[kenberg]

In another thread I mentioned that I am probably not the only poster on the I/A forum who has not ahd detailed discussions of the meaning of various auctions. In these cases, bridge judgment is only part of the issue. You also have to judge whether a bid is natural or not, forcing or not, and generally just how pard might take it. Here is one that came up yesterday:


(1S)-2D-(Pass)-3H.

I was the the 3H bidder. We landed on our feet in 3NT. I felt confident that my capable partner would take my 3H as strong and natural, but beyond that I had no idea what he might think that I held.


Our two hands were:

---

As you can imagine, 6D would go down on a spade lead and spade ruff. You can decide whether, on the NS hands, you would like to be in 6NT but as the cards lie Gib says that 11 tricks are the limit on any lead except the heart J (East holds Jxxx).

We discussed this briefly afterward and partner said he believes 3H to be fit showing but of course some fits are better than others. I was not expecting the 3NT response to my 3H, but I figured if I had spades and he had spades, a spade ruff was a serious danger and so I gave up on the diamond slam. I could see that partner didn't have many points in diamonds, and he didn't raise hearts, so I figured he had something in clubs. So I passed the 3NT.

As I said, we landed on our feet.


My point here is not our brilliant bidding. Rather I was thinking it might be fun, perhaps even useful, to have examples of coping with auctions where we wish we had discussed the meaning but we have not.

Others are invited to contribute examples.

Btw, I agree that my 3H shows at least some diamonds. If I knew we should be in hearts I would have bid 4H, not 3H. If I don't know we belong in hearts, I had better have some diamonds even if we are going to play in 3NT. Presumably 3H does not show the AKQ of diamonds.

And yes, I would like my heart suit to be better for that 3H bid, but what else?

[wank]

is 2h forcing for you? i presume not. then you need 3h for strong hands with hearts.

obviously your partner's 2d is ridiculous.

[kenberg]

wank, on 2015-July-25, 08:05, said:

is 2h forcing for you? i presume not. then you need 3h for strong hands with hearts.

obviously your partner's 2d is ridiculous.

I usually play that 2H opposite the 2D overcall is constructive but not forcing. But this also was undiscussed, hence the 3H. This is in keeping with what i see as a theme. We go online and we play. Partner overcalls 2D. Is 2H forcing? Beats me. So I bid 3H. We often play thusly on BBO.

Somewhere I recall Mike Lawrence saying that he thought a new suit opposite a 2 level overcall should be forcing but he had given up on convincing anyone so he plays it as constructive non-forcing.

I was a little hesitant about posting this hand as I figured pard's 2D might draw some criticism. I'm relaxed. If he passes I imagine rho will also pass on his Jxxx and six clubs to the ten, but maybe not. Anyway we will probably reach 4H rather than 3NT but that's ok.Just as long as we stay out of 6 of anything.

[ggwhiz]

I once had something like ♠xx, ♥, xxx, ♦KQT, ♣KQTxx to an auction of

1♣-1♦-1nt - 2♦ passed back to me

I bid 2nt intending (hoping) that it would show a source of tricks vs a max power double. Pard raised that but had tanked over 2♦. The opps protested but their defense was so bad (should have beat it) that it never went to committee. I always wondered how it would fare.

[kenberg]

ggwhiz, on 2015-July-25, 15:19, said:

I once had something like ♠xx, ♥, xxx, ♦KQT, ♣KQTxx to an auction of

1♣-1♦-1nt - 2♦ passed back to me

I bid 2nt intending (hoping) that it would show a source of tricks vs a max power double. Pard raised that but had tanked over 2♦. The opps protested but their defense was so bad (should have beat it) that it never went to committee. I always wondered how it would fare.

I haven't served on a committee for ages, and I never much enjoyed the experience when I did, but I doubt that bidding 2NT would survive a challenge.

That being said, I cannot imagine what your partner was thinking. He has a fairly clear picture of your hand at the time of his second call. You did not make a negative double, or bid 1M in either M, and both opponents are holding some diamonds. It would appear to me, on the auction, that you have some clubs. I could understand him bidding 3C directly over 2D or, depending on his hand, possibly bidding 2NT. Passing and then raising your 2NT to 3NT seems like a very bad idea, and here he tanked, then passed, then raised, which seems to me to be totally hopeless. Once he tanks opposite this limited bid, I think his real world choices are to act in some way over 2D or to expect to defend 2D. But if he passes, and you bid 2NT, I think he passes and hopes it will survive a challenge. I doubt that it would.

With you holding two spades and no one bidding spades, I suppose that two players have four card holdings. I vote for lho and your partner. In the likely event that your partner has a doubleton diamond then he is 4/3 in hearts and spades, but I don't see that we can tell which way. but with four clubs and a non-minimal hand I would expect he could easily find a 3C call over 2D. So I suppose he is 4=4=2=3. The auction shows him holding 12-14 highs, the hesitation shows the 14. That may be enough, but they won't let you bid it. And he put you in 3? I would call that optimistic.


I would be interested in the opinion of people with more committee experience than I have, but I just don't see it standing.

[ggwhiz]

kenberg, on 2015-July-25, 16:16, said:

I would be interested in the opinion of people with more committee experience than I have, but I just don't see it standing.

Yeah, I've never lost a committee ruling (only been in 3) but wasn't sure of my ground here.

White v Red I didn't think pass was a logical alternative and made what I thought was my bid in a smooth auction albeit with my weird take on it. In hindsight it was the bid that risked a minus and should have gone down whereas 3 clubs makes easily.

If I had lost the ruling I would have apologized and move on. Partner had just spaced out with a hangover and a routine upper end weak notrump.

[kenberg]

ggwhiz, on 2015-July-26, 10:03, said:

If I had lost the ruling I would have apologized and move on.

i particularly agree with this part. If it is clear to me that I would have made a bid, I make it. Maybe not if I am sure that while I would make the bid probably no one else would, but in general I do it.

ggwhiz, on 2015-July-26, 10:03, said:

White v Red I didn't think pass was a logical alternative and made what I thought was my bid in a smooth auction albeit with my weird take on it. In hindsight it was the bid that risked a minus and should have gone down whereas 3 clubs makes easily.

Besides the fact that 3C is likely to make, I think it is more likely to be sustained. Assuming this is matchpoints and assuming the 1C opening shows at least three, you know without any inference from the hesitation that you have an eight card fit and you know that even if pard has a 12 count that your side has the balance of power. just speaking for myself, I would not contest a 3C bid if I were your opponent and I would uphold the call if I were asked to judge. I think I would have more trouble with the 2NT call. Roughly speaking, you can hope to establish four club tricks and get two diamonds as they are establishing their suit. Then it comes to a battle in the majors. They have three diamonds and a club and need two more to set you, you have four clubs and two diamonds and need two more to make it. I am assuming a plausible lie of the cards. If pard has only a 12 count, the odds may not favor you. So 2NT is iffy and probably verboten after the tank, but 3C is not at all an overbid or a bid based on the hesitation. If you go doen, they were probably making 2D.

Or so I see it.

Just out of curiosity, do you recall pard/s shape? If he had four clubs in his hand he might have bid 3C himself, and after the tank I think he really must do so since he has put you in a spot. .

[ggwhiz]

kenberg, on 2015-July-26, 11:00, said:

Just out of curiosity, do you recall pard/s shape? If he had four clubs in his hand he might have bid 3C himself, and after the tank I think he really must do so since he has put you in a spot. .

Partner had Axx of clubs in a 4-4-2-3 and my lho did something really dumb to endplay their partner.

And I indeed put partners hesitation down to a hangover which might have won the day in certain committees that know him or helped us close the bar.

This was at an NABC but the same guy, same act at a Regional and the opps called for protection but no Director appeared. I told them we would stipulate to the facts later but there was no hesitation, it was a COMA.