[mtvesuvius]

NV vs V at IMPs with LHO dealing, you hold:

♠ AKQJx
♥ KQxxx
♦ Qx
♣ Q

(1♥) - P - (P) - ?

[mike777]

As nonexpert I will try pass and try and go plus. The opp are vul, we are not.

[hanp]

Agree with mike777.

[orlam]

If I were an expert, I would try to go plus, by one hundred more than mike.

[CSGibson]

2♠, which should show a single-suited hand too good for 1♠ in this auction. Pass could get you the magic 200 or even 300, of course, but I won't pass up my 100 honors.

[655321]

Double then spades for me.

Assuming that our KQxxx of hearts are KQ432, then if we pass 1♥ declarer will make at least 3 heart tricks and possibly more, as well as a couple of tricks in Aces and Kings. I don't see 1♥ going more than one or two down, and sometimes it will make. I will hope that we can make at least a spade partscore, and on a good day we will make 3NT or 4♠.

[neilkaz]

CSGibson, on Mar 8 2009, 09:53 PM, said:

2♠, which should show a single-suited hand too good for 1♠ in this auction.  Pass could get you the magic 200 or even 300, of course, but I won't pass up my 100 honors.

We agree. It is not the 200 or perhaps 300 I am concerned with but the 420.

I don't mind passing at MP where we may get 200 when the limit of our hand is 140 or even 110 with a bad split.

[jdonn]

Double then spades. Good reasoning by 3.1415926.

[the hog]

X for me. I am not passing this and the hand is too good for 2S.

[Phil]

This is a crap shoot.

If you ran a sim, my guess is that passing will net +200 and some +300's most of the time and bidding will get anywhere from -100 / part scores / games. One small upside of bidding is that 3N could be the spot too.

I'll pass. I'm ahead of the sets and the part scores, and I'm only losing 3-6 to the lucky games.

I don't understand double with this shape at all.

[oldman5757]

Well, so far, I am the only 1 ♠ bidder, and I guess my feeling is that, except for my xlnt ♠ suit, this is quite possibly the very worst 19 hcp I ever saw. It's really only about 15, if that. if P can't advance over 1 ♠, what are we missing? I don't see how X really helps much. Yes, I can bid 2 ♠, over P's 2 level response, and that describes my values -- sort of, kinda, but how will P possibly judge how to proceed?

The favorable vulnerability makes the problem tougher, but I think I have to make a try for + 420, and IMHO, the best way to make that try is by bidding 1 ♠ now. If I get a raise, which is what I really want to hear, I can make a game try with 3 ♦. If P bids 4♠, we should have a good chance to make it, and if he retreats to 3 ♠, maybe I can make that.

[mtvesuvius]

Well, looks like a fairly split problem... As it turns out, this hand came up in a match that we were up by 30 something with 3 boards to go... I cannot say what would have been a valid result because of the full deal:

Scoring: IMP

N   E   S   W
1♥ - P - 4NT - X
P - P - 5♥ - X
5♠ - P - P - X
All Pass

No! This is not a typo! North DID open 1♥.
Note that NS are cold for 6♦, so now that I think about it, my Xs of 5M were awful...

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