[AL78]

---

I was North. We let this through when partner failed to respond to my signals for a spade but two down isn't any better when all but one of the field is allowed to play in 3♦ and one plays in 4♦=. It is very hard to do well when you get opponents doing unique actions against you that work.

[Cyberyeti]

AL78, on 2023-March-03, 05:27, said:

I was North. We let this through when partner failed to respond to my signals for a spade but two down isn't any better when all but one of the field is allowed to play in 3♦ and one plays in 4♦=. It is very hard to do well when you get opponents doing unique actions against you that work.

You've already lost the chance of 2 down when you didn't overtake K♦ and play 2 more.

I think I bid 2♠ rather than 3♦, this is more often 4 chunky spades and 6+ diamonds than a 5 card suit

[AL78]

Cyberyeti, on 2023-March-03, 06:43, said:

You've already lost the chance of 2 down when you didn't overtake K♦ and play 2 more.

I think I bid 2♠ rather than 3♦, this is more often 4 chunky spades and 6+ diamonds than a 5 card suit

I did overtake the king and played two more. On the third round I played the ♦9 to signal for a spade return, partner didn't oblige. When I had a chance to discard I threw the ♠K, partner still didn't oblige when she was in with the heart ace. Declarer eventually threw a spade loser on a club.

[Cyberyeti]

AL78, on 2023-March-03, 07:08, said:

I did overtake the king and played two more. On the third round I played the ♦9 to signal for a spade return, partner didn't oblige. When I had a chance to discard I threw the ♠K, partner still didn't oblige when she was in with the heart ace. Declarer eventually threw a spade loser on a club.

OK, sounded like you'd signalled initially on the ♦K rather than overtaken. Get a better partner, but if you'd bid 2♠ would have been impossible to ignore.

It's too late once they miss the first chance, once they win the ♥A on a spade switch declarer can just draw 2 more trumps and play 4 clubs ditching the spade.

[helene_t]

Always easy with open cards, but maybe partner can reason that you must have some serious stuff when you bid 3♦ vulnerable opposite a partner who could have nothing (or a trap pass in hearts).

Then again, they may reason that you have an offensive hand since you bid 3♦ instead of double, and it's not so easy to bid 4♦ on a singleton.

In Dutch, we call it a "frustration double" when you double because you are frustrated about having lost the partscore battle, and maybe South should do that at matchpoints. Not so obvious at this vulnerability where you probably need to take it two off for a double to make a difference.

Hrothgar from this forum likes to open 5♦ with the North hand, and on a very good day opps will let you make it. But I won't recommend that strategy.

So it's difficult. You have pushed them above the LOTT level on a hand where they have the majority of HCPs, so if you keep doing that you will be OK in the long run.

[AL78]

Cyberyeti, on 2023-March-03, 07:46, said:

OK, sounded like you'd signalled initially on the ♦K rather than overtaken. Get a better partner, but if you'd bid 2♠ would have been impossible to ignore.

It's too late once they miss the first chance, once they win the ♥A on a spade switch declarer can just draw 2 more trumps and play 4 clubs ditching the spade.

Yes, partner needs to play a spade after ruffing the third round of diamonds or else we don't get a spade trick. On the bidding, I did consider bidding spades instead of diamonds but the large difference between the suit lengths discouraged me. It flashed through my mind to bid 3♠ over 3♥ but the vulnerability and discipline took over.

[AL78]

helene_t, on 2023-March-03, 08:05, said:

In Dutch, we call it a "frustration double" when you double because you are frustrated about having lost the partscore battle, and maybe South should do that at matchpoints. Not so obvious at this vulnerability where you probably need to take it two off for a double to make a difference.

I've done "frustration doubles" before and it nearly always ends up with putting a doubled into game score into the BridgeMate, so I've eased off doing that now. Same thing would have happened here given partner is inexperienced so didn't appreciate my high diamond spot for her to ruff was signalling for a spade return. I think to get it two down we have to find a different defence plan (be ultra passive and let the tricks come to us I think), as giving partner a ruff ultimately helps declarer when partner is ruffing a loser with a winner, and I think we can only get it one down after the way we started. I didn't expect partner to have ATxx in hearts.

[LBengtsson]

Always easier making a comment seeing all four hands, but after North bids 3♦ opposite a doubly-passed partner at red/white, South must be worth 4♦ 99.9% of the time. The ♦K and ♥A are big cards, and partner should have cards/shortages in ♣/♠ to be able to bid at the three level like this. If the opps. then bid 4♥ I will X then, but not before. I am not frustrated here, just glad that I can finally show with a bid of 4♦ my meager but useful values.

[akwoo]

AL78, on 2023-March-03, 05:27, said:

I was North. We let this through when partner failed to respond to my signals for a spade but two down isn't any better when all but one of the field is allowed to play in 3♦ and one plays in 4♦=. It is very hard to do well when you get opponents doing unique actions against you that work.

I think you chalk this up to a weak partner - competitive bidding and defense are the two things that take the most aptitude experience to get right.

You have a partner who knows to double 3H and get down 2, and you get a top for +300.

[dokoko]

AL78, on 2023-March-03, 05:27, said:

I was North. We let this through when partner failed to respond to my signals for a spade but two down isn't any better when all but one of the field is allowed to play in 3♦ and one plays in 4♦=. It is very hard to do well when you get opponents doing unique actions against you that work.

After your free 3♦ bid partner has a penalty double of 3♥. As to the defense, you should overtake ♦K and switch to ♠K. You don't have a vulnerable holding in either of the pointed suits, so instead of signaling and hope partner understands you should take over. If you get both of those right, you will be rewarded by 300.

[Cyberyeti]

dokoko, on 2023-March-05, 04:22, said:

After your free 3♦ bid partner has a penalty double of 3♥. As to the defense, you should overtake ♦K and switch to ♠K. You don't have a vulnerable holding in either of the pointed suits, so instead of signaling and hope partner understands you should take over. If you get both of those right, you will be rewarded by 300.

No you won't, you'll be rewarded with 100, for 300 you have to give partner a ruff AND a trump promotion which you can't do unless you give the ruff immediately and the trump promotion when you get in with a spade.