[Hanoi5]

Yester-night I played 24 boards in a team event and made 2 really bad decisions:

♠Axx
♥K98x
♦T9x
♣J6x

1♠ 2NT 3♣ Pa
3♠ Pa Pa ???

I couldn't refrain myself and bid 4♣, -500.

♠9x
♥AK87
♦A8xx
♣Qxx

2♦ Pa 2♠ 3♣
Pa Pa ???

I bid 3♠ and went one off when 3♣ shouldn't make either.

Do I apply shock-therapy? What's my solution?

[helene_t]

Brd 1 you can just use the LOTT since there don't seem to be any adjustment factors (maybe both sides have a double fit but in that case opps have only 8 spades, while you would make your LOTT calculations based on 9 spades).

So 17 total tricks, if either 3♠ or 4♣ is making the other contract must be two off, alternatively both contracts are 1 off. Defending looks right.

Brd 2 is more difficult since you don't know how many clubs p has. Let's say he has either one or two. ♣Q may be a negative correction factor but declarer can (and will) most likely finesse it. So there could be 17 total tricks or maybe just 16. If there are 16, defending is correct (see above), except that two down nonvul undoubled is fine at matchpoints. If there are 17 you probably need to bid 3♠ at MPs while it doesn't matter at IMP.

So at MP: pass, 3♠ or dbl could all work. You would have to know your p and your opps very well to make a high-percentage decision, and even then you could easily get it wrong.

At IMPs: clear pass.

In general, don't compete beyond the number of trumps you have unless you are confident that opps have at least the number of trumps corresponding to the contract they bid, or if there are very clear positive correction factors. If in doubt, bid one more nonvul at MP (or if opps are nonvul and you decide the board belongs to you), otherwise don't.

[andy_h]

If you wanted to bid on board 1, how come you didn't take a freeshot at 3♣? That way you also let partner in the auction of what's going on rather than you needing to guess later like you did, so you probably felt compelled that you needed to show support. Double fits are nice but with the aid of defensive cards sometimes it's best to defend and take the plus. Defending might be a little hard to grasp but it just might be the last available positive score. This applies to the 2nd board as well - the preempt has done its work and now you hope to defend to take the plus.

[helene_t]

BTW, on board 2, if you want to compete to 3♠ it's probably better to bid 3♠ directly over the multi, then opps may make the wrong decision.

[Codo]

Great success to make just 2 real big mistakes over 24 boards...My partner would wish I would reach this goal too.

Anyway: The first hand: You have no big fit, no ruffing values, no other surprising tricks, no values in the minors annd no idea whether even 4 Spade for them makes or 4 club will be a cheap sacrifice. Bidding was a well punished crime.

Second hand: I guess 2 Diamond was multi? You have around 20 HCPS and make 8 tricks with eight trumps. Sometimes the Law works so beautiful even if you do not know their fit...

To find the right level of competetion is a real big issue in bridge. In this two hands, you surely did too much.

[andy_h]

helene_t, on Nov 27 2009, 12:51 AM, said:

BTW, on board 2, if you want to compete to 3♠ it's probably better to bid 3♠ directly over the multi, then opps may make the wrong decision.

I guess this is sort of true in a sense if you were definitely going to compete to 3♠. However, I guess I don't like that given I'm happy enough to defend at the 3 level but also I want the maximum amount of room to explore if in the offchance partner had the big balanced hand (assuming there was a strong option).

[pooltuna]

Hanoi5, on Nov 26 2009, 08:23 AM, said:

Yester-night I played 24 boards in a team event and made 2 really bad decisions:

♠Axx
♥K98x
♦T9x
♣J6x

1♠ 2NT 3♣ Pa
3♠ Pa Pa ???

I couldn't refrain myself and bid 4♣, -500.

♠9x
♥AK87
♦A8xx
♣Qxx

2♦ Pa 2♠ 3♣
Pa Pa ???

I bid 3♠ and went one off when 3♣ shouldn't make either.

Do I apply shock-therapy? What's my solution?

You need something that activates that organ at the very top of your body. Generally caffeine based products work well. In the first hand you would have realized that 3♣ was actually a qbid of some sort [probably u/u] and yet the opps stopped short of game. Had said organ been operating you would have realized that you were stepping off the curb and running in front of a speeding bus. On the second hand you might have given some weight to the LOTT violation you were about to commit esp w 4 probable defensive tricks in your hand.

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

#1 Just remember, that if you want to bid, bid at once, and that it
helps to listen to the bidding.
3C was what? An inv. raise for spades? If yes, they have 23HCP,
on avg. you have at most 17, no big fit, they will go plus, 3S+?
is nothing.

#2 2D was multi? If you want to bid, bid 3H, at least you will make
sure, that you play your best fit. Most likely p has spades, but ...

Depending on your agreement set, I dont think bidding on is bad,
even if you passed the round before.
There may be a realistic chance that 3M is making, you have 3 tricks
for p, at least red vs. green, you should have a fair chance of making
3S, and 3C can still make.

All in all, #1 is stupip auction, #2 is reasonable, under certain circumstances

With kind regards
Marlowe

[jdonn]

Solution? Not to always keep bidding on balanced hands without a good fit.

[Jlall]

It is not true that if you are going to compete to 3S you should bid it the first time fwiw. Often if you have a lot of HCP and decent shape you are going to be able to buy it at the 2 level and it is unlikely you are going to push LHO into bidding something at the 4 level by bidding 3.

But yeah, both of these hands are defensive and there's not much reason to be competing with them.