Tactics

[lenze]

In fourth seat, as South at MPS, holding

 

S – QJT7

H – K985

D – A75

C – 84

 

You hear

 

West      North      East      South

PASS      1 CLUB   PASS ???

 

I presume, playing standard methods, you would respond 1 Heart.

 

But, suppose it went

 

West      North      East      South

PASS      1 CLUB   DBL      ???

 

What would your bid be???

[inquiry]

This is an interesting question. Here is how I play the various options (without picking one).

 

• Rdbl - penalty oriented
  
• 1H - promise 4+ suit, 1RF
  
• Pass - then dbl as "optional"
  
• 1NT - "good" raise to 2Clubs
  
• 2C - "weak blocking raise
  
• 2NT - very weak club preemptive raise
  
• 3C - preemptive raise but with some values
  

 

So the choices are between RDBL, 1H, and pass.

 

I will not RDBL, because 1) I am weak for this bid, and 2) it might go 1C-x-xx all pass (if I knew that west's pass of 1C-x-xx was forcing, I might reconsider).

 

So, my choices are between pass now, and double later as "optional double", or to bid 1H now. If they are vul, I will pass now, and double later hoping partner might take a swing for +200. If they are not vul, I will bid 1H.

 

At IMP's, I will simply bid 1H.

 

Ben

[Free]

RDbl: 9+HCP and normally no fit

[luke warm]

In fourth seat, as South at MPS, holding

 

S – QJT7

H – K985

D – A75

C – 84

 

You hear

 

West      North      East      South

PASS      1 CLUB   PASS ???

 

I presume, playing standard methods, you would respond 1 Heart.

 

But, suppose it went

 

West      North      East      South

PASS      1 CLUB   DBL      ???

 

What would your bid be???

 

i'm not sure rdbl is penalty oriented (yet)... to me it just shows 10+ hcp and (usually) no fit for pard's suit.. it sets up a forcing pass auction and tells pard "this hand should belong to us"... let's say LHO bids 1H and it goes P/P to me.. i'd bid 1S.. if they compete to 2H, i double...

 

if LHO bids 1S and it's passed to me, i bid 1NT and double any 2 bid.. i disagree with ben on this one, even if pard passed 1C/x/xx it could only mean he doesn't need any clubs from me

 

however, if i had the same strength and a 5 card suit, i'd bid .. the rdbl can be misused, so i like to speak if i have something to say.. with 4432 xx seems right

[bhugi]

RDbl: 10+HCP and normally no fit, 1H or 1S F 1 round.

[Poky]

I will pass and balance opponents ' 1D/2D with 1H/2H because I play transfers after 1C - (Dbl):

XX = 5+D

1D = 5+H

1H = 5+S

1S = 7-10 no 4M

1NT = 5+C, 6+

2C = 5C, 0-5.

 

My successive major-bid after initial pass promises only 4 cards (failure to bid transfer), cause the Dble would be strongly penalty suggesting (some kind of [Axx Kxx KQ10x Kxx] hand).

[lenze]

Thanks for your repiles. It is clear there is no "right " answer. I believe, however, I could make a strong case for bidding 1 Spade after the T/O DBL. If west now bids 1NT or 2D and that is passed back to me, I have an easy 2H call. As I am not going to sell out at the 2 level , I want to maximize my chances of landing in the best fit. Just a thought.

[inquiry]

Thanks for your repiles. It is clear there is no "right " answer. I believe, however, I could make a strong case for bidding 1 Spade after the T/O DBL. If west now bids 1NT or 2D and that is passed back to me, I have an easy 2H call. As I am not going to sell out at the 2 level , I want to maximize my chances of landing in the best fit. Just a thought.

 

I am not sure this is right. While there is no consensus on what to do this round, there was a strong consensus that if they bid more, especially at Matchpoints, you may want to take a swing at them....

 

Free, Luke Warm, and Bhugi all seemed to suggest RDBL (idea of redbl is to at least consider doubling them). My choice bid was pass and then double when they bid as optional dbl. So that is four votes mostly to try to penalize them. Only poky passed and suggested bidding later after they bid.

 

While I am particulariy fond of my choice (I rather pass and then optionally double to give partner a chance to use his judgement, than make a penalty oriented redbl and then hope my balanced 10 is enough opposite a potentially light opening bid), you have to at least have a chance to suggest 2-level-something doubled at this vul. And since your partner will be willing to pass quicker at this vul opposite, the initial rdbl with this hand might not work out so well if your partner is counting on you to have a little bit more. The optional double is ideal for this hand, but redbl first has to be better than bidding over 2D or 1NT.

 

Ben