[helene_t]

Cross-IMPs tournament at BBO. Your pick-up partner is an "expert" who plays reasonably well but has some deviating ideas about bidding (he annouced to play some mixture of Precision and Roman Club. And "Power Doubles" but I can't tell you what exactly that means and in what situations PD apply).

At red vs white, you get ♠xxxx ♥KJxx ♦x ♣xxxx. RHO deals and opens 1NT (9-11) in first seat.

1N-p-p-X
2♦-p-3♦-X
p - ?

[whereagles]

4D. Pard is loaded and is very likely to hold one of the majors (if not both).

[P_Marlowe]

3H.

I am not passing, and I show, where I live.

If I remember it correctly:

"Power Doubles" are a version of negative double,
saying, "Partner we have the majority of points
between us", i.e. +9HCP.
In other word, they do not apply in the actual situation.

I dont play "Power Doubles", but the source mentioning
these double, claimed, that they work quite well.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[mcphee]

I think 4D is standout here. I expect to make 4 of a major. I also expect the opps to have a 9 or 10 card D fit. It would be hard for me to appreciate this was anything but take out with a good hand.

[P_Marlowe]

mcphee, on Jun 27 2005, 09:17 AM, said:

I think 4D is standout here. I expect to make 4 of a major. I also expect the opps to have a 9 or 10 card D fit. It would be hard for me to appreciate this was anything but take out with a good hand.

Of course.

But 4D may probelle you past the 4
level faster than you may blink.

You may survive the 4 level, but not the
5 level.

Marlowe

[Gerben42]

4♦
I'm not letting them their 5-4 fit and lets partner choose a major.

[Chamaco]

mcphee, on Jun 27 2005, 02:17 PM, said:

It would be hard for me to appreciate this was anything but take out with a good hand.

Should pard pass rather than double holding:

AKx-AQx-Jxx-KQxx ?

[Gerben42]

Yes. Await partner's takeout double and then pass again.

[Chamaco]

Gerben42, on Jun 27 2005, 02:41 PM, said:

Yes. Await partner's takeout double and then pass again.

when you are so strong and they have opened 9-11 NT, pard will seldom have the values for a balancing t/o.
To await reopening when u are so strong is like dreaming (yes, I love to dream too , but not at the bridge table )

[helene_t]

Tx all, I was afraid my 4♦ bid was completely ridicolous but I'm glad that I'm not alone.

Partner's double turned out to be meant as penalty.

[mike777]

I would guess pass.

I hope p could cuebid with 4414 but perhaps not. In any case I hope to beat 3dX but will not be surprised to lose imps.

[pclayton]

I'd pass - pard's double should be cooperative, showing additional values beyond the initial double, and a willingness to defend 3♦. Pard is asking me to do the right thing and I'm not keen on pulling to a 4 card suit, although I hate my stiff ♦.

But why not double 2♦ in the 1st place? With your 'expert' pard, shouldn't this clearly be takeout?

[mike777]

pclayton, on Jun 27 2005, 12:13 PM, said:

I'd pass - pard's double should be cooperative, showing additional values beyond the initial double, and a willingness to defend 3♦. Pard is asking me to do the right thing and I'm not keen on pulling to a 4 card suit, although I hate my stiff ♦.

But why not double 2♦ in the 1st place? With your 'expert' pard, shouldn't this clearly be takeout?

It is? Good grief these doubles are very very confusing to me. I would have thought x direct over 2d was penalty Oh well

[kenberg]

My choice was 4D. It seems to me that the given auction is roughly equivalent, although stronger, to 2D-Pass-3D-X-Pass. It's true that the NT opener might have 5 rather than 6 diamonds, but that can happen after a 2D opening as well. The main difference is that your auction implies more points from doubler (at his second double) because when he doubled 3D he had heard you pass his earlier double. If he were at the lower end of what it takes to double 2D-P-3D, he could just pass it out since you failed to act over 1N-P-P-X-2D. Anyway, the opponents are having a preemptive auction in diamonds and the usual agreement is that doubling in such an auction is for take-out. I see no reason why this should change simply because they began with a flaky 1NT.

I see this as another opportunity to take advantage of the opponents unusual agreements. Had the auction gone 2D-P-3D-X-P, I would settle for 3H. Here, partner has had the opportunity to show extra strength.

K

[Echognome]

Some of this is down to partnership agreement of course. Suppose we are playing penalty doubles of 1NT and subsequent actions are on the agreement that partner will bid if weak, so that passes are forcing.

Then (1NT) - X - (2♣) - ?

Pass = forcing (like a takeout double)
X = penalty
Bid = Weak no interest in penalty

Here it is slightly different as opener has rescued himself (has he psyched?). If we use the above agreements, then pass is forcing and double by me would be penalty. My initial pass perfectly describes my hand.

(1NT) - P - (P) - X
(2♦) - P - (P) - ?

Supposing your pass showed your inability to penalise, partner can now double for penalty or bid a suit if he feels that penalizing 2♦ will not be profitable.

So the auction at hand is equivalent to:

(1NT) - X - (2♣) - P
(3♣) - ?

If double would be penalty had opener passed, would it not still be penalty now? I'm not saying that the auction makes a whole lot of sense, but it's important that you and your partner agree so that each other knows what's going on.

[bearmum]

helene_t, on Jun 28 2005, 01:50 AM, said:

Cross-IMPs tournament at BBO. Your pick-up partner is an "expert" who plays reasonably well but has some deviating ideas about bidding (he annouced to play some mixture of Precision and Roman Club. And "Power Doubles" but I can't tell you what exactly that means and in what situations PD apply).

At red vs white, you get ♠xxxx ♥KJxx ♦x ♣xxxx. RHO deals and opens 1NT (9-11) in first seat.

1N-p-p-X
2♦-p-3♦-X
p - ?

I voted (as a joke) for "fake a heart attack or something" BUT in real life
1. when I read pard's profile I probably would have preferred NOT to play with him (but maybe it's an INDY and I had no choice?)
2. assuming that I am stuck for bid I will choose 4♦ and hope he has a BIG (like 18+) hand with both majors and we somehow get to the right contract

[fifee]

P_Marlowe, on Jun 27 2005, 09:24 AM, said:

mcphee, on Jun 27 2005, 09:17 AM, said:

I think 4D is standout here. I expect to make 4 of a major. I also expect the opps to have a 9 or 10 card D fit. It would be hard for me to appreciate this was anything but take out with a good hand.

Of course.

But 4D may probelle you past the 4
level faster than you may blink.

You may survive the 4 level, but not the
5 level.

Marlowe

If you have ♠xxxx ♥KJxx ♦x ♣xxxx, and opps have 9 or 10 card diamond fit, then you partner must have 2 or 3 diamonds.

What else can he have to double again? Lots of controls and tolerance for the other 3 suits? My point is this: if partner has 2 or 3 diamonds and is doubling a 2nd time in immediate position over 3♦, he must have a rock crusher and is probably thinking penalty double or one of those - do something intelligent doubles.

He will love your stiff ♦ ! Since we are vul and they are nv, I would venture 4♦ asking pd to bid his best major. Since I had not moved over 2♦, I am sure partner would not take this for a slam try.