TGIF May 2012: Scores
| 1. IMPs. Both vul.
|
A K 9 4
K J 9 8 6
K 5 4
Q
|
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| |
|
Pass
|
Pass
|
1
| ? |
Your call?
| Bid | Votes | Award
|
|
1
| 15
| 100
|
|
2
| 2
| 60
|
|
Dbl
| 2
| 50
|
|
1NT
| 0
| 30
|
|
Moderator: The panel emphatically believes that a simple overcall of 1 is the right bid on this hand. They expect an opportunity to show the 4-card spade suit when the auction comes back around.
Betty Ann Kennedy: 2. If partner has 2-2 or 3-3 in the majors, he'll bid up the line. I have enough high-card points to compensate for having only four spades.
Jeff Meckstroth: 1. It might be nice to double first to get the spades in play, but my hand isn't good enough to bid hearts freely at a high level.
Steve Robinson: Dbl. This hand is almost good enough to bid 2 anyway, so I double and correct to 2. I don't want to lose the 4-4 spade fit.
Craig T. Wilson: 2. Although there are only four spades, they're good ones.
Martin Henneberger: 1. A routine 1 bid. 1 level overcalls are hands with 5-18hcp that are not strong enough to double then bid again. This is what I have. If I start with double, when pard picks clubs I will have to grossly overbid my hand.
Larry Meyer: 1. Bid my 5-card suit first.
Eugene Chan: 1. Pretend the Q is a deuce and all I have is a 1 overcall.
Stuart Carr: 1. I may reverse later, although I'm a little light. Michael's may work out better.
Andrew Krywaniuk: 1. Don't over-think the question. Just make your normal bid.
Laurence Betts: 1. Is this a joke?
Aidan Ballantyne: 1. Haven't necessarily lost the spade suit.
Mike Roberts: Dbl. Just enough.
David Gordon: 1. Hand is not good enough to dbl and then bid so I can only make an overcall.
Amiram Millet: 1. Will bid 2 over 2 by West.
John Gillespie: 1. Nothing else occurs to me.
Brian Zietman: 1. If partner supports hearts or bids spades, we are in business. If he bids clubs then we are in NT.
Plarq Liu: 1. Will find 4-4 spade fit later.
Richmond Williams: 1. You can bid spades later or keep them hidden and show your strength later as well.
Beverley Candlish: 2. An overcall of 1 is non forcing by an unpassed hand. We may miss a spade fit if West comes into the bidding.
Kf Tung: 1. Start with a mild 1. Safe and retain all options to explore for game. On the other end, leave room for them to bid 4 and you can double.
|
| 2. IMPs. None vul.
| |
K 5
A J 9 8 7 5 4 3
A K 2
---
|
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| |
|
|
|
Pass
|
1
| |
|
2
|
Dbl
|
4
| ? |
Your call?
| Bid | Votes | Award
|
|
4
| 9
| 100
|
|
5
| 5
| 80
|
|
6
| 3
| 70
|
|
5
| 2
| 60
|
|
Moderator: While 4 may seem tame on this offensive powerhouse, it is the bid of choice for almost half of the panel.
August Boehm: 5. A general slam try, not club specific with so little prior description.
Larry Cohen: 6. A stab in the dark, but I can't think of any scientific action to get partner to realize that A Q x x along with two low hearts is enough for slam.
Mike Lawrence: 5. Partner's two expected bids will be 5 some of the time with a few 5 in there. I will bid 5 over 5 and 6 over 5 or 5.
The Sutherlins: 4. Slam may be on but we will need a boost from partner to get there. If we double or cuebid, and partner bids spades, what do we do?
Stephen Vincent: 6. Just bidding what I think will make. If you try the scientific approach and start cue-bidding partner may get over-imaginative.
Martin Henneberger: 4. I have a good hand, however I cannot bid more than 4 since that could be too high already on a bad day.
Larry Meyer: 4. Even if pard has as little as Qx in both majors, 4 will have good play.
Eugene Chan: 4. Not perfect, but bidding what you can make is never wrong.
Andrew Krywaniuk: 4. Slam depends on partner having 2 or more of A, K, and Q. With no room to explore it is best to stay low.
Laurence Betts: 5. 6 in real life but pragmatism is frowned on in a bidding contest.
Aidan Ballantyne: 4. Other choice is to shoot 6 but pard could be short in hearts. Not really any choice but to underbid or overbid.
Julien Levesque: 5. Exclusion key card.
David Gordon: 4. Nice hand but if partner does not have at least K x then 4 is enough.
Amiram Millet: 4. A great suit with 9 playing tricks.
Joel Forssell: 5. Voidwood.
John Gillespie: 5. I'll blast a slam but 6 may be the right one.
Brian Zietman: 4. If I double then partner will never know that I have an 8 card suit.
Plarq Liu: 5. Exclusive Blackwood, right?
Beverley Candlish: 4. North's dbl of 2 shows at least 10 HCPs. My best option to is bid 4, and hope that my partner takes it as forcing and showing first round control. I am looking for a slam. I need to know the strength of her hearts.
Kf Tung: 5. You show a strong invitation for slam, and pard will cooperate with an Ace and a working Queen.
Bob Todd: 4. Tough hand - I will cue 5 over the expected 5.
|
| 3. IMPs. N-S vul.
| |
A K Q
K J 9 7 6
K J 9 8
10
|
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| |
|
|
Pass
|
1
|
Pass
| |
|
1NT
|
Pass
|
Pass
| ? |
Do you agree with South's initial pass?
| | Votes | Award
|
|
Yes
| 11
| 50
|
|
No
| 8
| 45
|
Your call?
| Bid | Votes | Award
|
|
Dbl
| 16
| 50
|
|
Pass
| 3
| 30
|
|
Moderator: Asked if they would initially pass with this hand, the panel is split right down the middle. Part 2 of the problem almost reunites the two factions with a near unanimous double.
Steve Weinstein: Dbl. Now that I am sitting in for the mad trapper, I must execute his plan and double.
Kerri Sanborn: Pass. It is unlikely that we have a meaningful plus score and the risks of a disaster our way are high. It will be hard to guarantee a decent fit anywhere. It is also difficult to imagine partner passing a penalty double for more than +100.
Mel Colchamiro: Dbl. Double shows a good hand with hearts and is penalty oriented. If partner gives me 2, I'll have to decide what to do. But maybe it won't come to that.
Craig T. Wilson: Dbl. If partner bids clubs, I'll run to 2NT.
Martin Henneberger: Pass. I do not agree with the original pass as now I've endplayed myself. I much prefer a 1NT overcall at first bid so pard can decide if we should be competing here. Yes I see my singleton club...yadda ..yadda.
Larry Meyer: Pass. Yes because the hand is a misfit / Pass because double would be for takeout.
Eugene Chan: Dbl. An initial 1NT gets this hand off your chest. Now it is impossible to effectively back into the auction.
Yue Su: Pass. I would bid 1NT over 1.
Andrew Krywaniuk: Dbl. I'm not 100% sure we can beat this, but double might at least provoke a heart lead.
Laurence Betts: Dbl. One for the oldtimers.
Aidan Ballantyne: Pass. I'd rather defend. Double now is ambiguous but even if pard reads it as penalties, I'm not sure that it would go down. Points are even at best.
Bob Kuz: Dbl. Only because I play this as a trap pass.
Mike Roberts: Dbl. Wrong colours for a trap pass.
David Gordon: Dbl. If it is your style to pass initially then this dbl should advertise a heart stack. I would have offered up a 1NT overcall initially.
Amiram Millet: Dbl. Lead directing.
John Gillespie: Pass. Feels like a loss but I'm keeping the big one out of play.
Brian Zietman: Pass. Partner has very little so a competitive bid could work out expensive in IMPs. I prefer to let them go down quietly.
Plarq Liu: Dbl. Penalty.
Beverley Candlish: Dbl. I would not pass East's 1 bid. My hand is too strong. I would dbl and if North bids 2, I would bid NT. Any other bid I can tolerate. With South passing, I have no other option than to dbl and hope they don't have a solid club suit to run.
Kf Tung: Dbl. You have a strong hand with hearts. You will defeat 1NT if pard passes. If West runs to 2 (!) you will double again. Pard will be more likely to bid 2 than 2 if he holds a weak hand.
|
| 4. Matchpoints. None vul.
| |
K J 9
9 8 7 4
A J
A K 8 6
|
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| |
|
Pass
|
Pass
|
1
| ? |
Your call?
| Bid | Votes | Award
|
|
Dbl
| 8
| 100
|
|
Pass
| 6
| 90
|
|
1NT
| 5
| 80
|
|
Moderator: This problem generated a close vote for three reasonable strategies.
Allan Falk: Dbl. This is a terrible call, but Pass won't solve my problem and a later Dbl will suggest heart length and strength. It's better to show some values now (at the risk of being shut out) and hope that if partner offers diamonds, he'll have at least 5 of them.
Barry Rigal: 1NT. Failing to bid over a third-in-hand opening bid will doom you to a silly result --- although I admit I'm not guaranteed a sensible result by acting!
The Gordons: Pass. We cannot imagine an alternative with this hand.
Stephen Vincent: 1NT. My heart holding may constitute a half-stopper, albeit a rather tenuous one.
Martin Henneberger: Pass. A big myth in bridge is that pass says I have nothing. To the contrary it merely says I don't have a bid that describes what I hold, and I clearly don't here.
Larry Meyer: Pass. Too dangerous to bid a suit, NT, or double.
Eugene Chan: Dbl. Be prepared to pass partner's 2 advance. Pray. Pray! And then pray some more!!
Andrew Krywaniuk: Dbl. This comes down to a gut feeling. Pre-balancing with a double feels marginally better than passing and balancing later.
Aidan Ballantyne: Pass. No bid.
Mike Roberts: Pass. I don't mind 1NT, though...
David Gordon: 1NT. The heart length may save you.
Amiram Millet: Pass. Better than dbl or 1NT here.
John Gillespie: 1NT. I wouldn't do this with my regular pard who is a balancing machine.
Brian Zietman: 1NT. Not a very good heart stopper but I have to describe my hand. If I double, partner will inevitably bid diamonds and that would not be good for me.
Plarq Liu: Dbl. I'll pretend my diamonds are A J x.
Beverley Candlish: 1NT. I don't have the shape for a double.
Kf Tung: Pass. If West bids then there will be no problem. If West passes, pard will protect. If you end up defending 1, they will be playing a bad contract and you will be Average Plus.
|
| 5. IMPs. N-S vul.
| |
10 5 3
9 8 2
10 5
A K J 9 6
|
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| |
|
|
|
Pass
|
Pass
| |
|
2
|
Dbl
|
3
| ? |
Your call?
| Bid | Votes | Award
|
|
Dbl
| 9
| 100
|
|
4
| 5
| 90
|
|
Pass
| 5
| 80
|
|
5
| 0
| 40
|
|
Moderator: This common hand headache generated another 3-way split among the panelists. Whatever the description --- takeout, responsive or value-showing --- double is perhaps the most flexible call.
Jill Meyers: Dbl. I'm torn between doubling (denying a 4-card major and showing values) and passing.
Steve Robinson: Pass. If partner can't bid again, we should do well defending 3. The third-seat 2 bidder could have lots of strength. Passing will not stop us from getting to game.
Don Stack: 4. Partner has made a takeout double and we have all the requirements to bid: good values and a good 5-card suit. Bidding what is right under our nose is seldom a bad thing.
Martin Henneberger: Dbl. I was torn between pass and a responsive double. I like double for many reasons. 1) Pard could easlily have a 5 card major to dbl 2. 2) We could be cold for 3NT on certain layouts. 3) Pard may not be able to re-open when it's our hand.
Larry Meyer: Pass. I'm not bidding those clubs freely at the 4-level. With extras, pard can bid again.
Eugene Chan: 4. Partner asked me to bid and I am bidding! I love nebulous doubles but I cannot see any benefit to a responsive double in this case.
Andrew Krywaniuk: Pass. I suppose a responsive double could work, but I rather like our chances on defense.
Laurence Betts: Dbl. Responsive.
Aidan Ballantyne: Pass. Probably a partscore deal unless partner bids again. They pushed themselves to 3-level and did our job for us.
Mike Roberts: Dbl. I got something, and can't sell out to 3. A 4-3 should play ok.
David Gordon: Dbl. Competitive with no clear direction. Really scraping the bottom of the barrel to make this bid with respect to values.
Amiram Millet: Pass. Any other bid invites trouble.
John Gillespie: Dbl. Take out. It's dangerous but a 4-3 fit may play ok and I owe pard a sign of life.
Brian Zietman: Dbl. This is the most flexible. If partner has a good major then we are in business.
Plarq Liu: 4. Obliged to introduce my clubs, game is quite probable in our side. If partner has 3NT he will bid it instead of double.
Richmond Williams: Pass. If pard has a monster they can show it now.
Kf Tung: Dbl. You have a passed hand and you are angry to defend 3. It must be 3325 with 2 defending tricks.
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