[jillybean]

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This was played MP, would your bid change if IMP?

[mw64ahw]

jillybean, on 2026-October-16, 04:35, said:

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This was played MP, would your bid change if IMP?

I doubt it although still debating what my bid would be playing KI5 GI 2/1 - X, 2♣ or 3N

[apollo1201]

Will we score 800 on this one? Not unlikely but can easily be 500 or worse if partner with 10-9 stiff and a bare 12 count does not reopen.

The risk is probably too high, 3NT will be a good description and even allows partner to bid 4H with 6 of them.

Same MP and IMP.

[pescetom]

I'm not in a hurry to bid 3NT here, I start with 2♣ and then see.

[WasWinM]

If your style is to open light, you can't then pass because you've opened light, assuming you also play negative doubles. A pass by opener should mean he/she holds 3 spades. Besides, if opener is embarrassed by his hand, 3NT is going to be a struggle and probably won't make. The difficulty of this sequence in my mind is what to do when it goes, 1H-1S-P-P-X-P-?. I would likely choose 2NT at that point.

[mike777]

 jillybean, on 2026-October-16, 04:35, said:

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This was played MP, would your bid change if IMP?

2NT
Both
Easy one

Will pass 3H rebid.

[apollo1201]

 pescetom, on 2026-October-16, 06:28, said:

I'm not in a hurry to bid 3NT here, I start with 2♣ and then see.

I prefer to show real suits in competition (although here it is unlikely it goes 4S and 5C by partner). I am not sure what the consensus is (even for Clubs).
But maybe 3NT is a bit excessive if partner opens light.

[pescetom]

 apollo1201, on 2026-October-16, 09:26, said:

I prefer to show real suits in competition (although here it is unlikely it goes 4S and 5C by partner). I am not sure what the consensus is (even for Clubs).
But maybe 3NT is a bit excessive if partner opens light.

Nobody likes to bid short suits, but 2C without the intervention would not promise clubs as we play, so the length here is shaded at least. Partner will only raise clubs with 4 cards and and extras and then we still have most of the 3 level to sort things out.
I do prefer it to 3NT which looks dicey even opposite many full openings.

[mike777]

 pescetom, on 2026-October-16, 06:28, said:

I'm not in a hurry to bid 3NT here, I start with 2♣ and then see.

2C in competition does not promise clubs?
Alert?

[mw64ahw]

mike777, on 2026-October-16, 11:19, said:

2C in competition does not promise clubs?
Alert?

Alerted balanced or Clubs game invitational for me. Now opener can bid 2♦ to show a min. or another bid to show shape with extras.

[mikeh]

At mps this looks like an easy pass, provided we do it in tempo. I don’t like my spade spots for 3N…I may well have only one stopper, and RHO rates to have a side entry.

If partner passes this out, I’m probably going to be ok. He’ll have at least two spades….Qx would be typical…I very much disagree with Winston’s notion that partner must reopen unless he has 3 spades. If he does pass, then LHO has at most 1 spade and that means we’re rating to face bad splits that will usually doom 3N even if we have 25-26 hcp. Meanwhile, it’s unlikely that they can make 1S. Even if they do, -80 will beat anyone going down NS.

What do I do if partner reopens? I bid 2S for now. Let’s see what he does. I’m not passing…although I may well end up wishing I had.

Tough hand.

[pescetom]

mw64ahw, on 2026-October-16, 11:41, said:

Alerted balanced or Clubs game invitational for me.

I would explain "invitational or better, no hearts fit, may not have clubs" but probably much the same thing.

[WasWinM]

mikeh, on 2026-October-16, 12:10, said:

At mps this looks like an easy pass, provided we do it in tempo. I don’t like my spade spots for 3N…I may well have only one stopper, and RHO rates to have a side entry.

If partner passes this out, I’m probably going to be ok. He’ll have at least two spades….Qx would be typical…I very much disagree with Winston’s notion that partner must reopen unless he has 3 spades. If he does pass, then LHO has at most 1 spade and that means we’re rating to face bad splits that will usually doom 3N even if we have 25-26 hcp. Meanwhile, it’s unlikely that they can make 1S. Even if they do, -80 will beat anyone going down NS.

What do I do if partner reopens? I bid 2S for now. Let’s see what he does. I’m not passing…although I may well end up wishing I had.

Tough hand.

Your point is well taken and mine not expressed well. Reopening is a judgement call, not a requirement, but it shouldn't be based on well, I only had and 11-count when you're sitting there 1444.

[mike777]

I believe, once again, MikeH has introduced two rather intriguing points.
1. An excellent example of hand building during the bidding, in tempo.
2.just how far, how much energy, and thought should we put into avoiding bidding 26HCP games.

[DavidKok]

I think your second point is misunderstanding the situation. It is not actively desirable to not bid game on 26 combined hcp. It requires serious red flags from the bidding to correctly deduce that we might wish to stay in a partscore despite such combined hcp. Here we have two or three large red flags (our distribution, the weak spades in our hand, the minimum game force worth of values in our hand), but on balance I am on the fence whether this is enough to opt into a partscore. I agree with exactly the way MikeH phrased it: if partner has 2 (or 3) spades, and cannot reopen despite having 13-14 hcp (so not a total minimum opening, nominally), then the odds of us making game are low enough I do not particularly mind not being in it.

[awm]

Passing seems strange to me — I don’t think I’d pass with this good a hand unless I planned to convert a double to penalties. I’d go with 2nt here; I have a second spade stop if partner can produce as little as singleton nine and the 2nt call seems to show the values (downgrading very slightly due to the shape and poor spade spots).

[jillybean]

late back to this, here is the full hand

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In the first round I underbid 1nt (8-11), the OT chose double and 3nt over 3♣

[mw64ahw]

mw64ahw, on 2026-October-16, 11:41, said:

Alerted balanced or Clubs game invitational for me. Now opener can bid 2♦ to show a min. or another bid to show shape with extras.

So after
1♥ - (1♠) - 2♣ BD or ♣ GI - P -2♦ min - P

2♥ 2♥ GI - 4♥
or
2♠ GF - 2N UB 6♥
leaving opener to stop in 4♥