty well. If by chance they don't scramble you will set them a fair amount.

Interestingly, if they stay put on the actual hand rather than bidding their long diamonds (not that this is correct), you take 9 tricks off the top for -3, which doesn't compensate for a slam.

In practice they will only fail to scamble if your partner has the long diamonds and is a bit weaker than his actual hand.

[paulg]

No one has commented on partner's pass of 2♦!

In a regular partnership it will be agreed whether penalty or takeout doubles are played. I guess in many partnerships, and most pickup ones, doubles are penalty in this position so partner cannot afford to pass as it is not forcing although you have the points for game.

However in this case partner has got lucky, and I must say that I'd rebid 3♥. This hand is a lot stronger than 16 points and partner has probably denied a penalty double, so any values should be working.

It's also interesting if partner doubles 2♦ ... but 3♥ is probably best too.

Note that we double a weak NT with most balanced 15 counts in the UK, which is why this hand is non-minimum.

Cheers

Paul

[mishovnbg]

Spoiler

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Hi Steve!

Spoiler

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My opinion is not popular one here, sorry in advance, and can not read it if you like.

Spoiler

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Against weak bids you bids must be intermediate or strong, depend of weakness of opening. Against weak NT is better quickly to show your distribution with strong hands (look Mekstrot-Rodwell defense vs weak NT), untill is not too late, because opener by weak NT told enough to his partner to be available for him to make right decision (sacrifice, constructive...). So imho, dbl is not right bid with such wild distribution. I will vote for 3♥ or other bid (like 2NT) which show intermediate hand with 6+ good ♥.

Spoiler

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Misho

[willow23]

Hi, ..what a hand!!..

Against wk NT , I think cappaletti is most suited..a bid of 2♥ = 5/4 or better in hearts and a minor...p at best has a 3♥ bid with 4 in hand or can bid a jump fit, splinter ♣ or an invitational 3♥ bid...then you start cue bidding aces to show slam interest...so this auction looks interesting ..


p 1NT 2♥ ?
3♥ ? 3♠ ?
4♥ ? 5♣ ?
5♠ ? 6♥

It is important to use forcing bids so that p does not pass...
there are many auctions that can take place with that hand ..depending on partnership agreements...but one can only hopt that p invites with 3♥ bid at least since his hand has 10 hcp and later revalues hand to 13 dcp......

Look up cappaletti and dont for defense over opps 1nt opening bid.. ..and go get em tiger!!!

[the hog]

"Against wk NT , I think cappaletti is most suited"

Cappelletti is possibly the worst convention possible to play over a weak NT, and is not much better over a strong NT. Even the designers do not play their eponymous convention anymore. I agree with Misho here.

[Flame]

I dont have much knowlege of weak NT since its rare where i play, however i fugure your double is ment to punish, so why does partner holding 5 card doesnt panish 2d ?
now to your first bid, as i see it doubler will need to have a hand that will be happy to leave any contract doubled by partner, now you need to ask yourself , will you be happy to pass 2d doubled (and remember partner can double with less then 5 cards, maybe even a good 3, but certenly with 4) i think its not, this is why i dont like the double and would bid heart wather its 2 or 3 depending on your agrement.

[mr1303]

Last night in the Abalucy we lost several IMPs on the last two boards due to our inability to make a penalty double of their weak 1NT. We were playing DONT, and therefore had to pass with:

AQx
Kx
Qxxx
AQxx

Result 1NT -3 by them, when we were cold for 3NT.

We have now decided to play Cappelletti against weak, and DONT against strong

[paulg]

In my BIL session on balancing last night, I was advising that you should double a weak 1NT with a good 12+ point hand when you are in 4th position. The example given was

♠Q76
♥KJT
♦T953
♣AK2

The key thing about a "weaker" double in 4th is the ability to cope with any lead that the chump opposite will make. You need to do this otherwise you will also be passing 1NT and missing 3NT when the points are shared between you.

Paul

[the hog]

"In my BIL session on balancing last night, I was advising that you should double a weak 1NT with a good 12+ point hand when you are in 4th position. "

Come in sucker!

[luke warm]

mr1303, on Apr 21 2004, 03:37 PM, said:

Last night in the Abalucy we lost several IMPs on the last two boards due to our inability to make a penalty double of their weak 1NT. We were playing DONT, and therefore had to pass with:

AQx
Kx
Qxxx
AQxx

Result 1NT -3 by them, when we were cold for 3NT.

We have now decided to play Cappelletti against weak, and DONT against strong

a lot of folks seem to like to play capp vs. weak, dont vs. strong... speaking for myself, it doesn't bother me a bit when someone x's our 11-13 nt... we'll either get out somewhere or the ops will rescue us... and if we go for a zip code, we just deal another... i'd like to see the whole hand from that board, just to see what kind of escape was available

overall i think weak nt is a winner

[the hog]

Here is a cute tip if you are playing against opps who play Capp.
1N (2C) where 2C shows some single suiter
As responder to the NT opener, bid 2S on x xx xxxxx xxxxx or similar and let them unravel that! Lol. 90% of them will play a X as takeout here and the other 10% will have no idea of what they are playing. I have tried this many times and it works a treat. 2C to show an unknown single suiter has to be one of the worst bids in Bridge.

[EarlPurple]

mr1303, on Apr 21 2004, 09:37 PM, said:

Last night in the Abalucy we lost several IMPs on the last two boards due to our inability to make a penalty double of their weak 1NT. We were playing DONT, and therefore had to pass with:

AQx
Kx
Qxxx
AQxx

Result 1NT -3 by them, when we were cold for 3NT.

We have now decided to play Cappelletti against weak, and DONT against strong

I prefer asptro against weak NT - it keeps Dbl as penalty, but it's generally better at capp for finding majors and you're more likely to stay at the 2-level.

xx
AQ9x
KJxxx
xx

This hand is about right for an asptro overcall of 2C and if partner responds 2D or 2H you can play at the 2-level. Even if partner has spades and bids 2S you have stopped low.

Playing capp, you would have to overcall 2H and then partner will be forced to decide whether to find a better fit.

Switch the heart and spade suits here though:

AQ9x
xx
KJxxx
xx

and the hand is slightly more problematic because you'd have to bid 2D and you'd be forced to the 3-level if partner doesn't like spades. (You can't pass his 2H response which would not show the suit). On such a hand capp would have the advantage of pre-empting out their heart suit (you can't pre-empt their spade suit out in the above hand).

So you might decide to pass on the above hand if the vulnerability is wrong. But partner may have:

JTxx
Axxx
AQx
xx

where 4S is no worse than finding SK with the 1NT opener.

[Fluffy]

The_Hog, on Apr 22 2004, 12:51 AM, said:

Cappelletti is possibly the worst convention possible to play over a weak NT, and is not much better over a strong NT.

Here is a cute tip if you are playing against opps who play Capp.
1N (2C) where 2C shows some single suiter
As responder to the NT opener, bid 2S on x xx xxxxx xxxxx or similar and let them unravel that! Lol. 90% of them will play a X as takeout here and the other 10% will have no idea of what they are playing. I have tried this many times and it works a treat. 2C to show an unknown single suiter has to be one of the worst bids in Bridge.

I cannot agree more with you than I am doing!

Cappeletti is the worst I´ve ever seen, whatever you invent in 15 minutes will be better probably.

How has such convention become that popular?, in my case, I wouldn´t have ever known about it if it wasn´t for internet, so maybe online bridge isn´t that good after all

Don´t lose too many efforts on explaining them, if they wish to continue playing it, I am happy (as long as they aren´t sitting in front of me).

[inquiry]

The_Hog, on Apr 21 2004, 07:51 PM, said:

Here is a cute tip if you are playing against opps who play Capp.
1N (2C) where 2C shows some single suiter
As responder to the NT opener, bid 2S on x xx xxxxx xxxxx or similar and let them unravel that! Lol. 90% of them will play a X as takeout here and the other 10% will have no idea of what they are playing. I have tried this many times and it works a treat. 2C to show an unknown single suiter has to be one of the worst bids in Bridge.

Well, let me start off by saying that I don't PLAY Cappelletti. So having said that, I want you to understand that my comments here defending it against the attack by Ron has nothing to do with protecting a favorite convention of mine. I am not even fond of Cappelletti.

If I was going to play Cappelletti, I would play it over weak notrump, since it keeps the penalty double as an option. But the critique and strategy Ron suggest is not good... Bidding 2♠ with ♠x ♥xx ♦xxxxx ♣xxxxx,

To begin with, advancer (partner of the overcaller) will ahve values here. Second, the correct way to handle interference after a 2♣ one suited overcall is the following...

1NT-2♣-?

• Over X -- Redouble is to play, pass is asking 2♣ bidder to show his suit, and others are all natural
  
• Over 2 any -Dbl is asking for more information. So if you overcall 2♠ on a stiff, and no points, you will surely get an information seeking double, and the overcaller will know what to do.

To make matters worse, since the Cappelletti shows a "one suited hand", some people might reasonable play that if the bidding goes....

1NT-2♣-2any-Pass//Pass-DBL that this double by the two club bidder is penatly oriented. If he wants to continue to compete he simply shows his suit. After all, he has an announced one suiter. Since I don't play Cappelletti for other, more realistic reasons, I don't what would be best in the reopening position here.

ben

[the hog]

This has worked for me on numerous occasions! Ben the 1-2-5-5 does not mean with a yarborough. I was talking about a hand that would have some play for its contract, but would be clearly outbid at the partscore/game level by the opponent's Major.

[Trpltrbl]

Ugh, this is a problem hand. I think some sort of Intermediate Jump, or stronger would work nice. Otherwise I will X first, if that shows some strong hand. And then either cuebid or Jump in ♥.
Pd's pass of 2♦ I don't get, clearcut X.
Getting to the grand might be kinda hard, but slam should be easy to get too, after ♥ fit is established.
With ZARpoints even easier.

Mike