[awm]

Against one of the best pairs at the local club, you pick up the following hand:

Scoring: MP

---

LHO is dealer. The auction starts:

1♣(1) - Pass - 1♦(2) - 2♦(3)
3♣ - 3♦ - Pass - ???

(1) "Could be short;" basically standard openings except 1♦ shows 5+, so anything without 5 cards in a non-clubs suit is opening 1♣.
(2) Artificial; no 5-card major. Otherwise could be any hand (but 1♣ is not forcing).
(3) Your first call of the auction, a natural overcall in diamonds. Feel free to disagree.

Now what? Partner's 3♦ is competitive, should show some values but it's not a limit raise or anything like that.

[Fluffy]

LHO has 10-11, partner is 5-7 and RHO has 5-7 also.

Best hand for partner with ♠Q, ♦Q 4th and ♣K doesn't make any game.

pass looks best.

[skjaeran]

Jlall, on Jul 2 2007, 10:01 PM, said:

I would try 3H, my hand is too good to give up on game. I plan on passing 4H and shooting out the moysian. If X of 1D is takeout of clubs I would bid that, if it's not I like 2D.

Agree

[jdonn]

Why not bid 1NT natural on our first turn? I don't think that should need a club stopper since the opening bid is 1+ clubs. At this point I prefer 3♥ only marginally over pass, I think either could just be right.

[foo]

I hate this auction thus far. I agree with Justin that Game is still very much a possibility, but where? If neither pd nor I has any ♣ stops, 5♦ looks like it could be quite a stretch even opposite my 6 loser =3352 18 count. Advancer needs 4 cover cards for Us to make 5♦.

I fnd it ironic that Josh, who criticized a NT call by me in a different competitive auction because my hand did not have a stop of Opener's suit, is now advocating a NT call w/o a stop in Opener's suit...

I feel endplayed into either passing or bidding 3♥ or 4♦, and I do not like my choices.

This is MPs, not Red @ IMPs. I think I'd end up being a chicken and passing.
...and hating it.

My preferred choice would be to start with X.

[hrothgar]

I don't like a (natural) 1NT overcall on this hand assuming this is even available in the partnership in question.

I think that the hand is a bit too strong. Admitted, the upper range for a NT overcall is a bit stronger than a strong NT opening. Even so, this is a phenomenal 18 count. All the Aces and Kings scream suit play. Throw in the fact that you don't have a Club stopper and I'd be unwilling to call 1NT at the table.

[skjaeran]

hrothgar, on Jul 2 2007, 10:42 PM, said:

I don't like a (natural) 1NT overcall on this hand assuming this is even available in the partnership in question.

I think that the hand is a bit too strong. Admitted, the upper range for a NT overcall is a bit stronger than a strong NT opening. Even so, this is a phenomenal 18 count. All the Aces and Kings scream suit play. Throw in the fact that you don't have a Club stopper and I'd be unwilling to call 1NT at the table.

Agree. I'd upgrade this hand to 19, which is too strong for a 1NT overcall for me. Except for that, I agree that 1NT doesn't have to promise a ♣ stopper here.

[jdonn]

Lol when was that Foo? I have no memory of that at all but I have two guesses. One is that your hand was notably worse than this, and the other is that the opening bid, unlike here, promised more than 1 card. If you are such a fan anyway of making this 1NT bid without a stopper in their "suit" then wouldn't this hand where the suit hasn't even been promised and we have plenty of values be an obvious candidate?

The problem with 2♦ here to me is it is going to be passed out when we have game unless partner has diamond support. When he is any balanced hand with 2 diamonds like 4324 etc. and say an 8 count we miss 3NT with our 2♦ bid. Of course it could turn out to be a better partscore but I think that aspect of the decision is a bit random, meaning sometimes 1NT is better sometimes 2♦ is better.

[jdonn]

hrothgar, on Jul 2 2007, 03:42 PM, said:

I don't like a (natural) 1NT overcall on this hand assuming this is even available in the partnership in question.

I think that the hand is a bit too strong. Admitted, the upper range for a NT overcall is a bit stronger than a strong NT opening. Even so, this is a phenomenal 18 count. All the Aces and Kings scream suit play. Throw in the fact that you don't have a Club stopper and I'd be unwilling to call 1NT at the table.

The upper range for a 1NT overcall is sandwich seat should be even stronger still than directly over an opening bid. We are very exposed to being doubled here.

As for the hand being good for suit play, we still get to the 5-3 major suit fit after 1NT (in fact much more easily than after 2♦ if partner is weak). So I might miss a brilliant diamond contract, oh well.

[joshs]

I think x is equivalent to a x of a precision 1D bid, or of a could be short 1C bid, values and the majors (ambiguous as to minors) or a big hand. Of course, there is some risk that partner might think you have diamonds, but wait, you have that also!

[kenrexford]

jdonn, on Jul 2 2007, 03:08 PM, said:

Why not bid 1NT natural on our first turn? I don't think that should need a club stopper since the opening bid is 1+ clubs. At this point I prefer 3♥ only marginally over pass, I think either could just be right.

Ditto that.

I'd add that having played somewhat similar 1♣ openings, you do not need a club stopper. If a club stopper is a problem, check on that later.

[joshs]

What Adam should have also said is that his partner looked pretty sleepy, so probably would not have understand what is going on anyway....

[Double !]

I am unclear why a double of 1 ♦, supposedly an artificialish bid, should not be takeout of clubs, the only natural (or seminatural) bid that has been made so far? Please, enlighten me.

DHL

[Robert]

Hi everyone

I play that (1M)-p-(1NT)-X is a takeout double of the suit opened.

(1m)-p-(1NT)-X is also a takeout double of the suit opened.

The (1C)-p-(1D) denying a five card suit is something fairly close to 1C-1NT so I would guess to use the same type meaning for a double.

Double ! and I tend to agree on the meaning of double in this auction.

Regards,
Robert

[whereagles]

jdonn, on Jul 2 2007, 08:08 PM, said:

Why not bid 1NT natural on our first turn? I don't think that should need a club stopper since the opening bid is 1+ clubs.

I don't think 2♦ is what caused the problem. If something, it actually helped since it brought pard into the pic. If you had bid 1NT, it might have gone

1♣ pass 1♦ 1NT
3♣ pass pass ??

or

1♣ pass 1♦ 1NT
3♣ dbl pass ??

I prefer to take my chances in the current auction I'll pass pard's 3♦ since we'll have at most one stopper and not enough quick tricks.

[han]

I think 2D is a terrible call, I prefer double and 1NT. Now I would bid 3H.

[awm]

I passed at the table, thinking that 3NT is not likely to make even if I find partner with the ♦Q plus a club stopper, as we simply don't have enough tricks and the clubs are going to run eventually. While this was true enough, it turns out we have a major suit fit and game, and 3♦ making 4 didn't score very well. Partner's hand:

♠AQ
♥98xxxx
♦J9x
♣xx

The heart king is offside but ten tricks in hearts are relatively straightforward. The diamond queen is falling doubleton as well (you don't need this in 4♥ of course, but it's the reason for the overtrick in 3♦).

[foo]

Starting with X should get you to 4♥