Obey the Law?

[nige1]

[hv=d=n&v=b&s=sj7hkt87653d62cj7]133|100|Scoring: XIMP

1NT-(Pass)-?What is your bid now? Texas or Transfer?

[/hv]

IMO Texas = 10, Transfer = 6.

[jdeegan]

:D Transfer = 100% for me. Why try to steal with Texas when we are vul. Might easily go for -200 or more against their partscore. 7-2-2-2 opposite a balanced hand is yuck. I will, probably, compete to 3♥ based on the law since pard rates to have 2 or 3 ♥. Wish I could transfer to 3♥ and then pass.

 

On the actual hand you have an easy 3♥ over 3♦. You need more HCP to bid game to make when you don't have any singletons or voids between the two hands.

[MarkDean]

I would absolutely Texas to start with. I would basically always bid game with a seven card suit opposite a strong nt. Either I think it is likely to make, or if my hand is truly atrocious, it could be a good sac.

[gwnn]

hey I can see hidden text, I found a magic angle on my laptop

oh it wasn't hidden text after all, just white font. never mind, sorry about this

[whereagles]

Dead easy 4♥. It's impossible to check whether hands fit, so you might as well bid it anyway.

 

Pard's stop doesn't change my mind, as many of his holdings are helpful. Qxx is bad, but the rest are ok.

[hanp]

When cherdano uses QED, the argument is over.

[gwnn]

I absolutely agree with your reasoning but unless I am completely misinterpreting something, the Law of Total Tricks still suggests bidding 4♥ after the transfer sequence.

I believe you meant to say:

 

I absolutely agree with your reasoning but I will just disregard it and repeat my point.

[P_Marlowe]

You just needed to be told that The Law has nothing to do with this hand.

My understanding was that a corrollary of the Law of Total Tricks is:

"Bid to a number of tricks equal to the number of trumps you and your partner hold (and no higher) in a competitive auction."

I would not call this a corrollary.

 

Basically this is just a way how to use the law on the table, since quite

often you have no idea how many trumps the opponents have, but quite

often you have a good knowledge abut your combined trump holding.

And since, if we have a 9 card fit, they will also have a 8 card fit. this

suggestion how to apply the law in reality works quite well most of the

time.

 

But the "law" does not say, that you will make the contract corresponding

to your best trump fit- assuming we have 10 trumps, they have 8 trumps

there are 18 total tricks out there, and it is not clear, if we make 8,9 or 10.

In other words, if you just bid blindly up to the law level you may turn a

plus score in a minus score.

 

With kind regards

Marlowe

 

PS: I am still bidding game, but this decision has nothing, repeat nothing, to

do with the law.