logical alternatives

[Zelandakh]

You are doing fairly well on board 17 (of 20) in a MP tournament (playing strong club if it matters) and get dealt your usual standard of hand - ♠QJ4 ♥852 ♦T96 ♣J865. After passing, LHO opens 1♦ and partner overcalls 1♥; 1NT on your right and it is back to you.

[hv=pc=n&s=sqj4h852dt96cj865&d=s&v=0&b=11&a=p1d1h1n]133|200[/hv]

 

Which bids do you seriously consider and what would be your actual choice?

[Cyberyeti]

Bounds for partner's overcall please ? but I suspect I'm passing with no real alternative

[DozyDom]

The only bid I seriously consider is pass. The saying "always support partner" is on the money - but the support we have is the kind you get from the trapdoor on a gallows.

[Zelandakh]

Bounds for partner's overcall please ? but I suspect I'm passing with no real alternative

Your partner is someone who considers himself to be a very strong player but whose discipline in the bidding is often questionable. In other words, I would put very few limits on the possible hands.

[DavidKok]

A clear pass. Your hand has no upsides whatsoever - no shape, no points, no quick tricks and few spot cards. At least you can lead a heart against 1NT.

[Cyberyeti]

Your partner is someone who considers himself to be a very strong player but whose discipline in the bidding is often questionable. In other words, I would put very few limits on the possible hands.

 

Well how random are his jump overcalls then :) at least he failed to do that

[ahydra]

I would only consider pass. Needs about a Q more to be a minimum raise.

 

ahydra

[sfi]

The values are acceptable for a raise and the vulnerability is ideal for competing. But this hand really doesn't have any redeeming features that make it worth bidding. So I would consider and reject bidding in favour of a pass.

[FelicityR]

Pass, pass, pass. It's not beyond the realms of possibly that partner has overcalled on a four card suit here (though personally I always like my partner to have a five+ card one when I am a passed hand.) Your hand probably has no entry, no ruffing value and it's too balanced to be any good. If there is any hand where I wouldn't use The Law of Total Tricks this is it. Partner could well be encouraged to bid higher if the opponents compete further, possibly to 3♦ (as by inference there is unlikely to be a ♠ fit.)

 

And, I don't think partner would be best pleased with me if I put down this selection of tramtickets should he/she declare, especially if the contract is X'ed.

[apollo1201]

To bid after RHO bids NT over partner’s overcall, I like to have as much of possible of the following features : trump honors (to limit further pen Xes), non-min HCPs, shape, a 4th trump.

 

Seems I have none of them.

 

So like all the others, I’m passing in tempo. Maybe if it goes 2D, pass, pass, I’ll toss a coin.

[KingCovert]

I'm a little shocked that this post was even made. We can consider the fact that you're holding a very minimal amount of HCP, have perfectly flat shape, have a 1NT bid behind partner's overcall, but we really don't need to...

 

This question was prefaced with, "you're doing fairly well on board 17 out of 20 in a MP tournament". Is this really the hand to make an anti-field call? How often is any call other than pass here right? Do you even want to make an anti-field call while you're doing well? You're most often going from fairly well to close to average if you don't pass on this hand.

 

This really isn't the hand to be a hero on, you're going to lose so often.

[msjennifer]

SIR

Before answering the query posed by OP directly, one would ask oneself 'Would I make any bid with the given hand if RHO had passed over 1H overcall by partner".One has the answer to the present query then and there only.This goes unless the 1H overcall has been agreed as unconditionally forcing for one round. if indeed it is so, then good luck to that system and agreement.

[pescetom]

I pass.

But to answer partly your other question, I would also consider a simple raise.

I've never been happy with the difference between considering and considering seriously, whatever it is.

[Zelandakh]

The reason I posted this hand is because the actual South chose 2♣. What do you think about this call? Noone mentioned it but perhaps on second thoughts, some of you might consider it?

[Cyberyeti]

The reason I posted this hand is because the actual South chose 2♣. What do you think about this call? Noone mentioned it but perhaps on second thoughts, some of you might consider it?

 

May depend on your preempting style in first seat and your overcalling style, but to me if you play sensible preemps, this is a long club suit and a pile unsuitable for opening 3♣, does not suggest hearts, indeed warns partner off trying to play anywhaere else.

[Zelandakh]

I guess noone wants to comment on 2♣ so I will go ahead and post the full hand.

[hv=pc=n&s=sqj4h852dt96cj865&w=sa982hq3dak853cq2&n=s75hakt7dqj2cat93&e=skt63hj964d74ck74&d=s&v=0&b=11&a=p1d1h1n2c2d3cppp]400|300[/hv]

 

3♣ went down 2 for an 80% board. Good play? Lucky? Would it make any difference to your thoughts if you saw this happen online rather than f2f?

[Cyberyeti]

I'd wonder why my partner denied a 7 count and 4 spades, and why at pairs knowing I had more than half the pack I didn't double, and why I failed to take it -3

[KingCovert]

Good play? As CyberYeti has pointed out, EW really should be taking 500. So, no. AK♠, J♥, AK♦, ♦ ruff, and K/Q♣.

Lucky? I'd usually consider a favourable lay of the cards as lucky, or, a completely speculative bid that finds a magic dummy. Poor defense and judgement in the auction by opps? *shrug*

 

I think that if so many people respond to this thread stating how any call except pass is crazy, perhaps, you'd be well served to go see if it is crazy. I think it's pretty clear from your line of questioning that you've failed to do this. Probably too caught up chasing the confirmation of your suspicions of cheating to utilize any objectivity.

 

To answer the last question: No, I don't think my opponents are cheating when they do stupid things that would result in bottom boards.

[Vampyr]

I think that 2♣ is very suspicious. Is there a way on BBO to report hands like this so that other odd actions by this pair will be on record?

[pescetom]

I think that 2♣ is very suspicious. Is there a way on BBO to report hands like this so that other odd actions by this pair will be on record?

 

I think the whole auction is rather poor, but very suspicious is an overbid IMO.

One sees bids like this all the time in bridge, not everyone knows what they are doing even on a good day.

[Vampyr]

I think the whole auction is rather poor, but very suspicious is an overbid IMO.

One sees bids like this all the time in bridge, not everyone knows what they are doing even on a good day.

 

I have never seen bids like this.

[helene_t]

Some random psyche is of course always an option with such weak hands, but even as a psyche 2♣ seems pointless.

 

I don't think it is particularly suspicious, though. Even if S had a wire there's no way he could know that he wouldn't get doubled.

 

It's just a misclick or brain fart.

[Trinidad]

I will make some other noise:

If RHO had passed, this would be an automatic raise to 2♥ for my partner and me. We are well aware that this hand is flat and that the honor placement is... err... horrible. But, then again, we describe our raises as destructive. With RHO bidding, it would not be automatic anymore, since they have conveyed information, but it pays to be bold, particularly when it won't surprise partner, since she is used to this style. So, it depends on style.

 

There is a strong pair in Stockholm (Sweden), Göran Hammarström and Mikael Arnberg, who go as far as using this principle in response to an opening (admittedly in the context of a strong 1♣ system). 1♠-Pass-2♠ means: "STOP right here, partner!" The raise can be made on 0 HCPs with 2 or 4 card support or with 9 HCPs and a doubleton spade. These are all hands where the opponents are supposed to figure out what to do.

 

I have played against them and I will tell you that it is not easy to figure out what to do. They win on these auctions. (On other auctions they win too, but that is because they are strong players. Here, they win even more.)

 

Having said all that: 2♣ would not have occured to me.

 

Rik