Do you dare?

[mgoetze]

IMPs

 

[hv=w=SJ8654HK954DAQJCA&d=s&v=b&b=7&a=1S?]150|225[/hv]

 

Note to self: jschafer may or may not owe me a drink.

[jillybean]

I hate it but I pass, voted for double by mistake.

[aguahombre]

If Partner is trained to ignore your doubles upon further competition, then double if you have no green cards and cannot borrow.

 

If your agreement is penalty doubles (thus alerted), then no, it isn't one.

[bluecalm]

I don't know :)

Intuitively pass but I see many ways it can backfire (1S - p - 1N - p 2S p p p and we are cold for 6H opposite Axxxxx of h and nothing more while even defeating 2S is questionable).

[chasetb]

I vote for 1NT. There's no way I can double on this hand, and while I fully understand Pass, my partners never play me for 15 HCP, let alone 13 or 14 HCP if I pass the first time. It's also a bidder's game, so I will try to scare my opponents out of a possible game their way if it exists.

 

EDIT - Now, move a Diamond honor to the Heart suit, and then I hate all my options, Pass probably being the least disgusting of them all. Then I KNOW partner will have the minors and shortness in the Majors, so I'll give the opponents a little rope and hope they hang themselves.

[jillybean]

There's no way I can double on this hand, and while I fully understand Pass, my partners never play me for 15 HCP, let alone 13 or 14 HCP if I pass the first time.

Director!

[CSGibson]

I don't have a strong preference between pass and 1N, but I'd probably bid 1N at the table, especially if playing against a pair that regularly opens semi-aggressively. There's some benefit to telling your whole story early in the auction, you don't have to make hard decisions later at higher levels.

[cherdano]

Definitely pass, we have hcp but no tricks. This isn't even close for me, very surprised to see the votes for 1N.

I don't know :)Intuitively pass but I see many ways it can backfire (1S - p - 1N - p 2S p p p and we are cold for 6H opposite Axxxxx of h and nothing more while even defeating 2S is questionable).

I have bigger worries than my opponents deciding to play in my 5-card suit while my partner's 6-card suit is supposed to be opposite my 4-card suit, not my singleton. If we have a 10-card heart fit, we may still find it after passing...

[mgoetze]

I have bigger worries than my opponents deciding to play in my 5-card suit while my partner's 6-card suit is supposed to be opposite my 4-card suit, not my singleton. If we have a 10-card heart fit, we may still find it after passing...

I think you missed the point: if it's even possible to miss slam, how much easier must it be to miss game?

[Phil]

No bid!

[cherdano]

I think you missed the point: if it's even possible to miss slam, how much easier must it be to miss game?

But we are not missing game! If we have a big heart fit, they will bid clubs and we can make a takeout double.

 

If you are this worried about missing game, you probably think this hand is better than it is.

[rmnka447]

I think this is a clear pass.

 

Even if opener is extremely aggressive you rate to have at least 25 points between your hand and opener's hand. That leaves about a max of 15 between the other 2 hands. If the points are evenly split, the hand is likely a part score hand. If partner has enough values for game than responder probably doesn't have enough to make a call and partner will be able to balance.

[han]

Obvious pass to me.

[gnasher]

I think pass is obvious too. It's certainly possible to miss a 10-card heart fit - the shapes around the table might, for example, be 1246, 1633, 6133 - but I'm not going to keep spending vulnerable undertricks whilst I wait for that hand to turn up.

[mikl_plkcc]

An absolute pass for me. I'd like them going down 3 or 4 if 1♠ becomes the final contract.

[TimG]

I don't know :)

Intuitively pass but I see many ways it can backfire (1S - p - 1N - p 2S p p p and we are cold for 6H opposite Axxxxx of h and nothing more while even defeating 2S is questionable).

Partner just might balance with short spades and Ace-sixth of hearts.

[ArtK78]

Pass.

 

Second choice - Pass.

 

Really, those green cards are in the bidding box for a reason.

 

Pass is not a 4-letter word (OK, it is a 4-letter word, but not that kind of 4-letter word).

[wank]

i would expect to find myself on the passing side of such a debate, but this hand is just too good for suit play - partner is overruffing lho in spades where we have very little soft defensive values.

 

so yes i'd bid 1nt to get my strength across, if not my shape.

 

i'm not worried about being sawn off - partner must have short spades and should have somewhere to run to if we get cracked.

 

oh and if i'm wrong and it does get crunched and partner doesn't run, i'll run to 2c and (hopefully) blue it.

[mgoetze]

The pass brigade will be happy to hear that I went for 500:

 

[hv=sn=josip_broz&s=SAKQ97HJ62D652CJ8&wn=mgoetze&w=SJ8654HK954DAQJCA&nn=ma5546&n=STHQ83DK984CKQ943&en=jschafer&e=S32HAT7DT73CT7652&d=s&v=b&b=7&a=1S1NDPPP&p=C3C2C8CAH4H8HTHJCJS4C4C5D6DQDKD3CKC6D2H5HQHAH6H9S2SQS5STD5DAD4D7HKH3H7H2DJD8DTS7S6C9S3S9&c=5]640|480[/hv]

 

At the other table, the enemy had solid agreements on runouts, whereas our teammates didn't:

[hv=d=s&v=b&b=7&a=1S1NDR(transfer to clubs)P2CDP2SPPP]200|150[/hv]

 

The combined total cost was 12 IMPs.

[JLOGIC]

Got what you deserved. Other guys didn't, unlucky :P

 

Your 1N is really just understrength. Having 5 of their 5 card suit makes your hand much worse, you have no potential to set up spade tricks like you do with most 5 card suits. Having all of your honors in short suits is obviously bad, they don't help you set up tricks as much as usual. Even your 4 card suit is just Kxxx! Add that to the fact that you only have 15, your hand is just not worth 1N. Your spade values are not even positional, it's the jack. Having a stiff club is a negative, it's possible partner will compete in clubs or overestimate his clubs. And having 5 of their suit is bad when you have such a bad hand because if you get doubled you will often have nowhere to run (as here).

 

It's true our hand is much better for hearts than NT, but if the opps bid clubs (eg 1S p 1N P 2C seems likely) you can at least double and get your side in much more safely with more chance of playing in a fit (and possibly get a penalty if it is their misfit). If they keep bidding your long suits, well that's good, you will get to defend vulnerable with their suits breaking badly when you rate to not make anything. Forget about going for numbers, even going -100 when you could have gone +200 is extremely expensive and not unlikely (1S 1N AP instead of defending 2S).

 

I would just expect to get too high too often by overcalling 1N (when partner bids 3N), I'd expect a disaster some non-negligible percentage of the time when they nail me, I'd expect to lose many many partscore swings all vul which will be very expensive because I declare 1N or 3C instead of defending, and I'd expect to miss 4H sometimes (though I'd still get to it sometimes after 1S P 1N p 2C X). The loss of r/r partscore swings frequently occuring is what is really bad.

[JLOGIC]

 

 

i'm not worried about being sawn off - partner must have short spades and should have somewhere to run to if we get cracked.

 

 

That is some amazing logic. Having our longest suit be their suit is GOOD if we want to run, because partner will be short? lol.

[JLOGIC]

It is not like overcalling 1N is going to get you to all of these light 4H games. In fact, if partner does not have that many HCP he will pass with 4 hearts and you will miss hearts when you might have otherwise found them starting with pass. If he transfers and you super accept, he still has to be able to go unless you plan on superaccepting with 4H. If he is transfering and accepting a superaccept, you might well still find 4H having started with pass. I feel like 1N bidders are acting like 1N will get you to all 4H contracts, whereas pass will make you miss them all. It is not like that at all. If it is a heart PARTIAL I'd much rather start with pass, and that is not that unlikely.

[Quartic]

At the other table, the enemy had solid agreements on runouts, whereas our teammates didn't:

[hv=d=s&v=b&b=7&a=1S1NDR(transfer to clubs)P2CDP2SPPP]200|150[/hv]

 

The combined total cost was 12 IMPs.

 

Looks like your teammates were on different wavelengths about double of 2♣. How much would that have gone for?

[mgoetze]

Looks like your teammates were on different wavelengths about double of 2♣. How much would that have gone for?

Dunno, you tell us. ;)

[cloa513]

Got what you deserved. Other guys didn't, unlucky :P

 

Your 1N is really just understrength. Having 5 of their 5 card suit makes your hand much worse, you have no potential to set up spade tricks like you do with most 5 card suits. Having all of your honors in short suits is obviously bad, they don't help you set up tricks as much as usual. Even your 4 card suit is just Kxxx! Add that to the fact that you only have 15, your hand is just not worth 1N. Your spade values are not even positional, it's the jack. Having a stiff club is a negative, it's possible partner will compete in clubs or overestimate his clubs. And having 5 of their suit is bad when you have such a bad hand because if you get doubled you will often have nowhere to run (as here).

 

It's true our hand is much better for hearts than NT, but if the opps bid clubs (eg 1S p 1N P 2C seems likely) you can at least double and get your side in much more safely with more chance of playing in a fit (and possibly get a penalty if it is their misfit). If they keep bidding your long suits, well that's good, you will get to defend vulnerable with their suits breaking badly when you rate to not make anything. Forget about going for numbers, even going -100 when you could have gone +200 is extremely expensive and not unlikely (1S 1N AP instead of defending 2S).

 

I would just expect to get too high too often by overcalling 1N (when partner bids 3N), I'd expect a disaster some non-negligible percentage of the time when they nail me, I'd expect to lose many many partscore swings all vul which will be very expensive because I declare 1N or 3C instead of defending, and I'd expect to miss 4H sometimes (though I'd still get to it sometimes after 1S P 1N p 2C X). The loss of r/r partscore swings frequently occuring is what is really bad.

They only went down 2 because of poor play- don't discard a heart, discard a spade.