[jocdelevat]

[FONT=Courier]

Scoring: IMP

---

West North East South

 -     -     Pass  Pass
 1♣    Dbl   Pass  ?


Hi all

Do you pass here? if not what you bid?


Thank you for advice
Joc

[the hog]

Definitely not pass. I bid 1D. This is less likely to excite partner than 1M.

[pbleighton]

1S seems clear. Pd is likely short (2 at most) in clubs, and you have a weak hand.

Peter

[P_Marlowe]

No, 1S.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[the hog]

Guys, 1H I can understand, I guess, though 1M tends to make pd's excited with a really good hand, but 1S!!!!
Don't you guys X on Kxx AKxx Kxxx xx

[jikl]

1♦ for me, less likely to see partner start trying to force to game while you try to convince them that you don't have a 4 card suit.

Sean

[BebopKid]

1♦ for me, too, but 1♥ and 1♠ should not excite partner as all you've done is bid your best suit and shown no interest in your hand.

Definitely don't pass, partner could have a big hand that makes game with your measely 5 HCP.

[mike777]

uggg I guess 1nt....but willing to listen and learn.

[the hog]

mike777, on Jan 29 2007, 05:49 PM, said:

uggg I guess 1nt....but willing to listen and learn.

Well Mike, you are about a K short of a 1NT bid. 1NT is a constructive bid here and the hand you have sure isn't constructive.

[xx1943]

pass never never
1NT no, you are too weak
1♠ no partner may have 3♠s and 4♥s

The question is 1♦ or 1♥. The answer depends on your partners style to double.
1) Does the double show majors and may have xx in diamonds?
2) Does the X promise all unbid suits ?

If 1) is yes, then 1♦ would show a 4+ diamond suit and I would bid 1♥
If 2) is yes then bid 1♦

[SoTired]

my partner's seem to equally double on 4342 as 3442, so I don't know how 1H or 1S makes much difference. I vote for 1H only because I hope some opp will save me with a 1S bid.

Pass - Never
1N - too weak, but less bad
1D or 1H is best... I usually bid my cheapest 3-card major because sometimes my partner's double on 4423 hands and I really hate playing 3-2 fits.

[gwnn]

We want to cool partner down (we have no shape and no high cards).

1♦ conveys the message "I am broke, and I have no majors" (ok I guess it also says something about diamonds, but it's nothing too serious). What's a better message to persuade partner to cool down?

[hotShot]

pass is no option, so I bid 1♦.
If i had a constructive hand I would make a jump, or bid NT. So partner will get the message that I'm weak.
Partner will bid a 5 card major if he is (54)(40|31|22), or he may guess
that i have a 3 card major and go for a moysian fit.

[whereagles]

1♦ seems canonical. If pard happens to rebid 1M afterwards, you have an easy raise at the 2 level.

[brianshark]

I think I'll bid 1♥ as my ♠Ace is worth a trick whether it's the trump suit or not, but J9 of ♥s may be valuable texture. I don't like 1♦. Just cos.

[Apollo81]

You can't pass a takeout double unless you expect to set the opponents' contract. Since you don't expect to set 1♣, you can't pass.

If you had given this problem to a panel of WC players I am sure they would overwhelmingly prefer 1♦ because it is the bid that is least likely to excite partner. If you bid a major, pard with his obvious extras and a likely "fit" could raise to 3 or 4 of that major. That's the last thing you want.

1♦ isn't going to excite partner. If he has the strong hand he will most likely bid 1M or 1NT. It's unlikely he would raise diamonds to a high level.

[pclayton]

1♦ looks like the intelligent call to me.

[Winstonm]

Normally I would like to discourage partner and bid 1D, but this hand isn't that bad with an A and a J, both in partner's implied suits. I bid 1H - if partner raises it shouldn't be a disaster.

[bid_em_up]

As others have said, do not pass the X, thereby converting it to penalties.

1♦ is the best call, imo, for several reasons. It will right-side any major suit or NT contract. It will not overly excite partner. It will not cause partner to misjudge a major suit fit. It will allow you to PASS 1H or 1S if you choose to do so (I would, the minimum count and flat distribution is enough to deter me from the raise), whereas bidding 1H or 1S is almost certainly going to get you raised to 2M, which may not be makeable. (And if it is, 1M+1 still scores the same as 2M, last time I checked.)

If forced to make a second choice of call, it would be 1N, not 1H or 1S. The hand is flat with no ruffing values, it contains scattered values, and it has some semblence of a club stop (10xxx). 1N is certainly more descriptive of the hand than either 1H or 1S is, imo.

[Apollo81]

See http://www.districts...06/Sol0611.aspx problem 5 for a discussion of this issue.