[MickyB]

Scoring: IMP

You open 1♠, partner responds a forcing NT. Choose your poison.

---

[mike777]

2H bidding out shape.
Understand rebid of 2S bidding out HCP

[mikeh]

2♥.... no other bid has any merit. No competent partner will pass 2♥ when there is a better spot. Bidding anything else is an attempt to be superman.

[hrothgar]

MickyB, on Jul 15 2005, 01:21 AM, said:

Scoring: IMP

You open 1♠, partner responds a forcing NT. Choose your poison.

---

Interesting hand... Despite the low HCP total, dealer is a 5 loser powerhouse
Give responder as little as

♠ x
♥ Qxx
♦ Axxxxx
♣ xxx

and 4H is very attractive.

Give responder

♠ x
♥ xx
♦ KJxxx
♣ KQxxx

And 3N is looking pretty good

Are all the 2♥ bidders confident that they're reach game on hands like these?

Its IMPs. Better to be hung for a lion than a lamb.
If red, I'm bidding 3♥ for sure. Would consider it white as well

[MickyB]

You seem to have at least five tricks off the top in 3N Richard...

But yes, KQx of hearts would be golden.

[pigpenz]

just about anything could be right, depends on how lucky you feel that day!
Text book would be 2♥ but three four and even 4 spades could be right

[hrothgar]

MickyB, on Jul 15 2005, 01:49 AM, said:

You seem to have at least five tricks off the top in 3N Richard...

But yes, KQx of hearts would be golden.

oops...

pay no attention to the man behind the curtain...
3N is golden. GOLDEN I say!!!!

[keylime]

I like 4H direct. It's a "feel" bid.

[awm]

I'd bid 2♥. Certainly could miss a game this way, but I'm somewhat afraid of the tap on this hand unless we have a nine-card fit somewhere. A lot of hands that seem to make game (relatively few losers) get hit pretty hard by repeated leads in the weak minor. My hope is:

(1) With four good hearts, partner might raise to 3♥. I am somewhat saddened that I am playing two-over-one, because this sort of "courtesy raise" is much more appealing in a system where 1NT was more limited.

(2) If we don't have a nine card fit and partner has less than ten high, I'm not sure I want to be in game on this one. The tap is going to be a pain. I'm sure you can construct hands where game makes, although the ones I've seen so far have some defects, but I think the conservative path is more likely to be successful.

(3) Most of the time partner bids 2♠ and I can venture one more try by bidding 3♥ over it. This seems better than unilaterally forcing game at my second bid.

[han]

With f2f partners I can rebid 3H here, 6-5 not forcing.

Not having this available it seems that 2H is the only possibility.

[mikeh]

using 3♥ as 6-5 non-forcing seems somewhat limiting It will not arise often, and in the interim, you will not be able to handle (at least, not well) hands that the rest of us would bid 3♥, forcing. However, 3♥ non-forcing, 5-5 or better is okay playing a big ♣ method: maybe that is what you do in ftf bridge?

[luke warm]

i'm with dwayne.. 4♥

[the hog]

3H. Don't want partner to pass with x KTx Axxxx xxxx or similar.
Have sympathy for 4H bidders, and have no sympathy whatsoever for the pusillanimous 2H. This is Imps after all!

[pclayton]

Unless the opps can score a heart ruff, it seems that spades is a far superior strain than hearts. The problem with 3H is that its forcing unless you play something offbeat or play limited one bids. This hand doesn't look like a GF to me.

I like 3S myself. If pard passes, I'm ok with it, although I pay off to HHx of hearts. If 3S begets 3N, then I have a tough decision, but will try 4H ostensibly showing a 7-5.

[whereagles]

Did anyone consider pard's most likely hand is a 55 minors with 6-8 points? Do you really want to shoot at 3H or 4H opposite that? I think 2H is fine. If pard bids 3m, you may even consider PASS.

[the hog]

"I think 2H is fine."

x KTx Axxxx xxxx

Scoreup +170, -620.

[han]

2H is not fine at all. I do think that 3H and especially 3S (yuck!) are worse.

[han]

mikeh, on Jul 14 2005, 06:54 PM, said:

using 3♥ as 6-5 non-forcing seems somewhat limiting It will not arise often, and in the interim, you will not be able to handle (at least, not well) hands that the rest of us would bid 3♥, forcing. However, 3♥ non-forcing, 5-5 or better is okay playing a big ♣ method: maybe that is what you do in ftf bridge?

We don't play a big club system, we more or less play 2/1. We rebid 2C with all hands with 16+ HCP.

We play that almost any jump shift by opener to the 3-level is non-forcing with 6-5 or better (sometimes very concentrated 5-5). Of course, this makes some strong hands harder to handle.

Have played this for about 6 months, not enough to give a verdict. Unfortunately I move to a different state next month, so my f2f partnerships cease to exist. I'll probably never know how bad an idea the above is.

[EricK]

The_Hog, on Jul 15 2005, 01:37 AM, said:

"I think 2H is fine."

x KTx Axxxx xxxx

Scoreup +170, -620.

I am not saying you are wrong about the 2♥ bid, but your argument seems to be along the lines of "Missing game is much worse than overbidding to bad games". That is only true when the number of overbid games is small enough. But you haven't touched upon that at all.

Eric

[whereagles]

The_Hog, on Jul 15 2005, 01:37 AM, said:

"I think 2H is fine."

x KTx Axxxx xxxx

Scoreup +170, -620.

Maybe you pass 2H on that. I know better to bid 2S.