nikos59, on Sep 16 2004, 10:07 AM, said:
But you bid it because everyone bids it, so your partner won't scold you if passing turns out bad
That's a heck of a reason to bid!
In some of the fields I play in, if I'm dealt Qxxx, Qxx, Kxx, Jxx and my partner opens 1NT (15-17), I suspect the field will bid 2NT. (Not a good field mind you, but the field I'm in.) Does that mean I should bid it - because everybody else does?
IMO, the 2NT bid is a joke and if partner berates me for passing, that's all the more reason to find a new partner that's more interested in good bridge than in results. Note that I would pass even though I expect my partner to outplay the field. (Heck, a few brave souls might pass 1NT and I want her +120 to beat their +90's.)
I have some small sympathy for your point of view though. As I've pointed out in these pages below, it doesn't matter if you can keep your head. If you expect to keep playing with this partner, and accept that this is something you can't change, maybe it's better to make the inferior 'field' bid to keep partner who might also think like the field from thinking you're having a bad day which might make him hog hands or shoot to make up for your alleged incompetence. (BTW if partner does that, you should seriously consider a new partner - but if this partner is your spouse, or the only other 'decent' player in your small town, or whatever, sometimes you are just stuck.)
I tend to lead fourth best - as opposed to the best suit, the second best suit, or the third best suit for our side