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Go for Max Pressure?


andy_h

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At IMPS and NIL with partner as the dealer who opens 3.

You hold:

 

[hv=d=n&v=n&s=shqt85dkqt7652cj7]133|100|Scoring: IMP[/hv]

 

You first hear RHO intervene with 4. What is your plan against a) strong opponents, :) weak opponents?

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4NT.

Ask partner how many keycards he has.

Against weak opponents this might even work.

 

Perhaps against good opponents it is better not to give them a free double of 4NT to show values before raising spades. But we don't know how many spades they make. Maybe 7 is cold, maybe 4 or 5 is the limit.

 

I don't actually have any strong opinions here, any of Pass, 4NT, 5, 5, 6, 7 could work some of the time. Even a psychic 5.

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I don't really see anything funny I can do with this hand.

 

Against strong opps I'd bid 6 and let it be.

 

Against weak opps I'd be tempted to bid a fit-showing 6 (if it shows a fit) because I'd imagine it'd make it harder for them to evaluate their hands than easier. I don't have a good reason for why I think that but I feel like it's true.

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A partner of mine found an interesting tactic recently It is not exactly the same as this hand, but it bears some consideration.

 

Pass.

 

By bidding lots of hearts you may incite your opponents to bid more with the knowledge that they are playing with a 30 point deck.

 

Given that partner is not vul, he may not have the AK of hearts (or even 7 hearts) so that may not be a consideration. In the hand that my partner passed, I opened 3 at both vul and he held 5 to the AQ. He did not raise, and our opps did not bid slam. At the other table, my hand opened only 2 hearts (wimp) on KJTxxxx and got raised to 5 by my partner's hand. My teammates had no problem bidding the slam.

 

So, as I said, the vulnerability and the size of the heart fit are different, but it is worth considering whether you should be taking an active view or a more passive view on the hand.

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7

 

This is the kind of hand where it is easy to talk oneself into doing something tricky. Pass, and hope they don't know how to bid. Double or bid 4N and hope they don't recognize a baby psyche.

 

If I weren't going to bid 7, I'd bid 5, as the bid that is most likely to cause some confusion without at the same time egging them on. But I have a simple mind, and make a simple bid on what looks like a simple hand.

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Keep in mind that baby psych bids are not necessarily intended as just baby psychs. Just as LHO may easily spot it, so much more will partner spot it if LHO makes an appropriate psychic-indicating call. Opener will then be poised to make a call that assists the discussion. For instance, perhaps Opener bids some level of diamonds to show a void. He cannot do that over 7. Sure, he might double 7. But, he might not get the chance if 7 gets doubled. Catch the diamond Ace wrong, and partner with a void, and even 6 may fail.

 

4NT serves the same purpose.

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Dealer: North
Vul: None
Scoring: IMP
[space]
QT85
KQT7652
J7

Partner deals and opens 3.

You first hear RHO intervene with 4. What is your plan against a) strong opponents, :P weak opponents?

IMO 5 = 10, 6 = 9, 5 = 8. 6 = 7, _P = 6, 5 = 5, 6 = 4, 7 = 3. Other = 2.

But now I see Ken's _X, I give it at least 7 :) and I wish I'd thought of it :)

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