[jdonn]

Winstonm, on Apr 13 2009, 06:46 PM, said:

If we are unwilling to sacrifice the meaning of any other bid to accomodate this hand, then we don't really have that strong of desire to compete.

If the answer is only: all actions are worse, then pass is the best bid and thus it is the desired action.

Not only was this an awful lot of semantics, but both these statements are false.

[whereagles]

jillybean2, on Apr 12 2009, 09:59 PM, said:

Its the thought process I'm most interested in 

Here is my thought process.

"I got only 14 hcp. Even if I wanted to steal a point and bid 1NT, my spade stop is a bit wimpish, so that bid's out. Double is asking for trouble due to no heart support, so it's time to ask that question: do I have to bid NOW? Probably not. Pard rates to be short in spades, so, if he's got points, he'll double 1♠ if it gets passed to him. If it's not passed, I might get a shot at double or 2NT for the minors later."

[whereagles]

JLOL, on Apr 13 2009, 05:07 AM, said:

You could definitely miss game by passing, but you just have no bid.

That thought [miss game] definitely doesn't cross my mind..

[jillybean]

Here’s the full hand and if you care to look, the traveller. Not surprisingly you will see that pass counts for almost half of the responses.

http://online.bridgebase.com/myhands/hands...rname=jillybean

I think sometimes these problems are too quickly dismissed. If nothing else I find it beneficial to compare this with others where perhaps you would double with ♥AKQ, bid 1nt with ♠Qxx.
Its not always easy to recognise good bridge from bad, this is the Beginner Intermediate forum and not all B/I’s are geniuses.

Scoring: IMP

---

West North East South

 -     -     -     1♠
 Pass  Pass  Pass  

[neilkaz]

I don't care for the pass with the N hand with a supporting ♠ king and 6♥ to the jack.

I'd try 1NT if forcing and maybe even if non forcing.

[gwnn]

Kathryn, I do not think that when someone says "this decision is simple", he means to insult you or your question. It is merely a way of differentiating. If the fact is that a decision is simple and there are no good alternatives, that fact should be pointed out I think. If every hand were analysed in page long essays (in this case, maybe about why it is a good idea for a takeout double to contain 3 hearts at least), it would give the impression that you need to think everything over like that. "the decision is simple" is more like "don't waste your energy on these hands, just pass"

[Cascade]

gwnn, on Apr 14 2009, 05:56 PM, said:

Kathryn, I do not think that when someone says "this decision is simple", he means to insult you or your question. It is merely a way of differentiating. If the fact is that a decision is simple and there are no good alternatives, that fact should be pointed out I think. If every hand were analysed in page long essays (in this case, maybe about why it is a good idea for a takeout double to contain 3 hearts at least), it would give the impression that you need to think everything over like that. "the decision is simple" is more like "don't waste your energy on these hands, just pass"

The problem with this approach is that if we are not careful when giving advice to state precisely what we mean then it is inevitable that those hearing or reading the advice will misinterpret it.

I have lost count of the times that someone has explained to me the reason that they took some weird action was because I had told them too. When I know I would never have told them to bid or play that way.

"don't waste your energy on these hands, just pass" is difficult advice to follow when the one giving the advice has a clear impression of which hands are 'these hands' and the one hearing the advice has no idea where the boundaries are between 'these hands' and some other similar hands that they mistakingly think are similar or the same sort of problem.

[P_Marlowe]

Pass.

Switch the majors, and you have a t/o, but so
you dont, the hand is not strong enough to make
a t/o double purely based on power.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[Hanoi5]

Pass. If there is something to say, next turn will be better.

[Winstonm]

jdonn, on Apr 13 2009, 06:58 PM, said:

Winstonm, on Apr 13 2009, 06:46 PM, said:

If we are unwilling to sacrifice the meaning of any other bid to accomodate this hand, then we don't really have that strong of desire to compete.

If the answer is only: all actions are worse, then pass is the best bid and thus it is the desired action.

Not only was this an awful lot of semantics, but both these statements are false.

Of course it was semantics - pass is pretty obvious.

[hanp]

I'd go with getting wiser.