[beatrix45]

Scoring: MP

1♥-2♦-2♥-3♦
Pass-Pass-???

---

No one vul. Partner deals and opens 1♥, RHO overcalls 2♦. You bid 2♥. LHO raises to 3♦. This is followed by two passes. Your call???

[pbleighton]

Double in a partnership with fairly normal opening bids, pass if we open very light.

Peter

[flytoox]

I would not dbl. You need to set them two tricks to score more than 110/130. I think I will take the push. Even it goes down it wont be disaster. IMPs, perhaps pass is better.

[helene_t]

Pass or dbl. Partner would have bid with a singleton diamonds and/or six hearts. So 3♥ would, according to the LOTT, mean -50 instead of +50 or -300 instead of -110.

[FrancesHinden]

Not a very difficult problem at IMPs, is it?

Double (penalties) looks wrong to me. If 3D makes, it's a disaster. If 3D is only one off, you are still losing out to everyone allowed to make 2H. Double is only right if 3D is going two off, which looks extremely unlikely. Double has more going for it if they are vulnerable.

I have a lot of sympathy for 3H... except that my partner can see the vulnerability as well. Although a 3H from partner "shows" six hearts on this auction, matchpoints is a different game and he'll compete with a suitable hand anyway even with only five hearts. His most likely hand is some pile of rubbish balanced effort with Hx in diamonds.

So I bid 3H if I don't trust partner to understand matchpoint bidding.
Otherwise I pass, and hope both contracts are one off.

[coyot]

Here the only question that needs to be answered is:

Is partner going to act on LOTT automatically? Or does he leave the decision on me?

I know from his pass that he does not have 6 hearts, but I am not sure whether he would automatically bid with a singleton diamond.

In fact, it all depends on opps knowing LOTT or not. If they know LOTT, they're quite likely sacrificing -100 for 3♦ down one against our 110 with 8card fit on both sides. In that case, I must double to get the highest possible result, beating all pairs that leave 3♦ undoubled - and 3♦x-1 will be the par of the board.

On the other hand, if 3♦ makes on 9card fit and 2♥ makes, par of the board will be 3♥x-1.

I am not sure that partner's pass denies singleton diamond, because if opponents sacrifice on 8card fit, I should be the one doing the doubling with diamond 4card against his singleton - so his automatic bid BECAUSE he has a singleton does not seem right to me. (It would be automatic with the singleton on MY side, where the ruff from short trumps gives an extra trick).

[P_Marlowe]

Dbl, "optional" .

In my partnership, we open sound and our raises in
this situations could be made on tram tickets.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[luis]

I agree with Francis a lot, if we bid 3♥ with xxx we are saying "pd I think you are not good enough to know what to do"
Doubling looks quite silly.
I pass, expecting both 2h and 3d to go down or even better they may have 3NT and be playing just 3d.
Maybe 3d makes and 3h is two down and would be doubled.

[P_Marlowe]

luis, on Jul 28 2005, 09:25 AM, said:

I agree with Francis a lot, if we bid 3♥ with xxx we are saying "pd I think you are not good enough to know what to do"
Doubling looks quite silly.
I pass, expecting both 2h and 3d to go down or even better they may have 3NT and be playing just 3d.
Maybe 3d makes and 3h is two down and would be doubled.

Hi,

I believe in my partners, they know, what they are doing,
but unless you happend to have shown your cards to partner,
your partner never will expect 2 defensive tricks from you.

Dbl is better than the 3H raise.

If you raise, you make the decison by your own without involving parter,
in contrast to double, which gets partner involved in the decision process.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[bearmum]

beatrix45, on Jul 29 2005, 01:08 AM, said:

Scoring: MP

1♥-2♦-2♥-3♦
Pass-Pass-???

---

No one vul. Partner deals and opens 1♥, RHO overcalls 2♦. You bid 2♥. LHO raises to 3♦. This is followed by two passes. Your call???

Pass

[pigpenz]

For me on these type of situations I usually stick to the law of total tricks, pass or double
are the two calls. At matchpoints ill go with double.

[mikeh]

At the risk of further demonstrating why I never win at matchpoints:

Double?

Partner will usually pass, altho he is permitted to pull.

I have no expectation of +300 with my hand, so I am doubling to go +100 or to get to 3♥. I very much doubt that there is any significant matchpoint difference betwen +100 and +50... on a 25 top, maybe 3 mps swing on this.

If we get to 3♥, either by me bidding it or having partner pull, I expect to fail.

The Law is not the only guide to use... unless you consider it to be infallible, which no serious player should.

While the Law attempts to gauge the potential for both sides, the LTC is a guide to your side's potential. Here, you have an ltc of 10, strongly indicating that your 3 level contract will fail.

All of this is a long winded way of arriving at my Pass.

I am a self-confessed, card-carrying chicken so I guess my pass was predictable.

However, I am aiming for the centre of the green (golf analogies, anyone?), not for the flag. I hope to survive this board without the triple bogey represented by 3♦ doubled, making. I will lose ground to those who pull off a great shot, but will stay in the hunt and can hope to make a move on the next hole (board)

[Fluffy]

Clear pass at IMPs, ,at MPs it gets closer, but no enough for me, at least if its the first hand, might variate according to how is the tourney going.

[mike777]

Double with no special insight. Willing to listen and learn.
It seems the "law" and "fought the law" say 3h and 3d are both down one but...
13-5-0=8 tricks.

[luke warm]

this is a perfect example of the way i prefer to play... this is a clear pass, playing that method, because i have exactly what i said i had... i don't have any distributional reason to compete to 3h and i don't have sufficient extras to double

partner was expected to bid (say with an extra trump), double (say with a better hand than he'd shown to that point), or pass

[the hog]

Pass is pretty obvious at Imps and at MPs

[helene_t]

I don't think dbl is completely silly at matchpoints. It's true that the difference between +50 and +100 is probably small (unless the field plays weak notrumps allowing four a 5-card M, in which case some competitors might score +90) but the same can be said for -110 and -470, except for the few competitors who bid 3♥ and score -300, or maybe opps can make 1NT+1. If you think 3♦ goes down and partner won't pull your double, go for it.

[joker_gib]

Not enough extra's to dbl and I already told what I have, so :

pass both at imps or MP

Alain

[Wiste1]

PASS, allways......i have told my story, why go crazy ?? because of 2 aces ?
If i have a 4th ♥ and/or singleton ♦ i would bid 3♥.
Double should show a better hand.