[mike777]

An old buddy played Bob Hamman's team last night. Here are 2 hands. If you get just one right you beat Bob. Get both right you win the event.

Recent posts here have discussed complicated responses to 2Clubs, Zar and other expert approaches to winning bridge. They are fun to read and learn from.

Other posts discuss if we just concentrate our efforts on trying to count, bid, play, and defend with some commonsense and judgement we nonexperts still have a chance to beat some experts.

Scoring: IMP

3D=P=P*=?

P*=Grand Master, long pause.

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[FrancesHinden]

Can we have a 13th card please?

[Fluffy]

I hope missing a 13th card is not part of the problem

if we have the normal problem of ♦Qxx, I've found that often, one of the best reopenings we have is 3♥.

[POJC]

DBL just like one it's done when playing bridge.

The pause will already make me consider calling director

[inquiry]

POJC, on Sep 6 2005, 10:39 AM, said:

DBL just like one it's done when playing bridge.

The pause will already make me consider calling director

Not sure where you are going with calling the director. After 3♦ pass pass, the 3♦ bidder surely is out of the auction. If your partner bids over your double, and RHO bids or passes, there is no way Lefty can take advantage of the UI.

Of course, it is your right to call the director, and if it was a really long pause (assuming your partner took the required pause himself over the 3♦ bid), it is probably appropriate to make note of it.

But helpful rule here, ethical player do not pause without a reason (if he was weak he would pass or raise, np). Bear that in mind as you choose between your two logical actions.. PASS and DOUBLE (sorry, 3♥ here is simply not logical). I don't fancy playing in 4-2 ♥ fit with 4-4 or 5-4 ♠ fit available.

I think if Bob Hammon tanked, I would pass here.... after all, it is ok for us to draw inferences (at our own risk) from opponents break in tempo... and double at imps and this vul is not all that clear anyway. And, of course, champs like Bob Hammon don't give "tells" like pausing, too often, so that might argue for doubling. But I don't like my Qx of diamonds (wrong number, ♦Q is wasted point in our hand, and makes their points more useful for them. So while I was leaning slighlty towards double before the tank, now I lean slightly the other way. Of course, Bob might be charmed if he had been watching a cute-caddie or thinking about what he was going to order for dinner and I mistakenly thought he had a problem. Hope I don't charm too many opponents too often....

[han]

I think double is automatic without the pause.

With the pause it is a whole different problem. When Mike gave me this problem yesterday I chose double after going back and forth between pass and double several times. I expect the tanker to have a decent hand with some stuff in diamonds, so we are likely to have a fit. I think Petra Hamman would be able to pass quickly with the most dangerous hand for us: strong and short in diamonds.

[plaur]

I double.
Without the pause I would double. I will not let the pause get me off my natural bid. Afterall he could have been thinking of whether or not to further preempt?

[whereagles]

To think without motive is liable to score adjustment if you can prove the intention of the thinking was to cast doubt as to a certain course of action.

Anyway, thinking or no thinking, double seems pretty normal to me, no?

[FrancesHinden]

Double is the normal call on this hand.
Anything else seems an extreme position.

We don't know what RHO was thinking about: perhaps RHO holds diamond support and was considering raising, in which case it is more likely for us to be right to act now.

Only last week we had this auction:

4S P P (very slow) Dbl (from me)
5C 5H 6S all pass

Oh dear, I thought, I've just protected them into their cold slam, why didn't I believe the pause....

But luckily there were two aces to cash!

[FrancesHinden]

Well if I'm 3523 with the same honour structure, 3H is just normal.

[mila85]

I think that this is a text-book double. Pass is not bridge but poker.

[inquiry]

mila85, on Sep 7 2005, 10:36 AM, said:

I think that this is a text-book double. Pass is not bridge but poker.

Textbooks are not sitting at the table taking advantage of "table-feel". This is why text-book have never won a world championship (or local championship or even club championship)... Heck, they have never even played.

In face to face you can catch "tells" from time to time. Of course it is illegal to try to convey information (real or false) from mannerisms, etc. But a lot of people do this kind of thing (fast pass on purpose, long hesitations on nothing during the bidding or wehn to play with singltons, or when an honor is lead when they have xx). They think this clever. You can quickly learn people who do this "crap" and use it against them. But as I said earlier, an eithical player as was indicated in this post, would not pause without a problem (And their partenr would never take advantage of the UI conveyed by that hesitation).

But there is nothing wrong with "us" using that info to our advantage (or disadvantage). This is "buyer-beware" situation if you do, however.