[jillybean]

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[MrAce]

Deleted due to confusing the auction with something else *

[jillybean]

ditto

[quiddity]

I would start with a redouble to show my two-card support and values. 2NT is also a possibility but it might be important to protect partner's heart holding.
The auction can get a little tricky though, especially if they bid 2♥. I don't know if a 2♠ bid after that would just be stopper-showing or if it would be game-forcing. I guess I'd risk it and then pass if partner bids 3♣.

[MrAce]

jillybean, on 2012-February-10, 19:48, said:

Either you have misread the auction or I am not understanding your suggested bidding. (1♠) 2♣ (X) ?

Yes Kathryn, my appologies, i misread it I will delete it.

[sasioc]

I too would start with a redouble to show values and no initial support. From that point I'd expect partner to take charge of the auction as he will have a far better idea of the combined assets of the partnership than I will, ie I will take no further action apart from penalising if appropriate unless partner makes a move. Imo, if oppo bid something like 2♥ and I feel I need to bid when that gets round to me, that means I should have opened.

I would have expected 2NT here to be artifical, although I'm not sure what I think it means

[quiddity]

sasioc, on 2012-February-10, 21:13, said:

Imo, if oppo bid something like 2♥ and I feel I need to bid when that gets round to me, that means I should have opened.

oh right, I didn't notice that I was a passed hand. I wonder if that means that the redouble doesn't create a force through 2NT.. but perhaps partner will pass with extra values just to see if we can hit 2♥? He will be disappointed in that case if we pass, so maybe it should still be forcing.

[sasioc]

quiddity, on 2012-February-10, 21:37, said:

oh right, I didn't notice that I was a passed hand. I wonder if that means that the redouble doesn't create a force through 2NT.. but perhaps partner will pass with extra values just to see if we can hit 2♥? He will be disappointed in that case if we pass, so maybe it should still be forcing.

My current agreement with my p is that in all of these value-showing xx and x situations pass is forcing below 2♥ and at 2♥ and higher, double is takeout and pass non-forcing, which solves the problem you have mentioned. If I don't get to have that agreement, I definitely see what you mean about partner wanting to pass in case we can hit 2♥ but the problem is that we may not have a playable spot above 2NT - I mean, we may not have a fit (at least not from p's point of view) and playing in 2NT feels like a very narrow target.

I think it also depends a lot on your overcall style. I'm aware that many people like to overcall light facing a passed partner but my personal preference is that two level overcalls should be sound, especially vul and double-especially when the overcall isn't pre emptive (ie (1♦) 2♣ could be bid on a far weaker hand than (1♠) 2♣), so this would not be worse than about a 12 count with a good 6 card suit. If partner might have overcalled on a weak hand, the idea that they might pass with extras in case I can double is a bit scary to me because I'll *have* to pass things out more because, from my perspective, we don't actually have the balance of the strength or a great fit. For this reason, playing a forcing pass here feels scary facing a loose 2♣ bid - why do I want to double them or get higher when we have a potentially-misfitting combined 20 points?

In the context of playing sound overcalls here, I'm starting to think this hand actually should be doubling 2♥ if this is for penalties. I don't think oppo have landed on a huge fit (and if they have, p will have a lot of shape and will let me know/ wouldn't have passed it round to me) and I do think we have a comfortable majority of the points in the deck. My hard values in spades can't hurt and my doubleton club may be nice. I'll probably concede 670 a few times but it feels like I'll get a lot of 500s to more than make up for it.