[mikl_plkcc]

1♦x was not a good score. They should be pushed a level higher. Is there any blame to assign?

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[eagles123]

i don't like dbl with 5/5 in the majors and only 8 pts so for me North to blame but i'm usually wrong on this kind of thing lol

[ahydra]

Yes, I'd say North should just bid 1H. He's not strong enough for TOX and to be honest if you TOX partner will never play you for 5/5 in the majors.

ahydra

[wank]

i hate the pass by south even more than north's double. low level penalty passes are based on intermediates and minor honours, not on ak no pips.

[ggwhiz]

After an initial pass by South double by North is leading with your chin. If the auction doesn't end here South will double something later that makes (sure looks like 3nt is on for them) or bid something that gets crushed. And ask "Where is the hand you held during the auction?".

I wouldn't pass 1♦ doubled either but bid 1nt and go -800 on what I thought was a pretty decent hand..... until I saw the dummy. Running from 1nt doubled with the North hand just as bad on the marked trump lead.

[bigbenvic]

I would pass with North's hand X is not right and even though I'm 5/5 in the majors I'm not bidding 2♦ with that hand. I wouldn't pass with south's for penalties, I'd try to buy it in 1NT.

[nigel_k]

North's double is eccentric but South's pass is clearly worse. Having said that, I can easily imagine N/S conceding more than 140 on these cards.

[Codo]

I think the both bids deserved each other. Both are horrid.

[rhm]

I consider North choices to be 2♦ or 1♠, depending on agreements.
1♥ is silly and double is worse.
I am aware that 1♠ has nice suit lead implications, but I have no intention of suppressing my heart suit later in the bidding if I overcall 1♠.
I do not hate South leaving in the takeout DBL. That could have worked out well. It is a top or bottom decision, with probably better chances for a good score.
But it is a good reason why North should not DBL with a sub-minimum hand in HCP and a void in opponent suit if there is any alternative.
Here there are two.

Rainer Herrmann

[gszes]

opposite a passed partner vulnerable our 8 count and good distribution
offers us some protection but lets face it the opps have the majority of
the power it is just a question of how much more they have. Our best
chance to "win" this auction is to get our major suits in and this means

2d

is probably goingto work the best overall. It allows us to play at the 2 level
almost all the time and since we are already a passed hand p will not
go overly crazy with raising w/o a really well fitting hand. The double is
indeed mroe flexible but do we really want to risk playing in a 43 club
fit (or p passing 1dx) when we might all too easily have a 53 major suit fit?
That is the biggest hang up I have with x is that the majors are not given
their proper due. 5404 4504 4405 x would look a lot better (even if the result
would not be any better).

Pass is the only reasonable alternative and vulnerable it may be a reasonable
choice but I can't keep my grimy fingers off the 2d card sigh.

[rmnka447]

Yeah (snicker,snicker), West should have opened 1 NT(15-17).

Vulnerable, the North hand is not worth either a double or a 2 ♦ Michaels cue. If North wants to compete, then the best choice is to make a major suit overcall.

Even if South holds a maximum pass, North can see that N/S likely have less than half the points. The spectre of off 2 or off 1 doubled vulnerable should temper North's aggressiveness in competing a tad or two. Both 5 card majors in North's hand are pretty mangy, so I see no problem with passing the North hand.


Given that North has doubled, IMO, South has a clear 1 NT response. In order to convert a T/O double to a penalty double, South needs to be sure that his ♦ holding is much better than West's. There's no guarantee that's the case with South's ♦ AKxxx holding.

[1eyedjack]

There are some occasions I think where it might be right for South to penalty pass the double when stuck for a bid even if envisaging the contract making. It is not doubled into game, and is not redoubled. So what if you concede 180? It may still be the best that you can achieve once partner has doubled with a misfit. You could be walking into -300 and up if you bid. Having said that, this is not one of those occasions because you have a respectable Jxxx of Clubs to bid. Not saying that I would be in that position of course because I would not have doubled with North.

[Lord Molyb]

1eyedjack, on 2013-May-29, 15:04, said:

There are some occasions I think where it might be right for South to penalty pass the double when stuck for a bid even if envisaging the contract making. It is not doubled into game, and is not redoubled. So what if you concede 180? It may still be the best that you can achieve once partner has doubled with a misfit. You could be walking into -300 and up if you bid. Having said that, this is not one of those occasions because you have a respectable Jxxx of Clubs to bid. Not saying that I would be in that position of course because I would not have doubled with North.

there is a high probability that if partner has his double (which he should), then 1NT is a fine contract, and will get you to the right spot. I wouldn't even consider 2♣.

[Trinidad]

My distribution of the blame:
North: 100%
South: 99%

South gets the 1% because his initial pass was correct. Both double and pass were just silly.

Rik

[gwnn]

I hate everybody at this table (I know I should say that I hate all calls, or whatever, but this is too much).

[Fluffy]

What are you talking about Csaba? West's last pass was flawless!

[ArtK78]

The criticism of West's opening bid is out of line. We don't know if he was playing a strong NT. Or, if he was, he may have thought that his hand was too good for 1NT. In any case, as others have pointed out, his final pass was unquestionably correct, but he gave away an overtrick in the play, achieving +140 the hard way.

I would Michaels on the North hand. Not classic, but it is 5-5. That gets South off the hook. The actual choice of double is eccentric, but I have seen worse. At least he has support for all of the unbid suits.

South's pass of 1♦x was far and away the worst call of the auction.

East's pass over the double is peculiar, but it is not in the same league as South's pass.

[rmnka447]

I was being a little playful about opening 1 NT with the West hand.

If E/W are, in fact, playing weak NTs, intervening with the North is even worse.

I spent some time a number of years ago working out how a one of a minor opening is affected by the NT range. Based on the possible distributions and probability of the various point counts, here's how it fall out:

Playing a weak NT (12-14), there's about a 65% chance a one of a minor opening (with any distribution) has 15+ HCP.

Playing a strong NT (15-17), there's about a 25% chance a one of a minor opener (with any distribution) has 15+ HCP.
(75% of the time it's am minimum hand.)

While I don't advocate major changes in how you compete. The difference between the sets of minor openings is something to consider especially with borderline competitive hands.