[mich-b]

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1NT = 11-14
DBL = Strong
2♥ = both majors 4+, 4+ non-forcing.
3♦ = Natural , no lebensohl inferences.
Pass (after 4♥) = Forcing

South's hand is not a 3♦ opening in the partnership's style Red/Green.
Please ATB for this disaster.

[jukmoi]

After forcing pass I would bid 5♣ instead of doubling. Other actions seem reasonable to me.

[mikeh]

I don't like the forcing pass at all. A forcing pass, intending to sit for a double, suggests willingness to defend, and S ought to run screaming from the very notion of defending. He has negative defence....not merely no defence....his extreme diamond length, combined with the bidding, means that his King is worthless. And his void in hearts sends the message that East may well be as distributional as he was.

While bidding seems to be a tough choice, given that S has so little and is bidding so high, it has to be infinitely better than the suicidial and fratricidal pass, virtually endplaying partner into a double.

Put another way: if you were S and East had passed 3N, would you be thinking: hey, 9 tricks is the probable limit on this hand? You need 7 diamond tricks on most layouts, and if you have 7 diamond tricks, it will be a rare day when partner can win only and precisely 2 side tricks in 3N.

This is not likely, then, to be a 9 trick hand.....so bid 4N.

Yes, I can see that 7♣ is a high percentage contract on the bidding, and is cold as the cards lie, but at the table that isn't a realistic idea.S has zero business bidding 5♣: that's what he'd do with, say, 2=0=6=5, not this Kxxxxxx Jxxx combination. The only justification for 5♣ is knowledge of partner's hand.

[wank]

edited: ignore this crap

[Fluffy]

mich, you don't have lebenshol inferences, but I presume that pass instead of 3♦ is not forcing, is it?

If 3♦ is a frre bid I think north has a big powerhouse that shouldn't be happy to cash 4 aces in 4♥ when it is so likelly to score 600 in 5m.

Ok, now I see that pass of 4♥ was intended as forcing, at least for you, my assumption is that partner wasn't very sure of it and suspected it could be just a weak pass.

I think 4NT would be natural, so IMO north should bid 5♣. But as I said, IMO the problem here is that the pass over 4♥ was missunderstood or not fully understood at least.

[Fluffy]

mikeh, on 2010-October-20, 09:40, said:

While bidding seems to be a tough choice, given that S has so little and is bidding so high, it has to be infinitely better than the suicidial and fratricidal pass, virtually endplaying partner into a double.

I don't have that clear feelings about the pass, partner has bid 3NT when opps showed both majors, the hand doesn't seem to fit so well. In fact partner could even have a long major (or even both majors) and is unable to bid it. Maybe pass is wrong, but it has a point, IMO the pass of 4♥ is not as wrong as north's double.

[bucky]

As usual, a really bad result comes from imperfect bidding by both. I wouldn't have passed 4♥ with south hand, and I wouldn't have doubled with north hand after the forcing pass.

[jdeegan]

Old bridge maxim: all 7-4 hands should be bid to game unless there is a compelling reason to suggest a misfit. This goes double for 7-5 hands. Further, you should normally play in the 7 bagger since you usually need trump length to stand the taps. 7-5's and 7-4's are not really two suiters unless partner has 4 or 5 card support.

After two passes (not everyone's choice, but reasonable) the next two hands advertised balanced distribution (1NT and double). The East hand: you don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to deduce that if you are 7-5 in the majors, LHO is loaded in the minors. The South hand knows RHO is mostly majors. Both East and South can tell that the HCP's are split about equally.

Further bidding by both East and South should be aimed at buying the contract as cheaply as possible. The straightforward approach would be for East to bid 4♥ and South to bid 5♦. After pass-pass, East should bid 5♥. 5♥ doubled down one would likely be the final contract.

East might get cunning and bid only 2 or 3♥. South probably ought to jump in ♦, either bidding 4 or 5. On the actual bidding, South was the chump who forgot to bid 5♦ at the appropriate moment. South 100% to blame.