Do you bid 1♠ or 1♥ with this hand?
I bid 1♠ in the thought that if they compete I can show ♥ the next round without reversing. However when my partner instead responded 1 nt(assuming this is the 16-18 range in balance seat), I rebid ♥. This got him all excited and we ended up in an unmakable heart game.
He said 2♥ showed 5-5 and was game forcing.
So I have 2 questions.
1. Is 1♠ correct or should I show the lower?
2. Does the rebid of 2♥ indeed show 5-5 and is gf, if so and the answer to 1 was ♠, I should just pass 1nt?
Thanks.