[the hog]

Imps nil vul
This is a real hand which was later presented in a bidding panel forum. Your bid?

QT654
—
AQJ
Q5432

1S (2H) (P) P
?

Personally I think there are 2 answers you can give - the one your expert panel will give to maximise their points and the one they might find at the table.

[hrothgar]

Hmm

Double and 2NT both look reasonable
I prefer 2NT because the ODR is very high.

If I had a small trump, X would look better

[pclayton]

I open 1♣, so its not a problem for me.

[the hog]

Phil, assume you were called to the phone and the wine waiter opened the bidding. Now you have your hand back - your bid?

PS Disagree with 1C, buit that's another story.

[pclayton]

Well, OK, you've made me talk (darnit!).

I pass.

In spite of my comments on another thread, there are a few things I need to clarify here.

I've gone back and forth on reopening with a double holding a VOID in the opponents suits. Voids tend to warp the ODR and make the defense to their doubled part score very awkward. I don't have a trump to lead through declarer which makes the defense tough. Sure its one extra trump that pard can have, but its also an extra that RHO or LHO can also have.

My quick tricks suck.

As another poster said in the other thread, we are getting pushed to the 3 level - likely 3♦ probably. I'm not too happy about that, since my high diamonds, one of the best assets of my hand, are getting used to ruff partner's hearts.

So I'm collecting a whopping 50 a trick, but avoiding disasters in 2♥ x'd and (potentially) 3♦.

How about 3♣? Thats possible too, but my hand is a dead minimum. I think I'll stay out of this likely misfit all around.

[luke warm]

i imagine partner has a decent hand with hearts, but unlike phil i don't usually have a quandary about doubling with a void.. i just don't.. on this hand, i bid 3♣

[tysen2k]

I don't think passing it out would be that bad. Partner didn't support my spades which he's likely to do with 3 of them and doesn't need any points. RHO didn't support hearts either. I bet partner has them. I'm not expecting to go plus on this hand, but I think bidding anything at all will give us a bigger minus. Partner could have a big hand, but I suspect that LHO is fairly strong. They might have a game even.

Tysen

[HeartA]

pclayton, on Nov 16 2004, 07:04 PM, said:

Well, OK, you've made me talk (darnit!).

I pass.

In spite of my comments on another thread, there are a few things I need to clarify here.

I've gone back and forth on reopening with a double holding a VOID in the opponents suits. Voids tend to warp the ODR and make the defense to their doubled part score very awkward. I don't have a trump to lead through declarer which makes the defense tough. Sure its one extra trump that pard can have, but its also an extra that RHO or LHO can also have.

My quick tricks suck.

As another poster said in the other thread, we are getting pushed to the 3 level - likely 3♦ probably. I'm not too happy about that, since my high diamonds, one of the best assets of my hand, are getting used to ruff partner's hearts.

So I'm collecting a whopping 50 a trick, but avoiding disasters in 2♥ x'd and (potentially) 3♦.

How about 3♣? Thats possible too, but my hand is a dead minimum. I think I'll stay out of this likely misfit all around.

I would open 1C as Phil does.

And if wine waiter opened 1S for me, I would also pass. dbl or 3C do not attract to me.

[mike777]

pass, second choice 3 clubs

This style may discourage partner from trap passing in the future. We can now debate if this is good or bad.

[Fluffy]

Double, sorry but I don´t follow that don´ttake out with void theory.

[whereagles]

With a random parnter I'm bailing out. Pass. Might lose a juicy penalty, but sure avoids trouble. With a solid partner I could consider double.

[the hog]

This was a hand from the Sth African Teams congress. Last making spot for Nth Sth was 1S; 2H goes for 300. Most panelists voted for the x.

Some comments
Burgess: If you play negative doubles you must double in the passout seat with any shortage.

Kokish: Consider how silly the alternatives are. Double stands out.

A few passed.
Klinger: Too bad if 3N is on. I'll take the balme
Lawrence. Pass. Enough is enough.

I confess I Xed in the vote, but would have found Richard's bid - 2N - at the table. The trump void frightens me. Anyone else play good/bad here?

[inquiry]

Chamaco, on Nov 17 2004, 10:10 AM, said:

Question:
I understand the reasoning between passing, doubling and bidding clubs.

I just do not understand why not bidding 2 clubs instead of bidding ♣ at the 3 level (with or without going via 2NT).

I have most of my hcp in the only unbid suit (diamonds), intuitively I do feel like jumping at the 3 level sowing two suits empty to the Q...

Can anyone explain pls ? :-)

They will not allow you to bid 2♣ over your opponents 2♥'s. Silly bridge rules....

Ben

[junyi_zhu]

The_Hog, on Nov 16 2004, 11:21 PM, said:

Imps nil vul
This is a real hand which was later presented in a bidding panel forum. Your bid?

QT654
—
AQJ
Q5432

1S (2H) (P) P
?

Personally I think there are 2 answers you can give - the one your expert panel will give to maximise their points and the one they might find at the table.

I pass and think pass is probably the best for long run. You might hit a jackpot if partner has a huge trapping hand, but you may also double them to game if partner's overall strength isn't very strong. Two level reopening gotta show some extra in nature.

[inquiry]

The_Hog, on Nov 16 2004, 10:29 PM, said:

This was a hand from the Sth African Teams congress. Last making spot for Nth Sth was 1S; 2H goes for 300. Most panelists voted for the x.

Some comments
Burgess: If you play negative doubles you must double in the passout seat with any shortage.

Kokish: Consider how silly the alternatives are. Double stands out.

A few passed.
Klinger: Too bad if 3N is on. I'll take the balme
Lawrence. Pass. Enough is enough.

I confess I Xed in the vote, but would have found Richard's bid - 2N - at the table. The trump void frightens me. Anyone else play good/bad here?

Ron, I dislike doubling with a void as well. However partner should be ultra conservative on passing a double of two of a major. To do so should require a likely two trick set. I guess I can live with pass or double. BTW, I am with phil on this one, I would have opened 1♣ here, and bid a tame 1♠ over 1♥ in the balance seat.