[sfbp]

This hand arose in a pairs game at the regional this week.

Scoring: MP

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I'd be curious to know your initial actions.

I'll post a followup showing what happened next, later

Thanks

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

I will go with a dbl, if the strength of the hand warrants a dbl,
everybody has to decide for itself, but somewhere I have to
draw a line, and for me 19HCP is on the other side of the line.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[pbleighton]

I double. My 1 level overcalls are never this good, and I'm not bidding 1NT with a stiff jack.

Peter

[inquiry]

1♥, what's the problem? IF they bid spades, I will double, if the bidding dies in 1♥, we can't make anything. Partner will raise with support and 5♣ (and especially 5♦) is a LONG way off.. he needs some good stuff to get there.

[FrancesHinden]

Personal preference

1H: 10/10
Anything else: 0/10

[Free]

Dbl, this hand is too strong for a simple 1♥ for me. But I can understand a natural overcall...

[jdonn]

FrancesHinden, on Jun 19 2006, 09:59 AM, said:

Personal preference

1H: 10/10
Anything else: 0/10

I hate comments like this. Of course you can choose 1♥ and feel strongly about it, but to claim no other call has an iota of merit just means you are being closed minded. If a small card in any other suit were changed into a small spade, this and any panel would be nearly 100% in favor of a double. That one change does not mean it's impossible a double could work on this hand.

Personally I just don't think it matters which you choose as long as you are consistent and partner knows your style. Either initial call is likely to work out fine.

[whereagles]

I like 1♥, though double is ok as well (you'll have a problem only if pard bids 3/4♠, but that's unlikely).

[han]

I'll try to avoid Josh's wrath:

My style is to bid 1H with hands like this. Always.

[kenberg]

I bid 1H. As near as I can recall, I have never been passed out at the one level when I hold a stiff spade. Surely it could happen, but not often. Not that I feel my problems are over, but when I later act again I imagine partner will do approximately the right thing even though he may not have a clear picture. For example, if the auction continues 1S on my left, pass, 2S and I double, partner will know to bid hearts on three, or maybe Qx, and clubs otherwise. We will have a guess about level, but we should be in the right suit. If NT is right, perhaps we can get there. I have serious doubts about NT being right, however.

[Winstonm]

I am in the double camp as I don't want my partner's to raise my 1H overcall on:

xxxxx, Qxx, xx, Qxx.

Winston

[luke warm]

i'd double then bid hearts... for the 1♥ bidders, what do you bid with this hand?

♠ J4
♥ AK832
♦ T532
♣ K3

[kenberg]

luke warm, on Jun 19 2006, 06:40 PM, said:

i'd double then bid hearts... for the 1♥ bidders, what do you bid with this hand?

♠  J4
♥  AK832 
♦  T532 
♣  K3

I would overcall 1H with that hand. But not with a hand much weaker than that. In theory, it could get passed out in 1H making ten tricks. I don't deny it. I do say that in my experience, the singleton spade makes this unlikely. The singleton spade may also lead to problems after a double. Generally I don't like to overcall 1H with such a strong hand and I don't like to double with a stiff spade. I choose overcall. I expect to get another shot. If not, then that's what happens.

In a recent tourney I confronted a similar problem. I overcalled. The opponents jammed the auctio to the three level, I doubled, partner bid hearts. Now of course I have a problem of choosing the level. I bid 4, I was cold for 3, I made 4. It would be a tougher choice if I was playing against Meckwell but, surprise, I wasn't.

[jdeegan]

1♥. I think the hand is plenty strong enough to double and bid, but what I really want to know is if partner has REAL heart support. If so, we can bid 'em up. This is the most likely way to find out. For a double and bid sequence I prefer to have a suit like AK10953.

[sfbp]

Winstonm, on Jun 19 2006, 01:27 PM, said:

I am in the double camp as I don't want my partner's to raise my 1H overcall on:

xxxxx, Qxx, xx, Qxx.

Winston

That's just about exactly what happened.

I was the partner of the overcaller, and after the inevitable negdbl raised him to 2H. He got excited and bid 4.

Turns out the hand makes 4 double-dummy but he didn't. Sigh.

Whether or not this is evidence for *not* doubling I'm not sure.

His contention: I dont want to X because you might jump to 4 spades.

My reply; if i bid 4S on Txxxxx xx Qxx Ax, you may even make it.

Why worry about the sky falling?

[inquiry]

Join the new century. Use Reubin Advances or similiar... so that there are two ways to raise 1H to 2H to seperate competitive or "courtesy" raises from "real" raises.

[FrancesHinden]

jdonn, on Jun 19 2006, 06:21 PM, said:

FrancesHinden, on Jun 19 2006, 09:59 AM, said:

Personal preference

1H:  10/10
Anything else: 0/10

I hate comments like this. Of course you can choose 1♥ and feel strongly about it, but to claim no other call has an iota of merit just means you are being closed minded. If a small card in any other suit were changed into a small spade, this and any panel would be nearly 100% in favor of a double. That one change does not mean it's impossible a double could work on this hand.

Personally I just don't think it matters which you choose as long as you are consistent and partner knows your style. Either initial call is likely to work out fine.

I'm not sure what you're complaining about.
The "marking" was simply supposed to indicate how strongly I feel about it. That's why I put 'personal preference' at the top.

If alternatively I think that something really does have not an iota of merit you will certainly hear me say so.

p.s. make a non-heart a small spade and not only would my personal marking not change but I doubt you'd get anything like 100% of an expert panel doubling first. Make a heart a small spade and the world doubles and rebids 1NT, but that's a different matter.

[helene_t]

Usually 1♥.But I might start with 1NT if pd isn't sure to interpret my subsequent double of 2♠ as t/o.

Double with a singleton in an unbid major is just about the worst distortion I can think of. That's just my personal preference of course. If partner insists that we start with dbl with any 18+ hand, I will have to do that.

[FrancesHinden]

sfbp, on Jun 20 2006, 08:11 AM, said:

Winstonm, on Jun 19 2006, 01:27 PM, said:

I am in the double camp as I don't want my partner's to raise my 1H overcall on:

xxxxx, Qxx, xx, Qxx.

Winston

That's just about exactly what happened.

That's not my concern.
That isn't a 2H bid with or without a negative double from 4th seat, it's a pass.

[whereagles]

A pass? Not in my book, at least.