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Bid or Pass?


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Pass, I don't think it's close.

 

Partner has almost certainly less than 15 points - it is unlikely that he has too many diamonds to act with a strong hand. He may have 11-14 but in that case the reason he couldn't make a t/o double probably is that he doesn't have support for both majors. If it's hearts he's missing, we don't have a fit so we might as well defend 1. If it's spades, opps have a 9-card spades fit so if we bid we just help opps find a better part score.

 

As a general rule, with marginal hands, don't protect with length in opps' suit and don't protect with shortness in an unbid major, especially spades.

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Nothing could make me balance with this hand if the opponents are vulnerable. We shouldn't have game, so either partner has a bad hand with short diamonds or he has long diamonds. If he has short diamonds, all we're going to do is push them up a little, but not enough to set them. If he has long diamonds, they may very well find their spade fit if we let them.

 

If the opponents are not vulnerable, it's close. Depends on the opps. I do think that if I balance they'll end up playing in 2 spades.

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Pass! At ALL forms and colors.

 

Several things are possible:

 

1. They are playing a Burns fit.

 

2. They are in a low scoring contract. It's very possible they have a 4-4 or 5-4 spade fit.

 

3. Even if we have a heart fit, see #2.

 

4. Pard couldn't act over 1, so pard is either flat (or has length in 's), weak, or both.

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This question has a buried controversy that I just noticed.

 

With Qx in spades and a minimum, the odds of a balancing 1 call yielding fruit are decreased by the tendency for lighter overcalls.

 

If your partner would overcall 1 liberally, balancing 1 is less likely to be productive. If your partner, however, is very sound with 1 overcalls, the chances of 1 being successful increase.

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Suppose, for a fairly typical example, that partner has a ten count, three hearts, and three spades. Do I want to sell to 2S? Do I want to play 3H? Let sleeping dogs lie. Reverse the spades and the hearts and it would be a lot more tempting, but I would probably still pass, at least if vul. I guess what I get for this is that when I do balance then partner, with a fit, is free to continue to contest the auction without worrying we will be doubled and set 200+ on a part score hand.
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Everyone knows what a Moysian fit is - a 4-3 fit.

 

I had never heard of a Burns fit, but I may have coined the phrase "Sub-Moysian" fit - typically a 3-3 fit.

 

Sometimes the 3-3 fit plays quite well. But I wouldn't want to make a habit of it.

 

A regular partner of mine, after one of our not too infrequent forays in a 3-2 fit with a combined high card total of about 12, said the reason he went down was that there were too many trumps and points offside.

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I had never heard of a Burns fit, but I may have coined the phrase "Sub-Moysian" fit - typically a 3-3 fit.

A 'sub-Moysian' is known to me as a 4-2 fit, which is more often playable than a 3-3!

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I had never heard of a Burns fit, but I may have coined the phrase "Sub-Moysian" fit - typically a 3-3 fit.

A 'sub-Moysian' is known to me as a 4-2 fit, which is more often playable than a 3-3!

Also known to me as a 4-2, I thought this was an old term

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