[the hog]

The pass is just NOT ON! Sorry Wayne. I agree that your pd did not have a 2C opener, but you cannot pass this bid under any circumstances. If you did this playing with me, we would never play again.

[bearmum]

[PriorKnowledge]

North has bal 22 hcp so has a normal 2C opener, unless my arithmetic is off.

[Gerben42]

Pass = I don't want to play with you anymore.

It's like this auction:

North: 1♥
South: 1♠
North: 2♥
South: 2♠
North: 3♥
South: Double
West: You can't double your partner!
South: He's no longer my partner!

Not to be confused with an auction like this:

North: 1♠
South: 2NT Jacoby
North: 3♣ Singleton
South: 4♣ Confusing
North: Pass

Here Pass = I enjoy pain.

[MickyB]

helene_t, on Jun 13 2005, 07:26 AM, said:

If you treat his 2♣ openings as only semi-forcing, he will start opening 4♠ or 3NT whenever he has a real 2♣ opening. And rightly so. Then you will pass his 2♣ openings with more and more values, and raise his 4♠ openings to six with a flat hand with an ace and a king.

Ok, having thought a little more I agree that passing 2C is wrong on this hand. However, I still think that 32 32 432 765432 is likely to gain IMPs by passing. There are pards who I wouldn't do it with - same as there are pards that don't like psyches, or the risking of a game for an overtrick even when it is mathematically right to do so. I disagree totally with Helene's statement - opening 3N or 4♠ on an absolute GF would not be justifiable just because there is a 0.1% chance of partner deciding to pass 2♣.

[paulg]

Bridge is a partnership game - passing a strong 2♣ opener is an individual decision by the significantly weaker hand and is masterminding (that is, making the decision because you do not trust partner) of the worst sort in my opinion.

If your partner does continue to play with you, then you should discuss which hands you will open 2♣ and which you will open at the 1-level. Experts tend to be happier [than beginner/intermediates] to open strong hands at the 1-level and keep the 2♣ bid really for game-forcing hands.

There is a very small fraction of hands where you can contemplate passing a forcing bid. However these all have more information available than one bid from partner AND you believe that partner will understand your decision. Clearly neither of these conditions are true here.

p

[jillybean]

guggie, on Jun 13 2005, 12:48 AM, said:

Wow, Helene, the dog idea did not occur to me yet. But 2 puppies arriving july2nd... what possibilities. Furthermore partner hates dogs. Pity partner lives 30 km away.

Guggie, with 2 puppies you will have no time for bridge!

[guggie]

that s what my husband hopes;-)

[Elianna]

It would never occur to me to pass 2♣ in Standard or 2/1, or anywhere else that this is a strong forcing opening showing nothing about partner's shape.

I must admit that I have passed partner's forcing bid before. Playing Standard American, the bidding went:

1♣-(1♠)-pass-(pass);
2♠-all pass

And I held 9xxxxxx/xxx/xxx/--. Of course, partner WAS limited, I didn't have a four card major, nor a real spade stopper.

On the opening lead, partner said "you better have seven or eight small spades and nothing else", and I just grinned at him and arranged dummy (this was in a live game).

[keylime]

K it's time for confessional.

I've passed a Precision 1C once, on sheer accident, because my mind was on the last hand where I chunked an overtrick and contract. Not good karma. That and I was not happy with the course of my game; I had stunk up the joint. And I probably was craving either DQ or Skittles or pizza.

We ended up with a cold top, I hit pard's hand. I still don't know why I did that but it happened. Pard was "mildly suprised" but thrilled with the +130. The opps took some sympathy.

[Double !]

Jlall, on Jun 13 2005, 02:02 PM, said:

I opened a strong club once and passed 1D with 2272 15 count Pard had 7 hearts lol

Curious.
How many spades could the opps make?

[Winstonm]

Quote

I opened a strong club once and passed 1D with 2272 15 count  Pard had 7 hearts lol

Are we to assume that partnership is still healthy and viable? LoLoL.

WinstonM

[the hog]

PriorKnowledge, on Jun 13 2005, 07:59 PM, said:

North has bal 22 hcp so has a normal 2C opener, unless my arithmetic is off.

Eh! Last time I looked a 2NT opening shows 20-22 in most standard systems.

[Elianna]

The_Hog, on Jun 13 2005, 06:01 PM, said:

PriorKnowledge, on Jun 13 2005, 07:59 PM, said:

North has bal 22 hcp so has a normal 2C opener, unless my arithmetic is off.

Eh! Last time I looked a 2NT opening shows 20-22 in most standard systems.

Funny how a point makes a difference. Most modern bridge teachers teach 2NT shows 20-21.

Anyway, what would help is playing some bid that right away shows a double negative. My partner and I play that this sequence is passable:

2♣-2♥;
2NT

But not if the 2♥ bid were anything else (ie 2♦, while still "waiting" sets up a gameforce, allowing the 2♣ bidder to rebid 2NT with a really strong hand, too)

[the hog]

"Funny how a point makes a difference. Most modern bridge teachers teach 2NT shows 20-21."

Really? I love generalisations like this. I would be very interested in seeing the results of your survey of "most modern bridge teachers."

[Elianna]

The_Hog, on Jun 13 2005, 06:27 PM, said:

"Funny how a point makes a difference. Most modern bridge teachers teach 2NT shows 20-21."

Really? I love generalisations like this. I would be very interested in seeing the results of your survey of "most modern bridge teachers."

Funny how you seem to protest about generalizations such as that, and yet you said 2NT shows 20-22 in most standard systems? Is that not a generalization?

Mine at least is likely to be accurate. While I have not taken a survey of modern bridge teachers, I have seen teaching material put out by the ACBL, which states that opening 2NT has a range of 20-21.

Granted, the ACBL is not the be all and end all of modern bridge, nor of what's "standard" and I probably made a mistake when I said most modern teachers, I should have said american teachers. If you wish to investigate, go to the acbl webpage, download their manual for teachers, and look at page 15 (section 1, deal 6)

Where do you get the info for YOUR claims? Or are YOUR generalizations exempt from needing to be backed up.

[Elianna]

The_Hog, on Jun 13 2005, 06:01 PM, said:

Eh! Last time I looked a 2NT opening shows 20-22 in most standard systems.

Now that you've got my attention, look at even the yellow card, which many people on bbo tend to treat as "Standard American", and at bbo standard and bbo advanced.

A link to an image of the yellow card (ie SAYC) is: http://www.bridgeprotour.com/ (click on yellow card on the bottom of the page).

I'll await your sources with anticipation.