Got Emmmm?

[rogerclee]

Matchpoints, All Red, Third Seat

 

♠KJ ♥AJxxx ♦J9 ♣KT65

 

1♦ - (3♣) - ?

 

Partner is good, but tendencies about reopening doubles are undiscussed.

[mr1303]

3H. Natural and forcing. I may be able to take 800 out of 3C but can imagine only 500, and I expect to get a good score from the game I'm likely to make.

[kfay]

My pointed suit length looks good for a pass here since we'll rate to pick up more tricks in those suits.

 

If partner reopens with double I expect 800 and I'm willing to accept 1100 opposite a possible slam.

 

If he rebids diamonds now I've got a bit of a problem. 3NT, 4♥, and slam are all possibilities and I've got too much catching up to do to figure this out. I don't know what I'd do but we're not there yet.

[han]

Pass. Would bid 3NT red against white.

[MFA]

3NT. Practical. Going for a penalty might work and is a fair shot, but I prefer a safer approach to the problem.

[whereagles]

3NT for me too. If pard has something like

 

Qxx

xx

AKQxxx

xx

 

he's gonna be quite stuck for a bid after 3♥.

[655321]

3NT for me.

[jdonn]

I like 3NT, more because of the bad hearts than the good clubs. Pass could work but I don't want to risk if partner can't reopen.

[maggieb]

Pass, I think it is very likely that this will result in +800 for our side. It is also possible that partner won't reopen because he is so weak that we can't make game, in which case I am happy to defend.

[the hog]

3H. I'm not risking a pass on hands similar to the one posted by Nuno.

[OleBerg]

Many options:

 

3NT: Is our most likely spot, if we want to play the hand.

3♥: describes our hand, and might often still get us to 3nt if that i where we belong.

Double: Places us extremely well, if partner bids at the three level. Disaster if partner bids 4♠

Pass: My choice. Not that I believe it will nescesarily get us to the right spot, but it will hardly ever be a disaster. Also caters to light opening hands from partner.

 

Edit: 3NT at Imps.

[Free]

It's matchpoints, always play 3NT :)

[EricK]

3NT for me. Yes, we might miss a superior 4♥, and yes, we are giving up on penalising the opps. But it seems to be the bid which is most likely to get us to a sensible spot without risking a mishap.

[benlessard]

If partner strong enough to reopen The times we make 3Nt minus the time we fail 3Nt will probably be higher than the times we can nail them for 800.

 

If partner isnt strong enough then 3Nt will still make more then 50%.

 

So 3Nt seems better than passing. My Heart suit isnt good enough for 3H (partner will often raise me with Hx)

 

X might work but i doubt its better than 3Nt.

[CSGibson]

X might work but i doubt its better than 3Nt.

I hope you are talking about a balancing X from partner, not a direct double from yourself, since partner is likely to bid ♠ after a negative X.

[gnasher]

If 3♣ is passed around to partner and he has a singleton, do you think he needs extra values to reopen? If I were sure that passing only risked all-pass opposite a minimum with a doubleton, I'd probably take the risk.

[benlessard]

I hope you are talking about a balancing X from partner, not a direct double from yourself, since partner is likely to bid ♠ after a negative X.

No, remove the T of clubs and ill make a neg double for sure. I dont mind if partner bid 3S since ill bid 3Nt wich show doubt of strain without 4S.

 

If 3♣ is passed around to partner and he has a singleton, do you think he needs extra values to reopen?

Of course, balancing at the 3 level without extra values is a sure way to lose imps in the long run.

[CSGibson]

I hope you are talking about a balancing X from partner, not a direct double from yourself, since partner is likely to bid ♠ after a negative X.

No, remove the T of clubs and ill make a neg double for sure. I dont mind if partner bid 3S since ill bid 3Nt wich show doubt of strain without 4S.

 

 

And when partner bids 4♠ directly, expecting you to actually have your bid?

[OleBerg]

If 3♣ is passed around to partner and he has a singleton, do you think he needs extra values to reopen?  If I were sure that passing only risked all-pass opposite a minimum with a doubleton, I'd probably take the risk.

It depends on what minimum is.

 

Facing some of my minimum hands, there will be no play for 3NT

[mtvesuvius]

I hate to say this, but I am a passer. Partner should have a singleton or void in clubs in this auction, and unless partner has a DEAD minimum, there should be a double on the table. At IMPs this is a clear pass, but at matchpoints I reluctantly pass :). (Otherwise I bid 3NT, b/c as Free said: "It's matchpoints, always play 3NT")

[mikeh]

I don't think that we can risk 3♥. All too often, partner is going to be end-played in the bidding... he may even have to choose between rebidding 4♦ on a not-great suit or make a raise with 2 card support... picture a 3=2=6=2 hand with Hx in hearts, and a minimum... Axx Kx KQxxxx xx.. while this is a low-frequency risk, the downside is probably fatal... either red suit game is probably down very quickly, while 3N seems like a pretty good spot.

 

I don't think we can risk a pass.. again, picture any non-strong hand (can be more than a minimum) with 4252 or the like... he can't reopen with a double unless he can stand our bidding his short major. I also echo gnasher's point about a 3-level reopening double... is it mandatory? I don' t see how that is playable.

 

We cannot double ourselves, since we can't stand a 4♠ bid by partner, and we are not well placed over 3♦ or 3♠... we can hardly bid 3♥ over 3♦, since that is (usually played as) nf, and so we are going to bid 3N over both of partner's probable 3 level bids.

 

Thus the pragmatic 3N seems fairly clear. Thank you, bridge god, for the club 10.

 

Note that 3N may be the best spot even if we have a good heart fit.

 

BTW, if you are passing, how clear is it that you didn't break tempo? While most of us, I expect, have schooled ourselves to make these decisions in tempo, close calls like this can cause us to hiccup.

[han]

BTW, if you are passing, how clear is it that you didn't break tempo? While most of us, I expect, have schooled ourselves to make these decisions in tempo, close calls like this can cause us to hiccup.

RHO has preempted, I am confident that I can make my decision in the hiccup time that is expected of me.

[benlessard]

And when partner bids 4♠ directly, expecting you to actually have your bid?

Most expert today play that a neg X at the 3 level is forcing to game or to 4m or at least guarantee another bid. So partner will only bid 4S with a 65.

 

 

1C----(3D)------X-----(P)

???

 

Here with a good hand and a 4 card M, you dont need to jump.

 

If you play that 3M is minimum and 4M is maximum than partner need to have both majors to X wich is a too big drawback.

[mikeh]

And when partner bids 4♠ directly, expecting you to actually have your bid?

Most expert today play that a neg X at the 3 level is forcing to game or to 4m or at least guarantee another bid. So partner will only bid 4S with a 65.

 

 

1C----(3D)------X-----(P)

???

 

Here with a good hand and a 4 card M, you dont need to jump.

 

If you play that 3M is minimum and 4M is maximum than partner need to have both majors to X wich is a too big drawback.

This is news to me... and I have doubts that it is playable in a strong nt method, on which opener's 1m opening bid is frequently on a weak notrump hand.. are you suggesting that responder pass after 1♣ [3♦] with 4=4=2=3 10 counts? Or that we are allowing the opp's preempt to force us to game on this hand when opener has a 4 card major and some 4432 hand?

 

I am not saying categorically that you are mistaken: I don't play much anymore and may be out of touch.

[Winstonm]

I would be curious to know how many would vote for double if a penalty double option were available?

 

Secondly, does this hand argue sufficiently to play negative doubles only through 2S at matchpoints?