dreadful imp pairs evening, hand 3

Discussion:

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a***@yahoo.co.uk

2017-04-23 18:18:58 UTC

This was an odd hand where partner had a rush of blood to the head (I was North).

no-one vuln:

843
92
5
KQJ9873
Q52 KJT6
AKJT76 Q853
A T974
AT2 4
A97
4
KQJ8632
65

N E S W
3C P P X
P 3H P 4H
P P 5D X
AP

This was four off for -800. Not great. EW have a heart slam on but of course no-one is bidding it.

Virtually impossible to recover from these three boards (amongst others), which contributed to the rather large minus final score and third from bottom.

p***@gmail.com

2017-04-25 19:27:20 UTC

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Post by a***@yahoo.co.uk
This was an odd hand where partner had a rush of blood to the head (I was North).
843
92
5
KQJ9873
Q52 KJT6
AKJT76 Q853
A T974
AT2 4
A97
4
KQJ8632
65
N E S W
3C P P X
P 3H P 4H
P P 5D X
AP
This was four off for -800. Not great. EW have a heart slam on but of course no-one is bidding it.
Virtually impossible to recover from these three boards (amongst others), which contributed to the rather large minus final score and third from bottom.

Bad move by South. I see a lot of stuff like this. Make 'em guess, then guess sacrifice? Gross. Showing that diamond suit is a bad idea: it will help them more than it will partner. They now know that diamond shortness is worth a lot. You KNOW there is a club fit, so messing with D is just stupid. Much better is

N E S W
3C P 5C

Partner has got an entry into the board and might very well be able to set up that diamond suit. Let's see 'em get out of that one.

a***@yahoo.co.uk

2017-04-25 22:27:04 UTC

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Post by p***@gmail.com

Bad move by South. I see a lot of stuff like this. Make 'em guess, then guess sacrifice? Gross. Showing that diamond suit is a bad idea: it will help them more than it will partner. They now know that diamond shortness is worth a lot. You KNOW there is a club fit, so messing with D is just stupid. Much better is
N E S W
3C P 5C
Partner has got an entry into the board and might very well be able to set up that diamond suit. Let's see 'em get out of that one.

I can see merit in your immediate raise to 5C, that certainly puts them to the test. Unfortunately on this hand as long as they don't pass it out they can't get it wrong. 5C is three or four off (if EW can knock the SA out before Souths diamonds are set up for discards) and 5H makes with an overtrick. On this hand it is best to stay silent and accept it is not our hand.

If the heart slam is commonly found, -800 is a good result. This is one of the things I find difficult, judging what the par contract in the room is likely to be and using this to decide whether or not to bid on. How do you judge when you are playing in a club with a large variance in standard?

Co Wiersma

2017-04-26 01:25:58 UTC

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Post by a***@yahoo.co.uk

Post by p***@gmail.com

Bad move by South. I see a lot of stuff like this. Make 'em guess, then guess sacrifice? Gross. Showing that diamond suit is a bad idea: it will help them more than it will partner. They now know that diamond shortness is worth a lot. You KNOW there is a club fit, so messing with D is just stupid. Much better is
N E S W
3C P 5C
Partner has got an entry into the board and might very well be able to set up that diamond suit. Let's see 'em get out of that one.

I can see merit in your immediate raise to 5C, that certainly puts them to the test. Unfortunately on this hand as long as they don't pass it out they can't get it wrong. 5C is three or four off (if EW can knock the SA out before Souths diamonds are set up for discards) and 5H makes with an overtrick. On this hand it is best to stay silent and accept it is not our hand.
If the heart slam is commonly found, -800 is a good result. This is one of the things I find difficult, judging what the par contract in the room is likely to be and using this to decide whether or not to bid on. How do you judge when you are playing in a club with a large variance in standard?

Its guessing.

Being North, I would either pass or bid 3D
And if I pass the first time, I would surely pass the second time.

Co Wiersma

Lorne Anderson

2017-04-26 10:52:16 UTC

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I can see 5 actions by S on round 1 of the auction that could be right -
pass, 3D, 4C, 5C or even a 3N psyche but to pass twice and then guess to
bid 5D after the oppo have had 3 rounds of bidding to work out what to
do is completely absurd. If he thinks 5D is right bid it immediately
which is merely poor judgement rather than being completely absurd.

Personally I would bid 5C which I know does not work here but so be it.

As for the actual auction West should bid 4C over 3H to make it clear he
has a slam suitable hand rather than just game values. Whether East
goes for it with his aceless 6 count is another matter but the singleton
club is huge and the spade K probably very good and he is not much short
of an initial 4H so it is worth thinking about.

a***@yahoo.co.uk

2017-04-26 21:34:19 UTC

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Post by Lorne Anderson

I can see 5 actions by S on round 1 of the auction that could be right -
pass, 3D, 4C, 5C or even a 3N psyche but to pass twice and then guess to
bid 5D after the oppo have had 3 rounds of bidding to work out what to
do is completely absurd. If he thinks 5D is right bid it immediately
which is merely poor judgement rather than being completely absurd.
Personally I would bid 5C which I know does not work here but so be it.
As for the actual auction West should bid 4C over 3H to make it clear he
has a slam suitable hand rather than just game values. Whether East
goes for it with his aceless 6 count is another matter but the singleton
club is huge and the spade K probably very good and he is not much short
of an initial 4H so it is worth thinking about.

I like your suggestion of 4C by West. East can then work out they are facing a huge hand and are covering at least two losers, plus a shortage in clubs and likely little wastage in clubs, so a slam is worth looking for. It does require them to see beyond the "I have only 6 HCP" mentality, so at my local club, it is possible the best players in the room will find 6H after the pre-empt, but I doubt the majority will.

Sandy Barnes

2017-04-30 19:36:26 UTC

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I like 3D, followed by 4C if I have the chance. I see no defense without a diamond lead early.