[hallway]

#1

Is there some 'simple' criteria one should apply to determine whether or not to bid over a Weak Two Opener ? In 2nd seat ? In 4th seat ?

I assume the Weak 2 to be 6 - 10 hcp with a 6 card suit with at least 2 Honours and no more than 1 x Ace or King in an outside suit.

So would passing in the 4th seat after
2S P P
with 12hcp and a 5 card H suit A10952
be a cause for a degree of tetchiness ??? by partner ? 3H :- or Dbl ? or ??

[move]It takes strong nerves to play with a Beginner ;D - or maybe a dram or two or three [/move]

#2

The bidding goes 1S 2C 2S P
P X P ?

4th seat has Kxx: xxxx : xxxx : xx

Do you show the D or the H's ? (equally miserable) or
would it be wrong to assume that P has a good reason for wanting to take the Opps out of their 2S ?

Looking forward to your advice - thx in advance.

Maureen

PS - Ben...... reciting hand shapes does not lull me off to sleep but I shall persevere :

[Cave_Draco]

#1
Not that I'm aware of... Weak 2s are intended to make life difficult for opponents, ;D.
With the type of hand described, I would pass in 2nd but balance in 4th.
If partner is "competetive" s/he may get tetchy but explaining works better in the long run.
What if... P has the same sort of hand in 2nd, when opener's partner has unknown strength?

re marquee - what are nerves?

#2
Partner is demanding a bid... 2NT is the lowest available, I would use it, .

PS - If reciting hand patterns doesn't work; try reciting suit distributions, 8).

[pbleighton]

I learned a valuable lesson today at my club, the hard way - the way I usually learn them :'(

The bidding went (neither vul) P-P-2H-?

I had a wretched-looking 13 hcp 3343, Qxx in spades, KQx in hearts. My inner chicken won, and I passed, and felt very bad doing so (why didn't you double, ****ole).

You guessed it. We were one of only 4 pairs out of 18 not to bid and make 3NT.

My partner was kind (she had blown a bid two hands earlier - it was that kind of day).

Moral of the story......(aw, heck, I'll let you figure it out)

BTW, if you want to learn hand types, try learning a strong club system - hand types will invade your dreams

[inquiry]

Position 1a) Direct seat - Pass merrily
1b) Balance seat.. how many Spades have I?

In the direct seat, I need fair stuff to take action. In the balance seat, I am bidding my partner's assumed points. So the question isn't would 12 points be enough to bid in balance seat because I would bid with even less. The question is do I have a reasonable bid. Bidding 3H on AT8xx isn't something I am all that excited about. If I am short in spades, I will tend to double (maybe partner has a good penalty pass). If I have 4 of their suit, I will probably choose to defend. You would have to show me the whole hand to decide.


Number 2).. I would bid 2NT as scrambling (scrambling 2NT). I expect partner to bid his red suit. That way I don;t have to guess.

Keep up the counting patterns. If it doesn't work as you try to go to sleep... try it at the table.

Ben

[hrothgar]

Quote

I learned a valuable lesson today at my club, the hard way - the way I usually learn them :'(

The bidding went (neither vul) P-P-2H-?

I had a wretched-looking 13 hcp 3343, Qxx in spades, KQx in hearts. My inner chicken won, and I passed, and felt very bad doing so (why didn't you double, ****ole).

You guessed it. We were one of only 4 pairs out of 18 not to bid and make 3NT.

I think that double is an ABYSMAL bid with the hand in question.
I'd need to see the actual hand, however, pass looks like the best bid.
If you missed 3NT, the problem probably lies withpartner's failure to balance.

[the hog]

What do you want to do with this hand? Pass is automatic on what you have given us - double is terrible. Your pd is there to protect. totally agree with Richard.

[pbleighton]

"What do you want to do with this hand? Pass is automatic on what you have given us - double is terrible. Your pd is there to protect. totally agree with Richard."

Well, I feel better already . Partner did have a balanced, bad 12 hcp (she almost opened, and I agre with you in hindsight she should have balanced).

I don't remember what my minor suits were like, but they were unimpressive. I would have doubled 2H with a 13 hcp hand such as QJxx-Kx-Axx-Kxxx. Would you double with this one?

[the hog]

Excuse me Peter, there is no such thing as a terrible 12 count!!!! 12 is an opening bid. Your pd has 100% of the blame. Easy question, easy answer!

[Codo]

QJxx-Kx-Axx-Kxxx. Would you double with this one?

Anyplace anywhere anytime

[Cave_Draco]

Weak 2s are a test of risk assessment, ;D.

Against strong opps, they are testing but not a problem...

Against weak opps, they can be devastating...

Confidence is the key; win the post-mortem, lol.

[Rado]

Hi Maureen,
One simple and practical advice about overcalling after Opps preempt:

When you are in doubt whether to bid or not after opps weak 2, substract one valuable Queen from your hand and see whether you had an overcall if opps were opened at level one. This is helpful for 3 level preempts too.

The opposite way: if your minimum direct Take-out DBL of 1Sp is 1444 with 11 points, add a Queen to have your minimim take-out for 2Sp, same when balancing.

Hope above to help you,
Best regards, rado