[Cyberyeti]

IMPs

Here are two hands it turned out I got horribly wrong, we just played a teams event where we finished tied 3rd, get either right and we may well win the event.

---

---

[PhilKing]

I would make a simple overcall on both. This seems obvious, but I still hope I would win by doing better on the other boards ...

[eagles123]

1 3 spade
2 pass

[mike777]

mouse here I will try pass on both.

the bidding may not be over just yet

[Cyberyeti]

mike777, on 2015-March-29, 16:51, said:

mouse here I will try pass on both.

the bidding may not be over just yet

Bonus question on the second one if you pass

Spoiler

do you pass again if the auction proceeds P-3♠(non inv)-P-P ?

[aguahombre]

First one, mouse. Partner will balance, and if I overcall instead I might create a CHO who can't take a joke.

Second one mouse. I make my normal 3C prebalance after a bid and raise; mouse, because I don't want partner balancing in a red suit -- if she corrects 3C to a red, that is fine.

The bonus question isn't even a question. If I don't prebalance 3C I am certainly not going to bid 4 all by myself. The British would probably call that a French dogwalk.

[WesleyC]

I'd bid 3S on the first hand and 3C on the second. Both choices feel pretty clear to me.

[wank]

if anyone passed the first hand i'd call an ambulance - partner won't save you when he's got clubs. he'll naively think you passed because you didn't have 7.5 tricks in your own hand. if partner is dealt a reopening, lho will raise and if partner now doubles, you might have some difficulty convincing him you have this.


passing the 2nd one is not absurd, just lame.

i suspect that these questions are asked at all is a reflection of cyberyeti's very unusual (declarerophobic) overcalling style.

[ahydra]

3S and 3C for me.

ahydra

[Cyberyeti]

wank, on 2015-March-30, 02:16, said:

i suspect that these questions are asked at all is a reflection of cyberyeti's very unusual (declarerophobic) overcalling style.

My usual overcalling style occurs only on simple overcalls of opening bids (and I was playing with a different partner on this occasion), I actually normally WJO on hands where a lot of people would make a simple overcall at the right vulnerability, so I'm not really averse to declaring.

[mcphee]

Can not see bidding anything but 3S. This second hand is closer as my C suit is not exactly robust and it would be nice to know something about the opps openings as raises. That aside it is possible partner could hold enough for us to make 3N playble but not able to balance. I do not see partner balancing with 2 aces and a Q even at these colors, so I will step out with 3C and pray it does not rain on us.

[Cyberyeti]

aguahombre, on 2015-March-29, 18:12, said:

First one, mouse. Partner will balance, and if I overcall instead I might create a CHO who can't take a joke.

Second one mouse. I make my normal 3C prebalance after a bid and raise; mouse, because I don't want partner balancing in a red suit -- if she corrects 3C to a red, that is fine.

The bonus question isn't even a question. If I don't prebalance 3C I am certainly not going to bid 4 all by myself. The British would probably call that a French dogwalk.

Interesting, on the first one I followed exactly your logic, I was concerned about it going 3♣-3♠-5♣-6♠ with partner holding some monster like KQxx, AQJxx, KQJ, x or similar, 3C ended the auction. We defeated it 1 with a spade ruff and actually gained on the board, partner had x, AJxxx, xxx, AJxx and opp got a heart lead, I presume he hooked the spade (why ?) and suffered a heart ruff.

On the second one, I thought it was much too dangerous to bid immediately, but gave serious consideration to punting 3N once LHO advertised weakness on the grounds that the 3♠ bid probably prevented partner balancing.

Partner had Kx, K10xx, xx, Axxxx, 5♣ needs you to find KD working and a correct heart guess which in you get as ♥AQ doubleton are in the hole and A♦ is right, 3N only needs one of them. At the other table they played 4♣+1 after my hand got to open 1♣ after 3 passes. This would have been no great loss if we'd taken our obvious 5 tricks, but unfortunately partner led a heart into the AQ and that was -7.

[mike777]

so you gained on the first one and defense was the issue on the second one.

As PHILK put it perhaps we could win by doing better on the other boards.

Passing on these two boards did not cost us the event.

[aguahombre]

Cyberyeti, on 2015-March-30, 07:21, said:

On the second one................................
Partner had Kx, K10xx, xx, Axxxx, 5♣. At the other table they played 4♣+1 after my hand got to open 1♣ after 3 passes.

Bidding and making game our way when partner has a freak fit AND risks hanging me for the prebalance would be one of those highly unexpected byproducts. Getting into an OBAR auction with a 6-bagger should just be policy.

Here, your loss was not merely 7 IMPS. It was the game swing + 7.

[Cyberyeti]

aguahombre, on 2015-March-30, 07:48, said:

Bidding and making game our way when partner has a freak fit AND risks hanging me for the prebalance would be one of those highly unexpected byproducts. Getting into an OBAR auction with a 6-bagger should just be policy.

Here, your loss was not merely 7 IMPS. It was the game swing + 7.

A certain amount of resulting, I don't want to be in 5♣, it's a horrible contract, 3N/4♣ is fine. We're still losing 3 for 3♠-1 which became 7 when the wrong lead was chosen.

The other one we gained 5 instead of gaining 13.

The other opportunities were in the play, the most interesting one I didn't find was in a match we won 20-0 anyway so didn't cost, I'll post the one team mate didn't find (virtually the only thing they got wrong all day) which did seriously cost us in the final match in another post.

[rmnka447]

Hand # 1 - 3 ♠ with an 8 card suit - 6 loser hand. Some slight risk, but I don't want to have to figure out after LHO raises to 5 ♣ whether it was to make or a sac. Partner might not have a bid over a ♣ raise if I pass, but might if I bid my suit before the raise.

Hand # 2 - 3 ♣ -- sort of the same reasoning as the previous hand. Partner isn't likely to have more than a doubleton ♠ and might not be able to bid after 1-2-3 to play auction. Making my ♣ bid now avoids the decision about bidding 4 ♣ unilaterally after 1-2-3 to play. 3 ♣ also might drive them to 3 ♠ down 1 while 2 ♠ passed out still makes. You have to reasonably fight for part scores at IMPs. I wouldn't bid 3 ♣ on much less though.

[PhilKing]

Cyberyeti, on 2015-March-30, 07:21, said:

Interesting, on the first one I followed exactly your logic, I was concerned about it going 3♣-3♠-5♣-6♠ with partner holding some monster like KQxx, AQJxx, KQJ, x or similar.

"Or similar" could mean removing partner's ♠Q ♥QJ ♦KQJ and giving him one high card in return - the ♦A!

If one is doing card placing, one should also include all the below average hands partner can hold that make us stiff for game. Nothing is certain in this game, but trying to find a winning lead against 3♣ on a hand like just can't be a viable long-term strategy.

[Cyberyeti]

PhilKing, on 2015-March-31, 03:50, said:

"Or similar" could mean removing partner's ♠Q ♥QJ ♦KQJ and giving him one high card in return - the ♦A!

If one is doing card placing, one should also include all the below average hands partner can hold that make us stiff for game. Nothing is certain in this game, but trying to find a winning lead against 3♣ on a hand like just can't be a viable long-term strategy.

I thought it was quite likely partner would bid if it went 3♣-P-P as he will bid 3N very freely in that seat if he has clubs and double freely if he hasn't (and very likely there are only 14 or so points between my hand and opener's, sometimes less). I wasn't suggesting it had worked out well. The or similar was to cover other hands where we're simply off 2 aces or 2 diamonds.

The example you give is only 11 tricks of course if as on the actual hand hearts are 5-1 and is no play opposite a 4441.