[nikos59]

IMPs (Teams), real-life bridge.

At game all, your RHO deals and opens 1S.

You hold:

9xx
Kx
KJxx
AKQx

What is your poison? Pass, double, 1NT, 2NT (unusual), 2C or...?

(I will post the real-life deal later)

[Double !]

OK, I'll bite. I pass for now.

[jikl]

Pass for me also

Sean

[hotShot]

I dbl, my p may have distribution, and i have the hcp.

[luke warm]

this is tough... i bid 1nt and i know this is probably not right

[EricK]

luke warm, on Feb 5 2005, 09:25 PM, said:

this is tough... i bid 1nt and i know this is probably not right

I see this sort of reply a lot.

If you think it isn't right, why do you do it?

I pass. Because I think it is right.

Eric

[mr1303]

I will pass as well. But I don't think it's particularly right, I just think it's less wrong than the alternatives. If you double, partner will bid hearts, which could put you in trouble. If you overcall 1NT, partner will expect you to have a spade stop, and when they cash their however many spades they have, you'll have to take the blame. If you try 2NT, partner will overestimate the fit, and likely overcompete.

If you pass and bid later, partner won't assume you have this strong a hand. But I think the alternatives are worse.

[luke warm]

EricK, on Feb 5 2005, 03:34 PM, said:

luke warm, on Feb 5 2005, 09:25 PM, said:

this is tough... i bid 1nt and i know this is probably not right

I see this sort of reply a lot.

If you think it isn't right, why do you do it?

I pass. Because I think it is right.

Eric

i meant, i don't think it's the right *answer*, eric... i'd bid 1nt because i obviously think it's the right bid, but the others posting (including you) think pass is right, when 1nt would by implication be wrong

[fred]

First choice for me is Pass. If I had to make a 2nd choice it would be 2C.

Fred Gitelman
Bridge Base Inc.
www.bridgebase.com

[pclayton]

Double; showing 15+ - usually balanced

Oh, thats not an option? Then I pass and hope pard can find a balance on his balanced 9 count and spade stop.

[Free]

This is indeed an easy hand for power doublers However, if you play standard stuff, I think pass is the correct bid to start with.

[whereagles]

I bid 1NT. Don't care for stoppers. Never have, never will

[nikos59]

The full hand (not that one hand proves anything) was:

Scoring: IMP

---

At my table, where I was South, the lady holding the
problem hand (at West) hid 2C. Her partner thought
a bit and bid 2NT, and she was relieved to add the third.
3NT made easily, 430.

The majority choice of this forum, Pass,
would also have worked. East would
certainly reopen with 1NT.

What should not have worked was the double,
which was my team-mate's choice at the other
table. Her partner jumped all the way to 4H,
which he played on a 4-2 fit with enemy trumps
divided 5-2.

The lead was the ace of diamonds, a good start
for a defensive cross-ruff. However, at Trick 2,
South cunningly *underled* in spades, trying
to reach partner and receive his ruff. Declarer
won the trick, cashed two top trumps felling
the queen, gave a third to the jack, won the
return and now the contract made, for a flat
board -which shows again that there ain't
no justice, or perhaps there is since our
atrocity in the bidding was balanced by
oppo's atrocity in the play.

Nikos

[the hog]

Far easier would have been
1S P P 1N
P 3N

Don't you think?

[Flame]

Id pass some days and bid 2c on other days. I dont know about that 4H bid, at first it seemed totally wrong, why force to play 4H when you have a good alternative to suggest,3NT. There is one resson to make 4H good which is that over 2S and partner's 3H the hand will play from the wrong side of the table.

[hotShot]

As this example shows you have to define what dbl means. If can play it showing 4+ cards in the unbid major, or just showing strength.
Each has it up's and down's, but you need to play the same definition thatr your partner uses.

[junyi_zhu]

nikos59, on Feb 5 2005, 08:09 PM, said:

IMPs (Teams), real-life bridge.

At game all, your RHO deals and opens 1S.

You hold:

9xx
Kx
KJxx
AKQx

What is your poison? Pass, double, 1NT, 2NT (unusual), 2C or...?

(I will post the real-life deal later)

It's tough because we are red, 2C may cause a big number. However, pass may also
be bad because in my partnership, we don't balance much. So We can't expect partner to balance with 10 HCP and some 11 HCP, because our official balancing 1NT range is 12 to good 15 against 1S. However, if I bid 2C, and partner bids 3C, I wouldn't feel very well to play in a possible 4-3 fit. Anyway, I think they are close decisions. At the table, if against light openers, I'd bid 2C, otherwise, I would pass I believe.

[HeartA]

Pass is my ONLY choice.

[the saint]

Having just seen it, I would have thought pass was straightforward. Why are people in such a rush to bid? If the hand was say the K or even Q of clubs weaker, people would have been passing in a blink. If partner can't balance, then what has gone wrong? What have we missed? It may well be right to be defending. Having said that, make me a Q or so stronger and you won't keep me out of the auction.

[HeartA]

hotShot, on Feb 7 2005, 04:21 AM, said:

As this example shows you have to define what dbl means. If can play it showing 4+ cards in the unbid major, or just showing strength.
Each has it up's and down's, but you need to play the same definition thatr your partner uses.

Dbl shows at least 3-card support for unbid suits, or 17+ hcp with biddable suit (will bid it at the next turn).