[finally17]

Ok, I'll make my first post of a hand ever, cause I have a variety of questions. Playing a standard 2/1 you get dealt, in first seat:

Scoring: IMP

---

First off, is anyone so aggressive with 6-5 that they open this?

Secondly, once you're forced to pass, and it continues (from the beginning):

pass-(pass)-1♥-(pass)
1♠-(pass)-pass-(x)-

What's your plan?

[Cascade]

We open these but I don't play 2/1.

Pass is ok too. I would definitely open if the vulnerability was favourable.

Your bid now will depend on what partner will expect.

2♣ is fine unless you think partner will think you have long clubs and only four spades.

3♣ is possible too.

I don't want to redouble as it makes it too easy for the opponents to guage there level of fit.

Maybe 3♠ is fine too.

[benlessard]

3C make sense. IMHO partner cannot pass 1S without 3S so from my point of view game is possible maybe even likely, so i want to wake-up partner. XX might work but LHO can find an annoying bid like 3D.

The only drawback is that you need to be sure 3C doesnt show a weak 4??7

[whereagles]

3♣ should be right on target. Pard can't have good hearts because he'd probably have rebid 2♥ in that case. So there must be some spade or club support in his hand.

[P_Marlowe]

3C.

You have a nice hand, but depending on partnership
style, the 1H bid may have been a joke, give partner
the chance to check out.

With kind regards
Marlowe

PS: And yes, pass is fine, an alternative is 2S, but you
need to discuss this with partner, it is not a common
approach.

[raduv]

In my current partnership I would open (1♠) no matter the colors.

Now, I would redouble trying to penalize 2♣ if they bid it or allow partner to penalize diamonds is he can.

If it comes 2♦ - P - P back, I'll try 2♠.

[Cascade]

raduv, on Feb 20 2008, 01:09 AM, said:

In my current partnership I would open (1♠) no matter the colors.

Now, I would redouble trying to penalize 2♣ if they bid it or allow partner to penalize diamonds is he can.

If it comes 2♦ - P - P back, I'll try 2♠.

I am not going to penalize 2♣ partner had some tolerance for spades by passing 1♠ (at least three cards, maybe exactly three cards as I would expect a raise with almost all hands with four) unless he had an out and out psychic opening bid.

Penalizing a low level opening with a known side 9-card fit is unlikely to pay even when 2♣ doubled is not game.

[pclayton]

Pass is fine. Zarrasians will open this.

I guess I redouble here. I really want to bid 3♠, but thats a little kooky. I'm not bidding any number of clubs. That sounds like a 4-5 or a 4-6 to me and thats not what I want to convey.

[kenrexford]

I would open this with better shape.

Having passed, I would like on this hand to use a tool a partner of mine likes. P-P-1♥-P-2♠ shows a player with spades and a minor, not a fit-jump. I like fit-jumps usually, but this hand works better for partner's pet gadget.

Using normal stuff, I'd rebid 2♠. With 5206 pattern, I'd bid 3♣ now.

[cherdano]

pclayton, on Feb 19 2008, 12:52 PM, said:

I'm not bidding any number of clubs. That sounds like a 4-5 or a 4-6 to me and thats not what I want to convey.

I agree with that.

[gnasher]

cherdano, on Feb 19 2008, 08:29 PM, said:

pclayton, on Feb 19 2008, 12:52 PM, said:

I'm not bidding any number of clubs. That sounds like a 4-5 or a 4-6 to me and thats not what I want to convey.

I agree with that.

Me too.

[kenrexford]

Who bids 3♣ to play here?

LHO has just announced the minors, and we want to step in at the three-level in clubs? Even with six of them, so what?

3♣, if bid, would seem to be a game try in spades and NOT a change of contract.

[Echognome]

kenrexford, on Feb 19 2008, 01:08 PM, said:

LHO has just announced the minors, and we want to step in at the three-level in clubs? Even with six of them, so what?

Why has LHO announced the minors? Isn't he announcing a hand that would have made a penalty double of 1♥?

[gnasher]

kenrexford, on Feb 19 2008, 10:08 PM, said:

Who bids 3♣ to play here?

LHO has just announced the minors, and we want to step in at the three-level in clubs? Even with six of them, so what?

3♣, if bid, would seem to be a game try in spades and NOT a change of contract.

I don't think it's to play in the sense of being preemptive. I was picturing something like Axxx xx x KQ10xxx. It would be deeply depressing never to be able to bid clubs on this hand.

Having said that, I don't have much experience of this sort of auction - thankfully, no one I play with makes a habit of passing one-level responses.

I wouldn't be greatly concerned about RHO's supposed length in the minors. A protective double here has to cover a wide range of shapes and strengths.

[finally17]

gnasher, on Feb 19 2008, 03:58 PM, said:

cherdano, on Feb 19 2008, 08:29 PM, said:

pclayton, on Feb 19 2008, 12:52 PM, said:

I'm not bidding any number of clubs. That sounds like a 4-5 or a 4-6 to me and thats not what I want to convey.

I agree with that.

Me too.

This and that partner likely had exactly 3♠s and a rag of a hand was what I decided at the table...

I thought about redoubling, but I don't have a ton of defense if opps can wake up and start bidding ♦s and outbid me to a good sac (4♦ over 3♠ for instance, and they might easily even make this). So I decided I didn't want them to have too easy a time discovering their fit.

That left a decision between 2♠ and 3♠. I chose 2 but didn't feel strongly about it. RHO bid 3♦ and it passed back to me to bid and play 3♠. Never did get a peep out of partner. Of course, she came down with KJx in both the blacks (it wasn't nearly as raggish as it could have been: KJx K98xx Qx KJx) and with both Qs slotted 5 was a cinch.

Roughly half the field was in 2/3 and half in 4 so apparently I was not the only one who couldn't decide where to go. The most common action was opening 2♠, which I am not a fan of.

[Apollo81]

Hate to post after the fact but I think that if you can trust P to have 3 spades, a 4♠ bid stands out. Then again I'm not used to playing opposite people who psych or pass on a doubleton which I see ppl do also, so I dunno. But bidding only 2♠ seems really, really wrong to me even if you redoubled first.

[mike777]

finally17, on Feb 19 2008, 12:50 AM, said:

Ok, I'll make my first post of a hand ever, cause I have a variety of questions. Playing a standard 2/1 you get dealt, in first seat:

Scoring: IMP

---

First off, is anyone so aggressive with 6-5 that they open this?

Secondly, once you're forced to pass, and it continues (from the beginning):

pass-(pass)-1♥-(pass)
1♠-(pass)-pass-(x)-

What's your plan?

1) Yes, in the opening lite style I play with few partners, easy system one spade bid in my 2/1 style.
2) If opening sound I prefer to open 2s here but if forced to pass now xx seems best.

[gnasher]

finally17, on Feb 19 2008, 10:27 PM, said:

Of course, she came down with KJx in both the blacks (it wasn't nearly as raggish as it could have been: KJx K98xx Qx KJx)

I don't understand the rationale for passing 1S with this sort of hand. Your partner had a normal opening bid, and an easy, descriptive rebid of 1NT. Why couldn't she just bid her hand instead of trying to guess what the right contract was?

[finally17]

Apollo81, on Feb 19 2008, 04:37 PM, said:

Hate to post after the fact but I think that if you can trust P to have 3 spades, a 4♠ bid stands out. Then again I'm not used to playing opposite people who psych or pass on a doubleton which I see ppl do also, so I dunno. But bidding only 2♠ seems really, really wrong to me even if you redoubled first.

I didn't have a good sense of how much of a pile of partner's hand might be...if she opened some of the third seat hands I'll open, I don't want to punish her for it...I was probably being very pessimistic though.