Playing in an individual at IMPs

[inquiry]

[hv=d=n&v=n&s=shakqjxdjxxckjt9x]133|100|Scoring: IMP

Partner opens 1♣ in an individual where you play only one board per round, and bid before you could even say hello. You have no agrements, and partner's profile says "intermediate" and nothing else. Your bid. [/hv]

[joker_gib]

I think an intermediate can understand the 1♥ bid :P

 

Alain

[Gerben42]

Well 1NT is out with a too strong hand and a ♠ void! :P 1♥

[Codo]

I play individual as normal as possible and try to make the normal bids.

This gives me bad results and a big record as dummy, as my pds try to play any single hand, but I am not ready yet for chanig my mind and become more successful. I must admit, that 6 club is a close second...

[hrothgar]

EASY 1♥ bid...

 

If partner can't understand this bid, do we really want him declaring a club contract?

[mr1303]

Almost anything could work. Certainly I'd expect most of my partners in an individual to try Blackwood.

 

But I try bidding normally if at all possible, so I bid 1H.

[Guest Jlall]

1H. I do see some potential rebid problems because he may not know 4th suit forcing or new minor. On the other hand, I would like to play the contract.

[cherdano]

If you don't bid 1♥ here (or even think about doing s.th. else), you should really really not play in an individual IMO. Let's not give up trying to play bridge before we know it's necessary. (Also, partner is "intermediate", a good sign, not an "expert...)

 

Arend

[luis]

1♥

I don't have anything to say, I think 1♥ is obvious.

[dogsbreath]

hi

1H is the 'correct' bid. (I voted for 6♣ :) )

 

There are other factors in an Indy .. the opps are keener than usual to sacrifice because no 'regular' partner to upset and on this board it looks like a ♠ sac maybe good for them. So i choose 6C ..let them save over that if it suits them.

I dont generally favour this style, but it may well be right to play in C even if we have a Heart fit (unless 2 ♦ losers :) )!!

Additionally, partners are less upset by unusual bids when you let them play the hand.

 

If i am wrong i will apologise humbly

 

Rgds Dog

[awm]

I think 1♥ is the best call. This gives you a chance to declare (if partner raises the hearts) and has essentially no chance of being passed (partner might think 2♥ is weak) or otherwise misinterpreted. It gives the opportunity to hear more from partner before picking a contract.

 

The tough question is what to do at the next turn if hearts are not raised. It feels like 6♣ may be in the works, without any intelligent way to investigate with no agreements...

[kenberg]

I bid 1H.

 

I enjoy indys, as perverse as that may sound. My experience is that "intermediate" usually means intermediate, not beginner. It's the "expert" self-ratings that are almost invariably based on fantasy. Intermediates can be trusted to know that a new suit by responder is forcing, and they probably know that a fourth suit bid could be a fake suit. At any rate, if he rebids a spade, you bid 2D, and if later you bid 6C he will know to play it in clubs or hearts. Of course LHO is most likely about to bid a lot of spades, after which you may need to bid 6C and hope it all works out.

 

Yes I like strong jump shifts and yes they are the default in SAYC, but I wouldn't bid 2H here in an indy even if partner agreed to play SAYC and listed himself as World Class. I just wouldn't. Probably especially I wouldn't if he listed himself as World Class.

 

The most frequent frustrations in indys (my opinion) are not that you get dropped in a forcing bid. Rather you evaluate your hand, stop in a partscore in hearts, take nine tricks, and get a bad result because other pairs are playing game off four cashing but not cashed tricks. Or something similar. Here is one from the other day in a regular acbl tourney, not even an indy: 1D(me)-(1S)-2D- (3D)-5D all pass. I am in five undoubled non-vulnerable diamonds, off three, they are cold for 4 vulnerable of either major and while I score above average, it's just barely so. This is a little crazy. But I come back for more.

 

Anyway, I bid 1H.

 

Ken

[pclayton]

Ben:

 

If you feel torture with simple problems like this, don't play INDYs. There's no glory in winning a 9 board tourney with a bunch of half-wits.

 

It will only screw up your game in the process.

 

Oh and I bid 1♥.

[Guest Jlall]

There's no glory in winning a 9 board tourney with a bunch of half-wits.

There's always glory in winning :)

[han]

1♥, I'm ready for the story Ben.

[jikl]

I voted Other!

 

Since I have 2 answers.

 

F2F, I quickly bid 1♣ and hope the 3 opps don't know the rules very well. This may give me a chance to play it! Unfortunately this might not work. We might have to pull out another nasty bid later on, we might have to double partner to ban him from the auction when he starts to go overboard in the bidding :D

 

On BBO, I guess I will have to go with 1♥ :P

 

Sean

[bearmum]

1♥ WTP?? :D

[nickf]

Ben:

 

If you feel torture with simple problems like this, don't play INDYs.

what he said.

 

nickf

sydney

[Free]

I really don't see the problem here. If I bid 2♥ partner may think it's weak, if I bid 2♣ he might pass, anything else than a normal forcing 1♥ response is passable I'm afraid!

 

The only alternative imo is 5♠, but will they understand what it means?

[Chamaco]

Come on Ben, pull out the story behind this poll, it can't be that trivial, of course most human beings would bid 1H.... ;)

[ochinko]

A psyche could backfire badly here.

 

If you bid 1♠ what are you going to do after partner bids 2/3/4♠? Quite likely with ♠Txxx. Every new suit you now bid partner will treat as pushing towards a spade game/slam, because the trump was already agreed upon.

 

If you bid 1♦ opps could reach 4♠, and partner will either go to 5♦ (with KQx), or pass and lead a diamond.

 

I dislike dull bids as much as the next guy, but 1♥ has no real alternative. ;)

[Kalvan14]

If the guy is over 30, 2♥ for me

[inquiry]

Come on Ben, pull out the story behind this poll, it can't be that trivial, of course most human beings would bid 1H.... :)

Not much of a story... here... 1♥ is clearly the correct bid, as the poll shows. The story, as it goes, was that I held this hand and decide to make the less than correct, but tatical bid of 6♣'s. This was based upon a number of issues, not the least of which I just went for -17 imps on an auction that went 2S by me, dbl by lho on 9 hcp and five heart and four clubs, pass, 7NT by RHO which was cold (barometer individual).

 

Note, I don' t think 6♣ is a horrible bid. In fact, if they fail to lead a diamond, it is very likely that my hearts might more than enough cover any losers we have in diamonds. If I bid 1♥ and LHO passes, we can almost bet partner will bid 1♠ making a diamond bid more likely if we eventually bid slam.

 

Anyway, the bidding continued...

 

1♣-(pass)-6♣-(pass)

7♣-(pass)-Pass-(7♠)

7NT!

 

For the record, 7♣ was cold. 7♠ was down 7 tricks (at imps), and partner had Kx of spades, so 7NT was down one. I would have won back the grand slam swing on lost on the previous board and even the 7♠X would have won almost as amy imps. But the story, for what it is worth, isn't the fact that the we let the sure boat load of imps go away, or my "creative" (bad?) bid, or even my parnters questionable bidding *opening 1C, bidding 7NT as partner held six solidish diamonds and four clubs to Ace nothing.. can't misguesss clubs...

Kx

x

AKQT9x

Axxx

 

It was the interesting comment after the hand on my choice of bidding... :-)

[whereagles]

6♣ is obviously a horrible bid because you won't be playing it :P :) :P :) B)

[jikl]

I bet he opened 1♣ instead of 1♦ beacuse he was going to show how strong his hand was next time around by reversing :P Just think Ben, you still would have had a dilemna when he doublecrossed you and didn't bid his "known" ♠ suit and instead bid ♣ :P

 

Don't laugh, I have seen this before, they read about strength to reverse and then forget which suit to bid first. Too much information too quickly. *sigh*

 

Sean