[paulg]

Scoring: IMP

1♣ (1♥) Pass (4♥)
Dbl (Pass) ?

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You are at favourable vulnerability at teams.

Is partner's double an invitation to bid or demanding a pass?

[gnasher]

It's an invitation to bid. I choose 4♠.

[mikeh]

it is not a penalty double: certainly, he thinks that he can take 4 plus tricks, but not based on trumps.. and opposite most of the hands he will have, our probable double fit means not only that he may have over-estimated his defence, but also that we may well score very nicely in 4♠

[cherdanno]

4♠ wtp. Wtp in the sense that it would not have occurred to me that anyone plays this double as anything but "takeout (willing to defend in case partner is balanced)".

[655321]

In answer to the thread title, no, this is Someone Else's Problem.
I bid 1♠ on the previous round. With a singleton heart, 5 spades, and a big fit for partner I don't consider it close.

[Jlall]

Agree with obv 1S and obv 4S.

[mtvesuvius]

No, I did not come up with this problem.

Yes, this is a wtp 4♠.

[Codo]

agree with obv. pass and 4♠.

[Cascade]

takeout

[OleBerg]

1♠ at my first chance.

Now it depends on agreements. With an unknown partner of more than intermidiate status, I would expect it to be take-out, making 4♠ obvious.

[gnasher]

If this is a 1♠ bid on the first round (and I'm not saying it isn't), what does pass followed by 4♠ look like?

[OleBerg]

gnasher, on Jul 13 2009, 11:12 AM, said:

If this is a 1♠ bid on the first round (and I'm not saying it isn't), what does pass followed by 4♠ look like?

Maybe:

♠ T9xxx
♥ xxx
♦ DBxx
♣ x

[jdonn]

gnasher, on Jul 13 2009, 04:12 AM, said:

If this is a 1♠ bid on the first round (and I'm not saying it isn't), what does pass followed by 4♠ look like?

For me DNE. If someone did it to me, I'd play them for something like this, but 5-5.

[ArtK78]

Agree with Pass and then 4♠.

I do not understand making a free bid on this hand over 1♥. But I see this all the time in these Fora.

[jdonn]

ArtK78, on Jul 13 2009, 12:28 PM, said:

Agree with Pass and then 4♠.

I do not understand making a free bid on this hand over 1♥. But I see this all the time in these Fora.

Welcome to 2009. For that matter, welcome to 1999.

[OleBerg]

ArtK78, on Jul 13 2009, 07:28 PM, said:

Agree with Pass and then 4♠.

I do not understand making a free bid on this hand over 1♥.  But I see this all the time in these Fora.

In the preface to his book "To bid or not to bid" Larry Cohen tells how he asked Bob Hamman to comment on the manuscript. Hamman simply scratched out "or not to bid".

But seriously; the key to understand 1♠, is to consider how unlikely it is to get hurt, and how likely it is to gain a profit.
If partner has a balanced hand, you will seldom get into trouble (Unless partner partner can be 15-17 bal. in which case you need some agreements to slow him down), and if partner has an unbalanced hand with 5+ clubs, your playing strength surely warrants competing, often even to the 3-level.

[gnasher]

jdonn, on Jul 13 2009, 04:18 PM, said:

gnasher, on Jul 13 2009, 04:12 AM, said:

If this is a 1♠ bid on the first round (and I'm not saying it isn't), what does pass followed by 4♠ look like?

For me DNE. If someone did it to me, I'd play them for something like this, but 5-5.

Sorry, I meant what sort of hand would pass 1♥, then bid 4♠ in response to partner's double of 4♥?

[jdonn]

Actually I understood your question but I didn't see the double at the time I answered. I might pass over 1♥ with Qxxxx xxx xxx xx and then bid 4♠.

[MFA]

Partner's double of 4♥ is for take-out. So this is a non-problem.

[dake50]

Did I have a fit-bid 2S over 1H? This is weak for that action and need to slow partner from slamming but may find double fit.