rmnka447

I assume you must be playing support doubles as a double was not shown here as a possible bid. If that's the case, you've run afoul of a problem hand for that agreement. So you're stuck for a bid. Pass gives partner the most options and is probably right since you don't have any other clear cut bid. If you're not playing support doubles, then you've left out double as a possible bid. And in that particular case, double would show extras with no other clear cut bid. That's exactly what you have.

If the auction is passed to East, East would normally open 1 ♦. After an initial pass, West has a little more freedom in responding to East. The problem with West opening initially is that West may have problems stopping East who has 18 real and likely would have slam investigation in sight. West has two choices in responding, 1 ♠ or 2 ♣. 1 ♠ gets West's major suit in view immediately and keeps the bidding low. 2 ♣ is a bit more descriptive, but suppresses ♠. West does have a big playing hand IF a fit can be found but may not be worth so if there is a misfit. I'd probably bid 2 ♣. After West's response, East has a choice of two bids. One is a jump rebid in ♦ usually showing 16-18 and s good 6 card suit. East is a little heavy for that bid, but West's 2 ♣ response has the initial markings of a misfit. The other choice is a reverse with a "hasty" 2 ♥ bid on a 3 card ♥ suit. It could cause a problem if West has a 4+ ♥ fit and raises ♥. After a 3 ♦ jump rebid, West could pass or push on. West hand just seems to have too much value to pass. So the likely bid is 3 ♠ after which East has an easy 3 NT call. After a 2 ♥ reverse, let's assume the partner ship plays a simple 2 NT or 4th suit whichever is cheapest could be the start of a sign off. Here West would bid 2 ♠, which could be the start of a signoff. East would bid 3 ♦, and West would bid 3 ♠ patterning out and East would have a choice of 3 NT or 4 ♠ as games. Recap of auctions: P - 1 ♦ 2 ♣- 3 ♦ 3 ♠- 3 NT or P - 1 ♦ 2 ♣- 2 ♥ 2 ♠- 3 ♦ 3 ♠- 3 NT or 4 ♠

How aggressive are partner's 1st seat weak 2s VUL? If partner bids on any kind of junk, well, your at the mercy of the bridge gods. But if partner is reasonably disciplined, I think Double stands out. And it is for penalty because partner has described his/her hand -- ♥ and out. 2 ♠x may make some times, but the lure of a +200 and a probable need to better +110 make it mandatory at matchpoints. At IMPS, I'd have been very tempted to jump to 4 ♥ at my first opportunity to speak. You've got 3 1/2 QTs and the ♥ 10 isn't a bad card, so this may be the hand to go for a thin VUL game matchwinner. But at matchpoints, I think you need a tad more.

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This is a classic IMP fight for the part score situation. You've got a good 13 HCP. Give opener 11 and responder 5 -- then -- partner might have a max of about 11 and often will have less. So game looks remote. I'm bidding 3 ♣ because 2 NT in this situation is usually for the minors.

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The gerrymandering works both ways. Here in Illinois, the legislature has been under Democratic control for something like 40 years and they are currently within one vote of having a veto proof majority in both houses. The congressional districts reflect that control and certainly favor Democrats although there are areas that just have too many Republicans to prevent Democrats getting all the congressional seats. Redistricting usually ends up in the courts because that's the only way to obtain anywhere near a fair redistricting. The congressional district I live in is a good example of redistricting run amok. Instead of being anywhere near some regular geometric shape, it looks like a Rohrschach ink blot. The best I can devine is that the Democrats decided to move some Republican majority areas into one funny looking district, so several Democrats would be sure of being elected in several other adjacent districts. I've been wondering if the current impasse created by the extremes in BOTH parties will be a prelude to the birth of a third moderate/centrist party that leaves them behind.

I'd take it as a minimum showing 5+ ♦ and worried about at least one of the majors because of a probable worthless doubleton. It probably also carries some inference that ♦ aren't solid. With the opponents holding 8+ cards in a major, even with one stopper there, making NT might require enough running tricks once the stopper is removed.

I'm passing also. You've got a 5 loser hand and have no way to know if partner has any help. Down 2 Doubled or worse is an IMP disaster. Partner also rates to have some ♠ length. So defending might be right.

Partner has lots of options beside 2 NT after your non-forcing 2 ♥. Pass with a doubleton ♥ and minny opener. Raise with a fit. 2 ♠ with 6 ♠, etc. So it would seem like 2 NT should show some extras. With good fitting Minor cards, I think you raise to 3 NT vulnerable at IMPs.

I'll start with 2 ♦ and keep rebidding ♦.

1) Pass 2) 1 ♥ followed by 2 ♥ followed by 3 ♥. after bidding ♥ 3 times. partner ought to get the picture. 3) 2 ♥ -- Not ideal without high ♥, but certainly descriptive 9-11, 1 1/2 QTs. If partner forces with 2 NT, I'll reply 3 ♥ (good hand, bad suit for Ogust, no feature for feature ask because of bad suit).

Just get your agreements sorted out. Usually 2NT as Lebensohl is the start of a sign off sequence by partners whose reverses can be a little lighter (15-16). Typically, if opener has made a "soft" reverse, opener follows through with the relay and responder signs off. However, with a full reverse (17+), opener is free to break the relay and make another descriptive bid. I think the reason for this is that relaying and then bidding you suit as invitational takes up quite a bit of bidding space. It's often important to save this space in order to let the reversing hand finish telling their story when responder game invitational or better. First, with a good ♠ suit and 10 HCP opposite any reverse, responder definitely is in game force range even opposite a soft 15-16 reverse. So, responder probably shouldn't use Lebensohl, but just rebid ♠. So, I'd see something like 1 ♣ - 1 ♠ 2 ♥ - 3 ♠ 3 NT as a decent auction. With something like KJ10xxx x Kxxx xx, then responder can bid 2 ♠ showing a positive response, but with KQ109xx x Jxxx xx relay and signoff.

Thanks Cyberyeti. Getting old, I'm looking at a 9 card fit and seeing 8. Grrrr. So you're looking at success 40% of the time when ♠ break 2-2 plus 25% of the time that they break 3-1 (about 12.5%) when the ♠ Q falls. In addition, you also have success when when the ♠ Q doesn't fall -- if ♥ break 4-3 with the finesse working (about 15%), ♥ break 5-2 with the finesse on and ♠ break 3-1, or if ♥ break 5-2 with 4 ♠ in the long hand. That's probably something like a 75-80% chance of success.

I'm with Mr. Ace on this one. The basic lines are either finesse the ♦ queen or use Mr. Ace's line. If you finesse it's about a 55% chance if you believe East's ♣ are doubleton or 50% if Clubs break 3-3. If you play ♦ A and ♠ AK, you always make anytime the ♠ Q falls. That comes out to be about 40% of 3-2 breaks (about 27%), 20% of the 4-1 break (another 6%). That totals up to about 33%. In addition, you also make if the ♠ Q doesn't fall and the ♥ finesse works with ♥ 4-3 (about 21%), with 5-2 ♥ if spades are 3-2 (about 7%) plus some additional amount that the long trumps are in the hand with the long ♥. That comes out to about a 61-62% chance of success.

4 NT should be 2 places to play. I don't think 4 NT is right with 4 cards to nothing as your second suit. With a void, partner has to have some ♠ length. So it's quite possible that partner could take a preference on 3 cards and you'd end up in a 7 card fit. Normally, a forcing 2 NT call (Ogust or feature) shows values and isn't psyched, so the opponents rate to have the balance of the points. If it was being psyched to mask a preemptive raise, then partner would have to have values and may well have taken a bid/call over 3 ♥. The 3 ♥ bid is fine and has to be on a good suit and some values with the opponents purportedly showing strength, too. With most of the points in 3 hands, the 3 ♥ bidder could end up playing 3 ♥ with partner's hand being nothing but dross, so therefore needs some protection against a number. So the bid pretty well describes the hand as is. After 4 ♠, I think the 3 ♥ bidder's choices are pass or double. With the actual hand, I'd think I'd pass and let partner double because the tricks are mostly in the long suit. Where I might double is if the hand were - KQJ10xx AKx xxxx with a more likely 3 tricks than the actual hand.

I would bid 2 ♥ first and maybe show ♣ later, if convenient. With such a poor holding in ♣, I wouldn't treat this as a two suiter.

+1 for Steve Moe's response.

Partner's bid probably shows a 5 card ♣ suit and is worried about some suit stoppers. With a pancake distribution, you're unlikely to provide short suit ruffs. So, it's prudent to pass now and see if they contest the auction further. If partner has a max and intervenor 9-10, it may be difficult for advancer to reopen the auction.

Pass. In 2nd seat, one opponent has already shown less than an opener, so the probability that the opponents have game or more has decreased. Normally, then, it only makes sense to have fairly solid preempts. This is especially true, when vulnerable, where down 1 doubled is a worse result than any part score their way. Here, you've got 2 HCP and RHO has passed. Give RHO a good pass hand, say, something like 10 HCP and that leaves about 28 HCP to be split between LHO and partner. Evenly split that leaves each hand with about 14 HCP. Partner's points are just a tad more valuable for being behind LHO. So, chances are that the opponents are a little short of game unless there's a less likely big imbalance of how the points are distributed between the remaining hands. So, the possibility of a doubled set versus a part score are there.

I would definitely double with both the hands OP asked about. Even though they are flat as a pancake, the high structure is terrific. Both hands have 3 1/3 QTs. Most 13/14 point hands usually have a about 2 QTs, so these are quite a bit more. Because of this strength, there should be no problem doubling with either hand at any vulnerability. Where you would want to be careful about doubling with a 4-3-3-3 hand is with marginal opening values (or less) and slow winners. Compare the OP hands with something like QJxx Kxx QJx KJx. You still have 13 HCP, but opposite a bust or even a decent 6-7 in partner's hand, tricks may be difficult to come by. So doubling on this hand is much more dangerous. (Also, note that the hand has only 1 QT.) Make the hand a little a little stronger Axxx Kxx QJx Kxx and you've got a hand that would be a solid opening hand (2 QT, 12+HCP), if RHO had passed. This hand is about the minimum that I'd double with on 4-3-3-3 distribution.

Isn't this a throwback to a time when a takeout double just showed about opening values and didn't promise support for all suits? At least in the US, if you routinely make such off-shape doubles so as to have an understanding about them, then they must be alerted. The idea of making shapely take out doubles promising 3+ card support in the unbid suits grew out of dissatisfaction with the bad results off-shape doubles often yielded. Shapely take out doubles also facilitated the development of balancing as a necessary tool to permit competing when an "off-shape" hand passed after the opening bid.

When a take out double is made, so far as advancer (doubler's partner) knows, the double is based on support for the unbid suits. If the next player (responder) passes, then advancer is forced to bid with even 0 points. But if responder makes a bid, advancer is under no need to bid. So when advancer makes a free bid, it shows something that he/she wants to bid. It may not be much, but it does deny a completely terrible holding. In the auction you're asking about, if advancer held say just D KQxxx knowing there had to be at least an 8 card fit, wouldn't he/she want tell doubler about them? So, essentially the only hands being eliminated when advancer takes a free bid are the bad hands where only a "forced bid" would be made. The 2 S bid retains the same meaning it would have had responder passed. It shows a hand too strong for a direct overcall of the opening bid. It is not forcing.

Sorry, but I'm passing all of them. I might think about opening if it were 1 1/2 QT 13 count, but not on 1/2 QT. Marty Bergen in his books has an adjustment to make for the real "value" of honor cards versus the 4-3-2-1 Work count. It involves comparing the number of As and 10s in a hand versus the number of Qs and Js. If the larger number is As and 10s, you may upgrade the hand. If its Qs and Js, you downgrade the hand. The change is as follows: 0-2 difference - no adjustment 3-5 difference - 1 point adjustment 6+ difference - 2 point adjustment These hands with 7 quacks and no As/10s would fall into the 2 point downgrade category. By that reckoning, they count 13 value but are more like real 11 value hands.