[ahydra]

IMPs, green vs red

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Opps playing weak NT 4cM.

Not exactly the opening bid you were expecting to hear (if you were expecting to hear one at all)! What's your call here?

At the table I passed and it developed thus:

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What's your call now?

ahydra

[eagles123]

I would have doubled first up, but I guess we're in a reasonable position now. given we didn't bid 1H (or some preempt), surely 2H now should send alarm bells, and I'm not sure what it could realistically show other than a big hand with four hearts and longer diamonds. so, 2H it is.

[Cyberyeti]

eagles123, on 2019-March-13, 08:58, said:

I would have doubled first up, but I guess we're in a reasonable position now. given we didn't bid 1H (or some preempt), surely 2H now should send alarm bells, and I'm not sure what it could realistically show other than a big hand with four hearts and longer diamonds. so, 2H it is.

Doesn't X show this ?

[helene_t]

Cyberyeti, on 2019-March-13, 09:50, said:

Doesn't X show this ?

I don't think so. I would x here with hearts and clubs. 2-4-3-4, 1-4-4-4, or 1-4-3-5 with poor clubs.

[Cyberyeti]

helene_t, on 2019-March-13, 14:12, said:

I don't think so. I would x here with hearts and clubs. 2-4-3-4, 1-4-4-4, or 1-4-3-5 with poor clubs.

many people double with that first time or overcall 1♥ or overcall 1N, depends on the particular hand.

[gszes]

a 2h bid now is bound to get your side in trouble since it might take all day for p to figure out what you meant (I had to go through almost 50 concepts before this 4h and long diamonds and strong came into my head and dismissed it on the grounds that p failing to x the first time made this unlikely. There is just too much risk (of missing a 44 heart fit) involved with pass the first time.

[rmnka447]

I think it's much more dangerous to bid in the second round after passing the first round. You're looking at 19 HCP. But after RHO has found an opening bid and LHO has found a response, how many points can be out there for partner to have? If RHO's opener is a real opener, partner's hand is surely a bust. Even if RHO's opponents opener is light, partner rates to have no more than a 4 or 5 count. In the auction given, your hand has certainly gotten worse because opener has revealed a primarily minor hand. So just how good all those ♦ honors are when our side declares is in doubt.

If the opponents settle in NT, you've got 6 tricks. If they settle in a minor, you've got a decent hand for defending -- leading the suit they declare in. If in ♠ partner is likely to have length and you have a good hand for playing a forcing defense.

I'm passing the second time in that auction.

The bigger question is what to do after RHO opens. I think the choice is between 1 NT and double. 1 NT underbids your strength but indicates stoppers in diamonds. It will let you still find ♥ with strong 1 NT system tools. Double then bid NT shows about the right strength and also leaves the possibility of finding a ♥ fit when one exists.

I think I'm doubling over the opening in the first round.

[a clampett]

Just wanted to add my vote, which would be X first time round. Partner will obviously bid spades or clubs to spite me, and then I'll have to go into one of those long trances and take an age in deciding what to bid next. But this is my first ever reply, and I really wanted to see my name in lights.

[HardVector]

So, for those people wanting to double at the first opportunity, I'm assuming you are making a takeout double. Takeout doubles promise either support for the other 3 suits, or a strong playable suit of your own. Double followed by a cuebid (2d {your best suit}) says you have a hand that would have opened 2c if allowed. Double followed by 1n promises a hand that was too strong to overcall 1n initially (19-21). While looking at the hcp you do have 19, I'm not happy about the spade Q doubleton and the wide open clubs, so I'm downgrading this a bit and just overcalling 1n.

If you had chosen to pass, you need to keep on with it. You have 19, the opener will usually have at least 12, responder has at least 6. That's 37 hcp, your partner has at most 3, you aren't going anywhere. This is an opportunity to let the opponents get into trouble.

[Cyberyeti]

HardVector, on 2019-March-18, 19:41, said:

So, for those people wanting to double at the first opportunity, I'm assuming you are making a takeout double. Takeout doubles promise either support for the other 3 suits, or a strong playable suit of your own. Double followed by a cuebid (2d {your best suit}) says you have a hand that would have opened 2c if allowed. Double followed by 1n promises a hand that was too strong to overcall 1n initially (19-21). While looking at the hcp you do have 19, I'm not happy about the spade Q doubleton and the wide open clubs, so I'm downgrading this a bit and just overcalling 1n.

If you had chosen to pass, you need to keep on with it. You have 19, the opener will usually have at least 12, responder has at least 6. That's 37 hcp, your partner has at most 3, you aren't going anywhere. This is an opportunity to let the opponents get into trouble.

I would double intending to rebid 1N, Kxxx, Qxxx, xx, xxxx is enough to make 4♥ decent, hardly a whale.

[helene_t]

eagles123, on 2019-March-13, 08:58, said:

I would have doubled first up, but I guess we're in a reasonable position now. given we didn't bid 1H (or some preempt), surely 2H now should send alarm bells, and I'm not sure what it could realistically show other than a big hand with four hearts and longer diamonds. so, 2H it is.

I was wondering if 2♦ shouldn't show this hand. Now that RHO has strongly suggested (in many systems even promised) 5+ diamonds, it is a little hard to see which hands would bid this. But maybe I am playing adjective bridge now - I suppose a hand with 7 good diamonds is more natural option.

On the other hand, bidding 2♥ now puts partner in an awkward position if 2♥ gets doubled and he has a 4-2-2-5 or such. 2♦ at least would keep the level lower.

So maybe dbl really should show this hand. That said, I don't think we really need a way to bid this hand. You just have to decide on the first round if you want to get into the auction (x, maybe 1NT) or not, and if not you'll have to stick to that decision.

[masse24]

A similar hand was posted to Bridgewinners recently.

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Not quite as strong as the OP hand, but close. Currently (with 32 votes in) 94% for Pass.