[jahol]

A couple of bidding problems encountered last night (all IMPs):

1) Both vulnerable, you have

void---98754---KQ853---J92

your partner opened the bidding with 1 diam, RHO bid 2 spades, your turn.
1 diam is 12-17PC, at least four diam.


2) Non-vulnerable against vulnerable, your LHO opened 2 diam (weak Multi, weak two in hearts or spades), partner pass, RHO 2NT (asking about major suit and strength, game possibilities), you have

void---842---AKJ3---KQJ953.

Your bid?


3) Vulnerable against non-vulnerable, you have

J---AKJ96542---54---K6

your RHO opens with 2 clubs (Precision, 6+cl or 5+cl + just 4 in major). Your bid?


4) Both vulnerable, you have

AJ743---108---AKJ8---84

your partner passed, RHO 1 heart (Precision, 11-15, 5+H), you 1 spade, RHO 2 clubs (nat), your partner 3 spades (weak), RHO 4hearts. Do you pass?


5) Non-vulnerable against vulnerable, you have

K86---653---AK97654---void (see, how frequent are voids here ) .

RHO started with 1NT (14-16, balanced), you doubled (D.O.N.T., one colour - you can not bid 3 diam, it would have been "strong D.O.N.T. two suits hand"), LHO 2NT (nat. invitation), partner pass, RHO 3NT. Do you pass?


Thank you in advance for any answer.

[whereagles]

1. 3D, though double would be better if I could be assured pard wouldn't pass it.. lol.

2. 4C. It is imperative to leave RHO in the dark as to opener's hand. If 2NT was a psyche this will turn out wrong, though.

3. 4H.

4. Pass, yes. There's a lot of chance pard can make 1 trick.

5. Pass and lead diam king.


There are good points to bid some of these otherwise.. lol.

[Gerben42]

Quote

1) Both vulnerable, you have

void---98754---KQ853---J92

your partner opened the bidding with 1 diam, RHO bid 2 spades, your turn.
1 diam is 12-17PC, at least four diam.

3♦. Too weak for a double.

Quote

2) Non-vulnerable against vulnerable, your LHO opened 2 diam (weak Multi, weak two in hearts or spades), partner pass, RHO 2NT (asking about major suit and strength, game possibilities), you have

void---842---AKJ3---KQJ953.

Your bid?

3♣

Quote

3) Vulnerable against non-vulnerable, you have

J---AKJ96542---54---K6

your RHO opens with 2 clubs (Precision, 6+cl or 5+cl + just 4 in major). Your bid?

4♥. ♣K is a good card now after a likely ♣ lead so even if partner has nothing useful we are probably only down 1.

Quote

4) Both vulnerable, you have

AJ743---108---AKJ8---84

your partner passed, RHO 1 heart (Precision, 11-15, 5+H), you 1 spade, RHO 2 clubs (nat), your partner 3 spades (weak), RHO 4hearts. Do you pass?

Yes, and lead ♣A. Vulnerable partner might have something, and when not then 2 down won't help us much.

Quote

5) Non-vulnerable against vulnerable, you have

K86---653---AK97654---void (see, how frequent are voids here  ) .

RHO started with 1NT (14-16, balanced), you doubled (D.O.N.T., one colour - you can not bid 3 diam, it would have been "strong D.O.N.T. two suits hand"), LHO 2NT (nat. invitation), partner pass, RHO 3NT. Do you pass?

Yes. The real question is which diamond to lead. I guess a small one now that they have not asked for majors.

[P_Marlowe]

1) 4D
2) 3C
I bid what I have, if the 2 NT was a psych,
which is not clear, then so be it.
3) 4H.
My first impulse was 2H, but after reading the replies,
I agree that 4H is much better, altough 2H may work,
at MP you just have to be right, and that means, sometimes
tactical bids work out.
4) Yes, I Pass.
5) Yes, I Pass.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[joker_gib]

1) 4♦ too weak to dbl (and 3♦ is more constructive) and my hand really looks like a preempt (So I forget the ♥ )

2) 3♣ isn't it what I have

3) 4♥ pragmatic and vul that's a good hand

4) Pass

5) Pass

Alain

[awm]

Answers to these depend somewhat on methods.

(1) 5♦. I think the opponents are going to compete in spades; they have at least a nine card fit if not more, and we have at least nine diamonds. Best to make them guess now. If partner has the wrong spade holding this may be bad, but I'll trust RHO to have some top spades for the preempt at vulnerable.

(2) 4♣, and 4NT next assuming opponents bid a major. Could easily be a double game swing, and certainly a good sacrifice.

(3) 4♥ seems straightforward. All I need is to find partner with an ace somewhere to make, and opponents could easily have a big spade fit that may be hard to find after the preempt.

(4) Pass. Doubletons in the opponents suits are not ideal. I don't think we we make 4♠ and I'm not sure they make 4♥ either. Will lead from ♦AK.

(5) Hands like these are why I hate DONT. I don't know whether we have a diamond fit, because partner didn't get the chance to raise me (didn't know my suit). Opponents had the opportunity to use their methods as they see fit because I took up no space. I'd much prefer to play a system where I have natural 2♦ and 3♦ bids available for hands like these. With that said, I will pass and lead a top ♦ now.

[Chamaco]

1) 5D. The void in spades imporoves greatly the strength of this hand.
We are vuln, game is a distinct possibility; we may be off 1 doubled, but if we are off 2, then probably they have 4 spades (then the problem is whether they would bid or not 4S....)

2) What defense do you play vs Multi ?
Anyways, 3C is a slight underbid, but more practical than dbl IMO.

3) The usual problem. These hands are afraid of losing game if we bid our suit at low level, of losing slam if we bid 4M (which could be much worse), and doubling with so little defense is plain foolish.
I like to use namyats overcalls opposite unpassed pard, but if I cannot use a namyats overcall, I'll just bid 4H. We might lose a slam, but better risking losing a close slam than an almost certain game, and, I repeat, double is not an option, so very little aternatives.

4) How weak can pard be ? This is the key.
I see 3 top tricks, but not sure of where to get a 4th trick.
In 4S we are down for sure, either 1 or 2.
Their 4H could be defeated if: a) pard holds the H K and H split 22; OR I can give pard a diamond ruff.
On the other hand, if pard holds the HK, we have grat chances of 9 trick (doubled, -200).

I bid 4S. If pard is really weak, the chances of defeating this contract are too thin.
On the other hand, we should be at most down 2, so it should not be a disaster.
This will be a phantom only if pard has bid with indeed some significant values.
In this case, too bad, next board pls :-)

5) I would have bid 4 diamonds right away, not a DONT double.
The vulnerability + the side void justify leaping to 4.
Anyways, I have to bid now over 3NT and I bid 4 diamonds.
If I held a side ace I might have passed and lead a low diamond hoping to get in soon, but I do not think it's right to hope to defeat 3NT based on opps diamonds honors dropping under AK nor to hope to get later in with the spade K

[Walddk]

1. 4♦. Then partner knows what to expect if he doubles 4♠. 4♦ is pre-emptive with a stack of diamonds and little else. 3♠ would have been the constructive raise.

2. 3♣. I may get in with 4NT (4-6 in the minors) later.

3. 4♥

4. Pass

5. Pass and lead a top diamond.

Roland

[luke warm]

1. 3♠
2. 4nt
3. 4♥
4. pass
5. pass and my lowest diamond

[vang]

1. 3D. i _might_ have a heart fit, but i'm sure i have diamond fit.

2. a simple 3C.

3. 4H. i have made a bet part has one ace ;-)

4. with two quick tricks outside our fit, yes, i pass.

5. pass. why sacrifice when i have a reasonable chance to defeat them?

[mike777]

1) x, will bid 5D if p doubles 4s.
2) 4C, oops P is a passed hand so lets try preempt now.
3) 4H
4) 4S, 3S should be suggesting shape and sacrifice not outside defensive values. IF 3s could be either that is tough way for P to make decisions. Maybe our partner will have KQXX=X=XXXXX=XXX.
5) Pass

[pclayton]

1. Double but OK with any # of diamonds too. Its hard to tell whose deal this is - pard could still have a real good hand.

2. I'll try 4♣. If I buy it, great. I'd kind of like to know if they have a heart fit. I'll compete to 4N over 4 of a major. Similar to #1 - its hard to tell whose deal it is, so why should we bashing?

3. 4♥ - very easy.

4. Pass and object stongly to double or 4♠.

5. Pass - <shrug>; I don't care for these methods much. If I don't have a 3♦ call available, I'll shoot 4♦ at my 1st turn.

[luis]

1) 5♦
2) 3♣, not a problem.
3) 4♥, what else?
4) pass, automatic
5) 4♦, object the bidding, I'd have bid 4♦ at my first turn.

Luis

[han]

1) Since I would bid 5D over 4S, I'm going to bid it right away.

2) 5C. Sounds like they have a big major suit fit but they don't know it yet. Perhaps multi will backfire on this hand.

3) 4H, easy at unfavorable.

4) Yes I pass now, afraid to lose style points by preempting, passing and raising.

5) I would certainly not double, what good does this do? I would bid 3D directly (4D is tempting but no). I don't like to abstain, so I pass now.

[han]

I see that I'm the only one bidding 5C on the second hand. Some plan to compete with 4NT later, and although this is of course safer, it does give the opponents a chance to figure out what's going on. I really like 5C directly, and I would like to see some comments on this bid by the people who bid only 3C or 4C.

[inquiry]

1) Five Diamonds. Let LHO worry if he should show his support at the five level or not.

2) 3♣, 2NT might be a psyche, might be real. But I got clubs.

3) 4♥, is this really a problem? Do you have the method to find partner has Club ACE, Diamond KQ, Heart Q, and spade ACE (the perfect 15?) Don't play for perfection.

4) Pass. At matchpoint I might double of course. I am not bidding 4♠ at any game.

5) This is the only "hard" problem in the set. 4♦ and pass could both be right. They are stretching to play 3NT, so a double (to try to get them to run) could also be entertained. I waffle between 4D (maybe a phantom and maybe not even cheap if I can win only five diamond tricks and have to play spades from my hand) and pass. In final analysis I go with pass, and lead a top diamond, but I am not sure this is right.

[the hog]

A couple of bidding problems encountered last night (all IMPs):

1) Both vulnerable, you have

void---98754---KQ853---J92

3D. May miss a H game, but hopefully pd can bid again


2) Non-vulnerable against vulnerable, your LHO opened 2 diam (weak Multi, weak two in hearts or spades), partner pass, RHO 2NT (asking about major suit and strength, game possibilities), you have

void---842---AKJ3---KQJ953.

Your bid?
3C


3) Vulnerable against non-vulnerable, you have

J---AKJ96542---54---K6

your RHO opens with 2 clubs (Precision, 6+cl or 5+cl + just 4 in major). Your bid?
4H. But suspect this will be a transfer to 4S, (the opps 4S that is). There is an argument for 2H


4) Both vulnerable, you have

AJ743---108---AKJ8---84

your partner passed, RHO 1 heart (Precision, 11-15, 5+H), you 1 spade, RHO 2 clubs (nat), your partner 3 spades (weak), RHO 4hearts. Do you pass?

Yes, 7 loser hand.


5) Non-vulnerable against vulnerable, you have

K86---653---AK97654---void (see, how frequent are voids here ) .

RHO started with 1NT (14-16, balanced), you doubled (D.O.N.T., one colour - you can not bid 3 diam, it would have been "strong D.O.N.T. two suits hand"), LHO 2NT (nat. invitation), partner pass, RHO 3NT. Do you pass?

Very poor methods - abstain! How can you bid now?

[Antoine Fourrière]

1) 5♦
Hearts become a minor when they have spades.

2) 4♣
5♣ seems too unilateral. But I must precipitate things a bit.

3) 4♥
Most descriptive bid.
(By the way, my 2♣ opening shows 11-14 with five clubs and a four-card major and my 3♣ opening shows 12(11)-14 with six clubs. Responder might enjoy it here.)

4) Pass
Not enough total tricks. Might bid 4♥ over 3♠ if hearts and spades were reversed.

5) Pass, but would have overcalled 3/4♦ if playing decent methods, or 4♦ if playing DONT.

[jahol]

Deal 1: 5x voted for 5D, 3x for 4D, 4x for 3D, these votes did not care about possible H fit, three "more constructive" attempts (double, 3 spades). In my opinion, the problem of 3 spade bid, for example, is that after 4 spades from RHO, one more bid (after partner's double, let us say) may look like much stronger hand than it is in reality. I bid just 3D and with partner's hand
A2---10---AJ962---AQ874
we made 5 diam +1, 5 spades contract is down two.
Main conclusion: People vote for no searching for H support. Looks reasonable since the opponents have got spade suit, anyway.

Deal 2: 9x voted for constructive 3 clubs, 4x for more aggressive 4 clubs, once (a lady!) for 5 clubs, once for 4NT. My very young and brave (and good) partner bid 5 clubs and this was the deal:

Scoring: IMP

---

5 clubs contract was doubled and the result was -1400 (partner lost trumph control). Few times, spade slam was bid and made, but quite often, the result was diamond contract doubled down several times.


Deal 3: Absolutely clear. 15 votes for 4H. I bid 4H as well, here, I was curious, whether it is automatic bid for you, experts, or not. I can see, YES is the answer.


Deal 4: 13 votes for pass, 2 votes for 4 spades. My young partner bid 4 spades (of course ). On one side, the arguments for pass are fairly logical, however I may have a sympathy for 4S bid, since there is strong possibility, both lines have double fit hands (the 4H bid may be based on good hearts AND club support). In addition, the opponents may face real problem whether to go to the fifth level.
Anyway, from point of view of the Law, our line may correspond to the equivalent of 10 tricks (3s bid can be based on 5 cards support or there is double spade-diam fit), the opponents may have potential of 9 tricks...another reason for bidding 4S.
In reality, four hearts could have been made, four spades would have been down two, but the opponent with clubs had AKJxxxx in this suit (and Jxx in hearts) and bid 5 clubs (mistakenly, probably). This was the final contract, doubled and down one.

Deal 5: Almost all votes for pass, many objections against DONT, double come from my partner (surprisingly, I would expect him to bid AT LEAST 4D immediately), my choice would have been immediate 4D as, well. I do not think, D.O.N.T. is the problem, I like this convention, but it must be used conveniently, of course. In the real deal, 3NTshould be made just, 4D are down four, when defended carefully.