Adventures in Matchpoints

[luckyloser]

Matchpoints, you are vul, RHO is dealer, you play SAYC with michaels (no special agreement as to strength)

 

you hold:

 

♠-

♥T742

♦AJ64

♣KQJ73

 

and pass. LHO opens with 1♦ and P bids 1♠ :(

after pass by RHO you bid 2♣ (nonforcing) praying that you dont hear 2♠ from P :angry:

after pass by RHO P bids 2♥ :)

 

do you go on or are you happy to have found a fit?

 

P did not bid michaels 2♦, he therefore has only 4 cards in ♥

P did not dble, he therefore does not have an opening bid or lacks ♣ or most likely both

♠ is P´s primary suit, his values there are doubtful

opposite shortage in ♣ my values are doubtful

any ♦ finesse will fail, ♦ will be led

 

do all these thoughts convince you to pass or do you go on (you have a maximum and a fit)? remember, it is matchpoints and you are vul!

[Fluffy]

Missing ♥AKQ, ♦K and ♣A, and from those 5 cards, partner rates to have from 0 to 3. ♦Q could also be an issue but not often.

 

The problem here is that partner doesn't have info to accurately evaluate an invitation, not knowing that ♠AK or ♠KQ is useless. So blasting/passing could be a good idea. The dream hand is partner having ♥AQxx where we just need dhearts 3-2 and ♥K onside, all of it very likelly.

 

I would go with 3♥, after all partner will imagine we have spade singleton.

[Vampyr]

Matchpoints, you are vul, RHO is dealer, you play SAYC with michaels (no special agreement as to strength)

 

you hold:

 

♠-

♥T742

♦AJ64

♣KQJT3

 

and pass. LHO opens with 1♦ and P bids 1♠ :(

after pass by RHO you bid 2♣ (nonforcing) praying that you dont hear 2♠ from P :angry:

after pass by RHO P bids 2♥ :)

 

do you go on or are you happy to have found a fit?

 

Both.

[luckyloser]

Missing ♥AKQ, ♦K and ♣A, and from those 5 cards, partner rates to have from 0 to 3. ♦Q could also be an issue but not often.

 

The problem here is that partner doesn't have info to accurately evaluate an invitation, not knowing that ♠AK or ♠KQ is useless. So blasting/passing could be a good idea. The dream hand is partner having ♥AQxx where we just need dhearts 3-2 and ♥K onside, all of it very likelly.

 

I would go with 3♥, after all partner will imagine we have spade singleton.

 

true, P will know we are short in ♠, but a singleton is a lot better than a void enabling a finesse against opener!!! the void will be a disappointment!

 

consider this hand:

 

♠AQTxx

♥KQxx

♦xxx

♣x

 

I would be very lucky to make 2♥. Any higher contract has practically no chance! This hand is surely worth an overcall.

[mr1303]

In theory pass might well be best. But I'm always far more optimistic at the table.

[rhm]

In theory pass might well be best. But I'm always far more optimistic at the table.

Matchpoints is all about securing a plus score and being rather conservative with game bidding. Besides, a diamond lead seems likely.

No successful matchpoint player would raise here.

Considering a raise is already an overbid.

 

Rainer Herrmann

[Cyberyeti]

true, P will know we are short in ♠, but a singleton is a lot better than a void enabling a finesse against opener!!! the void will be a disappointment!

 

consider this hand:

 

♠AQTxx

♥KQxx

♦xxx

♣x

 

I would be very lucky to make 2♥. Any higher contract has practically no chance! This hand is surely worth an overcall.

 

I'd expect they'd lead a trump quite a lot of the time against 2♥(you will often pass this with 0-1♠/3♥) which is as it happens a bad mistake, I'd expect to make 3 opposite that, but not necessarily if I raise.

 

You don't know, partner can easily have AKQxx, Axxx, xxx, x or Qxxxx, AKxx, xxx, A, now I fancy making 4, the question is can partner evaluate his hand if I invite, and are we going to make 4 significantly more often than we go off in 3 ?

 

Our overcalls are pretty sound, so your example hand is pretty much minimum for us so I'd invite. Playing more standard methods, I think it's odds against to do so.

[JLOGIC]

Passing is just good judgement imo, all the warning signs are there, bad trumps (in a 4-4), no ace of clubs (opposite likely shortness), AJ of diamonds with a diamond bid on our left and and a lead coming through us which might do any and all of these things: knock our our immediate entry to clubs if our line was going to be pull trumps and cash the clubs (since our trumps are so bad), create trump promotion possibilities, set up their tricks etc.

 

I agree it is super weird to pass with an optically good looking 11 count with a fit but I think on further analysis it is actually quite a bad 11 count.